Roman Ruins in Merida
Sunday, March 29, 2009
MERIDA
On the way back to Salamanca we stopped of at Merida, which is know for it ancient Roman ruins. Jesus took us on a tour of ruins. We walked through the coliseum and the theater. It was kind of like a little preview of Italy for me!
After the tour we had free time. My parents and I walked through the small town of Merida. We walked across the famous Puenta Romana, which happens to be the longest Roman bridge in Spain. It was about half a mile long. Dad and I made it to the other side, but mom decided to sit down on a bench about 500 feet from the end. We walked back across the bridge and found a café for lunch. I had backed a peanut butter sandwich, to avoid eating anymore gross Spanish foods. My parents ordered some pretty pitiful looking sandwiches. My mom said that was the worst tuna fish sandwich she had ever eaten. We headed back to the bus, stopping to get some ice cream on the way. We got to Salamanca around 7. I put my stuff in my apartment and went out to eat with my parents.
After the tour we had free time. My parents and I walked through the small town of Merida. We walked across the famous Puenta Romana, which happens to be the longest Roman bridge in Spain. It was about half a mile long. Dad and I made it to the other side, but mom decided to sit down on a bench about 500 feet from the end. We walked back across the bridge and found a café for lunch. I had backed a peanut butter sandwich, to avoid eating anymore gross Spanish foods. My parents ordered some pretty pitiful looking sandwiches. My mom said that was the worst tuna fish sandwich she had ever eaten. We headed back to the bus, stopping to get some ice cream on the way. We got to Salamanca around 7. I put my stuff in my apartment and went out to eat with my parents.
SEVILLA
We started our day with a group breakfast as usually and then we were off to see Alcazar. Alcazar is another palace. A Spanish king commissioned Muslim architects to build his palace. The palace definitely had a uniquely Arabic flair with all the tiles and archways. Parts of the palace looked similar to Alhambra, but the palace had a more modern feel and there were touches of Christian influence. My favorite part was the gardens. We got to explore the gardens after we done with our tour with Jesus. The gardens smelled wonderful. All the cities we had visited in Andalusia had orange trees everywhere. In the gardens at Alcazar the orange tree fragrance was mixed with blooming flowers. It smelled so wonderful; I wish I could have bottled it.
After the tour of Alcazar Jesus took us to Plaza Espana. Every Spanish town has a Plaza Espana. If you remember my previous blogs the Plaza Espana in Barcelona was where the magic fountains were. The Plaza Espana in Salamanca is not quite as impressive but there is a pretty little park with a statue and fountain. The Plaza Espana in Sevilla was very grandiose. There was a towering buildings decorated with Spanish tiles. The building was flanked on either side with towers. There were tiled bridges leading up to the grand columned building. There was also a fountain in front. All along the façade of the building there were tiled depictions of each of the cities in Spain. I walked around all of the depictions getting a picture of all the places I had visited. We took a group shot in front of Salamanca and Barcelona. When we were done at Plaza Espana we got back on the bus and headed back to the center of town.
Sevilla has the third oldest cathedral in Europe. Unfortunately, they were ordaining priest so we could not get a tour. My parents walked around the cathedral for a while and we walked into one of the chapels and listened to choral performance. We stopped for lunch a cute out door café. My stomach had been hurting all day, so I was not looking forward to Spanish food. I ordered some scrambles eggs with asparagus. I made sure to tell the waiter sin jamon. My parents both got gazpacho.
After our lunch my parents wanted to find La Casa de Pilates. I was not sure what this was, but my dad seemed pretty dead set on finding it. We headed into the historically Jewish area. This area reminded us of the Gothic Area in Barcelona. There were twisted roads with no street signs. Of course we tried following the map, but like always we ended up on the wrong side. My mom was about to give up on this Casa de Pilatos, but my dad with his superior map skills eventually found the Casa.
La Casa de Pilatos was decked out with beautiful tiles. It had several interior gardens and my favorite flowers, bugambilas, were hanging from the balconies in the gardens. Bugambilas are these vibrant purple flowers that grow on vines. The can be found in warmer climates, I have seen them in San Francisco too. As we were walking around the casa, I walked in the Chapel of Flagellation. I was slightly confused because I had always thought that flagellation is passing gas, but it is really inflicting self-mutilation. I had the words flagellation and fluctuation mixed up, so I thought the Chapel of Flagellation was the chapel of farting!
By far the best part of the Casa de Pilates was the painting of the bearded women. My mom and I both walked into the room with this painting and looked at it. First we thought it was just a picture of a man holding baby but then we saw the “man” had a big boob sticking out. This was definitely not was I thought it was, so I read the description under the picture and there was the story of the bearded women. It took Dad a little longer to realize this was not a normal women, haha!
We walked back to the center of town and ran into some girls in the group that were heading back to the bus. The bus took us back to the hotel, and we relaxed for an hour or so before going back into the city to get some tapas. We found a cute tapas bar with outside tables. I ordered some spinach dish, mom got smoked salmon, and dad ordered sirloin with raisins. The tapas were delicious and were complimented nicely with sangria. After tapas we all got sorbet and headed back for the bus. Tomorrow we would be leaving Sevilla heading back to Salamanca.
After the tour of Alcazar Jesus took us to Plaza Espana. Every Spanish town has a Plaza Espana. If you remember my previous blogs the Plaza Espana in Barcelona was where the magic fountains were. The Plaza Espana in Salamanca is not quite as impressive but there is a pretty little park with a statue and fountain. The Plaza Espana in Sevilla was very grandiose. There was a towering buildings decorated with Spanish tiles. The building was flanked on either side with towers. There were tiled bridges leading up to the grand columned building. There was also a fountain in front. All along the façade of the building there were tiled depictions of each of the cities in Spain. I walked around all of the depictions getting a picture of all the places I had visited. We took a group shot in front of Salamanca and Barcelona. When we were done at Plaza Espana we got back on the bus and headed back to the center of town.
Sevilla has the third oldest cathedral in Europe. Unfortunately, they were ordaining priest so we could not get a tour. My parents walked around the cathedral for a while and we walked into one of the chapels and listened to choral performance. We stopped for lunch a cute out door café. My stomach had been hurting all day, so I was not looking forward to Spanish food. I ordered some scrambles eggs with asparagus. I made sure to tell the waiter sin jamon. My parents both got gazpacho.
After our lunch my parents wanted to find La Casa de Pilates. I was not sure what this was, but my dad seemed pretty dead set on finding it. We headed into the historically Jewish area. This area reminded us of the Gothic Area in Barcelona. There were twisted roads with no street signs. Of course we tried following the map, but like always we ended up on the wrong side. My mom was about to give up on this Casa de Pilatos, but my dad with his superior map skills eventually found the Casa.
La Casa de Pilatos was decked out with beautiful tiles. It had several interior gardens and my favorite flowers, bugambilas, were hanging from the balconies in the gardens. Bugambilas are these vibrant purple flowers that grow on vines. The can be found in warmer climates, I have seen them in San Francisco too. As we were walking around the casa, I walked in the Chapel of Flagellation. I was slightly confused because I had always thought that flagellation is passing gas, but it is really inflicting self-mutilation. I had the words flagellation and fluctuation mixed up, so I thought the Chapel of Flagellation was the chapel of farting!
By far the best part of the Casa de Pilates was the painting of the bearded women. My mom and I both walked into the room with this painting and looked at it. First we thought it was just a picture of a man holding baby but then we saw the “man” had a big boob sticking out. This was definitely not was I thought it was, so I read the description under the picture and there was the story of the bearded women. It took Dad a little longer to realize this was not a normal women, haha!
We walked back to the center of town and ran into some girls in the group that were heading back to the bus. The bus took us back to the hotel, and we relaxed for an hour or so before going back into the city to get some tapas. We found a cute tapas bar with outside tables. I ordered some spinach dish, mom got smoked salmon, and dad ordered sirloin with raisins. The tapas were delicious and were complimented nicely with sangria. After tapas we all got sorbet and headed back for the bus. Tomorrow we would be leaving Sevilla heading back to Salamanca.
Cordoba
After our tour of Alhambra we left Granada and heading to Cordoba to the famous Mezquita on our way to Sevilla. It took us about three hours to get to Cordoba. I tried writing some of my blog on the bus, because I knew how long it was going to be. I ended up falling asleep with my computer on my lap. On the bus ride we past through a thunderstorm. My first Spanish thunderstorm! I just love thunderstorms.
Once we got to the Cordoba we got off the bus and headed to famous the Mezquita. The Mezquita had an interiour garden with is typical of Arabic design. Jesus took us into the Mezquita next. When we walked in, and we were blown away by the sheer size of the mezquita. It seemed to stretch for ever which arch after arch after arch. All the arches were striped with white and red brick. This made quite an interesting effecting seeing row and colomn after row an column of all these red and white arches. Jesus told us that after the Muslims were kicked out of Spain the mezquita was converted into a cathedral. The interior of the Meztiqua looked like a traditional 18th century cathedral and sprinkeled throughout the Meztiqua was christain relics and religious paintings.
We were given free time after the tour of the Mezquita to walk around Cordaba before we left for Sevilla. I walked around with Ashley and my parents and then headed back to the bus. Sevilla was our next stop. It took us another two hours to get to Sevilla. Our hotel was located, like usually on the outskirts of town. We had a group dinner in the hotel that evening. Our hotel was pretty nice, but it only had Wi-Fi in the lobby. I was getting so spoiled with the free Wi-Fi. It’s just such a luxury!
Once we got to the Cordoba we got off the bus and headed to famous the Mezquita. The Mezquita had an interiour garden with is typical of Arabic design. Jesus took us into the Mezquita next. When we walked in, and we were blown away by the sheer size of the mezquita. It seemed to stretch for ever which arch after arch after arch. All the arches were striped with white and red brick. This made quite an interesting effecting seeing row and colomn after row an column of all these red and white arches. Jesus told us that after the Muslims were kicked out of Spain the mezquita was converted into a cathedral. The interior of the Meztiqua looked like a traditional 18th century cathedral and sprinkeled throughout the Meztiqua was christain relics and religious paintings.
We were given free time after the tour of the Mezquita to walk around Cordaba before we left for Sevilla. I walked around with Ashley and my parents and then headed back to the bus. Sevilla was our next stop. It took us another two hours to get to Sevilla. Our hotel was located, like usually on the outskirts of town. We had a group dinner in the hotel that evening. Our hotel was pretty nice, but it only had Wi-Fi in the lobby. I was getting so spoiled with the free Wi-Fi. It’s just such a luxury!
ALHAMBRA
On Saturday we went to La Alhambra. There was some confusion surrounding my parents tickets for Alhambra. First off because Alhambra gets so many tourists, you have to buy your tickets in advance. I had no idea of this regulation, so my parents were scrambleing around trying to find tickets for the same time we were going. The only tickets they could find were just for the gardens. My mom was pretty upset, and she did not try an hide her disappointment in the slightest. Andrea had a friend visiting from home, who was in the same pickle. After giving up on actually getting tickets to the inside of the palaces, my parents and Adrea’s friend Nicole reluctantly settled for the garden tickets. This put my mom in a pissy mood all Friday. Fortunately luck was on my parents side. When we returned to the hotel on Friday evening before the Flamenco show there was a fax from a tour company saying that there was a cancellation and my parents had tickets for the palaces with a guided tour in English. My mom’s mood did a 180 and all of a sudden she was super perky and cheerful again.
When Saturday morning rolled around we put all of our luggage on the bus, since we would not be returning to the hotel, and then we headed out for Alhambra. My parents did not leave with the rest of us because their tour included transportation from the hotel, so they stayed behind and waited for their bus.
We started our tour of Alhambra in the gardens. The gardens were beautiful of course, with blooming flowers, fountains, and views of the city nestled below. The gardens were built after the Muslims had been kicked out of Spain by one of the many kings named Carlos. My parents tour was just behind us in the gardens, so we got to see each other. I could tell how happy my parents were that their tour was in Enlgish.
