Home for 1 week

I never wrote anything about my journey home, though anyone who heard about it might say it was as eventful as my week in Italy and Greece. I have now been home for one week, and enjoyed Christmas with my family and friends. So I figured now would be a good a time as any to sit down and write about my journey home, and the beginning of my readjustment to the US.

My journey home picks up at midnight in the Athens airport, after I finished my Dec 20th entry. I continued to watch Harry Potter movies through the night, in order to adjust my body's time zone. At about 3:30, I packed up my belongings and headed to the Lufthansa check-in counter to check my bag and print my boarding passes. Once I got my boarding passes, which took a bit because I needed a confirmation number that I was never given since I didn't book with Lufthansa, I got in line to check my bag. Luckily, it was under the maximum weight, and I was able to check it without a problem. Something I didn't know, however, was that Lufthansa has a 8 kg maximum on carry-on luggage. So I had to check my 14 kg carry-on bag, and pay 60 euros. When all of this was said and done, I had 10 euros, and only my purse left with me. That meant my cell phone, my American cell phone, my wallet, my passport, my boarding passes, my book, and my iPod, along with various toiletries (tissues, chapstick, etc.). Not much on the entertainment front. I was so mentally and emotionally exhausted, I blasted through security and sat down to call home. It was still around 10 pm, so the whole family was up. I mostly just needed someone to reassure me that everything was going to be okay, and my parents and sister did just that. I really needed that, since I was alone in a barren airport waiting area. After my phone call, I waited until my flight boarded at 6 am, and took a small bus across the tarmac to board my plane. We landed in Munich 2 hours later, which meant a 2 hour nap with a break for breakfast for me.

Upon arrival in Munich, I hunted down my next boarding gate, went through security again, and found a lovely lounge-style chair to take a nap in. I had a 4 hour layover, but I was too tired to read so I just listened to Harry Potter on my iPod. When we finally boarded my plane, we still left an hour late because we had to wait for 20 connecting passengers and get de-iced before leaving the ground. That flight was long, but I slept for the first 4 hours or so, and then watched movies. They had a great selection, so I watched The Help and Crazy Stupid Love, both I had wanted to see and I highly recommend. I also got lunch and a snack on this plane, which I enjoyed very much. After my movies, I only had about an hour left, so I watched most of an episode of Lie to Me. I didn't get to finish it, and have yet to look it up so I can find out the ending. I was much too excited to be landing in the US (in Philadelphia) to really care at this point. Even though we landed an hour late, I was mostly just overjoyed to be in the US and be so close to home. However, my journey still had adventures to come.

I had been told in Athens and Munich that I would have to pick up my luggage in Phily and then put it through security again, since it would be my first destination within the US. I was a bit annoyed at this, but I had a 2 hour layover so I figured I would have enough time. When we landed 1 hour late, however, my layover got cut in half. I had to stand in line to get my passport and Immigration form checked, then pick up my luggage and drop it onto a different conveyer belt (complete waste of time), and then go through security again. The lines were huge, and many other people in line from my flight had connecting flights to get to. I luckily got through pretty quick, and still had 20 minutes before my plane was scheduled to leave. I grabbed some Fritos and Nestea at a newspaper stand, very happy to use my American money, and hurried to my gate. Upon arrival, I discovered that my flight had been delayed. We ended up taking off about an hour late, because the flight that came in on our plane was late and because our crew and flight attendants were delayed coming in on other flights. Luckily, the flight from Phily to DC is only about 20 minutes, so I was at BWI pretty quick. Since that was a national flight, I just got to walk straight out of the terminal. Meeting me were my mom, my dad, my sister, and my boyfriend. I was ecstatic to see them all, and to be finally home. My mom and sister had brought some of the Christmas cookies they made, as requested during my emotional call from Athens. I ate most of them on the walk to baggage claim, where we all chatted until my suitcases arrived. After that, it was back to the house to watched Harry Potter 7 part 2 and enjoy being home.

I loved my semester abroad, and would not have traded the experience for anything, but being home has been great. I have been able to see my extended family and close friends, and just enjoy my own bed and my own room again. I know there will be struggles readjusting, I have been forewarned, but for now, I am content :)

Italy :: Day 5 (Dec 20)

Getting up this morning was really difficult. My alarm was set for 5:15 and when it went off all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. But I dragged myself up and packed, leaving my hostel around 5:45. I checked out with the same guy when I checked in with, and he tried to cheat me out of my key deposit. I was grumpy, and sure that I paid it, so I argued with him until he gave it back. Then I dragged my suitcases over to Via Marsala, the road next to the train station, and found the bus to the airport. I passed one that cost 8 euro, but the owner of my hostel said there was a 4 euro one. I found the company he told me about, but it was 6 euro. I didn’t really have any options, and this seemed to be the cheapest one, so I went with it. Upon arrival at the airport, I went to Terminal 2 to check in with EasyJet. My bag was 22 kg, so the guy had me move aside and more 2 kilos to my carry-on. I did that, I even moved 3 kilos, so I didn’t have to pay an overweight fee. But then my carry-on wouldn’t fit in their tiny little bin, because of the bar on the bottom, so I had to pay 30 euros to check it. I am so sick of flying low cost airlines, I want to be able to just take my luggage on the plane and not worry about it. Now all I have is my purse and my laptop, so I am very glad this flight is only 3 hours. I don’t, however, have my computer charger, so I can’t watch a movie because I only have 27% battery life. So I will be listening to music and trying to sleep, I guess. I am not going to be landing in the US with too many euros left, because of all of these surprise charges. I have tried to be careful with the money I spend, but sometimes I can’t help what I get charged for. Now I am sitting at my gate, and it’s 7:57, and I can start boarding at 8:20. Luckily that’s not too much time, so I can just get on the plane and sleep and forget about this stupid baggage debacle.

The plane ride went well, and storing my luggage at the airport is going to cost less than I expected. Yay! Bad news: there is an airport cost for the metro that made my round trip ticket 14 euros instead of around 2 euros. Regardless, I was not about to sit in the airport all day AND all night, so off I went to the Acropolis. I grabbed lunch at a café once I got off the metro, and had a Greek club sandwich. I have no idea what was on it, except meat, tomato, and lettuce. The other ingredients were unknowns, but I was just happy to find a place that spoke English. After lunch, I went to the Acropolis museum. I figured the museum first made sense because then I would actually understand the structures I was looking at. They actually have most of the interesting artifacts in the museum, to preserve them, rather than up on the “Sacred Hill” as it was called. I learned a lot about Greek mythology, particularly Athena, which was really cool. I think I might try to get one of my core credits by taking a mythology class, if that is at all possible. I spent about 2 hours, maybe a little more, in the museum, and then went to the ticket desk to ask about the entrance to the Acropolis. I didn’t want a repeat of the Roman Forum. And it was a good thing that I did, because it turned out the Acropolis closes at 3 pm. It was 3:30. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to actually go up to the monument, but the lady at the ticket desk told me about a cool hill where you can get a bird’s eye view of Athens. On my way up, I did get to see the Theater of Dionysus, and I still got some pretty good shots of the Pantheon and the other important buildings. The view from the hill next to the Acropolis was amazing. I can’t compare it to the view from the Acropolis since I didn’t go up, but I could see all of Athens, which is beautiful from above. I was going to stay for the sunset, but it wasn’t for another hour or so, and it was quite windy and cold up on the exposed hill. So I headed out after about a half hour, and wandered around to find a grocery store. I picked up some crackers and cheese, and Oreos, as my cheap dinner. I didn’t want to have to pay airport prices, but I wasn’t hungry yet.

When I got back to the airport, the storage of my luggage was even cheaper than what the man had told me when I checked them in. I was super excited. I went upstairs to the departures area, and found myself my spot for the night. It is near what I believe to be the Lufthansa check-in desk, since they are my airline for my flight to Munich. I also have a wall plug, a table, and a nearby bathroom. I still have to lug all of my belongings with me when I go, but it’s not that bad of a walk. To occupy myself, I have watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. As well as painted my nails, and ate my cheese, one bag of crackers, and my Oreos. I don’t have Order of the Phoenix on my iTunes, so if I want to watch that one next I have to find it online. For right now, it is almost midnight, so I figure that I will post this on my blog, and conclude the rest of my adventures when I get home tomorrow, or maybe from the Philly airport if I have time and internet. My plan for the rest of the morning is movie watching, bag reorganization, and most importantly, no sleep. I am going to reset my body to US time, and that means going to bed on my first flight, and sleeping until about halfway through my long flight. Hopefully my plan will work, because I have lots to do before Christmas and I can’t spend my time sleeping at weird hours.

Reflection::

Since this is day 2 of annoying extra baggage fees, I figured I would write about money and budgeting. About three weeks into my semester, I made a budget for myself, for food, rent, metro passes, and a couple other necessary fees. I gave the budget to my mom, and she wired me all the money I was supposed to need. However, about two and a half weeks before I was due to leave Madrid, I only had 80 euro in my bank account. I thought I had budgeted well, but I think I still have much to learn. A lot of the money had disappeared while my mom was visiting me, because I booked our flight, paid for our hotel, and covered her surprise baggage fees all on my debit card. But it still didn’t add up. I had a separate card that I used for traveling, bus tickets, hostel deposits, etc., but what I didn’t think about is that when I had to pay for a ticket or a hostel in cash, I just used my pocket money, which was coming from the account that had my budgeted money in it. It’s difficult to keep the money separate, for travel and for food, from my account and from my parents, because it all ends up paying for something that I need/want. I definitely think having a budget is really important, to keep track of how much money I spend on food and entertainment weekly and monthly. It was nice to know when I was under budget, and it allowed me to splurge some weeks when I wanted to do something special.

