Hello again!
Time is flying by, but I'm sticking with it all! I'm getting lots of final projects finished in the next couple of weeks, then my parents come to visit for 8 days in mid May, then I have final exams and June 5th I'm done! Yikes, I don't want it to end but I'm enjoying every new twist and turn and life experience I've encountered.
I finally got around to putting up the rest of the photos from the Italy trip, so check those out when you get a chance, and if you have a facebook you can see lots more there!
Today I was working on some homework in my room when my friend Federica called me "vete al parque, vamos a ganar unos zapatos!". Her spanish roommate is friends with a guy who works for the shoe company Converse, and found out about a promotion they were doing in the park. We got there, they handed us some brand new converse shoes, and we put them on, tied our legs together and raced! And we won! AKA we got free shirts, bandannas and sound-canceling headphones, pilot-sized. It was just a random group of spaniards who had heard about the promotion and were there, and I'm so glad we went! It was a blast to participate and learn new vocabulary (I was saying things like hop and rub (the string was rubbing my skin) and just a big group of words I had never really used/learned before). I got to meet some friends of Federica's roommate and practice my spanish with more locals.
It's amazing how different it is between in-class-spanish (or with other international students) and in-a-group-of-spaniard-friends-spanish. They talk SO much faster, and use lots of slang and phrases that don't make any sense to someone who's not a native speaker or part of their group. But it was fun to listen and participate when I could, and I hey, I walked away with some free shoes!
Pretty fun stuff. Last night a big group of us from the program and some spaniards went out for tapas and ended up at a bar that is on the top floor of an apartment building. There's outdoor seating and lots of space inside, which is good since it was packed at 11pm for dinner. Everyone ordered sangria and we munched on fried calamari, potatoes, olives etc. Basically just having a blast and enjoying being with spaniards...and totally exhausted and must go to bed (sorry if this blog has horrible english, much too tired to care right now).
Tomorrow is a day of homework, then I'm seeing a dance show in the evening with Fede. My host mom taught me how to make paella today! So it's another thing to add to my list...gonna do a big spanish meal for all my buds at Whitman when I get back.
Hasta luego!
Alex
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Bella Italia
Starting the trip off right: Pizza.
The Roman Colosseum!
RUINS!! The Forum, Colosseum, (and pretty flowers)
Very cool central plaza - Piazza Navona (cafes, street artists, people watching...)
St. Peters, most beautiful cathedral (inside)
The Pantheon
The Trevi Fountain
Finishing the last day in Rome with a lovely cappuccino
The winding roads of Siena
On our beautiful bike ride outside of Siena
The massive Duomo in Florence - reminded me of a HUGE candy shop
The Italian singer on the Ponte Veccio
Kristina and Whitties showing off our whip cream mustaches - melted chocolate topped with whip cream in a square in Florence :) :) :)
Awesome food markets
The gelato was a work of art in Florence
The Ponte Vecchio
View of Florence
Little Colosseum in Verona
View over Verona
Juliet's Balcony
Duomo in Venice
Gondolas in the Grand Canal
Canals in Venice
Venice at night and high-tide
Hello everyone!
This was my first week back at school, Spain (and many parts of Europe) celebrated "Semana Santa/Pascua" aka Easter Week aka SPRING BREAK! But no Cancun/Maimi Beach here, I was attending church services and seeing some of the coolest, oldest, most beautiful places in the world! A girlfriend Kristina (met her at the Spanish university) and I planned a 9 day, intensive tour of Italy - Rome on up, and it was a blast. We flew into Rome the night of the earthquake actually - it hit in L'Aquila, about 70 miles from Rome, a 6.3 - did a lot of damage. We were lucky enough not to be affected, Kristina and I didn't even wake up/feel it, but others in our hostel said they did. Anyway, on a happier note, Rome was amazing. My favorite city in Italy. We had a good 3 days there and used every minute of it! We walked the streets/hopped "free" buses wherever we could, and braved the metro once, and only once. There are two, yes, 2 metro lines in Rome, and it's a total fiasco. One of the main things I noticed about that country is that things are pretty badly run/disorganized, they don't even clearly mark things! I guess it's something I had taken for granted being in the US where everything is essentially bran spankin' new compared to here. For example we went to the Uffizi museum in Florence, which had obtained paintings before our country existed, kinda weird to think about...
