Andalucia in Photos

Things.

Some Pretty Sweet Things:
- My parents will be here in four days :)
- I finally bought a ticket to see Bon Iver on May 20th in Hamburg, Germany. I might die from excitement.
- I'm going to Guinness land AKA Dublin, Ireland in 10 days
- My parents and I are trading laptops when they get here. This means I will soon be using a 9-inch glorified ipod touch. Basically, my dad is a computer genius and bought a tiny little dell and converted it into a Mac OS X machine. Perfect to carry along while I backpack in May.
- I officially have 7 days of class left
- My baby toe has finally healed and I have been running again like it's nobody's business.
- 10 days of vacation from this vacation starts Thursday! I'm off to Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, and Ireland!

Some Pretty Lamezone Things:
- Spain has decided to have a freezeout weekend, and it hailed on Saturday. What the heck, Spain?
- We had daylight savings time this weekend, so we're back to a 6 hour difference with the east coast time. LAME.
- I have to write a 3 page paper on phonetics, an 8 page paper on a Spanish novel, and another 5 page paper on a Spanish play. All due in three days.
- My Spanish Madre is getting less and less tolerable. The other day, she yelled at me for blow drying my hair at 10 PM. Don't want to wake up the neighbors!
- A meal I will never eat again in my life post-Spain: a fried egg and turkey hot dog. We probably get this meal once a week, and my stomach never fails to turn upside down when I lay my eyes upon the table.
- I have a thousand million pictures and stories to share from our last excursion to Andalucia (Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Merida), but I'm a little pressed for time right now due to the 16 pages worth of homework I have to write, and the spring break/month of May travel that I'm trying to plan.

Paris: you exhaust me

I was able to pack a week's worth of sights in Paris into two and a half days. Talk about exhausting. There was a ton to see and do, and not enough time to do it-- but we made it work. And I'm glad we did, because although it was exhausting, it was totally worth it.

We flew in to Paris on Friday night and after a major headache trying to figure out the metro/train system from the airport into the city, we ended up taking a taxi to the hotel. Not the best way to start our weekend, all being frustrated from the very beginning, but it quickly got better. The funniest thing we all noticed as soon as we arrived was how paralyzed we felt without knowing how to communicate. It's funny how our brains work-- when we're thrown into a country where we don't know the language, our minds immediately go to Spanish, because it has become our second language, our go-to language when we know not to speak English. However, when your taxi diver is from Paris, Spanish doesn't really help much. So after having to stop ourselves time after time from speaking Spanish without thinking, we finally made it to the hotel. Our means of communication mostly consisted of pointing to our paper with our hotel reservation on it, and using some intense hand gestures.

Being in France was the first time I have traveled outside the US to a country where Spanish was not spoken. I've mostly considered myself well-traveled, having spent two summer trips in the Dominican Republic. But never anywhere (recently) where either Spanish or English is not spoken. But the point is-- speaking Spanish in France probably won't get you too far.

We got up early Saturday and headed to the Louvre. In case you were wondering...it's gigantic. We only had two hours to spend there, and didn't even get through all of one wing. But we made it a priority to see the big stuff: aka Mona Lisa. We have become so use to having Jesus, our program director here in Spain, be our tour guide in all the museums we go to; but since we were doing this trip on our own, we were left to fend for ourselves. So that led us to renting those trusty headphone sets that tell you all about the artwork as you walk around. We thought that it would be a good idea, but really, they were really lacking. There was only commentary about a select few pieces of art, and it usually wasn't the one's I was interested in. Regardless, the Louvre was great. From all these art museum trips I've experienced this past semester, I truly have gained a bigger appreciation for art. It has become something where I can identify what I like, what I don't like, and really develop educated opinions. It also helps that I'm taking a Spanish Art History class here, which I guess has added to my growing appreciation. I now know that I have very little interest in Greco and Picasso, but I truly love impressionism-- artist such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, and Seurat. Unfortunately, all the artists' work I really enjoy was held in the Musee d'Orsay, not the Louvre. But we visited it the following day, no worries. So honestly, I could have done without the Louvre. But I guess when in Paris, you are obligated to see the Mona Lisa.

