otro finde divertido en España

Friday, Oct 24, 2009 was the last of our class excursions. We took a day trip to El Escorial and el Valle de Los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen). El Escorial has a huge Monastery that was built in the 16th century by Philip the 2nd. It had a monastery for monks, a large church, a school, libarary, king and queen's apartments, and the Panteon Real (royal cemetery for the bodies of the deceased Spanish monarchs), and it now serves as a monument with other museums.

El Valle de los Caídos, which means “Valley of the Fallen,”

is very significant to the recent political history of Spain. It is a constant reminder of the Spanish Civil War that ended in 1939. General Francisco Franco wanted to construct this monument as a tribute to those who died in battle. About one million people died in the war, and this underground church contains the remains of about 40,000 of them. It took 18 years to complete, between 1940 and 1958. The huge cross on top of the mountain symbolizes those who died for the salvation of Spain. Inside there is an inscription that says “Por Dios y Por España: 1936-1939. R.I.P.”

Franco was inaugurated officially in 1959, and el Valle de los Caídos also became one of the symbols of his dictatorship. Because of Franco’s dictatorship and negative image, this is a controversial monument.

Oct 25, 2009 was a lovely Saturday in Madrid. All of the roommates and I went to see the inside of Palacio Real (the Royal Palace). On the way we saw this incredible group of street performers in Sol. There were 3 violins, 2 other string instruments and a keyboard playing classical music. This was the most impressive group of street performers I have seen so far, and all of my roommates and I gave them money (which we had never done)! The inside of the palace was gorgeous! There was everything from old silver, china, and thrones to armor and other furniture. The old interior decoration is amazing. The ceilings are covered with paintings and gold; there are chandeliers, colorful patterned wallpaper/tapestries on the wall, and much more extravagent decor.
We had lunch together with two other friends at Cien Mondaditos- this really fun cheap sandwich place that we love!

Afterwards I went with my friends Devin, Jen, and Michelle to ride a boat at Parque Retiro! It was only a little over 4 Euro for all four of us to ride one boat for an hour!

The next day, Oct 26, I went to El Rostro in the morning and then to Mass at the Cathedral next to Palacio Real. I didn’t like it as much because it was hard to follow (since I didn’t know the responses in Spanish) and there was no music.


Overall, it was another fun weekend trying to take in more of what Madrid has to offer!

October 16th-18th weekend: back in Madrid

After I returned from London, I was relieved and happy when I realized that I had two weekends in a row in Madrid before another 2 back to back weekends of travelling. Travelling is awesome, but it can be exhausting! I love being in Madrid on the weekends too, and feel like I need to do more and see more before time runs out.

On Friday, October 16th, I went to Club Joy for the third time. As a club itself, it's not my favorite, but I always meet interesting people there. I met a Spanish guy who studies history in Portugal. He who tried to lie/joke around with me and say he was from Maine in the United States. But probably because I tried to lie and say I was from here. I asked him why he would say "Maine" out of all the states and he said because no one would know because it seems like no one knows much about it/not many people live there. That was funny.

We also met 2 American guys from the New England area. They were visiting their friend here who dates a Spanish girl. They have been dating for 3 years travelling back and forth to see each other! She has lived in England and the United States for years at a time too, so her English is really good. That night the 'dancers' at the club were wearing crazy costumes from the 16th century or something. Weird. But there was this awesome violinist that played a piece that led into the melody of a popular Pitbull song. It was really cool and I feel like you don't see that in a club everyday..

That Saturday I didn't really do much during the day, but I spent a lot of time talking to Cris. I need to see more things in Madrid, but I think that even if I don’t go out of the house sometimes, I’m still making the most of my experience inside the house if I practice Spanish. (One day after school that week I had talked to Concha for an hour and a half! We had café con leche together and I just stayed in the kitchen while she was preparing food).

