The last two weekends

Hola a todos!

The last 2 weekends have been incredibly fun-filled and packed with things to do. I can sincerely say I am busy all day every day, and especially so on the weekends. I would not have it any other way. I can't believe I've been here for almost two months, but when I reflect upon all the things I have done in such a short period of time, I can't help but smile.

So two weekends ago, on March 7th, my roommate Seema and I went to our Spanish friend Jose's birthday party. It was so much fun-- we all went to this gorgeous park, parque de alamillo, and all of his friends brought a different dish and we had a picnic/potluck/celebration in the park. They had homemade tinto de verano (red wine& lemonade) and other drinks, too. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and it was a great opportunity to interact with locals. Every day I am luckier and luckier for this special opportunity.



Us with the birthday boy!



The park is a vastly green and huge area, just on the other side of a remarkably tall, modern bridge.

We spent the whole day with Jose and his friends and started to feel like we had a true understanding of the Spanish culture.

That night, Alexis (another roommate), Seema, and I went out to dinner with Alexis' dad, who was in town for the weekend. It was so nice to see visitors, even if they weren't mine.

Last weekend (March 13-15), we took a group excursion to Lisbon (Lisboa), Portugal. It was one of the coolest cities I've ever been, with a tinge of San Franciscan hills, bridges and water.

We took a bus from Sevilla to Portugal. It was not a bad bus ride at all, I sincerely was concerned it would be painful and boring but it's always entertaining with Alexis and me making jokes and laughing for hours- she's the greatest. The bus ride was only 5 or 6 hours, and since we had gotten home from a disco at 6 am and had to leave for the bus at 8, it was a nice way to get some sleep.

We got to the hotel and it was beautiful--Vila Gale Opera was where we stayed, right under the main bridge, called the puente 25 de abril-- april 25th bridge. It's huge and resembles the Golden Gate a whole lot. Our hotel was music themed and each floor had a genre. Alexis and I were on the poprock floor and in the SPICE GIRLS room.

Anyway, we left the hotel shortly after putting our stuff down and getting settled.We took a bus into the main part of the city, the centro comercial (commercial/business center). The bus dropped us off there and from there we walked up to the highest part of the city, St. George's castle-- which overlooks all of Lisbon and the water. It was a stunning view and the crazy trek uphill was worth it.







After having a field day at the castle-- from climbing up narrow staircases to standing at the top of the castle overlooking the city, we headed back down into town. We had the evening to ourselves and we found a cute lunch place in the middle of town-- all over the place waiters waited outside, trying to appeal to the crowds by displaying all their menus in many languages. I was awed that the Portuguese could speak fluent English, Portugeuse, Spanish and a lot of them French as well. The Portuguese accent is very difficult to understand, as is the language- but they were very nice about speaking in English to us.

We were exhausted from the traveling and the sightseeing that we ended up going back to the hotel and not going out after dinner. Oh, strange thing, cabs are mostly white or beige mercedes in Lisbon, and our cab driver was a police officer by day, cab driver by night. The cab rides are adventures in themselves, as the drivers just speed through plazas and don't yield to anything-- not signs, not pedestrians, not cars. It was an experience to say the least.

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel (it was quite nice to have American style breakfast--buffet with amazing fresh kiwi, pineapple and other fruits, scrambled eggs, etc.) and head out for the day. We visited the barrio of Belem, which is a beautiful, historically rich sight.We visited the Jeronimos Monastery which was stunning and had a beautiful church inside as well as the tomb of Vasco de Gama. After the monastery we went back to the bus to visit the gorgeous torre de belem -- belem tower, which looks like a huge sandcastle right on the water. was built in the early 16th century in the Portuguese late Gothic style, the Manueline, to commemorate Vasco da Gama's expedition. It was a defense fortress as well.

Climbing to the top of the torre was another adventure-- it had only one staircase going in both directions, so it took some skill to figure out how to wait to go up or down. It was a narrow, spiral staircase that was such a cool experience.