Having my parents cover my rent, metro passes, and food really helped me out this semester. I would never have had enough money to support myself completely. They have been really supportive through this whole experience, and not just financially. Back home in Maryland, they cover my groceries, and that really helps out too. That’s why I think starting a budget when I get back is such a good idea. Then I know just how much I am costing them, and how much I am costing myself. I want to be putting money in my savings account every month, to replace all that I spent this semester, but I don’t want to be making my parents pay for everything. It is the beginning of my being responsible with my money and theirs, since I learned this semester how difficult it can be to do so.

Italy :: Day 4 (Dec 19)

I got a good night’s sleep last night. All of my roommates were very quiet, even the ones that arrived later at night. I got up early and grabbed some of the hostel’s free breakfast, aka chocolate filled croissants and chocolate from the coffee machine, and headed out. I took the metro to the Vatican, and went straight to the Museums since my ticket was for 9 am. I got to pass a lot of people who were buying their tickets today, so I was really glad that I bought my ticket online. I didn’t end up meeting up with Ashley, the girl I met yesterday, and her mom, but I am sort of glad because I got to move through the museums at my own pace. Overall, I spent a little over 2 hours in the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Mostly, the sheer size overwhelmed me. The Vatican owns a lot of art and historical artifacts, and there was a lot to see.  I enjoyed the ancient Greek and Roman sculptures and statues, as well as going through the old Papal apartments that are all completely frescoed. The Sistine Chapel didn’t really impress me like I expected it to. It is not all that large, and I didn’t like the frescoes as much as I did the ones in the old Papal apartments. I didn’t spend much time there, though I did stop in the café outside for a quick croissant snack.

After the museums, I headed to St. Peter’s square. I walked around the outside so that I could enter through the center and get the full effect. I didn’t really get the effect I wanted, but that is because of the construction going on, and the area blocked off for the building of the Belen (nativity scene). It is still an amazing space. And St. Peter’s Basilica is beautiful too. I took my time wandering through the square and taking pictures of everything. I wanted to find the marker on the ground that is in the Angels and Demons book and movie, but the area around the obelisk was blocked off for the Christmas tree and nativity scene. After I had taken all the pictures I wanted to, I headed into the Basilica. I was directed into the line for the Cupola, even though I wanted to leave that for last. Turns out that was a good thing, since the Cupola stairs exit into the Basilica. The payment options for climbing to the Cupola were 5 euros to climb all 551 stairs, or 7 euros to take an elevator and then climb 320 stairs. I decided to pay 5 euros, because it didn’t seem worth 2 euros to only cut out 231 stairs. The climb wasn’t too bad, though I was definitely winded when I got to the top. The views were worth it though. You can see pretty much the entire center of the city, as well as a beautiful birds-eye view of St. Peter’s square. I took my time looking at everything, since I knew the walk down wouldn’t be very fun. In St. Peter’s Basilica, a lot of areas a roped or blocked off to the public. You can see them, but you can’t walk through them. This made it difficult for me to get my pictures of the organ, but I did get some of the organ in the Chapel of the Choir. The Basilica is very beautiful and the architecture is really incredible. I wish I could’ve spent more time there, but there weren’t too many places to sit and my legs needed a break after the climbs up and down all those stairs. I got to go see the Gaudi temporary exhibit after I left the Basilica. It was right off of the square in an adjacent building, and it was free. There wasn’t too much information I didn’t already know, but it was a really cool set-up and they had a video of when the Pope went to Sagrada Familia and declared it a Basilica. It was small, but I really enjoyed it.

After stopping in a café for some pasta al forno (aka baked ziti) I hoped on the metro again to head down to the Roman Forum. Once I arrived, I walked around for almost an hour, around the entire perimeter of the Forum, only to discover that there was a strike today, once I finally found an entrance. I was so frustrated, because I had already paid for the combo ticket at the Colosseum, so I stomped over to the Colosseum to complain. However, they were also on strike, so I just lost out completely. I was really tired and aggravated, so I decided to take the metro instead of walk back to my hostel. On my way back, I calmed down, and decided to go to the Spanish steps on my way, so as not to waste my whole afternoon. They weren’t very impressive, but I got to see the sunset over the city, and that was pretty amazing. On my walk back to my hostel, I ran into Greg, Ian, and James, three guys from my program in Madrid. They had just arrived from Berlin, and were heading to the Yellow Hostel to try to book some rooms. We chatted for a little while about our various travel dilemmas, and then parted ways.

My hostel advertised a free pizza and wine night tonight, so I decided to go and take advantage of it since I am low on spendable cash. It was at a pizzeria across the street, and we got three small square pieces of pizza (Ledo pizza size) and a little plastic cup of red wine. Definitely not filling, but I did run into a couple other Americans that I had met on my first night at the hostel. We ended up going to dinner at the restaurant next door, and having some really good spaghetti and white wine. I ended up spending more than I probably would have on my own, but I had a nice time. Afterwards, we went back to the hostel and watched The Sweetest Thing, with Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate, and drinking some Lemoncello. I don’t know why everyone was raving about Lemoncello, it just tastes like lemon-flavored vodka. Supposedly it’s an after dinner drink here, but they must mix it with something. After chatting with my new roommates from South Africa, I took a shower and went to bed. Later than planned, but I knew I had a flight in the morning to sleep on.

Italy :: Day 3 (Dec 18)

Last night did not involve much sleep. I was in bed ready to fall asleep, but the sangria party when on until much past midnight. Even though there is a sign in the hostel that says noise and drunkenness after 11 pm results in being kicked out of the hostel, not much was done to keep them quiet. One of the guys who worked at the hostel came in and apologized at one point, but my roommates kept coming in and out of the room, turning the light on, and leaving the door open. I’m not sure when I slept or how long I slept for, because they weren’t exactly quiet when they came back from partying either.

I got up at 7:30 as planned, and headed out around 8. I walked to the Ponte Vecchio, which is very close to the Uffizi galleries, and took some pictures. The morning was beautiful again like in Venice, and I got to enjoy the city while it still slept. I went to the Uffizi galleries at 8:15, and was inside around 8:25. I got to see the David (I even snuck a picture) and the Birth of Venus, and those two were the works that I was told were must-sees. I walked through every room in the galleries that was open, though I didn’t spend much time in some of the painting rooms because the artwork was very similar to things I had seen at the Prado and Reina Sofia. Overall I enjoyed the galleries, mostly the sculpture sections. There was a cool exhibit about the Medici family, who contracted the Uffizi buildings, and the main architect/artist involved in the design. It was a nice end to my stay in Florence. Afterwards, I ate my apple as I walked back to my hostel and collected my belongings. The walk back to the train station went much better than the walk to the station, as always, and I still have 40 minutes before my train gets here. I am excited for Rome, especially the Vatican.

Finding my hostel in Rome was the easiest of all my hostels. It is the closest to the train station, and I found a very direct and simple route to get there. I checked in and left my baggage behind and headed out with map in hand (free this time). I ended up eating McDonalds for lunch, which wasn’t my original plan. I just wanted to go inside and see what the “Italian” sandwich was. But then it looked really good, and I was pretty hungry, so I ordered the CBO (chicken bacon onion) sandwich. It was actually pretty good, though I wasn’t a fan of the cheese that they chose. I did come to a realization that here in Europe, or at least in Italy, they charge for ketchup. They ask you if you would like ketchup or mayonnaise with your French fries, and then they charge you 20 cents. Not that bad, but it explained why I didn’t have the right change out at the BK in Milan.  After lunch I set out towards the Colosseum. Just as I got there, it started to rain, but luckily I carry my umbrella with me everywhere. I walked around the entire thing before I found the ticket booth, which was where I had started. I decided to get a guided tour for an extra 5 euros, because my friend Robyn had told me that it is way cooler when you actually understand what you are looking at. All I could think of the whole time was about the movie Gladiator. It was an amazing site to see though. My guide said that what remains is only 25% of the original structure, and much of it has been restored or reconstructed recently. She talked about the two types of shows that they had there, and how it was open to the common people for free, on average about once every three days. I didn’t get a chance to go to the Forum, though it is on the same ticket as the Colosseum, but I am planning to go tomorrow after the Vatican.

After the Colosseum, I walked to the Pantheon. By the time I got there, the sun was almost down, but it was lit up inside. There aren’t too many labels inside, and I didn’t want to get an audioguide, so I need to do some research to fully understand everything that I saw. It was still beautiful architecture and art, and the hole in the center of the ceiling was awesome to look up at. From the Pantheon, I walked to the Piazza Navone and the Campo di Fiori, two centers of Roman life past and present. Since it was dark at this point, it was difficult to see, but both were bustling with life. From the Campo di Fiori, I headed to the Trevi fountain. I was going to leave it until tomorrow, but I figured I could just see it twice if I had time, once during the day and once at night. It was beautiful, all lit up and surprisingly loud. I met a very nice girl and her mom from San Diego, and we took pictures for each other. They were quite surprised that I am traveling on my own, and we are going to try to meet up tomorrow at the Vatican. After I made my wish and tossed my coin into the fountain, I started back towards my hostel. I got a little lost because of an emblem on my map that blocks some streets, but I found my way and got back around 7. There was a bit of a mix up with another person’s bed, but since I was the last to arrive in the room, I moved to the next room over. No problem, I didn’t really mind. Though I am now in an empty room because the other people have not arrived yet. I think I will go out and get pizza tonight, but I haven’t decided yet.

