Arriving at JFK, it felt like I had never left. It seemed as though it was all just a dream. How did it go by so fast? Did I really live in Europe for three months and travel everywhere? Definitely doesn't seem like it! My dad came and got me from the airport. In the drive home I realized that spring definitely comes to Europe earlier because all the trees are still bare here.
New Canaan seemed like a ghost town. There was barely any traffic in town and the drive to Costco was unusually bearable. The older I get, the more distant I feel from New Canaan. It's so sad to me! Especially with our house packed up, life has become more about the transitions rather than anything else. Especially at this age in my life, with decisions about jobs etc, I can't imagine where I will end up. So much has changed already for me in just one year, I am excited to see where I will find myself in another year's time.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
LONDRES!
I was thrilled to finally get the chance to visit my family in England. The last time I had seen most of them had been at least three years ago. My aunt and I had been in considerably good touch since I had expressed to her at the beginning of my study abroad that I would be interested in visiting London after my program. With her help I was able to work out all of the details with flights. She was truly a superstar. I arrived in England Tuesday and was picked up by Aunt Paula in the late hours of the night. I felt right at home as soon as I settled into bed that night. We woke up early the next morning and enjoyed a big bowl of fresh fruit and honey and headed over so I could say hello to Nan and Grandad. It was wonderful to see them as it had been so long! We chatted for a bit and then Paula and I headed to London for the afternoon. I had shown interest in getting tickets to see Wicked while in England and my aunt didn’t hesitate to get them (I was absolutely spoiled rotten on this trip -a wonderfully successful ploy to have me visiting again shortly). Right before the show we walked over to Buck House. The Queen was in residence because of the British flag raised high. All of London is anticipating the wedding within the next few weeks because of all the souvenirs designed with the faces of William and Katherine on them – it was actually a bit amusing: there were flags, mugs, bags, shirts all imprinted with their faces. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the show – many of my friends said it was their favorite but because I was older now, I thought it might be a little different. I have never really been a play-finatic. Well, it turns out the show almost had me in tears at the end. The story line was so interesting and it was fun knowing the songs beforehand and watching them play into the plot. Unfortunately my aunt wasn’t as moved but my over-enjoyment made up for it. We walked to a close by pub for my first British fishnchips in a long time. It never disappoints really. Our way back we stopped by my cousin Angela’s house to say hello. I have always loved seeing Angela because she is always happy and talking about new things going on. We started looking at Olympic tickets together for next summer. Her son, Reece, is Chloe’s age but we have stayed in decent contact thanks to the networking of Facebook. I brought my things over to Nan and Grandad’s to stay there for the rest of my visit.
Thursday Paula, Reece and I went into London for a London Walk that took us around different places by the Monument. Carly was able to meet up with us which was amazing to see her. There were tons of places and buildings we all learned interesting and random things about. But the main facts were: almost everything burnt down in 1666 because of the London fire and was rebuilt by a man named Christopher Wrenn. We learned that on this one building the builders sculpted two rats eating a piece of cheese because they were the culprits of their missing lunches. On the top of St. Lawrence’s cathedral, the wind dial is shaped like a grill so that you would remember he was grilled to death. We walked through the Royal Exchange and saw the modern buildings of London in the financial sector of the city. After the tour ended, we walked over to St. Paul’s cathedral and over the millennium bridge to walk along the embankment towards the London eye. Luckily for me, we got tickets to go on the London eye which was so much more memorable the second time around. It even came with a “4D experience” (there’s 3D glasses as well as wind, rain, bubbles and all of the above). By that time we were already getting quite tired but we trekked onward to see Big Ben, the Parliament houses and Westminister Abbey. We spent some time walking through some of the courtyard and gardens by Westminister Abbey which was beautiful and almost like a safehaven from the rest of busy London – you almost couldn’t hear a thing while inside them. You wouldn’t be able to guess where you were if it weren’t for the British accents of Big Ben hovering above you. We quickly hopped onto the subway to get to Tower Hill (London Bridge and Tower of London). We were famished and exhausted at this point thanks to my amazing aunt and cousin who made wonderful tour guides. We sat down at St. Katherine’s Docks for a delicious Italian meal which was comparable to what I ate when I was there only a few days prior. I said a sad goodbye to Carly as it would be the last time I saw her abroad and would be seeing her back in Provo.
Friday was definitely more low-key and my aunt took me around to help me find a pair of original and authentic pair of British Hunter Wellys. At the second store we went to, I found a wonderful pair of purple Barbour which were even more authentic and British than Hunters which have become too “American” nowadays. Aunt Paula nicknamed them the “grape-crushers” because of the deep color which was very fitting. We met Nan and Grandad at a pub located along Leeds River with picturesque scenery of the type of landscape in England. Lucky for me, we had beautiful, warm weather the entire time I was there. Aunt Paula and I went on a nice long walk by her house that went through the woods, around a lake and along Leeds River. There was nothing more peaceful and relaxing. The area was untouched and completely nature – there was even a pasture with wild horses which is something you could hardly encounter back in the States. I soaked up every minute as my aunt and I chatted about various things ranging from my social life to my plans to work abroad eventually (hopefully in London). Later that night, I got to see Lynn and my cousins Becky and Charlotte. I hadn’t seen them all in a long while and only stayed connected through various status updates on Facebook. It was through Facebook that I saw Lynn’s experience with a fish pedicure – something I had never heard of. So that’s what our plan was – to get fish pedicures and go out for my favorite… Indian. The fish pedicure was nothing I expected. I had a decent forewarning because Lynn refused to do it again. Anyway, you essentially stick your feet in this tub of warm water filled with these little fish that literally nibble at your feet for 20 minutes (or however long you pay for). At first, I was shrieking because it was such a bizarre feeling! But once I closed my eyes it felt like bubbles. As soon as I let myself think back to the fish eating at my feet, it would just make me laugh. If you got your mind off of it, it actually felt really nice. And in the end, your feet were so much softer. Quite the experience. And of course Indian was delicious as always.
Saturday I ate delicious fishnchips once again with Nan and Grandad. Later on, my cousin Becky and her boyfriend Kieran came and picked me up from Nan and Grandad’s in the afternoon to take me to a mall called Lakeside. We were there for several hours and she was incredibly patient with me showing me around all the European stores. I definitely tired us all out. In the evening, Aunt Paula and I drove up to Harlow to see Limitless which surprised both of us with the original plot.
Sunday was my last full day with everyone. Grandad, Nan and I spent the morning sitting in the sun for a bit before we headed to Toby’s Carvery for their usual early dinner. I really enjoyed being around them and spending quality time. My favorite though was when I started asking them about how they had first met and their dating life before they had gotten married. It really made me happy to hear their stories of when they were my age. Their eyes would light up as they went back and forth sharing the details as they gradually remembered bits and pieces. Apparently my granddad had to do quite a bit of work to get my nan’s attention – which still goes on today. He would truly do anything for her, to make her happy and to keep her content. He treats all the ladies in the family like royalty. What we did to deserve such a privilege I do not know but definitely made him the amazing grandfather I know him to be. They saw my interest in their past lives and drove me around Chingford to show me where their old houses used to be, where the dance was where they first met and where Nan used to walk Paula until she was about three. It was a fabulous afternoon spent with my grandparents where I was able to get to know better who they used to be. When we got back to the house, we set up camp in their yard with chairs, a table, umbrella and wind barrier and all sat out soaking up the sun and gradually dozed off for about an hour. As we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, Nan brought out a box collected full of photos my dad had sent her of Chloe and I while we were little as well as pictures of my dad when he was tiny and things like his report cards (quote from his French teacher: “The subject is beyond him.”) The day couldn’t have gotten better. Paula came over later on as well as Angela and Reece and everyone. We all chatted for a while and said our sad goodbyes. I was so sad to leave because it had gone by so fast. I really felt at home with all of my relatives. They know me so well even though I hadn’t seen them in ages. It amazed me of the family connection that is so strong.
My sweet Grandad woke up in the early morning hours (4am) to take me to the airport this morning. I was so appreciative. My grandparents went out of their way countless times to make my visit as comfortable as possible. I felt like royalty. I miss them already!
Thursday Paula, Reece and I went into London for a London Walk that took us around different places by the Monument. Carly was able to meet up with us which was amazing to see her. There were tons of places and buildings we all learned interesting and random things about. But the main facts were: almost everything burnt down in 1666 because of the London fire and was rebuilt by a man named Christopher Wrenn. We learned that on this one building the builders sculpted two rats eating a piece of cheese because they were the culprits of their missing lunches. On the top of St. Lawrence’s cathedral, the wind dial is shaped like a grill so that you would remember he was grilled to death. We walked through the Royal Exchange and saw the modern buildings of London in the financial sector of the city. After the tour ended, we walked over to St. Paul’s cathedral and over the millennium bridge to walk along the embankment towards the London eye. Luckily for me, we got tickets to go on the London eye which was so much more memorable the second time around. It even came with a “4D experience” (there’s 3D glasses as well as wind, rain, bubbles and all of the above). By that time we were already getting quite tired but we trekked onward to see Big Ben, the Parliament houses and Westminister Abbey. We spent some time walking through some of the courtyard and gardens by Westminister Abbey which was beautiful and almost like a safehaven from the rest of busy London – you almost couldn’t hear a thing while inside them. You wouldn’t be able to guess where you were if it weren’t for the British accents of Big Ben hovering above you. We quickly hopped onto the subway to get to Tower Hill (London Bridge and Tower of London). We were famished and exhausted at this point thanks to my amazing aunt and cousin who made wonderful tour guides. We sat down at St. Katherine’s Docks for a delicious Italian meal which was comparable to what I ate when I was there only a few days prior. I said a sad goodbye to Carly as it would be the last time I saw her abroad and would be seeing her back in Provo.
Friday was definitely more low-key and my aunt took me around to help me find a pair of original and authentic pair of British Hunter Wellys. At the second store we went to, I found a wonderful pair of purple Barbour which were even more authentic and British than Hunters which have become too “American” nowadays. Aunt Paula nicknamed them the “grape-crushers” because of the deep color which was very fitting. We met Nan and Grandad at a pub located along Leeds River with picturesque scenery of the type of landscape in England. Lucky for me, we had beautiful, warm weather the entire time I was there. Aunt Paula and I went on a nice long walk by her house that went through the woods, around a lake and along Leeds River. There was nothing more peaceful and relaxing. The area was untouched and completely nature – there was even a pasture with wild horses which is something you could hardly encounter back in the States. I soaked up every minute as my aunt and I chatted about various things ranging from my social life to my plans to work abroad eventually (hopefully in London). Later that night, I got to see Lynn and my cousins Becky and Charlotte. I hadn’t seen them all in a long while and only stayed connected through various status updates on Facebook. It was through Facebook that I saw Lynn’s experience with a fish pedicure – something I had never heard of. So that’s what our plan was – to get fish pedicures and go out for my favorite… Indian. The fish pedicure was nothing I expected. I had a decent forewarning because Lynn refused to do it again. Anyway, you essentially stick your feet in this tub of warm water filled with these little fish that literally nibble at your feet for 20 minutes (or however long you pay for). At first, I was shrieking because it was such a bizarre feeling! But once I closed my eyes it felt like bubbles. As soon as I let myself think back to the fish eating at my feet, it would just make me laugh. If you got your mind off of it, it actually felt really nice. And in the end, your feet were so much softer. Quite the experience. And of course Indian was delicious as always.
Saturday I ate delicious fishnchips once again with Nan and Grandad. Later on, my cousin Becky and her boyfriend Kieran came and picked me up from Nan and Grandad’s in the afternoon to take me to a mall called Lakeside. We were there for several hours and she was incredibly patient with me showing me around all the European stores. I definitely tired us all out. In the evening, Aunt Paula and I drove up to Harlow to see Limitless which surprised both of us with the original plot.
Sunday was my last full day with everyone. Grandad, Nan and I spent the morning sitting in the sun for a bit before we headed to Toby’s Carvery for their usual early dinner. I really enjoyed being around them and spending quality time. My favorite though was when I started asking them about how they had first met and their dating life before they had gotten married. It really made me happy to hear their stories of when they were my age. Their eyes would light up as they went back and forth sharing the details as they gradually remembered bits and pieces. Apparently my granddad had to do quite a bit of work to get my nan’s attention – which still goes on today. He would truly do anything for her, to make her happy and to keep her content. He treats all the ladies in the family like royalty. What we did to deserve such a privilege I do not know but definitely made him the amazing grandfather I know him to be. They saw my interest in their past lives and drove me around Chingford to show me where their old houses used to be, where the dance was where they first met and where Nan used to walk Paula until she was about three. It was a fabulous afternoon spent with my grandparents where I was able to get to know better who they used to be. When we got back to the house, we set up camp in their yard with chairs, a table, umbrella and wind barrier and all sat out soaking up the sun and gradually dozed off for about an hour. As we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, Nan brought out a box collected full of photos my dad had sent her of Chloe and I while we were little as well as pictures of my dad when he was tiny and things like his report cards (quote from his French teacher: “The subject is beyond him.”) The day couldn’t have gotten better. Paula came over later on as well as Angela and Reece and everyone. We all chatted for a while and said our sad goodbyes. I was so sad to leave because it had gone by so fast. I really felt at home with all of my relatives. They know me so well even though I hadn’t seen them in ages. It amazed me of the family connection that is so strong.
My sweet Grandad woke up in the early morning hours (4am) to take me to the airport this morning. I was so appreciative. My grandparents went out of their way countless times to make my visit as comfortable as possible. I felt like royalty. I miss them already!
VENEZIA!
The following morning we were up early again packing up the apartment. We caught two separate cabs to Termini with all our luggage (made for a bit of a confusing situation at first). After waiting quite a bit and trying to figure out the logistics, we finally boarded our train to Venice. We were all so excited for this second portion of our travels. Although we weren’t sitting together at first, it was a fun way to travel to Venice and definitely less hassle than flying. Our tickets were only booked to the stop right before Venice so we had to take a local bus to Piazza Roma where everyone catches the waterbus to ake you throughout Venice on the Gran Canal.Once we got ourselves on the waterbus we were jittery with excitement. The weather was perfect again and it was around 6. I remember not being able to say anything because I couldn’t actually believe that I was in Venice. Our htoel was an adorable bed and breakfast right along a small canal. It wasn’t luxurious but perfect for our stay. We went and got dinner in a random square close by and had a low-key evening. I was excited because Venice wouldn’t be a fast-ace sitght-seeing type of trip. It was all about wandering, getting lost, finding small hidden treasures and then finding your way again. Unfortunately, there are tons and tons of shops in Venice – especially jewelry which is incredibly unique. They certainly know how to attract tourists’ attention. The main thing that we had to do while in Venice was get to St. Mark’s square and go on a gondola ride. Both of which were accomplished. St. Mark’s cathedral was really enjoyable for me because it hadn’t been restored. SO it was in the same condition it had been however may years ago. It was dark and dusty probably from all the candles and smoke and ash collected over the years. The entire ceiling was gold mosaic making for an indescribable design. On our walk back we got our gondola ride with a cute and charming Italian. He let a couple of the girls stand with him on the top and help row. I felt like I was in a dream the entire time in Venice. It was a very romantic city. That night we all got dressed up to go out to dinner. We sat outside by the Grand Canal under an umbrella and it began to storm viciously. At first we were a bit bummed but then realized how cool it was to watch the thunderstorm. We sat and enjoyed our last dinner as a group waiting for the storm to pass. The following day we walked around for a bit, through the streets and went to the market furtheer up the Gran Canal. We sadly said our goodbye as the other four had an earlier flight and were headed to Paris for the third leg of their trip. I had several hours to myself to enjoy Venice before I said goodbye to the most beautiful city I have ever been to. I walked to the main port area we found the day before and sat on a set of steps by the water reading my book for two straight hours. Nothing could have been better, the weather was perfect and I had time to myself to do anything I wanted. I left with a solid amount of time to get myself to the airport because the last thing I wanted was to be stressed getting to the airport in a foreign country on my own. As I sat on the waterbus and then the bus to the airport, I was so sad that the end of my travels were nearing. I have truly had the time of my life and absolutely nothing has compared to traveling throughout Europe independently. I know I will always look back appreciating the memories I’ve made.
