Around the World

Finally am back in the US. All in all my semester in London was a success.
Im back in my car cruising the city of LA and have the wind blowing in my hair!

I loved blogging so much that I have decided to continue!

Here is the link to my new blog :)
www.calliendavis.blogspot.com

Cheers,
Callie

Well after my Spring Break things started to get busy. I actually have a fully scheduled week now! Before I just had classes on monday and tuesday. I spent my wednesday, thursday, and fridays shopping, going on random walk adventures, and catching up on my TV shows. For the second half of the semester, most of the kids on our program are working as an intern at various companies. Most are working in an industry that relates to their majors. Others aren't so lucky. I happen to be very happy at my internship.



I am working at Kindred Agency in the Finance department. I love working with Kindred because I feel like I am making a difference and doing things that are helping move the company forward. I am helping them with mostly accounts receivable. It has been a really good experience and I have been able to develop my strengths and explore my weaknesses. I work wednesday, thursday, and friday from nine to six. I am starting to feel like a grown up! Except it is hard getting used to the all day working thing... when am I supposed to have time to do nothing?



My friends Lauren and Brittney from LMU came to visit me this past week. Seeing them made me miss Los Angeles and all my friends there. We had so much fun and I got to see some parts of London I had yet to explore. We ventured to the Camden Market where I got some cool red geek glasses. We went to see the crown jewels at the Tower of London. We got the yummiest food at Brick Lane. I also finally found a (faux) fur jacket!

Brittney and I


Camden Town


Yummy Strawberries


Lauren, Callie, and Brittney

Next part of the journey brought us to Barcelona. I had been there before on a trip with my mom, sister, and family friends. Not so much sight seeing as much of that had been done on the previous trip. My friend Alex is studying in Barcelona so I got to see her lovely face. Her mom was visiting so we all had a wonderful tapas dinner with sangria. Roxanne and I stopped by La Boqueria for some coconut juice and to look at the gorgeous display of candies and fruits!

Pictures from the trip --

Flowers on La Rambla



View from Alex's Mom's apartment!



La Boqueria



Nuts in La Boqueria



Candy!! yummy



Fruit Juice



Roaxanne and I at dinner



xoxo
Callie

This part of our spring break was amazing! The culture and atmosphere of this country is so different than anything I have experienced. We caught our very early morning flight from Madrid to Morocco. We arrive and make our walk on the runway from the plane to passport control. The view around us wasn't that impressive.. everything was a light dirt color - from the buildings to the roads. The Marrakesh airport is actually impressive. The main lobby area is HUGE. The ceilings were so tall and all signes were in either Arabic or French. At this point I started to think about the French Rosetta stone program I got for Christmas two years ago - wish I had actually used it.

Before I left for spring break, I did some research on the city, gathering tips and hints on how to get around and bargain. The currency of Morocco is dirhams. 1 US Dollar is about 8 dirhams. We felt like we were rich! We converted money at the airport in Madrid and I ended up with bills that had 200 and 100 amounts. It is commonly known that taxi drivers in the city rip you off and way over charge you. So as we exit the airport we start discussing how we are going to bargain with the taxi driver when we cant even speak the language! Turns out lots of people can speak English well enough to get all points across. The drive to our hotel was 150 dirhams which really wasn't that bad.

On our way to the hotel, we shared the road with a lot of bicycles and motorcycles. Everyone was driving so close to the car! It was like they didn't see the lines on the rode dividing the lanes. All of the buildings on the outside of the city looked like they were made of a brown, reddish clay. Roxanne, who took french in high school, was trying to banter with the Taxi driver. She learned that he has grown up here and has two children: one who lives in Marrakesh and the other in Casablanca.


Roxanne, Casey, Jordan, and I were all originally staying in a resort called Atlas Targa. My mom sent me a link to Gwyneth Paltrow's blog GOOP where she had posted an entry on Marrakesh. All of the pictures looked so gorgeous. We did some research on one of the recommended Hotels - BAB Hotel. The pictures looked amazing and Roxanne and I decided to switch. It was more centrally located in the city.