Anyway, Rome, as I was saying, was a blast. We went to the Vatican, saw St. Peters, the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and checked out many cool neighborhoods and Piazzas. The pizza was delicious there, but the best gelato we had was definitely Florence - I randomly ran into a girl from Whitman there (totally by accident, so fun!) and we ended up going out with other Whitties who were studying abroad there AKA they showed us the best gelato, EVER. Oh I'm getting side tracked...
One of my favorite things in Rome was one night when Kristina and I were wandering another adorable street near the Piazza Navona, we ran into two of the coolest thrift stores I've ever seen. They were just chock-full of everything from leather bags belts and cowboy boots to beautiful 50s dresses, hats, old converse shoes, great scarves, dirt-bike suits, you name it. We had a blast going through everything and at closing, the owner who had been chatting with us invited us to stay for wine after they closed! So we did of course. We sat around with him, his wife, their son, his friend and their two dogs, talking in a combination of English Italian and Spanish to get our points across, it was pretty fun.
I noticed that most people in Italy spoke at least a little English - even when I would try and ask things in Italian I would get an immediate response in English, like I had "dumb American" written across my forehead. But in the end it was easier that way, and when they didn't speak English it was fun to try and say things in Spanish/what I thought might be the Italian equivalent, I probably sounded idiotic at times, but it was fun nonetheless.
Best food in Rome: a slice of mozzarella, basil and tomato pizza (they cut it with scissors and weigh it for the price), and ricotta-nutella dessert calzone. yum.
We headed up to Siena on our way to Florence and were there pretty much all day. It was an adorable city in the Tuscan country side: lots of winding, cobblestone roads, old buildings, a cute piazza, and the best food we ate. We found a restaurant our guide book (which a girl in our Rome hostel handed down to us) and I say found because it was IMPOSSIBLE to find - tucked up in some corner of something they thought they could call a street. But it was worth it! Kristina had the fattest spaghetti I've ever seen, chewy, delicious, and home made that morning. I had a bow-tie pasta with artichokes and thyme, and oh my god. Just the simplest ingredients and flavors, the Italians really know what they're doing.
We rented bikes and attempted a "ride in the Tuscan countryside". We were wearing jeans and not at all ready to take on the hills we were about to face, and thus went about half the distance we had planned, but it was still fun and amazingly gorgeous. Just a mile or two out of Siena and you're in the countryside, winding through the roads and enjoying the scenery. It was so green! Unfortunately we were too early for all the blooming flowers but it was still breathtaking. We found a nice field and stopped for an orange. It was great.
Best food in Siena: the lunch I mentioned, SOOOO good.
That evening we bused to Florence and upon arrival were told by the lovely man at the hostel that they were overbooked, even though we had made our reservations a month earlier. SO, with little help from him, we went about the streets of Florence, assaulting every group of Americans until we found some staying in a hostel! And that worked out nicely - out of all the hostels we stayed in, the ones we booked the night of, not knowing anything, were the best.
We did Florence in a day. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio and climbed Piazza Michelangelo for a great view of Florence, and headed back down to the Uffizi, where a man gave us a free ticket! Kristina had the brains to march on in and ask if she could get another one with this one that "she had already reserved" and we paid 10 euros and walked right in, bypassing the line and everything. It was AWESOME. After enjoying the Uffizi we headed over, through some popular piazzas, to the Galleria Academia which houses Michelangelo's David. Got there an hour before closing, waited in line 15 minutes, and had the rest of the time to enjoy Him. The David was amazing, I was taken aback by him, definitely my favorite piece of art (Michelangelo's painting in the Sistine of God giving life to Adam was also up there). I spend a good half hour gazing up at the statue, and happened to look over and see a familiar face! It was my friend Liz from Whitman, who is studying abroad in France and was also on spring break in Italy. What a coincidence. We went out that night and the next day with more Whitties and had a blast, seeing the less touristy parts of the city.