After the torre de Belem, we went to the monument of the discoveries-- to commemorate Portuguese explorers and discoverers. In front of the unbelievably huge monument was a map that marked all places that Portuguese explorers and discoverers set sail from and where they ended up. The Monument to the Discoveries was inaugurated in 1960 during celebrations of the 500 year anniversary of the death of the Infant D. Henrique (Henry the Navigator). It evoques the maritime expansion and is designed in the shape of a caravel, showing Henry the Navigator at the prow holding a small caravel, as well as many relevant heroes of Portuguese history (Vasco da Gama and other explorers) There was also a huge compass outside of it that was a gift to Portugal from South Africa I believe.

The magnitude of how huge this monument is is inexpressible.

After these visits, we had a panoramic bus tour of Lisboa, and we stopped at these lush green gardens of one of the city's parks. Then we had free time, and we did some shopping (a HUGE and incredible H&M, among other retailers), and stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Sul. Little did we know, the lunch place that only had 5 lunch options--written on a chalkboard out front-- would be one of the best lunches we'd had in all of Europe. We sat upstairs in the quaint, wood-decorated restaurant.

After lunch we walked around the Bairro Alto, the hip part of the city that's filled with bars and vintage shops. Pastry shops line the streets all over Lisboa, as it is famous for its pastries, most specifically pastel de nata-- its a flaky crusted pastry filled with cream. We went to a pasteleria (pastry shop) and each tried one of the aforementioned. The guy working there spoke fluent English and suggested we go to a town outside the city-- in his words "it's a fairytale, you must go."

After picnicking with our pastries in the middle of the city's main plaza, we got to the train station and took a train into the small town, called Sintra. It WAS a fairytale. It was surrounded by castles and palaces and the center was a forrest filled with trees and flowers. It was a tiny village town with little dive restaurants and cafes, souveneir shops and churches. We were so glad we made the choice to go there. It was surrounded by the mountains, but it was also a coastal town so it was the best of both worlds! It started getting cold when dark fell, so we went back to Lisbon on the train and headed back to our hotel.

We went out to dinner right next to where we had lunch at a fabulous Indian restaurant. The street we ate dinner on was the main nightlife street so as soon as we got out of the restaurant the streets were crowded with people with drinks in hand who spilled out of the bars doors. We stopped at a couple of bars and watched the Portuguese drink-- and damn, do they drink-- and enjoy their nightlife. Here in this barrio-- bairro alto, all the young people enjoy the streets and chug their beers.

We decided to go to the discoteca portion of the city, which happened to be right across from our hotel. It was a section called "Las Docas," which was right on the water where all the boats were. It was a legitimate selection of 11 or 12 discotecas, irish pubs, bars, and restaurants-- each with its own character, that's for certain. They were crazy with strobelights and dancing, all of them 2 or 3 floors high. It was really fun going out in Portugal, but I love Sevilla and Spain's nightlife the best.

We left the next morning to head back to Sevilla after an incredible weekend.

Well, sorry for the novel, but that's just 2 weekends worth of stuff- I can't even begin to imagine what I am going to have to say when it's all said and done.

I am going to Amsterdam on Friday and going to the Van Gogh museum, Rembrandt's house, Anne Frank's house, Heineken factory, and the tulip festival!

until next time,

Lauren

the first month recapped

Ok, so I haven’t written in forever and I apologize. I just feel so overwhelmed (in the best way) being in this city. I try my hardest to take full advantage of everything around me and all the opportunities that present themselves that I haven’t had a quick minute to sit down and write a thoughtful blog entry.

Here’s a recap of the last month:

-Classes: I have 5 of them: History of Spain; U.S.-European Relations since WW2; The European Union; Advanced Spanish and Women and Literature. They are all relatively easy. In Spain, so much of class grading is centered around participation and attitude. Public education is almost entirely paid for for Spanish citizens, so it’s definitely less competitive and much more focused on the education as opposed to the studying.