After the Louvre, we went back underground, and took the metro/RER train to Versailles. It's actually pretty far outside the city, it took about an hour each way to get there. After having an epic feast of peanut butter and crackers on the train, we arrived. I have learned that peanut butter is an essential for every trip. In fact, I have to go to the store tonight and buy some before I leave for our 5-day excursion to Andalucia tomorrow morning. It's the perfect option for a quick meal on the run, easy to travel with, doesn't have to be refrigerated, and oh yea-- tastes like heaven in my mouth. Please don't take for granted how commonplace peanut butter is in the U.S. Once it's removed from your life, you will surely have a new found appreciation for this wonderful, childhood delight.

Versailles was grand-- painted in gold, trimmed in velvet, everything you would imagine a French palace/government center/weekend getaway to be. We saw the famous Hall of Mirrors, took goofy pictures of our reflections (of course), saw Marie Antoinette's bedroom, and room after room of paintings.

By the time we got back into the city, it was about 7 PM, and we were headed to the Eiffel Tower. If you ever get a chance to visit this city, definitely do the Eiffel Tower at night. It really isn't much to look at during the day; in fact its kind of ugly. But at night, it lights up and sparkles and really just seems magical. We only waited in line for about a half an hour, and then took the elevator to the top. It was pretty cold by this point, so we took some pictures, and made our way back down. I was really crossing my fingers, hoping that I would witness someone getting engaged at the top, but sadly, that dream never came true. After a jam packed full day, we attempted to find a restaurant for dinner. We came across this great little bar/restaurant where we all got pasta and ate until we experienced the best food comas in the world. Our waiter was quite a character-- that's definitely something I noted about French people; they are far more friendly than Spainards. I never would have guessed that. In my mind, I always had the impression the media portrays, that French people are a little stuck up, cold, and unfriendly. It couldn't be any further from the truth. It's in Spain where I get shoved on the street, people walk into you like you aren't there, no one ever smiles, no one jokes around with you at all. They're far too serious.

Day two: Notre Dame, El Conciergerie, Saint Chapelle, the Latin Quarter, Luxembourg Gardens, Musse d'Orsay, Moulin Rogue, and Montmarte. Luckily the majority of these sites were within walking distance of each other, so it didn't take as long to get around. The quick summary goes like this:

Saint Chapelle is a famous church known for its amazing stained glass. It was one of the most beautiful sights I saw. By far. The Latin Quarter was a lot of touristy shopping, with many restaurants to get gyros and felafel. So tempting, but I held off because we had packed pb&j sandwiches to eat in the Luxembourg Gardens, which was our next stop. The Luxembourg Gardens were absolutely beautiful-- it was a wonderful sunny day, and we sat around eating our sandwiches in the sun, and took a moment to soak it all in and relax before our next stop: the Musee d'Orsay. Going here was kind of an after thought, but I am SO glad it made our itinerary, because it housed some amazing art, like I mentioned before. Next, we took the metro to Montmarte, a part of Paris that is known for the Moulin Rogue and for having one of the best views of the city. It's a lot higher elevated, so we could see the entire city. After taking pictures in front of the Moulin Rogue, we made the uphill trek to the stairs of the Basilica, where we sat and enjoyed some ice cream, watched the sun set, and were serenaded by a street performer. He was camped out on the stairs, singing everything from Lean On Me, Wonderwall, James Blunt, Allison Krauss, and more. A huge crowd had formed, just taking in the sunset, and everyone was singing along. What an epic memory.

Oh, I almost forgot. When we were taking pictures in front of the Moulin Rogue, we met a guy who had just graduated from Texas A&M and was spending 8 months backpacking through Europe. So he joined us for our journey through Montmarte, and we traded stories of our travels over ice cream. Funny how travel brings people together and how we find so much comfort in talking with someone from the U.S.

