Meeting People

Just as a side note- this cruise only holds about 150 people, so you begin to recognize everyone and even know a lot of people's names. Yes, it's full of all old people, but evidently, COOL people. The ship is currently hosting Japanese royalty, the governor of Georgia, a British intelligence/counter terrorism guy, ex-Australian mafia man, a guy really high up in Proctor & Gamble, and the director and producer of NCIS, Battlestar Gallactica, and more. Crazy. And it's fun to realize who they are after you've spoken to them. A definite interesting crowd we've got here.

Barcelona

BARCELONA

Architecture, artsy structures, beaches, wowww. Went on a Gaudí tour

of the city and got to see what kind of work he accomplish

ed. In case you don’t know, he’s a famous Spanish architect and designer. He turned traditional into funky and eventually, acceptable. He lived in poverty but designed homes for the richest---turning a traditional (giant) home into a piece of art. With tiles of light blue, gradually turning into darker hues of blue as you went up each floor. The roof of

the house was breathtaking. Not only did you get a nice view of Barcelona, but you got to see his signature mosaic artwork and the detail of even the top of the roof.

We also toured the Gaudí park featuring the world’s longest bench. It curved “like the waves” in order to receive the maximum amount of people. He was clearly inspired by nature, as he modeled a lot of his work after the waves in the ocean. We also got to see his famous mosaic lizard.

Walking down the famous street La Rambla, we encountered tons of people, shops, bars, and just some great people watching. Later that night, we ate dinner at a restaurant called Agua. At 10pm we began, finishing dinner at 1am. Like a true European. The dinner was great, we had tapas and paella and all that Spanish jazz. The restaurant was super modern and situated right on the boardwalk on the beach. I loved the atmosphere and I’d highly recommend the restaurant.

Next, my brothers and I and our friends from the ship went for a night on the town on a Saturday night in Barcelona. We stuck near the beach which was packed with people at 1:30am-4am and there was a steady flow of people through the boardwalk. The bars and clubs were alive and bumping with music—all kinds of young people were out and raging. There was a techno fest going on with Paul Van Dyk and Groove Armada, but we would have to wait til like 5am to get in and probably pay 60 euros. No bueno. Anyway, Barcelona was a fun place to visit but I don’t think I am a big crowded city girl. My favorite so far has been Palma de Mallorca. Now on to Francia….

Palma de Mallorca

Palma de Mallorca

I know I keep using the word “beautiful,” but there is no other word for the island of Palma de Mallorca. With hills, castles, cathedrals, beaches, tapa bars, and bike trails, Palma (as they call it), offers a lot. We started the day out with a bike ride all over the island, passing beaches, marinas, bars, castles, cathedrals…you name it. It was so scenic and a much better way to tour the city. Of course when we needed to rest, we stopped at a café and ordered some Coca Light, European-style. I love the laid back feeling of the whole continent of Europe. Everyone seems to take the expression “carpe diem” very seriously.

Later in the day we went back out to do some shopping. Palma is very cosmopolitan, so they have a whole street lined with upscale stores, even Hugo Boss and Carolina Herrera. Others you wouldn’t recognize the names, but you could tell it was nice stuff. Then we toured through the more narrow, more ancient part of the city where we found some Mallorcan specialties—olive oil, blown glass, and of course pearls.

Something interesting I learned is that they speak Catalán, not traditional Spanish. It’s not just a stem of the Spanish language, but a whole different language. It’s compared to the difference in Spanish and Portuguese—a HUGE difference. I couldn’t understand the locals and I forgot that there are 4(?) different idioms in the country of Spain. Crazy. Anyway, definitely coming back and spending a week in Palma. I highly recommend this place. P.S. Michelle Obama is actually here today---I failed and was never able to find her L

Cadiz & Malaga

CADIZ

Cádiz is a beautiful town on the coast of Spain, with narrow and winding cobblestoned streets. The shops reminded me of when I lived in Salamanca, Spain 4 summers ago. We passed by cafes filled with people at around 5pm simply enjoying their churros and chocolate. Another reminder of the relaxed and slowed-down version of what they call life. And I applaud them for it. In Cádiz we went to see a small flamenco show and I was really impressed with their skill—not to mention their rhythm. (VIDEO will come later)

We just toured around and walked up the tower in the main square and got a scenic view of the city and the ocean. Pretty place and it felt great to be back in a small town of Spain.

Málaga

Another pretty city, but with much more hills. Apartments were stacked on top of eachother on the hills in an almost Grecian-looking setting. We drove an hour east to a beach town called Verja to kayak around the cliffs. The water was a magnificent teal and slowly became clearer as the sun peaked out. The cliffs seemed to reach the clouds, and we even kayaked next to a 120 foot waterfall. The beach was hardly impressive, with no sand, but rocks. The rocks were intriguing though, looked like smooth rocks you would purchase at a store to accompany a bouquet of roses in a nice vase. The beach was taken over by umbrellas and people by noon and the cafes, restaurants, and little helado stands were in full swing. Verja was very quaint and relaxing and I preferred to stay there all day instead of the actual city of Málaga.

First stop: Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Beautiful architecture, wonderful tile, cobblestoned streets, street cafes, and the most breathtaking views packed into one city I’ve ever seen. Wow. It’s strange to me that I haven’t hear all that much about Portugal, or that Portugal is a highly touristic place.