ROMA!
When my last day in Spain actually arrived, I was actually quite sad. It was beautiful weather outside which made it even more difficult to say goodbye. I had all my bags packed and the room felt entirely too empty with Carly and my things all put away. Nieves didn’t know that I was leaving that morning (language barrier wins until the very end), so she was caught off guard when I was saying goodbye with all my suitcases in hand. The goodbye with Nieves wasn’t as sad as I imagined because most of the time I felt as though I was a bit of a burden to her. I never knew if she actually wanted Carly and I there or if she was doing it for the money to be honest. Either way she was an incredible host mom who was very patient with me. She let us into her home with open arms and helped us whenever she could. I wasn’t too sad to leave the cooking either. I liked it for the amount of time I was there but definitely was excited to be heading to Italy. The last day I had a final in my art history class that was nerve-racking for me with the stress of having to get to the airport on my own with my heavy bag (little did I know how heavy it actually was.) There was a small “graduation” ceremony which they gave us certificates with our Spanish grades on them. I left a bit early because I was getting too nervous about traveling to the airport. I quickly hopped on my last bus ride in Alcala and got the train then the subway. As I got to the check-in counter I saw the other four girls I would be traveling in Italy with: Jenny Lexi, Jordan and Kylie. I gave Jenny and Lxi big hugs having not seen them in a day or two and they introduced me to their friends from back home who had come out to travel the last few days Jenny and Lexi were in Europe. I weighed my bag and was instantly laughed at and stared at because it weighed 35 kilos (limit is 20 kilos and the conversion would make it roughly 70 pounds). I had to unpack my bag (along with the other girls) and distribute it into a shoulder bag I had handy. I threw out a couple of old work-out shirts, my running sneakers, my old bag that was about to break anyway to lessen the burden a bit more. Here I was thinking I was a good traveler.
We arrived at a small airport in Rome and caught a taxi for the five of us to take us to the apartment we had rented out for the three nights we were there. With the excuse of our excessive luggage, the cab driver ripped us off a bit. Then we had some difficulty getting a hold of the owner of the apartment. Without cell phones or access to internet it presented a bit of a problem. Jenny and I finally stopped a random girl about our age of the street and asked to use her cell phone and she kindly let us make the phone call. The wait and struggle was worth it because the apartment was perfect. There was a small living area with a pull-out couch where I slept, with a kitchen. The queen bedroom was cornered off of the main area with little dividers making it very open. Then there was a bathroom and a separate room with bunk beds. We really enjoyed our stay there and it turned out to be cheaper than staying in a hotel anyway.
Our first day we rose bright and early and headed to Termini station to get our Roma passes that we paid 25 euros for and would give us free transportation, entrance to two sites and then discount prices for any other sites in Rome we would see. After our two days there, we didn’t quite get our full value out of it. If we had been there for longer it would have saved us tons but we didn’t have enough time to get to all the museums and things where we could have saved. Anyway, we soon discovered that the buses and metro systems were all on strike. It wasn’t much of a problem the first day because all the major sites are walking distance. We followed a small family to the Colosseum. It was incredible finally seeing all these things in person. The structures themselves are absolutely massive and the designs of the architecture are always fascinating. The inside of the Collesseum was much different than I imagined. I had to keep in mind that they were ruins and of course you would be left to imagine what it must have looked like back when it was created. We headed over to Palentine Hill afterwards which gave you a view of where the Circus Maximus would have been. It was fun seeing all these places that I had previously studied in middle school. To be honest, I wish I had gone to Rome soon after I had studied it all so I could remember all the details I learned, but I was still able to recall things here and there. After Palentine Hill we walked throughout the forum. This was probably my favorite because I could just picture memorizing the different parts of the forum for Magistra Berry’s class. Funny enough, we ran into Abby (a girl from our program) who was walking through the forum with her mom. Such a strange coincidence! Anyway, you definitely had to let your imagination go to picture what it had looked like. It was quite a different type of site-seeing that we had to adjust to. We had been used to seeing cathedrals and palaces and landscapes in full. We walked over to the Trevi fountain which was a hidden treasure for us. Ii didn’t really know much about it or knew what it looked like to be honest. We all threw in American pennies as we made our wishes. By that point we all needed to sit down and get food. We ate at a small casual restaurant and got paninis as well as paid for Cokes that turned out to be 3.5 euros. Next on the agenda was to get a gelato and sit on the Spanish steps. I was the first to order mine and I asked for rhis cone that was on display that had the top dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. She scooped my Panna Cotta gelato (favorite flavor) and turned around and started putting all these things on top of it like whip cream, small cones, chocolate etc. When she handed it to me it was massive and we were all wide-eyed in awe. Little did I know when I was ready to pay for it that the gelato was a small fortune. I had to pay 9.50 for it! I could have argued but decided it wasn’t worth it. Everyone else learned from my mistake though. We basked in the sun on the Spanish steps for a while and we each fell asleep for a little bit. We were lucky enough to have incredible weather while visiting Rome for the weekend. The other thing we noticed were the countless vendors selling the strangest things. Some will walk around with roses and will innocently present them to you seeming like a random gesture of kindness but then will ask for money for them once they’ve placed them in your hands. We watched this happen to a girl when finally he took them back. It makes me wonder if anyone actually buys them and why the persist on bothering tourists. We then trekked our way to the Pantheon. Once again we had another strange run-in with another girl from our program, Camille with her mom. It was the most bizarre occurrence. They had closed the Pantheon for an hour because of a service so we sat on the steps outside for a bit. We sat down next to these two older ladies who we began talking to. Soon we found out that they were both BYU alumni! One of them had been on the very same program we had just finished. They were telling us how they’ve been back to Europe countless times because they have just fallen in love with everything it has to offer. Inside the Pantheon was intriguing. We walked around for a bit and then headed to Plaza Navona which has fountains designed and constructed by Bernini. As we walked around there, the different restaurant has spokes-people lingering outside stopping every passerby to persuade them to stay and enjoy their fresh pasta. They used things like free champagne, no service fee, no cover charge, free bread to get you to stay. The girls decided to go to this one place, Dulce Vita (perfectly named), because the owner was attractive – good enough reasoning. As we enjoyed our delicious pasta, I realized that I had left my Cochni sweater somewhere. Jenny was nice enough to come with me to retrace my steps a bit but to no avail. That night we were all exhausted and passed out cold as soon as we sat down in the apartment.
Our second day in Rome we planned to go to the Vatican and spend most of the day there visiting St. Peter’s basilica, Sistine chapel etc. Luckily for us the strike was over so we were able to hop on a bus at Termini. We got there a little before 9 and there was already a line. Once we set foot inside the square we all stood in place taking in the incredible structure. It was a beautiful day along with the amazing buildings mad for an astounding scene. The inside of St. Peter’s was absolutely massive (obviously the biggest we have seen) and had the most brilliant details in the ceiling designs. Everything was outlined in gold. There was a small service going on while we were there. We decided to climb to the top which was my most favorite part. Not only was the hike up really fun and entertaining, but it was also the most fantastic view. When you walk up, the walls become slanted because of the shape of the dome – you literally begin walking leaning to one side. While we were in Rome, the joke of the trip was being able to find qualified people to take pictures. We were surprised with how many times we had to ask different people to re-take our pictures because no one would include the background of where we were. We would literally be standing in front of St. peter’s basilica or the Pantheon and people would take the picture of just us so you couldn’t even see where we were. It was interesting how many times it happened to us. Anyway, after we got down from the top of St. Peter’s, we went down to the tombs of the popes which wasn’t all that interesting. We grabbed some lunch and ran into a few problems at the ATM with Jordan’s card. But shortly after we decided to join a tour that would take us through the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel. At first we weren’t sure if the money would be worth it but in the end I thought it was worth every penny. I loved learning the interesting stories and facts about the various works of art. The worth of some of the pieces is actually priceless. There was a room filled with painted maps of Italy made hundreds of years ago by one man. It took him eight years to travel and record all the different parts of Italy but it was incredibly accurate for that time period and even today. When we got to the Sistine chapel, there were hundreds of people crammed into this room all tilting their heads back gazing at the incredible murals. The guards were constantly yelling at people to stop talking and to not take pictures. To be quite honest, it was much darker than I expected. It looked much different than what pictures had made it seem. It was really fun to see all of Michaelangelo’s work in person though. It really makes you appreciate his talent because of how much time and effort he must have dedicated to this project. After the Sistine chapel, we grabbed gelato and found a bench that we all laid out on for a while. We decided we needed to use the second portion o our Roma pass (Vatican was not included because it is it’s own country… smallest country in the world that we had forgotten about). We hopped on the metro to the Circus Maximus area to walk around the ancient Roman baths. It was this area filled with ruins of what used to be this massive structure the Romans would visit to go swimming and socialize. I remember briefly studying it and how the technology of the Romans was very impressive for their time. They had figured out how to heat their baths by using steam underground. At this point we were just wandering around, absorbing our last sight-seeing stop exhausted from the past two non-stop days. For dinner we enjoyed the fabulous Italian, thin-crusted pizzas.
We arrived at a small airport in Rome and caught a taxi for the five of us to take us to the apartment we had rented out for the three nights we were there. With the excuse of our excessive luggage, the cab driver ripped us off a bit. Then we had some difficulty getting a hold of the owner of the apartment. Without cell phones or access to internet it presented a bit of a problem. Jenny and I finally stopped a random girl about our age of the street and asked to use her cell phone and she kindly let us make the phone call. The wait and struggle was worth it because the apartment was perfect. There was a small living area with a pull-out couch where I slept, with a kitchen. The queen bedroom was cornered off of the main area with little dividers making it very open. Then there was a bathroom and a separate room with bunk beds. We really enjoyed our stay there and it turned out to be cheaper than staying in a hotel anyway.
Our first day we rose bright and early and headed to Termini station to get our Roma passes that we paid 25 euros for and would give us free transportation, entrance to two sites and then discount prices for any other sites in Rome we would see. After our two days there, we didn’t quite get our full value out of it. If we had been there for longer it would have saved us tons but we didn’t have enough time to get to all the museums and things where we could have saved. Anyway, we soon discovered that the buses and metro systems were all on strike. It wasn’t much of a problem the first day because all the major sites are walking distance. We followed a small family to the Colosseum. It was incredible finally seeing all these things in person. The structures themselves are absolutely massive and the designs of the architecture are always fascinating. The inside of the Collesseum was much different than I imagined. I had to keep in mind that they were ruins and of course you would be left to imagine what it must have looked like back when it was created. We headed over to Palentine Hill afterwards which gave you a view of where the Circus Maximus would have been. It was fun seeing all these places that I had previously studied in middle school. To be honest, I wish I had gone to Rome soon after I had studied it all so I could remember all the details I learned, but I was still able to recall things here and there. After Palentine Hill we walked throughout the forum. This was probably my favorite because I could just picture memorizing the different parts of the forum for Magistra Berry’s class. Funny enough, we ran into Abby (a girl from our program) who was walking through the forum with her mom. Such a strange coincidence! Anyway, you definitely had to let your imagination go to picture what it had looked like. It was quite a different type of site-seeing that we had to adjust to. We had been used to seeing cathedrals and palaces and landscapes in full. We walked over to the Trevi fountain which was a hidden treasure for us. Ii didn’t really know much about it or knew what it looked like to be honest. We all threw in American pennies as we made our wishes. By that point we all needed to sit down and get food. We ate at a small casual restaurant and got paninis as well as paid for Cokes that turned out to be 3.5 euros. Next on the agenda was to get a gelato and sit on the Spanish steps. I was the first to order mine and I asked for rhis cone that was on display that had the top dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. She scooped my Panna Cotta gelato (favorite flavor) and turned around and started putting all these things on top of it like whip cream, small cones, chocolate etc. When she handed it to me it was massive and we were all wide-eyed in awe. Little did I know when I was ready to pay for it that the gelato was a small fortune. I had to pay 9.50 for it! I could have argued but decided it wasn’t worth it. Everyone else learned from my mistake though. We basked in the sun on the Spanish steps for a while and we each fell asleep for a little bit. We were lucky enough to have incredible weather while visiting Rome for the weekend. The other thing we noticed were the countless vendors selling the strangest things. Some will walk around with roses and will innocently present them to you seeming like a random gesture of kindness but then will ask for money for them once they’ve placed them in your hands. We watched this happen to a girl when finally he took them back. It makes me wonder if anyone actually buys them and why the persist on bothering tourists. We then trekked our way to the Pantheon. Once again we had another strange run-in with another girl from our program, Camille with her mom. It was the most bizarre occurrence. They had closed the Pantheon for an hour because of a service so we sat on the steps outside for a bit. We sat down next to these two older ladies who we began talking to. Soon we found out that they were both BYU alumni! One of them had been on the very same program we had just finished. They were telling us how they’ve been back to Europe countless times because they have just fallen in love with everything it has to offer. Inside the Pantheon was intriguing. We walked around for a bit and then headed to Plaza Navona which has fountains designed and constructed by Bernini. As we walked around there, the different restaurant has spokes-people lingering outside stopping every passerby to persuade them to stay and enjoy their fresh pasta. They used things like free champagne, no service fee, no cover charge, free bread to get you to stay. The girls decided to go to this one place, Dulce Vita (perfectly named), because the owner was attractive – good enough reasoning. As we enjoyed our delicious pasta, I realized that I had left my Cochni sweater somewhere. Jenny was nice enough to come with me to retrace my steps a bit but to no avail. That night we were all exhausted and passed out cold as soon as we sat down in the apartment.