On Monday morning, we took it easy and slowly made our way back to the Eiffel Tower to eat more pb&j sandwiches on the grass and take it all in during daylight. Soon enough, we were making our way back to the airport for the rest of the journey home (I mean to Salamanca...I don't really know where home is)

Some quick thoughts

I leave for Paris tomorrow. I'll be back late on Monday night.
My train ticket to the airport in Madrid is all sorts of messed up and I absolutely will never buy a train ticket online again. I hate you renfe.es
I have a midterm in Spanish Phonetics on Tuesday morning.
I have a five page (Spanish) paper due for Lit next Wednesday.
I have to read two more chapters in Como Agua Para Chocolate by Tuesday.

This is definitely the most work I have had yet. And of course it's finally beautiful weather outside, and all I want to do is sit at the outdoor cafes and drink cafe con leche and eat chocolate croissants, but NO. I actually have work to do now (and a trip to Paris thrown in there)

More on life after Paris.
Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomph, and Versaille here I come.

These are a few of my favorite things

There are a few things that I love that are really hard to find in Spain. However, I discovered a co-op grocery store that aims to sell things to military families. So of course, I was able to find some of my favorite American delicacies.


They don't sell or eat anything made with peanuts, peanut butter, peanut bi-products, peanut oil, peanut trail mix, peanut anything. And there is something so nostalgic about eating salt and vinegar chips. We had been separated for way too long. Finally reunited at last.

Barcelona Round 2, picture version

Here are a ton more pictures from the weekend, enjoy!

BarTHelona

I really don't even know where to begin with Barcelona. I am in love with this city. There is something about being by the Mediterranean Sea after being landlocked for the past two months that was so freeing. Seeing palm trees after being swallowed up by cement for so long. And getting to experience the joy of transportation on two wheels once again-- oh how I have missed my bike.

We were gone for a total of four days, but we were actually only in Barcelona for two days. There was a day of travel on each end of the trip-- a twelve hour bus journey across Spain. In case you were wondering, Spain really isn't that beautiful. In fact, it really looks like a desert. A dry, arid, ugly, brown desert. So there really isn't much to look at while you're stuck in a bus for an entire day, but once we got to Barcelona, there was more than enough to feast our eyes upon. We got to the hotel on Friday night, got settled in, and headed to the hotel restaurant for dinner. This is where it gets interesting.

Apparently the hotel we were staying in was part of a tourism and hospitality school, so every employee we interacted with was basically a student, in training. This made dinner really entertaining. Especially since I have been a server in a restaurant, there are certain things you just know not to do. For instance, you would never talk about the guests in earshot as if they couldn't hear you. You would never have the following conversation either:

"Could I please have some butter?"
"Why?" (said with complete confusion and lack of respect)
"For my pasta"
Server gives guest a look of complete disgust and walks away

And one last thing you would never experience in a restaurant in the U.S. is being served plain pasta with a gallon sized bowl of cold ketchup as the sauce. We really thought we were being pranked. We all just stared at the gigantic bowls of red, jello-like sauce being put before us, waiting for someone to make the first move and put it on their pasta. I just stared at bowl after bowl after bowl, as the servers continued to bring them out to the tables. Apparently, Spaniards really love their ketchup. What the heck?


Okay, so after the ketchup catastrophe, we hit the town. Found the metro and took it to a part of Barcelona called la Rambla, which is pretty much the social center of the city, with lots of people, bars, restaurants, and freaky street performers. For some reason, covering yourself in gold paint and meowing at tourists passing by is a great way to make a buck in Barcelona. We walked along la Rambla, which leads you directly to the docks on the Mediterranean Sea. We spent night 1 just soaking it all in, walking around the water, loving every ounce of it.

