Grand Finale Chapter 2: Venice

After Paris we flew to Venice and slept at the airport again. We actually got lucky though because it was a really small airport and they shut down at night but since there were a lot of flights canceled in Spain (because there was a strike) they were letting people sleep there for the night. We actually even had security come up to us and ask us for our passports. Anyways, once morning came around we got up bright and early to take the bus to actual Venice which was only 40 minutes away.
From the bus stop we took a water bus to the area where our hostel was. It was so cool that the city was all on water, no cars, no bikes, just boats. Actually the day before we got there the city had been flooded a whole meter and we could actually see some of the water still pretty high. After getting to our hostel we walked around to explore a bit. We went to a little cafe and had cappuccino and pastries. (So yummy!) My pastry was more like a cookie with a blackberry type jelly inside, sooo good! After the cafe we walked around some more to find Piazza San Marco. It had a big cathedral in it and lots of little shops and it was still kind of flooded in spots too. We continued walking around, semi shopping. It was kind of hard since all of the stores were designer, Prada, Channel, Burberry, etc. It really sucked because I was trying to find a dress for New Years but I was not about to even go in any of those stores. Since we still had our backpacks on (we couldn't check in yet) we started heading back to the hostel and went through Piazza San Marco again and saw the weirdest thing. Well I didn't mention that the first time we were in the plaza we saw a dead pigeon, like torn up, DEAD. So on the way back we saw a seagull pick up a pigeon and fly away with it, set it down a few feet away and just started pecking at it and swinging it around with it's beak. It was crazy! (and really gross!) I guess the pigeons really make the seagulls mad in Venice.

After checking into our hostel (which was so cute like a little Italian home) we headed out for lunch/dinner. We were so hungry we stopped at the first place we saw. It was crowded so we figured that was a good sign. We all decided to get our own dishes and then share them all. It was great! I just had spaghetti and meatballs to keep it safe for my first meal in Italy but Margarite got Gnocchi with a four cheese sauce and Michelle got a pizza. Also, as an appetizer I got brochette which was so yummy!
 After dinner we walked around some more. I really wanted to go on a Gondola so we asked around for prices. Well stopped looking around after the first one who told us it was 120 euro for a 35-40 minutes ride. HA! So we didn't go on a gondola ride, instead we shopped around for some souvenirs instead. It started getting dark at like 5 so we decided to head in since we had homework to do and it was getting even colder than it already was. (It was freeeezing in Venice!) Also, Michelle and I had to get up early to catch our train to Florence.
There wasn't a ton to do in Venice but I'm really glad I got to see the city on water. It was really pretty and a great way to start our visit to Italy.