Our second day in Rome we planned to go to the Vatican and spend most of the day there visiting St. Peter’s basilica, Sistine chapel etc. Luckily for us the strike was over so we were able to hop on a bus at Termini. We got there a little before 9 and there was already a line. Once we set foot inside the square we all stood in place taking in the incredible structure. It was a beautiful day along with the amazing buildings mad for an astounding scene. The inside of St. Peter’s was absolutely massive (obviously the biggest we have seen) and had the most brilliant details in the ceiling designs. Everything was outlined in gold. There was a small service going on while we were there. We decided to climb to the top which was my most favorite part. Not only was the hike up really fun and entertaining, but it was also the most fantastic view. When you walk up, the walls become slanted because of the shape of the dome – you literally begin walking leaning to one side. While we were in Rome, the joke of the trip was being able to find qualified people to take pictures. We were surprised with how many times we had to ask different people to re-take our pictures because no one would include the background of where we were. We would literally be standing in front of St. peter’s basilica or the Pantheon and people would take the picture of just us so you couldn’t even see where we were. It was interesting how many times it happened to us. Anyway, after we got down from the top of St. Peter’s, we went down to the tombs of the popes which wasn’t all that interesting. We grabbed some lunch and ran into a few problems at the ATM with Jordan’s card. But shortly after we decided to join a tour that would take us through the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel. At first we weren’t sure if the money would be worth it but in the end I thought it was worth every penny. I loved learning the interesting stories and facts about the various works of art. The worth of some of the pieces is actually priceless. There was a room filled with painted maps of Italy made hundreds of years ago by one man. It took him eight years to travel and record all the different parts of Italy but it was incredibly accurate for that time period and even today. When we got to the Sistine chapel, there were hundreds of people crammed into this room all tilting their heads back gazing at the incredible murals. The guards were constantly yelling at people to stop talking and to not take pictures. To be quite honest, it was much darker than I expected. It looked much different than what pictures had made it seem. It was really fun to see all of Michaelangelo’s work in person though. It really makes you appreciate his talent because of how much time and effort he must have dedicated to this project. After the Sistine chapel, we grabbed gelato and found a bench that we all laid out on for a while. We decided we needed to use the second portion o our Roma pass (Vatican was not included because it is it’s own country… smallest country in the world that we had forgotten about). We hopped on the metro to the Circus Maximus area to walk around the ancient Roman baths. It was this area filled with ruins of what used to be this massive structure the Romans would visit to go swimming and socialize. I remember briefly studying it and how the technology of the Romans was very impressive for their time. They had figured out how to heat their baths by using steam underground. At this point we were just wandering around, absorbing our last sight-seeing stop exhausted from the past two non-stop days. For dinner we enjoyed the fabulous Italian, thin-crusted pizzas.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
No lo puedo creer!
As I sit here in my room waiting for FedEx to come pick up one of my bags, I can NOT believe that my last few days in Spain have arrived! It is crazy to me how fast time flies. I feel like I haven't fully gotten acquainted with everything here in Alcala and have wanted to go back to so many places but never have the time. I am definitely going to miss the school, my Spanish teachers and being with my host family and friends. I have met so many wonderful people that have changed me and opened my eyes. I love all the girls (and Kip). Everyone was themself and I am grateful for each of them. They're the best to explore, wander and just chill with (at Cynthia's with some measure of food). I am proud of myself because coming into the program, I knew I had a problem with getting to know girls. I have never had a strong group of girlfriends and now, I am leaving the program having made life-long friendships!
I am especially going to miss being treated like a princess by my host family who wouldn't let me ever help make food or do chores! They would always set a table cloth, serve me my food and take my dishes. They never got mad at Carly or I.
Most of all, I am going to miss the adventures and constantly exploring and learning new things about foreign places. It is truly the most desired lifestyle to be independently traveling everywhere!
I am especially going to miss being treated like a princess by my host family who wouldn't let me ever help make food or do chores! They would always set a table cloth, serve me my food and take my dishes. They never got mad at Carly or I.
Most of all, I am going to miss the adventures and constantly exploring and learning new things about foreign places. It is truly the most desired lifestyle to be independently traveling everywhere!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
A little slice of Germany
This weekend was our last free travel weekend while on the study abroad! I couldn’t believe the trip I had booked months ago to Mallorca had finally arrived. Ashley and I were so excited for our adventure together. We were both nervous because the weather forecast wasn’t looking as promising as we had hoped. We went to the airport and arrived in Mallorca that night. I was incredibly anxious because it was dark out and I couldn’t see anything when driving to the hotel. I had booked the hotel and so it was kind of riding on me to how the trip was going to play out. It turned out to be quite the steal for 80 euros for the whole trip. The hotel was really nice and after walking up and down the boardwalk the next couple of days, it was definitely one of the best on the playa de palma. Ashley and I walked around and found a place to eat. The next day we went out and ran in the morning on the boardwalk right outside our hotel. The beach was stunning and the color of the water was so clear and various colors of blue. Our sole goal for the trip was to lay out, read, and relax. On our walks we walked into several of the stores and realized how desperate they were for business because of their bartering mentality. There were so many street vendors trying to sell sunglasses and watches – more than I have seen anywhere. The most curious thing of all was that the people on Mallorca, a Spanish island, mostly speak German – most of the food was German, the signs etc. The funny part was that people would speak German to us because Ashley and I are two blondes walking on the streets. That same night, our friends from Alcala who go to U of A arrived at the hotel. It was mostly a very relaxing weekend hanging in the sea club lounge with our computers, chicken crepes and pina cooladas or watching the nightly entertainment our hotel provided. We went in the Mediterranean which was freezing but funny and worth it to say that I’ve been swimming there. I learned to always wear sunscreen (it’s worth splitting the 5 euros) and don’t drink the tap water. Ashley and I were incredibly sad to leave our adventure because it was so beautiful and a dream come true. I slipped up one night while we were getting ice cream and Ashley was saying how she shouldn’t be getting ice cream; I said: “It’s okay, you’re on vacation.” Oh wait… no we’re on a study abroad! ☺
Real, Los Miz, Las Fallas!
This past week was packed with amazing things!! On Wednesday (3/16) we went to a Real Madrid game against Lyon. It was a champions league game because Lyon is a club team from France. I was so thrilled to finally get to see the stadium. When we walked up from the metro there were tons of people hanging around the outside of the stadium. They “botellon” everywhere here in Spain – one of their habits they are well known for. Botellon is the equivalent to pregame. They literally hang in the streets and parks and drink together. We, as a group of girls, were incredibly outnumbered. I would say out of the whole audience for the game, there was one female for every 200 hundred males. Jenny, Lexi and I bought our tickets in a different section so we went and walked around on our own for a bit before the game. There were tons of vendors selling scarves and jerseys in front of the entrances. We headed over to TGIF (yes, we might be giving into having American food while in Spain because we miss it a ton!). There was this massive crowd hanging around this one traffic light that we could see out of the windows of the restaurant. We didn’t understand what they were doing until someone told us that they were all waiting for the bus of players to arrive and drive into the stadium. It is so funny to me how obsessive the Spaniards are over their soccer! Antonio will sit in front of the television all day watching his soccer channel that will literally stalk the team. They would film pieces of their practices, interviews with coaches, everyone’s opinions from people off the streets. We walked into the stadium a bit early but we were able to see it without very many people being in their seats. The stadium was massive. Our seats were up pretty high but it was incredible - any former soccer player’s dream. As more people filed in, the stadium became completely full. And it sounded it too! As the game got started, everyone sang the songs in unison and it roared throughout the stadium. It was the most unified body I have ever been in because everyone was avidly watching the game. The group of men in front of us were particularly rowdy and would shout on top of their lungs at calls the refs made as if they could hear from on the field. Real ended up winning 3-0. The subbed Ronaldo out 15 minutes or so before the game ended which was a bit sad, but I dealt with it.
On Friday (3/18), we had the entire day to ourselves a group of us decided to go into Madrid to get several assignments done as well as go in to see the show Los Miserables. We went and tried to see the Nun Monastery but it was closed – somewhere that had been attempted to be seen numerous times and every time it had been closed for random reasons or because of its weird hours. So we decided to head to the Bull Fighting museum. We went to the Plaza de Torros which had the stadium to discover that the museum would be closed for another month or so until the season actually began. We walked around the plaza itself for a bit because the outside of the stadium was really pretty. It got me really excited for the bullfight I would be going to the following weekend. We hopped onto the metro to the Plaza de Espana to go see the Egyptians ruins. It was a beautiful day so we were all fine with wandering and walking around. The Plaza de Espana was beautiful with a fountain in the center. There was also a small market going on where I finally bought my leather backpack! At the Egyptian ruins, we looked around and got a fabulous view of the city. Of course we sat by the fountains and began “tomaring el sol.” We walked to the San Miguel Mercado for some frozen yogurt (so Spanish of us) – our favorite place to go for food in Madrid. Our final destination was Los Miserables on Gran Via. I have never seen or read the play before so I was at a bit of a disadvantage. We all bought the least expensive tickets and were in the very last row (while Lexi and Jenny sat in the front row). It was awesome to watch a play in Spanish and watching the actors trying to comprehend the plot of the play. It was really well done and the music was great – definitely a play I would like to see in English too!
Saturday was one of my most favorite days we have had. The group met early to head to Valencia for Las Fallas. I think we all underestimated how intense this day was going to be. First of all, at one of our pit stops there were several other buses filled with people all going to Valencia. When we arrived we walked into the heart of the city and struggled, really struggled, to stay together as a group. There were so many people – the most amount of people I have ever been around. I would say the equivalent to NYC New Year’s Eve. On the Saturday of Las Fallas, the city has several monuments /floats that were made specifically to be displayed and voted on that day. People go around looking at the various displays throughout the streets of the city. The main square had the biggest display and was where most everyone congregated for the first part of the day where they had their initial setting off of fireworks. A group of us crammed our way somewhat to the front and sat down on the street while we waited for it to begin. It turned out to be a really nice, but hot day. We sat and ate our lunches and shed our clothes down to tank tops because we were all sweating so much. When the fireworks went off, I finally understood the weather forecast I had viewed that had confused me – foggy. Obviously, you can’t really see fireworks during the day but there were tons; loud ones too. It went on for quite some time and our visibility kept decreasing. We were all in shock with how loud and powerful the fireworks were. The sound would almost go through your body and the video my camera took was shaky simply because of the noise! After the first event we all kept ourselves occupied until we were to meet with the group at the declared meeting spot to walk over to the parade together. We walked throughout the streets trying to maneuver our way through people. We headed to the markets where we found some super cheap souvenirs. We went to see some of the other floats and then sat in the streets with all the other Spaniards and their botellon. We were somehow able to persuade our way into front row seats for the parade. There were ladies dressed in beautiful, historical-type outfits and then there were people in horse and turtle costumes spitting out sparklers. It made for some pretty cool pictures. After the parade we walked around and found churros. We got in prime spots for the next show – lighting the big float on fire. We sat and kept ourselves occupied for a couple of hours playing games like Crocodilly Oh My (which I was the only one who knew that version… being from the east coast makes you a minority at BYU). The wait was dreadful at the time, but totally and completely worth it in the end. There are no words to describe how incredible the monument being set on fire was. First of all, I couldn’t believe it was legal and secondly I am seriously surprised we don’t hear of deaths or injuries. This thing is literally ablaze among thousands of people surrounded by buildings that are fairly close. The fireworks that preceded the lighting of the monument was nothing like I have ever seen before. Overall, insane experience. Spain does not hold back for Las Fallas.
On Friday (3/18), we had the entire day to ourselves a group of us decided to go into Madrid to get several assignments done as well as go in to see the show Los Miserables. We went and tried to see the Nun Monastery but it was closed – somewhere that had been attempted to be seen numerous times and every time it had been closed for random reasons or because of its weird hours. So we decided to head to the Bull Fighting museum. We went to the Plaza de Torros which had the stadium to discover that the museum would be closed for another month or so until the season actually began. We walked around the plaza itself for a bit because the outside of the stadium was really pretty. It got me really excited for the bullfight I would be going to the following weekend. We hopped onto the metro to the Plaza de Espana to go see the Egyptians ruins. It was a beautiful day so we were all fine with wandering and walking around. The Plaza de Espana was beautiful with a fountain in the center. There was also a small market going on where I finally bought my leather backpack! At the Egyptian ruins, we looked around and got a fabulous view of the city. Of course we sat by the fountains and began “tomaring el sol.” We walked to the San Miguel Mercado for some frozen yogurt (so Spanish of us) – our favorite place to go for food in Madrid. Our final destination was Los Miserables on Gran Via. I have never seen or read the play before so I was at a bit of a disadvantage. We all bought the least expensive tickets and were in the very last row (while Lexi and Jenny sat in the front row). It was awesome to watch a play in Spanish and watching the actors trying to comprehend the plot of the play. It was really well done and the music was great – definitely a play I would like to see in English too!
Saturday was one of my most favorite days we have had. The group met early to head to Valencia for Las Fallas. I think we all underestimated how intense this day was going to be. First of all, at one of our pit stops there were several other buses filled with people all going to Valencia. When we arrived we walked into the heart of the city and struggled, really struggled, to stay together as a group. There were so many people – the most amount of people I have ever been around. I would say the equivalent to NYC New Year’s Eve. On the Saturday of Las Fallas, the city has several monuments /floats that were made specifically to be displayed and voted on that day. People go around looking at the various displays throughout the streets of the city. The main square had the biggest display and was where most everyone congregated for the first part of the day where they had their initial setting off of fireworks. A group of us crammed our way somewhat to the front and sat down on the street while we waited for it to begin. It turned out to be a really nice, but hot day. We sat and ate our lunches and shed our clothes down to tank tops because we were all sweating so much. When the fireworks went off, I finally understood the weather forecast I had viewed that had confused me – foggy. Obviously, you can’t really see fireworks during the day but there were tons; loud ones too. It went on for quite some time and our visibility kept decreasing. We were all in shock with how loud and powerful the fireworks were. The sound would almost go through your body and the video my camera took was shaky simply because of the noise! After the first event we all kept ourselves occupied until we were to meet with the group at the declared meeting spot to walk over to the parade together. We walked throughout the streets trying to maneuver our way through people. We headed to the markets where we found some super cheap souvenirs. We went to see some of the other floats and then sat in the streets with all the other Spaniards and their botellon. We were somehow able to persuade our way into front row seats for the parade. There were ladies dressed in beautiful, historical-type outfits and then there were people in horse and turtle costumes spitting out sparklers. It made for some pretty cool pictures. After the parade we walked around and found churros. We got in prime spots for the next show – lighting the big float on fire. We sat and kept ourselves occupied for a couple of hours playing games like Crocodilly Oh My (which I was the only one who knew that version… being from the east coast makes you a minority at BYU). The wait was dreadful at the time, but totally and completely worth it in the end. There are no words to describe how incredible the monument being set on fire was. First of all, I couldn’t believe it was legal and secondly I am seriously surprised we don’t hear of deaths or injuries. This thing is literally ablaze among thousands of people surrounded by buildings that are fairly close. The fireworks that preceded the lighting of the monument was nothing like I have ever seen before. Overall, insane experience. Spain does not hold back for Las Fallas.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Expat futures
Yesterday we were all invited to an event the business class organized. We were meeting with two LDS expats - one working for Pepsico and the other the President of Miele (high-end domestic appliances mainly in Europe.) It was the first business related thing I have done in such a long time. Jenny and I had flashbacks to the NYC trip we had in November. Our meeting was held at the Pepsico office in Madrid. I wish I remembered their names but they told us just about everything about working and living abroad. Topics ranged from what their typical work day is like to the struggles marriages must endure when moving to a foreign country. The American was head of HR in Spain and emphasized that the transition was definitely not easy seeing as Pepsico at the time was not well-established in Europe. As I have been here, I would say it definitely does not have the same presence as Coke does here. But I was fascinated to learn about all the companies Pepsi has ownership of. They told us how they've needed to not only learn the languages better but also adapt to the cultures in order to be successful. In Spain, employees have more of a group-mentality apparently and need to be followed up with in order to have a productive floor. It was really fun to listen to their experiences and compare them to my time here in Spain. Although very different, listening to them really emphasized to me that the possibilities are truly endless of where you could end up. It definitely got my mind running again regarding the various paths I'm interested in taking.
After the meeting, a group of us headed into Madrid to find something to do. We figure it is coming down to the last few weeks and there is so much left to still see and revisit. We wanted to go to the garbage hotel and realized that closed at the end of January - that was a bit of a disappointment. We then thought to go to the blind museum - all of its exhibits can be felt and touched. We played a little game of blindfolding one another and having the person guess what they're touching. My favorite part was going into the room filled with Spanish monument models and being able to say that I've been to every one except for two. It was incredible we could be like "Oh look and remember we took a picture here by this door? And we walked through here..." It is such a bitter-sweet realization. I was so happy talking about all these fun memories, but it also is a major indicator that the trip is soon coming to an end. But we have made a schedule and a list of all the things we are going to do on each day so we will be kept busy until the very last minute.