-Day trips: We spent a day in Italica, which is an ancient city just outside of Sevilla. It is one of the first Roman colonies in the Iberian peninsula. The foundations of the houses they had are still standing, as are the mosaics and artwork that were in their homes. There is a huge ampitheatre that was once covered in marble, but, like the Roman coliseum, as the years went on, people starting using the marble to make their homes. The coolest thing I saw in Italica was footprints etched into marble. The fact that humans lived there over 2,000 years ago, and there is clear cut evidence they were there, just amazes me. We also spent a day in Ronda , which is one of my favorite places I’ve seen. Ronda is built into cliffs and surrounded by the Sierras on all sides. It is a very old town and has the largest bullfighting ring in all of Spain. We went to Carnaval, which is like a mix of Halloween and Mardi Gras, down in Cadiz, a coastal town an hour and a half south of Sevilla. It was craziness, close to a million people packed the streets of a town that only has a population of 30,000. It was insanity but definitely a cool thing to experience.

-Sights: Not everyone can say they’ve lived in a city with hundreds and thousands of years of history. Every day when I walk past the 500+ year old Cathedral, I am amazed that I get to not only visit it, but also enjoy its beauty every day. The Cathedral of Sevilla is the third largest in the world. It is remarkably huge in size, but even larger in beauty. When you walk in, the ceilings seem endlessly high, there is stained glass on the walls, and hundreds of years of history to be enjoyed. Christopher Columbus’s tomb is there! Directly adjacent to the Cathedral is the Giralda. The Giralda is a huge tower that is 34 flights (but not stairs, they are ramps) high. You can see it, and the top of the Cathedral, from all over the city. We walked all the way to the top of the Giralda, and the view is unreal. You can see the entire city from the top. The reason why there are ramps and not stairs is because the servants of the kings would ride up on horseback and ring the bells (which are still rung today) to signal that mass was starting. There are other amazing sights, but I’ll explain those later.

-Weather & customs: Weather is very similar to Southern California, which is very nice. It rained every day for the first two weeks or so, but it has cleared up and has been unbelievably beautiful. When it’s nice out, the locals crowd the streets and spend their entire days outside by the river, in the park, walking, or just sitting at an outdoor restaurant or bar. They really take advantage of being outdoors, and that is evident in the fact that their homes are humble in size and not so important--as they are really just a place to sleep and eat meals. Smoking is ridiculously commonplace, as most restaurants and all bars and discos allow it. Every night we come home with our clothes reeking of smoke, but it’s just another part of the life here. All shops and markets are closed on Sundays for religious reasons, and mostly everywhere closes for the middle of the day for siesta and then reopens.

Discotecas/Bars: Let’s preface this by saying that there are more bars on each street than there probably are total in most towns. There are at least 10 cervecerias (small bars) on every street, as the people fill the tiny space for their Cruzcampos or Mahous (the local brews). People overflow and bring their drinks outside to enjoy the evening air and the company of their friends. My favorite places to enjoy an evening start at one of the following districts:
Alameda de Hercules: the Bohemian scene, a strip lined with trees that is full of dive bars and hippies. I haven’t seen one other group of Americans there when I have gone.
Arenal: Arenal is another hippie type scene, but it’s a much more relaxed area. It has several small bars and smaller discotecas that are crowded as the people dance to funky music and oldies. My favorite bar is in Arenal, it’s called Elefunk. It’s small but has a dance floor in the center, and fishbowls hang above the bar.
Betis: Betis is the street right on the river, and just a block down from our apartment. It’s the American scene, as its 1 Euro shots at a bar called Big Ben attract the foreigners. Betis is charming but it gets kind of old, we normally just go to Big Ben for an hour and then head out to another district.
Plaza Alfalfa: MY FAVORITE DISTRICT. The streets are FLOODED with people, and the bars are tiny and packed with people. Rebotica has 5 euro mojitos that are bigger than like a supersize coke. Bar Nostrum has pitchers of all different “aguas” including Agua de Sevilla, which looks and tastes like chocolate milk, but it’s alcoholic. I love it here because it’s so alive and there are so many people.