I did end up getting pizza. Potato pizza. Similar to the French fries pizza I had in Venice, but much better. It had thin slices of potato on top of thick slices of cheese and lots of herbs. It was delicious, and piping hot. I had it at a little bar around the corner from my hostel. I was going to go adventuring a bit, but it was cold and I was hungry, so I ended up somewhere nearby. It’s another generally early night, since I have my Vatican appointment at 9 am tomorrow morning.

Reflection::

Since I am traveling, I decided today would be a reflection on my travels this semester. Besides this trip to Italy, all of my trips were within Spain (and Morocco). I didn’t leave the country like most of my fellow USACers, but I tried to visit all of the important Spanish cities. I know I will be back in Europe, and I wanted to take advantage of living in Madrid and being just a bus ride away from all of the great history of Spain. In total, I stayed the night in 7 Spanish cities, and in addition visited 8 more (I think those counts are right). In my guidebooks, I completed almost every important activity in Spain that it’s possible to complete.

I am satisfied with my travels. I got to see the country that I lived in, and practice my Spanish as much as possible, since that was one of my main reasons for studying abroad. I enjoyed almost all of the hostels/hotels I stayed in, and had pretty good traveling partners as well. By the end of the semester, it was difficult to travel with the same people because you sort of get sick of them. But I did luck out and never traveled with anyone who snored, or wanted to party really late at night when we had early plans. I personally prefer to sightsee when I travel, rather than go out at night, so it was nice to have others who shared my preference.

I also got to spend a lot of time in Madrid. Though traveling was definitely a priority, I got to know the city I lived in and experience its culture. That is something a lot of people in my program probably can’t say, unless you are referring to the nightlife. So some of my traveling was also throughout the city of Madrid, and being a tourist in my own city.

Italy :: Day 2 (Dec 17)

Today was another very early day. I was up at 6:30, and out in the street before 7. I needed to make up for lost time. I got to the Piazza San Marco by asking “Escuzi, Piazza San Marco”.  It worked pretty well. As I walked through the city, the sun was rising, and it was beautiful. I stopped at a coffee shop for a cappuccino (= café con leche) and a croissant with peach marmalade inside. When I got to the Piazza, the sky was an amazing pink, and it looked beautiful set behind the Doge’s Palace and the Campanile San Marco. Since it was so early, I didn’t get to go inside anything, but seeing it was better than nothing. It made me feel much better about wasting yesterday by not doing anything. In the Piazza, I met a nice man from Florida who took a picture of me in front of the harbor. From the Piazza, I asked my way to the Rialto Bridge. I even found a man who spoke English who took me most of the way there, by a short cut he knows. It was amazing. The Grand Canal is beautiful, and it was great to see the city just waking up. I wandered my way back to the Piazza, and then back to my hostel from there. I stopped and bought some apples on my way back. My roommates were awake when I got back, so I chatted with them as I packed up and headed out. The return journey to the train station went much better, since it was daylight and I was able to follow my original directions. I got scammed when I got to the Ponte dia Constituzione, because two “kind” Italian men carried my suitcases over, and then charged me 20 euros. I obviously couldn’t refuse them at that point, and truthfully it would’ve taken me much longer to do it myself. I wish it hadn’t cost me so much though.

The train ride was very nice. I switched with another passenger. because her companion had the seat next to mine. I still had a window, and I got to see some of the Italian countryside. When I arrived in Florence, I got lost very quickly, but was able to purchase a map and be quickly on my way. I got to my hostel around 1:30, but could only leave my bags because it was “cleaning time.” My hostel is on the 3^rd floor of an apartment/office building, and is not really the best on I’ve stayed in. I am in a room with five other people, which isn’t that bad, but my room is also the luggage room. The majority of the people staying at my hostel are guys who, like the people who work here, speak a foreign language from the Middle East that I am not familiar with. It doesn’t sound like Arabic, but it could be anything.

After dropping off my bags, I headed out into the city. My hostel is only a couple blocks away from Il Duomo, which was my first stop. I grabbed a calzone for lunch, and then walked around to admire the architecture. Once I had visited the cathedral, I headed up the 363 stairs to the top of the dome. The views were incredible, I could see the entire city and the surrounding hills and mountains. I stayed up there for a little while, and enjoyed the experience. I also planned out where else I was going to go. After climbing back down the 363 steps, I went to San Lorenzo, a famous chapel where Donatelli and the patriarch of the Medici family are buried. It had a beautiful courtyard, as well as a very interesting museum. The church itself wasn’t my favorite, but it was done very well. After that I walked around, got some gelato, and saw the house of Michelangelo and the house of Dante. I didn’t go in either one, but it was cool just to be outside of them. Then I headed back to my hostel, and on my walk back the Christmas lights came on. I cannot wait to walk through them once the sun fully sets.

I did some restaurant research while I uploaded photos from my trip last week, and chose two restaurants that were relatively close and inexpensive. On my way to one of them, I passed by a place with pretty good deals and some delicious pizza samplers. After realizing the place I had chosen was still a good ways down the road, I decided to just stay at this restaurant. I had Ravioli Rose with white wine. I thought I ordered at ¼ “portion” of wine, but apparently I ordered at ½ “portion”. That resulted in me drinking a lot more wine than I had planned a paying a wee bit more. I finished my meal with tiramisu. I have to say, I don’t think the Ravioli Rosa at Mama Lucia’s will ever seem that good to me again, nor will the tiramisu I eat anywhere in the United States. It was an incredible meal, and worth the money I paid. I got to see the Christmas lights on my way to dinner, but I was quite surprised to see that as I walked back to my hostel after dinner, some of the lights were already shut off. My friends and I thought Madrid was being cheap, cutting the lights off at 10 on weeknights, but here, it’s Saturday night and the lights were off before 9:50. I showered and am now going to bed. My hostel has a free sangria party going on right now, so I don’t know how well I will sleep, but I have to try.

Reflection::

Today, I am going to reflect about my housing situation this semester. I had two roommates, Q and Rachel. We had an amazing apartment, in my personal opinion. We had our share of troubles and disagreements, but Q and I became close instantly, and she was a great roommate and friend.

The apartment was located in a neighborhood near the metro stop La Elipa. It is near the end of the red metro line, and pretty residential by Madrid’s standards. Anyone who came to our neighborhood said that it was “filled with old people” and that’s a pretty true statement. We had the standard mix of families young and old, but the majority of people you saw walking the streets were older men and women. The apartment itself was on the 10^th floor of an apartment building right off of the main road in the neighborhood. We had a kind older gentleman who was the porter of the building. He takes the trash out, handles the mail, and watches the door during the day hours. In our apartment, we had a small kitchen, bathroom, living/dining room, and three bedrooms. The kitchen was well equipped, with fridge, microwave, stove, oven, dishwasher, and clothes washer. We didn’t use the dishwasher as anything more than a drying rack, but it definitely came in handy. The clothes washer provided its challenges, but was of crucial importance. I had the largest room of the three, and I really enjoyed it. I had space to move around, even when my room was filled with my belongings as well as those of others.

On to roommates. Since I had five roommates last year, two didn’t seem that bad. Especially since we would all be traveling and out busy most of the time. However, that didn’t turn out to be the case entirely. Rachel spent most of her time in the apartment, if she wasn’t at school or tutoring. She was pretty much a constant presence, with her popcorn, dirty dishes, loud daily phone calls to her mom, and loud television shows online. It made it difficult to enjoy being in my own apartment sometimes. I was glad that I was occupied and didn’t spend too much time there myself. I also have decided not to dwell on anything that happened between me and her, because it doesn’t matter anymore. Luckily, Q and I were on the same page. We became friends and travel buddies instantly, and worked really well together as roommates. We had fun with each other, and still had other friends who we hung out with. It was a really good balance. Without a good roommate/friend like Q, I don’t know how my housing situation would’ve ended. All I do know is, I got my housing deposit back, and made a hopefully lifelong friend. So I’d say that housing was mostly a success.

Italy :: Day 1 (Dec 16)

**I apologize about the changes in tense. I wrote this at varying times*

I am sitting in the Madrid Barajas airport. It is 4:53 in the morning. I have a 6 o’clock flight to Milan Bergamo, and from there I start my adventure. Until 5:21, when my flight begins boarding, I have to entertain myself.

First, I think about all the money I have already spent. Yesterday (Thursday) I purchased a new suitcase for the price of 35 euros. Pretty good, I thought, because it allowed me to bring everything but a couple pairs of socks with me. Though truth be told, my laptop doesn’t fit in either stuffed bag that I possess, so I will be sneaking it onto the airplane. Back to the suitcase. With two stuffed, heavy suitcases, I arrived at the airport. RyanAir had not yet opened its check-in counters (it was only about 3:40) so I sat down next to a column to wait. A Polish girl named Veronica struck up conversation with me, and I spent my time waiting chatting with her and her friend, Monica. We stood in the check-in line together, and it was Veronica who realized that my bag was most likely overweight. At this point, I had no options. Both bags were shut beneath the weight of a human being, and I was not about to try rearranging in the check-in line. So I approached the counter, hoping I would find myself speaking to a generous and kind worker. I purchased 15 kg. My bag weighed 19 kg. Do you want to know how much RyanAir charges per kilo? 20 euros. My heart sunk. Luckily, the man behind the counter only made me pay for 3 kilos, not 4, when I told him that I was going to the United States and therefore taking all of my belongings with me. However, it still meant 60 euros, down the drain. As I handed the money to the attendant at the payment desk, I had an eerie feeling that this was just the beginning. As of 4:59 am, I have not had to shell out any extra money, but I have a feeling that other airlines will feel the same about my bag, though hopefully they will be the only ones complaining about the weight.