Sorting out the logistics of going home was extremely time-consuming and stressful for me! My program ends the 31st of March and I am flying out that day to Rome and will be touring Italy until the 5th. Then I'll be flying to London to visit my family and will head home on the 11th. I know it's going to go by so incredibly fast. I've also had to think about doing Spring semester at school, what classes I'm taking, my flight out to school and getting wisdom teeth out before that but it's all trivial. Clearly, my idea of a to-do list has seriously minimized while being away this semester. All in all, I have mixed feelings. I am excited to go home and see family and friends but then again why would I be excited to leave all of this? If the two were combined then there would be no problems. It's the dilemma I face having found a love for Spain and traveling abroad.
After the meeting, a group of us headed into Madrid to find something to do. We figure it is coming down to the last few weeks and there is so much left to still see and revisit. We wanted to go to the garbage hotel and realized that closed at the end of January - that was a bit of a disappointment. We then thought to go to the blind museum - all of its exhibits can be felt and touched. We played a little game of blindfolding one another and having the person guess what they're touching. My favorite part was going into the room filled with Spanish monument models and being able to say that I've been to every one except for two. It was incredible we could be like "Oh look and remember we took a picture here by this door? And we walked through here..." It is such a bitter-sweet realization. I was so happy talking about all these fun memories, but it also is a major indicator that the trip is soon coming to an end. But we have made a schedule and a list of all the things we are going to do on each day so we will be kept busy until the very last minute.
Sorting out the logistics of going home was extremely time-consuming and stressful for me! My program ends the 31st of March and I am flying out that day to Rome and will be touring Italy until the 5th. Then I'll be flying to London to visit my family and will head home on the 11th. I know it's going to go by so incredibly fast. I've also had to think about doing Spring semester at school, what classes I'm taking, my flight out to school and getting wisdom teeth out before that but it's all trivial. Clearly, my idea of a to-do list has seriously minimized while being away this semester. All in all, I have mixed feelings. I am excited to go home and see family and friends but then again why would I be excited to leave all of this? If the two were combined then there would be no problems. It's the dilemma I face having found a love for Spain and traveling abroad.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Are we being Punk'd? Where's Ashton?
The group left early Wednesday morning for a 7 hour bus ride to Barcelona. On the way there we stopped in Zaragoza to visit the basilica there. It was interesting to be there because they had a service going on for ash Wednesday. It was funny trying to answer some of the girls’ questions about why they do it and what it means etc. The plaza the basilica was in was actually really pretty and we took some pictures on our 45 minute break.
We arrived in Barcelona at an awkward time – it was around 6pm. We all took our time getting settled in the hotel and decided to walk around for a bit to shop and find a place to eat. As we’ve traveled more and more we’ve realized that occasionally we spend too much money on food. So in preparation for this trip, we all brought our own fruits from the mercados, granola bars, and trail mix. The fruit here is incredibly cheap especially at the market in Alcala on Mondays. I can get 6 apples, 10 oranges, 4 bananas all for under 5 euros and that will last me for the week. Anyway, we went into the popular Euro stores (Mango, Zara, Blanco, and normally H&M). Then we found a pizza place where we could get a pizza for 4 euros. We finished watching “Life As We Know It” (best movie I have seen in a long time!) and went to bed fairly early.
I woke up early with Brooke and Jenny to go running and we found our way down to Las Ramblas. It was fun to point out to them where I stayed last time (which was a much better location than the hotel Antonio “hooked us up with.” I told Cynthia we would definitely be needing metro passes for the weekend.) We got ready and headed out with everyone to go on a tour to Park Guell which was fun to see a second time and the Sagrada Familia which was my favorite. Although it was the only nice day we were there, I loved the Sagrada Familia. It was named a minor basilica about a month ago and is still under construction. The planning began in 1822. The architecture of the basilica was incredible. One entrance has scenes from the New Testament sculpted all around the doors. The theme the architect played off of was nature. Inside the columns resembled trunks of trees that eventually expanded into the ceiling. The various openings in the ceiling to let light in is supposed to give off the similar effect of sun peaking through the branches of trees. I thought this idea was so unique. It was fascinating to me to watch a cathedral be under construction. I think the Sagrada Familia was definitely one of my favorites out of all I have seen because of this and also because it had a more modern feel to it because of the recent design (and the elevators).
After, we were let loose for the rest of the weekend. A group of us walked down Las Ramblas because we wanted to get to the beach as soon as possible. Some got distracted by ice cream and we went into a souvenir shop to get our awesome teal Barca jerseys. So the group ended up splitting, but nothing ever gets accomplished in a group with more than 5 people so it turned out to be fine. We stopped in a Subway to grab lunch to eat on the beach. What I learned last time is that the beach is a bit of a walk from Las Ramblas and it is quite deceiving. When you get to the end of Las Ramblas you think you’re there but you’e only at the port and you have to walk along the port for abut 25 minutes before you get to the beautiful beaches. It was a bit windy but we found ourselves a spot and took in the sun (wearing jackets though because it was definitely not that warm). There were countless vendors who came up to us and tried to sell us cover ups, coconuts, cerveza and massages. As sketchy as the last one sounds, Jenny, Carly, Alyssa and I all got 12 minute massages from this sweet Chinese lady for 3 euros. A massage…on the beach… in Barcelona – it just makes for an interesting story. When we started to get cold we walked further down the beach and found a group of guys around our age playing volleyball. Outgoing Jenny asks if we can play with them. They of course are Italian and speak little to no English or Spanish. It turns out that we were as good if not better than them at beach volleyball. We felt like we were hurting their egos so we asked, with a lot of hand signals and acting out, if they wanted to play soccer and they agreed. It was funny because apparently we were quite a hit and lots of people started watching from distances. If you ever want a fun and hard work out, definitely play soccer on the beach. It was such a blast. The Italians had more friends and they began subbing in and out. Two of the guys ripped their pants because their jeans were obviously too tight. AT around 6 we called it even and went our separate ways having learned a few Italian swears. I took the girls to the same kebab place Ashley and I got our first kebabs in Spain. It seems weird to me how that was my first weekend here abroad. It’s a strange combination of it having gone by so fast and it seeming so long ago because I have done so much since then. We figured out the metro system pretty quick to get us back to our inconveniently placed hotel. I was impressed with how much better we have gotten at figuring out transportation systems and understanding them. That’s something I’m really happy I have developed.
We met up with the rest of the girls at the hotel and had some down time, got some ice cream. I was feeling a bit tired and was ready for another night in because I was figuring out flights and all sorts of things for spring semester. However, everyone came into Carly and my room ready for a night on the town. I was surprised to see everyone excited to go while I was still in leggings and my hair in a bun – normally it’s the other way around! So I quickly got ready and all 9 of us grabbed 3 cabs down to the beach again to a club called Opium. The problem with going to a club early is that you can most likely get in for free, but then you have to wait a while for everyone to arrive and for it to be fun. I can’t decide which way is better because Kapital (in Madrid) has robbed me of 17 euros when I have gotten there between 1:30 and 2:30. At Opium, the wait wasn’t too bad. It was a much smaller club than the ones I have been to in Madrid but it was very “classy.” During the day, it’s a restaurant that has a beautiful area outside by the beach. We all sat on the couches and talked for a bit before dancing. We met some kids from Notredame and the funniest kids were from University of Arizona who grabbed Jenny, Brooke and I and asked us for an interview for their footage for a reality tv show they were starting about study abroads. They said they were planning on sending it into MTV as an idea – which is funny because I had the same idea about a week ago and thought it would be hysterical. So obviously we did the interview for “Once Abroad” and they told us to meet them at GoCar (literally go-carting around Barcelona in these yellow three-wheeled cars) at 12:30 on Friday. At first we thought it was so cool and legitimate because of the camera and everything, but as we began to think more about it, we were pretty sure we were at the end of their spring break joke. I mean, it would be pretty funny to go on spring break in Barcelona and carry around a camera saying you were getting footage for a reality show – girls would get camera happy. So anyway, we stayed for a bit and Ashley ran into our friend Jon who is studying in Madrid with us which was so random. We got back to the hotel at around 4:30 and I was so dead. We agreed to all wake up and meet at 9:30 the next morning.
As soon as my alarm went off, I knew it was going to be a bad day. My stomach hurt so bad and my head was pounding. I was almost tempted to sleep in and just meet up with everyone later but as soon as I thought about how that would play out, I knew I wouldn’t see them all day. We all got up slowly and took our time eating breakfast and getting ready. We headed to Las Ramblas again and walked around. Jenny and I actually wanted to go cart and the rest of the girls preferred not to spend their money on that so we booked it to meet our “friends” at 12:30. We wandered around looking everywhere and it turned out to be on this most random side street in Gothic Quarters. We were fifteen minutes late and when we walked in we didn’t see them – we weren’t all that surprised. We considered doing it on our own, talked to the sales person for a bit and decided to wait for a little bit to see if they would show up. Only about 2 minutes later did our U of A friends walk in the door and I just started busting out laughing – I seriously could not contain myself. Anyway, we reminisced a bit about the night and they told us they were doing the go-carts for the whole day and we couldn’t do that because we were meeting up with the other girls at the cable car. So we exchanged info because they were going to an ice bar that night which sounded sweet. Jenny and I walked around and I seriously began to not feel well at all. I actually couldn’t see straight and my stomach was killing. I toughed it out until we met up with everyone at the cable cars which was quite the process – we needed cash which we all didn’t have, we all needed to use the bathroom, we needed to walk all the way around to where the beaches were and we had to wait for quite a while. Ashley told us how her bag was stolen and she chased down the guy. Barcelona is really well known for its theft. We were told countless times by the locals to always be holding onto our bags. We finally got to the top of the cable cars (the same as like a gondala, but going over the port in Barcelona up into the hills). I made it clear I was not feeling well and was basically rambling on and on about the most random things if I was even talking at all. I’m surprised one of them didn’t punch me in the face. Thankfully there was a seat in the cable car and we crammed about 15 people into it which made for a really claustrophobic situation. But it was pretty cool. We all started laughing uncontrollably when we realized that it took us only partly up the hills. It lasted about 8 minutes. On the bright side, we got some pretty awesome views. We walked around and then went inside the hotel right at the top because it was so windy. Jenny and I split a tapa because I was feeling incredibly light-headed. It was so funny how worn out we all were from the night before. We were all so slap-happy.
When we finally got back to the hotel, I decided to stay in because I felt like I ha a fever. All the students went out to dinner with our director at the restaurant Ashley and I recommended from our first visit. I was sad I couldn’t go but it was nice to just have some down time – and watch Arthur in Spanish?
This morning we packed up and headed out and spent pretty much the entire day on the bus. I always feel so unproductive on the bus rides just listening to music because I can’t read or do much of anything without getting some motion sickness. It also would have been much better if we traveled during the night to and from Barcelona because we would have so much more time! Either way, it was a fantastic time.
This was our last major travel weekend as a big group! So crazy I can’t believe it. Time is going by way too fast. I have one month left before I’m on a plane back to the U.S. and I am slightly beside myself. I am excited to go back home and see my family and be with them but I am sad to leave all my adventures behind. It just means I’ll have to be making more of my own adventures when I get home!
We arrived in Barcelona at an awkward time – it was around 6pm. We all took our time getting settled in the hotel and decided to walk around for a bit to shop and find a place to eat. As we’ve traveled more and more we’ve realized that occasionally we spend too much money on food. So in preparation for this trip, we all brought our own fruits from the mercados, granola bars, and trail mix. The fruit here is incredibly cheap especially at the market in Alcala on Mondays. I can get 6 apples, 10 oranges, 4 bananas all for under 5 euros and that will last me for the week. Anyway, we went into the popular Euro stores (Mango, Zara, Blanco, and normally H&M). Then we found a pizza place where we could get a pizza for 4 euros. We finished watching “Life As We Know It” (best movie I have seen in a long time!) and went to bed fairly early.
I woke up early with Brooke and Jenny to go running and we found our way down to Las Ramblas. It was fun to point out to them where I stayed last time (which was a much better location than the hotel Antonio “hooked us up with.” I told Cynthia we would definitely be needing metro passes for the weekend.) We got ready and headed out with everyone to go on a tour to Park Guell which was fun to see a second time and the Sagrada Familia which was my favorite. Although it was the only nice day we were there, I loved the Sagrada Familia. It was named a minor basilica about a month ago and is still under construction. The planning began in 1822. The architecture of the basilica was incredible. One entrance has scenes from the New Testament sculpted all around the doors. The theme the architect played off of was nature. Inside the columns resembled trunks of trees that eventually expanded into the ceiling. The various openings in the ceiling to let light in is supposed to give off the similar effect of sun peaking through the branches of trees. I thought this idea was so unique. It was fascinating to me to watch a cathedral be under construction. I think the Sagrada Familia was definitely one of my favorites out of all I have seen because of this and also because it had a more modern feel to it because of the recent design (and the elevators).
After, we were let loose for the rest of the weekend. A group of us walked down Las Ramblas because we wanted to get to the beach as soon as possible. Some got distracted by ice cream and we went into a souvenir shop to get our awesome teal Barca jerseys. So the group ended up splitting, but nothing ever gets accomplished in a group with more than 5 people so it turned out to be fine. We stopped in a Subway to grab lunch to eat on the beach. What I learned last time is that the beach is a bit of a walk from Las Ramblas and it is quite deceiving. When you get to the end of Las Ramblas you think you’re there but you’e only at the port and you have to walk along the port for abut 25 minutes before you get to the beautiful beaches. It was a bit windy but we found ourselves a spot and took in the sun (wearing jackets though because it was definitely not that warm). There were countless vendors who came up to us and tried to sell us cover ups, coconuts, cerveza and massages. As sketchy as the last one sounds, Jenny, Carly, Alyssa and I all got 12 minute massages from this sweet Chinese lady for 3 euros. A massage…on the beach… in Barcelona – it just makes for an interesting story. When we started to get cold we walked further down the beach and found a group of guys around our age playing volleyball. Outgoing Jenny asks if we can play with them. They of course are Italian and speak little to no English or Spanish. It turns out that we were as good if not better than them at beach volleyball. We felt like we were hurting their egos so we asked, with a lot of hand signals and acting out, if they wanted to play soccer and they agreed. It was funny because apparently we were quite a hit and lots of people started watching from distances. If you ever want a fun and hard work out, definitely play soccer on the beach. It was such a blast. The Italians had more friends and they began subbing in and out. Two of the guys ripped their pants because their jeans were obviously too tight. AT around 6 we called it even and went our separate ways having learned a few Italian swears. I took the girls to the same kebab place Ashley and I got our first kebabs in Spain. It seems weird to me how that was my first weekend here abroad. It’s a strange combination of it having gone by so fast and it seeming so long ago because I have done so much since then. We figured out the metro system pretty quick to get us back to our inconveniently placed hotel. I was impressed with how much better we have gotten at figuring out transportation systems and understanding them. That’s something I’m really happy I have developed.