That night I went to see La Cruda Realidad (The Ugly Truth) in Spanish with Devin. It’s the same movie but dubbed over with Spanish dialogue. Devin and I planned on going because she told me how she had seen The Hangover here in Spanish and how it’s a great way to learn more, especially if you’ve already seen the movie in English. So we went and had a little “date.” We shared popcorn, which made me happy because I often go to the movies with friends who can “take or leave” popcorn, but I personally believe it’s an essential part of the fun of the movies. She does too. She also thinks dessert is fun, so we went to a little restaurant after the movie and shared two desserts- a piece of chocolate cake and an apple pie/cake thing. We didn’t want to buy drinks at the movies so we asked for tap water. The worker said they don’t have tap water behind the counter, but he could give us cups and we can get tap water in the bathroom. So, holding the popcorn, we took our paper Coke cups up to the restroom and filled them up in the sink. I felt really ghetto, but the tap water is seriously great here and it saved us money! The whole image/thought of what we were doing was hilarious though.
Devin and I have been speaking mostly in Spanish when we see each other at school, so we thought it would be good to do so when we go out. We started off doing this, but then we had so much to talk about when we were eating dessert that we just stayed at English. It’s a lot easier to express yourself (and faster when the waiters are rushing you out since the restaurant is closing) in English. We got kicked out and walked down to Gran Villa to keep talking. As we walked through Sol we encountered tons of people going out, others going home, and prostitutes soliciting business. We would have stayed out longer, but noticed that it was 1:30 and we wanted to catch the Metro.

On Sunday, Oct 18th, although I had two midterms the next day to study for, I went to the Prado with Lexi and Rachel.

Before we left, I was chatting online with my friend, Moses, and when we were signing off, he bid me farewell by saying: “have the best day of your life!” That really struck me. If you think about it, if you aim to have "the best day of your life" every day, then even just an ordinary day can turn into something uplifting and memorable, and each day will be better than the one before.

¡comida americana para celebrar cumpleaños!

random fun fact:
We've already had 2 birthdays in the 'family' here, in which we all went out to dinner at American restaurants to celebrate!

The menus are almost exactly the same- the names of the entrees/appetizers/desserts/drinks are in English but the descriptions are in Spanish. And prices are comparable as well, but because of the exchange rate with the dollar, it's a lot more expensive.

Erinn turned 20 on October 6th, and we ate at T.G.I.Fridays!

We all shared appetizers, including 'loaded potato skins' (YUM) and desserts. I got a Jack Daniel's burger. We LOVE the food in our house, but we were happy and excited to have food from an American restaurant.

On October 14th we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Madrid for Conchi's 24th birthday!

Again, we all shared appetizers and dessert, and I got a burger.

Belated birthday shoutout to Erinn and Conchi!

¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

English lemonade

This entry is about my trip to England two weekends ago. I went to visit my friend Ali who is studying through a USD program in Oxford, England. I spent two nights in Oxford and one in London. I encountered a few 'minor setbacks' related to this trip, but we overcame them and "turned lemons into lemonade," if you will. Thus, the title of this blog entry.

Thursday, October 8th started off wonderfully. In my morning Spanish Conversation class, our professor, Estrella, said that for the second half of the class we would all go out for coffee and speak in Spanish! All of us (Estrella + only about 12 students) went down the street to Vips- this Americanized restaurant (I would compare it to an IHOP) and got a table inside. Some students just ordered a drink and about 4 ordered food, including myself. I got this combo that consisted of a grilled ham/cheese sandwich with café con leche (coffee with milk) and orange juice for only about 4 Euros. To top it off, Estrella insisted on paying for all of us! She said she understands that we are college students and don't have much money. That was so sweet of her!! I already viewed Conversación and Estrella as my favorite class/teacher combo this semester, but that sealed the deal.

Later that afternoon was my flight to London-Gatwick. I was really nervous for it because it was my first time flying out of Madrid.. and the first and only time I would be flying out of Madrid by myself. I just wanted to get there with plenty of time and understand everything. I got through security with 2 hours to spare! I sat in a chair and called my dad to assure him I was fine and had just as much time as he likes to have before a flight. I was relieved. Until I went to look at the screen to find my gate number and it was nowhere to be found. I went up to a customer service representative and asked about my flight. A representative for EasyJet (the airline I was going on) said "don't worry, your flight is delayed a little. Only 3 hours." WHAT?! I was annoyed and stressed because that meant that I was going to miss my 2-hour bus trip from the airport to London that I had previously ordered online. I had Ali call that company for me, and she was able to pay 5 pounds to change the time for me. She gave me a new confirmation code that I was supposed to show to the bus driver when I arrived in London.