To jump ahead in the day, it’s now evening, and I am in Venice. Though throughout the day, I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going to end up tonight. After arriving in Milan, I took a bus to the Bergamo train station, as planned, to catch a train to Venice. To my dismay, however, I discovered that there was a strike at the station, and the train I needed was cancelled. So I instead purchased a ticket to the Milano Centrale train station, to hopefully head to Venice from there. Then, all of the trains leaving the Bergamo station were cancelled, so I traded my train ticket in for a return bus ticket to the airport. There, after speaking to my parents, I discovered that the strike was country wide, and the tourism office had no idea when it was going to end. After evaluating my sparse options, I took a shuttle bus to the Milano Centrale station, to see what else was available. I discovered to my delight that the strike was to end at 9 pm that night, and that some trains were still going through. With the help of a kind British lady, I purchased a ticket for the 2:05 train to Venice, with my plans seemingly back on track. After a delicious lunch of a BK double cheeseburger, I boarded my train and was off. The weather was quite bleak, so there wasn’t much to look at. By the time I arrived at the Venezia S.L. train station, it was raining. So off I went in search of my hostel. I had directions written down, but after crossing the first bridge, made of stairs mind you, not a ramp, I realized that the construction being done altered my directions. After speaking to an English-speaking taxi, and to my hostel over the phone, I headed out again. This time, my only directions were “Just ask for Campo Santa Margharita, you are very close”. I crossed at least 5 or 6 bridges, made one wrong turn, but eventually arrived. I have blisters on my hands and feet to prove it, and some very wet luggage as well. I have now checked into my hostel, and have two very nice English-speaking roommates, originally from Hong Kong and South Africa, that now reside in Australia. I have to leave on a train for Florence at 10:27 am tomorrow, so I don’t really get to see any of the city I was most looking forward to. Most of what I did see during my walk was beautiful. I am going to try to get some sightseeing in tomorrow morning, so hopefully it will not all be a waste.  I did find out from my roommates that there are more strikes planned, but I believe they are going to occur after my last train ride on Sunday, for which I am very grateful.

Called it a night at 10 pm, after having pizza with French fries on it for dinner and taking a nice hot shower.

Reflection::

I decided that throughout my final journey, I will reflect on various aspects of my semester. This will save me the effort of writing one huge final reflection post, and make my posts during my trip that much more interesting.

This reflection will be about my classes. I just had all of my final exams yesterday, so it seems fitting that this would be fresh in my mind. Overall, I enjoyed my academics here in Madrid. My workload was much lighter than it ever has been in the US, or ever will be, which was beneficial since I spent most of my time traveling and exploring.

Track class = Class with Charo is always a battle. In my grammar class, it was mostly a battle to be taught. We never really had lecture, simply time for open questions and time to review the homework. And of course, time to assign more homework. I did learn from my textbook, the good one, but I don’t think much of what I learned in this class can be attributed to my teacher. She is a very stubborn, egoistic, and Spanish person. No place is better than Spain, no place in Spain is better than Madrid. No answer is better than her answer, and if you have the same opinion, or can put up a very good counter-argument, you become her favorite student. I fell into neither of these categories. I simply did the homework, came to class, and tried not to explode. Might not sound that difficult, but it cost me a lot of energy, especially at 9:10 in the morning. Overall, for a class I don’t even need back home, it was not worth the effort or the stress.

Cuento class = Another class with Charo, but much more bearable. The stories we read were always interesting, whether I liked them or not. We never had written homework, and our exams were very easy. I like short stories as a form of literature. It’s between them and poems as my favorites. I prefer the shorter works because I think it actually takes more effort and talent to concentrate so much information into so few words. Overall, I really enjoyed the content of this class, though the teacher isn’t who I would’ve picked.

Literature class = This was probably my favorite class of the semester. I really enjoyed the material, and I am looking forward to the second two classes in the series. Obviously, Spanish literature is of great interest to me since that is one of my majors back at Maryland. But my professor, Jorge, really made the class great. He is very knowledgeable about literature and language. The way he set up the class really helped fuel class discussion. We worked in small groups, which forced even the quietest students to speak up. I really appreciated his dedication to the subject, as well as his teaching style. I will really miss him.

Morocco and Andalucía!! (Dec 6 to 11)

Due to the fact that it is the end of the semester and I leave for Italy tomorrow, the best I can give you for this trip is the garbled "jots" I have for each day. I noted interesting things from each day so I could write an interesting blog entry, but if I don't post something, this trip will be lost in time. So here it is::

Day 1::
flight at 6:30 am, didn't get gate until 2 minutes before boarding, long nap
met by taxi driver, apartment
took taxi to asilah, taxi driver became our guide
  beach views
  shopping
  asilah golf resort
  lunch - couscous, naranj, cats
  back to tangier, long sweaty nap
took taxi to medina by docks
  shopping
  richard the "guide"
  late night no language connection taxi payment
movie time - robin hood
break for dinner - platos combinados? extra soup, extra plate, yellow fever/snow fever
back to the movie - drew and q slept early
no curtain no hot water shower
sleep under three blankets

Day 2::
early morning
breakfast with Dad - egg, oil, cream cheese + bread + olives + yogurt + NesCafe
Grotto of Hercules
-dressing up traditional
-wonderful views
-turtle
-picture through cave
Shamu = Camel!!!
back to the apartment
movie time - from paris with love
lunch on drew and alex's fries
off to the port
Comarit ferry - 32 euro, security, 1/2 hour late, security again
Free bus to Algeciras
Free bus to bus station
16,85 euro bus to Sevilla
finally got address and number of hostel
hostel - useless on directions, 10 euro deposit
no hot water at night = no shower
no dinner for me, early to bed, friends to montaditos

Day 3::
up at 9
bathroom was steamed like someone had hot water
breakfast - toast, croissants, juice, tea, stole stuff for tomorrow, cleaned own dishes
horrible smell in room
free walking tour at 10:50 with hostel - brian
lunch with tour group - tapas menu del dia
free walking tour at 3:50 with hostel - juan
dinner at place near by - croquetas and a lomo montadito
flamenco show - ten minutes, juice course

Day 4::
up before 7, pack and check-out
Drew went to train station to go home
We went to bus station to head to cordoba
Locked stuff in cordoba, grabbed map
Followed walking tour I found online
Mezkita, Jewish quarter, Muralla, Arab baths, Alcazar
French fries and Fanta at BK for me, bus to station for rest
Q and Alej traipsed around and met me at the station
hung out for a couple hours, ate 1/2 large napolitana, bus to granada
arrival in granada, bus to hostel, GREAT HOSTEL
passed out

Day 5::
stayed in bed until afternoon, broke fever i think
Alej stayed in bed too
Q went on walking tour and explored
Drank peach juice, ate 1/2 large napolitana
Showering, ate pizza and tea with Q, came back and went to bed

Day 6::
Early morning, check out, hostel breakfast
head to Alhambra, ticket place closed, decide to wait
Miss entrance time, catch bus, try to run (unsuccessful), miss entrance time completely, try to change time, rejected
Spend day wandering around the rest of the Alhambra
Take bus back down to center
Lunch is sandwiches (tortilla espanola for Alej) and tea
Off to the bus station, got a bus at 4:30 instead of 6, got pringles at rest stop
Home sweet home :)))

Day Trip: EL ESCORIAL

Today, December 3, my friend Sendy and I went on a day trip. We went to San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a city outside of Madrid. We took an hour long ride on Cercanias (the commuter train) to get there, and then took a 10 minute shuttle bus to get to the center of the town.

The biggest attraction is the Real Monasterio de El Escorial. It is a Basilica, a Royal Palace, a Monastery, and a Pantheon, all wrapped into one. We took a self-guided tour of the majority, and it was a pretty cool experience. You can't take pictures inside though, so there isn't too much to see there. There were museums inside of the monastery, of tapestries, paintings, and architecture, to name a few. We also got to see the bedchambers and audience chambers that the royal family inhabited when they would stay there. The Basilica was very simple, as was the Monastery itself, and contained paintings instead of the typical chapels I have seen in other Spanish cathedrals. The Pantheon was also very cool. It contains a large number of the royals of Spain, including kings, queens, princes, princesses, and the children of kings and queens who would never become king or queen (called infante/a in Spanish). I am definitely glad we went, because it is a very unique site.

After touring the Monastery, we had lunch a Rodilla, a Spanish sandwich chain. Then we wandered around the city for a while, since the bus to Valle de los Caidos only leaves at 3:15 pm on Saturdays.

Valle de los Caidos is a very sacred place for the Spanish people. The Basilica there contains the remains of many Spanish citizens who died during the Spanish Civil War. It also contains the remains of the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco, who died in 1975. The fact that the Civil War victims and Franco are buried in the same place is also quite controversial. The site itself is beautiful, especially the amazing stone cross on top of the mountain. The Basilica is built within the mountain, and still maintains a lot of the qualities of the stone by which it is surrounded. We couldn't go up to the cross because it is being restored and there is the danger of falling rocks. But there were amazing views of the valley below, and it was a wonderful place to visit. I am very glad I got to go, even though I couldn't go up to the cross, because seeing Spaniards there visiting the victims, and looking at Franco's grave, was also an interesting experience.