We met up with the rest of the girls at the hotel and had some down time, got some ice cream. I was feeling a bit tired and was ready for another night in because I was figuring out flights and all sorts of things for spring semester. However, everyone came into Carly and my room ready for a night on the town. I was surprised to see everyone excited to go while I was still in leggings and my hair in a bun – normally it’s the other way around! So I quickly got ready and all 9 of us grabbed 3 cabs down to the beach again to a club called Opium. The problem with going to a club early is that you can most likely get in for free, but then you have to wait a while for everyone to arrive and for it to be fun. I can’t decide which way is better because Kapital (in Madrid) has robbed me of 17 euros when I have gotten there between 1:30 and 2:30. At Opium, the wait wasn’t too bad. It was a much smaller club than the ones I have been to in Madrid but it was very “classy.” During the day, it’s a restaurant that has a beautiful area outside by the beach. We all sat on the couches and talked for a bit before dancing. We met some kids from Notredame and the funniest kids were from University of Arizona who grabbed Jenny, Brooke and I and asked us for an interview for their footage for a reality tv show they were starting about study abroads. They said they were planning on sending it into MTV as an idea – which is funny because I had the same idea about a week ago and thought it would be hysterical. So obviously we did the interview for “Once Abroad” and they told us to meet them at GoCar (literally go-carting around Barcelona in these yellow three-wheeled cars) at 12:30 on Friday. At first we thought it was so cool and legitimate because of the camera and everything, but as we began to think more about it, we were pretty sure we were at the end of their spring break joke. I mean, it would be pretty funny to go on spring break in Barcelona and carry around a camera saying you were getting footage for a reality show – girls would get camera happy. So anyway, we stayed for a bit and Ashley ran into our friend Jon who is studying in Madrid with us which was so random. We got back to the hotel at around 4:30 and I was so dead. We agreed to all wake up and meet at 9:30 the next morning.
As soon as my alarm went off, I knew it was going to be a bad day. My stomach hurt so bad and my head was pounding. I was almost tempted to sleep in and just meet up with everyone later but as soon as I thought about how that would play out, I knew I wouldn’t see them all day. We all got up slowly and took our time eating breakfast and getting ready. We headed to Las Ramblas again and walked around. Jenny and I actually wanted to go cart and the rest of the girls preferred not to spend their money on that so we booked it to meet our “friends” at 12:30. We wandered around looking everywhere and it turned out to be on this most random side street in Gothic Quarters. We were fifteen minutes late and when we walked in we didn’t see them – we weren’t all that surprised. We considered doing it on our own, talked to the sales person for a bit and decided to wait for a little bit to see if they would show up. Only about 2 minutes later did our U of A friends walk in the door and I just started busting out laughing – I seriously could not contain myself. Anyway, we reminisced a bit about the night and they told us they were doing the go-carts for the whole day and we couldn’t do that because we were meeting up with the other girls at the cable car. So we exchanged info because they were going to an ice bar that night which sounded sweet. Jenny and I walked around and I seriously began to not feel well at all. I actually couldn’t see straight and my stomach was killing. I toughed it out until we met up with everyone at the cable cars which was quite the process – we needed cash which we all didn’t have, we all needed to use the bathroom, we needed to walk all the way around to where the beaches were and we had to wait for quite a while. Ashley told us how her bag was stolen and she chased down the guy. Barcelona is really well known for its theft. We were told countless times by the locals to always be holding onto our bags. We finally got to the top of the cable cars (the same as like a gondala, but going over the port in Barcelona up into the hills). I made it clear I was not feeling well and was basically rambling on and on about the most random things if I was even talking at all. I’m surprised one of them didn’t punch me in the face. Thankfully there was a seat in the cable car and we crammed about 15 people into it which made for a really claustrophobic situation. But it was pretty cool. We all started laughing uncontrollably when we realized that it took us only partly up the hills. It lasted about 8 minutes. On the bright side, we got some pretty awesome views. We walked around and then went inside the hotel right at the top because it was so windy. Jenny and I split a tapa because I was feeling incredibly light-headed. It was so funny how worn out we all were from the night before. We were all so slap-happy.
When we finally got back to the hotel, I decided to stay in because I felt like I ha a fever. All the students went out to dinner with our director at the restaurant Ashley and I recommended from our first visit. I was sad I couldn’t go but it was nice to just have some down time – and watch Arthur in Spanish?
This morning we packed up and headed out and spent pretty much the entire day on the bus. I always feel so unproductive on the bus rides just listening to music because I can’t read or do much of anything without getting some motion sickness. It also would have been much better if we traveled during the night to and from Barcelona because we would have so much more time! Either way, it was a fantastic time.
This was our last major travel weekend as a big group! So crazy I can’t believe it. Time is going by way too fast. I have one month left before I’m on a plane back to the U.S. and I am slightly beside myself. I am excited to go back home and see my family and be with them but I am sad to leave all my adventures behind. It just means I’ll have to be making more of my own adventures when I get home!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Real Spanish Experience
CARNAVAL is one of the biggest celebrations throughout the Hispanic world. It is basically a week long Halloween/Mardi Gras before Lent where everyone dresses up, goes to the parades, dances and has an excuse to actually be crazy. As soon as the bus dropped us off getting back from San Sebastian, Ashley, Jenny and I grabbed our masks from Thursday night and headed to Madrid to catch the last parts of the parade and Carnaval events. There were tons of people in the streets flocking around the parade. There were tons of costumes – creative costumes and no one did it half-way. We saw Dalmatians, Fanta girls, boxes of popcorn – the list could go on forever. We got there very close to the end and decided to go out to eat. We found this place literally called Foster’s American Food or something like that. There were a bunch of kids our age there and it was fantastic to have semi-American food like nachos and quesadillas.
Ashley and I stayed later and met up with other students we knew studying in Madrid. They introduced us to several Spanish guys and we hung out in one of the local parks for a while getting to know each other, practicing our Spanish and celebrating one of the guys’ birthdays. After, we all headed to a SALSA CLUB. I can easily say that if I went home tomorrow, I would be content with my study abroad experience. The club was sooo Spanish. I did not recognize a single song and got to salsa!! Although we stayed out way too late once again and I could barely keep my eyes open for church, it was one of the best nights in Madrid by far.
Ashley and I stayed later and met up with other students we knew studying in Madrid. They introduced us to several Spanish guys and we hung out in one of the local parks for a while getting to know each other, practicing our Spanish and celebrating one of the guys’ birthdays. After, we all headed to a SALSA CLUB. I can easily say that if I went home tomorrow, I would be content with my study abroad experience. The club was sooo Spanish. I did not recognize a single song and got to salsa!! Although we stayed out way too late once again and I could barely keep my eyes open for church, it was one of the best nights in Madrid by far.
My Own Wonders of the World
Wednesday the BYU crew headed out bright and early to northern Spain. I wasn’t as thrilled to go north because it’s obviously colder and I wasn’t feeling 100%. The drive was around 5 hours to Bilbao where we would be visiting the famous Guggenheim! On our trek there, we stopped in a town called Burgos and visited the cathedral there. I wish I could remember the details, but in all seriousness, I can no longer differentiate one cathedral from the other anymore. I remember there was a very interesting clock inside the cathedral with a cartoonish man who would ring the bell of the clock and it was quite comical to watch.
This trip we got hooked up with some nice hotels. The place we stayed in Bilbao was a central location on the river and about a 15 minute walk to the Guggenheim. Apparently, Bilbao was not even included on a map until the Guggenheim was built and became its main attraction – which is understandable because it was the coolest experience! Besides the fact the museum building itself is an abstract piece an artwork hat was made to look like a scaley boat on the river, it had the most interesting artwork. There were pieces by Andy Warhol and Jackson Polluck. The exhibit I really enjoyed was walking through The Matter of Time which were these massive sculptures you could walk through. The Guggenheim was in the same category as the Reina Sofia with incredibly abstract work that you would sincerely question as art. At some points, I would literally start laughing because some things were so weird. There are seriously no limits with art and the pieces in the Guggenheim definitely emphasize that attribute of art. Ashley and I then wandered downtown to Cascao Viejo where there were little streets with tons of stores. Bilbao reminded me much of Sevilla with the river running through the town except Bilbao is definitely more urbanized and relies solely on the Guggenheim as its tourist attraction. Sevilla itself was just beautiful with all the older buildings and streets. Anyway, Ashley and I split a Subway sandwich for dinner and we both began to reminisce about being home and how much we miss just big, hearty sandwiches with fresh turkey as opposed to the baguettes with slices of salami. It’s definitely all about the experience but sometimes you just need your go-to turkey sandwich.
Thursday we headed to San Sebastian – “most romantic city” according to Jenny’s dad. Well it was true! It reminded me a lot of Lisbon but definitely colder weather. The town was pushed up against its stunning coastline. The first thing we did was just walk along the boardwalk for several hours, every once in a while stopping to do stunts on the beach, go on merry-go-rounds or get gelato.
We headed back to the hotel in time for there “big event” we were all invited to. Jenny, Ashley and I got dressed and headed down to the lobby where they had waiters handing out food, a band and tons of people just talking and socializing. One of the few people we spoke to was the event coordinator for the party and knew the DJ. He invited us to come with them after the party to the club where the DJ would be playing next. Of course we couldn’t resist. Jenny and Ashley needed some major convincing to go because it was really late. By the time we got to the club it was 2:30 but it proved to be absolutely worth it. We got in for free as well as got a free Red Bull drink, their club t-shirts and masks to wear so we could celebrate Carnaval with everyone. The club had kids around my age, but at times even I felt a bit old to be there. The DJ was incredible and played lots of music I had not heard before. It was just the beginning of Carnaval week bt we had never experienced it before. Everyone’s costumes were so unique and were really good! They went all out. We saw Dracula, ballerinas, cowboys etc. The club was also right on the beach so whenever we needed fresh air we would step out onto the balcony and get a beautiful view of the ocean. It was an amazing night.
Brooke, Jenny and I woke up early to go running and went to the other side of San Sebastian and climbed to this “Jesus monument” that gave us a stunning view of San Sebastian. Although the combination the little sleep and uphill terrain isn’t ideal, once again it was absolutely worth the view in the end. I also can’t believe how far I am running with these girls because of my strong dislike for running. It’s very bizarre.
We drove as a group to southern France on Friday to a town called Biarritz. There are no words to describe how much I loved the combination of this town and San Sebastian! It was another beachy city and actually well known for decent surfing. Once again, we walked along the coast trying to take in every minute. The only thing that could have made the experience a tiny bit better would be warmer weather, but either way it was still an amazing place to be. We found a perfect place to eat that had the best view of the beach as well as delicious fish and vegetable pizza! Of course our visit wasn’t complete until we went to the Museum of Chocolate. Everyone let their imagination get to them because we weren’t sure of what to expect so we all just started picturing the Willy Wonka factory. It was actually quite small and had these hysterical sculptures made out of solid chocolate. I’m pretty sure everyone left there with several souvenirs.
Saturday morning we woke up early again to go running. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and we ran 3 miles to this beautiful pier and other beaches which had surfers out and about. It was our farewell to beautiful San Sebastian. Later in life, I definitely want to go back – especially in the summer it would be amazing.
This trip we got hooked up with some nice hotels. The place we stayed in Bilbao was a central location on the river and about a 15 minute walk to the Guggenheim. Apparently, Bilbao was not even included on a map until the Guggenheim was built and became its main attraction – which is understandable because it was the coolest experience! Besides the fact the museum building itself is an abstract piece an artwork hat was made to look like a scaley boat on the river, it had the most interesting artwork. There were pieces by Andy Warhol and Jackson Polluck. The exhibit I really enjoyed was walking through The Matter of Time which were these massive sculptures you could walk through. The Guggenheim was in the same category as the Reina Sofia with incredibly abstract work that you would sincerely question as art. At some points, I would literally start laughing because some things were so weird. There are seriously no limits with art and the pieces in the Guggenheim definitely emphasize that attribute of art. Ashley and I then wandered downtown to Cascao Viejo where there were little streets with tons of stores. Bilbao reminded me much of Sevilla with the river running through the town except Bilbao is definitely more urbanized and relies solely on the Guggenheim as its tourist attraction. Sevilla itself was just beautiful with all the older buildings and streets. Anyway, Ashley and I split a Subway sandwich for dinner and we both began to reminisce about being home and how much we miss just big, hearty sandwiches with fresh turkey as opposed to the baguettes with slices of salami. It’s definitely all about the experience but sometimes you just need your go-to turkey sandwich.
Thursday we headed to San Sebastian – “most romantic city” according to Jenny’s dad. Well it was true! It reminded me a lot of Lisbon but definitely colder weather. The town was pushed up against its stunning coastline. The first thing we did was just walk along the boardwalk for several hours, every once in a while stopping to do stunts on the beach, go on merry-go-rounds or get gelato.
We headed back to the hotel in time for there “big event” we were all invited to. Jenny, Ashley and I got dressed and headed down to the lobby where they had waiters handing out food, a band and tons of people just talking and socializing. One of the few people we spoke to was the event coordinator for the party and knew the DJ. He invited us to come with them after the party to the club where the DJ would be playing next. Of course we couldn’t resist. Jenny and Ashley needed some major convincing to go because it was really late. By the time we got to the club it was 2:30 but it proved to be absolutely worth it. We got in for free as well as got a free Red Bull drink, their club t-shirts and masks to wear so we could celebrate Carnaval with everyone. The club had kids around my age, but at times even I felt a bit old to be there. The DJ was incredible and played lots of music I had not heard before. It was just the beginning of Carnaval week bt we had never experienced it before. Everyone’s costumes were so unique and were really good! They went all out. We saw Dracula, ballerinas, cowboys etc. The club was also right on the beach so whenever we needed fresh air we would step out onto the balcony and get a beautiful view of the ocean. It was an amazing night.
Brooke, Jenny and I woke up early to go running and went to the other side of San Sebastian and climbed to this “Jesus monument” that gave us a stunning view of San Sebastian. Although the combination the little sleep and uphill terrain isn’t ideal, once again it was absolutely worth the view in the end. I also can’t believe how far I am running with these girls because of my strong dislike for running. It’s very bizarre.
We drove as a group to southern France on Friday to a town called Biarritz. There are no words to describe how much I loved the combination of this town and San Sebastian! It was another beachy city and actually well known for decent surfing. Once again, we walked along the coast trying to take in every minute. The only thing that could have made the experience a tiny bit better would be warmer weather, but either way it was still an amazing place to be. We found a perfect place to eat that had the best view of the beach as well as delicious fish and vegetable pizza! Of course our visit wasn’t complete until we went to the Museum of Chocolate. Everyone let their imagination get to them because we weren’t sure of what to expect so we all just started picturing the Willy Wonka factory. It was actually quite small and had these hysterical sculptures made out of solid chocolate. I’m pretty sure everyone left there with several souvenirs.
Saturday morning we woke up early again to go running. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and we ran 3 miles to this beautiful pier and other beaches which had surfers out and about. It was our farewell to beautiful San Sebastian. Later in life, I definitely want to go back – especially in the summer it would be amazing.
"estoy muy enferma Nieves"
This past Monday Carly and I woke up so sick! Maybe it was something in Portugal or the fact I went straight to Madrid after getting back from Lisbon and got no sleep, but either way I came back from classes and just slept. Tuesday I stayed in bed for the entire day – I hadn’t been that sick in such a long time! But I had to rest up before our school trip to northern Spain. It turns out that you’re body really can’t function properly without sleep.
LISBOA
This weekend was by far one of my favorite experiences I have had yet. A small group of us organized a trip to Lisbon. Early Thursday morning (5:20am) Carly, Alyssa, Sara and I set off for the airport. Sara and Alyssa’s host dad, Faustino Lopez, was kind enough to offer us a ride to the airport that early in the morning. It started off a bit rocky as Carly and I were late to meet them in the parking lot. Luckily, they had sat around for the 10 minutes.