One of my favorite things was spending an hour on the Ponte Vecchio that night, listening to an Italian singer/guitarist do his thing. He was amazing, great voice, could have been there for hours if it weren't for the cold... and I could smell the waffles down the street...
Best food in Florence: a seafood dinner we had at a fish restaurant (spaghetti with clams and muscles and a shrimp risotto) and home-made gelato, the REAL stuff.
We headed out the next morning to Verona, a nice stop on the way to Venice. We saw the cute piazzas/food markets, got fruit cups, checked out Juliet's Balcony and climbed and hill/archaeology museum/roman theatre to get a great view of the city. It was very cute, but small - we were only there about 4 hours. It was fun walking around there and seeing old tombs/ruins every once in a while.
Best food in Verona: snacks from the market-a fried ball shaped "thing" with rice meat and veggies inside...still a mystery
We trained to Venice that evening and got in just in time for one of the last Vaporettos (water bus-the only form of public transportation) to our hostel. I. LOVED. VENICE. What a beautiful, unique place to be. The main thing we did in Venice was wander...we would get lost, find our way, get lost again etc, and that was the best way to see some cool parts of the city and escape all the tourists. The Duomo was amazing, the floor completely covered in mosaic tiles, and the walls and ceiling all gold mosaics, it was absolutely beautiful. We fed pigeons in St. Marco's square and found a great leather shop on the Rialto bridge, where they make everything in the attic. We also made it out to Murano, the island famous for it's glass. We got to see a glass-blowing demonstration where a middle-aged guy in a tight blue shirt, jean shorts, flip flops and a gold chain hummed and worked scorching hot glass like it was nothing. The cute salesman inside the store convinced both of us to get gifts, I guess he was good at his job!
We went back the next day to see more glass blowing demonstrations, and so Kristina could get more gifts for friends ;) We also found a gelato place (in our guide book) that was pretty famous and really delicious. I went back for a second cone...
Best food in Venice: scallops au gratin and that gelato...both times
And that concludes Italy! It was full of fun and adventure and beauty and my feet were SO glad to return to Madrid (to think, I was complaining at the beginning of the year of how much I walk here!). This week I've been trying to catch up and plan trips for the future...my parents come to visit in May and we're heading up to La Rioja (the wine country of Spain) and Barcelona, and shortly after that (and finals) I go to London, meet with my friend Katie there, and we head over to Sweden for the summer internship!
I did get the chance to go out last night and see some friends who I haven't seen in a while. A lot of them help out with the organization that plans all the trips/events for the international students, so I know them from past trips etc. They are all Spaniards who have already done their semester abroad. We chatted over chips, olives, pizza and "calimocho" (red wine and coca cola, disgusting combination and total waste of red wine, but "the drink" for youth in Spain) and I got to practice my Spanish again, which was refreshing. Even though I'm taking classes in Spanish etc, being with people your age who are speaking the language amongst themselves, as friends, is totally different. It's a lot faster, there is a lot more slang, and it's harder to keep up, but I did ok and had a really good time seeing all of them.
I need to go do some actual homework now! I'm still interning at the bilingual school and it's a blast, working on an evolution unit right now, and continuing with conversation classes. My classes at the university are good, but seem to be getting harder...things are just getting down to the wire so I've got a lot more to do/turn in now! But it's all good! Still having lots of fun. I'll post pics and try to do the captions, we'll see how it goes...
Ciao!
Alex
Ok, that took me like an hour, so I'll leave you hanging at Florence, Siena and Rome to come, must sleep...
The Roman Colosseum!
