Guzman El Bueno is so Beautiful

Its been a busy week, so we have finally had time to sit down and blog about our latest Madrid happenings...we know you've been sitting on the edge of your seat, dying of curiosity. This past weekend, our gracious Irish hostess, Suzy (lax super star), came to visit the city we have come to call home. MC was a pretty gracious host herself by offering Suzy lodging...put that one down in the books. On Thursday we took her to Escam where we met some of Plaza de Doctor Laguna's classiest. After hearing an original freestyle and beat box and many beautiful comments about how beautiful our eyes were... how beautiful our metro stop was... and how beautiful the English language is... from toothless jovenes, Suzy began to question our standards. Not to worry, Suzy's opinion was quickly swayed when we brought her, VIP style, to the most popular Discoteca this city has to offer, Kapital. Thanks to our friend Albert, we bypassed the line and got in free of charge. He led us up to a VIP room, on the second of seven themed floors. In true Fabulous Life Of Betha fashion, there were already bottles chilling in for us when we got to the club. We boogied with Becca's Marketing class, many of whom sport the Last Samurai Euro ponies (something not to be tried at home).

The next morning, we woke and took Suzy on a grand tour of Madrid. Beginning in our favorite pasteleria, we ventured to Sol, The Royal Palace, the Cathedral, and Retiro Park. That night, we met our other friend Suzy (fellow Madrileña) who also had friends visiting for the weekend, at a bar in Sol. After jumping into cabs to switch party scenes, a misunderstanding led to Suzy (SJU) and Becca being split up from Meg and Beth. Becca and Suzy decided to take a cab home, but as per usual, the cab driver tried to take advantage of them by cruising around and racking up the meter. When the girls protested at the end of the ride, the driver forgot what his mama taught him- boys don't hit girls. Thankfully Suzy came out unscathed, but not before taking a few slaps from the taxista while protecting, not the lacrosse goal, but Becca. Why come to Madrid if you don't experience it to the fullest? She sure as hell did. The cops came, and in between a few dramatic sobs, the story was told. Madrid: 1.

On Saturday we woke up to go shopping to indulge our newly-aquired Euro fashion sense. To our dismay, we couldnt find any spandex or skinny jeans that suited our tastes. But at least we still got some money in the bank... swizz beatz styleeee. On the way home, we were surprised to hear a metro boyband playing the crowd-pleaser "When the Saints Come Marching In"... better known as "When the Hawks Come Flying In." As proud Hawks, of course we belted out the lyrics, and became part of their metro show. After a quick siesta, we headed out again. To our shock, Escamplero was closed, so we had to choose another Plaza de Dr. Laguna jump-off. We stepped into Viejo Estilo, and realized why we had never been there before... we found ourselves surrounded by some grandads after work, cigars and pianist included. Megan took a turn showing off her musical talent, stunning the crowd with some Coldplay classics. As bumpin as the bar was, we decided to leave after one cerveza and lots of bar snacks. We went out again with Suzy-squared and Co. to Madrid's famous cave bars. Fun was had by all!

On Sunday we had another cultural day, beginning at the famous Prado Museum. Our art appreciation does in fact extend beyond van Gogh. We brought the Madrid-packed weekend to a close at the Real Madrid game Sunday night. Robinho (pronounced RRRRRRRRRROBINHO, rolling your Spanish "r" of course) dazzled us with his fantastic fútbol skills, scoring 2 of RM's 4 goals in their win against Mallorca. Although we loved Mallorca's crystal blue waters and crazy clubs, we're still Madrileñas at heart. You know we aren't the chicks to do anything halfway... we rocked our Real Madrid jerseys, of course.

Monday morning we bid Suzy farewell and began another jam-packed week of schoolwork... and we thought Joe's was hard. MC's four oceanographers kept busy completing a project on seaweed (yes, we're serious... we never knew there was such a school of information on the subject.) The school week flew by as usual, and we sit here awaiting the arrival of Darrell and Kane VERY early in the mañana!