We stayed a Valle de los Caidos until 5:30, when the only bus back to El Escorial left. We then took the shuttle back to the train station and took the train home. It was a great day. Very relaxing, and Sendy was a great travel partner, though a little sleepy from her late night ;)

America in Spain

Throughout the semester, I have tried American experiences (mostly food) here in Spain. Everything is different here, obviously, but some major chains still exist and I felt the need to experience them in order to compare to home. Here are the accounts of some of them::

1) McDonald's - From the start of the semester, I knew I wanted to give it a try. I had heard from friends that everywhere in the world, even within the US, McDonald's serves different specialties. Here in Spain is no different. It is called the "McIberic" and it was very delicious. Ciabatta bread, iberic ham, a burger, queso manchego, tomato (which I removed of course), lettuce, and tomato sauce; in that order. Iberic ham and queso manchego are Spanish specialties, particularly popular here in Madrid. And the tomato sauce is not the pasta sauce you are thinking of, but an interesting tomato based sauce that is frequently served on toast as a breakfast food. Overall, it was delicious. Very different from the McDonald's food I have grown to love at home, but if the Spanish are going to do McDonald's, they had to put their own twist on it. And I sure enjoyed it. I may even go one more time before I leave, mostly because they have a cheesecake dessert

2) Slot machine - okay, not exactly American, but you wouldn't associate it with the Spanish either. Plus, I have never used one in the US either. Carrie, Kenny, and I decided to go into a salon de juegos to see what it was like. They had 0,20 euro slots, so we each gave it a try. Carrie was actually winning, but we all ended up losing our money in the end. No more than about 1 euro each, but it was still fun. I definitely understand how they get your money, and how easily you can become mesmerized and end up spending all your money at one machine. A cool experience though, and a good place to stay dry during a short rain.

3) Kebab - alright, also not American, but we do have kebab in the US, and all the other American students I know think it's pretty good here, so I couldn't pass it up. Though I haven't had it in the US, Kenny has, so we went while he was here. He was the comparator. I had a Durum, which is wrapped more burrito style than a standard kebab, but it was still really good. I didn't even mind there being tomato inside. Overall a good experience, and I can't wait to try the American version when I get home, though Kenny said they are very similar.

4) Starbucks - this was my most recent American splurge. Obviously, Starbucks here in Spain serves the same coffee as the Starbucks in America, but I wanted to give it a try. And it was really exciting! Mostly because if you get your coffee "para beber" (= for here) they give it to you in a real coffee mug!! Way more eco-friendly and more enjoyable than a paper cup. I got a white chocolate mocha, called a mocca blanca here. It was delicious, just like at home, though I think it tasted a little different in a mug. It was wonderful to sit, sipping my coffee, reading my book for class, listening to Christmas music. It was a splendid afternoon.

Adios Amigos Americanos

Unfortunately, Kenny and Carrie have left Madrid. They were here for a week, and I wish they could've spent more time here. I feel as if we barely scratched Madrid's (and Spain's) surface. Anyways, here is a short chronicle of our adventures)

After our day trip to Ávila, I went to classes on Tuesday. After my classes, we met up, and spontaneously decided to go to the Real Madrid game that night. I had only heard about it that afternoon, and it was one of the cheaper games since it was Champion's League against Dinamo Zagreb (from Croatia). It was a great game, RM won 6-2!!! We were up in the nosebleeds but it was definitely an incredible experience. After the game, we got kabob for dinner and met up with some of the people from my program who had gone to the game. We celebrated Madrid's victory at an Irish pub called Dubliners. It was a great time.

Wednesday was a very relaxing day. We got up late, and Kenny and I wandered around Retiro park for the late morning/early afternoon. I had to leave before we got lunch to go tutor, but we met up afterwards. We went to Chueca for pizza and ice cream. I always enjoy an evening in Chueca, and they agreed that both the pizza and the ice cream were pretty amazing.

Thursday I had classes again, but this time Carrie and Kenny met me at school. We ate lunch in the restaurant on campus, and then they came to my Literature class. Carrie doesn't really know any Spanish, and Kenny knows a little. So sitting in a class completely in Spanish I'm sure was a little difficult, but they both wanted to come. After classes, we went back to my apartment and got salad and dessert to take over to my friend Jeannette's apartment for Thanksgiving. There were supposed to be 12 people (including us), but there ended up being 20!! We still had a pretty good time, and Carrie and Kenny got to meet more of my friends. Thursday night Carrie and I had ladies night out with some of my friends. We went out to a couple different places, so she could see what European nightlife is like (Kenny got to get some much-needed sleep).

Friday they checked out of their hostel, we did some quick souvenir shopping, and then went to my apartment. Carrie and I took a long nap (to catch up with Kenny) and we had lunch in my apartment. For dinner, we met up with my friend Devon and went to Cien Montaditos. It's a chain where pints of beer are 1 euro if you buy a sandwich. It was pretty good, and I had never been there before. After that, we celebrated Kenny's birthday. We joked that it was more of his 21st birthday, since he got a flaming bottle of cava (Spanish champagne) for free at one bar. We had a great time celebrating, and I know he enjoyed being the center of attention and getting things for free.

They left this Saturday morning, with a suitcase full of my belongings. Luckily, no extra baggage fees had to be paid. I miss them already. I really liked having them here, and sharing my life here with them. After they left, I started to mentally get ready to go home. I know I still have about a month left, but that isn't that much, and I am really starting to miss home. Hopefully these last couple weeks will pass quickly, but not so quick that I cannot enjoy them.

Carrie and Kenny have arrived!! (Day Trip AVILA)

My visitors arrived! I was very excited to greet them at the airport on Saturday morning. I missed them both a lot. We spent Saturday hanging out at my apartment, and walking around the area near their hostel, which is down the street from Puerta del Sol. We had platos combinados for lunch and tapas for dinner. Sunday was an early morning to go to El Rastro, the Sunday market, to shop and search for gifts. Lunch at Museo del Jamon, a ride on the Teleferic in Casa de Campo and a visit to the Templo de Debod, followed by paella for dinner rounded out the weekend.

Monday (Nov 21), we took a Cercanias train, the commuter train, to the town of Ávila, located northwest of the city. It is a small city that still has an almost completely intact wall (muralla). The train ride was 2 hours, but the scenery was very pretty. Carrie slept, I studied, and Kenny took pictures out of the window. Once we got there, we wandered around for a little while, since we didn't have a map. After stopping in a cafe for a quick warm drink, we were directed by the barman to a nearby hotel to get a map of the city. From there, we headed towards the inner walled part of the city. Ávila is supposed to have a catedral, alcazar, and muralla. We only found two of the three. We wandered around and saw many monasteries, convents, churches, and palacios. We stopped in a military building, where you could walk through a museum chronically the history of the military and the Spanish military. It is still used as a school so you could only see the museum and the courtyard.

After our wanderings, we decided to have lunch. We had an amazing menú del día, at a place called Tres Sigles (three centuries). It was a bit pricey, but for 13€, I got spaghetti bolognesa, lomo a la plancha con patatas fritas, sourdough bread, two glasses of wine, and delicious tarta de queso. Kenny and Carrie also enjoyed their choices, and we shared our desserts (they got flan and tarta de chocolate). Even though we all wanted to take naps after so much food, we headed off in search of the alcazar. It wasn't on the map explicitly, but there was a building that looked like it could be it. It wasn't, it was just an older building. So we decided to walk around the outside of the wall to go to the catedral. On our way out of the city, an older woman stopped us and told us about a great lookout point from where you could see the whole city. After some debating, we headed out. It was a pretty good walk, but the view was definitely worth it. Since Ávila sits on a hill, you could see the whole city plastered on the hill, wall included, from just across the river. One short photo shoot later, we turned back to the city and walked straight up the center to the far side, where the cathedral is located. It cost 4€ and had a very long tour, so we decided against it, because I had to be back in Madrid to study for my exam.

We took our time walking back to the train station, and this time took a regular train (Media Distancia = medium distance) back to Madrid. Everyone napped on the train, the metro, and when we got back to their hostel. I did some studying, and Carrie decided to pass on dinner because she was too exhausted. Kenny and I went back to Museo del Jamon, and sat in the dining room, which was a new experience for me. Then we got some ice cream and called it a night, since I had my exam at 9:10 the next morning.

Pictures to come (probably after I steal all of Kenny's at the end of their trip) as well as more chronicles of our adventures

Madrid with Mom!

After returning from Barcelona, my mom and I spent the rest of her time here in Madrid. I got to show her the places I love, and she got to explore the city. We had done some exploring the week before, but we had more time during this past week. It was a really great time.

We started the night we got back from Barcelona. We ate in a small bar in my neighborhood and watched a soccer game. Then she stayed in my apartment for the night (some planning mix-ups had occurred on my part...). The next morning, we went to El Rastro, a huge market held every Sunday here in Madrid. It spans a whole neighborhood, and is filled with clothes, toys, antiques, souvenirs, artwork, and anything else you could possibly think of. We got lots of presents for people, and wandered around all morning. Then we went back to my neighborhood to have lunch, and watched part of the Real Madrid game in the bar. The only soccer matches I have watched while here in Spain have been with my mom. Just by chance they were on whenever we were eating. We then headed to Sol to check her into her hotel. After dinner, I headed back to my apartment, since I had school the next day.

