It was fun, Spain. See you soon!

Well I've been abroad for 6 months and I'm headed back to the USA tomorrow. The past week and a half of Sanfermines was too crazy to describe in a blog post but I'll be sure to tell you all about it the next time I see you in person!

First Time EVER On a Horse

Today I finally got up the nerve to ride one Irene's family's horses. It was scary and exhilarating all at the same time. I learned how to walk and trot, but we're saving gallop for another day. Most of the time he had the horse connected to a lead but then he let it go and even taught me how to use the reigns, very exciting! I'll say I'm going to be very sore tomorrow.

Eclectic Mix of Pix: Barcelona, Pamplona, San Sebastian

Barcelonaaaa

Barcelona was a beautiful city on the beach and I had a really great time!

We left Monday but first went to the Aerodrome in Santa Cilia to watch Nieves and Jusep (who we stayed with in Barcelona) fly their motor-free planes (scary stuff) and then ate a nice lunch before heading to Barcelona. It was about a 4 hour car ride and we arrived at night, ate some embutidos which are sausages and pepperoni type foods and cheese and then went to bed to get an early start.

Our first day in Barcelona we saw almost everything on our bus tour. There were three different routes and we were determined to see them all and we did! We were lucky to get a very sunny and hot day out, but with a nice breeze so the bus ride was enjoyable. It was a hop-on hop-off type deal so we decided to explore Parc Guell, one of Gaudi's many works of art in the city. He has a very whimsical architecture, using lots of colorful tiles and curvy lines.

Then before going back to the apartment we took a stroll down La Rambla, a street filled with lots of strange sites and people, which apparently turns pretty sketchy at night. After starting the bus tour at 10 AM and finishing at 8 PM we were wiped out. We ate more embutidos and cheese in the house with pan tumaca (bread with tomato and olive oil).

The next day we walked around the Gothic quarter and then after lunch we went to the beach. We couldn't enter the Cathedral because I was wearing shorts, but we just wandered around all the small streets and went in a few cool shops. The beach was perfect, not too hot with a nice breeze. Later I took a dip in the Mediterranean, which wasn't warm, but definitely warmer than Maine water in the summer. Anne-Sophie's friend Chancy from AFS staying in Barcelona (who also happens to be from Maine and met Irene at Sunday River) came to the beach to join us.

We then went to Maremagnum which is this mall-type area in the port that has waterfront tapas. Mercedes had her glass of wine and we enjoyed some tapas on the water. It was really a beautiful and cool area. We wanted ben and jerry's but they closed right before we got there so we had to downgrade to McDonald's ice cream. Mercedes' friend Judit showed up who's father owns a bunch of hotels and drives a convertible two-seater Mercedes. When Chancy found out that was the car she was giving him a ride home in he was SO excited, it was priceless and we got some good pictures with the car. The next day we saw a Maserati in the parking garage and he was equally as excited.

The next morning we went to have our VIP breakfast in the hotel Prestige where Judit lives, it was on one of the hippest and most central streets in Barcelona. They had a nice spread of fruits and breads and cheeses. Then we went to the Pueblo Espanol which is a representation of all the different types of architecture you find all over Spain and has replication of actual houses and buildings from different towns. Then we dropped Chancy off at the beach and went to eat lunch at a little neighborhood restuarant that Nieves and Jusep always eat at, I got gazpacho (a cold tomato soup) and salmon. That night we ate in a beautiful restaurant on the water in the port and all ordered Fideua, a specialty in Barcelona which is a noodle and seafood dish which was delicious!

We ate breakfast the next day at the Prestige again and then we went to our last stop the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's imensely impressive church that is still being constructed. It was a bit of a rip-off to go in for 10 euro and because of the construction you couldn't really see and then had to pay 2.50 to go up in the elevator, which I also assumed would be a rip off, and that gave me half a heart attack because we were up so high. Really the most impressive parts are the two facades.

Overall I though Barcelona was a very interesting city with architecture that is just incredible. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back some day. The only problem is they speak Catalan, not Castellano (Spanish) but it's pretty easy to understand and you can get around in Spanish just fine.

It's been a while... here in Pamplona!

I've been pretty neglectful of the blog for a while so I thought I'd do an update. Last week was exam week which was pretty stressful since I was pretty much out of order due to food poisoning (my own diagnosis and own fault) for most of Saturday and Sunday. I think I did okay on my finals, I think it was my Cuba paper that suffered the most, but I guess I have to wait and see. It was weird to say goodbye to everyone when I didn't really feel like I was leaving, I had a big dinner with all my friends Thursday night at a Mexican restaurant which was delicious and a really great time.