After hanging out around one of these districts--which might I add people don’t even normally go to their first bar until 12:30 at the earliest--we head over to a discoteca. Some discotecas are three or four floors, each floor playing different music genres. Others are one story but have huge dance floors and side areas with couches. Discotecas do not even nearly get crazy until around 2:30 or 3.

What's on tap for March:
Lisbon, Portugal March 13-15
Amsterdam, Netherlands March 20-23
Cordoba & Granada, Spain March 27-29

That's all for now!
-LP

the beginning of sevilla...

So I've been in Sevilla for over a week now and I already feel like I've done so much.

Our directors took us to our apartment after we got off the bus, and we got everything setup. I was amazed at the location. As we drove up, we passed the river and watched as hundreds of people passed in the narrow cobblestone streets. I could see the top of the cathedral, the torre de oro (tower of gold) from the cab, and I knew I had made the best decision.

The streets smell like oranges and all you can hear is the buzzing of voices. It's astounding how many people walk the streets.

We finally got all of our luggage into the apartment and settled. It was all too overwhelming, as we all (the roommates and I) attempted to realize that this place would be our home for 4 months.

We went out to a flamenco bar that night where they play live music. The crowd was an older, local one, and was a great welcome into the Spanish culture. Calle Betis, the main nightlife street, is less than 2 blocks from our apartment. It sits right on the river and the street lights and bridges sparkle. After the bar, called Lo Nuestro, we decided to check out a discoteca (dance club). We got to TEATRE, and it was not really crowded. When 2:30 or so hit, it started hitting too.

We spent the next few nights getting acquainted, buying groceries and things for the apartment. Somewhere in between we had a placement test to gauge our Spanish levels and place us where we belonged, an orientation at the universidad pablo de olavide (UPO, my new school :) ) and a welcome reception on campus.

School started last Wednesday. I'm taking History of Spain, Women and Literature, US-European Relations Post WW2, and The European Union. So far, so great. There are no classes held Friday in the Centro para extranjeros (center for foreigners), so we had 2 days of school last week.

Thursday, we had an intercambio event. Intercambios are events that we do with Spanish students so we can get to know Spain like locals. My roommates and Nabilah and I got partnered with Josef, who was absolutely hilarious and adorable. He partnered with Nuria and Santiago (Santi) and we joined our two groups together for a night on the town, Sevillian style. Santi told us that we were going to a really cool, hole in the wall place. He explained "CERVEZA, GRATIS. TINTO, GRATIS. CIGARILLOS, GRATIS. MESAJES, GRATIS. COMIDA, GRATIS. XBOX Y PLAYSTATION, GRATIS PARA JUGAR." (BEER, free. Wine, free. Cigarettes, free. Massages, free. Food, free. XBOX and PS3 free to play.) We all waited outside this lounge, thinking that it was impossible. We got in, and it turns out the lounge is sponsored by Lucky Strike Cigarettes. Essentially, it's an advertising campaign that hopes to spread the buzz about the company by offering free things to people. I was a bit sketched out and didn't have any drinks because of course I always assume the worst, I couldn't believe something like this could be existent. I asked Santi and Josef if they'd been there and if it was legit and they said it had been there for over 2 years and still strong. I still didn't believe what I was doing. We didn't stay there for long, and Santi, Nuria, and Josef wanted to take us to a traditional tapas restaurant. In Spain, 'tapear,' or going out for appetizers. Most restaurants do not reopen for dinner/tapas until 10, and they write the tapas on a small chalkboard in the street in front of the entrance. It's such a cool thing. We got cervezas and tinto downstairs and waited for a tapas table. We got seated, upstairs at a long table for 15. We each ordered tapas and spent the next hour or so practicing our spanish with our inercambios.We thought our intercambios would leave us after tapas, but my roommates and Nabilah and I ended up going out with Santi and Nuria. We headed to some clubs, but since it was only midnight, and Spanish clubs don't start getting crazy until about 3. We ended up hanging around for a bit at a lounge/club called Buddha, but it got POPPIN at around 2. There are 3 levels to the lounge and each plays different music. There are purple couches everywhere and it's Buddha/Siddartha themed with cool art and sculptures everywhere. I've got to get going, until next time.