After we finished the tour of the gardens, we walked out to the main palace area. First we toured the Arabic fortrace that overlooked the entire city. We got to the climb to the top of the lookout tour. From here we could see the entire city of Granada. The Muslims defentaitely had good planning in picking this location. You could see everything that was coming from all sides. Also there was a breathe taking view of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range in the distance. On our tour Jesus told us that the Muslims designed the fortrace very technically so it would be hard for invaders to enter. All the entrances had turns, so the person on the other side could see what was coming put you had no idea what was on the other side. We also learned about the creative ways the Muslims had for collecting water in the arid Granadan environment. Jesus told us that all the or almost all the buildings in Granada were white because of the Muslims. The Muslims painted everything white to reflect the sun. This kept the interiours cooler in the summer when temperatures typically surpass 100 degrees.
We left the fortrace area and headed for the palace. We had to wait about 45 mins before we could enter. I saw my parents again as they went in with their tour. When it was time for our tour, we entered into the palace with Jesus. The first room we stopped in was paneled with tiles and ornate windows. Jesus talked to us about the Muslim architecture. He said that all Muslim ceilings are made of inlayed wood that forms a symmetrical design. Jesus also told us that Muslims did not believe in putting humans or animals in any of their artwork. Instead, they created intracet geogemtic designs using their alfabet and inspiration from plant life.
We walked through so many rooms in Alhambra. Each room seemed to be more impressive than the next. Nothing was left undetailed or plan. Everything was perfectely carved and the archways between the room were absolutely spectacular with their designs. We passed through several rooms with reflecting pools. These pools were perfectly symmetrical with the building and created crystal clear reflections in the water. The most famous room Alhambra is known for, the Patio de Los Leones, was wonderful. There were arches inside arches, and everything was ornately carved.
When Saturday morning rolled around we put all of our luggage on the bus, since we would not be returning to the hotel, and then we headed out for Alhambra. My parents did not leave with the rest of us because their tour included transportation from the hotel, so they stayed behind and waited for their bus.
We started our tour of Alhambra in the gardens. The gardens were beautiful of course, with blooming flowers, fountains, and views of the city nestled below. The gardens were built after the Muslims had been kicked out of Spain by one of the many kings named Carlos. My parents tour was just behind us in the gardens, so we got to see each other. I could tell how happy my parents were that their tour was in Enlgish.
After we finished the tour of the gardens, we walked out to the main palace area. First we toured the Arabic fortrace that overlooked the entire city. We got to the climb to the top of the lookout tour. From here we could see the entire city of Granada. The Muslims defentaitely had good planning in picking this location. You could see everything that was coming from all sides. Also there was a breathe taking view of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range in the distance. On our tour Jesus told us that the Muslims designed the fortrace very technically so it would be hard for invaders to enter. All the entrances had turns, so the person on the other side could see what was coming put you had no idea what was on the other side. We also learned about the creative ways the Muslims had for collecting water in the arid Granadan environment. Jesus told us that all the or almost all the buildings in Granada were white because of the Muslims. The Muslims painted everything white to reflect the sun. This kept the interiours cooler in the summer when temperatures typically surpass 100 degrees.
We left the fortrace area and headed for the palace. We had to wait about 45 mins before we could enter. I saw my parents again as they went in with their tour. When it was time for our tour, we entered into the palace with Jesus. The first room we stopped in was paneled with tiles and ornate windows. Jesus talked to us about the Muslim architecture. He said that all Muslim ceilings are made of inlayed wood that forms a symmetrical design. Jesus also told us that Muslims did not believe in putting humans or animals in any of their artwork. Instead, they created intracet geogemtic designs using their alfabet and inspiration from plant life.
We walked through so many rooms in Alhambra. Each room seemed to be more impressive than the next. Nothing was left undetailed or plan. Everything was perfectely carved and the archways between the room were absolutely spectacular with their designs. We passed through several rooms with reflecting pools. These pools were perfectly symmetrical with the building and created crystal clear reflections in the water. The most famous room Alhambra is known for, the Patio de Los Leones, was wonderful. There were arches inside arches, and everything was ornately carved.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
GRANADA II
The following day we were off to visit the Capilla Real and the Cathedral. After breakfast we headed to the Capilla. This was a church commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabel during the sixteenth century. Ferdinand and Isabel are also buried in this church. Their tombs are located in the center of church. Along with their tombs, one of their daughters and one of their sons is also buried there too. As history goes Granada was the last Muslim hold on Spain and when Ferdinand and Isabel defeated the Muslims in 1492 it united Spain politically. Granada also happens to be where Christopher Columbus received permission from Isabel, not Ferdinand he was too cheap, to find a sea route to" India".
After the Capilla we visited the neighboring Cathedral. The Cathedral was freezing so we did not spend to much time there. Jesus gave us a tour of the both Capilla and the cathedral. We got to see several of Ferd’s and Isabel’s relics, like their scepter and crowns. After Jesus’ tour we were given free time for the rest of the day until dinner. My parents wanted to spend more time in cathedral so we stayed a bit longer than the rest of the group. Outside of the cathedral we ran into the coolest spice shop ever. There were hundreds of different spices and herbs displayed in baskets on the side of the street. There were herbs that were suppose to ease headaches and others that were suppose to improve memory. There were also fresh spices to make teas, It smelled absolutely wonderful.
Once we were back on the main street we went to go find the cool shops we had passed the day before when Jesus took us to the look out. We wandered around the Arabic area for a while and found an ancient looking walk way that led into the twisty winding streets we had walked through the night before. After twisting and turning through several streets, we ended up at the look out. My parents and I decided we would get a drink and enjoy the view at a near by café. My mom, the light weight, got a little tipsy off one beer probably because we had not really eaten anything since breakfast. We walked back down through the twisty streets and found the cool hippie shops I had been dying to visit. I ended up buying a dress, two scarves, and two head bands for 20 euros. It was nice not having to spend my own money for a change. Thank you dietas! At the bottom of the street there was an Arabic pastry shop, so in my parents quest to try every pastry we stopped in and got a couple pastries to sample. I actually liked these pastries better than Spanish pastries.
Next we jumped on a bus and headed out to a monastery that I had read about it the tour book. It was called the Monasterio de las Cartujas. We walked around the monastery for a while enjoying the gardens and the chapel. We also walked through several rooms filed with paintings of the Monks being brutally killed. There were two galleries filled with these gruesome paintings. There were monks with swords in their hearts and axes in their heads. There were ones with monks having their legs cut off, being hung, and even paintings of the monks being drawn and quartered. We got the impression from all these painting that the Cartuja Monks had not had the easiest life.
We took a bus back to the center of town, and slowly made our way back to the hotel stopping at an ice cream shop along the way. This was actually pretty funny. The whole way back my mom and I had been eyeing all the ice cream places. We asked the man with the money, dad, if we could get ice cream. Dad said, “Yes if you really need ice cream you can get it, but I am not hungry.” Of course we really needed ice cream, so we walked up to counter. As soon as my dad saw that they had pistachio, he totally changed his mind. I knew my dad could not resist.
That evening we were having a group dinner and watching a flamenco show. The dinner show was in the really cool Arabic neighborhood set on hill by a river looking out at Alhambra. We actually found out that the restaurant was really carved out of the hill, so were really in a cave. Once inside the cave we found our humongous table for all 40 of us. The waiters started bring out the food once we were all settled. First they brought out these sliced tomatoes in olive oil and a plate of some kind of gross looking ham product. The tomatoes were good, but I avoid the dreaded ham. My parents actually really liked the ham and my mom kept going back for more. Next they brought out the Spanish tortilla followed by a series of weird tasting fried fish. Our main dish was not the greatest, but I was not very hungry after all the tapas they had given us. My parents seemed to love the food though probably because they have not been forced to eat the stuff for the past two months like me. Dessert of course was flan, those Spaniards just love their flan.
As the main dish was set in front of us the show started. The band, which consisted of a flutist, a bongo player, guitarist, and a two singers came on the stage first. They serenade us for a while and before the Flamenco dancers came on stage. There were four Flamenco dancers in all, three women and on man. They started the show performing in a group. Then they each did their own dance. The women were all different ages. The first women was the oldest, king of like the grandma Flamenco mama. She was followed by my favorite, the dancer in the purple Flamenco dress. Then the youngest girl in the red dress performed. Lastly the man did his gig. It was Fla-MAN-co!!
I had never scene a Flamenco performance before, so I was really blown away by the passion and energy all the dancers conveyed on their faces. There movements were also incredible unique compared to any other form of dance I have seen. Every thing was very staccato with abrupt turns and stopping. The best part about Flamenco is suppose to be the foot work of the dancers, but I was sitting in the back so I could not see their feet. Although I did hear the intense stomping and see the dramatic facial expressions of all the dancers.
After the show everyone thought we would be returning to the hotel, but we were in for a special treat. Two random Spaniards jumped on own bus that we thought was headed back to the hotel. Lucio, our faithful bus driver, told us they were his friends, but I did not believe him. Instead of our buses going back to the hotel, they stopped at a random street in the Arabic quarter. Jesus told everyone to get off the bus. In all of our confusion we followed his orders, skeptically getting off the bus and following the two random Spaniards. It turned out that the Spaniards were actually tour guides that were going to take us to see a view of the Alhambra from the lookout at night. The area that the lookout point is located is very dangerous at night, so Jesus called in some extra guides to help us out, how nice of him. As the guides were taking us up to the look out, we ran into some miscreant gypsy children. These children were absolutely horrible. They flicked all of us off and threw tuna and lettuce at us.
Eventually we made our way back to the lookout avoiding any more gypsy children. Alhambra at night was gorgeous. The castles were light up and they almost seemed to gleam in the night. I was really excited that we would visiting Alhambra in the morning.
After the Capilla we visited the neighboring Cathedral. The Cathedral was freezing so we did not spend to much time there. Jesus gave us a tour of the both Capilla and the cathedral. We got to see several of Ferd’s and Isabel’s relics, like their scepter and crowns. After Jesus’ tour we were given free time for the rest of the day until dinner. My parents wanted to spend more time in cathedral so we stayed a bit longer than the rest of the group. Outside of the cathedral we ran into the coolest spice shop ever. There were hundreds of different spices and herbs displayed in baskets on the side of the street. There were herbs that were suppose to ease headaches and others that were suppose to improve memory. There were also fresh spices to make teas, It smelled absolutely wonderful.
Once we were back on the main street we went to go find the cool shops we had passed the day before when Jesus took us to the look out. We wandered around the Arabic area for a while and found an ancient looking walk way that led into the twisty winding streets we had walked through the night before. After twisting and turning through several streets, we ended up at the look out. My parents and I decided we would get a drink and enjoy the view at a near by café. My mom, the light weight, got a little tipsy off one beer probably because we had not really eaten anything since breakfast. We walked back down through the twisty streets and found the cool hippie shops I had been dying to visit. I ended up buying a dress, two scarves, and two head bands for 20 euros. It was nice not having to spend my own money for a change. Thank you dietas! At the bottom of the street there was an Arabic pastry shop, so in my parents quest to try every pastry we stopped in and got a couple pastries to sample. I actually liked these pastries better than Spanish pastries.
Next we jumped on a bus and headed out to a monastery that I had read about it the tour book. It was called the Monasterio de las Cartujas. We walked around the monastery for a while enjoying the gardens and the chapel. We also walked through several rooms filed with paintings of the Monks being brutally killed. There were two galleries filled with these gruesome paintings. There were monks with swords in their hearts and axes in their heads. There were ones with monks having their legs cut off, being hung, and even paintings of the monks being drawn and quartered. We got the impression from all these painting that the Cartuja Monks had not had the easiest life.
We took a bus back to the center of town, and slowly made our way back to the hotel stopping at an ice cream shop along the way. This was actually pretty funny. The whole way back my mom and I had been eyeing all the ice cream places. We asked the man with the money, dad, if we could get ice cream. Dad said, “Yes if you really need ice cream you can get it, but I am not hungry.” Of course we really needed ice cream, so we walked up to counter. As soon as my dad saw that they had pistachio, he totally changed his mind. I knew my dad could not resist.
That evening we were having a group dinner and watching a flamenco show. The dinner show was in the really cool Arabic neighborhood set on hill by a river looking out at Alhambra. We actually found out that the restaurant was really carved out of the hill, so were really in a cave. Once inside the cave we found our humongous table for all 40 of us. The waiters started bring out the food once we were all settled. First they brought out these sliced tomatoes in olive oil and a plate of some kind of gross looking ham product. The tomatoes were good, but I avoid the dreaded ham. My parents actually really liked the ham and my mom kept going back for more. Next they brought out the Spanish tortilla followed by a series of weird tasting fried fish. Our main dish was not the greatest, but I was not very hungry after all the tapas they had given us. My parents seemed to love the food though probably because they have not been forced to eat the stuff for the past two months like me. Dessert of course was flan, those Spaniards just love their flan.