I left Friday morning to catch the 8 oclock bus but I wasn't thinking about the holiday (something with San Isidro, Madrid's patron saint) and that everyone had a long weekend, so that bus was full and I was lucky to get a ticket for the 10 AM one. But after a little bit of a wait and then a 5 hour bus ride, I arrived and went upstairs to wait for Irene but she was running all around the bus station looking for me. I had a sandwich with them and we headed out and went to Irene's English classes that she gives. They are in an English teacher named Maria's house and students come at certain times based on age. There was a group of 3 eight year old (I think) boys who we played boggle and hangman with. Irene beat me in boggle by three words... pretty sad. After we took the bus to the center of town and walked around for a while. It's a really pretty city, not too big but still has lots of shopping.

After I had the exciting task of sitting in the back of the car as Irene had driving lessons. In Pamplona it is much more difficult because they have to learn on a standard and in a city. Anyways it was quite a nerve-wracking experience, she wasn't that bad, it's just her stops were a little abrupt. Afterwards we met up with her mom and her mom's friend and cousin in a bar near the plaza. I said goodbye to Irene for the weekend so she could go stay at her grandmother's house and study for a big Chem exam on Monday.

I got the feeling the bar was kind of "their place" because they knew everyone that worked there. We went to the terrace which was a covered outdoor seating place and sat with an older gentleman whose sons I think own the place (I'm not exactly sure but that's what I got out of the conversation). We ordered ham, a Spanish specialty, and some sort of variety of chicken fingers. They then proceeded to all fight over the check and the older man ended up paying for all the wine and tapas. I was so ready for bed after a week of exams and a day full of bus riding and going around Pamplona. They have a pretty long car ride home because they actually live in a small town about 35 minutes outside the city. But it is very peaceful, with a river flowing by and they even have two horses.

The next day the weather was beautiful. I sat out in the sun for a while reading a book in Spanish about Hemingway's experience with San Fermin, the running of the bulls festival that I will be here to experience in July. I've heard a little bit about it at least every day, so I'm getting really excited for it. After I read a little bit I went to the store with Mercedes, Irene's mom, to look for a bigger paella pan for the big lunch she was putting on. I helped her with as much as possible but she was running around getting things ready so mostly I just opted to stay out of her way. I met a bunch of their friends and it was a great time. Tons of good food, lots of wine, and lots of laughs. Anne Sophe (the student from Canada they are hosting) and I took a Spanish style siesta after dinner and they all found it funny that the two non-spanish girls were the ones to take a nap.

The next day was another big food day. We went to Huesca up in the mountains for Nieves' birthday (Mercedes' cousin I think) Because the night before they had chuleton, a big steak, for dinner and I was still too full to eat after the paella, Anne Sophe and I decided to order it for lunch. It was HUGE. I think it gets translated to T-bone steak, although it wasn't exactly, maybe prime rib but not that good. I got a piece that was way too hard to cut though so I pretty much just destroyed it and I felt like a little girl when Mercedes had to cut it for me. And of course there was birthday cake, and I HAD to try both kinds, so on top of salad, sausage type appetizers, and a monster steak and fries, I had to eat too slices of cake. Needless to say I didn't eat dinner again.

Monday and Tuesday while Irene had more exams I was just kind of lazy around the house, reading a bit, unpacking my suitcase, and watching tv with Mercedes (which eventually turned into napping on the couch). We did however go to their version of Sam's club or Costco called Makro to help out with the shopping and we loaded up on food. Today Irene doesn't have any exams or school so we'll get to hang out, maybe go for a run, and do a bit of sunbathing if the sun doesn't go away.

Work. Work. Work.

Well the end of semester workload has hit pretty hard. And unfortunately my body decided to have a breakdown right at the worst time. I got really sick on Saturday night with a terrible migraine and I have a paper due today, so yesterday was spent scrambling to feel better and to finish the paper. Next week I have papers due Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and the following week is finals. So chances are you won't be seeing many updates because I'll be pretty bogged down in work.

The weather has been pretty nice. I've been trying my best to get outside and enjoy Madrid before this part of my trip ends. Retiro is a wonderful park, it definitely rivals Central Park. I've also been busy trying to get jobs set for this summer and next year at school.

May 15 I'll be off to Pamplona!

The San Francisco of Europe: Lisbon

So the title and picture of this blog sum up a lot of what I thought of Lisbon. It was a really cool place. Very charming and tons of beautiful views. It was very hilly and the streets were all cobblestone which made things pretty slippery sometimes. Sometimes it got a little difficult because I was travelling with 6 other girls (it was supposed to be 7 but Tamara got the flu the day before we left) and coming to agreement on plans was tricky. The weather was pretty bad Friday and Saturday but Sunday after the majority of the group left and just Jill and I had the day to explore, the weather was beautiful. It was a wonderful trip and a great way to finish up my travels outside of Spain. Next time I'll be on a plane will be for my trip home. But for now I've been to Ireland, England, Portugal, France, and the Netherlands, and if you count Spain that's 6 countries... not bad! I'm going to miss this whole jetting away to another country for the weekend thing. Only two and a half weeks left of class, 4 papers, 3 finals, and then I'm off to Pamplona!