LP

mas y mas

So it's safe to say I love Spain.

After our day at El Prado y el Palacio Real, we went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant and went out to a small Irish pub in Madrid. We sat at the bar for 2 hours speaking in Spanish with the bartender, Pedro, who was in his late 60s, balding, and hilarious. It was our (the roommates and mine) first encounter with a local like that. It's good to feel like a local.

Thursday we woke up and lugged all of our equipaje y malletas (luggage) down the elevators and left the hotel, making our way to the valle de los caidos y el escorial.

DISCLAIMER: our directores did not tell us about the weather, and we were not prepared for a soaking wet day.

We went to the valle de los caidos, which is probably the most humbling site I have ever seen. The road up to the valle is a narrow one lined with gorgeous redwood trees, and as the rain started to pour and fog started to settle, it was an eerily beautiful sight. As we made our way up the narrow streets, we all were marveled by the size of a cross in the distance. The cross is 492 feet high, and it is carved out of granite. The valle is a monument that Francisco Franco ordered political prisoners to make in the 40s and 50s, and 40,000+ soldiers from the Spanish civil war are buried there. The granite patio is lined with huge arches made of limestone. Photos, words, or videos will not do the magnitude of this sight any justice, unfortunately, but it was remarkable. The arches lead to a gorgeous basilica, which is equally as large as the arches outside, and the echos of the young boys in seminary were chilling on the foggy morning. In the basilica lies Francos tomb.

From the Valle, we went to El Escorial. It's a small town south of Spain. We visited the palace there, and it was also stunning. The coolest part of it was the murals on the walls--frescos. They were so crafted and detailed. What I find so unbelievable is that some of this art was drawn 500+ years ago, yet it is still entirely interpretable and understood today. In the palace there were doors carved out of wood, each crafted individually and flawlessly. The most amazing thing about the palace was the gorgeous granite staircase leading to the tombs of all the kings & queens of Spain and their parents. You walk down these stairs and you see these black marble coffins in the walls--adorned with gold. Looking up at the ceiling, all you see is gold. It is remarkable.

From El Escorial, we headed to Toledo. We got to the beautiful Hotel Beatriz, had yet another meeting with our directors, and headed into town. It was freezing and windy but undeniably gorgeous. We ate dinner in the city and went to a small bar the size of a studio apartment, ham legs hanging on the walls, and one simple tap. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.

The next morning, we headed into the town once more. Toledo is surrounded by walls-- as it was Spain's first capital and needed to be protected from the outside. It is still the religious capital of the country. Toledo is a city of three cultures-- jews, muslims and christians. Something very inspiring is the Jewish synagogue-- its architecture was done by a Muslim. All over the city lies evidence of the three cultures and their influence upon each other.

We took a bus ride through the city, and saw sincerely the most beautiful view in the world. We visited the Monestary of San Juan de los Reyes--it was commissioned by Isabel y Ferdinand to commemorate their victory in the battle of the toro (THIS WAS BUILT IN THE 1400s and STILL SO IN TACT!) You can see the coat of arms carved into the walls, and you can see how it changed after the wars and such. SO COOL TO SEE HISTORY. Also, it says "tanto monta, monta tanto" a lot in the monastery. It signifies the equality between Ferdinand y Isabel-- it was their idiom and way of life.

Definitely got lost from the group in Toledo town. Alexis and I were literally 1 minute behind the group because we got water from the vending machines, and when we looked up and down the street, the group was gone. We spent over an hour running around the town, entering museums we did not have admission to but telling the operators of the museum "creemos que nuestro grupo esta aqui..." and they let us go through. We finally found them after going to the city's tourism center and obtaining the phone number of the tour guide. I think Alexis and I walked through the entire town.