As I was waiting in the airport with 5 extra hours to spare, I started talking to a Spanish couple. They didn't really know why our flight was delayed either. After a few minutes they found out from EasyJet representatives that they were providing a free pre-packaged sandwich and drink to the passengers on our flight for the inconvenience. We just had to walk down a little ways where there were different sandwiches and bottled drinks for us to choose from. It was nice of EasyJet to give us something for our inconvenience, (I honestly don’t think that would have necessarily happened in the US) but I think they should have been better about communicating it. I noticed that a lot of passengers didn’t go get it because they probably didn’t know about it. Onthe actual flight they didn't provide anything for free (not even a complimentary drink). I didn’t really think they would, since it’s a ‘cheap’ airline, but I think they should have given us a complimentary beverage for our inconvenience while we were all on the plane and there to understand. Also, there wasn’t really an explanation about why the flight was so late. I think something about how the plane was late all day going from England and other destinations so everything got backed up.
Instead of reading my book in all of that free time, I made conversation with some other American students who are also studying in Madrid! They didn’t know about the free sandwich/drink. They were really cool and I sat with them on the plane. I would have been a lot more stressed if I hadn’t made these 'new friends' to wait with and navigate through the Gatwick Airport with. We finally arrived in London at about 10:30pm (original flight was supposed to arrive at 6:50). My new bus journey was set for 11:15, so I had just enough time to get through customs (where they hardcore interrogate you: "Where are you flying from?" "Where are you staying?" "What school does your friend go to?" "What do you plan on doing in London?", etc.) and find my way to the bus area. I showed the bus driver my confirmation print out and the new code, and he said he could not accept it. This is when I almost started to cry. I thought I was going to be stranded at Gatwick. He said he could still take me, but I'd have to pay him for another ticket (which was about 25 pounds.. 40-something dollars). Naturally I didn't have pounds, so I had to go in to the airport at his next stop to get cash out of the ATM. I paid him and was finally almost there.

I arrived at the Gloucester Green bus stop after 1 a.m. in Oxford where Ali, and her friends Cole and Carey met me. The first thing I noticed is that it was a lot colder than Madrid, and certainly colder than the weather I'm used to. I was just so happy to see them and finally be there. We took a cab (which was odd, because they drive on the right side of the road and the driver's seat is on the right side of the car) to their dorm. We hung out in Carey's room for a little and I met her roommate, who is from Venezuela. All of the USD students in the program there have roommates from another country, who are all trying to learn English!! I talked with Carey's roommate a lot in Spanish and it was really cool. I didn't think I would speak any Spanish that weekend, but I got a little practice with her and I think she liked it.

Friday, October 9th was a wonderful day in Oxford. Just walking around the cute little town, knowing I was in England with Ali made me so happy and made me think that all the hassle getting there the previous night was worth it. It was so pretty and nice to be in a new environment, in a completely different country that I had never been to.

On the public bus on the way to the city center, Ali gave me a little heads up about what I had to look forward to that weekend: She said, "While you're in England, you're gonna see the cutest old people here. Exhibit A, the woman behind us" and "We have a lot of options today:the best coffee of your life, the best cookies of your life, or the best milkshakes or your life."

Since I have possibly the biggest sweet tooth on earth, I was very excited. And we got 2 out of 3! (cookies and coffee). The 'best coffee' she was referring to was at a place called Cafe Nero, a Starbucks-like chain in England. I got a vanilla latte with caramel. It was really good (probably not the best coffee of my life..) and cute. Instead of "for here or to go?," they say "eat in or take away?" Isn't that precious? I had to restrain myself from getting a baked good there because Ali assured me that it would be worth the wait to wait for the cookie place. The cookie place was Ben's Cookies, which was in the covered market in Oxford. (I later found out that this is also a chain in England when I saw one in London!). This place lived up to my expectations moreso than Cafe Nero. The cookies are amazing.. they are big, freshly baked cookies that are soft and still somewhat gooey/dough-ey inside. I think I got double chocolate chip... and 2 other chocolatey ones for later. These quite possibly were some of the best cookies I've ever had, next to my mom's homemade chocolate chips. :)

After these sweet indulgences, we walked around the covered market, went in other shops, saw some pretty sights, and took pictures. Ali took me to the biggest, most unique music shop and book shops I've ever seen, owned by a company called Blackwell's. Both were about 4 or 5 stories. The music shop had CDs, sheet music, music theory books, compositions, and everything with music notes on them like pens and cards. We were talking to a worker in the music shop and he was a really nice guy. We found out that he's 19, and he told us how he is going to work in New York for a few months doing something with music. His travel, room & board, and food will be paid for. I asked him for his name so we could find him on facebook (may seem creepy... but have you ever met someone once and talked to them a lot and have never seen them/heard about them again?) It's so interesting meeting local people and hearing a little bit about their story/life/experiences/ambitions/goals.

The Blackwell's book shop was also really cool. It seemed like they have any kind of book you could want. They have old books in cases from about 400 pounds; some were back from 1600s!! One of the old ones that struck me was "Pooh Corner." After being in the coffee, music, and book shops, it made me think that British people are very sophisticated. I felt sophisticated. Their accents make them seem proper and polite.