Grand Finale Chapter 1: Paris

Me, my roommate Michelle, and a friend from school, Margarite all went to Paris together. We got there really late the first night so we just slept in the airport. The next morning we got up really early...well we didn't really even sleep so we had a little breakfast early and headed to our hostel. We couldn't check in that early so we just put our bags down and caught up with a free tour. The first thing we saw was St. Micheal's fountain, I don't really know what that is so I can't even explain but it was pretty. There was some god on it and he was stomping on another man supposed to be like pushing him into hell or something. Pretty neat. The next thing we saw was the Notre Dame but only from a distance because we were standing by the Justice Building. The only thing that was really cool about the Justice Building was there were still bullet marks from World War 2. I haven't mentioned yet that it was extremely cold that day so we were basically miserable and freezing the whole time, I just kept having to tell my self that I was in PARIS! (to pump me up and forget about the cold)
Some other things we saw were a University building that is on the side of this really cool bridge. I don't know what the bridge is called but I call it the love bridge because couples put padlocks on it and write their names on it. It's really cute and I really wish I had my love with me to do that but oh well... This bridge was also seen in the movie Taken, and in the series of Sex in the City when Big proposes to Carrie. The part in Taken is at the end when he jumps on the boat that his daughter is on from the bridge, you can see the bridge obviously and the University building.
After that we went and saw the Louvre. This is a palace and a museum. The palace is pretty huge and then on one side of it is a pyramid of glass (also seen in The Di Vinci Code) which is the museum which has the actual Mona Lisa on display. I didn't get a chance to go inside and see it but I heard it was pretty disappointing because it was so small. Also, behind the Louvre is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. You can see the peak of the Eiffel Tower from there in the distance. I was SO excited to see it.
After we saw the Louvre we ditched the tour because we were too cold so we went to a cafe to have some French Onion Soup! It was sooooo good, and a perfect for the weather! After the soup we headed back to the hostel to check in and take a nap since we hadn't gotten any sleep the night before in the airport.
After resting up we got ready to go walk around in the cold some more. We planned on doing some shopping so we went toward Champs Elysees and on the way we saw the Louvre, again, lit up this time, the arc, and the Eiffel Tower. Also, on the way was the Christmas Market. The first thing we did was get something to eat. We had these sausages that were like ginormous hot dogs. They were really good. We continued down the Christmas market and passed a few Crepes kiosks so we had to stop and get one of those. It was sooo yummy! Another perfect food for the weather and place :) It was all so pretty, decorated for Christmas and...Santa even came! There was this thing like a ski lift but it was Santa and his sleigh and reindeer. It stopped and there was a recording and the Santa acted out whatever was being said (in French) and the kids around all screamed OUUII!! It was so cute!
We headed toward the Eiffel Tower after the Christmas market to see it lit up. The street that we took was like all the high end designer stores, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna, etc. Once we got to the end of that street we finally saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up. It was soo amazing! We took a bunch of pictures and then waited for the light show that happens every hour on the hour. It looks like it is sparkling, it's really cool. After taking at least a billion pictures of it we headed back to the hostel to get a good night sleep.
In the morning we got up early to check out and meet up with my roommate (from home) Vicki. I was so anxious and excited to see her! We planned on meeting under the Eiffel Tower of course. That day it was snowing like crazy, which made for some great pictures! Once we met Vicki we headed to Notre Dame to get closer and go inside. After that we went to have lunch but first me and Vicki had a glass of vin chaud which is this hot French wine. It is all spiced and sooo yummy! I didn't think I would like it so much but it was really good! Later, for lunch I had croque monsieur which is like a grilled cheese but with ham inside and cheese melted on the outside. (SO good!) We were running out of time by then so we had to head back to the hostel to pick up our bags and head to the airport. It was really sad leaving Paris and Vicki but I was really excited to go to Venice, Italy!

The Final Countdown...Toledo, Spain

I went to Toledo last weekend with my study abroad program. It was a short trip just for the day. In the morning it was absolutely miserable because it was raining and I wore this boots that were torn just under the toe (on both feet) so my socks were soaked the whole time. First we rode up to the top of a hill in our bus and saw a high view of Toledo and then drove to our spot where we got out to start our walking tour. The first place we went was a shoe store to see if I could get some cheap shoes without a hole in them. I didn't really want to buy a pair of shoes for 1 I didn't want to spend any money and 2 I didn't want to have something else added to my luggage for the way home so I just decided to suffer with wet socks the whole time.

We went to the Cathedral of Toledo first. I mean it was pretty and all but I feel like a Cathedral is a Cathedral. They all have some amazing art, sculpture work, they are ginormous yada yada yada. After the Cathedral, we walked around some more and the second stop was....you'll never guess.....another church! HA! This one actually was different it was called San Juan de los Reyes. One thing that was definitely different was above the entrance way there was a skeleton laying down as if he were modeling and there was some writing under it I guess to signify "short life." I don't know it was weird but the rest was pretty cool. It was kind of outside and inside at the same time. There were hallways that were outside and then the church part had a ceiling and everything. It was pretty cool because you could see the "Moorish" influence on the architecture and what not.

After that church we walked only about 2 blocks to where we were to have lunch. It was pretty good food, for my first dish I had this soup like dish, made with chopped up vegetables cooked really well so they were soft and it was almost like a tomato sauce and then a fried egg on top. Second dish was some kind of fish with an asparagus sauce and boiled potatoes. After lunch we have an hour and half of "free time" although all the stores are closed during that time and it was pretty cold out. So, me and Giselle just sat at a little cafe and I had a cup of coffee to warm me and and pass the time.
Over all, Toledo was really pretty just not really worth more than a day. There was nothing, that we saw,  to do other than go to churches of course. Paris should be A LOT better! Stay tuned :)

Frankfurt, Germany

Well I'm a little behind...A couple weeks ago I went to Frankfurt, Germany with a couple of girls from school. The first thing I did when we landed at the airport was, of course, ate a bratwurst at a restaurant called "Fritz." The brat was about 12 inches long on a 4 inch bread roll. It wasn't like the brats I'm used to, but hey it was authentic, so whatever. After an hour and 45 minute bus ride to the actual city of Frankfurt (if you fly RyanAir the airport isn't actually in Frankfurt it's in Frankfurt-Hahn) we arrived at our hostel. The location was pretty good right across from central station and about a 10 minute walk anywhere else.