We left Toledo the next day after after a night of VERY scary winds. I slept maybe an hour, maybe two, because the wind was so fuerte (strong) and I was really scared. The trees brushed our windows and it sounded like a hurricane. I watched the BBC til about 5 am and sort of fell asleep, only to wake up at 7:30 for a day of travel.

We headed out of Toledo and made our way to Sevilla.

We stopped at las casuegas ( i THINK that is the name of the town) where Don Quixote saw windmills and thought they were giants and tried to fight them. Still entirely windy, we all almost blew away. On our way down south, the countryside was greener than I've ever seen....

and then we got to sevilla.


to be continued

the beginning!!!

After my long delay in London, I finally arrived in Madrid!

It has been absolutely breathtaking. I still can't really wrap my head around the fact that I am actually living in this country and it's not just a vacation! I took a cab to the hotel since my flight was late and I couldn't be picked up by the ISA (my study abroad organization) coordinators! My cab driver and I spoke in only Spanish the whole way over to the hotel and it was great. I really begun to feel comfortable with my Spanish right away. He took me to the hotel and I had about 30 minutes to get ready before our reunion (meeting). I was a bit overwhelmed since I had just gotten there, but settled in quite quickly. I met my three future roommates (one of whom is my roommate at the hotel) and we all get along great.

We had our meeting where our Sevilla directors Carmen and Tamara introduced us to our program and passed around maps and guides. They are so adorable and from Sevilla so they are great and knowledegable in nuestro ciduad as well as Madrid. OH, THEY ONLY speak to us in Espanol. They'll throw in some ingles every so often but it's really cute when they try to say things like "how do you paying for these things?"

After that, we went to El Corte Ingles-- it's a mix of Costco and Nordstrom. Strange, I know, but the main level is like a department store--Chanel counters, Yves Saint Laurent bags, makeup & cosmetics & clothes-- and on the bottom is like a HUGE market. There is not only a market but also counters that are mini restaurants. These El Corte Ingleses are all over the city as well as down in Sevilla, so I will definitely go there often. Something weird or I should say different about Spain is that you don't just take the fruits and vegetables like in the US. You take a number and they take and weigh the fruit for you. My roommate Melody took an apple and the lady in the produce area was like "HOLA???" as in a rude "HELLO??" It was quite an adventure. That, and the fact there are legit stairs in every store-- everything is like 4 or 5 planchas (stories) high--AND that hams are just chillin in the restaurants and markets--are some noticeable differences. Spain is also very serious about their siestas (naps/rests) in the middle of the day. Most restaurants close after lunch (4ish) and re open for dinner around 9. It reminds me of a European New York City. Madrid is not as touristy as I thought it'd be but it's weird to see McDonalds and Starbucks in such an antiqued city.

We then had a panoramic bus tour of the city. They took us around for about an hour and Tamara (one of the directors) was on the mic and in Spanish telling us about our surroundings. It's pretty freaking cool. I loved seeing the city lit up at night and so alive. There are always hundreds of people in the streets. There are gorgeous fountains all over partes diferentes de la cuidad-- y hay muchas cosas a hacer... siempre hay algo a hacer... la marcha es increible.... (There are gorgeous fountains all over the different parts of the city.... there are so many things to do--always something to do...the nightlife is unreal...)
The bus tour was just such a great opener to the Madrid/program orientation.

After that, my 3 roommates (seema from new jersey, alexis from ohio, and melody from new hampshire) and two other girls Abbie and Nabila (who was in Barcelona last semester so is a great person to have around) went out for tapas & wine. We were exhausted after traveling all day and decided to call it a night.

It's also really cold here. It's like 35 degrees. We had breakfast in the hotel and left for our packed day. We then took a bus to El Museo Prado (el prado museum) and I was entirely in awe. Most notably, El Prado tiene obras del Greco, Valazquez (a Sevillan :)) and Goya. We had the option of going on a Spanish tour or English, and I chose Spanish. It was magnificent to be able to see some work from the 16th through 18th centuries. Seeing works I have studied immensely in my life up close is really surreal. Our tour guide also pointed out such interesting things about the paintings, including the fact that one of the kings he painted wanted certain things changed on his portrait and there were outlines of where the original had been-- it was so cool to see, because I would not have noticed otherwise. There are no cameras allowed inside, but I will never forget the art I saw there.