We arrive to BAB and once we step inside we can't stop smiling. The hotel was decorated very modern and reminded us a lot of Los Angeles. The room was simple and clean with a BIG bed! It had a TV that was also a mirror when switched off. First thing we wanted to do was take a long shower. So far none of the hotels had any conditioner so we went down to the reception desk and asked where we could get some conditioner. We met Nadia - a native of Casablanca and had studied in California for university. She was so sweet and led us to a store to help us get some conditioner. She asked us what all we had planned and offered to help us organize any activities!



After our long showers and calls home to let them know we were alive, we met up with Nadia to get recommendations for restaurants and Marrakesh adventures. We had a lot of other friends visiting Marrakesh. We all met at our hotel for happy hour and then made our way to the restaurant Le Comptoir. We had so much fun here!! The atmosphere was very dark and sexy. At 10:30pm the belly dancers come out and dance around the restaurant for our entertainment. All of the boys got a kick out of this. The music is really fun and different. The food was alright but we were starving so we licked our plates clean!



The next day we woke up early to take advantage of the BAB Hotel breakfast: plently of honey and nutella, pastries, crepes, and coffee. Today we decided to go to the Medina which is the older part of the city. The first thing on our to do list was to ride a camel. We had NO idea what to expect. We arrive at the location after a little walk around the city (actually we got lost but found it after about an hour). They were going to charge us 300 dirhams for a 30 minute walk around on the camels. (1) I was not about to spend around $40 to get on a dirty camel and walk around (2) all we really wanted was just a picture. We did our best bargaining and get to sit on the camel for about 5 minutes for 30 dirham. The camels stand up so weird! First they lean back to get their front legs up and then lean WAY forward to get the back feet up. I felt like i was almost going to fall off into the camel dust on the ground below :( Five minutes was just enough! Camel Riding DONE

Next was the Medina where there is a large Souk - a market place with fruits, spices, all kinds of nuts, jewelry, and clothing. When we enter the large courtyard there are groups of women sitting together around plastic stools - HENNA TIME! We sit down and the start grabbing our hands wanting to paint a design on them. They are very aggressive. We end up getting Hennas on our forearms. We walked through the rest of the Souk with our arms awkwardly in front of us to dry. Every stall that you walked by, the owners would come out and try to intice you in to look at their "amazing" items that are all so "unique and different" then all of the other stalls around them. We end up leaving with a pair of shoes each and Roxanne got some traditional pants that look like the ones Aladdin wore.

Needless to say after camel riding and Medina exploring, we headed back to our hotel for a shower and nap. We went to another traditional Moroccan restaurant with belly dancers and cous cous! We met up with our friend Nadia for drinks and had so much fun with her!



The next day we decided to be lazy... We sat next to the pool and had lunch with mojitos. We brought out the books and enjoyed some relaxation time. Nadia noticed our need to laziness and made us appointments at a Spa down the street for a traditional "hammam". We had heard about the treatment and were interested to see what it was like. We get to the spa and no one speaks English - again another time when my Rosetta Stone would have been useful. They lead us upstairs to a room with a message table. The lady points to these paper thongs on the table... We both look at each other and have no idea how to react. We had worn our swimsuits under our clothes but thought hey.. we are in Marrakesh lets get the whole experience. We change and walk into a dark room with candles around and a shower head with warm water. The lady comes back in dressed in a swim suit and shower cap. The hammam was basically like someone showering you... cleaning you with soap, washing your hair, and exfoliating your skin. Everything smelt SO good! Then we got a much needed massage, blow out for our hair, and manicures and pedicures! I felt like a Queen :) The whole experience only set us back $80! I wish all spa days could be this affordable!

It was our last day in Marrakesh. We continued our relaxation state by ordering room service and watching a movie! It was nice to have a relaxing day before we head back to London to begin our internships!

Next entry is Barcelona!!