Some of the sights we saw (and took pictures of/in front of) include the Radcliffe Camera, which is the school of History at Oxford University, Church College and its beautiful gardens, St. Mary the Virgin church, and Alice's Shop, which has every kind of souvenir you could ever want that has to do with Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. I bought a small book with both stories by Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. I've actually been wanting to read the original story because I heard that it is crazy and so different from the Disney movie.

As we were riding on the bus back to Ali's place at the end of this lovely Oxford day, Ali said “let’s look at all the pictures we took today.” I turned on my camera and my memory card said it had to reformat, aka all pictures were deleted. !!! So that was setback #3 to this trip, but hey, we looked on the brightside! I was actually thankful that it happened at the end of the first day of my trip, and not at the very end of my trip when all the pictures from London would have been deleted too. And, we came up with a solution. Ali actually has 2 cameras: a newer, more professional one, and her older Sony Cybershot. For the rest of the weekend, she let me take pictures with the Cybershot and she took her own pictures with her other camera.

That night we went out to a couple bars in the main area. It was a lot of fun and interesting to notice differences between nightlife there and Spanish nightlife.

Saturday, October 10th- “Speed London”
Carey, Kelly (Ali's new friend who I had a few classes with last year), Ali, and I left early in the morning to take the bus from Oxford to London.
We got there in about an hour and a half and went to the station to get our tube day passes. The "Tube" is the name of the London subway system. It was really stressful since most of the machines only take coins, and there was an insane amount of people in there. After we got through it, we headed straight to the TKTS booth to find cheap seats for Les Miserables, the musical we all wanted to see! We split up and tried 3 different lines, and the one Kelly and I were in had tickets for 25 pounds! We were so excited that it worked out. When I saw how many people were in London when we arrived, I was skeptical about being able to get tickets for that show, and with the luck I had been having on the trip, I had a bad feeling about it.

After that was worked out, Ali and I ventured off to find our hotel. Carey and Kelly joined us for the day and wanted to see Les Mis, but planned on going back to Oxford that night.

It took Ali and I sooo long to find the "Lords Hotel" because we kept getting different directions from different people. When we finally found it around 1pm, the worker at the front desk told us we couldn't check in until 2. I asked him if he was sure there wasn’t one room available (and kind of expressed my frustrated attitude) and he was able to let us check in to 2 separate smaller rooms instead of a double! The hotel rooms were different from hotels in the States. Our single rooms were very small, with a very small bathroom that I compared to an airplane bathroom with a shower. It made me miss so many things about American hotels! This was a cheap hotel, granted, 30 pounds, but even at the cheap hotels in the states you still get certain things. You usually get soap, shampoo, towels (usually different sizes: big for drying off, medium hand towel, and washcloth), a glass to at least drink tap water, and sometimes mugs & a coffee maker. This hotel only had one tiny bar of soap, one larger towel, and a towel for the floor. Neither Ali nor I brought shampoo, and I asked the front desk if they had any (NO) so we just decided not to shower. Nevertheless, we were able to check in and get our own rooms for the same price before the official check-in time, so that was the good part and we were on our way to sightseeing.

Ali took me to see some of the major sites: Big Ben, the London Eye, the Parliament Building, Westminster Abbey, St. James Park, and Buckingham Palace. The Parliament Building was amazing and St. James park was very pretty and peaceful. We made it a point to take lots of pictures (with both cameras), and I formed the number 7 with my fingers while posing in front of the Big Ben. Get it? Go Steelers.

After the quick sightseeing for about 2 hours, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and Les Mis with Carey and Kelly. We left a tiny bit late for dinner, but ended up being an hour later because our tube line- the circle line- didn’t come. We were waiting for it for about 20 minutes and then finally decided to walk to another tube stop and go from there. At this point we were jogging and swerving around people left and right. We basically stairmastered up the escalator and Ali, in her dress and heels, says “this is what I call POWER-TUBING.” Haha
We finally got to Bella Italia-where Carey and Kelly were waiting- and ordered our food really fast. The food was honestly not that good, and it made me miss Italian restaurants from home, especially chicken parmagiana and free bread (and I missed the bread we get everyday for dinner at home in Madrid). When we sat down at Bella Italia, I was thinking “No bread? What kind of Italian restaurant is this?” But then I was reminded that that is how it is in pretty much all of Europe.