RUINS!! The Forum, Colosseum, (and pretty flowers)
Very cool central plaza - Piazza Navona (cafes, street artists, people watching...)
St. Peters, most beautiful cathedral (inside)
The Pantheon
The Trevi Fountain
Finishing the last day in Rome with a lovely cappuccino
The winding roads of Siena
On our beautiful bike ride outside of Siena
The massive Duomo in Florence - reminded me of a HUGE candy shop
The Italian singer on the Ponte Veccio
Kristina and Whitties showing off our whip cream mustaches - melted chocolate topped with whip cream in a square in Florence :) :) :)
Awesome food markets
The gelato was a work of art in Florence
The Ponte Vecchio
View of Florence
Little Colosseum in Verona
View over Verona
Juliet's Balcony
Duomo in Venice
Gondolas in the Grand Canal
Canals in Venice
Venice at night and high-tide
Hello everyone!
This was my first week back at school, Spain (and many parts of Europe) celebrated "Semana Santa/Pascua" aka Easter Week aka SPRING BREAK! But no Cancun/Maimi Beach here, I was attending church services and seeing some of the coolest, oldest, most beautiful places in the world! A girlfriend Kristina (met her at the Spanish university) and I planned a 9 day, intensive tour of Italy - Rome on up, and it was a blast. We flew into Rome the night of the earthquake actually - it hit in L'Aquila, about 70 miles from Rome, a 6.3 - did a lot of damage. We were lucky enough not to be affected, Kristina and I didn't even wake up/feel it, but others in our hostel said they did. Anyway, on a happier note, Rome was amazing. My favorite city in Italy. We had a good 3 days there and used every minute of it! We walked the streets/hopped "free" buses wherever we could, and braved the metro once, and only once. There are two, yes, 2 metro lines in Rome, and it's a total fiasco. One of the main things I noticed about that country is that things are pretty badly run/disorganized, they don't even clearly mark things! I guess it's something I had taken for granted being in the US where everything is essentially bran spankin' new compared to here. For example we went to the Uffizi museum in Florence, which had obtained paintings before our country existed, kinda weird to think about...
Anyway, Rome, as I was saying, was a blast. We went to the Vatican, saw St. Peters, the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and checked out many cool neighborhoods and Piazzas. The pizza was delicious there, but the best gelato we had was definitely Florence - I randomly ran into a girl from Whitman there (totally by accident, so fun!) and we ended up going out with other Whitties who were studying abroad there AKA they showed us the best gelato, EVER. Oh I'm getting side tracked...
One of my favorite things in Rome was one night when Kristina and I were wandering another adorable street near the Piazza Navona, we ran into two of the coolest thrift stores I've ever seen. They were just chock-full of everything from leather bags belts and cowboy boots to beautiful 50s dresses, hats, old converse shoes, great scarves, dirt-bike suits, you name it. We had a blast going through everything and at closing, the owner who had been chatting with us invited us to stay for wine after they closed! So we did of course. We sat around with him, his wife, their son, his friend and their two dogs, talking in a combination of English Italian and Spanish to get our points across, it was pretty fun.
I noticed that most people in Italy spoke at least a little English - even when I would try and ask things in Italian I would get an immediate response in English, like I had "dumb American" written across my forehead. But in the end it was easier that way, and when they didn't speak English it was fun to try and say things in Spanish/what I thought might be the Italian equivalent, I probably sounded idiotic at times, but it was fun nonetheless.
Best food in Rome: a slice of mozzarella, basil and tomato pizza (they cut it with scissors and weigh it for the price), and ricotta-nutella dessert calzone. yum.
We headed up to Siena on our way to Florence and were there pretty much all day. It was an adorable city in the Tuscan country side: lots of winding, cobblestone roads, old buildings, a cute piazza, and the best food we ate. We found a restaurant our guide book (which a girl in our Rome hostel handed down to us) and I say found because it was IMPOSSIBLE to find - tucked up in some corner of something they thought they could call a street. But it was worth it! Kristina had the fattest spaghetti I've ever seen, chewy, delicious, and home made that morning. I had a bow-tie pasta with artichokes and thyme, and oh my god. Just the simplest ingredients and flavors, the Italians really know what they're doing.