Cheers
xoxo
Callie

This trip was the ultimate adventure (my new favorite word). So much in fact that it is going to require THREE ENTRIES. So keep your eyes out for updates :)

Destinations:
Santander, Spain PICTURES
Madrid, Spain PICTURES
Marrakech, Morocco مراكش ,‎ لمغرب
Barcelona, Spain

As some of you know, I studied abroad in Santander the summer before I began college at Loyola Marymount. Santander is on the northern border of Spain with several gorgeous beaches. We stayed in a hotel on El Sardinero which is about a 25 minute walk from the city center. It was such a crazy feeling to be back and see so many landmarks that reminded me of that summer. I went to the bar we always went to and the same bartenders were still working there! If any of you decide to go to Spain, order a vodka negra y limon... you wont be dissappointed.



Roxanne, Jordan, Casey, and I all rented bikes for the day and rode through the city and along the water. The weather was amazing and so sunny! I actually got to use my new sunglasses I got for Christmas! The city is gorgeous and has very traditional buildings and lots of people walking the streets. We went to this local tapas bar called Casa Lita. We got a few tapas for us all to share and a pitcher of sangria - delicious. It was nice to practice my spanish. I really got adjusted to the language change fast.

We left for Madrid at 6am in the morning. As Americans, we are used to getting to the airport at least 2 hours early. In Spain, people are more laid back i.e. the airport was closed and we had to sit outside for 30 minutes in the freezing cold. Took our RyanAir flight to Madrid.

We get off the Metro in Madrid and begin our expedition to find our hostel called StadMadrid. I had made an itenirary with all the hotel addresses and numbers. Roxanne had the confirmation email. Both sources had different addresses and numbers. We walk to both, cant find it and are searching for about an hour and a half for the hostel. It was so frustrating becasue it was as if the place did not exist. Finally we found it. The sign was about as big as half a notebook paper and blended into the wall. It all was okay though as the rooms were amazing! Very clean and the beds were SO comfy - definitely better than our beds in London. We spent the day walking around and soaking up the sun. We went to the Mercado de San Miguel. It was a sunday afternoon so it was crowded with families and groups of friends. Such a lovely atmosphere! Roxanne and I got three tapas and a glass of wine; and then proceeded to have our second chocolate caliente con churros of the day :)





We stayed in that night and took showers and got prepared for the trip ahead - Marrakech!!

Check back soon!
Hasta Luego...
callie

This past weekend our program, FIE, organized a trip for us in Pembrokeshire, Wales. We received an email telling us what all to pack - extra pair of shoes, lots of warm clothes, a bathing suit, and big towels. From that list I could tell this was going to be an active weekend. It took us SO long to get there: two trains and about 6 hours. We arrived at night so it was hard to tell what was around us. We get to the lodge where we are staying and get all settled in. The lodge had one side for bedrooms and the other side was the dinning room and lounging area. We get all unpacked and head in for dinner. It was really nice to have a fresh cooked meal and not have to do the dishes :)

The next day we went on a seven mile hike around the coast. It was absolutly gorgeous and sunny outside. Click HERE for pictures! It was nice to get some sun as I was starting to get pretty pale due to the cloudy London skies. Through out the hike we saw lots of sheeps, small pebble beaches, and old stone buildings. We arrived back at the lodge and washed our shoes as they had gotten pretty muddy from the hike. Lunch and a nap were much needed as we were going kayaking in the afternoon!

Kayaking was an adventure. We had to get in a wetsuit and life jacket. The kayaks were singles. We got a waterproof camera to take pictures so I will post those later once I get them developed. We got to go explore caves and paddle around for a while - and then my hands and feet began to freeze :( Dinner was chicken curry and paan bread with cheese cake for dessert! When I got in bed, I was literally asleep in about 5 seconds. That was the most physical activity I have done this entire time abroad.