Day 2 started with breakfast at the hotel. See, the way meals work on our weekend excursions is that we get breakfast in the hotel, and then we are given a stipend for the weekend (in this case, 60 euro for five meals). If you're smart though, you bring a jar of peanut butter, take bread and jelly, along with a yogurt, muffin, and apple from the breakfast buffet, and like magic, you have a free lunch, and 60 euro to spend on more memorable things. After Andrea and I took this approach to eating on the first day, soon, the rest of the group was sneaking out bread and jelly. What can I say, we're quite the trendsetters. And for dinner, we went to an outdoor market and bought a gigantic head of lettuce, red peppers, tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, aged gouda, avocado, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of balsamic vinager. These goodies supplied us with a total of six meals, all for less than 10 euro. You should have seen the salad making process in the hotel-- it was fantastic.


But anyway, back to Day 2 events. We went to Park Güell, which is an architecturally complex park designed by Gaudi, a famous spanish artist/architect. His style incorporates a ton of curvy lines, mosaic tile designs, and modern design. And I LOVE it. A lot of his work looks like something that belongs in a Dr. Seuss book, straight out of Who-ville.


What can I say, I really like Gaudi and his work, so I took a LOT of pictures. These are only a select few of the greatness that my camera captured. After Park Güell, we went and had a look around the Picasso museum, pretty quickly, then jetted out of there to enjoy our free afternoon. At this point, I was in desperate need of some sturdy shoes, because my feet have been falling apart (I'm pretty sure I broke my toe in Madrid, like three weeks ago). So I spent part of the afternoon in a shopping mall-- just what I wanted to be doing with my precious time in Barcelona. Anyway, after finding some quality sneakers, we made our way to the Chocolate Museum! If you know anything about me and the essence of my being, you would know that I have SUCH a weakness for chocolate, so of course I had to visit. Our ticket to enter was a bar of dark chocolate-- so perfect. I learned every possible detail about the history of chocolate, how it is made, how it became popular, everything. And of course there were tons of chocolate sculptures to look at.

We then made our way to the open market (where we bought out an entire garden worth of food to make our salads). It was so beautiful, all the fresh produce, all the smells and bustling people. I was completely on sensory overload, Andrea practically had to hold my hand and guide me around. From there we caught a metro to go view the Magic Fountains. Thats what they're really called, apparently. What a lame name. Anyway, these fountains put on a show every night, with music and lights...it's practically like a dance performance, but with water instead of people. It was pretty sweet, what can I say.

That's me!

After the magical fountain show, we took the metro back to the hotel to make our epic salads. Taking advantage of our weekends away from home to eat whatever we want is so key. And for some reason, there was nothing more I was craving than a bangin salad. And it sure hit the spot.

In the morning of day 3, we went to see la Sagrada Familia and la Pedrera, two more famous Gaudi creations. La Sagrada Familia is a church that has been under construction for ages, and it will probably continue to be for the next million years. It is so intricatly designed, and there is very little funding for it, so it remains a continuous work in progress. Inside, we took an elevator to the top, where there is a mini bridge that connects two of the towers. We got to see a great view of the entire city, all the while I was freaking everyone out by jumping up on the side of the bridge... it's funny, some of the people you would least expect to be are really afraid of heights, and its awesome to mess with them.

La Pedrera is an apartment building that Gaudi designed, that people use to actually live in. Now, it has been turned into a museum, and it was beautiful. He designed each and every intricate detail of the place, from the exterior balcony gates to the doorknobs on each bedroom door. The best part was the terrace on the roof. I can't even really explain why it was so great, except that I felt like I was in a cartoon movie. Everything was so curvy and modern. Thats the best artistic analysis I can come to, my words really fail me.

On the Terrace

The rest of the day was left up to us to explore on our own, and this leads me to the absolute best memory I have so far since being in Spain. The most joyful, satisfying, elated moments of my time here. We rented bikes and rode all over the city, through parks, along the Mediterranean Sea, past the Olympic zone, and I loved every second of it. I miss having my bike here with me SO much. There is something so inexplicable about the joy I feel when I'm on two wheels, and I have missed it immensely.


Later was delicious salad round two for dinner. And an evening of goofing around in the hotel rooms, which transformed itself into a giant cuddlefest on the bed with some of the girlies. Such an EPIC weekend.


A really perfect ending to the weekend.