As the main dish was set in front of us the show started. The band, which consisted of a flutist, a bongo player, guitarist, and a two singers came on the stage first. They serenade us for a while and before the Flamenco dancers came on stage. There were four Flamenco dancers in all, three women and on man. They started the show performing in a group. Then they each did their own dance. The women were all different ages. The first women was the oldest, king of like the grandma Flamenco mama. She was followed by my favorite, the dancer in the purple Flamenco dress. Then the youngest girl in the red dress performed. Lastly the man did his gig. It was Fla-MAN-co!!
I had never scene a Flamenco performance before, so I was really blown away by the passion and energy all the dancers conveyed on their faces. There movements were also incredible unique compared to any other form of dance I have seen. Every thing was very staccato with abrupt turns and stopping. The best part about Flamenco is suppose to be the foot work of the dancers, but I was sitting in the back so I could not see their feet. Although I did hear the intense stomping and see the dramatic facial expressions of all the dancers.
After the show everyone thought we would be returning to the hotel, but we were in for a special treat. Two random Spaniards jumped on own bus that we thought was headed back to the hotel. Lucio, our faithful bus driver, told us they were his friends, but I did not believe him. Instead of our buses going back to the hotel, they stopped at a random street in the Arabic quarter. Jesus told everyone to get off the bus. In all of our confusion we followed his orders, skeptically getting off the bus and following the two random Spaniards. It turned out that the Spaniards were actually tour guides that were going to take us to see a view of the Alhambra from the lookout at night. The area that the lookout point is located is very dangerous at night, so Jesus called in some extra guides to help us out, how nice of him. As the guides were taking us up to the look out, we ran into some miscreant gypsy children. These children were absolutely horrible. They flicked all of us off and threw tuna and lettuce at us.
Eventually we made our way back to the lookout avoiding any more gypsy children. Alhambra at night was gorgeous. The castles were light up and they almost seemed to gleam in the night. I was really excited that we would visiting Alhambra in the morning.
GRANADA
We started our journey to Andalusia bright and early on Thursday morning. I met my parents, as I promised, at the Plaza at 8 to escort them to the bus on time. I also took them to my favorite grocery store, Super 24 hours, for some breakfast. The bus pulled out of Plaza Gabriel y Galan at 8:30, and we started the six-hour journey to the southernmost province of Spain.
The bus ride to Andalusia was pretty picturesque. Much like the ride to Barcelona, the landscape was varied, ranging from gently rolling hills and flat plans to mountainous and rocky regions. As we neared closer to Granada the, we started to notice all the olive trees. A few here and there at first and then there were millions and millions. As far as the eye could the land was covered with olive trees, and if there was a mountain or a canyon then the land was terraced so as many olive trees as possible could be fit. I guess as one of Spain’s only exports, its important for them to grow as many as possible.
We entered into the city of Granada and we were dropped off at our hotel called Saray. Our hotel was another amazing four-star accomadation complete with a pool and free Wi-fi. I was put in the triple room, but I knew I would be staying with my parents the entire time. We had about an hour in the hotel to freshen up before we left as group to go into the center of town.
The bus took us into the center of town and Jesus showed un the main road, Gran Via. Then we walked up through the Arabic area to a lookout point. There were tons of cool hippie shops selling everything from hukas to dresses that all the girls were dying to browse through. The walk up the twisty winding streets was quite challenging. Every time you thought you reached the top of the hill the street would curve the other way and the hill would be keep going.
The lookout was set on top of a hill and had a view of Alhabra and the distant snow capped Sierra Nevada mountain range. This view is probably in my top five best views of my life. I could see the entire castles, both the Arabic and the Spanish one. I could see the summer palace and the wall surrounding the hill top palace. It was incredible. The look out area was filled with all sorts of tourists taking in the incredible vista, and several other slightly sketchy hippies. There were some creepers selling jewelry, some playing music and other just selling pot and smoking it. I caught quite a few drug deals. I even got some pictures of one going down. The hippies did not seem that concerned though, even when the cops showed up they just continued doing their thing.
We walked back down to the main street after everyone had gotten their fill of taking pictures. Jesus told us how to get back to the hotel and then he set us free to wander back to the hotel. We had dinner at the hotel when we returned. It was just another buffet, but I tried my first taste of real Spanish Gazpacho. It was delicious!
The bus ride to Andalusia was pretty picturesque. Much like the ride to Barcelona, the landscape was varied, ranging from gently rolling hills and flat plans to mountainous and rocky regions. As we neared closer to Granada the, we started to notice all the olive trees. A few here and there at first and then there were millions and millions. As far as the eye could the land was covered with olive trees, and if there was a mountain or a canyon then the land was terraced so as many olive trees as possible could be fit. I guess as one of Spain’s only exports, its important for them to grow as many as possible.
We entered into the city of Granada and we were dropped off at our hotel called Saray. Our hotel was another amazing four-star accomadation complete with a pool and free Wi-fi. I was put in the triple room, but I knew I would be staying with my parents the entire time. We had about an hour in the hotel to freshen up before we left as group to go into the center of town.
The bus took us into the center of town and Jesus showed un the main road, Gran Via. Then we walked up through the Arabic area to a lookout point. There were tons of cool hippie shops selling everything from hukas to dresses that all the girls were dying to browse through. The walk up the twisty winding streets was quite challenging. Every time you thought you reached the top of the hill the street would curve the other way and the hill would be keep going.
The lookout was set on top of a hill and had a view of Alhabra and the distant snow capped Sierra Nevada mountain range. This view is probably in my top five best views of my life. I could see the entire castles, both the Arabic and the Spanish one. I could see the summer palace and the wall surrounding the hill top palace. It was incredible. The look out area was filled with all sorts of tourists taking in the incredible vista, and several other slightly sketchy hippies. There were some creepers selling jewelry, some playing music and other just selling pot and smoking it. I caught quite a few drug deals. I even got some pictures of one going down. The hippies did not seem that concerned though, even when the cops showed up they just continued doing their thing.
We walked back down to the main street after everyone had gotten their fill of taking pictures. Jesus told us how to get back to the hotel and then he set us free to wander back to the hotel. We had dinner at the hotel when we returned. It was just another buffet, but I tried my first taste of real Spanish Gazpacho. It was delicious!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tour of the Manc
The following day I took my parents on a tour of Salamanca. After my eleven o’clock class, we took a tour of the cathedral. We walked up to the towers, and my parents got to see a view of the entire city. After the cathedral we walked around the academic buildings, so I could show my parents the famed frog that is hidden on the façade of a building. The legend states that if you find the frog then you get good luck for a year. I had to show my parents where the frog was. I showed my parents the La Casa de Las Conchas and then we walked through the Plaza. I told Madre I would bring my parents for lunch so at two I brought my parents over to my house. Madre was so excited to meet them. She showed them all the room in the house. She was cute. I told Madre that my mom could speak some Spanish, so Madre talked slower so my mom could understand. Mom actually did a really good job talking with Madre. I was terrified that I was going to be the translator and sometimes I can’t understand Madre so I thought it was going to be terribly awkward. Everything turned out really great though. My parents got to experience the insane portions Madre give us. Madre made Paella for the first course, Merluza for the second course and strawberries with cream for dessert, way, way to much food. After lunch Madre sat and talked with for a while. She gave my mom some earnings, and my mom thanked Madre for taking such good care of me. It was a success!!
After lunch I continued the tour of Salamanca. We walked up to the pool where I go swimming. Then we walked down by the Plaza de Torros. I showed my parents my favorite shoe store and I also took them to the JMU office. I ended the tour by taking my parents to Valor, which is a famous Chocolateria in Spain. I wanted them to try a traditional Spanish treat, churros and chocolate. The waitress brought out an obscene amount of churros with our melted chocolate. There must have been a pile of at least 20 huge churros. My mom loved the rich the chocolate, but said she could have skipped the greasy, fried churros. We ate some many churros that we were not even hungry for dinner. I took my parents back to their hotel, and walked back to my apartment.
The next day we would be heading on our excursion to Andalusia, visiting Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla. The bus was leaving at 8:30, so I told my parents I would meet them in the plaza at 8 to catch the bus. I hurried back to my apartment and started packing for the trip. The excursion to Andalusia is suppose to be the best trip in the program, so I was really excited that my parents would get to share this with me.
After lunch I continued the tour of Salamanca. We walked up to the pool where I go swimming. Then we walked down by the Plaza de Torros. I showed my parents my favorite shoe store and I also took them to the JMU office. I ended the tour by taking my parents to Valor, which is a famous Chocolateria in Spain. I wanted them to try a traditional Spanish treat, churros and chocolate. The waitress brought out an obscene amount of churros with our melted chocolate. There must have been a pile of at least 20 huge churros. My mom loved the rich the chocolate, but said she could have skipped the greasy, fried churros. We ate some many churros that we were not even hungry for dinner. I took my parents back to their hotel, and walked back to my apartment.
The next day we would be heading on our excursion to Andalusia, visiting Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla. The bus was leaving at 8:30, so I told my parents I would meet them in the plaza at 8 to catch the bus. I hurried back to my apartment and started packing for the trip. The excursion to Andalusia is suppose to be the best trip in the program, so I was really excited that my parents would get to share this with me.
DONDE ESTAN MIS PADRES
As my parents were getting out of the cab, I vaguely remember them saying they wanted to go visit another town near Salamanca. However, they never informed me where they were going so I spent the entire day worrying that they had been kidnapped, sent to Africa and sold in slavery. I told Madre that I had no idea where my parents were. She kept joking that they ran away from me. Around eight o’clock that night they did contact me to tell that they had spent the day in Avila. How nice of them to tell me! I was glad that they decided to do a little exploring for themselves, but they could have called!! Madre had already made dinner by the time they called, so I had eat it. When I was done eating, I met them at their hotel and found them someplace to eat. I found some random restaurant near their hotel and my parents polished off their second bottle of wine for the day at dinner. They were really enjoying the Spanish lifestyle.
BYE BARCELONA
Our last day in Barcelona we went to the Parc Montjuic, which is an enormous Park that overlooks the city and housed all the Olympic stadiums from the ’92 games. We walked around the park for a while and then we walked through all the Olympic areas. I was bound and determined to find the Olympic pool, so I dragged my parents around until I had found it. The gold medalist, from the United States, that I remembered were Summer Sanders and Jenny Thompson. After we visited the pool we took a Telerifica across Barcelona down to the seaport. A Telerifica is a cable car. It was just like the ones they have Bush Gardens over the park, but this one was over Barcelona. We got to see a bird’s eye view of the entire city, which was quite spectacular. The Telerifica dropped us off down by the bay and we walked back up the Ramblas. We stopped at a street side café for a bit to eat. We all ordered huge mugs of Sangria. Mom ended up getting quite tipsy and started to sing My Fair Lady down the Ramblas. I thought she was going to a show with one of the street performers! I showed my parents this really cool open-air food market that I had visited on the excursion. We saw some pretty gross meats and a sheep head that you could. I don’t what you would do with a sheep head, but you can buy one. We made our way back to the hotel to get our luggage and head for the airport. Once we had arrived back in Madrid we got on the metro to the bus station. On the metro we just so happened to run into Susie. Susie had spent her long weekend in Belgium, with a friend who was studying there. We got to bus station just before eight, but the clerk at desk told us if we hurried we could make the eight o’clock bus to Salamanca. Susie managed to make it, but as we were coming down the escalator to the bus pick up we saw our bus pulling out. We ended up waiting for the 9 o’clock bus. Once we were back in the Manc we took a cab to their hotel and I went back to Madre’s house.