News Flash

Spotted:
B & B both donning (gasp!).... leggings. What's next? Skinny jeans? Oh wait, they've already tried them out too. Guess the plain Janes couldn't resist Euro fashion forever...

till next time...



you know you love me

xoxo

2440 or Amsterdam...same diff.

Shocking news: we did not be win the "best halloween costume" for 2007. Even more shocking, we did not even dress up because these lame Spaniards don't celebrate what most would consider the best college holiday. Instead, we spent the day packing for Amsterdam and feasting on Kit's halloween package and Deb's halloween candy (you jerks are making it hard for us to come back looking sexy.) Thursday morning we caught our flight to Frankfurt and would not have minded staying one night in the German city with all of the tall, blonde, blue eyed Aryans. Our delayed flight eventually took off and after a quick 45 minutes, we landed in the Dam of Amster.

Upon our arrival we found our hostel. Room 11 or Anne Frank's hideout...same diff. We left Megan at home with her parents for the weekend so the two of us and Jess were crammed in a 2x4 with only one bunkbed and a matress laying the ground. The only benefit of our hostel was that it was in the center of everything so we met our friends (who were staying in a different hostel) at a bar close by. After deciding to call it a night, we were drawn by the blue strobe lights and Dutch anthems booming from inside bar Surprise. When we entered, we were literally surprised. After watching huddles of Dutch men belting out their country's jams, followed by favorites such as "It's Raining Men," by the Spice girls, and ABBA's "Dancing Queen," we looked around to realize that we were the only chicas in the bar...SURPRISE...it was a gay bar. A wild time, nonetheless, we stayed longer than expected pretending to know the words to the Dutch songs and making some Dutch friends. DUTCH.

Our friend, Matt from Joe's (who is teaching English to little German kinder) also met us in the land of the Nethers (we told you that you would get some airtime). We met him for the free breakfast of bread and butter at the hostel then off we treked to fulfill Beth's seventh grade dream of visiting Anne Frank's humble abode...and humble it was...but not quite as humble as our 2x4. We toured the mini quarters and at the end we sent our Padres some video footage of our cultural activities. We lifted our spirits by sampling Amsterdam's famous crapes...which were less than stellar. The waffles were far more superior. We topped off our day of culural experiences by visiting the Van Gogh museum. Mesmerized by some of Vanny's materpieces, Becca finally found a favorite painting called "Sunflowers." Don't worry Kit, I'm not stealing your favorite flower...my new favorite now also comes from one of Goghseph's paintings, "Irises." Next, we went back to our hostel for a brief nap before a night on the town.

We got dolled up...in what most would consider not such a "Betha" outfit...spandex and skinny jeans have grown on us madrilenas. We lent our 2x4 and shower con flipflops to our homeless Spanish friend, Victor. Surprise! We got a few dranks at Surprise, the Escamplero of Amsterdam. Then we headed to Amsterdam's biggest club, Escape. Anne, you would have definately wanted to escape. On stage there was a combination of dancing mimes dressed as transvestites with clown faces on. For some reason, we didn't think it was weird at the time. We boogied through the night to the techno beat and had a romantic walk home as the sun was rising.

BAGELS! We had them for breakfast! We walked around and nearly died several times as Amsterdam's crazy women bikers swooshed past us. Lee Ann, you would have fit in perfectly because everyone was just as sick at bike riding as you. Come to think of it, we give you more props. The beach chair, towel, and beach bag in hand, radio on the shoulder, and one (or both) of us on your handle bars is hard to beat. You go girl! Unfortunatly the bike rental places were sold out so we didn't get to bike around in true Dutch fashion. We visited the infamous Red Light District...when in Amsterdam. A serious EEF had by all. Jess was lured by the legal prostitution but being the good Catholic girls that we are, we said, "NO JESS, PLEASE NO!" Kidding, the trashy sluhas were easy to pass up...even for Matt.

After a full day of city gandering, we went out again and met some London lads. They did not hesitate to bust the chops of an Italian creep who remembered Beth from the night before. He came to be known as "The Godfather." Despite popular belief, Beth must have some killer dance moves, unforgettable to middle aged Euro men who pick their nose...AND wear glasses. (NOTHING to worry about, Tombase!) We woke up early to get to the airport...but apparently, not early enough. We officially had our first "sprint to the gate" airport run. (Beth is laying on my best doing situps right now.) We made it just in time for our flight back to MC's house. This weekend, Suzy will be visiting from Ireland so we will get a chance to repay her for the awesome time she showed us there.