We landed in Portugal after a 40 minute plane ride and found the local bus to take to our hostel.
Our hostel amazed us all. It was definitely one of the best hostels out there. It was a prime location – a 3 minute walk from the river, 10 minutes from one of the train/metro stations and 10 minutes from Rossio square. We walked in and the host greeted us with a big smile and in English! There was breakfast laid out on the counters, 4 Mac computers, free WiFi, and a big lobby area with tables, bean bags and a projector playing music videos and movies. They had a big wall with restaurant and sight-seeing recommendations and top things to do while in Lisbon. We were able to check in early and get settled before we headed to Sintra.
On our way to Rossio station, there was a crowd of men in blue “Tennents” shirts. They were gathered at this one bar and had already begun drinking – it was 10:30 in the morning. One stopped to chat with us and he told us there was a game at 6pm against this Scottish team – they had all flown out for the game! As a group we decided then and there we would make it back in time for the game.
We got on the train to this supposed “fairytale-like” place. Walking out of the train station, we decided to follow a couple people around because we had no idea where to go. Our whole trip we had plans of what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go but never had the details of how to specifically get there. So we always wandered and were able to figure it out. The girls in our group who had been to Portugal the other free travel weekend told us we had to try and get the bikes for the day. We soon realized we were on a bit of a schedule if we wanted to get back in time for the game so we took the bus up to where all the places to visit were. It turns out that if we had taken bikes, we all probably would have died of exhaustion or from a head on collision with a car because the whole road was completely uphill and the windiest road ever! I did not feel safe on that bus.
I seriously had no idea what to expect when getting off the bus. At the time it seemed like one expense after the other: we paid for our train ride there, the bus ride up to the site and there was yet another “carriage” to get to the actual site. Carly and I decided to walk the last part of the way – it was a beautiful, uphill walk anyway. Totally worth it in the end because the palace was definitely one used to base off all fairytales. It was unique because of the Moorish influence – bright colors and tiling on the outside. It was perched high up on these mountains in Sintra gazing out all the way to the coast of where we had come from in Lisbon I believe. Carly and I were instantly overcome with the scenery and how many awesome photos we could capture. There was a back patio, a walkway around the sides of the palace and a terrace that looked over the palace grounds. We walked through the rooms in the palace and saw again the Moorish influence with the detailed wall engravings and colorings etc. We joked about renting out the palace and having our weddings at this palace. We were just in awe the entire time touring the palace. We basked in the strong Portugal sun for a bit before we started our journey back so we could get to the game.
We made sure to stop at a store on the way back to get jerseys for the game. It turned out to be more of a casual game between Sporting Portugal and a Scottish team – the Tennants. It was my first European game in general and being in the atmosphere itself was so much fun. Even though it wasn’t a big game, all the fan there were going all out cheering. The section for the Tennants was completely full and they were drunkily jumping up and down, chanting the whole time. It was really entertaining to watch. The pace of the game was also enjoyable to watch as well. It was a competitive game.
We wandered the streets close by our hotel for dinner and found an Italian place with tables set up outside. As we ate dinner, we befriended 4 Scotts who went to the game. They were the nicest people that we had had a conversation with in a while! We talked about everything from the origins of our names to Joe’s recent love affair. There was Alan and Joe who were 40 year olds and then Jordan who was our age and Alan’s son. We talked for a couple of hours at this restaurant and Joe ended up buying the four of us banana splits! Jordan came back to hang out at the hostel with us for a bit where they had social happy hours and movies playing etc. It is amazing to me how many interesting people we meet when we travel! Unfortunately Jordan was leaving the next morning so we could only hang out for the one day, but obviously via Facebook we will be lifelong friends. Facebook is also an incredible device out here. It is one of the only ways to communicate and stay connected with the incredible people you meet. It is crazy how universal it has become!
The next day we woke up early and headed to Cascais – the beachy town. We were a bit slow to get on the train to go because we went to check out the Lisbon cathedral before and walked around the plaza at the river’s edge right by our hostel. When we arrived in Cascais, there were no more bikes available to rent so we settled for wandering down the side streets and gasped as soon as we saw water and sand. We kept walking along the coast where there was a big marina. We struggled to find the main beaches and it turns out we walked in the opposite way we should have but as we kept walking we found Boca de Inferno which is this awesome point on the coast where the water comes up really high and you can walk right out to the edge – it’s hard to describe but you get an incredible view of the coastline! We decided to lay out on the rocks in boca de inferno and stayed there for a couple hours and roasted. It was complete perfection and just what we all wanted. Walking back Alyssa was slightly depressed because we didn’t get to ride Segways – a desire she has had for a while. Just her luck we walked passed a store that sold Segways and the owner was nice enough to let us each take turns riding one and teach us how to use them! He and his coworker were really generous and made 4 American girls’ days. As we were walking back to the train station we walked into them again and they offered to take us sailing the next morning. Carly and I were completely stoked at first and then thought more about it. I said to Carly, “I feel like that is something our parents tell us not to do with strangers we have just met.” We decided it would probably be a bad idea to go sailing with two Portuguese men we had just met.
We were told we had to go out to Barrio Alto at night in order to really experience Lisbon. We got kebabs for dinner and headed up the hill (hence Barrio Alto) to check out the “scene.” It was a bit early so we wandered into a store which sold records and we had a lot of fun asking the manager putting on different records and dancing to them from Frank Sinatra to Lil Jon. We made a bit of an “American scene.” Then next door was the best cupcake place!! The main guy who served us was really outgoing and talked to us for a while, gave us advice on where we needed to go and of course we exchanged Facebook information with him and his friends (they were both gay, but incredibly helpful!) When we left the cupcake place, everyone was finally out and about. The tiny streets were literally packed with people walking up and down and in and out of bars. I swear there must have been a cloud of smoke hovering above the area – people would just post up along the walls of the street and start rolling because smoking weed is legal there! We walked through the crowds for a bit. For the first time I realized that we were severely outnumbered – the ratio of guys to girls was very favorable for us. However, most of the people hanging in the streets were not the best to stop and have a conversation with. We stopped by one bar and happened to find some of the same kids who were staying at the hostel with us. We talked to them for a bit and continued wandering and were stopped by some gorgeous Portuguese guys. Once it got to 2 in the morning, the crowd was pretty restless. We wanted to go to one of the clubs the cupcake boys recommended but we were exhausted from walking around all day.
Our last day in Lisbon we took the train to Belem. There was a massive palace that we didn’t go in and it was right along the river. Our intentions were to go to a famous market they had, but apparently it was only held on Sundays so we were out of luck. We ended up walking along the boardwalk next to the river and posting up next to the monuments for a while. We visited the Belem Tower which was right on the water. As we wrapped up our travels in Belem, we grabbed a quick snack at this café, sat on their patio in the sun and enjoyed are last few minutes before we started to head to the airport.
Lisbon was by far my favorite weekend I have had here abroad. I think it is mainly because it far exceeded my expectations. I had no idea what was in Lisbon or what Lisbon is known for and we ended up having the best free travel weekend ever.
We landed in Portugal after a 40 minute plane ride and found the local bus to take to our hostel.
Our hostel amazed us all. It was definitely one of the best hostels out there. It was a prime location – a 3 minute walk from the river, 10 minutes from one of the train/metro stations and 10 minutes from Rossio square. We walked in and the host greeted us with a big smile and in English! There was breakfast laid out on the counters, 4 Mac computers, free WiFi, and a big lobby area with tables, bean bags and a projector playing music videos and movies. They had a big wall with restaurant and sight-seeing recommendations and top things to do while in Lisbon. We were able to check in early and get settled before we headed to Sintra.
On our way to Rossio station, there was a crowd of men in blue “Tennents” shirts. They were gathered at this one bar and had already begun drinking – it was 10:30 in the morning. One stopped to chat with us and he told us there was a game at 6pm against this Scottish team – they had all flown out for the game! As a group we decided then and there we would make it back in time for the game.
We got on the train to this supposed “fairytale-like” place. Walking out of the train station, we decided to follow a couple people around because we had no idea where to go. Our whole trip we had plans of what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go but never had the details of how to specifically get there. So we always wandered and were able to figure it out. The girls in our group who had been to Portugal the other free travel weekend told us we had to try and get the bikes for the day. We soon realized we were on a bit of a schedule if we wanted to get back in time for the game so we took the bus up to where all the places to visit were. It turns out that if we had taken bikes, we all probably would have died of exhaustion or from a head on collision with a car because the whole road was completely uphill and the windiest road ever! I did not feel safe on that bus.
I seriously had no idea what to expect when getting off the bus. At the time it seemed like one expense after the other: we paid for our train ride there, the bus ride up to the site and there was yet another “carriage” to get to the actual site. Carly and I decided to walk the last part of the way – it was a beautiful, uphill walk anyway. Totally worth it in the end because the palace was definitely one used to base off all fairytales. It was unique because of the Moorish influence – bright colors and tiling on the outside. It was perched high up on these mountains in Sintra gazing out all the way to the coast of where we had come from in Lisbon I believe. Carly and I were instantly overcome with the scenery and how many awesome photos we could capture. There was a back patio, a walkway around the sides of the palace and a terrace that looked over the palace grounds. We walked through the rooms in the palace and saw again the Moorish influence with the detailed wall engravings and colorings etc. We joked about renting out the palace and having our weddings at this palace. We were just in awe the entire time touring the palace. We basked in the strong Portugal sun for a bit before we started our journey back so we could get to the game.
We made sure to stop at a store on the way back to get jerseys for the game. It turned out to be more of a casual game between Sporting Portugal and a Scottish team – the Tennants. It was my first European game in general and being in the atmosphere itself was so much fun. Even though it wasn’t a big game, all the fan there were going all out cheering. The section for the Tennants was completely full and they were drunkily jumping up and down, chanting the whole time. It was really entertaining to watch. The pace of the game was also enjoyable to watch as well. It was a competitive game.
We wandered the streets close by our hotel for dinner and found an Italian place with tables set up outside. As we ate dinner, we befriended 4 Scotts who went to the game. They were the nicest people that we had had a conversation with in a while! We talked about everything from the origins of our names to Joe’s recent love affair. There was Alan and Joe who were 40 year olds and then Jordan who was our age and Alan’s son. We talked for a couple of hours at this restaurant and Joe ended up buying the four of us banana splits! Jordan came back to hang out at the hostel with us for a bit where they had social happy hours and movies playing etc. It is amazing to me how many interesting people we meet when we travel! Unfortunately Jordan was leaving the next morning so we could only hang out for the one day, but obviously via Facebook we will be lifelong friends. Facebook is also an incredible device out here. It is one of the only ways to communicate and stay connected with the incredible people you meet. It is crazy how universal it has become!
The next day we woke up early and headed to Cascais – the beachy town. We were a bit slow to get on the train to go because we went to check out the Lisbon cathedral before and walked around the plaza at the river’s edge right by our hostel. When we arrived in Cascais, there were no more bikes available to rent so we settled for wandering down the side streets and gasped as soon as we saw water and sand. We kept walking along the coast where there was a big marina. We struggled to find the main beaches and it turns out we walked in the opposite way we should have but as we kept walking we found Boca de Inferno which is this awesome point on the coast where the water comes up really high and you can walk right out to the edge – it’s hard to describe but you get an incredible view of the coastline! We decided to lay out on the rocks in boca de inferno and stayed there for a couple hours and roasted. It was complete perfection and just what we all wanted. Walking back Alyssa was slightly depressed because we didn’t get to ride Segways – a desire she has had for a while. Just her luck we walked passed a store that sold Segways and the owner was nice enough to let us each take turns riding one and teach us how to use them! He and his coworker were really generous and made 4 American girls’ days. As we were walking back to the train station we walked into them again and they offered to take us sailing the next morning. Carly and I were completely stoked at first and then thought more about it. I said to Carly, “I feel like that is something our parents tell us not to do with strangers we have just met.” We decided it would probably be a bad idea to go sailing with two Portuguese men we had just met.
We were told we had to go out to Barrio Alto at night in order to really experience Lisbon. We got kebabs for dinner and headed up the hill (hence Barrio Alto) to check out the “scene.” It was a bit early so we wandered into a store which sold records and we had a lot of fun asking the manager putting on different records and dancing to them from Frank Sinatra to Lil Jon. We made a bit of an “American scene.” Then next door was the best cupcake place!! The main guy who served us was really outgoing and talked to us for a while, gave us advice on where we needed to go and of course we exchanged Facebook information with him and his friends (they were both gay, but incredibly helpful!) When we left the cupcake place, everyone was finally out and about. The tiny streets were literally packed with people walking up and down and in and out of bars. I swear there must have been a cloud of smoke hovering above the area – people would just post up along the walls of the street and start rolling because smoking weed is legal there! We walked through the crowds for a bit. For the first time I realized that we were severely outnumbered – the ratio of guys to girls was very favorable for us. However, most of the people hanging in the streets were not the best to stop and have a conversation with. We stopped by one bar and happened to find some of the same kids who were staying at the hostel with us. We talked to them for a bit and continued wandering and were stopped by some gorgeous Portuguese guys. Once it got to 2 in the morning, the crowd was pretty restless. We wanted to go to one of the clubs the cupcake boys recommended but we were exhausted from walking around all day.
Our last day in Lisbon we took the train to Belem. There was a massive palace that we didn’t go in and it was right along the river. Our intentions were to go to a famous market they had, but apparently it was only held on Sundays so we were out of luck. We ended up walking along the boardwalk next to the river and posting up next to the monuments for a while. We visited the Belem Tower which was right on the water. As we wrapped up our travels in Belem, we grabbed a quick snack at this café, sat on their patio in the sun and enjoyed are last few minutes before we started to head to the airport.
Lisbon was by far my favorite weekend I have had here abroad. I think it is mainly because it far exceeded my expectations. I had no idea what was in Lisbon or what Lisbon is known for and we ended up having the best free travel weekend ever.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Officially a Local
I know that I finally can be considered a "local" in Spain (mostly Alcala) because:
1. Yesterday I was asked for directions - and I knew the answer and was able to articulate them in Spanish.
2. Someone asked me for a cigarette.
I must be giving off some serious Spanish vibes.
1. Yesterday I was asked for directions - and I knew the answer and was able to articulate them in Spanish.
2. Someone asked me for a cigarette.
I must be giving off some serious Spanish vibes.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Arboles de Neon
Yesterday it was raining all day and not the best day to be walking around touring. On our way to El Escorial, we stopped at a castle on the way which we all would love to purchase at some point down the road.
We then went the basilica in Valle de los Caidos. Built in the 1940s, the basilica rests in the mountains and was enormous. The layout was of a cross and it was much gloomier than the other churches we have visited because there were no windows. It housed the remains of lots of the fighters involved in the civil war as well as the tomb of Franco that was in a different area we weren't able to see.
After those quick stops, we went to El Escorial to the Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. This was one of my favorite places: it was the "summer" palace mainly for Philip II but today it is also a monastery and private college. It has the tombs of the majority of monarchs that ruled in Spain and a massive basilica. The palace itself was very plain and ordinary because as Philip II stayed there, he was said to be like a monk with all his religious practices. The most ornate parts of the palace were the wooden doors which were made from all different types of wood with incredible detail as well as the area which held all the tombs which was pure marble (ceilings, walls, floor - everything). There is also a library there, one of the best well-kept in Europe (something like 40,000 books, old old books). The most interesting that I can remember was when we were in the basilica the tour guide (also a walking advertisement) said that people can still get married in it for 1500 euro - which doesn't seem that much to me to be married in a historical basilica of one of the kings in Spain! He said it includes a childrens choir, use of the massive organs, the red carpet and flowers all over the alter. Sounds amazing to me! After our tour, we all sprinted back to the bus because it was so cold!