From El Prado, we took a beautiful walk through the narrow Madrid streets to the Palacio Real (royal palace). We walked up narrow streets of Madrid and I fell in love even more. Another different thing about Madrid is that the street signs are like little tiles on the sides of buildings. There is no actual sign like in the U.S. It's a little confusing but I got a good grasp on where we were-- mostly by areas, not by streets, so it was easier to get used to. On the way to the Palacio is the Plaza Mayor (main plaza) that is a huge courtyard that has beautiful buildings and statues and sits atop shops and restaurants. On sunny and warm days, I am sure everyone is eating and drinking outside and enjoying the amazing scenery around them, but today was so cold so there were not a whole lot of people sitting outside. We arrived at the Palacio and I was just, again, in awe. It is huge. It is all white and the Spanish flag hangs high on its top. The greatest thing about the Palace though, I thought, was the view of the city. You can see these stone arcs-- and through them the entire city is visible. We toured the museo de armas and saw all the suits of armor (chest plates, etc.) from centuries ago. After that tour, we went into the actual palace. The palace itself is remarkably huge. It has over 2,000 rooms in it, and unfortunately cameras were not allowed so I couldn't get photos of some of the most unbelievable sights, but each room was something different. Some highlights include: the room where the king changed which was absolutely beautiful-- it took 26 years to complete. The ceiling is like 3D-- all flowers and patterns from the ceiling, and in the corners are gold mini sculptures. Another room I liked was the throne room, where all the thrones of the kings are, as well as 12 espejos (mirrors) grandes, as well as gold lions from Italy. There are also huge chandeliers in most rooms, and each are glass but some are entirely gold. In the corner tops of the room, hay obras que representan diferentes cosas de la historia de espana... another amazing thing is there are LEGITIMATE MURALS painted on each ceiling. I can't even describe it, because I won't do it justice, but these rooms individually are as large as most Agoura Hills houses and easily twice the size of Tempe ones. The ceilings I REPEAT HAVE LEGITIMATE MURALS. It was also really cool to see portraits done by Velazquez because we had just seen his other work at El Prado.

After El Prado, tuvimos tiempo libre... we had free time. Melody, Seema, Alexis and Julie, Val, and Nabila and I all went for lunch. It's also customary in Spain to have a menu del dia (menu of the day) where you order from. Lunch is the most important meal of the day in Spain and you order 2 courses and they give you a coffee & dessert with it. I am still not adjusted to Spanish time/meals/etc. so I was just hungry for a salad, but the menu del dia is crazy-- for a first course you can have paella (meat over rice) or ravioli or a variety of things-- and your second course is typically a meat based dish. The menu was literally the size of a business card, and the waitress gave us only one. Each day the menu del dia changes. It's still really weird to pay with Euros.

After that, we split up and Seema, Alexis, Mel and I spent the rest of the day exploring Madrid. We went back to the Plaza, and went into several shops. There are so many different places to go and see in Madrid, it's fantastic to feel like you have so many options. We went to the Plaza del Sol, which has H&M, Zara and several other stores-- there are so many rebajas (sales) ahora! Every store is filled with people, and like I mentioned before, has several levels. It's not at all uncommon to find escalators and stairs in stores. People in Spain also don't get mad if you accidentally bump into them-- and even though I found myself saying "lo siento, lo siento," they seemed unfazed. ALSO, tipping is unconventional. VERY strange I know. We literally walked the city for 5 hours and made our way back to the hotel.

BESOS Y ABRAZOS,

LP

Just touched down in London town

So I am sitting in the London Heathrow Airport and taking this all in. I HAVE BEGUN MY JOURNEY. I am now in a place that does not accept American dollars. I am in another continent. It's all pretty surreal.