Here are a few pics from Lisbon:

Spring Break

Part One: The Land Before Time

Lanzarote, Canary Islands
March 28-April 1

This first part of my trip was really fun and relaxing. I went with four other girls, 3 from my program and a friend of one of the girls. We arrived and took a surprisingly cheap taxi to our hotel. We checked in and got comfortable. It had plenty of space for all of us and we ended up paying less than 15 euros a night for it. There was a nice pool that we never ended up using and there were cats wandering everywhere which was just kind of funny; they weren't too bothersome. The hotel was mostly British and German couples over 60 years old on vacation which made us stick out a lot. In general we were in a very touristy area, but we only ever encountered a handful of other people our own age.

Our first night in we went to the grocery store to stock up on food to save money. We made WAY too much pasta that night and had enough left over for a baked ziti type deal the next night. The first morning I cooked scrambled eggs and bacon for everyone since I tend to be much more skilled in that area. We were lucky to have some beautiful weather our first day and I only ended up getting burnt in a few weird spots like my neck and one side of one of my shins. My burns became the subject for a bunch of laughs later on.

At the Lunchbox where I ate a nice healthy sandwich and smoothie with Jill and Anna the first day, the British guy running the place suggested we go to a beach up north called Arrieta. We hopped on a bus to Arrecife the next day and then had to wait an hour for the bus to Arrieta. The beach was definitely less touristy than where we were staying. They had a really nice Tapas bar right on the beach and we had some food and watched the surfers, then we took a nap in a less windy area and watched these kids dressed up in pumpkin colored outfits that seemed to be some sort of wrestling team. They were quite amusing to say the least.

The third and last full day we signed up for a bus tour to see all the main attractions of the island. Besides one youngish couple we were the only people under 50, but it was a great tour anyways. The island is full of active volcanoes, cool caves, and amazing views. In Timanfaya Park we got to see three tests of the volcanoes activity in one they put the stones from on top of a hot spot, and I was expecting a sort of luke warm temperature not burning hot so I kind of yelped and immediately dropped mine. Then there was a whole that they put some brush into and it caught on fire. The grand finally was the burst of water that shot out of the ground after they poured into into another whole. The landscape made from the last eruption was really cool. We went to this place called Jameos del Agua which was a cave filled with water that the artist Cesar Manrique turned into a really cool place equipped with a restaurant, auditorium, and a beautiful swimming pool reserved for the King of Spain (aka it never gets used). I think my pictures explain things better than I can so here we go:

Part 2: Amsterdam and Paris

April 2-April 9

I first went to London to meet up with Briana who was just starting her Spring Break so we could head off to our first destination of Amsterdam. We stayed up pretty late (I don't even think Briana slept) excited for our trip. We had to be to the train station at 4:50 AM but due to being tired and out of it we prepared breakfast and our stuff only to find ourselves in a full-on sprint to the train station to try and make the train. We missed it and the next one that was supposed to come at 5:12 was a bit delayed. We were still fine on time though.

At the airport I accidentally forgot to take out my liquids which I've done on numerous occasions with no issues but at Gatwick Airport they decided to undo all my hardwork of packing and completely unpack my whole backpack right there in front of me and put my liquids through again. And of course he didn't put it back together in the same way so it didn't all fit the same. They even had a seperate section to take off your shoes and put just those through. It was the most bizarre and intense security check I've ever been through. We made it just in time for boarding and got in a nice one hour nap before we were landing.

We came on a beautiful day in Amsterdam, so warm we had to remove our coats. We made our way looking for our boat hostel. Yes, we stayed in a BOAT! It was very neat and the guy running it was so nice and helpful. The only bad part about it was because our room so quaint (read: tiny) it got extremely hot at night and made our first night's sleep pretty miserable.

Our first day we just decided to walk around and get a feel for the place. I really never expected Amsterdam to be such a pretty city. The river and canals are everywhere and everyone gets around by boat or bike. We decided it would be really fun to rent a bike the next day and so we added it to our plans.