On Sunday (our last day), We get up for breakfast and then head down to the kit shed. Kit is the word the use for equipment. Once again, we take about 45 minutes to get all of our gear on (wetsuit, warm shorts, warm vest, water boots, life jacket, and helmet). We get in the van and head down to a new pebble beach. The whole ride I was preparing myself for swimming in FREEZING water. Once we got in, it really wasn't that bad. We scaled the rocks close to the water. It felt like rock climbing but we were moving sideways instead of upwards. Then we get to a small area where there is an old quarry. It was probably about 15 feet over the water. We swim over to the side of the cliff and begin our climb up. We all get on top of the quarry - there is a flat section that we all stand on. Then we all, one by one, jump off! Right when I hit the water, the cold water began to enter my wetsuit. My head was so cold. I had never expereinces a brain freeze that bad. We did this for about another 20 minutes and then headed back to the van where they had hot chocolate waiting for us!

We took the train home and finally got into our flat that night. This week is our finals week. I had a group presentation, two exams, and one 2500 word paper due in two days: that means lots of coffee and not so much sleep. I did survive and have started to prepare for spring break which starts this friday!! I am going with Roxanne, Jordan, and Casey to Spain and Morocco! I finally get to see my friends Alex and May who are both studying abroad in Barcelona!

Cheers.
xo
callie

Went on another class field trip - Chelsea Football Stadium. The Chelsea Football team is nicknamed The Blues and was formed in 1905. The stadium holds around 42,000 fans. On the tour we were able to visit both the away and home locker rooms. They have actually hired someone to come in and design the away team's locker room to effect their emotional state before the game - very relaxed lighting to make them tired, lockers that are small and all the way down on the ground so they have to lean down to put things in it, only 10 hooks when there are 11 players, a poorly placed white board, etc. The home team's room is so much larger and equipped with ice baths, gatorade/red bull refrigerator, 5 massage chairs, two big screen tvs, and each player has their own tall locker. Inside they have a drawer called the 'bling' drawer where they put their earrings, necklaces, and what not to wear after a win!



I had my first travel weekend - We went to Amsterdam... and let me tell you... it was quite the experience. I was going with eight other people who are on the FIE program with me. I was on a different flight than them and was leaving about an hour earlier so I was left to find my own way to the airport. We have no printer in our Flat so I had to carry my bag (which probably had way too many extra clothes in it) back to the school to print out the ticket, then stopped for some food, then walked to the Underground Station. At this point I thought my shoulder was going to fall off. Then I got to the train station off of the Victoria Tube Stop. They have trains running from that station to Gatwick every 15 minutes. I had purchased my ticket way in advance for really cheap which was a good idea. I got there WAY to early and waited for about 45 minutes in the freezing Train station. There are about 20 different platforms and about half of them said heading to Gatwick. I used the 45 minutes to figure out which station my ticket was for. Finally hopped on the train and was off to the airport! The plane was very empty. I was sitting in a row all to myself.

Arrived in Amsterdam around 9:00pm and met up with the rest of the group and headed to the hotel. It was so nice to stay in a clean place with our own bathroom and big beds!! After we all cleaned up it was time to venture out into the city. It was such a different world. There were a lot of tourists walking around and people standing outside of venues shouting out drink deals to get people to come inside. There are 'coffee' shops on every corner.

The next day we went exploring around the city. It is absolutely gorgeous. All of the buildings are stacked up next to each other but all have a different distinct architectural design. Everyone rides bikes in that city! They even have cross walk lights specifically for bike riders. The city is situated on several canals and the streets sort of look like a spider web on a map. We went to the Van Gogh museum. It was HUGE - about 5 large floors full of art. The next stop was The Pancake Bakery down the street from the Ann Frank Museum. I got a savory pancake with chicken and cheese - so delicious :)



The Ann Frank Museum was incredible. You really got to feel how small the Annex was. The stairs were so narrow and steep. When you walked into the kitchen, the blackout curtains are drawn and there is a slight eerie feeling to the room. Everything was so silent. They had preserved the walls in her room with her magazine cut outs of celebrities. The original wall paper was still there. They also had videos of Miep and her father talking about the whole experience.

Next update will be about our weekend in Wales!

Cheers
xo
callie