i wish the world was flat like the old days
so i could travel just by folding a map
no more airplanes, or steam trains or freeways
there'd be no distance that could hold us back.
Showing posts with label viva espana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label viva espana. Show all posts
2.04.2010
maybe this time.
i wish the world was flat like the old days
so i could travel just by folding a map
no more airplanes, or steam trains or freeways
there'd be no distance that could hold us back.
1.30.2010
The In-Between
Just uploaded a couple of pictures from the final days of Alicante that I forgot that I had taken.
I say that I wish I had taken more pictures, but, honestly? I took so many. Besides, when you're there you never feel like it is going to go away. How many times do we take pictures of our everyday lives? Of us simply just living in our homes, cooking, cleaning, driving to work, all of it. We only take pictures on the "special occasions", the times when something is supposedly Important. Well, I don't. The pictures I always love the most are the ones of everyday things.
Anyways, most of these things happened within the last month, but here's a bit of a photo post to wrap up January.
Partyy. More to come! :)
I say that I wish I had taken more pictures, but, honestly? I took so many. Besides, when you're there you never feel like it is going to go away. How many times do we take pictures of our everyday lives? Of us simply just living in our homes, cooking, cleaning, driving to work, all of it. We only take pictures on the "special occasions", the times when something is supposedly Important. Well, I don't. The pictures I always love the most are the ones of everyday things.
Anyways, most of these things happened within the last month, but here's a bit of a photo post to wrap up January.
This is my house! Its all Christmas-ified. :) I've lived here since I was 11.
My mom running through the rain. I don't know why I like this picture, but it makes me laugh. I think because its a really natural smile -- its hard to catch on film for her.
Going to see Avatar with my SCU friends at midnight! Aww, I missed them!
Making pancakes at 2am because we are hungry. And everyone has the same paper to write and we sat in my room and sortof wrote them. And then decided pancakes were much more fun than homework.
My mom running through the rain. I don't know why I like this picture, but it makes me laugh. I think because its a really natural smile -- its hard to catch on film for her.
Going to see Avatar with my SCU friends at midnight! Aww, I missed them!
Making pancakes at 2am because we are hungry. And everyone has the same paper to write and we sat in my room and sortof wrote them. And then decided pancakes were much more fun than homework.
Partyy. More to come! :)
1.23.2010
Transitions
It is impossible to believe that I was living in Spain a little over a month ago. Every day that slips by is another day further away from that place, from that impossibility. It almost feels as if it doesn't exist, as if those months were just a dream and now I've woken up back into reality. But I can't discern sleep from dreaming. Which life is real?
I almost can't look back at the pictures of Spain -- it is just too painful. I think it will be a long time before I will be able to. Isn't that funny? Almost the way you can't look at photos of a person when they are gone, because you know that they aren't coming back. That's exactly how I feel.
There is nothing bad about my life back here at home. It is perfectly normal. Perfectly fine. And yet, for some reason, I honestly want to just crawl into my bed sometimes and lay there, hoping against hope that when I open up my eyes I will be in my tiny room in Alicante, staring at the ancient ceiling. As if it were that easy to switch between the two places, my two lives. It doesn't help that it is raining here every day. I love the rain, but...
I'm working on it. I'm learning a lot and focusing on my work, hoping just to get through. I'm trying to put meaning back into my life, figuring out how to incorporate everything and all of these pieces into one, tightly-knit thing. And though I can knit a scarf pretty well, knitting all of these pieces together is proving a little more challenging than I realized. After reading my friend Trevor's blog though (who is still in Spain and just got back from a month of traveling Europe), I just have to remember to make the most of every moment. Okay, maybe there isn't quite the same amount of adventure here at SC. But there's got to be something. And, well, I cooked again tonight, so I suppose that's an adventure. Simply navigating, that's an adventure.
I'm tired of 'transitioning' now. I want home to feel like home again.
I almost can't look back at the pictures of Spain -- it is just too painful. I think it will be a long time before I will be able to. Isn't that funny? Almost the way you can't look at photos of a person when they are gone, because you know that they aren't coming back. That's exactly how I feel.
There is nothing bad about my life back here at home. It is perfectly normal. Perfectly fine. And yet, for some reason, I honestly want to just crawl into my bed sometimes and lay there, hoping against hope that when I open up my eyes I will be in my tiny room in Alicante, staring at the ancient ceiling. As if it were that easy to switch between the two places, my two lives. It doesn't help that it is raining here every day. I love the rain, but...