PROXIMA DIA
My parents were exhausted after I had dragged them around all through the city yesterday, but I was not about to let them miss any of the cool sites to see in Barcelona. We started the day by going to the Picasso Museum, which of course was in Gothic Barrier. We did not get too lost though. The Picasso museum was one of my favorite museums so far because it showcased all of Picasso artistic genius starting from when he was nine until his death. I think my parents really enjoyed the museum too. Next we headed to the old cathedral near our hotel and at the start of the Gothic Barrier. Since it was Sunday, there was mass going in the cathedral, so you could not walk all the way through it. The mass was in Catalan, so I did not understand one lick of it. After the cathedral we took a detour to the chocolate museum, of course we got a little lost going there. We did not pay to go in, but I wanted to show my parents all the places I had visited with my friends on the excursion. As we were leaving the Gothic Barrier, we stopped by a bakery to buy a baguette for lunch. Next we walked down Las Ramblas to the Mediterranean Sea. Las Ramblas was less crowded because it was Sunday, but it was still bustling with street shops and cafes. Once we were down by the sea we went to grocery store (one of the few that are opened on Sunday) to buy some cheese and fruit to go with our baguette. Once we got to the beach we ate of European lunch while gazing out across the Mediterranean Sea. We walked along the beach for a while slowly making our way back to the Las Ramblas and our hotel. Along the way we decided we would locate the restaurant we had made reservations for that night so we would not get lost looking for it in the dark. We found the restaurant and headed back up the Ramblas. Of course mom the Internet junky needed to check her email and make a blackboard posting so we went back to the hotel.
Before we went back out for dinner, I wanted to show my parents the Magic fountains at Plaza España. We took the metro to Plaza Espana. While we were walking up to the fountains, I realized that the fountains don’t run on Sundays. This was slightly disappointing because I really loved the fountains. We got back on the metro and went back to bay area where our restaurant was. The restaurants specialty was Paella, so we all got Paella. I tried the black rice kind to be different, which was made with some kind of fish ink. It tasted just the same as the traditional variety my parents ordered. After dinner, we walked up the Ramblas back to our hotel. It was another exhaustingly wonderful day in Barcelona. Tomorrow we would make our way back to Madrid and then on to Salamanca.
Before we went back out for dinner, I wanted to show my parents the Magic fountains at Plaza España. We took the metro to Plaza Espana. While we were walking up to the fountains, I realized that the fountains don’t run on Sundays. This was slightly disappointing because I really loved the fountains. We got back on the metro and went back to bay area where our restaurant was. The restaurants specialty was Paella, so we all got Paella. I tried the black rice kind to be different, which was made with some kind of fish ink. It tasted just the same as the traditional variety my parents ordered. After dinner, we walked up the Ramblas back to our hotel. It was another exhaustingly wonderful day in Barcelona. Tomorrow we would make our way back to Madrid and then on to Salamanca.
BARCELONA AND BEYOND
The next morning we got up before the sun had even thought of dawning. We caught the hotel shuttle to the airport, went through security, and hoped on the hour plane ride to Barcelona. We touched down in Barcelona to the beautiful weather and welcoming palm trees. After showing our passports about a bazillion times, we claimed our luggage and set out to find a bus that would take us to the center of the city where our Hotel was located. After overhearing some English women talking, we figured out which bus to take. On the bus we met a lovely couple, the women was Italian and the man was English. They were looking for Las Ramblas. Since, I had already been to Barcelona I knew that we all needed to get off at Plaza Cataluna, which was at the top of Las Ramblas, but I had no idea where we needed to go next. Hopefully the cute couple found their way because we had to walk up and down the streets dragging all of luggage until we found our hotel off the Ramblas.
Our Hotel was called NH Duc de la Victoria. As I said it was right off the Ramblas and it was walking distance (which is a relative term in my book) from practically everything. After checking in and putting our bags down, we and set off to find Parc Guell. Finding Parc Guell turned out to be quite an adventure. After getting off at the metro stop, we thought we followed the correct signs toward Parc Guell. However, somehow we ended up walking through hiking trails. After trying to interpret an old man, who spoke Catalan, I figured out that the hiking trails were actually part of Parc Guell and we just needed to follow them to the other side. My mom thought I was insane, getting us lost in Barcelona, but I have faith that my lack of direction will some how lead me in the right way. We made another stop along the way and I asked for more directions. We were sort of on the right way and eventually we did come to the back entrance of the park.
After much complaining on my parents’ parts, they really thought Parc Guell was spectacular. Once again Gaudi did not disappoint! Since, the park was up in the hills my parents also got a nice view of the entire city. We took the right way back to the metro. This time we did not get lost on any mysterious hiking trails.
We continued on to La Sagrada Familia, another Gaudi masterpiece. After getting slightly confused on the metro stops, we just decided to walk to the distant Sagrada Familia. We had an interesting treat in store for us on our walk there. As we were walking, looking like typical American tourists, I felt something cold and wet fall down on me from above. I started screaming, bird shit, bird shit, bird shit. Then my parents noticed that they were covered in this bird shit substance too. A man who was walking behind us offered to help clean us off. He said he lived right near by and would get us some water and paper towels. I assumed he was just a friendly Spaniard, but my mom knew otherwise. He was actually a scammer, just trying to pick pocket us. Of course mom did not say anything and we walked willingly into his trap. As he was trying to clean off my dad, he managed to finagle my dad’s passport out of his pocket. The scammer had me busy cleaning off my mom while he was working on my dad. Luckily, mom saw that he had my dad’s passport and I grabbed it from him. The man was not done trying to pick pocket us yet. He kept trying to clean off my dad while he tried to get his wallet in the opposite pocket. We realized what he was up to, and decided it was a good time to leave.
After being a little shaken up, especially mom, we continued on to La Sagrada Familia. I thought La Sagrada Familia was quite impressive, even the second time around, but my parents are such traditionalists. The liked the interior designs of the La Sagrada, but they prefer the Baroque and Neoclassical style cathedrals that have visited in Spain.
To avoid more pick pocketing attempts we decided to take the metro pack to the hotel. Unfortunately we did not avoid the scammers. One Indian girl pretending like she did not understand how to the use the tickets to get through the gates and in the process managed to unzip my purse. As soon as I noticed, I pushed away and yelled at her. The pick picketers were out in full force today. We concluded that my dad looks incredibly American, which probably suggests to most scammers please come steal my wallet. It was like my dad had a giant target on his back.
Back at the hotel we rested up and picked out at restaurant for dinner. The tour book listed a famous restaurant called Los Quatre Gats, which was frequented by none other than Picasso himself. We decided we take a stab at finding the restaurant, since it was highly recommended for its Catalonian cuisine and historical atmosphere. I asked the receptionist at the desk to give me directions. She said it was really close and only took about five minutes to walk there. This was not the case for us. We set off in the right direction but somehow ended completely lost and wandering around in the Gothic Barrier. Of course mom was getting really nervous, because this area of town has twisty roads and practically no street signs anywhere. After wandering around for a good half an hour, we were about to give up when we miraculously found the right street. The restaurant was awesome, and it was totally worth getting lost in the creepy Gothic Barrier. When we left the restaurant, we took the right way back and the receptionist was right, it was only a five-minute walk.
Our Hotel was called NH Duc de la Victoria. As I said it was right off the Ramblas and it was walking distance (which is a relative term in my book) from practically everything. After checking in and putting our bags down, we and set off to find Parc Guell. Finding Parc Guell turned out to be quite an adventure. After getting off at the metro stop, we thought we followed the correct signs toward Parc Guell. However, somehow we ended up walking through hiking trails. After trying to interpret an old man, who spoke Catalan, I figured out that the hiking trails were actually part of Parc Guell and we just needed to follow them to the other side. My mom thought I was insane, getting us lost in Barcelona, but I have faith that my lack of direction will some how lead me in the right way. We made another stop along the way and I asked for more directions. We were sort of on the right way and eventually we did come to the back entrance of the park.
After much complaining on my parents’ parts, they really thought Parc Guell was spectacular. Once again Gaudi did not disappoint! Since, the park was up in the hills my parents also got a nice view of the entire city. We took the right way back to the metro. This time we did not get lost on any mysterious hiking trails.
We continued on to La Sagrada Familia, another Gaudi masterpiece. After getting slightly confused on the metro stops, we just decided to walk to the distant Sagrada Familia. We had an interesting treat in store for us on our walk there. As we were walking, looking like typical American tourists, I felt something cold and wet fall down on me from above. I started screaming, bird shit, bird shit, bird shit. Then my parents noticed that they were covered in this bird shit substance too. A man who was walking behind us offered to help clean us off. He said he lived right near by and would get us some water and paper towels. I assumed he was just a friendly Spaniard, but my mom knew otherwise. He was actually a scammer, just trying to pick pocket us. Of course mom did not say anything and we walked willingly into his trap. As he was trying to clean off my dad, he managed to finagle my dad’s passport out of his pocket. The scammer had me busy cleaning off my mom while he was working on my dad. Luckily, mom saw that he had my dad’s passport and I grabbed it from him. The man was not done trying to pick pocket us yet. He kept trying to clean off my dad while he tried to get his wallet in the opposite pocket. We realized what he was up to, and decided it was a good time to leave.
After being a little shaken up, especially mom, we continued on to La Sagrada Familia. I thought La Sagrada Familia was quite impressive, even the second time around, but my parents are such traditionalists. The liked the interior designs of the La Sagrada, but they prefer the Baroque and Neoclassical style cathedrals that have visited in Spain.
To avoid more pick pocketing attempts we decided to take the metro pack to the hotel. Unfortunately we did not avoid the scammers. One Indian girl pretending like she did not understand how to the use the tickets to get through the gates and in the process managed to unzip my purse. As soon as I noticed, I pushed away and yelled at her. The pick picketers were out in full force today. We concluded that my dad looks incredibly American, which probably suggests to most scammers please come steal my wallet. It was like my dad had a giant target on his back.
Back at the hotel we rested up and picked out at restaurant for dinner. The tour book listed a famous restaurant called Los Quatre Gats, which was frequented by none other than Picasso himself. We decided we take a stab at finding the restaurant, since it was highly recommended for its Catalonian cuisine and historical atmosphere. I asked the receptionist at the desk to give me directions. She said it was really close and only took about five minutes to walk there. This was not the case for us. We set off in the right direction but somehow ended completely lost and wandering around in the Gothic Barrier. Of course mom was getting really nervous, because this area of town has twisty roads and practically no street signs anywhere. After wandering around for a good half an hour, we were about to give up when we miraculously found the right street. The restaurant was awesome, and it was totally worth getting lost in the creepy Gothic Barrier. When we left the restaurant, we took the right way back and the receptionist was right, it was only a five-minute walk.
MIS PADRES EN ESPANA
The bus ride from Salamanca to Madrid seemed to take forever. All I wanted to do was see my parents. Instead, I was sitting on the bus watching some Spanish dubbed movie with Mathew Perry and Bruce Willis. Ugh, get me to Madrid faster. The busses are only allowed to drive 100 km/hour, so it seemed like we just trudging along. Eventually I did make it to the bus station in Madrid. I got off the bus grabbed my suitcase from under the bus and headed for the escalator. As I got on the escalator, I saw my dad going down the escalator. It was the best sight of my life, my real dad, not my padre Luis. My mom was waiting at the top of the escalator. Of course, as soon as I saw her, the tears started coming. It felt so good to be with parents, and I was so proud of them for navigating through the Madrid subways all by themselves.
After our hugs and kisses, we headed back down to the metro to take us to the center of the city. I wanted to show my parents the Plaza Mayor. I still had my entire luggage with me, so I had to drag it through the metro and then through the city. This would not be first time I would be dragging my luggage through a Spanish metro and through the center of the city.
The Plaza Mayor was filled with street performers as usually. My mom was awed at the creative characters that were performing on the Plaza. We walked around the Plaza for a while taking pictures. After passing several café’s on the Plaza all asking us if we wanted to sit down, we settled on one café and my parents got their first taste of café con leche.
After leaving the plaza, I decided to show my parents El Corte Ingles. This just happens to be the most famous department store in Spain, equipped with everything from a music department to a grocery store. We walked through the grocery store part. I wanted to show my parents some of the strange things that are considered food in Spain. As we walked into the grocery store, we randomly saw Emily Barge, another girl in the program that was visiting her French friend in Madrid. I convinced my parents to buy me some peanut butter; because this is one of few places you can buy the glorious stuff. Also peanut butter is like 4 euros a jar, and I did not feel like dropping my own dinero. With peanut butter in hand, we headed back to the metro to go back to our hotel.