Our hostel had it's own little lounge/bar/restaurant in it so we hung out there for a while waiting to meet up with the others we were with. While waiting a couple American guys walked up to us and started talking and came to realize that one of them was from the next town over from me. They were both in the army staying at the army base that's either in Frankfurt or somewhere really close to it. So later we met up with the others and headed to an area with lots of shopping and bars. It ended up being a horrible first impression of Frankfurt. We went to a lounge and the bouncer stopped us before we could get in and told us we couldn't. We asked why and he said "no reason." Ummm RUDE?! So this guy basically begged him to let us in and payed him 10 euro. It was so dumb, I didn't even want to go there anymore but the bouncer finally gave in so we went in. It wasn't even that great of a place. Well...about 40 minutes later the bouncer came in and yelled at our group to leave. (I was in the bathroom so I don't know exactly what happened) After we left we went to a club but I think it was too early for Frankfurters because there weren't many people there. I was tired from all of the traveling so decided to turn in kind of early.

The next morning we woke up early to see everything in Frankfurt in one day. Well, we didn't really need alllll day to see everything in Frankfurt, a couple of hours would have sufficed. The first place we went to was St. Bartholomew's cathedral. It was nice, not unlike any other cathedral, although it looked a lot more massive from the outside than the inside. After that we took pictures outside at some Roman ruins and then headed to Römer square. There wasn't really much to the square but a few authentic souvenir shops and a couple of restaurants. Later we headed to the "main tower" to see the bird's eye view of Frankfurt. The main tower was basically just "sky scraper" (not that tall) that you can go to the top of and see Frankfurt. It was pretty cool to go up there but it was sooo windy that day that it was kind of scary.

After the bird's eye view we went to eat some lunch. The place we ate at was a pretty cool little restaurant. It was Italian and you could basically have them make whatever kind of pasta or pizza you want, and they make it right in front of you. I've seen a couple of these restaurants since I've been in Europe, where there are a lot of big tables set up and you eat where ever and a lot of times there are strangers sitting by you, that's how this one was. We ended up sitting outside though because there wasn't any room inside. It was kind of cold out but it was really cute because they had blankets set out for the costumers. After eating lunch we really didn't have anything else to see so....when in doubt, go to the mall right? We went to the mall but I actually wasn't in the shopping mood so we went back to the hostel and took a nap.

When we woke up we hung out in the lounge area and wait for our free pasta dinner. They have this pasta dinner every saturday night, pretty sweet deal. It wasn't the best pasta but it was free so I was happy. We explored some more after dinner to see if we could get a good picture of the city lit up at night. It was really pretty but we couldn't get any good pictures. After that we headed back to the hostel because we had to head out early in the morning.

Frankfurt was a pretty neat little city, half old and half new. I probably would never go there again but I am happy to say that I have been to Germany. Next time, I will try to see Berlin or Munich.

Pubs, Guiness, Pubs, and more Guiness. Dublin, Ireland!

Well, Dublin was my first pretty short trip. We arrived on Friday evening and left early Sunday morning so we really only had one full day to enjoy Ireland. When we got there we got situated and went to an Irish pub of course! On the way there we quickly figured out that walking and crossing the street in Ireland is kinda difficult and scary! (They drive on the opposite side of the road there) They actually have "LOOK RIGHT---->" and "<-----LOOK LEFT" painted at the cross walks!

Anyways, the bar was called the Bleeding Horse and it was really cool. We had some food and drank a bit. I had my first official Irish Car Bomb (Half a glass of Guiness and you drop a shot glass that's half Jameson and half Bailey's in it and CHUG). It was great!

After that we went back to the hostel in excitement for my roommate's friends and sister to arrive in the morning. They got there at around 9 so we started getting ready to head out and made our first stop at another pub at 11 AM. We had Guiness for breakfast and then walked around Dublin for a bit of sight seeing on our way to the Guiness factory. It was set up really well with 7 floors to go up and the top floor was a bar that was just floor ceiling and window. It was basically a panoramic view of Dublin. It was really cool but would have been better if it was raining.