First of all, it has a lot of similarities to San Francisco, California, but of course came first so we can assume SF was modeled after stunning Lisbon, Portugal. Cable cars, tall buildings in the downtown area, and even a golden gate bridge. Although, the golden gate bridge came after San Francisco’s. Apparently the president or prime minister of Portugal (not sure which one) wanted a bridge like the golden gate bridge, so the engineer built an exact replica of it in Lisbon. I was shocked and confused when I saw it in Lisbon..did anyone know that?? So, once we embarked our cruise ship we drove right under it. (pictures to come)

Be warned: if you aren’t particularly “in shape” perse, you might want to take the funicular or one of the trolleys. Lisbon is named “the city of 7 hills”, so if that doesn’t give you a nice visual of what the city walking is like. The cobblestone roads are extremely narrow, and of course in Europe, the drivers are somewhat immune to pedestrians and appear to not have a care in the world about hitting one of them. The occasional slap of the taxi by an angry pedestrian is nothing out-of-the-ordinary here.

Also, Portuguese has been a major barrier for my family and me. It’s easy to read Portuguese and understand it because of its similarity to Spanish. But when it came time to order my smoothie in a café, we weren’t going anywhere. It’s like a mix of Spanish and French but all blurred together with a Russian-like accent. It’s difficult to understand, so be sure to read up on your Portuguese.

Be sure to eat: Typical Portuguese food. We ate at Faia, a white table clothed restaurant nestled on top of one of the 7 hills complete with the traditional fadó music (pronounced fa-du). Portuguese people love their olives, they come before each meal. Fish is a specialty in the area not only because of the close proximity to the ocean, but also because of their “salted” style they cook the fish. I ordered the stone bass and it was hardly cooked, just fell apart and melted in my mouth. For the more daring eaters, there was a plate of full little fish served on a platter with oil and some veggies. Not for me! Nope, no thanks. Fadó is the style of music Portugal is famous for. It includes a style of classic guitar and singing. It’s acoustic and pretty Latin sounds..is how I would describe it. Faia was filled with locals. We knew this because everyone was singing along to the songs the Fadó band was playing. A definite go.

Wear: Doesn’t matter. Everyone is laid back here and they are used to tourists. You can wear shorts in the cathedrals.

Buy: TILE! It’s beautiful and it’s everywhere in the city.

Stay: Hotel Sofitel. It was luxurious and it reminded me of the Lumen in Dallas, Texas. The beds were the comfiest things I’ve ever laid in. Plus, the bell boy has a full on suit with a top hat, what more could you ask for? (joke)

CRUISE

You know when you sit there and just think, “what if I had this here” or “what if this car did this”? That kind of thing? Well, after boarding our Silverseas cruise ship, I sat out on the balcony and thought…there is nothing I can think of that would make this cruise cooler. With a glass of champagne in hand (and a bottle that was waiting for me in my room), a butler that is reachable at one touch of a button, perfect weather, free everything (well, free for me. Not for my father), etc etc. My point is not to brag, but to say that I’m extremely thankful that my family and I are on this cruise ship. Which is made up of all old people, which is fine with me since I’m on this vacation to RELAX! Speaking of which, tomorrow is a day at sea so I will begin my relaxing now.

Still Life

What does it take to be a good writer? After reading Still Life by Skip Hollandsworth in the May 2009 edition of Texas Monthly, not only are my eyes filled with tears, but I am inspired to write good stories. What does it take to move an audience after reading a feature story? I think it takes several things.

Personality. In order to get to know the people you are writing about, you must prove yourself personable. I think it'd be amazing to sit down with interesting people and hear their complete life stories. To really paint a true picture of the family in "Still Life", Skip must have spent hours upon hours with the family. A touchy subject, yes. But when dealing with such a bittersweet story, I'm sure the brother Henry was thankful to see the good side of journalism. To show the rest of the world that this man, John McClamrock, and his mother will always be remembered for their perseverance.

Originality. The story wouldn't be compelling and I wouldn't have just read through 5 pages of a feature story if it wasn't original and creative. What Skip does is transforms a "small story" in the newspapers from 30+ years ago into a lifelong story that touches the hearts of any and every human being that reads it. He allows the readers to truly get to know John and the mother. Dealing with heartbreak after heartbreak, he pulls through time after time. And we fall in love with these characters, per se, and he even places an underlying moral in there. What I got from the story? Keep fighting, never give up. Your family loves you more than you know. Keep a positive attitude no matter the circumstances. Love one another as if there's no tomorrow. The list goes on...

Empathy. If you didn't have this, you wouldn't be able to write such a passionate story. This story deals with death, cancer, family, and other topics that wouldn't be reachable if you couldn't even relate to the people you are talking to. To write such an explicit story about someone's life, you wouldn't really be able to dig very deep if you just nodded your head and kept writing in your little journalism notebook. It takes a conversation. Tears probably. Heck, I felt like I was a part of the family after I just read the story. I can't imagine what it was like learning all the small details about the McClamrock family and compiling everything into a beautiful narrative.

So...I applaud Skip for this story and I applaud Henry McClamrock who probably offered a lot of the details. Skip proves that just one story about a paralyzed child can still be a "sensation" over 30 years later.

John McClamrock

Turning 21

Wow. Quite a celebration...that will not end until the end of the week. I'm not complaining!

Turning 21 in the U.S. is HUGE. You're finally legal to drink and be treated like a normal adult U.S. citizen. No more "trying" to order drinks, let's skip all of that awkwardness.

So, naturally, on your 21st birthday, everyone's goal is to get you as intoxicated as possible. My awesome friends walked into my apartment with a bottle of champagne in hand, cupcakes, flowers, gifts..I feel so special! My wonderful boyfriend took me to a really nice restaurant, my friends decorated my place with balloons. I really wasn't expecting all of that, and I can't tell you how blessed I feel.

After pre-partying at my place for a while (until midnight, when I'm actually legal) we piled into a cab and searched for any bars or clubs that weren't dead on a Tuesday night. That was impossible. We made our own party and continued to drink and chat and dance, etc.

The party continues...our big party at Mizu is on Saturday night and we're expecting over 40 people. Should be amazing!!