LES MISERABLES at the Queen’s Theatre was amazing! Our seats were way up there, and a little part of stage left was out of our view, but it didn’t matter. Ali and I shared plastic binoculars that you could rent for 50 pence and it was so worth it! The whole play is in song. The music and vocals were incredible. They were so powerful and moving, especially when the whole ensemble sang together! This was definitely my favorite part of my time in London. On another note, I found it odd and disappointing that the Playbill was not free!! I've been to my fair share of musicals and Broadway shows that always include a program. I felt that this was maybe why I didn’t understand the story line completely throughout the first half. But Carey and Kelly did a great job explaining everything to me during intermission since they had read/seen the book/play before! I’m not sure if this is the reason why they charged for the playbills, but the performance we saw was a few of the main actors’ last performance with the company of Les Mis! Our favorite actor was David Shannon, who played Jean Valjean, and then when the show ended, we found out that it was his last performance as a castmember of Les Mis! (He is joining the cast of Phantom of the Opera in London). We were sooo lucky to see him!! One of the actors made an announcement after the show and talked about him and 2 other castmembers that were moving on. It was kind of sad and I was reminded of our last shows during high school.

Ali and I were not up to going out after the show because we were so exhausted from getting up early and running around all day, so we went to a cafe near our hotel and split a slice of cake. We hung out a little in the room, looked at the pictures we took that day (which were still there.. yes!), and set a time to wake up the next day for some more speed sightseeing.

Sunday, October 11th

Our hotel included free breakfast that consisted of baguettes with butter and jam, and a choice of coffee or tea. You could buy other things, like cereal and juice, for more money. As I am also a big bread fan, that was fine with me, and we were on our way.
We quickly saw Tower of London, and then Ali took me to the Spittelfields Market/Brick Lane. It was really cool. There were all kinds of vendors' booths with clothing, books, fresh food, baked goods, accessories, etc. They also had stands selling all different kinds of food, including cultural food like Japanese, Thai, etc. We got food from a barbeque-type stand. I got a chicken sandwich and potato wedges.

Then we headed to see St. Paul's Cathedral, which was incredible! We couldn't look through all of it, because it was blocked off for Sunday services, but I really liked it. It was up there with the Cathedral in Toledo for me. The architecture of this cathedral is the Renaissance style, so it was cool to see something different but just as extravagent and breath-taking.

We had a little bit of time before we had to go back to get our bags, before I had to go to the train station to the airport. Ali wanted to show me this expensive store called Herod's, but where we got off on the tube was a little farther from it. I really just wanted to relax and get some good tea/dessert in a cute cafe while I was still in London! We found this cute place called Cafe Concerto and it was so good! I got Earl Grey tea and chocolate cake. I was so happy, and it was the perfect way to end my trip.

So overall, despite the minor challenges I faced throughout this trip, I had a great time. I am so grateful that I got to experience a country I had never been to with one of my very best friends. I also learned a lot. Despite little problems or setbacks, there's always some kind of bright side. You can't take anything too seriously because most likely, in retrospect, the good outweighs the bad.

On the train to Gatwick I felt very content as I listened to some of my favorite British artists on my iPod: Adele, James Morrison, and Jamie Cullum.

Andalucía trip: Day 4, and the rest of the weekend with the "Granada Girls!"

Friday, October 2nd

We concluded our school excursion on Friday by seeing La Capilla Real in Granada. This is the Royal Chapel of the Catholic Kings. King Fernando and Queen Isabella started constructing this Gothic chapel in 1504 after they finished their reconquest as a symbol of Christianity over all other religions. I thought it was really cool and interesting. I was most intrigued when I found out that the corpses of Isabelle and Fernando, Juana (Isabelle's daughter) and her husband Philipe, and a young boy (5 total) are underground in the chapel. We could actually walk down a few steps to see the caskets through a glass window!! It was crazy to me because we always bury the dead and they are "below us"-we never see the casket again once it's in the ground-...but in this case we were able to be "on the same level" with the dead.

After this, we had the option of returning to Madrid with the group on the bus, or staying longer for the weekend. I planned to stay with 6 other girls: Delia, Devin, Kendra, Helen, Olivia, and Molly. I knew Kendra, Helen, Olivia, and Molly prior to Madrid, but not super well, and I just met Delia and Devin this semester in Spain but they are all awesome! I was excited to mix it up and enjoy Granada with new friends. We all looked forward to having more time there to relax/take our time and do whatever we wanted.