We rented bikes and attempted a "ride in the Tuscan countryside". We were wearing jeans and not at all ready to take on the hills we were about to face, and thus went about half the distance we had planned, but it was still fun and amazingly gorgeous. Just a mile or two out of Siena and you're in the countryside, winding through the roads and enjoying the scenery. It was so green! Unfortunately we were too early for all the blooming flowers but it was still breathtaking. We found a nice field and stopped for an orange. It was great.
Best food in Siena: the lunch I mentioned, SOOOO good.
That evening we bused to Florence and upon arrival were told by the lovely man at the hostel that they were overbooked, even though we had made our reservations a month earlier. SO, with little help from him, we went about the streets of Florence, assaulting every group of Americans until we found some staying in a hostel! And that worked out nicely - out of all the hostels we stayed in, the ones we booked the night of, not knowing anything, were the best.
We did Florence in a day. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio and climbed Piazza Michelangelo for a great view of Florence, and headed back down to the Uffizi, where a man gave us a free ticket! Kristina had the brains to march on in and ask if she could get another one with this one that "she had already reserved" and we paid 10 euros and walked right in, bypassing the line and everything. It was AWESOME. After enjoying the Uffizi we headed over, through some popular piazzas, to the Galleria Academia which houses Michelangelo's David. Got there an hour before closing, waited in line 15 minutes, and had the rest of the time to enjoy Him. The David was amazing, I was taken aback by him, definitely my favorite piece of art (Michelangelo's painting in the Sistine of God giving life to Adam was also up there). I spend a good half hour gazing up at the statue, and happened to look over and see a familiar face! It was my friend Liz from Whitman, who is studying abroad in France and was also on spring break in Italy. What a coincidence. We went out that night and the next day with more Whitties and had a blast, seeing the less touristy parts of the city.
One of my favorite things was spending an hour on the Ponte Vecchio that night, listening to an Italian singer/guitarist do his thing. He was amazing, great voice, could have been there for hours if it weren't for the cold... and I could smell the waffles down the street...
Best food in Florence: a seafood dinner we had at a fish restaurant (spaghetti with clams and muscles and a shrimp risotto) and home-made gelato, the REAL stuff.
We headed out the next morning to Verona, a nice stop on the way to Venice. We saw the cute piazzas/food markets, got fruit cups, checked out Juliet's Balcony and climbed and hill/archaeology museum/roman theatre to get a great view of the city. It was very cute, but small - we were only there about 4 hours. It was fun walking around there and seeing old tombs/ruins every once in a while.
Best food in Verona: snacks from the market-a fried ball shaped "thing" with rice meat and veggies inside...still a mystery
We trained to Venice that evening and got in just in time for one of the last Vaporettos (water bus-the only form of public transportation) to our hostel. I. LOVED. VENICE. What a beautiful, unique place to be. The main thing we did in Venice was wander...we would get lost, find our way, get lost again etc, and that was the best way to see some cool parts of the city and escape all the tourists. The Duomo was amazing, the floor completely covered in mosaic tiles, and the walls and ceiling all gold mosaics, it was absolutely beautiful. We fed pigeons in St. Marco's square and found a great leather shop on the Rialto bridge, where they make everything in the attic. We also made it out to Murano, the island famous for it's glass. We got to see a glass-blowing demonstration where a middle-aged guy in a tight blue shirt, jean shorts, flip flops and a gold chain hummed and worked scorching hot glass like it was nothing. The cute salesman inside the store convinced both of us to get gifts, I guess he was good at his job!
We went back the next day to see more glass blowing demonstrations, and so Kristina could get more gifts for friends ;) We also found a gelato place (in our guide book) that was pretty famous and really delicious. I went back for a second cone...