We went to another Irish pub to have dinner and watch the Rugby game, after the Guiness factory. OMG, first time ever seeing the sport and it was crazy! I can't believe any of those guys even live it is so brutal! No helmets, no pads, football and hockey put together but 10 x more insane! After the game we went to the hostel to nap so we'd be ready for a fun long night! After we woke up nice and refreshed we went to Brazen Head which is the oldest bar (I think) in Ireland, if not, the world. It was established in 1198! SO old and so cool. There was....an older crowd there as well but still really cool. There was a live band and they ACTUALLY played the song they played in the Irish pub in "P.S. I love you" it basically made our night!

After Brazen Head we went to Temple Bar which is an area about 5 blocks x 5 blocks of all pubs and little restaurants. It was so much fun! We went to this bar called "The Purrty Kitchen," the bottom floor was like any other Irish pub, lots of wood and live band, then you go upstairs and it's like a club, and the next floor was a like a loft dance floor with the DJ, and then you could go up again from there and there was another bar. Despite the fact that I had the absolute worst service at that bar, (the lady bar tender literally rolled her eyes at me and told me to go somewhere else and walked away just because I couldn't hear/understand her) it was so much fun! They played a lot of 90's/early 2000's music, European club music, and some newer American stuff. All of us girls had a blast dancing and losing the boys! After dancing up a sweat we decided to try to find another bar. Well, nothing else looked as fun so we ended up eating at this little place called "Hungry Harry," just a little place where you stand at the counter that outlines it and eat. It was actually amazing because I haven't had a decent burger since I've been in Europe. We found out after we ate that the bars all closed at 2:30, which is really early in comparison to 6 AM in Madrid. So the night was sort of cut short but a few of us were still up to experience more of Temple Bar so we tried to get in one last pub. We went to a smaller one and had this shot called a baby Guiness which is Kalhua with Bailey's on top so it looks like a little Guiness. It was pretty yummy! After about 30 minutes at the pub we decided to call it a night and head back to the hostel.

The next morning we had to get up early and head to the airport but before we left we had to have a "full Irish breakfast!" We went to the same pub that we went to for the Guiness for breakfast and got something a little more nutritious. The full Irish breakfasts includes sausage, bacon, eggs, white pudding, black pudding, toast, and fried potatoes. It wasn't exactly what I expected but still was amazing since all I've been eating in Madrid for breakfast is a small croissant or little toasted breads. The sausage was weird, kind of sweet, didn't really eat that, the bacon in Ireland in general is THICK almost like ham, still really good. The white pudding and black pudding I did not try, they looked like little sausage patties but BLACK and the white one looked more like a sausage patty but smelled really gross and hard. The fried potatoes ended up being like a McDonald's hash brown but with onion. After filling up we headed to the airport.

WORST FLIGHT OF MY LIFE. Ok those of you who know me, yea I may exaggerate sometimes but this time, I seriously thought I was going to die. People were literally crying and screaming. The plane was shaking so bad from the turbulence, swaying, feeling like we were dropping, HORRIBLE. I was crying my roommate was crying and her sister was comforting me, telling me that it would be ok and she's been in worse. Well when we finally landed in Madrid, (never been so happy!!) she told me that that was definitely the worst that she's been in but she didn't want to tell us that because we were freaking. I am so glad that I am alive and cannot wait to be back from the long flight to the states! Only 4 weeks and 3 days!! (I'm not counting down or anything)

Halloween weekend in Amsterdam!

Amsterdam may have been my favorite weekend abroad so far! The first night we got there I made the horrible decision of taking a taxi. The fare started at 7.50 and ended up being 40 some euro plus tip. (Which we don't do in Spain) While we were driving to the hostel we saw the first "prostitute store" it was across the channel but it was still funny. Seriously, whenever I walked by one of those things I laughed. Well we ended up staying really close to Leidseplein square which was really popular with lots of little pubs and shops and hotels. So we went and walked around there for a while. We had this great Asian food from "Wok to Walk" and ended up having it every night we were there.

