MY 21st BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

And what an amazing (and blurry) night it was!! Let us begin the post of all posts.

So we walked to a tapas restaurant that Katie and Melissa love called Ciento Mil Montaditos (100,000 Mini Sandwiches) that had a huge list of small sandwiches of all types, 1euro a piece. There are these pieces of paper (kind of like at Za´s in A2 or Cosi in HP) and you check off which sandwiches you want, what you want on the side, what to drink, and your name. You typically order multiple sandwiches; I got a grilled chicken and onion, a lox and caviar (can you believe that it´s 1 euro??), a smoked tuna and red pepper, shrimp with ali oli (garlic mayo), and jamón ibérico (Iberian ham, a Spanish delicacy) with chopped tomato. On the side I ordered marinated olives. It was all so unbelievably delicious--the perfect birthday meal, especially before all of the drinking that was about to occur. I planned on not drinking until midnight, but Alyssa and I were pressured into buying jugs of beer. That´s what happens when you turn 21 in Spain, you drink beforehand so that you´re drunk before midnight hits. Haha. I don´t typically drink beer when I´m sober, so it was kind of a struggle. I drank really slowly, so slowly that by the time everyone was finished I was only a quarter of the way finished. So, I got pressured (welcomed, pressure, mind you) into chugging the rest. Oh man, it was rough. Afterwords I was so bloated and full. Ugh, beer. I was a bit tipsy already. I forgot to say: before getting home from class that day I decided that in order to make it through the night I needed something bready to take with me. So in my purse I had 2 croissantes integrales (wheat croissants) from OpenCor. OK, I digress, but those will make an appearance later. We finished eating around 10:30 and Stacey and co. led Alyssa and me to our next mystery destination. It took us about 15 minutes until we got into los Remedios. I knew where we were going. We got to Madigan´s around 11. I was so excited! Madigan´s is so far one of my favorite bars in Sevilla. We all walked in and got car bombs all around. By then my beer fullness had settled and I was ready to really get the night started. Haha, we were barhopping already and it wasn´t even midnight yet. We had those lovely car bombs, hung out for a bit until Stacey looked at her watch and said that it was time for the next destination. Exciting! Already feeling a teensy bit drunk we walked deeper into los Remedios. Then it hit me: we were going to Cadillac!!!!!!! What a great surprise! We went to my favoritest bar in Sevilla!!!! Right away we ordered chupitos all around...tequila. Done. Then we ordered another right away. Done. Soon about half of our program turned up! I found out that Stacey had invited EVERYONE to celebrate Alyssa´s and my 21st at Cadillac!! It was so incredibly awesome of her, and it was so fun...I mean, a birthday party at Cadillac! Does it GET any better?? Then the drinks started flowing like water. Then midnight hit!!! Alyssa and I were good and drunk already, but it was still exciting!!! It felt like New Years, haha. We had turned 21!!!!!!! So exciting!!!!!! The liquor continued to flow like water, I don´t even think I kept track of what I was drinking, I just kept drinking. People kept ordering shots for everyone (by the way, the tab, in the end, was only 30euro for everyone! Gotta love Diego and Cadillac). At Cadillac I must have had 3-4 tequila shots, 3 "Diego Specials", and 2 vodka tonics. But again, who knows. The evening gets kind of blurry after that, although I never got sick nor passed out. Since I never felt woozy I didn´t think that I was drunk. Reflecting on the night, I realize now that I was pretty drunk because my memory is pretty fuzzy. I look at my pictures and see that I took about 5 pictures of the same things...I just kept forgetting that I had taken pictures of people and kept on taking them. Somehow Alyssa and I ended up behind the bar with Diego. I don´t know how nor why. I just have the photos. Around 3:30ish we all decided to then get more drinks barhopping on Calle Betis. At that point many were burnt out (appropriately) but Alyssa (of course), Stacey, Melissa, Courtney, Alexi, Vicki and I just kept on going. We stopped in Big Ben which had stopped serving alcohol (it was a Wednesday, mind you). Then we went to another, I don´t really know which, which was completely empty except for the bartender and this huge bull statue. Somehow Alyssa and I ended up on the bull taking multiple jager shots. Again, I don´t know how or why and have a very vague recollection of all this. Like I´ve said, I only have the photos. After being a couple of drunken idiots there we decided to go to TexMex for munchies. I wasn´t hungry, I just planned on drinking more there. Alyssa decided to head home. I found out that she got sick, but was OK. Haha, way to be on your 21st, I must say. She also had early class the next day, hehe. Walking out of the bar I ate my croissant and shared the other with the others. Gotta love the croissants. Then we walked all the way to TexMex to find out that they closed at 4 (it was 4:30). Damn, I really could´ve drunk more. Damned Wednesdays, haha. So we all headed home. When I got back at 5 I decided to stay up until 6am, which is midnight in Ann Arbor and therefore my 21st bday over there, haha! So I went online and had many a drunken chat. That´s when I realized how drunk I was. I really didn´t think that I was that drunk that night until I tried typing. It just wasn´t happening! That´s always a sure sign. Like I´ve said, reflecting on the night I realize how drunk I was, I guess that I expected to be pass-out drunk or something. I was just extremely silly drunk, which is the best kind, I must say. Supposedly I also called Amanda, Nicole, and Joe who were "celebrating my birthday" back in Ann Arbor. I vaguely remember this. Rumor has it I was pretty beligerant and silly on the phone. Honestly I´m not surprised. Finally around 6:30am I called it a night. I had an amazing night welcoming in the big 21. OMG, I´M 21!! Sometimes it´s strange to think about it. It´s an age that I never thought that I would reach. And I have. Holy crap! I went to sleep content knowing that it was my birthday in Spain, Ann Arbor, and Chicago in a half and hour. So good to be the birthday girl! And I was especially grateful for Stacey and her organizing of an amazing birthday night. She is so amazing, I am so lucky to have her here. Gotta love my roomie luck. Anyhoo, YAYYYY 21!!!