First, we found our hostel. This was my first time staying in a hostel, and to be honest, I was not exactly sure what to expect, but it was great! Helen found this really cool one called "Oasis Backpackers' Inn" in her travel book that I highly recommend (the company has hostels in many different cities throughout Europe). This one had a pretty atrium in the middle and an area downstairs with couches and 3 computers with free internet. As part of check in, you get a "welcome drink" ticket for their small bar. Every night they have "dinner parties" where you can eat the dish they make that night for really cheap (4 Euro) and mingle with the other travelers. They also provided a modest breakfast (toast, cereal, tea, and coffee) in the community kitchen downstairs where you're kind of forced to mingle. Oasis Backpackers was really community oriented, and I think in general you meet people from so many different places when you stay in a hostel. One of our "roommates" (for those of you who don't know, a hostel is kind of like camp. You share a room with both friends and strangers. Our room had 6 bunk beds.. so 12 beds/people total in the room and bathroom) was an older man from Finland. Another was a teacher from England who was super nice! He was reading The Time Traveller's wife, which was a conversation starter for him and Kendra. They realized that they love all the same books! When we were checking out on Sunday, he said he finished the book and one of us should take it since it will take up too much room in his bag. So I took it! :) In exchange, we informed him about our leftover alcoholic beverage that we left in the room and said he should drink it. He said he would probably drink it with some friends that night! A pretty epic exchange if you ask me: The Time Traveler's Wife for half a handle of Smirnoff.

We met a lot of Americans in the hostel as well. There were a lot of students from UC schools studying in a program in Córdoba. We also met a San Diego state graduate who couldn't believe we're from USD! It really is a small world. He has been travelling for a year all around the world. He seemed really interesting and said that he loves it so much that he hopes to be some kind of tour guide when he returns to the States. He is also keeing a blog about his travels. It's really cool meeting people who love to travel because you know they are open-minded and willing to try new things & meet new people.

Back to the Friday festivities:

After checking in, we explored the area nearby. There were a lot of Moroccan shops on the road nearby our hostel. There was a lot of Moroccan influence in Granada, which was cool to see since I'm not going to Morroco. Bright tapestries, bracelets, hookah pipes, bags, trinkets, etc. filled most of the gift shops in Granada.

We proceeded to find a bar to get afternoon drinks and tapas. Helen, again, gets points because she found this cool place called "Riviera" in her book that we loved. We all got sangria and got to choose a few free tapas to go with each round of drinks. (Granada is famous for providing free tapas/appetizer food when you buy a drink at almost any bar). Some of the plates we shared include salad, croquetas, french fries, and some kind of ham sandwich. We had a great time this afternoon and all just seemed so happy. And that was before the waiter brought us free shots at the end that tasted like butterscotch!

After the Riviera, we went back to the hostel and took a nice siesta. We took part in the dinner party that night, which consisted of seafood paella, and met some other American travellers.

After dinner, all of us "Granada Girls" (someone in the group dubbed us that immediately when our weekend began) went back up to the room and played cards and got to know each other better. It was so fun; I felt like I was back in 8th grade sleepover days!

Then we got ready and went to this AWESOME nightclub called Mae West. I've been to my fair share of clubs in Madrid, but as far as the club itself, Mae West is the coolest I have seen. It was big, with about 3 floors. The decor inside was really classy and they had music video screens! They played good music, including MY JAM right now- "When Love Takes Over" by DJ David Guletta feat. Kelly Rowland. I'm pretty sure I've heard it everytime I've gone to a discoteca so far.

Saturday, October 3rd

The next morning started off a little slow for me, but we did some sightseeing later in the afternoon. We walked to another area of Granada and went in some shops, took pictures, etc. Delia, Olivia, and I took a long walk and found a beautiful area with a stream and great views. We also came across the place that we saw the Flamenco show with the group from school on Thursday night.

Delia and I looked around in shops and split a cheese pizza for dinner.

We all decided to have a more low key night, so we just went to a bar for a little while. I only ordered a Coke and got an amazing individual free tapa: ham and cheese sandwich grilled kind of like a panini and french fries with different sauces!! So I only paid 2 Euros for the Coke and that 'mini-meal.' Definitely one of my favorite things about Granada.

Sunday, October 4th marked the end of our weekend and the end of a 6 day total trip in Southern Spain. We took the ALSA bus back to Madrid and I was impressed with how nice it was! It was very comfortable and cheap. The bus ride was about 5 hours, which is really just like a drive from Las Vegas to San Diego.

Overall, this independent "Granada Girls" trip went very smoothly. Many thanks to Kendra and Helen, who were the bold planning leaders! This weekend-in beautiful Granada bonding with new friends-was one of the most fun weekends I have ever had.