The weather on day two was not as nice but we decided that renting bikes would still be fun. Briana forgot to tell me the part where she hadn't been on a bike in over 5 years and that the last time she was riding a bike, she was still on the sidewalk, never on the road with cars. This lead to some pretty humorous (to me) and frustrating (to Briana) occurances. The brakes were back-peddle brakes not hand brakes and it was especially funny everytime she needed to put on the brakes and her feet went flying out instead. One instance was especially disastrous when she went around a corner, a man was coming along the other way, she got nervous and shaky and her feet did the flying out thing and she smashed into a parked scooter then on to some parked bikes. Thankfully nobody and nothing got hurt. I proceeded to lead us away from the busy city center along the river on some easy bike paths. After about 2 hours of frustration Briana was ready to call it quits and because I was so nervous about her crashing into something again or personally running into one of the tourists not paying attention, we decided to return our bikes early. The last stretch we walked our bikes due to an overwhelming amount of people walking into the bike path and getting in our way. It was an adventure at least!

Amsterdam itself is quite a show. It really just completely met and outdid all my expectations of the Red Light District and its infamous windows and all the oddities found in such a beautiful place. The city just seemed like it followed the beat of its own drum, forgetting all the rules of the rest of the world. That being said we were surprised to see so many families and older couples wandering around, but overall it felt like a very safe place.

Luckily in order to go on to Paris we didn't have to deal with the whole airport deal again and just had to get on the right train. We had these pretty cool ticketless cards that they just scanned through as they were checking everyone's tickets. I slept most of the 4 hour ride there, but was awake to catch a few beautiful views of fields and windmills on our way out of the Netherlands.

Our first experience in Paris was a precursor for the way most of the rest of our experience went. We had to wait in a super long line to get metro tickets and when we reached the window we were greeted with an extremely obnoxious and rude "HELLO! HOW ARE YOUUUUU!" We were both caught a little off-guard coming from such friendly helpful people in Amsterdam that I just quickly and nicely asked her if we could get two of the 10-packs please. She started obviously talking about us to the woman next to us and Briana caught her calling us bitches in French. I asked her in a very nice tone, "Could I also get a map" and she said "PLEASE!" and shoved it through the window. Oh, the French.

As I was in charge of all the planning and organization of our hostels in Amsterdam, Briana with her little knowledge of French was in charge of Paris. Unfortunately when we got to our stop we had to do a little wandering before we figured out the directions and mini-map she wrote down. We luckily didn't have too much trouble finding it and heaven forbid we try and ask another French person for directions. We had a nice private room at a really cool hostel in the Monmartre part of Paris, which turned out to be my favorite part of all with the beautiful Sacre Coeur and amazing views overlooking the city, lots of cute outdoor restaurants and shops all around as well.

We didn't have very good luck the whole time in Paris. As we were sitting around sunset looking at the Eiffel tower the first night, a bird pooped on my white sweater that I proceeded to throw in the garbage while cursing Paris and the Eiffel Tower. We went back to the hostel so I could change my clothes and we had a much better evening as we went around Montmartre. We were in search of an Italian restaurant that our hostel recommended (we weren't in the mood for anything else French) as being pretty cheap and although I don't think we found the right one, we found one that was reasonable and had a really delicious lasagna.

The next day our luck was even worse. First off the weather was cloudy and a little drizzly. Briana had signed us up for a tour of the UNESCO building at 10 AM. As we were standing outside the doors right at 10 AM we saw no one and the security guard didn't seem too quick to lend us any advice as to where to go. Then we decided we'd walk to the Lourve, which is quite a hike, but since we didn't really have anything else planned we decided to do it.

While walking we saw a lady pick up a ring off the ground and was very excited about it. She came over to us and gave it to us, explaining that because of her religion she couldn't wear jewelry. We were a little confused but we thought it was a nice gesture, when after walking away, changed her mind, and came to ask us for money for it. We just gave it back to her and laughed.

After such a long walk and me needing to use a bathroom urgently we were thrilled to finally arrive at the Lourve then to our dismay discovered big white signs in the entrance: THE LOURVE IS CLOSED ON TUESDAYS. We looked at eachother and started cracking up- of course that was our luck. We decided find somewhere to eat and had our only strike of good luck finding a nice soup/salad/sandwich place with reasonable prices and a fairly friendly guy working there that spoke English (willingly). The problem with Paris is most of the people speak English, they just pretend they don't to be pains.

We headed on to the Notre Dame which was truly beautiful and then on to the Bastille area where we caught the metro back. We were very excited for a nice long nap to rest our legs after walking around 6 miles and seeing the majority of Paris's main tourist attractions. We finished our long day off with another night in Montmarte, eating crepes and wine in a cute little restaurant and getting to bed fairly early.The next day we slept in, took our time, went for a walk down the Champs-Elysees to the Lourve and spent a good deal of time there, saw the Mona Lisa, but I was a bit disappointed because we were kept at a distance and you couldn't really appreciate it, plus all the swarming tourists around trying to get a picture of it.

As much as the my overall Paris experience wasn't all that amazing, I still got to eat some of my favorite French foods: Baguette with Brie cheese and French onion soup!