We were spending the night in the Hilton right next to the airport since we were leaving bright and early in the morning for Madrid. We had a bit of difficultly finding the hotel, and ended up walking across a highway and through a medium to get to the right side of the road. We should have taken getting lost on the way to the hotel in Madrid as a sign for what was to come in Barcelona! The hotel was very modern. There were these chairs shaped like hearts, which were a lot cooler to look at than they were comfortable. We ate a late dinner at the Hilton and then my jet-lagged parents passed out.
After our hugs and kisses, we headed back down to the metro to take us to the center of the city. I wanted to show my parents the Plaza Mayor. I still had my entire luggage with me, so I had to drag it through the metro and then through the city. This would not be first time I would be dragging my luggage through a Spanish metro and through the center of the city.
The Plaza Mayor was filled with street performers as usually. My mom was awed at the creative characters that were performing on the Plaza. We walked around the Plaza for a while taking pictures. After passing several café’s on the Plaza all asking us if we wanted to sit down, we settled on one café and my parents got their first taste of café con leche.
After leaving the plaza, I decided to show my parents El Corte Ingles. This just happens to be the most famous department store in Spain, equipped with everything from a music department to a grocery store. We walked through the grocery store part. I wanted to show my parents some of the strange things that are considered food in Spain. As we walked into the grocery store, we randomly saw Emily Barge, another girl in the program that was visiting her French friend in Madrid. I convinced my parents to buy me some peanut butter; because this is one of few places you can buy the glorious stuff. Also peanut butter is like 4 euros a jar, and I did not feel like dropping my own dinero. With peanut butter in hand, we headed back to the metro to go back to our hotel.
We were spending the night in the Hilton right next to the airport since we were leaving bright and early in the morning for Madrid. We had a bit of difficultly finding the hotel, and ended up walking across a highway and through a medium to get to the right side of the road. We should have taken getting lost on the way to the hotel in Madrid as a sign for what was to come in Barcelona! The hotel was very modern. There were these chairs shaped like hearts, which were a lot cooler to look at than they were comfortable. We ate a late dinner at the Hilton and then my jet-lagged parents passed out.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Catching Up
YES, I know it has been a while since my last post, but with all the trips and my parents being here blogging was a little difficult. My parents left today for Madrid, and then they will be heading back to the states on Friday. I tried to so them as much of Spain as I could, and I know hey really enjoyed their time here. They got to see some of the most beautiful places in Spain and experience the all cultural differences. By the end of my time with them, my mom was totally on my side about how gross the food is here! My mom also got to practice her Spanish skills, while my dad got to make up his own Spanish words in his attempts to speak the language. We hit all the major hot spots from Barcelona to Madrid to Andalusia and of course the Manc. I will start at the beginning with my trip to Barcelona with my parents.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
PELO CORTO
Last week I had my first Spanish hair cut. Christina and Angela’s Madre is a hairdresser, and she has really good prices on haircuts for all the ninas in the program. Megan and Colleen got their haircut my there, both of their cuts turned out really good. They only paid 25 euros for a cut and highlights. After checking around at a couple Pelluquerias near our house, I decided this was the best price. I found one salon that charged 90 euros for a cut and highlights! Que caro! Sarah was also in the market for a haircut to even out here mushroom layers as she called them. We decided we would go to Christina and Angela’s Madre. When we got there they asked cut what type of cut we wanted. I said I wanted layers and highlights. The word for layers is capas and the word for highlights is mechas. I never said what color highlights I wanted, so I was a little confused about what color they were putting in my hair. I told their Madre that she never asked me what color highlights I wanted. She started laughing and said, “Well your blonde so I will give you blonde highlights. I am not going to give you black highlights.”
Sarah and I both loved our cuts. We spent the walk back from the salon admiring our new cuts in all the shop windows. Its amazing what a good haircut can do for you! I will probably go back again before I leave Spain. I ended up only paying 24 euros for highlights and a cut. That would be unheard of in the States! When we got back to our house Madre complimented Sarah’s hair, but she did not even notice that I got my cut! Oh well, I was pleased with my hair even if Madre did not notice.
This past week I had two midterms. Considering I have not really been doing anything for any of my classes the midterms were a bit challenging especially my Spanish Civilization midterm. It was all fill in the blank, so we were expected to pull all these 18th century play writes out of heads. After the exam everyone was really worried. I was not too concerned, because I heard it was pretty much impossible to get less than a B in any class here. I was right. We got the midterms back today. Nobody got less than a B and an A was the equivalent of a 73.
My other midterm was is in my Latin American short story class. We only had to write two essays comparing some of the short stories we had read. It was a breeze. Unfortunately, the teacher had to schedule the midterm on the Friday before our long weekend. This just so happened to be the day my parents were coming to Spain. Immediately after my final, I headed to the bus station to catch a bus to Madrid to meet my parents. In two and a half hours I would be seeing my parents. I was so excited to see them and show them Spain.
Sarah and I both loved our cuts. We spent the walk back from the salon admiring our new cuts in all the shop windows. Its amazing what a good haircut can do for you! I will probably go back again before I leave Spain. I ended up only paying 24 euros for highlights and a cut. That would be unheard of in the States! When we got back to our house Madre complimented Sarah’s hair, but she did not even notice that I got my cut! Oh well, I was pleased with my hair even if Madre did not notice.
This past week I had two midterms. Considering I have not really been doing anything for any of my classes the midterms were a bit challenging especially my Spanish Civilization midterm. It was all fill in the blank, so we were expected to pull all these 18th century play writes out of heads. After the exam everyone was really worried. I was not too concerned, because I heard it was pretty much impossible to get less than a B in any class here. I was right. We got the midterms back today. Nobody got less than a B and an A was the equivalent of a 73.
My other midterm was is in my Latin American short story class. We only had to write two essays comparing some of the short stories we had read. It was a breeze. Unfortunately, the teacher had to schedule the midterm on the Friday before our long weekend. This just so happened to be the day my parents were coming to Spain. Immediately after my final, I headed to the bus station to catch a bus to Madrid to meet my parents. In two and a half hours I would be seeing my parents. I was so excited to see them and show them Spain.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
COOKING WITH MADRE
Last night Sarah and I got to cook with Madre. Sarah has been telling our Madre that she wants to make all the her recipes when she gets back to the states, so our Madre decided after dinner she would show us how to make croquetas. Croquetas are fried egg balls with cheese and of course ham in them. We started by peeling the hard-boiled eggs and mashing them up. Sarah was the peeler and I was the masher. Madre gave me a fork to mash up the eggs, but by the end I was wrist deep mashing up eggs. After everything was mashed, Madre started making the sauce that binds the eggs together so they can be fried. In the sauce she put flour, salt, milk, cheese, olive oil and of course ham. We all took turns stirring the mixture until in turned into a think paste.
While we were stirring, we started gossiping with out Madre about other Madres in the program. We told Madre about two of the girls, Andrea and Hannah, who are not very happy with their Madre. Madre asked us who their Madre was. Sarah was reluctant to tell, but I said that her name starts with “r”. Instantly our Madre knew we were talking about Raquel. Madre then went off talking about how she heard stories about Raquel and her ninas. Joanne told me that she had Raquel when she studied in Salamanca a couple of summers ago. Joanne said that she asked Raquel to make her a sandwich for the plane ride back to the states. Raquel said no, the program was over, so she did not have to make her any more food! Raquel sounds like a great Madre. I am glad we have Asencion, even though she makes me eat way too much meat. It was kind of fun to gossip with our Madre and it was definitely another good bonding experience.
Once the sauce had turned into a thick paste, Madre mixed in the mashed eggs. She told us the mixture had to sit for a day before we could make the balls and fry them. Since nothing is ever refrigerated in Spain, she just left the mixture out on the counter. The mixture was still there this morning when I went to get breakfast. It looked pretty gross. I can’t wait to stick my hands in it and roll into little balls!
While we were stirring, we started gossiping with out Madre about other Madres in the program. We told Madre about two of the girls, Andrea and Hannah, who are not very happy with their Madre. Madre asked us who their Madre was. Sarah was reluctant to tell, but I said that her name starts with “r”. Instantly our Madre knew we were talking about Raquel. Madre then went off talking about how she heard stories about Raquel and her ninas. Joanne told me that she had Raquel when she studied in Salamanca a couple of summers ago. Joanne said that she asked Raquel to make her a sandwich for the plane ride back to the states. Raquel said no, the program was over, so she did not have to make her any more food! Raquel sounds like a great Madre. I am glad we have Asencion, even though she makes me eat way too much meat. It was kind of fun to gossip with our Madre and it was definitely another good bonding experience.
Once the sauce had turned into a thick paste, Madre mixed in the mashed eggs. She told us the mixture had to sit for a day before we could make the balls and fry them. Since nothing is ever refrigerated in Spain, she just left the mixture out on the counter. The mixture was still there this morning when I went to get breakfast. It looked pretty gross. I can’t wait to stick my hands in it and roll into little balls!
FATTIES IN SPAIN
Sunday night we went out to dinner with group. We ate at an Italian restaurant that near the hospital. It was called Pizzeria Ciao Bella. It was did not look like an Italian restaurant at all. When we first walked in I thought it was a Mexican restaurant. There were cow sculls on the walls, kind of strange for an Italian restaurant.
This dinner was proof that our group has become the biggest fatties in Spain. We are so use to eating enormous portions, that when we are given something less than enormous we become very disgruntled. The dinner started out with salad and bread, which is typical. We demolished the salad within seconds. The waitresses seemed a bit appalled at how fast we consumed the salad. The next few plates were very interesting. The waitresses brought out an individual serving size of pasta to share between 8 people. This amounted to around 4 noodles each. Everyone was getting really worried that this was the only food we were going to get. We are so concerned with food here it is slightly disgusting. We had a couple different pastas like this, each of us only getting about four noodles each. Everyone was extremely angry until they brought out about 30 different pizzas. It turned out there was plenty to go around, and nobody went hungry. The food did not end there though. After the pizza the waitresses brought out dessert. There was an array of crepes, ice cream, cream puffs, and tiramisu. I thought dessert was the best part. It totally made up for the four noodles each. I just love my chocolate!
I went out for a drink with Susie, her friends from JMU and a couple other girls. I discovered the most amazing drink ever. Well, it is actually beer, but it has a lemony flavor and kind of tastes like ginger ale. I know it sounds weird, but it is a lot better than the crappy beer Mahou beer they serve at all the beers.
This dinner was proof that our group has become the biggest fatties in Spain. We are so use to eating enormous portions, that when we are given something less than enormous we become very disgruntled. The dinner started out with salad and bread, which is typical. We demolished the salad within seconds. The waitresses seemed a bit appalled at how fast we consumed the salad. The next few plates were very interesting. The waitresses brought out an individual serving size of pasta to share between 8 people. This amounted to around 4 noodles each. Everyone was getting really worried that this was the only food we were going to get. We are so concerned with food here it is slightly disgusting. We had a couple different pastas like this, each of us only getting about four noodles each. Everyone was extremely angry until they brought out about 30 different pizzas. It turned out there was plenty to go around, and nobody went hungry. The food did not end there though. After the pizza the waitresses brought out dessert. There was an array of crepes, ice cream, cream puffs, and tiramisu. I thought dessert was the best part. It totally made up for the four noodles each. I just love my chocolate!
I went out for a drink with Susie, her friends from JMU and a couple other girls. I discovered the most amazing drink ever. Well, it is actually beer, but it has a lemony flavor and kind of tastes like ginger ale. I know it sounds weird, but it is a lot better than the crappy beer Mahou beer they serve at all the beers.
EL RASTRO
Sunday was filled with more wonderful adventures in the Manc. I started my day with a swim and then I headed to meet up with some girls in my group at the Plaza. We were headed to an open-air flee-market called El Rastro. I had heard rumors of this market for its cheap prices and good deals, but I had no idea how over whelming it would be. About ten of us went to market. Susie’s friends were visiting from JMU, so they came along with us. It just so happened that one of Susie friends, Katie, works for the breeze. This was the surprise of my day! I asked her if I could have her bring something back for Tim. I was so happy she agreed. On Monday I bought Tim a little something and gave it to Katie before she headed back to Madrid.