Best food in Venice: scallops au gratin and that gelato...both times
And that concludes Italy! It was full of fun and adventure and beauty and my feet were SO glad to return to Madrid (to think, I was complaining at the beginning of the year of how much I walk here!). This week I've been trying to catch up and plan trips for the future...my parents come to visit in May and we're heading up to La Rioja (the wine country of Spain) and Barcelona, and shortly after that (and finals) I go to London, meet with my friend Katie there, and we head over to Sweden for the summer internship!
I did get the chance to go out last night and see some friends who I haven't seen in a while. A lot of them help out with the organization that plans all the trips/events for the international students, so I know them from past trips etc. They are all Spaniards who have already done their semester abroad. We chatted over chips, olives, pizza and "calimocho" (red wine and coca cola, disgusting combination and total waste of red wine, but "the drink" for youth in Spain) and I got to practice my Spanish again, which was refreshing. Even though I'm taking classes in Spanish etc, being with people your age who are speaking the language amongst themselves, as friends, is totally different. It's a lot faster, there is a lot more slang, and it's harder to keep up, but I did ok and had a really good time seeing all of them.
I need to go do some actual homework now! I'm still interning at the bilingual school and it's a blast, working on an evolution unit right now, and continuing with conversation classes. My classes at the university are good, but seem to be getting harder...things are just getting down to the wire so I've got a lot more to do/turn in now! But it's all good! Still having lots of fun. I'll post pics and try to do the captions, we'll see how it goes...
Ciao!
Alex
Ok, that took me like an hour, so I'll leave you hanging at Florence, Siena and Rome to come, must sleep...
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Lots of traveling...
Some of the Fallas
The city of the arts and sciences
La Virgen made of flowers
The burning of a Falla
The soccer stadium
San Sebastian - Cantabrian Sea from a hill-top
Pinxtos :)
The Guggenheim museum
makes time FLY! I can't believe it's been a month since I last wrote, time is flying by, but what a blast.
I went to Valencia 3 weeks ago to see Las Fallas, and it was a lot of fun. My boyfriend from Whitman, Nick, came to visit and we jetted off (via bus) right away to the east. Valencia was a cute city, had more of the Andalucia-southern Spain-relaxed feel about it, but it was bustling with tourists and locals, everyone there perusing the beautiful wood statues. It was a lot more of a festival than I was expecting - we were constantly just walking with the flow of traffic, it was difficult to go at any other pace, but it was enjoyable! The wood statues are actually wood frames surrounded by a mix of card board, paper mache and intricate paint jobs, and inside they are filled with fireworks-thus the "burning" of the statues is actually an explosive party. Artists work on them all year, and they are put on display all over the city for the whole week, and the last night they are all burned! Nick and I really enjoyed just walking around and seeing the different statues, trying Paella Valenciana (paella is a rice dish and in Valencia they serve it mixed with chicken, rabbit, and sometimes snails!) and experiencing a new city. We spent a good 5 hours walking to and from the beach, dipped our toes in the Mediterranean, got delicious Italian food, and saw the amazing City of the Arts and Sciences, a "museum" that has 4 different centers (it's huge!), and is almost as enjoyable to see from the outside as it is from within (all white, beautiful architecture). We got a good spot the last night (the night of the burnings) in the main square to watch the biggest Falla burn - that was by accident, since we thought it was at 12 but it wasn't until 1am. But it was fun nonetheless - you could feel the heat from the statue once it was on fire, it was intense! And the fireworks show that started it off was very cool, so close to us! One of the pieces had a malfunction and came burning down a little early, caused a (slightly scary) sudden movement of everyone in front of me...aka like 1000 people, but it all turned out fine. All in all Valencia was a blast! It was unlike anything I've seen before, and we really took advantage of everything. Oh and one more thing - the people all dress in the traditional costumes, women with Princess Leah hair and hoop skirts under their floral and lace dresses, men in indescribable clothes that reminded me of "Shrek" in a terrible mix-up with a pirate. They would play music and march down the streets, all going in the direction of La Virgen, a HUGE wooden statue of the virgin, where all the flower bouquets were placed in color-specific patterns to construct her dress etc, pretty cool...