On Monday, mom had the morning to herself, and then I met her for lunch. We went to el Museo del Jamon, where they have a great 1 euro menu. Then we finished our meal at la Chocolateria San Gines, the most famous place to get chocolate con churros in Madrid. Since I had a lot of homework and laundry to do, and had to be in my apartment to give my landlord my rent, I left my mom on her own for dinner, and she went to Reina Sofia for the free hours.

On Tuesday, she had the morning to herself again, and we met after my classes to go to el Museo del Prado. We walked about during the free two hours, and then headed to Chueca. We had a traditional (for me and my friends) Chueca evening. Pizza and soda at the 24-hour pizza place, ice cream at the best ice cream place ever (I don't even know it's name), and then a glass of wine at la Vinoteca. It was really nice to have a relaxing evening with my mom, and just chat about our adventures.

I had no school on Wednesday, since it was el Dia de la Almudena, the patron saintess of Madrid. Being a religious holiday, the people of Madrid don't do to much celebrating, they just go to mass. So we went shopping. We wandered around an area my friends had said had great shopping, but because of the holiday most of it was closed. So we headed to Gran Via, which is a much more touristy area, and founds lots more stores open. There were some great deals going on, so we found clothes and more souvenirs. We stopped for lunch at Pans and Company, sort of like the Spanish Subway, and kept going. After the long day of shopping, we went back to my apartment to get her suitcase filled with my stuff, and went to her hotel for the night. After a nice siesta, we had dinner at a pintxos bar (Basque-style tapas) for dinner and followed it up with ice cream.

The next day we headed to the airport bright and early. It didn't go very smoothly, since we discovered her flight had been cancelled over a month beforehand. Luckily, we were able to get her on another flight, though we had to pay 70 euros in baggage fees with the operating airline. Hopefully United will reimburse us, since they gave her no notification of the cancelled flight. That made Thursday an even longer day for me than it would have been otherwise. At least my mom got home safely though :)

I am really glad my mom was able to come visit me. We had a great time, and it was a great experience having someone from my life at home come see my life here in Madrid. It made me even more excited for when Kenny, my boyfriend, and Carrie, my cousin, arrive in just one short week. I love sharing my life here with others, and it's great to see people from home, especially the ones I love.

Barcelona with Mom!! (Nov 3-5)

I know this means I have now been to Barcelona three times in my life, but my mom really wanted to go, so here I go again::

This time, I flew to Barcelona. Mom and I left Madrid on a flight at 3 pm on Thursday, and got to our hotel by around 6 pm. It was a very confusing journey from the airport, taking an airport shuttle, walking, using the commuter train, walking, walking in the rain, and then finally arriving. Even though we had both been very hungry and hadn't eaten lunch, we slept until dinner. For dinner, we wandered onto Las Ramblas, the main drag in Barcelona, and ate at the restaurant of a hotel. Pizza and salad, followed by ice cream at a nearby shop. Then we walked Las Ramblas. Mom was truly amazing by how bustling and busy it was at night around 10 pm, and I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful buildings at night, which I didn't get to do in September.

On Friday, we got an early start, and headed to La Boqueria. We had a breakfast of assorted fruit, and headed back down Las Ramblas. I let my mom handle the picture taking for all of our trips together, and they started down at the monument to Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón, as he is called over here in Spain). According to my waiter in Valencia, he is pointing toward the Americas, but to me, it looked more like Africa. I am going to have to check that out, since I didn't really have anyway to confirm it. From there, we walked along the bay, and then stopped into a cafe. We were very lucky because it began to pour just minutes after we sat down. Mom had coffee, I had peach juice, and we split a pastry. After a little while, the rain had let up, and we headed back out. We walked to a church that Mom had read about, called Santa María del Mar. It was very beautiful, and I liked that its small side chapels were very simple, and not gated off. We wandered a bit in the gothic neighborhood, and then went to the Museo Picasso. I went there back in 8th grade, but all I really remembered was that we couldn't take pictures and that Picasso had a blue period like Van Gogh. So we stood in line, and got to see Picasso's works from childhood to about halfway through his adult life. I had already seen a lot of his later works in Reina Sofia, and Mom is planned to go when we were in Madrid again. I really enjoyed seeing his work again, because I don't think it really meant too much to me as a 13-year-old.

For lunch, we met my friend Ana at Bo de B for lunch. That is the salad/sandwich place I spoke so highly of in my post from my last Barcelona trip, where we went twice. It was just as delicious the third time around as it was the times before. It was nice to see Ana again, even though she had to leave us after lunch to study for her upcoming midterms. After lunch, my Mom and I headed up Via Laietana to the Catedral. Since I had a jacket on, I was allowed in this time (I wasn't in September). It was very similar to the Cathedral in Salamanca, but very beautiful. There was even a capilla(chapel) for the Sacred Heart of Jesus! When we went into the courtyard, I remembered that it was where I had taken a picture of snow on palm trees 6 years previously. I don't remember a lot of that trip, because it happened so fast, but it feels great when memories just pop back into my mind like that. After the Catedral, we went to find the bar/cafe that Picasso used to frequent with other young artists while he lived in Barcelona. It's now a fancy restaurant, but we took some good pictures :) Then we did some shopping on the way back to our hotel. Following a brief nap, we went to dinner at a restaurant at the far end of Las Ramblas. There is a whole section that offers deals of tapas and paella/pasta/pizza. We got three tapas "de la casa", paella mixta, and a pitcher of sangria. It was a very nice dinner, and a pretty good price. We of course finished our meal off with ice cream again, but from a different place.

Saturday, our last day, we started out early. We had breakfast in a little cafe near the Universitat metro station before heading to La Sagrada Familia. I was very excited to return to this place, because it was one of my favorites when I visited Barcelona for the first time. Unfortunately, the lifts were closed due to weather concerned (though it didn't rain all day) so we couldn't go up the towers. But just visiting La Sagrada Familia is worth the money. Gaudi is definitely my favorite architect of all time, and it was amazing to see the progress they had made on his great unfinished work in just 6 short years. So much more was complete, and I cannot wait to compare my pictures from 6 years ago to the pictures my Mom took this weekend and see the true progress. I definitely plan on going back when it is completed, which should be by 2030, to see it completed. It's hard to describe it, and how amazing and awe-inspiring it is. The pictures my Mom took can't even begin to capture it, but they are the best explanation I have.

We headed to Passeig de Gracia, to visit one of Gaudi's many apartment building and private homes built there. Before going anywhere, we stopped for bocadillos and soda for lunch. Originally we were going to go to La Pedrera, which I had visited 6 years previous, but it was quite expensive, and one of the workers said parts might close due to the rain. Instead, we headed up the road to Casa Batlló, which was also a bit expensive, but definitely worth the price. The included audioguide was very informative, and helped me to understand just how thoroughly thought-out Gaudi's designs were. Every detail was completely planned, and every possible use of natural light was exploited. At every turn, Gaudi amazed me with his intelligence and environmental foresight. It is definitely something that cannot be missed when travelling to Barcelona. After Casa Batlló, we jumped on the metro to go see the Arc de Triomf. It is not the largest most famous one, but I like it just the same. It was good picture-taking weather, so Mom went crazy. Then we walked back to the hotel to get ready to go to the airport. The trip to the airport went much better, though we did encounter some turbulence on our routine flight.

I enjoyed this trip to Barcelona just as much as I enjoyed the last two. I never did the same thing twice in the same way (except eating at Bo de B), and each time I got to discover the city with new people. Seeing the city through new eyes each time was amazing. A lot has changed about me since 8th grade, and since September too. I know that I will be returning to Barcelona some time in the future, so just like every other time, my goodbye is not forever, just for now.

Mom's here! (Day Trips: TOLEDO and ARANJUEZ)

I am so excited that my mom is here in Madrid with me. She is here from October 31 to November 10. She has never been to Europe, so it has been great sharing her first European experience with her.

TOLEDO (Oct 31)::
My mom arrived at 6:35 am (Madrid time) Monday morning. After taking her luggage to her hotel, we grabbed breakfast, and headed off to Toledo for the day. Some of my friends already went, and they said that they had an amazing time. My roommate, Q, even sent me with 5 euros to buy her some more marzipan. We went with my friend Devon and his friend Tyler, who is studying abroad in Rome this semester and was visiting for the weekend.

Upon arrival, we began up a very daunting hill to get into the city from the bus station. I didn't realize how hilly Toledo was going to be, but it seemed as if we were always going uphill. We wandered around in small alleys that barely fit a car, climbing up hill and down, seeing the sights. We saw the outside of the Cathedral, but decided not to go in because of the high price and long line. We also saw the outside of the Alcazar, but in Toledo the Alcazar has been turned into a Military museum, so we skipped that. Toledo is famous for it's marzipan and it's swordwork. We all tried some marzipan, but it wasn't really that flavorful. Definitely an experience I am glad I have, but it doesn't jump to the top of my list of favorite foods from Spain. The place we ate lunch, however, could get pretty close. It was a really small little restaurant/bar, with only 8 bar stools. The only person working was an old woman behind the bar, and she cooked all of our food right in front of us. We each had a "plato combinado" that came with lettuce, tomato, a mixture of red and green peppers, french fries or fried eggs, and then some kind of meat. I had croquettes, one of my favorite Spanish dishes, and they were handmade by the woman who served us, using chicken and steak. She also sliced and cooked our french fries in front of us, and they were amazing. Really, some of the best food I have had here in Spain. It was great to have such a personal experience, and we got to talk to her and ask her lots of questions about the food.