The second day, first thing, we went to the Anne Frank house. There was a really long line to get in but there was a cafe right around the corner where you could make reservations so we did that and there just so happened to be a slot in 15 minutes so we got right in front of the long line and went in.  It was so amazing! I couldn't take pictures inside so I bought 2 post cards just to have some sort of keep sake. After that we went to another little cafe next door and had some lunch. After that we went and walked around some more and decided to take a canal tour. We saw some beautiful buildings and lots of interesting house boats. Later we went to Dam's square and walked around there. It was all lit up for Christmas which was really exciting! There was this place called Manneken Pis that just sold french fries and everyone was walking around eating them. There was a sign that said that they were like the best fries or something so we decided to try them. Well they really just tasted like normal french fries to me. Although everyone was eating them with mayonnaise and we ate them with ketchup so it might have been better with mayo but that just sounds disgusting!

Later that night we went to a place called the Torture Museum. Sounds really weird but we thought it would be something cool for Halloween. Well, it wasn't really that cool. There was no one there and we just basically walked through the building by our selves (no tour). I mean it was pretty interesting to see how people used to be punished, gross too, but interesting. After that we went to dinner at Wagamama which is a modern Japanese restaurant. There are like pic-nic style tables set up so you can just sit next to strangers and eat. It was kind of weird but fun, really good food too! Then we decided to go out for some drinks. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe first and I had the best drink! It was called Tickled Pink and it was a piña colada with some raspberry and PINK cherries!! It was great! Then we went to an Irish pub because it was all decorated for Halloween and there was a live band playing. It was kind of an older crowd for a while but once the band left there was newer music playing and some younger people started coming. We ended up dancing a bit and had a lot of fun! The next day I was so excited to celebrate Halloween! We went to the Rijks Museum which is a Dutch art museum. It really made me appreciate paintings of landscapes. After we went to the "Amsterdam Dungeon" It was basically like a dutch style haunted house. The theme was like medieval times and the sentences, and the plague and all that stuff. It was set up by rooms and each group would be let into the room one at a time. There was an actor in every room putting on the scene. It was great and then there was a roller coaster at the end (inside in the dark). It was really fun.

After the Dungeon, we had to go straight to the hostel to get ready for our Halloween pub crawl. It was such a great deal 20 euro for 6 bars, a drink at every bar, unlimited mixed shots for the first hour, and a free shirt! It was so much fun! I dressed up as Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood and my friend dressed up as a pirate. I decided to cut the crawl short though at the 4th bar. We went back to Leidseplein square and had Walk to Wok again and then headed home.

The last day we went to the Heineken brewery before our flight back. It was really fun! There was like a simulation ride like you were being brewed. You were standing up and watched a screen with a guy explaining every step to you. When there were bubbles they had a bubble fan in the room, when you were being cooked there were heat lamps that turned on, when you fell into the pot there was a splash of water. It was really cute. We actually met a couple people from Chicago too that we stayed on the tour with. At the end you could turn in your 2 buckles on your wristband for 2 beers. It was a great time. After that we had some dinner and headed to the airport, on a train this time! Overall, I really loved Amsterdam and would definitely go back again!

1 Porto, 2 Porto, 3 Porto...Floor!

Ok so Porto Portugal is a huge wine making city in Portugal. Huge as in makes a lot of wine NOT as in size! It's a really small old town with great food! Well...not all the food is great...
The first night we arrived our flight was delayed 2 hours so we didn't get there until like 9:30 or 10 and were starving so we found a small little bar (like 9 x 9 small) and asked for a menu. Well the waitress/owner looked at us like we were crazy...like why would they have a menu? She just asked us what we wanted so we basically just said whatever is good. We ended up having some fried pork chops with fried potatoes (like the buffalo chips at Bdubs but better) and rice. It was amazing!

The next day we decided to explore a bit and got a tour bus pass which included a wine tasting and a boat tour for just 19 euro. It was great because the bus was like a taxi, we could just get off and back on whenever and the ticket lasted for 24 hours. So we got a little bit of a tour until we were hungry and got off and walked to a cafe. It looked pretty good with a bakery counter/window in the middle and it was big with a lot of people so we sat down and got a menu. Well I have failed to mention how hard it is to communicate in a foreign country, go figure! We didn't know what anything was and when we asked the waitress she would just reply in Portuguese, which does no good obviously. So a man next to us tried to help us a little because he spoke a little of Spanish and English. He explained to us that one of the sandwiches was very popular in Porto which had steak, sausage, and cheese, and a sauce, so we picked that.   Ohhh it was so gross! It was basically a big sandwhich in a big bowl of nasty tomato soup with some weird kind of steak inside (not a typical steak), 2 different kinds of sausage (which were also disgusting),  ham, and olive loaf (YUCK!). So yea...it was really gross. So to make up for the gross meal of course we got dessert! (YUMM)