The bus dropped us of in Madrid because we found out about a Neon Trees secret concert. We were debating the legitimacy of it all but thought it would be worth it to check it out. Only a couple hours later were we touching the stage, being touched by the band and singing to our favorite singles. The night completely exceeded all our expectations. Even better, I stayed with Ashely to wait for one of the managers to take down a poster for me and we were just hanging outside when we saw Tyler Glen (lead singer) start walking up the sidewalk. Obviously, we smiled at him and started up a conversation about how we were students at BYU (the band started in Provo) and they started asking about our study abroad etc etc. After, Ashley and I were so star struck we couldn't believe it. They were all so chill and nice to us throughout the conversation - incredibly down-to-earth. When they started to walk away, the bass guitarist shouted over to us "Have fun, but remember who you are!"
We then went the basilica in Valle de los Caidos. Built in the 1940s, the basilica rests in the mountains and was enormous. The layout was of a cross and it was much gloomier than the other churches we have visited because there were no windows. It housed the remains of lots of the fighters involved in the civil war as well as the tomb of Franco that was in a different area we weren't able to see.
After those quick stops, we went to El Escorial to the Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. This was one of my favorite places: it was the "summer" palace mainly for Philip II but today it is also a monastery and private college. It has the tombs of the majority of monarchs that ruled in Spain and a massive basilica. The palace itself was very plain and ordinary because as Philip II stayed there, he was said to be like a monk with all his religious practices. The most ornate parts of the palace were the wooden doors which were made from all different types of wood with incredible detail as well as the area which held all the tombs which was pure marble (ceilings, walls, floor - everything). There is also a library there, one of the best well-kept in Europe (something like 40,000 books, old old books). The most interesting that I can remember was when we were in the basilica the tour guide (also a walking advertisement) said that people can still get married in it for 1500 euro - which doesn't seem that much to me to be married in a historical basilica of one of the kings in Spain! He said it includes a childrens choir, use of the massive organs, the red carpet and flowers all over the alter. Sounds amazing to me! After our tour, we all sprinted back to the bus because it was so cold!
The bus dropped us of in Madrid because we found out about a Neon Trees secret concert. We were debating the legitimacy of it all but thought it would be worth it to check it out. Only a couple hours later were we touching the stage, being touched by the band and singing to our favorite singles. The night completely exceeded all our expectations. Even better, I stayed with Ashely to wait for one of the managers to take down a poster for me and we were just hanging outside when we saw Tyler Glen (lead singer) start walking up the sidewalk. Obviously, we smiled at him and started up a conversation about how we were students at BYU (the band started in Provo) and they started asking about our study abroad etc etc. After, Ashley and I were so star struck we couldn't believe it. They were all so chill and nice to us throughout the conversation - incredibly down-to-earth. When they started to walk away, the bass guitarist shouted over to us "Have fun, but remember who you are!"
Guys... trust me, it's this way
On Friday, we took a day-trip to Toledo. We took a bus tour at first and went to a spot across the river to get a beautiful landscape view of the entire city. Toledo is perched up on this hill surrounded by a river. It was incredible and a breath-taking scene.
We took the escalators to get up to Toledo and went to the cathedral. I will be honest and say that I have seen an incredible amount of cathedrals at this point and am having trouble recalling our visit to this one. However, I do remember the Baroque decorations. Our tour guide mentioned that the area behind the alter in most cathedrals are the darkest and the architects of this cathedral thought to put a large window to create for lighting. There were also several cardinals buried in this cathedral. People hung these red caps above the tombs. The “legend” is that when the caps fall, their souls have entered into heaven. Unfortunately, none of the caps have fallen, so they’ve been trapped for quite some time now. Something unique about this cathedral was that in a room it housed several original works of El Greco. His largest painting was of Christ and it was unique because he painted people in the background above Christ’s figure, which was looked down upon. There were also paintings there by Van Dyck and Carvaggio. After our visit to the cathedral, we went to a smaller chapel that has The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. It was a self-portrait with also the face of his wife as Mary and the face of his son as well as he depicted a two-world picture. We then had a little bit of free time where the “sisterhood” found a small courtyard to sit in the sun and leisurely eat our lunches. While we were there, Spanish boys around our ages started calling out from the windows and they came down to talk to us. Jenny thought it would be funny if she and Lexi just started speaking Gibberish instead of any English or Spanish. She did a fantastic job of keeping a straight face (can’t say the same about myself) and we walked off until Ashley’s conscious got to her and they walked back to try to apologize and talk to the Spanish boys. They had disappeared and Lexi tried throwing pebbles at their windows to get them to come down again. Eventually, they got their attention and cleared their conscious. As we headed back to the bus, we realized we had no idea where to go. Jenny and Ashley were positive it was one way while Lexi and I were sure it was the other. We split up and I am proud to say that we made it back to the bus long before Jenny and Ashley.
We took the escalators to get up to Toledo and went to the cathedral. I will be honest and say that I have seen an incredible amount of cathedrals at this point and am having trouble recalling our visit to this one. However, I do remember the Baroque decorations. Our tour guide mentioned that the area behind the alter in most cathedrals are the darkest and the architects of this cathedral thought to put a large window to create for lighting. There were also several cardinals buried in this cathedral. People hung these red caps above the tombs. The “legend” is that when the caps fall, their souls have entered into heaven. Unfortunately, none of the caps have fallen, so they’ve been trapped for quite some time now. Something unique about this cathedral was that in a room it housed several original works of El Greco. His largest painting was of Christ and it was unique because he painted people in the background above Christ’s figure, which was looked down upon. There were also paintings there by Van Dyck and Carvaggio. After our visit to the cathedral, we went to a smaller chapel that has The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. It was a self-portrait with also the face of his wife as Mary and the face of his son as well as he depicted a two-world picture. We then had a little bit of free time where the “sisterhood” found a small courtyard to sit in the sun and leisurely eat our lunches. While we were there, Spanish boys around our ages started calling out from the windows and they came down to talk to us. Jenny thought it would be funny if she and Lexi just started speaking Gibberish instead of any English or Spanish. She did a fantastic job of keeping a straight face (can’t say the same about myself) and we walked off until Ashley’s conscious got to her and they walked back to try to apologize and talk to the Spanish boys. They had disappeared and Lexi tried throwing pebbles at their windows to get them to come down again. Eventually, they got their attention and cleared their conscious. As we headed back to the bus, we realized we had no idea where to go. Jenny and Ashley were positive it was one way while Lexi and I were sure it was the other. We split up and I am proud to say that we made it back to the bus long before Jenny and Ashley.
San Miguel
We made a point throughout the week to get everyone to come with us to the San Miguel mercado again on Wednesday. Even though it was the night before many of our first Spanish exams, we decided we should go anyway (hopefully this gives you an idea of our priorities...) The group was a bit bigger than last time, but we were able to introduce a few girls to the San Miguel. They fell in love just like the rest of us! Walking around all the stands and getting little sampler sizes of everything satisfied all of our curious tastes. They have everything from sushi to Yo-Zone-like froyo (except they have Almond butter and Nutella as options for toppings - definitely suggesting that to Yo-Zone!) It was our fun "study break" adventure to Madrid.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Sugar High
On Sunday, we had stake conference at the Madrid temple. It was beautiful ground and interesting to see all the members of the church gather here. According to our religion teacher, Faustino Lopez, there are 44,000 Mormons in Spain - about 1 for every thousand people. His class is really interesting and he talks about when he converted, it felt like he was no longer a Spaniard anymore because everyone who is Spanish, is Catholic. It's just the way it is historically. The family I live with are mostly inactive and don't go to church at all except for Nieves. It's really interesting to see the church in this different culture. Although they are from different backgrounds, our classes and meetings still teach the same things and don't vary from ward to ward, stake to stake or country to country for that matter. It's just something interesting we've all noticed despite the language barrier.
The funny part of Sunday was as I was getting ready, my curling iron blew out - and the rest of the apartment's electricity. So now I've broken my straightener, curling iron and my blow dryer is on the verge of snapping. It was time for new ones but I would have liked to avoid breaking all of them!
Valentine's Day was not as bad as I thought it was going to be - it was actually one of the best Valentine's Days I've had (being single anyways.) I woke up to a package sent from my wonderful family with a nice card and some candy. Growing up my parents would always ackowledge the holiday and give Chloe and I treats. After classes, my friends and I headed to Carrefour (similar to a Walmart) to get ingredients to make sugar cookies at our director's house. Apparently they don't use baking soda here in Spain so we found some sort of conversion for baking powder for baking soda. If you use 3 teaspoons for every 1 teaspoon of baking soda the recipe calls for, you'll be fine. Well our cookies turned out delicious. Instead of the liquid vanilla extract we got sugar flavored like vanilla. We bought a bouquet of flowers for our director too. We headed over there around 7 and we each brought little treats including: sour candy, m&ms, oreos, principes (delicious Spanish cookies), huestitos, kit kats and then we ordered pizza as well. We made our cookies with questionable frosting because of the powdered sugar we found was bizarre. And after we gathered around my computer and watched Valentine's Day. It was so fun. I talked with different girls in the program and got to know them better. I love them allll!
It was late when we all headed home and Jenny, Lexi, Carly and I roamed the public transportation for about 40 minutes with the sketchiest bus driver ever. I'm pretty sure we fishtailed twice and he was trying to kill us. We couldn't stop laughing because we were so jittery from all the sugar we consumed. Apparently, the bus driver liked Katy Perry and played a song for us from his cell phone we all hadn't heard of. His driving made me feel so sick and we finally got home after staying on for the whole bus route for the 6 bus. Quite the adventure to end Valentine's Day spent with the girls I love!
The funny part of Sunday was as I was getting ready, my curling iron blew out - and the rest of the apartment's electricity. So now I've broken my straightener, curling iron and my blow dryer is on the verge of snapping. It was time for new ones but I would have liked to avoid breaking all of them!
Valentine's Day was not as bad as I thought it was going to be - it was actually one of the best Valentine's Days I've had (being single anyways.) I woke up to a package sent from my wonderful family with a nice card and some candy. Growing up my parents would always ackowledge the holiday and give Chloe and I treats. After classes, my friends and I headed to Carrefour (similar to a Walmart) to get ingredients to make sugar cookies at our director's house. Apparently they don't use baking soda here in Spain so we found some sort of conversion for baking powder for baking soda. If you use 3 teaspoons for every 1 teaspoon of baking soda the recipe calls for, you'll be fine. Well our cookies turned out delicious. Instead of the liquid vanilla extract we got sugar flavored like vanilla. We bought a bouquet of flowers for our director too. We headed over there around 7 and we each brought little treats including: sour candy, m&ms, oreos, principes (delicious Spanish cookies), huestitos, kit kats and then we ordered pizza as well. We made our cookies with questionable frosting because of the powdered sugar we found was bizarre. And after we gathered around my computer and watched Valentine's Day. It was so fun. I talked with different girls in the program and got to know them better. I love them allll!
It was late when we all headed home and Jenny, Lexi, Carly and I roamed the public transportation for about 40 minutes with the sketchiest bus driver ever. I'm pretty sure we fishtailed twice and he was trying to kill us. We couldn't stop laughing because we were so jittery from all the sugar we consumed. Apparently, the bus driver liked Katy Perry and played a song for us from his cell phone we all hadn't heard of. His driving made me feel so sick and we finally got home after staying on for the whole bus route for the 6 bus. Quite the adventure to end Valentine's Day spent with the girls I love!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Just a typical weekend... in Andalucia
On Wednesday our group left for Andalucia – yes we missed two days of classes because travelling is a priority here. (Every time I talk to my parents, they’re kind enough to ask how my classes are going. Hopefully they’ve caught on by now that classes are the smallest portion of how I have been spending my time here in Spain.) We all packed onto a bus and headed to southern Spain.
Our first stop was Consuegra. We parked at the top of these hills which had the windmills Cervantes used in his tale of Don Quijote – when he attacks the windmills believing they are monsters. The view was amazing and we spent 30 minutes shooting and getting pictures. We then headed to our second stop – Cordoba. As we kept traveling further south, the weather got warmer and warmer. As soon as I saw palm trees, I knew I loved everything about southern Spain. That’s pretty much the same for anywhere I travel: if there are palm trees and it’s decently warm, I’m happy. Anyway there is this beautiful river that runs through Cordoba that we went over to get to the cathedral. La Mezquita Catedral was originally constructed by the Moorish and you could see the Arab design of the building. There were hundreds of these double arches with red and white painting on it. Here the 7,000 Muslims would come to pray. They would all lay on the ground with there heads down praying in unison. Our director, Cynthia, told us to imagine that many people in the building and the echo it would create – the image painted in our minds was astounding. The most interesting part about this was that when the Europeans gained back Cordoba they constructed a Catholic cathedral in the center of the building with an altar. So, the mix of the two uses of the building was interesting. We also went to these gardens outside the building in which Isabel and Columbus supposedly discussed his plans to sail to the Americas. It was a beautiful day and the gardens had ponds with fish, palm trees (of course), and tons of orange trees. A couple people picked oranges, peeled and tasted them, but soon discovered that they were not ripe oranges. We wandered around for a bit through the narrow, windy side roads. We got our gelato too and went into the stores that sold lots of little trinkets. After a few hours in Cordoba, we headed to our final destination for the next two nights – Sevilla.
Seville is my favorite city we’ve stayed in so far. It might be because we had the most time there, but I also really enjoyed the layout of the city. It was divided by this beautiful river with bridges to get back and forth. There were several restaurants lined along the sides of the river. It was a busy city but not overwhelming. Once we all checked into the hotel we dropped our things off and went to find a place to eat with everyone. We decided to keep things fairly cheap and went to get kebabs. We walked around for a while, but we were incredibly tired from the travelling that day and a group of us gathered in one of the hotel rooms to share American milanos and chit chat.
We woke up early and headed on a tour of the city – obviously of the cathedral and/or castle/palace that’s in every European city. Seville has the “world’s largest Gothic cathedral” which was actually huge on the inside – an architectural masterpiece. We were able to climb up the bell tower (which was ramps on the way up, not stair thank goodness!) We also went to the palace in Seville, El Alcazar, that was entirely inspired by Moorish design – Arabic writings and bright colors. The gardens in the palace were beautiful too that had a pipe pouring water from the roof of the palace into a pond. And there were palm trees, of course. After our tour it was such a beautiful day outside that we just wanted to find an outdoor place to eat and sit in the sun. We walked through the tiny side streets to find some gelato and sat at one the monuments by the cathedral and layed down at the stairs. I fell asleep for a while. As we were talking, we all started to realize how incredible this trip really was: we have seen all these monumental cathedrals, palaces etc and are able to travel to some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. We frequently talk about how grateful we are to be here this semester and enjoying all these experiences together.
After heading back to the hotel, I wanted to do something a little more active so I went with another group of students to rent bikes! This was a hard decision because we needed to “subscribe” for 7 days and the initial fee was 10 euros. I weighed it out in my mind and it didn’t take very long: was it worth 10 euros to ride a bike for an hour and a half along the river of Sevilla? Yes, absolutely. We got all the bikes right when the sun was setting and it was basically a dream come true – incredibly surreal. For anyone that knows me will know that I’m not incredibly comfortable on bikes especially in stressful situations – among traffic, lots of people etc. But everything worked out because there were designated bike paths on all the sidewalks that really helped me out.