The hills of Toledo definitely took a toll on us. My friends who had been before said that it was definitely worth it to stay until sunset, but we made it until around 5 pm. My mom hadn't slept on her overnight plane, and Devon, Tyler, and I got about 3 hours of sleep after a night out on the town. So we had an early night.

ARANJUEZ (Nov 1)::
The next morning, my mom and I met up in the morning, had breakfast at the same little cafe as the day before, and then headed off to Aranjuez. Aranjuez is about an hour outside of Madrid, and is famous for its royal palace and gardens. It was cloudy, which made the pictures great, and luckily it didn't rain. The garden next to the palace, Jardin de la Isla, was beautiful (and thankfully flat), and my mom got some amazing pictures.

We walked around inside the Palacio Real, which is decorated as it was when Isabel II rearranged it. Now it is set up as a museum. You can't take pictures inside, so I don't have any photo memories, but some of the rooms were so beautiful I don't think I will ever forget them. Particularly one room designed by the same man who helped in the restoration of the Alhambra in Granada. It was so intricate and geometric that you could get lost in the pattern. There was another room designed in an oriental theme, with 3D wall decorations. It was quite dizzying because of the patterns and designs that had been used, but it was very interesting.

For lunch we ate at a small restaurant, and then wandered around the city a little more. It is quite small, and we didn't have a map with us, so we stuck close to the Palacio Real so we would be sure to find our bus stop again. We went to the larger garden, Jardin del Principe. It was much larger, and featured a lot more open space with less sculpted greenery. There was also a museum that holds the Royal Barges from the time when the Palacio Real was used as a vacation home by the royals. Somewhere there was a Chinese Pond, but we were pretty tired so we decided not to hunt for it. For our dessert, we had Freson con Nata, a delightful dish of strawberries with fresh homemade whipped cream on top. It is a specialty in Aranjuez, which is known for its strawberries, and also its asparagus, though we didn't try any.

We went back on an early evening bus, and had dinner in my neighborhood. My mom got to try some Spanish standards, patatas mixtas (bravas and ali-oli) and croquetas de jamon, with a caña of beer to wash it all down. It was a great day, and a great evening.

USAC Trip: BASQUE COUNTRY!!!! (Oct 24-27)

Day 1 - Mon 24 Oct
I woke up at 6:39, and my roommate and I were supposed to leave our apartment at 6:40. Needless to say, my morning routine was cut short. Luckily, I was 95% packed so getting ready didn't take to long. And we even got to school a couple minutes early, only to discover that the bus had broken down and the new bus was going to be 20 minutes late. This gave me time to go mail the rest of my postcards, and let my heart rate slow down a bit.

Once we got onto the bus, it was a 5 hour bus ride to San Sebastian. I was going to get some reading done, but instead I took a very long, bumpy nap. When we arrived, we headed straight off the bus to get lunch, because here in San Sebastian the restaurants are very strict about closing at 3 pm for siesta. I got a wonderful combination platter with eggs, french fries, lomo (a type of pork), and some red peppers. After that, we went up to a look-out point to see the city from above, and then we checked in at our hotel. Q and I are roommates, and we have a pretty nice hotel room.

After we had a short break, we all went as a group to a fancy restaurant called La Perla, located right on the beach. We had an amazing dinner with three courses and an incredible dessert. It was really nice to not have to worry about the price of the meal, and just enjoy the food. We walked around after dinner along the beach and the boardwalk before heading back to the hotel. We hung out with some of the other USAC students in one of the hotel rooms, and then they headed out to go to a bar. I watched Desperate Housewives with Devon and called it a night.

Day 2 - Tues 25 Oct
This morning we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel, and then started out on a walking tour of the city with Alvaro and Susan. We got to see a lot of the city, and wander about during some free time. I really enjoy hearing about San Sebastian from Alvaro, since he is originally from this city. After our walking tour we went to the Aquarium. We only had an hour, but it wasn't that big so we had enough time to see everything. I skipped over a lot of the museum section about fishing and merchant ships because I wanted to make sure I got to see all of the aquatic exhibits. There was a tunnel where you could walk underneath, and lots of smaller exhibits with really cool fish. I love going to aquariums, and I am glad we got to go.

We got free time for the rest of the day after the aquarium. We had to be back to the hotel between 7 and 7:30 to pick up our money for dinner. Some friends and I got lunch, but I wasn't feeling too well. I wanted to go on the boat tour with them, but I figured moving around on a boat wouldn't help how I was feeling, so I headed back to the hotel for a nap. After my nap, I went down to pick up my money, and we headed out on our pintxos route.

We visited 4 different bars in San Sebastian, and tried different pintxos in each place. I really enjoyed all of them. Only one of them had a name: Pintxo de Tiburon which means Shark Pintxo. It was actually shark meat, with potato, grilled onion, capers, and a sauce. It was really quite delicious. I also enjoyed the other pintxos that I had. I took pictures of all of them, and I will put them up soon. We had a great time wandering around to find bars and try new things. We also got to practice Spanish, and even learn a little of the Basque language.

Day 3 - Wed 26 Oct
Today we got up earlier and had the buffet breakfast before leaving for Bilbao. It is only an hour long bus ride, but I slept pretty much the whole way anyways. Then we took a walking tour with one of the USAC professors of the program here in Bilbao. We got to see the modern city, the city of the 19th century, and the city of the 18th century. Bilbao has an amazing story of reinvention and change. Our tour ended at our hotel, where we were given our room assignments and had free time until 5 pm.

After a quick stop in my room, I headed out with a large group to grab lunch and go to the Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim is incredibly beautiful from the outside. It is a work of art all to itself. Inside are three floors of modern art. Modern art isn't exactly my thing, but it was just cool to see how all of the exhibits had been designed. There are some sculptures that I really did enjoy. Hopefully I can find them online, because I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the museum.

Before dinner, we went to the Athletic Club Bilbao stadium to see the museum and take a tour of the stadium. It was cool to see, but I wasn't too interested because I don't follow soccer or the Bilbao team. Also, I was too busy being excited about dinner. We got to eat in a txoko (pronounced choke-o), a Basque gastronomical society. Traditionally, they were all-male societies where men came together to cook and socialize. Now, they are usually still all-male, but women are allowed to enter them. The Resident Director of the USAC program in Bilbao is a member of a txoko, and we were invited to dine there. We had chorizo, hot green peppers, bread, hake, veal, steak, and salad. For dessert, we had cheese, walnuts, and some kind of fruit jell-o like product. It was delicious, and we had an amazing time laughing and eating together. We even got to see a demonstration of traditional Basque music and dancing.

Day 4 - Thur 27 Oct
Today was the last day of my trip to the Basque Country. I had been waiting for this the whole semester, and it flew by way too fast. Breakfast was at the hotel again, and then we headed off to see a pelota demonstration. Pelota vasca is a Basque sport played on an indoor court. There are many variations involved different types of balls, different courts, and different equipment. The version we got to see played is called jai alai. Some may recognize it, because you can buy a version of it in the toys section at the store (check my pictures if you are confused). We even got to bet on who was going to win the match we saw, because betting is a huge part of watching pelota vasca.

After the match (my team did not win), we got to go out on the court and try out jai alai. When it was my turn, I explained to one of the players that I am surda (left-handed). He told me that no one plays pelota with their left hand, they are just taught to play right-handed as a child. He let me put the basket on my left hand, but none of the instructors could teach me how to throw the ball, because they don't know how to play left-handed. One of the instructors, a surdo himself, had me switch the basket to my right hand, and showed me the throw that is easiest for a left-handed player. It was much easier than trying to throw with my left hand. It was a pretty fun game, even though I knew my shoulder would be sore the next day. We had a lot of fun, and got out lots of energy before heading back to Madrid. We got one and a half hours for lunch in Bilbao before getting on the bus for the 5 hour ride home.

I had a great experience in the Basque country. I got to see and do so many things that I know I would have had the chance to, if I hadn't gone with USAC. It was worth doing the writing assignments and attending the meetings, and I would do it over again if I had the chance. The only thing I regret is that I didn't spend more time there, and that I was sick for part of one day so I didn't get to use all of my time.

Valencia!!! (Oct 14-16)

This is a delayed post, but my academic life has been hectic this week. This past weekend, I went to Valencia, a city on the Mediterranean a couple hours south of Barcelona. I went with my friend Alex for 2.5 days and 2 nights.