El Rastro was down by the river on the outskirts of town. As we were walking down there, we started to see a steady stream of people headed in the same direction. Our first glimpse of the market was a little intimidating. There were hordes of people, bargaining, pushing and searching through all the goods. There were several rows of tables selling purses, scarves, clothes, jewelry, shoes, belts, wallets, watches pretty much anything and everything. You could get a watch for 6 euros purse for 5 a belt for 3 and a scarf for 2. It was like a dream come true. I only brought 8 euros with me, because I sensed that this would be a dangerous place for me. I ended up buying a green pashmina for 3 euros. I walked away from some really nice belts, but I think I will have to make another trip to this market at the end of the month. Sarah has not seen the all the deals, and I know she is a sucker for jewelry and scarves.
We did have one really unwelcoming encounter at the market. Along with all the really cheap stuff, there was also knock off merchandise from Puma, Addias and various other brands. Andrea, Hannah and I walked into one of these tented tables and started looking around. As soon as we entered the tent, the man selling the knock off goods started yelling at us. He kept saying “fuera, fuera, fuera, os fuera, son extraneros,” which translates to get out, get out you are foreigners. What a friendly man. It’s not like we did not have the same euros as everyone else. Oh well, I will just have to steer clear of that tent on my next visit.
El Rastro was down by the river on the outskirts of town. As we were walking down there, we started to see a steady stream of people headed in the same direction. Our first glimpse of the market was a little intimidating. There were hordes of people, bargaining, pushing and searching through all the goods. There were several rows of tables selling purses, scarves, clothes, jewelry, shoes, belts, wallets, watches pretty much anything and everything. You could get a watch for 6 euros purse for 5 a belt for 3 and a scarf for 2. It was like a dream come true. I only brought 8 euros with me, because I sensed that this would be a dangerous place for me. I ended up buying a green pashmina for 3 euros. I walked away from some really nice belts, but I think I will have to make another trip to this market at the end of the month. Sarah has not seen the all the deals, and I know she is a sucker for jewelry and scarves.
We did have one really unwelcoming encounter at the market. Along with all the really cheap stuff, there was also knock off merchandise from Puma, Addias and various other brands. Andrea, Hannah and I walked into one of these tented tables and started looking around. As soon as we entered the tent, the man selling the knock off goods started yelling at us. He kept saying “fuera, fuera, fuera, os fuera, son extraneros,” which translates to get out, get out you are foreigners. What a friendly man. It’s not like we did not have the same euros as everyone else. Oh well, I will just have to steer clear of that tent on my next visit.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
El FIN DE SEMANA
I know its been a while since my last entry. I guess I just temporarily fell off the blog wagon. Haha, that was corny. A lot has actually happened in the last week and half. Luis decided to change his pants, finally. Madre keeps getting more aches and pain. She went to the doctor last night, and she did not get home until after 10. Our dinner was extremely late, but the doctor took a bunch of tests and she is waiting on the results. Old people and their health is never ending. I think our Madre has so many health problems because she is so over weight. As usually, we continue to enjoy Randi and an apple every night. We are close to finishing our third jar. It's is just so hard to go a day with out Randi. If you don't know, Randi is our name for Nutella. We found Nutella in the cabinet the first week we were in the Manc, but the jar of Nutella had the name Randi written on the cap. The name Randi just kind of stuck, so now its Randi and an apple every night.
This weekend we stayed in the Manc and did some tours with group and Jesus. On Saturday we took a tour of the cathedral. Seeing how I walk past the cathedral every day on my way to class, I though it was kind of sad that this was my first time in it. Jesus of course gave us a tour describing the history behind the cathedral. Jesus also took us up on the towers of the cathedral. The view from the cathedral was absolutely amazing. I could see all of Salamanca, across the river and beyond! After the tour of the cathedral, we headed to the older parts of the university. Jesus should us a beautiful little courtyard where students picnic. He also told us that we would be having our final reception there on our last day in Salamanca after our finals. We left the courtyard and walked back to the other side of the cathedral. This side of the cathedral is very famous. Hidden in the detailed cravings on the front of the cathedral is a frog. If you find the frog you are guaranteed good luck for a year. I already knew that the frog was sitting on the scull. Once I found the scull I found the frog. Bring on the good luck!
Jesus took us to the La Casa de Las Conchas next. We did not get to go inside the casa, but Jesus explained the history behind the building. He also told us that shells, which are conchas in spanish, are a symbol of love. I probably should mention this, but the building gets its name because it is covered in shells. It is one of the most famous and well know buildings in Salamanca. There are postcards everywhere of La Casa de Las Conchas. We ended our tour at the Plaza. I never noticed this until Jesus pointed it out, but there are carvings of all the famous spaniards and kings and queens throughout history. Our tour ended around 1:30 and we headed back home for lunch.
It was such a beautiful day that after lunch I went for a walk down my the river. Down by there river is where the university has all of its sports fields and their pathetic little gym. There are also a couple of tracks down there. I walked around the track for a while and watched people playing soccer, and basketball. To my surprise there was even a game of flag football going on. They must have other international students because Spaniards don't really understand football. After my walk I laid down in the grass and took a little nap. It was so peaceful. Everyone was napping or picnicking on the grass, so it was also a great spot for people watching. I think I have become really good at people watching, if that's possible. I have so much free time here, that I spend a lot of it just walking around or sitting in a park people watching.
Our group met up again at 8 to go to the teatro. We were seeing a play called Desnudas en Central Park, which means naked in Central Park. The play was suppose to be a comedy, but nobody could really follow the dialogue. At the end of the play, there was also a naked scene were the main characters, who were no spring chickens, took off their clothes. Fortunately, they turned off the lights so we did not have to experience a full frontal. I did not understand much of the play and the consensus among the group was that we could have skipped it. I ended up talking through most of the play to Andrea about our plans for spring break in Italy. Jesus was sleeping through most the play, so I did not feel bad about talking through it. After the horrible play we were given dietas to get dinner. I went with a couple girls to a kabob place. I was not too hungry, so I just ordered hummus. It was not very good hummus though. It was kind of watery. I was really disappointed, but I made up for it my stopping at McDonald's on my walk home and getting a McFlurry.
This weekend we stayed in the Manc and did some tours with group and Jesus. On Saturday we took a tour of the cathedral. Seeing how I walk past the cathedral every day on my way to class, I though it was kind of sad that this was my first time in it. Jesus of course gave us a tour describing the history behind the cathedral. Jesus also took us up on the towers of the cathedral. The view from the cathedral was absolutely amazing. I could see all of Salamanca, across the river and beyond! After the tour of the cathedral, we headed to the older parts of the university. Jesus should us a beautiful little courtyard where students picnic. He also told us that we would be having our final reception there on our last day in Salamanca after our finals. We left the courtyard and walked back to the other side of the cathedral. This side of the cathedral is very famous. Hidden in the detailed cravings on the front of the cathedral is a frog. If you find the frog you are guaranteed good luck for a year. I already knew that the frog was sitting on the scull. Once I found the scull I found the frog. Bring on the good luck!
Jesus took us to the La Casa de Las Conchas next. We did not get to go inside the casa, but Jesus explained the history behind the building. He also told us that shells, which are conchas in spanish, are a symbol of love. I probably should mention this, but the building gets its name because it is covered in shells. It is one of the most famous and well know buildings in Salamanca. There are postcards everywhere of La Casa de Las Conchas. We ended our tour at the Plaza. I never noticed this until Jesus pointed it out, but there are carvings of all the famous spaniards and kings and queens throughout history. Our tour ended around 1:30 and we headed back home for lunch.
It was such a beautiful day that after lunch I went for a walk down my the river. Down by there river is where the university has all of its sports fields and their pathetic little gym. There are also a couple of tracks down there. I walked around the track for a while and watched people playing soccer, and basketball. To my surprise there was even a game of flag football going on. They must have other international students because Spaniards don't really understand football. After my walk I laid down in the grass and took a little nap. It was so peaceful. Everyone was napping or picnicking on the grass, so it was also a great spot for people watching. I think I have become really good at people watching, if that's possible. I have so much free time here, that I spend a lot of it just walking around or sitting in a park people watching.
Our group met up again at 8 to go to the teatro. We were seeing a play called Desnudas en Central Park, which means naked in Central Park. The play was suppose to be a comedy, but nobody could really follow the dialogue. At the end of the play, there was also a naked scene were the main characters, who were no spring chickens, took off their clothes. Fortunately, they turned off the lights so we did not have to experience a full frontal. I did not understand much of the play and the consensus among the group was that we could have skipped it. I ended up talking through most of the play to Andrea about our plans for spring break in Italy. Jesus was sleeping through most the play, so I did not feel bad about talking through it. After the horrible play we were given dietas to get dinner. I went with a couple girls to a kabob place. I was not too hungry, so I just ordered hummus. It was not very good hummus though. It was kind of watery. I was really disappointed, but I made up for it my stopping at McDonald's on my walk home and getting a McFlurry.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
SUNDAY FUNDAY IN BCN
We started our day with another amazing breakfast and then we headed to La Sagrada Familia. I stole some more jelly from breakfast and some rolls for later. This is a cathedral designed by Guardi. Guadi started building the cathedral in 1898 and it is still not completed. This was by far the most unique cathedral I have ever seen. Typically cathedrals are massive towering monuments built hundreds and hundreds of years ago. These cathedrals have turrets and spirals and are built in gothic styles, but the cathedral was completey different. Each side was unique. One side had was designed by a different architect who used the cubism style to depict the passion of Christ on the front of the cathedral. This side has had a square with numbers in it. Each of the sides added up to 33 to represent the 33 years of Jesus’ life. The other side of the cathedral was designed by Gaudi and had an ocean theme. The religious figures were craved on the front of the cathedral in kind of an ocean scene. I really loved looking and comparing both these interpretations.
After viewing the different sides of the exterior, we headed inside the cathedral where we saw all the construction. As I mentioned above, the cathedral has been in the works for over a hundred years. Jesus’ said that it should be completed with in twenty years, but I seriously doubt that judging from all the construction on the inside. Our tour of the inside also included an elevator ride up to the top of the turrets. The view of the city from the top of La Sagrada Familia was amazing. I could see the entire city laid out in front of me, and I could really appreciate the unique architure of the cathedral. We had to take a really windy, twisty staircase back down to the ground level, but we took lots of fun pictures on the way down. If La Sagrada Familia is ever completed, I would love to come back to Barcelona and see the final product.
After our tour we loaded up the bus and were of to another famous building designed by Gaudi. At this point I was beginging to wonder why they didn’t just rename Barcelona Guadiville or something. The building was called La Casa Mila or Padrera. This was an apartment complex designed by Gaudi. Part of the apartment was the museum and a model of an apartment the rest of the building actually had residents who were living in the complex. How cool would that be if you lived in a building designed by Guadi? We got to take a tour of the interior of the model apartments and also the roof of the complex. The model apartment was huge. There were so many rooms, bathrooms and dinning halls. I was ready to move in after our tour. We climbed up to the roof next. This had to be the coolest roof ever. The roof had several chimenies that were designed to look like heads of soldiers. Also there more mosaic sculpture things. It was by far the coolest roof I have ever seen.
We had free time after our tours, so a group of us decided we were going to find a place to rent bikes. We headed down by the bay again and walked to a Park called Parque Citadel. Before renting the bike we eat our packed lunches. I had a scrumptious peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich, only the best combination ever. We were all enjoying our packed lunches when a pidgeon decided to poop on Hannah’s sandwich. At first she did not realize that it was bird poop so she was kept eating it. Then she figured it out when she saw the same color green glob on her bag. Yuck! It was fine though the pidgeon only got a little corner of the sandwich, which se tour of and threw at the dirty birds.
Once we were done with lunch we found a place to rent bikes right outside the park. It was five euros for an hour and it was totally worth it. I am typically afraid of bikes, but for some reason my sense of adventure was on over drive. We got on bikes and headed to the park. We bike around the park for a bit and then headed for the beach ares. We had to weave in and out of pedestrians on the street and pay attention to the traffic signals on the road. I think I almost got hit by a crazy Spanish driver like five times, but we all made it to the ocean safely. We stopped to take pictures along the shoreline and then we continued peddling along the coast. We biked through some of the Olympic village before heading back to the park to return our bikes. That was one of the most exciting and freeing hours of my life. I think I am official over my fear of bikes too! If I can bike in Barcelona then I can bike anywhere!