Bringing mullets home...

To Mallorca, Beth and Jess go.
So for the second weekend in a row.
We were seperated once again
Your daughter I severely missed, Ben.

Megan and I stayed at home.
our only connection to the two were by phone.
We decided to get a lot done.
and hang out with our Mallorca friends for fun.

Kit sent an enormous gift
By golly, it was hard to lift.
Heavy with cookies and candy galore
the book and DVDs made this weekend not a bor.

She is my best friend and number one sister
and boy do I miss her.
The sweetest gal I know
In Costa Rica we thought of getting a tatoo on our big toe.

Megan had an infection in her ear
So this weekend we didn't drink much beer.
One on one time with MC
We should have charged a fee.

Did I think getting a haircut here
I would be in the clear?
In Spain, girls have mullets too
I didn't want one, but the hairdresser had not a clue.

Kiterooski...you really are the best EVER!
In our backyard Dad set up tether.
Can't wait to see you and the the greatest fam of all time
Over Christmas break we will be together...100% better than fine!

“We didn’t come to learn about Oceanography, we came to learn how to love.”

I am back. Back again. I am back. Without Beth, my friend. Betha will not be in full force throughout this blog excerpt. We were split up for the first time all semester. Shocking, I know. Our Oceanography class is too grande to take everyone on the class trip together, so Megan and I went to the Baleric Islands without Jess and Beth, who will be going next weekend.

Megan and I met the rest of the class at the airport on Thursday morning. After the hour long flight, we took a bus to our hotel. The lobby’s glass walls overlooked massive cliffs and the royal blue Mediterranean Sea. After settling into our room, we met most of our classmates on the pool deck, which again, was completely gorg. Here, we got to know everyone whom we didn’t recognize from class (we sit in the front row). Raul took us to the cliff, located beside the pool, where several of our classmates started jumping off. The forty foot fall was enough to personally pass up. After feasting on the hostel’s delic dinner buffet, we got ready for a night on the town and invited everyone into our room for a United Nations pregamming party. We walked down our street toward a local bar and ran into, none other then our charmingly guapo Spanish prof. Every girl blushing, we wondered, who would be bold enough to take a picture with him? You shall ponder no longer…it was yours truly and few other chicas. Check out the pictures to see exactly WHY we sit in the front row. At the bar, we took over the microphone from a local fav, Margo.

The following morning we took the bus to Michael Douglas’ property. Here, we watched a short video on Michael Douglas (who has done a lot of work in preserving the island from tourism), and a show about the Archduke of the island. After getting café con leche with our new best friends, we walked around the small town of Valdemosa. Next, we took the bus to go scuba diving. Yes, we got licensed and all… the U.S. is far too uptight on liability issues…or maybe Europe is extremely lax. Regardless, we watched a 10 minute film on what not to do while submerged under 10 meters of water, and headed out to the boat, wetsuit, gogs, and flipper in hand. Each group of four had their own Mallorcan instructor who did not hesitate to continuously crack inappropriate yet hilarious jokes on all of us. Once we reached our scuba destination and mustered up the courage, strapped on our air tank then fell backwards into the crystal blue water. We swam with Diego (hand in hand) to the shallow end for a little practice. Our group had quite a few problems with getting used to the sport (imagine that) but Diego was very patient. Once our breathing was under control we linked hands and swam around the ocean blue. After being spotted by our classmates, we let go of one another’s hands (besides Megan with her death grip to Diego) and floated around the mysterious habitat. Diego showed us how to play with squid and octopi (who thankfully refrained from inking us). After 32 minutes under water, we found our way back to the boat and descubbad. We went to the beach for a little then feasted on the unlimited supply of ice cream (Collins girl at her finest slash fatass) which made for a rejuvenating meal. After showering (room flooded) we again had people over for drinks, then out we went for a more low key night in Palma De Mallorca.