We left Madrid Friday at 1:30 on a bus. The ride was 4 hours with 1 stop. When we arrived, we headed straight for our hostel. We stayed at the Center Valencia Hostel. It was really close to the most interesting parts of the old city, but still on a really quiet street. We spent Friday evening wandering around taking hundreds of pictures, and falling in love with this charming city. We say the Cathedral of Valencia, the Town Hall, the University of Valencia, the main Post Office, the Plaza del Toros, the Estación de Tren, a couple of the main Plazas, and the major park, all in one evening. We ate a cafetería, and had salad, pizza, and fanta naranja (my favorite soda here). Then we stopped for ice cream in la Plaza de la Reina for ice cream at a place that holds the Guinness record for most ice cream flavors displayed at one time. They even had Smurf and Donut flavored!?! It was a wonderful evening. I can't really describe what it is about Valencia that captured my heart. It's the people, and the architecture, and the ambiance of the city. It's something that I think you have to experience to understand.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early, ate breakfast at our hostel, and headed off for the main even: La Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias. It is the main attraction in Valencia, and consists of el Hemisfèric, an IMAX theatre, el Museo de las Ciencias, an incredible interactive science museum, and el Oceanogràfic, an indoor/outdoor aquarium. We got a combo ticket for all three attractions, and spent our whole day there. It began with the Hemisfèric, where we watched an IMAX show about 'los Gigantes del Oceano' or the 'Giants of the Ocean'. It was about sea creatures that lived in previous time periods, and how scientists know about their lives from various fossils. It was pretty interesting. Next, we headed to el Museo de las Ciencias. There was such much to do and see that I can't even begin to explain. My favorite parts were the interactive physics demonstrations/experiments and the chromosome forest (it's literally a forest of chromosomes). They had a lot of other cool exhibits too, and everything was interactive. I wish I had had more time to read about everything in Spanish, but I guess that's just a good reason to go back. After walking around el Museo, we ate in the cafetería on the first floor, and then headed to the Oceanogràfic. We got to see so many animals and creatures, it was incredible. It is divided up by climate, so we got to see the Tropics, Mediterranean, Wetlands, Temperate, Oceans, Artic, Antarctic, and Red Sea. We also got to see a dolphin show, which was Alex's favorite part because they are his favorite animals. I got some really amazing pictures of them doing tricks. My favorite part of the Oceanogràfic was how it was set up. Some of it was above ground, and some of it was below. The best parts were the tunnels that connected some of the buildings, where you could walk underneath all of the creatures. It was incredible to be up close to all these amazing creatures. I even got to see a Beluga whale up close, which was indescribable!! Overall, it was amazing experience, and a wonderful day.
The day ended with paella, a Valencian specialty, at a restaurant on the beach. Valencia is the region of Spain where rice is grown, so they are known for their paella. We have paella valenciana, which has chicken and rabbit in it. I know it seems contradictory/hipocritical to consume the animal that your family keeps as a pet, but 'when in Rome'...It was delicious, and I couldn't tell you which pieces of meat were chicken and which were rabbit. So for all I know, I could've had all chicken and Alex could've had all rabbit. I like to think about it that way :) We had wonderful service, and it was very enjoyable. We even spoke to one of the waiters for a while, who is originally from Cuba, and he gave us some great advice on places to go the next day, and about other good places to visit in Spain (his favorite city is Barcelona)

We started out early on Sunday morning as well, to get in some more sightseeing. We had gotten to see most of the city on Friday night, but we still had a couple things left to see. We went to the Barrio del Carmen, which is the center of the nightlife in Valencia. During the day, therefore, it is pretty quiet. But the architecture is incredible. Our Cuban waiter told us he calls it 'Little Havana' because of the things it has in common with Cuba's capital. We ended up wandering into a previous convent, that has now been converted into a museum, which was very beautiful. We also found the Museo de las Rocas. We aren't sure entirely what they are, but they are very similar if not the same as fallas. Fallas are floats that are constructed every year for the huge festival in valencia in March or April. The winning floats are kept on display at the Museo de las Fallas (we didn't make it there), and the rest are burned. Therefore, we aren't entirely sure what it is we saw, but they were pretty cool anyways. We stopped by la Plaza Redonda, which is a perfectly round plaza, and el Mercat Central (closed on Sundays), and wandered through a huge swap meet of stamps, coins, and some kind of collectors cards. There was also a mini market where I got myself an abanico (Spanish for fan), which are also a Valencia specialty. We also climbed los Torres del Serrano, an ancient gate that used to be an entrance to the old city. There were beautiful views of the old and new parts of the city from the top.

After our sightseeing, we headed to the beach. We walked about 10 minutes to a metro station to take the metro to the beach, because after walking back on Saturday night, we decided we didn't need that much exercise. The metro in Valencia is very curious. Some of the lines are completely underground. However, others are completely aboveground, and work as a tram. They travel next to the roads, and have to wait at stoplights, and have aboveground stations. These trams work more like buses than the metro, because you have to request a stop if you would like to get off. It was a really cool way to see the city on our way to the beach. I unfortunately forgot my bathing suit, but Alex got to go swimming, and he said the water and waves were really nice. I got in as far as I could, which was up to the tops of my calves, but that was it. It was a beautiful day and very relaxing to be on the beach soaking up the sun. After eating lunch, we walked the boardwalk and the beach for a while, took a cat nap, and then headed back to the city to get ready to leave. Before leaving, we wandered about the main park for a while, to continue to enjoy the weather. After that, we headed to the bus station and returned to Madrid.

So far, Valencia is my favorite city in Spain. Again, I can't really explain why. It might be because I never planned anything about what was going to be seen when, and it was all very spontaneous. But I think it was more the feeling/vibe I received from the city and its people. It was so kind and calm, everyone was so willing to help in anyway they could. I highly recommend it to anyone who comes to Spain, and wish I had time to go back and just enjoy it more.

Dia de la Hispanidad (Museums Part 2)

This is a very delayed post, about what I did last Wednesday, October 12th. I have been super busy since then and haven't had time to post.

Last Wednesday was a national holiday here in Spain, called El Día de la Hispanidad. In the US, you might know it as Columbus day, but that name isn't so popular over here. There are lots of celebrations about the discovery of America, and Spain and Spanish culture, on the holiday and the weekend before it. In celebration of the holiday, many museums are free to enter. I chose to spend my day taking advantage of this opportunity.

I began my day at el Museo Sorolla. It is a museum inside of the Sorolla family home dedicated to Sorolla's work. Sorolla, if you didn't know, is a well-known Spanish painter. I did not know too many of his pieces before going to this museum, but I really enjoyed his work. He has a very interesting style, with large brush strokes and not much blending, which makes it difficult to really see what the piece is of unless you are standing far away from it. It provides a lot of interesting ways to look at a piece and see different things. His house is also surrounded by a beautiful garden. I highly recommend going there if you have the chance. Its only 3 euros usually, and definitely worth it. I think it is my favorite museum so far.

After that, I took a bus over to Moncloa, which is near the Parque del Oeste, to go to the Museo de Americas. Before heading to the museum, I stopped in a bar to have a café con leche and read some of the book I brought along. Then I wandered through the park, which is very beautiful, and just enjoyed the lovely weather before heading up the hill to Museo de Americas. As the name suggests, this museum is dedicated to the discovery of America and the cultures that were present at the time. It was very interesting to see this period of time from "the other side". They had very cool artifacts and really interesting facts about the American cultures that existed before the conquistadors arrived. I definitely wouldn't say that this was my favorite museum, but I wouldn't want to miss it if I visited Madrid. It is also usually only 3 euros.

The museums of Madrid are all very beautiful. I especially enjoy the Casa Museo style, where the house of a famous person has been converted into a museum about them. It's really unique, and preserves both their work and their home for future generations.

Day Trip: ALCALÁ DE HENARES

Today, October 8, my friends Devon and Alex and I went to the small town of Alcalá de Henares. It is a 45 minute train ride outside of Madrid, and is part of the Madrid Community. We decided to go because our original weekend plans got cancelled, and Alex's teacher had recommended it.

We started the morning off very chilly, and stopped into a cafe for hot chocolate and a donut. It was very delicious chocolate, between the consistency of American hot chocolate and the typical Spanish chocolate. After warming ourselves up, we headed out to explore the city.

Our first stop was el Museo Casa Natal de Cervantes. It is a museum dedicated to Cervantes, the writer of Don Quixote, and is located in the house he grew up in. We got to wander around and see where he lived as a child, as well as some publications of Don Quixote in other languages that were on display.

On our way to the Museo de Cervantes, we walked through a medieval festival as it was beginning to open. It turns out that this week is la Semana Cervantina, where Cervantes and the time period he lived in are celebrated. After we left the museo, we wandered around the festival. It was filled with food, jewelry, leather products, candy, incense, and many other medieval products. We wandered our way through and ended up at Los Universos de Cervantes, which has a history of Cervantes and more about Don Quixote. So we went inside and learned even more about the famous author.

After this, we stopped for lunch at the festival. Alex and Devon both had skewers of meat, while I had a ham and cheese quesadilla. We all had a beer to go with our Renaissance food. It was very delicious. After that, we tried some of the handmade fresh potato chips, which were amazing, and then stopped for dessert at another stand. We had torte vasca, which is a creme based pie that originated in the Basque country.

When we set out again, we wanted to find the "university" mentioned in my guidebook. There is the well-known Universidad de Alcalá, but we were looking for the old university. We finally found it after lunch, but it cost money to enter (my book failed to mention this) and wasn't open in the afternoon because of the festival. So we didn't end up touring it, but we got to spend more time at the festival. There was so much to see, they even had mini carnival rides for children. I found a beautiful silver ring that I really liked, but it was 35 euros and I have already spent my money on food...Devon said that is just wasn't meant to be. Hopefully I will be able to find one at El Rastro, the weekly market in Madrid.

We wandered around some more through the festival and the town, just to see what else was around. However, since it's a pretty small town and it was siesta time, there wasn't much else to see. So we headed back to the train station to head back to Madrid. All in all, it was a fun trip, especially because it didn't require much planning and we just got to explore a nearby area.

Pictures to come, I have to steal them from Alex