Once Nick and I got back to Madrid it was time to show him around! We did lots of walking and bike riding, seeing the city by day and night. I introduced him to the culture of tapas and canas (small beers) and I think he appreciated that. I also took him to a soccer game! My first one - that was WAY cool. The stadium is HUGE, and filled with people yelling and eating sunflower seeds and not caring where the shells go. We were in the cheap sets, properly labeled the "vomitorio" on our tickets, and I think they were the best seats in the house! You could see the whole stadium and still tell what was going on down below on the field. Way fun.
Last weekend I went on a school-organized trip to the north of Spain - San Sebastian. On the way up we stopped in Burgos for lunch, and on the way back we went to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim museum. All very cool. I was SOSOSO happy to see lots of GREEN! I hadn't realized how much I missed it. The north of Spain is precious. On the bus ride there we saw lots of little towns tucked away in the green hillsides, and sheep farms around all of them. San Sebastian is a tranquil city, with the mountains in the background and the Cantabrian Sea to it's side. Just a wonderful place, I really hope I can go back. San Sebastian (and most of the north in the basque country) is known for the Pinxtos ("Pinchos") which are like tapas, but really extravagant and usually bigger. They line the bar, and you pick the few you want and pay for each one individually. Very fun and visually appealing, but I like plates of greasy free tapas better ;)
We explored the downtown and climbed a hill right on the sea to watch the sunset, one of the most beautiful days I've ever experienced. We didn't pass up the opportunity to go to a disco right on the beach, that was way fun. I was sad to leave, but the Guggenheim on the way back was pretty cool! The building itself is a masterpiece, way cool. And I liked some of the exhibits...it's bound to be funky and difficult to understand, but there were a few that I REALLY liked. All in all - I'm totally in love with the north of Spain. A friend of mine wants to rent a car and go camping in Galicia, which is the very north-west corner(above Portugal) so if we can find time, that should be pretty cool!
I leave tonight for ITALY!!! I'm going with a girl I met at the university, Kristina from Texas. We have a week and a half off for Semana Santa, so we're taking advantage of it! We're both super organized so I think it should be a good trip filled with too much to do. We fly into Rome tonight, spend a few days there, will stop at Siena on our way to Florence, spend a few days there, see Verona on the way to Venice, and after 2 days there, head up north to Bergamo to fly out. Should be pretty fun!!! I'm SO excited, Italy is top top on my list of places I want to visit, so it's pretty cool I'm getting to do it! Lots to come with pictures and stories I'm sure.
Hope all is well wherever you are, talk to you soon!
Alex
The city of the arts and sciences
La Virgen made of flowers
The burning of a Falla
The soccer stadium
San Sebastian - Cantabrian Sea from a hill-top
Pinxtos :)
The Guggenheim museum
makes time FLY! I can't believe it's been a month since I last wrote, time is flying by, but what a blast.