Sevilla is also known for its fish. So, Thursday night we went to a casual restaurant along the river and ordered batter-fried grouper, cod etc. It was quite a romantic evening to share with 4 other girls. The best part was the stray black kitten that wouldn’t leave from underneath our table, or maybe the 2 euros Lexi was charged for ketchup. We wandered of course afterward trying to find the Plaza de Espana that is supposedly beautiful and covered in the tiles Sevilla is infamous for – every souvenir store has the most beautifully decorated, colorful tiles that I want to buy for my kitchen some day! Anyway, we walked around for 30 minutes and we were being pointed in all opposite directions, so we decided to head back to the hotel. I would say it was our first unsuccessful wandering experience, but I was tired enough that it didn’t bother me.
I woke up the next morning with Jenny and Brooke at 5:45am to go running. It was obviously still dark out and not cold at all. We didn’t think about it before but as soon as we left the hotel we realized we were going to run into all of the partiers who were still out and just turning around to head home. Boy, did we underestimate! It was almost scary because we were called after, yelled at, cheered on, sang to and even chased after! It was really, really funny and probably paid off because we certainly picked up the pace and laughed a lot. I ended up keeping up with the track stars (I was quite impressed with myself since I hate running) and we ran four miles in the early morning throughout Sevilla! It was a memorable experience. We quickly showered and packed up to head to Granada with the group.
We were barely in Granada for 24 hours so it’s hard to say we saw a lot but we did go to the famous Alhambra! Alhambra is the city where the imam lived during the Moorish rule – a city within a city basically. In Alhambra, there was a magnificent palace and gardens. All of the walls in the palace were intricately sculpted and decorated with Arabic writings and the beautiful tiles southern Spain has everywhere. After our three-hour tour of Alhambra, we walked around the main streets in Granada because there was lots of shopping. Everyone’s favorite store was called Pull and Bear, which had cute things at fair prices. I bought a shirt that says “Jump, Shout and Feel Free”: possibly the newest motto for my life. There was also an “Arab market” which had lots of random, cheap things and I was able to get a couple souvenirs and bags of herbal tea! For dinner, we walked in and out of the windy side roads again and found a tiny little restaurant tucked in the corner of this small plaza. We all got pizzas that were really enjoyable and tasted like they were made with mozerella cheese. We headed straight back to the hotel because it gets much colder in Granada at night than Sevilla because you’re higher up and closer to the mountains. There are even places to ski really close to Granada.
We woke up early again on Saturday to go running through Granada and ran down to this aquaduct-river-type-thing to see if we could watch the sunrise. We realized that the purpose of the canal-thing was for when all the snow on the top of the mountains melts. We had to be back at the hotel at a certain time so we didn’t have enough time to watch the sunrise but it was fun enough to see Granada in the early morning. Once we checked out of the rooms, we had time to either go to the Cathedral, which housed the tomb of Queen Isabel or go to the spice market again. We headed to the market to look for more gifts for our families and friends.
Saturday morning was the same morning I found out I didn’t get the internship I was hoping for this summer. I was really bummed because I had felt so confident in how I did with the interviews and I had gotten such a positive response back from the company. When I told my friends in the program, they were really comforting and helped joke around for me to get my mind off of it. I’ve really grown to love the girls I’ve met on the trip and their wonderful personalities. I’ve learned so much from them and have been able to work on my characteristics that I think need improvement. Spending time with these girls, we can always laugh and have a good time. Although I didn’t get the internship, they quickly helped me see life goes on and that this might be for the better. It was hard to not think about it on the long bus ride back to Alcala. We drove through this area literally filled with olive trees. As far as you could see into the distance were olive trees – it was incredibly overwhelming and after a solid 30 minutes of driving through it, very boring. I thought about how much I really dislike the taste of olives and have always pushed them off my plate before this trip. Now being in Spain, olives are one of the main tapas dishes and I’ve tried a few here and there at the various places we’ve been. Slowly, I see myself getting more acquainted with the sour taste. As I thought about my literal tastes changing I thought about how this trip has helped me to mature, easy-going and become more of an individual. I swear if I had been back in Provo and found out about the internship, I probably would have stayed in my room for the rest of the weekend. But life goes on, and I will have to make do with what I am given and try to make the best out of that. When life gives you olives, try one and maybe it won’t taste as bad as you think.
Our first stop was Consuegra. We parked at the top of these hills which had the windmills Cervantes used in his tale of Don Quijote – when he attacks the windmills believing they are monsters. The view was amazing and we spent 30 minutes shooting and getting pictures. We then headed to our second stop – Cordoba. As we kept traveling further south, the weather got warmer and warmer. As soon as I saw palm trees, I knew I loved everything about southern Spain. That’s pretty much the same for anywhere I travel: if there are palm trees and it’s decently warm, I’m happy. Anyway there is this beautiful river that runs through Cordoba that we went over to get to the cathedral. La Mezquita Catedral was originally constructed by the Moorish and you could see the Arab design of the building. There were hundreds of these double arches with red and white painting on it. Here the 7,000 Muslims would come to pray. They would all lay on the ground with there heads down praying in unison. Our director, Cynthia, told us to imagine that many people in the building and the echo it would create – the image painted in our minds was astounding. The most interesting part about this was that when the Europeans gained back Cordoba they constructed a Catholic cathedral in the center of the building with an altar. So, the mix of the two uses of the building was interesting. We also went to these gardens outside the building in which Isabel and Columbus supposedly discussed his plans to sail to the Americas. It was a beautiful day and the gardens had ponds with fish, palm trees (of course), and tons of orange trees. A couple people picked oranges, peeled and tasted them, but soon discovered that they were not ripe oranges. We wandered around for a bit through the narrow, windy side roads. We got our gelato too and went into the stores that sold lots of little trinkets. After a few hours in Cordoba, we headed to our final destination for the next two nights – Sevilla.
Seville is my favorite city we’ve stayed in so far. It might be because we had the most time there, but I also really enjoyed the layout of the city. It was divided by this beautiful river with bridges to get back and forth. There were several restaurants lined along the sides of the river. It was a busy city but not overwhelming. Once we all checked into the hotel we dropped our things off and went to find a place to eat with everyone. We decided to keep things fairly cheap and went to get kebabs. We walked around for a while, but we were incredibly tired from the travelling that day and a group of us gathered in one of the hotel rooms to share American milanos and chit chat.
We woke up early and headed on a tour of the city – obviously of the cathedral and/or castle/palace that’s in every European city. Seville has the “world’s largest Gothic cathedral” which was actually huge on the inside – an architectural masterpiece. We were able to climb up the bell tower (which was ramps on the way up, not stair thank goodness!) We also went to the palace in Seville, El Alcazar, that was entirely inspired by Moorish design – Arabic writings and bright colors. The gardens in the palace were beautiful too that had a pipe pouring water from the roof of the palace into a pond. And there were palm trees, of course. After our tour it was such a beautiful day outside that we just wanted to find an outdoor place to eat and sit in the sun. We walked through the tiny side streets to find some gelato and sat at one the monuments by the cathedral and layed down at the stairs. I fell asleep for a while. As we were talking, we all started to realize how incredible this trip really was: we have seen all these monumental cathedrals, palaces etc and are able to travel to some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. We frequently talk about how grateful we are to be here this semester and enjoying all these experiences together.
After heading back to the hotel, I wanted to do something a little more active so I went with another group of students to rent bikes! This was a hard decision because we needed to “subscribe” for 7 days and the initial fee was 10 euros. I weighed it out in my mind and it didn’t take very long: was it worth 10 euros to ride a bike for an hour and a half along the river of Sevilla? Yes, absolutely. We got all the bikes right when the sun was setting and it was basically a dream come true – incredibly surreal. For anyone that knows me will know that I’m not incredibly comfortable on bikes especially in stressful situations – among traffic, lots of people etc. But everything worked out because there were designated bike paths on all the sidewalks that really helped me out.
Sevilla is also known for its fish. So, Thursday night we went to a casual restaurant along the river and ordered batter-fried grouper, cod etc. It was quite a romantic evening to share with 4 other girls. The best part was the stray black kitten that wouldn’t leave from underneath our table, or maybe the 2 euros Lexi was charged for ketchup. We wandered of course afterward trying to find the Plaza de Espana that is supposedly beautiful and covered in the tiles Sevilla is infamous for – every souvenir store has the most beautifully decorated, colorful tiles that I want to buy for my kitchen some day! Anyway, we walked around for 30 minutes and we were being pointed in all opposite directions, so we decided to head back to the hotel. I would say it was our first unsuccessful wandering experience, but I was tired enough that it didn’t bother me.
I woke up the next morning with Jenny and Brooke at 5:45am to go running. It was obviously still dark out and not cold at all. We didn’t think about it before but as soon as we left the hotel we realized we were going to run into all of the partiers who were still out and just turning around to head home. Boy, did we underestimate! It was almost scary because we were called after, yelled at, cheered on, sang to and even chased after! It was really, really funny and probably paid off because we certainly picked up the pace and laughed a lot. I ended up keeping up with the track stars (I was quite impressed with myself since I hate running) and we ran four miles in the early morning throughout Sevilla! It was a memorable experience. We quickly showered and packed up to head to Granada with the group.
We were barely in Granada for 24 hours so it’s hard to say we saw a lot but we did go to the famous Alhambra! Alhambra is the city where the imam lived during the Moorish rule – a city within a city basically. In Alhambra, there was a magnificent palace and gardens. All of the walls in the palace were intricately sculpted and decorated with Arabic writings and the beautiful tiles southern Spain has everywhere. After our three-hour tour of Alhambra, we walked around the main streets in Granada because there was lots of shopping. Everyone’s favorite store was called Pull and Bear, which had cute things at fair prices. I bought a shirt that says “Jump, Shout and Feel Free”: possibly the newest motto for my life. There was also an “Arab market” which had lots of random, cheap things and I was able to get a couple souvenirs and bags of herbal tea! For dinner, we walked in and out of the windy side roads again and found a tiny little restaurant tucked in the corner of this small plaza. We all got pizzas that were really enjoyable and tasted like they were made with mozerella cheese. We headed straight back to the hotel because it gets much colder in Granada at night than Sevilla because you’re higher up and closer to the mountains. There are even places to ski really close to Granada.
We woke up early again on Saturday to go running through Granada and ran down to this aquaduct-river-type-thing to see if we could watch the sunrise. We realized that the purpose of the canal-thing was for when all the snow on the top of the mountains melts. We had to be back at the hotel at a certain time so we didn’t have enough time to watch the sunrise but it was fun enough to see Granada in the early morning. Once we checked out of the rooms, we had time to either go to the Cathedral, which housed the tomb of Queen Isabel or go to the spice market again. We headed to the market to look for more gifts for our families and friends.
Saturday morning was the same morning I found out I didn’t get the internship I was hoping for this summer. I was really bummed because I had felt so confident in how I did with the interviews and I had gotten such a positive response back from the company. When I told my friends in the program, they were really comforting and helped joke around for me to get my mind off of it. I’ve really grown to love the girls I’ve met on the trip and their wonderful personalities. I’ve learned so much from them and have been able to work on my characteristics that I think need improvement. Spending time with these girls, we can always laugh and have a good time. Although I didn’t get the internship, they quickly helped me see life goes on and that this might be for the better. It was hard to not think about it on the long bus ride back to Alcala. We drove through this area literally filled with olive trees. As far as you could see into the distance were olive trees – it was incredibly overwhelming and after a solid 30 minutes of driving through it, very boring. I thought about how much I really dislike the taste of olives and have always pushed them off my plate before this trip. Now being in Spain, olives are one of the main tapas dishes and I’ve tried a few here and there at the various places we’ve been. Slowly, I see myself getting more acquainted with the sour taste. As I thought about my literal tastes changing I thought about how this trip has helped me to mature, easy-going and become more of an individual. I swear if I had been back in Provo and found out about the internship, I probably would have stayed in my room for the rest of the weekend. But life goes on, and I will have to make do with what I am given and try to make the best out of that. When life gives you olives, try one and maybe it won’t taste as bad as you think.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Good Life
Today was just an amazing day.
After class I met with Grace and Sarah at the Cafe de Libreros. They go to U of A but are studying in Alcala. We have a good time "charlaring" and catching up. With all of us combined, we keep each other in the loop of local things going on, what to see and brainstorm fun ideas to do. We walked to the Cafe in the beautiful weather we've been having and sat had warm drinks with a muffin. The simplicity of the get together was all we needed to enjoy our afternoon. We talked about various things like a possible excursion to the Ballearic Islands my last weekend here, going to the San Miguel Mercado together next week, a graduate Masters program offered in Alcala to teach English, friends coming to visit etc etc. When we started talking about the graduate program we talked about how old we were getting. For me, I had always gone through high school saying to myself "oh yea.. I'll study abroad when I get older." And that's now! I can't believe that it has come so quickly. This passed weekend when I went to Paris it was the same idea. It was all a big blur because I had always thought to myself growing up that I would travel to Paris and throughout Europe when I was "older." That image of myself that I had growing up is now! This is such a major landmark in my development into a real, full grown adult...scary stuff. I'm not sure I can handle the thought of it! And even worse is that next fall I will be a junior... in college. That's just incredible to me.
We finally left the cafe after a solid hour and a half of chatting and I walked home in the beautiful weather. I absoltely believe that sunshine makes people happier - it has to be true because I can certainly tell a difference in my mood! On my way back to the house, I thought about how amazing it is to be here in Spain and going through all of these experiences. I have grown to adore traveling and seeing the many cities of the world - each beautiful and unique with its own unique store, cafe, cathedral or corner. I walked home listening to my absolute favorite song by OneRepublic on repeat - Good Life. There is a reason why it's been played over 80 times in my iTunes library :)
After class I met with Grace and Sarah at the Cafe de Libreros. They go to U of A but are studying in Alcala. We have a good time "charlaring" and catching up. With all of us combined, we keep each other in the loop of local things going on, what to see and brainstorm fun ideas to do. We walked to the Cafe in the beautiful weather we've been having and sat had warm drinks with a muffin. The simplicity of the get together was all we needed to enjoy our afternoon. We talked about various things like a possible excursion to the Ballearic Islands my last weekend here, going to the San Miguel Mercado together next week, a graduate Masters program offered in Alcala to teach English, friends coming to visit etc etc. When we started talking about the graduate program we talked about how old we were getting. For me, I had always gone through high school saying to myself "oh yea.. I'll study abroad when I get older." And that's now! I can't believe that it has come so quickly. This passed weekend when I went to Paris it was the same idea. It was all a big blur because I had always thought to myself growing up that I would travel to Paris and throughout Europe when I was "older." That image of myself that I had growing up is now! This is such a major landmark in my development into a real, full grown adult...scary stuff. I'm not sure I can handle the thought of it! And even worse is that next fall I will be a junior... in college. That's just incredible to me.
We finally left the cafe after a solid hour and a half of chatting and I walked home in the beautiful weather. I absoltely believe that sunshine makes people happier - it has to be true because I can certainly tell a difference in my mood! On my way back to the house, I thought about how amazing it is to be here in Spain and going through all of these experiences. I have grown to adore traveling and seeing the many cities of the world - each beautiful and unique with its own unique store, cafe, cathedral or corner. I walked home listening to my absolute favorite song by OneRepublic on repeat - Good Life. There is a reason why it's been played over 80 times in my iTunes library :)
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