Click
http://picasaweb.google.com/NicoleDeFelice.usdtv/Andalucia# to see all of the photos from the entire Andalucia trip.

Andalucía trip: Day 3 (Granada)

Thursday, October 1st

We got up early to eat breakfast and travel to our last city of the trip: Granada. The bus ride there was about 4 hours, in which I slept for most of. Our hotel there, called Hotel Carmen, was really nice. The beds were sooo comfortable and equipped with two pillows! That is one thing I miss most about home and the states in general- sleeping with lots of pillows. At my homestay here, I have one pillow on my bed, and the hotels I've stayed at in Europe only provide one as well. Just one of the things I learned that I take for granted in America.

In the afternoon we took a long tour through the world-famous Alhambra and Generalife.

This area is like a huge city on a hill with old palaces and huge gardens.

The buildings were so extravagant, with very intricate designs that have both Arab and Christian influences.

We went through many of the different areas and ended our tour in the gardens at sunset. :)

That night we had an amazing buffet dinner in the hotel and the majority of the school group went to another Flamenco show together! The venue was a lot smaller, but had more dancers. We got a drink included with the show price, and a night tour of the area overlooking the Alhambra.

Andalucía trip: Day 2 (Sevilla)

Wednesday, September 30th

Today was a full day in Sevilla!

We got up fairly early for breakfast in the hotel (which was really good!) and headed to Los Reales Alcázares. This area used to be a royal castle in the 10th century and when different rulers came into power, they built more palaces and incoporated different elements. Overall, I loved Los Reales Alcázares! The beautiful atmosphere outside in the gardens was one of my favorite sights I had seen so far. Within the buildings, there were so many different rooms/areas to see, and the symbolism and history behind them was very interesting. We learned a lot about the different significances in Arab art vs. Christian art. One thing that I thought was really cool was that the Arabs often made the outside of a building a lot less interesting than the inside, which symbolized the external appearance vs. the soul of a person.

El Cuarto del Almirante was where Christopher Columbus convinced Queen Isabelle to sponsor his voyage! Behind the altarpiece in this room, there is a painting called "Virgen de los Mareantes" has the voyagers and the ships (the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria!) at the feet of the Virgin Mary.

After this we went to the Catedral de Sevilla. Before our whole group went in, we were waiting outside in the central area by this huge fountain and saw a lot of gypsies! I never really had heard much about them, but some other students told me that they were gypsies. These ladies were singing and trying to give/sell pieces of rosemary to tourists. Later I found out that they pulled a scam on Delia! One of them started 'reading her palms' and asked her for money. Delia was only going to give her one Euro (which is a coin), but the lady said she only takes bills and will give her change. Delia gave her a 10Euro bill and the gypsy said she didn't have change. She turned her story around and said that it cost 10 Euro- 5 for each hand. It seems stupid, but Delia had never really heard about gypsies so she didn't know to ignore/be cautious around them. If I hadn't heard the other students talking about them I wouldn't have either.

The Catedral-Gothic Cathedral of Sevilla- was so magnificent! It was completed in the 1500s, built on top of a Mosque as a symbol of Catholicism. The architects used the Gothic Cathedral in Toledo as an example, so it was very similar to it, but bigger! The Cathedral in Sevilla is rich with gold, silver, paintings, sculptures, grandiose interior architecture, and other 'treasures.' We climbed to the top of the bell tower called the Giralda-which was 34 ramps- to see an incredible view of the city. I thought this Cathedral was amazing, but for some reason I was more blown away by the Cathedral in Toledo (that I blogged about in the very beginning of my time in Spain). Maybe because it was the first extravagant European cathedral I had seen?

Nevertheless, the Cathedral of Sevilla has some impressive statistics: the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world! Again, my pictures can't do it justice, but wikipedia has some good ones as well as info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville_Cathedral.

After this we had a very nice group lunch in el Restaurante El Cordobés that was included in the program. There were a lot of courses and a bottle of wine for each table of four. :) I sat with and had some good conversation with Olivia, Brooke, and Jen. Then we had free time (aka a two-hour siesta), until the next group activity, which was a Flamenco show!! It was a very small, intimate venue that I would say only held about 80 people. There was a guitarist, a singer, and two dancers. They all keep the beat by clapping in specific rhythms. The dance moves are very passionate and technical. I felt that I had a lot of time to think while I was watching the Flamenco show because it was the first time I had experienced a type of silence with no talking in a long time. I was thinking about how lucky and blessed I am to be in Spain this semester and have these experiences.