After returning our bikes, some of us headed back to the beach to walk around while others decided they would catch the JMU bus back to the hotel. Allie, Angela, Kelsey, Julian and I decided to walk around on the beach for a bit before returning to the hotel. We sat by the ocean for a bit and talked and then walked back by the bay and through Las Ramblas to the metro stop that would take us back to our hotel.
Back at the hotel I took an amazing bath complete with bubbles and all. Then I had a lovely dinner of peanut butter and apple sandwiches with Jeanie. We ended our last night in Barcelona with a giant PJ party. Everyone was camped out in the boys room. People were either drinking and playing cards or just falling asleep on the beds. I was one of the people falling asleep on the beds. I never did get to drink my 79 cent bottle of wine I had bought the night before.
Every excursion I have been on has been absolutely amazing, but the Barcelona trip was my favorite by far. The city was so much different than any other part of Spain I have seen so far. It was much more modern, and there was so many more English speakers. I also really enjoyed hanging out with group of girls I spent my free time with this weekend. It might have taken me a bit of time, but I feel like these people are my friends now instead of just other students I am taking classes with in Spain. I am so excited that I get to show my parents this city. I can’t wait to be their personal tour guide.
The Bus ride back to Salamanca was endless, but we finally made it back to Manc. We watched bootleg versions of Happy Feet and Superman on the way back. The movies were really bad quality and had horrible dubbing, but it gave us something to do to pass the time. I am so glad that when I come back to Barcelona with my parents in 8 days we are flying from Madrid. One eleven-hour bus ride was enough for me.
After viewing the different sides of the exterior, we headed inside the cathedral where we saw all the construction. As I mentioned above, the cathedral has been in the works for over a hundred years. Jesus’ said that it should be completed with in twenty years, but I seriously doubt that judging from all the construction on the inside. Our tour of the inside also included an elevator ride up to the top of the turrets. The view of the city from the top of La Sagrada Familia was amazing. I could see the entire city laid out in front of me, and I could really appreciate the unique architure of the cathedral. We had to take a really windy, twisty staircase back down to the ground level, but we took lots of fun pictures on the way down. If La Sagrada Familia is ever completed, I would love to come back to Barcelona and see the final product.
After our tour we loaded up the bus and were of to another famous building designed by Gaudi. At this point I was beginging to wonder why they didn’t just rename Barcelona Guadiville or something. The building was called La Casa Mila or Padrera. This was an apartment complex designed by Gaudi. Part of the apartment was the museum and a model of an apartment the rest of the building actually had residents who were living in the complex. How cool would that be if you lived in a building designed by Guadi? We got to take a tour of the interior of the model apartments and also the roof of the complex. The model apartment was huge. There were so many rooms, bathrooms and dinning halls. I was ready to move in after our tour. We climbed up to the roof next. This had to be the coolest roof ever. The roof had several chimenies that were designed to look like heads of soldiers. Also there more mosaic sculpture things. It was by far the coolest roof I have ever seen.
We had free time after our tours, so a group of us decided we were going to find a place to rent bikes. We headed down by the bay again and walked to a Park called Parque Citadel. Before renting the bike we eat our packed lunches. I had a scrumptious peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich, only the best combination ever. We were all enjoying our packed lunches when a pidgeon decided to poop on Hannah’s sandwich. At first she did not realize that it was bird poop so she was kept eating it. Then she figured it out when she saw the same color green glob on her bag. Yuck! It was fine though the pidgeon only got a little corner of the sandwich, which se tour of and threw at the dirty birds.
Once we were done with lunch we found a place to rent bikes right outside the park. It was five euros for an hour and it was totally worth it. I am typically afraid of bikes, but for some reason my sense of adventure was on over drive. We got on bikes and headed to the park. We bike around the park for a bit and then headed for the beach ares. We had to weave in and out of pedestrians on the street and pay attention to the traffic signals on the road. I think I almost got hit by a crazy Spanish driver like five times, but we all made it to the ocean safely. We stopped to take pictures along the shoreline and then we continued peddling along the coast. We biked through some of the Olympic village before heading back to the park to return our bikes. That was one of the most exciting and freeing hours of my life. I think I am official over my fear of bikes too! If I can bike in Barcelona then I can bike anywhere!
After returning our bikes, some of us headed back to the beach to walk around while others decided they would catch the JMU bus back to the hotel. Allie, Angela, Kelsey, Julian and I decided to walk around on the beach for a bit before returning to the hotel. We sat by the ocean for a bit and talked and then walked back by the bay and through Las Ramblas to the metro stop that would take us back to our hotel.
Back at the hotel I took an amazing bath complete with bubbles and all. Then I had a lovely dinner of peanut butter and apple sandwiches with Jeanie. We ended our last night in Barcelona with a giant PJ party. Everyone was camped out in the boys room. People were either drinking and playing cards or just falling asleep on the beds. I was one of the people falling asleep on the beds. I never did get to drink my 79 cent bottle of wine I had bought the night before.
Every excursion I have been on has been absolutely amazing, but the Barcelona trip was my favorite by far. The city was so much different than any other part of Spain I have seen so far. It was much more modern, and there was so many more English speakers. I also really enjoyed hanging out with group of girls I spent my free time with this weekend. It might have taken me a bit of time, but I feel like these people are my friends now instead of just other students I am taking classes with in Spain. I am so excited that I get to show my parents this city. I can’t wait to be their personal tour guide.
The Bus ride back to Salamanca was endless, but we finally made it back to Manc. We watched bootleg versions of Happy Feet and Superman on the way back. The movies were really bad quality and had horrible dubbing, but it gave us something to do to pass the time. I am so glad that when I come back to Barcelona with my parents in 8 days we are flying from Madrid. One eleven-hour bus ride was enough for me.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
SATURDAY IN BCN
A wake up call at 7:30 from Jesus started our day. We had a wonderful breakfast in the hotel at 8:30, so glad they had my yogurt, and then we were off to Parque Guell. On the bus ride over Jesus gave us our dietas (money) for the weekend. Each planned excursion we are given money for meals. This weekend we got 60 euros! The past couple of trips I have been able to make money off of the trips by eating extremely cheaply and stealing from the hotel breakfast. I stole some jelly the first morning because I knew would probably be making PB&J sandwiches later. Wow, I almost sound like Ashton and Brandon and their clepto food stealing tendencies.
Parque Guell, designed by the famed Guadi, was originally supposed to be a gated community, but the idea of gated community a hundred years ago kind of flopped. Instead the few houses that were built and the surrounding landscaped terraces and market areas were turned into a beautiful park, complements of Guadi. If you don’t know about the architecture of Guadi, it’s really quite interesting. Guadi took his inspiration from nature, so everything he designed has some aspect or influence from the natural world. All through out Parque Guell, you could see these natural influences. The fountains looked like they came straight from a forest, and the columns and overhangs looked like sandcastles. The park was also filled with recycled glass pieces that had been turned into mosaic murals and colorful designs. Also the two houses that Guadi constructed for the community looked like ginger bread houses. I felt like I was in candy land. The gardens in the park were quite impressive too. There were flowers, palm trees, and tropical plants that filled the park with greenness. Spring has definitely sprung in Barcelona!
The park was also filled with merchants selling jewelry, scarves and other trinkets. I bought a pair of earrings that had teal gems and said I love Guadi on the back. They were only three euros, so not bad for a wonderful memory of Parque Guell. I took so many pictures in this park, and I can’t wait to show my parents this park when they come to visit me in 9 days!
After Parque Guell we got back on the bus and headed to the Olympic Stadium. The 1992 summer were held in Barcelona. Originally Barcelona had bid for the 1936 games, but did not get it. The stadium had been built in the 30s for the games, so they used it in ’92. I thought the stadium was slightly small, but then again it was built in the 30s. Today the stadium is used for futbol games. There was a game being held their that night. About ten or so people bought tickets and went to the game with the bus driver and Jesus. I really wanted to take a tour of the Olympic Stadium, but we did not have time. Sadly I did not get to see the aquatic facilities, but I am not worried I will be back in Barcelona soon!
We left the Olympic area and headed for the Picasso Museum. The Picasso Museum was really well laid out. Each room in the museum corresponded with the period of Picasso’s paintings. For example, there was a rose period room, which had paintings from Picasso’s rose period. There was also a blue period room and several cubism rooms. The Museum also chronicled Picasso’s life. It started in his early childhood and moved through all of his different periods until his death. I got to see some of Picasso’s painting from when he was only 14 years old. Picasso is definitely what you call a child protégé. I wish I could have spent more time exploring the museum and learning about Picasso’s life, but after Jesus’ tour we had to leave.
From the museum a group of us headed back to the dock area to look for food and check out the mall on the bay. Some people in our group already had food packed, but four of us, including me, were in search of something fast and cheap. We decided we would try and find food at the mall. Andrea did not want to go to the mall, so she broke off from the group to explore the city for herself. Before she broke off, she had to make her peanut butter sandwich. She sat down on the sidewalk in the middle of Barcelona and spread her peanut butter on her bread. It was funny, and screamed to everyone on the street, “Yes we are strange Americans!”
Once we got to the mall the people with food found a place to eat while the four foodless people went in search of sustenance. We tried to find a Pans company, which is like a Spanish version of a subway, but we had no luck even though the mall directory said it was on the bottom floor. We ended up eating at a place called Fresca, which turned out to be an amazing all you can salad bar. It actually kind of reminded me of Greens, minus the red pepper hummus. Kelsey, Angela, Jeanie and I sat at lunch for almost 2 hours taking in the fresh greens and the all you can eat ice cream. Yes, there was all you can eat ice cream. It was a bit different than typical ice cream. It came out of a dispenser just like the fro-yo does at greens, but it was way more icier. There was chocolate and vanilla, but the vanilla flavor tasted awful. It had weird after taste of lemon, so I stuck to the chocolate.
We finally dragged ourselves away from the ice cream and walked around the mall for a bit. I bought a sweater from Hache Eme (also know as H&M), because I was cold and it was the cheapest thing I could find. Everyone met up at the entrance of the mall around 5. We had planned with another girl on the trip, Allie, to meet her at the chocolate museum and go on a tour. Allie was like our tour guide of Barcelona. She has this amazing tour book by Rick Steve’s that pretty much tells you everything you need to see and do while you’re in Spain. It turned out to be really helpful, and she pretty much planned our afternoons for us with her book. After we were all together, we headed back across the dock in search of the chocolate museum. Once again we passed several creepy Africans proclaiming their love for us. We ended up having to ask directions a couple of times, but we did find the museum and Allie. Andrea also met us there too. The entrance to the chocolate museum was four euros you did get a free chocolate bar, but I decided that I would come back here with my parents. I waited in the chocolate museum café with some of the other girls who did not feel like paying. When I come back with my parents, we will go to the chocolate museum and get our complimentary chocolate bar.
While Andrea was wondering the city, she had found this amazing openair market selling fresh produce. She wanted to show us her amazing find, so we headed there next. I bought some fresh cherries, dates and some assorted nuts. The nuts were a little expensive, but the cherries were so cheap and delicious I think I made up for it. The market sold almost every kind of fruit I have ever seen. They even sold passion fruit and leches, which are an Asian fruit similar to a grape but they have a hard shell. I ate them in Hawaii a couple of years ago. Of course the market sold ham too, you simply cannot get away from the ham here. The market was a little crazy though. There were so many people trying to buy produce, holding out money and pointing and yelling. You had to be pretty aggressive to get what you wanted.
We regrouped after the market and headed for the metro stop. It was around 7pm by this time. We stopped along the way at a Carrefour, which is a grocery store. Jeanie and I split a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. Allie had read in her tour book about Los Fuentes Majicos (Magic Fountains). The tour book said that these fountains were light up at night and played music. It sounded really cool, so we took the metro to Plaza Espana to see the Magic Fountains. The fountains did not disappoint. They were incredible and the fountain lights against the night sky was truly magically. The fountain was right in front of a museum that slightly resembled the capital building in D.C. only prettier. There were beam spotlights behind the museum that formed a star shape around the museum, lighting up the sky. There were fountains and waterfalls all around that were lit up too, but the large fountain in the front had a colored light show with music. Watching the lights and the fountain was really mesmerizing. Tons of people were sitting around taking in the fountain in awe. After taking several pictures, we sat and watched the lights for a while. On the last song we all decided we should be stupid Americans and film a video of ourselves dancing in front of the fountain to the music. As the music died and lights faded away, we headed back to the metro station to catch a ride back to our hotel. Andrea, Mary, Hannah, Jeanie and I stopped at another grocery store to pick up some cheap wine for the night.