On Saturday we woke up early and took the bus to the north cost of Mallorca where we boarded a boat to begin our voyage to a smaller Balearic Island called Cabrera. We took a hike up a hill toward an old Spanish castle which was originally used to look out for Pirates. Raul (what a smarty) told us that during the Spanish/ French war, Spain put 12,000 French prisoners on the island and forgot about them. After two years (I think), there were only 2,000 prisoners left because of disease, starvation and cannibalism. Major EFF. We explored the island then snorkeled for a while. Finally, we ate lunch on the boat and headed back to Mallorca. I PROMISE, I’M ALMOST DONE! After a short siesta, we got ready for our last night in Mallorca. Another pre-party in 725 (did I mention, the elevators were SO fast in the hotel) we went to one of the most famous clubs on the island called BCM. We cut many a rug on the dance floor and had an unforgettable time.

On Sunday, our scuba instructors took us kayaking, so we decided to leave behind the only two jerks in the class (muhaha). Megan and I jumped into a double kayak and played around with our friends who were jumping off cliffs, the top of the boat, and swimming in caves. The rest of the day was spent hanging around the hotel before our flight home.

All in all, I honestly can’t say if I have ever had a better weekend. I am completely J of Beth and Jess and might hide in their suitcase when they leave on Thursday. Double dog dare me…

Curious... by Britney Spears

You might want to sit down for this one… For the first time in ages, Betha was forced to separate this weekend. It was a devastating 4 days in both of our lives, but somehow we got through it. So, we are going to have to blog solo…. Twice the excitement for you guys to read!

Without our partners in crime in Mallorca for the weekend, Jess and I decided to take a trip to the south of Spain to see Sevilla and Granada. We woke up EARLY Friday morning to catch a 6 hour bus to Sevilla. Our hostel turned out to be the Ritz Carlton of hostels, complete with rooftop terrace and a pool. Even more luxurious, Jess and I had our own room with a balcony: the honeymoon suite for our romantic weekend together. We freshened up and then headed out to do some sightseeing. First we visited Seville’s Cathedral (the third largest in the world, according to Rick Steve’s). Apparently Christopher Columbus is buried there… probs not really him though. Next we walked to the Alcazar… check out the pictures, it must have been a tough life living there. After an afternoon of sightseeing, we headed back to get ready for a flamenco show. Sevilla is known as the home of Spanish flamenco, and the show was awesome from our front row seats. Back at the hostel, we hung out on the terrace and made some Swedish friends before heading out for a night on the town. First, we hung out in a plaza full of bars with people packed in the streets. After making some Spanish friends, we joined them at a bar/club, but the 40-something crowd clad in business suits wasn’t really our scene, so we made our way to another bar before heading in for the night.

The next morning we caught another early bus to Granada, but wishing we had more time in Sevilla. Our hostel was another palace… if you ever need to find a decent hostel anywhere, Jess Westlake is your girl. We found our way through the skinny streets, filled with shops with plenty of Moroccan influence, and headed up to La Alhambra. After a serious hike up the mountain, we arrived, out of breath, to check out another gorgeous palace. Jess and I plan on modeling our first homes after La Alhambra or the Alcazar. Check out the pictures, but they don’t do it justice!

Back at the hostel, we continued living the life with a 4 course feast cooked by some of our hostel friends. We also found out the hostel bar was hosting a "Transvestite Night" pregame that night. Fat and happy from our first meal of the weekend outside of PBJs on white bread, we showered, got ready, and watched the Rugby World Cup championship with our new Australian friends. It turns out, they had stayed at the same hostel as us the night before in Sevilla. Small world... literally! They had recognized us from Jess' vintage clothing the day before. Anyway, after the game, we enjoyed a hilarious and rowdy pregame with guys dressed as girls and girls dressed as ridiculous girls. Fortunately or unfortunately, Jess and I didn't dress in costume, but we still had a ball, then went out to spend the rest of the night at the club with our new friends.