So later we got back on the bus and finished our tour with wine tasting. We had to walk a bit but it was definitely worth it. We got a little tour of the wine cellar with some background information on how they make the wine. *Fun fact: They stop fermenting Porto wine after 3 days because every day it ferments after that it loses sugar and of course the alcohol. Hence the title of this blog ;) It was really sweet and very strong wine, so it was a good thing we were just tasting. I was very tempted to buy a bottle at the airport because they had one that was called Porto Pink! (Sooo me) However, it probably would have taken me way too long to finish that, and if it didn't it would be way too dangerous.

After the wine tasting we went on our boat tour at just the perfect time. We just went up and down the river which took about 45 minutes and it was just when the sun was setting so we got some beautiful pictures of that! Then it was time for dinner and being in Porto, I was strangely in the mood for some fish so I had sea bass which was served whole on my plate, scary but very delicious! To finish up the night we went to a little club/lounge on the way back. It was really cute with a couple of floors. We were sent upstairs for the woman's bathroom but no one was up there so we asked the bartender what they usually have up there and he said there was a band that was coming in about 30 minutes. So we drank a bit of wine and waited. Well about 2 hours later we decided we were done waiting and started to leave as the band was walking in. We didn't stay though because we had a long day, so we headed back to the hostel.


The next day we were on a mission to get to the beach. Mind you we were staying right by the water (the river), so we figured it would be pretty close. Well after walking and walking, and walking some more, we realized it wasn't so close. So we stopped and had lunch on the river, literally the building was built over the river and basically all windows. It was really neat and I had a great pasta, spinach, ricotta dish. So then we continued on our mission to get to the beach. Finally after about another 30 minutes of walking, we made it! So we sat on the beach in our jeans and long sleeved shirts and soaked up the sun. It was beautiful and really relaxing.

After about an hour of soaking up the sun we decided to head back because it was getting kind of chilly. We really didn't want to walk to whole way back so we took the trolley! Such a great deal, only 1.50 euro. Finally we wrapped up our long day with a meal and headed back to the hostel.


Overall, I really loved Porto. It was amazing to see how old the buildings were and everything. I mean one of the public transportation options was a trolley and it was like straight out of the 1800's. I really wish I would have had some more pork chops but I was determined to try as many new things as I could oh which I forgot to mention, seviche was one of them. UGhh and I'm so mad that I tried it. If you've ever watched "Monsters Inside Me" on the Animal Planet you would know why. Ok well that's all for now. Stay tuned for my adventures in Amsterdam!

Cuenca, Spain

Just got back from Cuenca today! It's a really small town about 2 hours southeast of Madrid. There wasn't really a lot to do there but it was definitely a beautiful town. The first thing we did was walked through a big park with crazy shaped rocks. Sounds kind of lame but it was really interesting. There was a path that lead you in a big circle so you could see the whole park. I guess it used to be some sort of body of water some centuries ago which is why there were a bunch of little caves and the rocks were shaped so cool. A lot of them were small and skinny at the bottom and then huge on top like a tornado shape. After the park we went and checked into our hotel, Cueva de Fraile, which was monastery in the 16th century. It was really nice we had a four bed room and there was a living room and then a downstairs with 2 more beds and a desk.

Casas Colgadas

Later we went on a walking tour from the top of one of the mountains to the bottom. It was so interesting because we were basically walking through a neighborhood but the streets were as small as sidewalks, and barely anyone was driving. On the tour we saw the famous "Casas Colgadas" (Hanging Houses), Cathedral of Cuenca, and the Museum of abstract are. Hanging houses are buildings that were built at the very edge of the mountains, if you open the window and look out you'll be looking into the valley. One of the buildings, actually, is the museum of abstract are. It was really interesting but not my favorite type of art. The Cathedral was so beautiful. It look kind of small on the outside but turned out to be pretty big inside. One really interesting thing inside was there was a figure of an angel in sculpture work near the ceiling and it is smiling. Well there are only 3 of these angels in the world and they say that if when the Apocalypse happens if you go to any of those three places you will be saved. 