Back at the hotel Jeanie and I made our Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We had stolen the jelly from breakfast that morning so we were totally prepared. I was so exhausted from our adventures around the city, I literally feel asleep after the delicious peanut butter dinner. I woke up an hour or so later and had a glass my cheap wine with girls while we listened to cheesy 90s music on Andrea’s laptop. Our day had started at 8:30 in the morning and we did not get back to the hotel until around 9:30. I was thoroughly exhausted but no complaints. It was such a wonderful day.
Parque Guell, designed by the famed Guadi, was originally supposed to be a gated community, but the idea of gated community a hundred years ago kind of flopped. Instead the few houses that were built and the surrounding landscaped terraces and market areas were turned into a beautiful park, complements of Guadi. If you don’t know about the architecture of Guadi, it’s really quite interesting. Guadi took his inspiration from nature, so everything he designed has some aspect or influence from the natural world. All through out Parque Guell, you could see these natural influences. The fountains looked like they came straight from a forest, and the columns and overhangs looked like sandcastles. The park was also filled with recycled glass pieces that had been turned into mosaic murals and colorful designs. Also the two houses that Guadi constructed for the community looked like ginger bread houses. I felt like I was in candy land. The gardens in the park were quite impressive too. There were flowers, palm trees, and tropical plants that filled the park with greenness. Spring has definitely sprung in Barcelona!
The park was also filled with merchants selling jewelry, scarves and other trinkets. I bought a pair of earrings that had teal gems and said I love Guadi on the back. They were only three euros, so not bad for a wonderful memory of Parque Guell. I took so many pictures in this park, and I can’t wait to show my parents this park when they come to visit me in 9 days!
After Parque Guell we got back on the bus and headed to the Olympic Stadium. The 1992 summer were held in Barcelona. Originally Barcelona had bid for the 1936 games, but did not get it. The stadium had been built in the 30s for the games, so they used it in ’92. I thought the stadium was slightly small, but then again it was built in the 30s. Today the stadium is used for futbol games. There was a game being held their that night. About ten or so people bought tickets and went to the game with the bus driver and Jesus. I really wanted to take a tour of the Olympic Stadium, but we did not have time. Sadly I did not get to see the aquatic facilities, but I am not worried I will be back in Barcelona soon!
We left the Olympic area and headed for the Picasso Museum. The Picasso Museum was really well laid out. Each room in the museum corresponded with the period of Picasso’s paintings. For example, there was a rose period room, which had paintings from Picasso’s rose period. There was also a blue period room and several cubism rooms. The Museum also chronicled Picasso’s life. It started in his early childhood and moved through all of his different periods until his death. I got to see some of Picasso’s painting from when he was only 14 years old. Picasso is definitely what you call a child protégé. I wish I could have spent more time exploring the museum and learning about Picasso’s life, but after Jesus’ tour we had to leave.
From the museum a group of us headed back to the dock area to look for food and check out the mall on the bay. Some people in our group already had food packed, but four of us, including me, were in search of something fast and cheap. We decided we would try and find food at the mall. Andrea did not want to go to the mall, so she broke off from the group to explore the city for herself. Before she broke off, she had to make her peanut butter sandwich. She sat down on the sidewalk in the middle of Barcelona and spread her peanut butter on her bread. It was funny, and screamed to everyone on the street, “Yes we are strange Americans!”
Once we got to the mall the people with food found a place to eat while the four foodless people went in search of sustenance. We tried to find a Pans company, which is like a Spanish version of a subway, but we had no luck even though the mall directory said it was on the bottom floor. We ended up eating at a place called Fresca, which turned out to be an amazing all you can salad bar. It actually kind of reminded me of Greens, minus the red pepper hummus. Kelsey, Angela, Jeanie and I sat at lunch for almost 2 hours taking in the fresh greens and the all you can eat ice cream. Yes, there was all you can eat ice cream. It was a bit different than typical ice cream. It came out of a dispenser just like the fro-yo does at greens, but it was way more icier. There was chocolate and vanilla, but the vanilla flavor tasted awful. It had weird after taste of lemon, so I stuck to the chocolate.
We finally dragged ourselves away from the ice cream and walked around the mall for a bit. I bought a sweater from Hache Eme (also know as H&M), because I was cold and it was the cheapest thing I could find. Everyone met up at the entrance of the mall around 5. We had planned with another girl on the trip, Allie, to meet her at the chocolate museum and go on a tour. Allie was like our tour guide of Barcelona. She has this amazing tour book by Rick Steve’s that pretty much tells you everything you need to see and do while you’re in Spain. It turned out to be really helpful, and she pretty much planned our afternoons for us with her book. After we were all together, we headed back across the dock in search of the chocolate museum. Once again we passed several creepy Africans proclaiming their love for us. We ended up having to ask directions a couple of times, but we did find the museum and Allie. Andrea also met us there too. The entrance to the chocolate museum was four euros you did get a free chocolate bar, but I decided that I would come back here with my parents. I waited in the chocolate museum café with some of the other girls who did not feel like paying. When I come back with my parents, we will go to the chocolate museum and get our complimentary chocolate bar.
While Andrea was wondering the city, she had found this amazing openair market selling fresh produce. She wanted to show us her amazing find, so we headed there next. I bought some fresh cherries, dates and some assorted nuts. The nuts were a little expensive, but the cherries were so cheap and delicious I think I made up for it. The market sold almost every kind of fruit I have ever seen. They even sold passion fruit and leches, which are an Asian fruit similar to a grape but they have a hard shell. I ate them in Hawaii a couple of years ago. Of course the market sold ham too, you simply cannot get away from the ham here. The market was a little crazy though. There were so many people trying to buy produce, holding out money and pointing and yelling. You had to be pretty aggressive to get what you wanted.
We regrouped after the market and headed for the metro stop. It was around 7pm by this time. We stopped along the way at a Carrefour, which is a grocery store. Jeanie and I split a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. Allie had read in her tour book about Los Fuentes Majicos (Magic Fountains). The tour book said that these fountains were light up at night and played music. It sounded really cool, so we took the metro to Plaza Espana to see the Magic Fountains. The fountains did not disappoint. They were incredible and the fountain lights against the night sky was truly magically. The fountain was right in front of a museum that slightly resembled the capital building in D.C. only prettier. There were beam spotlights behind the museum that formed a star shape around the museum, lighting up the sky. There were fountains and waterfalls all around that were lit up too, but the large fountain in the front had a colored light show with music. Watching the lights and the fountain was really mesmerizing. Tons of people were sitting around taking in the fountain in awe. After taking several pictures, we sat and watched the lights for a while. On the last song we all decided we should be stupid Americans and film a video of ourselves dancing in front of the fountain to the music. As the music died and lights faded away, we headed back to the metro station to catch a ride back to our hotel. Andrea, Mary, Hannah, Jeanie and I stopped at another grocery store to pick up some cheap wine for the night.
Back at the hotel Jeanie and I made our Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We had stolen the jelly from breakfast that morning so we were totally prepared. I was so exhausted from our adventures around the city, I literally feel asleep after the delicious peanut butter dinner. I woke up an hour or so later and had a glass my cheap wine with girls while we listened to cheesy 90s music on Andrea’s laptop. Our day had started at 8:30 in the morning and we did not get back to the hotel until around 9:30. I was thoroughly exhausted but no complaints. It was such a wonderful day.
BARCELONA BEGINS
Where to start, where to start, where start? This weekend was amazing. I am in love with Barcelona! I will start with the 11-hour bus ride. Actually it was not that bad. We took it in three, three-hour shifts, with hour breaks in between. We watched Troy and The Bodyguard (the boys were thrilled with this choice) in English. I might be going a little delusional, but I think I actually saw the resemblance Tim claims he has between him and Brad Pitt, haha. Our Madre packed us a mega lunch again. The boys were extremely happy to have our leftovers again. The good news was that she made our sandwiches on whole wheat bread!
We got to the hotel around 7 pm, and got situated with out roommates and luggage and everything else. I was with Leah again! The hotel was nice, but nothing compared to the fabulousness of hotel in Madrid. We had dinner with the group at the hotel at 9. This was a very interesting dinner. Lets see, it started out with a huge bowl of ketchup. Everyone was pretty confused by this absurd amount of ketchup that had been placed in front of us. It is a common Spanish stereotype that Americans love ketchup, but this was an outlandish amount. Then they brought out pasta and salads platters for everyone. My best guess is that the ketchup was for the pasta, kind of like pasta sauce, but that sounds horrible. Some people tried it I gave my pasta to the boys and stuck with the salad, which was delicious and filled with wonderful vegetables. After the salad, came the Spanish version of hamburger and fries. By Spanish version, I mean there was no bun with the meat patty. It was just a meat patty and fries on a plate. The boys got my meat patty along with about six others from all the other girls. Dessert was the best part. It was a rich chocolaty brownie tart with walnuts. It was wonderfully chocolate! I think the Spaniards will have to reevaluate their belief on Americans and ketchup. We only used about 1/50th of the ketchup they brought out for us.
After dinner a few people went out, I went out walking around the city with 10 other people. We took the metro to the Las Ramblas, which is a big street with a wide sidewalk in the middle. Las Ramblas are typical of coastal European cities. Las Ramblas in Barcelona was filled with people, street performers, hookers, club advertisers, cafes. You name it, you can probably find it on Las Ramblas. We walked down toward the bay where I got my first glimpse of the Mediterranean Ocean. The bay was filled with sailboats. We walked out to the across the on the docks and found a centro commercial on the other side, which we ended up visiting the next day. The mall almost seemed to be floating on the water. On our walk back to the metro station we were very creeped out by the vast number of Africans that kept coming up to us and telling us how beautiful and sexy we were. Yuck! When we got back to the hotel it was off to bed. Saturday was going to be an action packed day filled with parks and museums, and tons and tons of Guadi stuff!
We got to the hotel around 7 pm, and got situated with out roommates and luggage and everything else. I was with Leah again! The hotel was nice, but nothing compared to the fabulousness of hotel in Madrid. We had dinner with the group at the hotel at 9. This was a very interesting dinner. Lets see, it started out with a huge bowl of ketchup. Everyone was pretty confused by this absurd amount of ketchup that had been placed in front of us. It is a common Spanish stereotype that Americans love ketchup, but this was an outlandish amount. Then they brought out pasta and salads platters for everyone. My best guess is that the ketchup was for the pasta, kind of like pasta sauce, but that sounds horrible. Some people tried it I gave my pasta to the boys and stuck with the salad, which was delicious and filled with wonderful vegetables. After the salad, came the Spanish version of hamburger and fries. By Spanish version, I mean there was no bun with the meat patty. It was just a meat patty and fries on a plate. The boys got my meat patty along with about six others from all the other girls. Dessert was the best part. It was a rich chocolaty brownie tart with walnuts. It was wonderfully chocolate! I think the Spaniards will have to reevaluate their belief on Americans and ketchup. We only used about 1/50th of the ketchup they brought out for us.
After dinner a few people went out, I went out walking around the city with 10 other people. We took the metro to the Las Ramblas, which is a big street with a wide sidewalk in the middle. Las Ramblas are typical of coastal European cities. Las Ramblas in Barcelona was filled with people, street performers, hookers, club advertisers, cafes. You name it, you can probably find it on Las Ramblas. We walked down toward the bay where I got my first glimpse of the Mediterranean Ocean. The bay was filled with sailboats. We walked out to the across the on the docks and found a centro commercial on the other side, which we ended up visiting the next day. The mall almost seemed to be floating on the water. On our walk back to the metro station we were very creeped out by the vast number of Africans that kept coming up to us and telling us how beautiful and sexy we were. Yuck! When we got back to the hotel it was off to bed. Saturday was going to be an action packed day filled with parks and museums, and tons and tons of Guadi stuff!
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