Later in the evening, I ate with Delia, Julia, and Daniella in an Italian restaurant near our hotel. We got pizza and it was sooo good! We also got some amazing ice cream later. To end the night, we walked to the river and went to a bar.

Andalucía trip: Day 1

This entry is long overdue, but I went on a great school trip to the Andalucía region of Spain (southern cities of Córdoba, Sevilla, and Granada) from Tuesday, September 29th to Friday, October 2nd. I learned so much about the history behind this area of Spain and saw so many beautiful sights. We had the option to stay in Granada for the rest of the weekend, so 6 girls and I did so and we had a blast!

Tuesday, September 29th

We left Madrid in the morning to take the bus as a group to Córdoba to visit the Mezquita-Catedral. A little historical background: When the Muslims moved to Southern Spain, Córdoba was the main place for Muslim rule and government in the Iberian Peninsula. La Mezquita was the first Mosque in Spain. Construction of this building took place from the year 711 to the 17th century because there were so many changes to it. As different rulers came into power in the area, they added different layers to the building and and eventually added elements to make it more "Christian." In 1492, the Catholic monarchs Fernando and Isabelle made all the people in Spain convert to Christianity. They used the Catholic religion as a sign of victory and built a tiny Gothic cathedral on top of the Mosque. So this building is so unique because it is a fusion of both the Islamic and Catholic religions, and the corresponding architecture/art. I thought the details in the columns, ceilings, sculptures of angles and saints, etc. were incredible.

After we visited the Mosque, we drove for another hour and a half to Sevilla and checked into the hotel, called Fernando III, where we stayed this night and Wednesday night. My roommate for the trip was my new friend Delia. We have a lot of fun together and she is originally from Mexico, so she is fluent in Spanish. When we were getting ready to go out, she was watching a soap opera on TV (which obviously is all in Spanish) and I noticed how much I was able to understand! I have tried watching some Spanish television at home in Las Vegas, but usually have a hard time understanding what's going on. I guess being in Spain for a month had already dramatically improved my comprehension skills!

We went to eat dinner with our friends Julia and Delia at a restaurant near our hotel that ended up being really good! I got menú for only 7 Euros. I got vegetable soup, fish & potatoes, tinto de verano (it's wine with lemonade/sprite, and this was the best tinto de verano I've had), bread (which was the best bread I've had in Spain), and ice cream. As we were ending our meal, the song "I Will Survive," made famous by Gloria Gaynor and a very popular karaoke song choice, was playing on the TV in the restaurant as part of a fútbol game. We all started singing it and the staff got a kick out of us. (We were the last customers in there). They put the song on their radio/music player and we sang the whole song at our table. To top it all off, they gave us a round of free shots!

Later that night we sat outside at a bar for a "night cap." As we were finishing up, it suddenly started pouring rain. The tables were covered with umbrellas, but that wasn't enough and the waiters started bringing everything inside and customers started leaving. Julia and Daniella wanted to wait for the rain to blow over before going back to the hotel. (None of us had umbrellas). Delia and I didn't think it would end anytime soon, so we decided to be bold and make a run for it. Bad choice. We got soaked, and the rain did clear up after about only 10 minutes. Our clothes were drenched, but we were cracking up the whole time, and it was definitely something to remember!

update

I have a lot of catching up to do! Last week I went on an amazing trip to Andalucia (Southern Spain- cities of Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada). I have a lot to write and show but I don't have time right now because I have to pack for my trip to England! I'm leaving in about 5 hours but I still have to pack and leave myself plenty of time to navigate to and through the airport. I get back on Sunday night and after that I should finally be able to catch up on my blogging. If you're reading this, have an amazing weekend and stay tuned!

Besitos!

Sunday, September 27

This day I also saw a lot during the day, but on a lot less sleep. I definitely seized the previous night, resulting in only about 3 hours of sleep before getting up to go to church. Of course I took a nap when I got back home, but only for like 2 more hours before it was time to go.
Lexi, Erinn, and I went with Cristina to the Sol area to meet up with some of her friends from Stetson University in Florida. Cris studied there for a whole year last year and now some of the people she met are studying abroad in Madrid this semester! It was cool to get some other perspectives from students studying abroad. They all seem really excited and willing to practice Spanish even if they are just talking amongst all Americans.

We walked around Palacio Real, went in the beautiful Catedral next door (Catedral de la Almudena), ate churros con chocolate, and walked to la Plaza de España. Here are some photos!