Angel in Cathedral of Cuenca

Today we went to a place called Cuencaventura where they have numerous outdoor activies such as horseback riding, cliff jumping, ATVing, etc. Unfortunately, it was extremely cold this morning in Cuenca so I wasn't really up for jumping off cliffs into water. I went horseback riding instead and it was great! Saw some great landscapes, rode across a river, and through some woods. After we went to lunch in this little area with about 15 houses and one restaurant. Looked like a campground where all the cabins are, and so pretty with the mountains in the background.
Overall, Cuenca was a really beautiful town. Didn't spend much money, but this excursion was included in my program. I really can't imagine it being too expensive though. Definitely glad I got to spend the weekend in such a beautiful little town with so much history.

Spanish Bull Fight

I went to a bull fight the other day! The arena is really close to our apartment and the season ends in a couple weeks so we had to go. It was....an experience. I was kind of shocked when the first bull was killed but I kind of got used to it. I know that sounds horrible but I just kept thinking that we eat these things anyways. It might sound really insensitive but it made me feel better and I would just not watch at some points. I still can't believe that this is like a sport to these people. I understand that it takes courage to get in front of a bull....obviously, so I understand that the Matadores are highly respected but it just seems so horrible to me. I knew before I went that I would be thinking all of this but I can't say that I lived in Spain for 4 months and didn't see a bull fight. Especially since the arena is like 4 blocks away. It was pretty cool, after, the matadores paraded out of the arena and signed things for people on there way out and we got a picture with 2 of them. I can now say I have definitely experienced more of the Spanish culture, right? I probably won't be going to one again though.  

Barcelona

Sagrada Famili

This past weekend I went to Barcelona with a classmate, Arianna. We flew out of Madrid and it was probably the shortest flight of my life so that was nice. Ari has a friend in Barcelona so we were supposed to stay with her but her apartment situation fell through so we were stuck walking around Barcelona with our suitcases for the majority of the first day. Luckily we met up with another friend from class who was visiting the city with 3 of her girlfriends so we ended up going to their hostel and staying there. The first night was a lot of fun. At the youth hostels there are events that they set up every night for a good deal so we went out with them for the first night to a club on the beach. It was a lot of fun and it was really cool to be on the beach at the same time. The second day we walked around and went to the Park Guell which is a park with a lot of art by Gaudi. It is at the very top of a huge hill so you have to climb up the street and there are actually escalators to help you up because it is so high and steep. Once you are at the top you gradually walk down seeing all different kinds of art on the way down. There is a spot with a famous bench that I guess is the longest bench in the world and it is completely mosaic, really neat. Under neath a part of the park is this walkway/ cave where they filmed one of the seasons of America's Next Top Model. Later we walked around Las Ramblas which is one of the main streets in Madrid with lots of little venders and shops on it. There were a bunch of human statues that were pretty funny. (People that paint themselves and dress up like something and stand completely still until you put money in there little jar and they'll move) One was of Edward Scissorhands and i was interested to see what he did if you put money in his jar so I put like 10 cents in and he started snipping my hair like crazy (with his fake scissorhands) it was really funny. We also went to an outdoor market that had everything from Squid to boob shaped chocolate. It was really interesting and felt very European. The next day we went to Sagrada Familia, a huge cathedral designed by Gaudi. It was really amazing on the outside but definitely not worth going inside. We payed 12 euro to basically walk in the door and take some pictures. It has been under construction since 1909 so there really isn't anything to do inside because it is all blocked off by construction. Still pretty cool to say I was inside, I guess. On the last night I met up with my roommate from school because she was visiting from her studying abroad in France so that was really nice. Finally we went to our hostel and met an Australian lady who had basically the same life as the lady from "Eat Pray Love" which was so interesting. She was in a really bad marriage for a long time and finally got divorced and decided to go travel the world. She just broke up with her boyfriend of 2 years and has been traveling for 3 months throughout Europe and she plans on continuing her travels for at least 3 more months. Not exactly my lifestyle but pretty inspirational. Anyways, Barcelona was pretty amazing and I would definitely suggest it to any traveler. There was a lot to see and plenty to do.