Sunday morning, we woke up to check out of our hostel and enjoy some leftovers from the night before. Risotto for breakfast is the new cure for the hangover... who knew? We spent Sunday with our Australian pals on a self-guided tour of Granada, which led us on another steep hike to a breathtaking view of the city. We took a few paparazzi snapshots of the gypsies that live in the mountains... their houses may lack 4 solid walls but they sure don't lack creativity. Unfortunately, it was time to go, but it was tough to end such an awesome weekend. After another hideously long bus ride, we had a tearful reunion with Meg and Bec back at MC's and stayed up exchanging stories of our weekends. According to Megan and Becca, Jess and I have an incredible trip ahead of us this weekend in Mallorca... can't wait!

www.picasaweb.google.com/bethj917

"I cannot believe its today, laddie"

TOP O' THE DAY TO YA! Last weekend, we ventured to our ancestors old stomping grounds...Ireland! Suzy Herlihy (fellow laxer breh) is studying abroad in Galway. She took us under her wing and proved to be quite the hostess with the mostest. We skipped classes (got our priorities in check) and boarded a plane to Shannon Thursday mornin'. (Debbie O'Jenkins, the remainder of this blog is to be read with your killer Irish brogue.) After landing, we found our way to the bus station to hop on the earliest bus to Galway. Suzy greeted us with rosy cheeks, no warts. She was very kind, and sort of witty...very sweet and VERY pretty. We dropped our luggage off in her abode before taking a tour of the quaint city. We stopped for some Irish fish&chips (BYOB Blumbers-- Irish cider.) That evening, Suzy took us to a popular Irish pub where we Jigged the night away... (hardshoes and all) to a live Irish cover band...it's true, the Irish sweat U2. We met some of Megan's friends from Nova (eef) who are also studying in Galway. We were pleased to find that it was okay to eat dinner by 7, go out by 9, and return before sunrise.

We woke up early the next morning to catch a ferry to the Aran Islands. Suzy had class so the four of us (still not sick of eachother yet) got ready for an adventure to see some of Ireland's most famous sights. After rented bikes, we took off like the cast of "Now and Then." Looking fashonable in our rain gear (check out the posted pictures) we rode through the incredible rocky and green countryside. The inhabitants of the Aran Islands still speak traditional Gaelic. No maps in hand and a strong sense of direction (Becca led the way...probs not though), we found our way to Dun Aonghasa, an ancient Celtic fort built by Celtic tribesmen circa 2000BC. The ruin was at the peak of a huge cliff where Becca showed us some of her dive team expertise. Kidding, but we did hang off the edge and wished MC was there so we could throw her over. Our picnic was enjoyed thoroughly. We did a little gift shopping, then hopped on the ferry. Sweet talking to a ferry driver leprechaun resulted in free access to the pot of gold...Lion Candy Bars.

When arrived home, Suzy had a gourmet dinner waiting. Thanks, babygurllll! Afterward, we headed out for another night on the town where we met some more of Suzy and Megan's friends, some Aussies, and Brits. We are totes becoming some international socialites. Again, we danced the night away at some pubs and clubs. Our roomate found her future hubby (he's from BOSTON and in DENTAL school!) and couldn't resist another dance floor makeout. (She will remain anonymous but we can tell you one thing...it was neither of us, nor Megan...and MC wasn't with us.)

Saturday morning we got a taste of Irish flavor at Galway's Farmer's Market. The rest of the day was spent walking around the adorable city, shopping and taking in the sites. Suzy showed us her campus (it was no SLU). That night we went to another pub with a really fun live band to enjoy a few pints. We met some lads who were celebrating a stag party aka bachelor party. They had already lost the bachelor but didn't hesitate to extend the wedding invite to us. Our Irish dancing skills were not quite stellar in comparison to the moves those Irish blokes taught us. Again, we had a ball!

Sunday morning we woke up and got bagels only to meet our Irish friends from the night before. We wallowed in our recovery together and left them with a friendly "Cheers!" We went to church in the Galway Cathedral. The first Mass that we could actually understand! We traveled through the night into Monday morning and arrived home just in time to take our Oceanography midterm...hopefully Raul will be generous when grading. We are making plans for Jess' Birthday weekend so you know the blog will be good.