I went to Valencia 3 weeks ago to see Las Fallas, and it was a lot of fun. My boyfriend from Whitman, Nick, came to visit and we jetted off (via bus) right away to the east. Valencia was a cute city, had more of the Andalucia-southern Spain-relaxed feel about it, but it was bustling with tourists and locals, everyone there perusing the beautiful wood statues. It was a lot more of a festival than I was expecting - we were constantly just walking with the flow of traffic, it was difficult to go at any other pace, but it was enjoyable! The wood statues are actually wood frames surrounded by a mix of card board, paper mache and intricate paint jobs, and inside they are filled with fireworks-thus the "burning" of the statues is actually an explosive party. Artists work on them all year, and they are put on display all over the city for the whole week, and the last night they are all burned! Nick and I really enjoyed just walking around and seeing the different statues, trying Paella Valenciana (paella is a rice dish and in Valencia they serve it mixed with chicken, rabbit, and sometimes snails!) and experiencing a new city. We spent a good 5 hours walking to and from the beach, dipped our toes in the Mediterranean, got delicious Italian food, and saw the amazing City of the Arts and Sciences, a "museum" that has 4 different centers (it's huge!), and is almost as enjoyable to see from the outside as it is from within (all white, beautiful architecture). We got a good spot the last night (the night of the burnings) in the main square to watch the biggest Falla burn - that was by accident, since we thought it was at 12 but it wasn't until 1am. But it was fun nonetheless - you could feel the heat from the statue once it was on fire, it was intense! And the fireworks show that started it off was very cool, so close to us! One of the pieces had a malfunction and came burning down a little early, caused a (slightly scary) sudden movement of everyone in front of me...aka like 1000 people, but it all turned out fine. All in all Valencia was a blast! It was unlike anything I've seen before, and we really took advantage of everything. Oh and one more thing - the people all dress in the traditional costumes, women with Princess Leah hair and hoop skirts under their floral and lace dresses, men in indescribable clothes that reminded me of "Shrek" in a terrible mix-up with a pirate. They would play music and march down the streets, all going in the direction of La Virgen, a HUGE wooden statue of the virgin, where all the flower bouquets were placed in color-specific patterns to construct her dress etc, pretty cool...
Once Nick and I got back to Madrid it was time to show him around! We did lots of walking and bike riding, seeing the city by day and night. I introduced him to the culture of tapas and canas (small beers) and I think he appreciated that. I also took him to a soccer game! My first one - that was WAY cool. The stadium is HUGE, and filled with people yelling and eating sunflower seeds and not caring where the shells go. We were in the cheap sets, properly labeled the "vomitorio" on our tickets, and I think they were the best seats in the house! You could see the whole stadium and still tell what was going on down below on the field. Way fun.
Last weekend I went on a school-organized trip to the north of Spain - San Sebastian. On the way up we stopped in Burgos for lunch, and on the way back we went to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim museum. All very cool. I was SOSOSO happy to see lots of GREEN! I hadn't realized how much I missed it. The north of Spain is precious. On the bus ride there we saw lots of little towns tucked away in the green hillsides, and sheep farms around all of them. San Sebastian is a tranquil city, with the mountains in the background and the Cantabrian Sea to it's side. Just a wonderful place, I really hope I can go back. San Sebastian (and most of the north in the basque country) is known for the Pinxtos ("Pinchos") which are like tapas, but really extravagant and usually bigger. They line the bar, and you pick the few you want and pay for each one individually. Very fun and visually appealing, but I like plates of greasy free tapas better ;)
We explored the downtown and climbed a hill right on the sea to watch the sunset, one of the most beautiful days I've ever experienced. We didn't pass up the opportunity to go to a disco right on the beach, that was way fun. I was sad to leave, but the Guggenheim on the way back was pretty cool! The building itself is a masterpiece, way cool. And I liked some of the exhibits...it's bound to be funky and difficult to understand, but there were a few that I REALLY liked. All in all - I'm totally in love with the north of Spain. A friend of mine wants to rent a car and go camping in Galicia, which is the very north-west corner(above Portugal) so if we can find time, that should be pretty cool!
I leave tonight for ITALY!!! I'm going with a girl I met at the university, Kristina from Texas. We have a week and a half off for Semana Santa, so we're taking advantage of it! We're both super organized so I think it should be a good trip filled with too much to do. We fly into Rome tonight, spend a few days there, will stop at Siena on our way to Florence, spend a few days there, see Verona on the way to Venice, and after 2 days there, head up north to Bergamo to fly out. Should be pretty fun!!! I'm SO excited, Italy is top top on my list of places I want to visit, so it's pretty cool I'm getting to do it! Lots to come with pictures and stories I'm sure.
Hope all is well wherever you are, talk to you soon!
Alex
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