New Experiences

Well last night we decided to go out for my roommate's birthday. Didn't really know where to go so we walked around the busy part of Madrid where there are a lot of small bars, shopping, and other touristy attractions. We saw a bar that looked interesting, small, dark, crowded, and there was a specials menu outside so we decided to go in. When we walked in we found out how small it really was, probably about 15' x 9'. We noticed there was a little hallway on the right so we squeezed between the bar and people and walked to the back finding no chairs or tables, but little circular cushions on the floor. We realized it was a hookah bar and felt too weird to just turn around and leave so we awkwardly sat down and looked at the menu. It was such a weird experience. I swear everyone there was a hippy or some sort of witch person, especially since a worker walked into the back room at one point and lit incense and said something in some weird language while shaking the incense in the air.  So we had a glass of sangria, got the bill, and left as quickly as possible. I think my hair still smells like smoke...
After that wonderful hookah bar we found a nice big Irish pub that felt so much more comfortable. It was a very interesting night and I'm sure there will be many more to come.

First trip and More

This past weekend we took a bus trip to Valencia. It was quite the experience because it was my first time staying in a hostel. One person in my program booked the hostels and it turned out that when we got there....the cab driver had never heard of the place and it didn't seem to be where the address said it was. Anyways, we went to another hostel which seemed very old which made it kind of creepy. Although it was old and creepy, it was very clean, which is all that matters. Well, I found out later hot water really matters too. Nope, no hot water at my first hostel. (cold showers are no bueno) After being woken up by a shocking cold shower we went to La ciudad de artes y ciencias (City of arts and sciences). There were four main parts to the "city" the opera house or theater for shows, the science museam, the cinema, and the aquarium. It was kind of expensive so we decided to only visit the aquarium since that seemed the most interesting. We saw many fish, seals, penguins, beluga whales, walruses, sharks, and finally a dolphin show. It was very interesting to go to a dolphin show in all Spanish, sometimes I didn't know if I should clap, laugh, not do anything, etc. We didn't really do anything else in Valencia because we got there really late on Friday night and left pretty early on Sunday. It was a very pretty city, however. It was very touristy so I'm sure there is a lot more to do there. I know now that I should probably research a little bit more of what there is to do before I just pick up and leave.

Today I found out about an ESL (English as a Second Language) workshop and signed up right away. It is a workshop to teach you how to teach English to Spanish speaking adults and or children. I'm very excited about that and will be sure to post more info soon.

Hasta Luego

A walk through Madrid

Plaza Mayor

Egyptian Temple

Group at Plaza Mayor

Yesterday we  went on a tour of historic Madrid. It was so exciting for me because I have been learning about this stuff since freshman year of high school and I finally saw it in person. First we met with our tour guide at La Plaza del Sol which is what they also call el kilometro cero (the zero kilometer mark) because it is the exact center of Spain. From there, we walked around and saw the house where La Plaza Mayor, an interesting monastery, the oldest bar in the world, the Royal Palace, and so much more. La Plaza Mayor is a huge court that was once a place where they held bull fights for the king and public executions of criminals. Today people walk through, there are some shops and cafes where people can eat and drink. The monastery is really interesting because the nuns have taken a vow to never see anyone or be seen so they stay there and raise money by making amazing dulces (sweets) and you press the doorbell and say "quiro dulces"...they let you in and the nuns are behind this window that you can't see through.. you drop your money and they give you these famous dulces they make.

I have to go to the "oldest bar in the world" in the world again too! It's called Botín and it closes down on Thanksgiving day every year and serves Thanksgiving dinner! Not exactly my tradition but close enough and I'm excited to see what it's like.

Today we saw an Egyptian temple. Didn't really get the story behind it but it was definitely interesting to see. Tomorrow we are going to check out the market, like a flea market.
More exciting stories to come! Hasta Luego!

Primeros Dias

Arrived in Madrid yesterday! When I got off the plane there was a person there to pick me up and take me to the hotel that I stayed at for the first night. The hotel was a really nice and modern place. We went out and walked around to explore our new hometown, sat down for some dinner outside and got to know each other. Today we woke up, bright and early, and got a mini tour of the city on our way to the CEA (study abroad program) building where we had our first day of orientation. Right now there are 9 people in my program and we all moved into our housing today, 5 of us are in one apartment building and 4 are in another, sort of across the city. The two boys in our apartment building are at the very top floor in a "quaint" little apartment. Me and the other 2 girls are in the basement apartment and is the best flat in the building. Don't worry family and friends, there are bars covering the windows. We have a landlady that acts as our house mom during our stay. She made us dinner tonight and it was amazing! Pasta, potatoes chicken, and bread. (Pretty good carb to meat ratio) That's all for tonight, getting up at 6:30 for my second day of orientation.
Besos!