New York was unbelievable. I got to see some amazing things and spend time with some quality people. There is no doubt in my mind that I will end up there. There's something about the streets and the trees and the bright lights that already has me aching to go back. It snowed and it was absolutely breathtaking. The way the powder gets swallowed by the streets, the ice that sticks to your hair, the trees and the snow that wraps around what's left of fall. It's all picturesque.

I went to the Met, Central Park, Times Square, and their adjacent areas. I love the energy. I love the noise. I love the lights. I freaking LOVE NEW YORK.

Sadly, my NY mini-trip had to conclude and I found myself back at the airport before I could wrap my arms around the city I had already come to adore. It had snowed all morning (yesterday, I guess? It's hard to keep track of times and days when it's 11:40 am London time but I was jut in NY where it's 6:40 am and then in LA it's 3:20 am...all confused and turned around here.) I presumed there would be delays of sorts because of the snow, but security was a breeze at JFK and I was on the plane roughly 45 minutes before we were scheduled to leave. It all feels so long ago, but all of this happened not even 12 hours ago if I am calculating correctly.

So it was too good to be true. Once we all boarded, the pilot, in his thick British accent, informed us that we would be going through a quick washing process to ensure snow had not built up in the engine or in the wings. We went through the process, and were ready to take off...or so we thought.

We started the take off process but something seemed off when the pilot kept making circles around the runway and never going airborne. I had started to fall asleep at this point, as it had been roughly 2 hours from the time of the initial snow wash to this point. I woke up about 30 minutes later and we had still not left the ground.

As it turns out, the pilot did a run through of the plane after it had been washed off and was unhappy with the condition of the plane. Let me also add that the washing station was on the complete opposite end of where the plane was. We encircled JFK yet again and the pilot announced there was a long line of planes who needed to be snowed down, but we were going to go through the process once more. This again took maybe an hour and fifteen minutes by the time it was all said and done. 

I watched Vicky Christina Barcelona & episodes of Friends and The Big Bang Theory to pass the time. I napped a bit but kept jolting up at the slightest turbulence. I arrived in London and of course missed my connecting flight because of the lateness of my initial flight, so now I am sitting here waiting for my flight to Madrid. I got a waiver for 5 British Pounds as an apology for the delay and am sitting in a coffee & sandwich shop taking this all in.

love from LONDON TOWN,

LP

The countdown begins...

On January 16th, I will fly to New York City (I've never been!) and spend 3 nights there before flying to Madrid and beginning my semester in Spain. I'm pretty much packed, as I had to do that when I packed up my room in Tempe. 

I will be living in Sevilla, Spain for 4 and a half months. Sevilla is the capital city of Andalucia, the southern province in Spain. Famous for its tapas (bar snacks), flamenco dancing, orange groves and romance, I knew this was where I wanted to spend my semester. 

I am living in the neighborhood of Triana, which is right across from the Rio Guadalquivir river, and in the center of the nightlife district. 

Before I get to Sevilla, I spend 5 days in Madrid and its surrounding areas. First, I will fly from JFK into Madrid and spend the first night touring the city. The next day I will visit El Prado Museum and the Royal Palace. Then I will travel to El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos, followed by 2 days in Toledo. I will finally arrive in Sevilla and prepare for a semester of late nights, a new culture, and a brilliant place. 

My travel plans include: Lagos and Lisbon, Portugal; Ronda, Spain; Granada, Spain; Cordoba, Spain; Ibiza, Spain; Barcelona, Spain; Santander, Spain; Malaga, Spain; Dublin, Ireland (for St. Patrick's Day!); Paris, France; Rome, Venice and Florence, Italy; Meknes, Fes, and Ceuta, Morocco; Mykonos and Athens, Greece; London, England; Amsterdam, Holland; and Prague, Czech Republic.

I am going to take full advantage of the opportunities I will have by living in Europe, and hope to gain a new perspective of the world and this life. I don't really know what else to expect other than to enjoy myself and embrace a new place whilst immersing myself in an entirely new culture.

10 DAYS,

LP