I'm working on it. I'm learning a lot and focusing on my work, hoping just to get through. I'm trying to put meaning back into my life, figuring out how to incorporate everything and all of these pieces into one, tightly-knit thing. And though I can knit a scarf pretty well, knitting all of these pieces together is proving a little more challenging than I realized. After reading my friend Trevor's blog though (who is still in Spain and just got back from a month of traveling Europe), I just have to remember to make the most of every moment. Okay, maybe there isn't quite the same amount of adventure here at SC. But there's got to be something. And, well, I cooked again tonight, so I suppose that's an adventure. Simply navigating, that's an adventure.
I'm tired of 'transitioning' now. I want home to feel like home again.
1.12.2010
So This Is The New Year.....
Well, I am back. Back to the rigors of university life, back to classes, back to walking across the green, palm-tree speckled campus, back to overwhelming amounts of reading in an inordinate amount of time. Back to it all....
And yet, I have to ask myself: "What now?" I'm certainly not going to be jet-setting off to Paris anytime soon, nor am I going to be embarking upon any sort of adventure, unless they are of the academic variety of course. I think the tell-tale sign was when my faithful sidekick Lauren and I walked into a house party the first night back to college, looked around at the chaos unfolding beyond and realized: "Oh my god. We got old."
Alright, perhaps I am being existential. It is two a.m. as I write this after all. I may exaggerate slightly -- I've still got plenty of youth in me, to make questionable decisions and stay out until dawn. But still, walking around campus, looking at so many unfamiliar faces in this supposed-familiar territory, I feel like a stranger. Like when you go back to high school, and realize you don't actually know any of the girls that go there anymore, that they have long grown-up and moved away, to cook their own meals and marry themselves off to freshly-shaven men with scented aftershaves. When do those things happen? Is it somewhere in between paragraphs? In between Facebook feeds? How can I pin that down?
It is strange to be back. It is even stranger to talk to my host-family back in Alicante, that life continues over there. That it will continue to continue, and that, tomorrow, another fresh-faced girl will spend her first night alone in a stranger's bed in La Florida, spreading her unpacked things across the floral bedspread and missing the scent of home. How do I make all of these parts of life coexist in one place? Does anyone have the answer to that? Probably not.
I am going through the motions. I hope that my feeling of "home" comes back soon.
And yet, I have to ask myself: "What now?" I'm certainly not going to be jet-setting off to Paris anytime soon, nor am I going to be embarking upon any sort of adventure, unless they are of the academic variety of course. I think the tell-tale sign was when my faithful sidekick Lauren and I walked into a house party the first night back to college, looked around at the chaos unfolding beyond and realized: "Oh my god. We got old."
Alright, perhaps I am being existential. It is two a.m. as I write this after all. I may exaggerate slightly -- I've still got plenty of youth in me, to make questionable decisions and stay out until dawn. But still, walking around campus, looking at so many unfamiliar faces in this supposed-familiar territory, I feel like a stranger. Like when you go back to high school, and realize you don't actually know any of the girls that go there anymore, that they have long grown-up and moved away, to cook their own meals and marry themselves off to freshly-shaven men with scented aftershaves. When do those things happen? Is it somewhere in between paragraphs? In between Facebook feeds? How can I pin that down?
It is strange to be back. It is even stranger to talk to my host-family back in Alicante, that life continues over there. That it will continue to continue, and that, tomorrow, another fresh-faced girl will spend her first night alone in a stranger's bed in La Florida, spreading her unpacked things across the floral bedspread and missing the scent of home. How do I make all of these parts of life coexist in one place? Does anyone have the answer to that? Probably not.
I am going through the motions. I hope that my feeling of "home" comes back soon.
12.19.2009
End Of Days
Well. Here it is. I feel as if I should write something profound in here, being as you all read this for the last four months, I owe you at least something interesting to end it off with.
But... I got nothing. I've spent the last two days furiously packing, saying goodbyes, wiping tears and tying loose ends... and they still aren't all tied. I'm trying to figure out how to do this without feeling like I'm being ripped in half, but I don't think there is a way -- other than this: I'm coming back.
As soon as I realized that, everything got a heck of a lot easier. Because, well, why not? I've got family in Alicante, now, don't I? And don't you make sure you visit your family every couple of years?
So, saying goodbye wasn't goodbye. It was "Hasta pronto" -- See you soon. Of course, I'm sad. I'm terribly, terribly sad. But, I've embarked on my journey back, and I will be back in the States within the next 24 hours. Right now, I'm in my hotel in Madrid, having taken the train from Alicante along the snow-capped countryside and am now sitting with a can of Coke, half of my Spanish madre's wonderful tortilla-bocadillo sandwich, free WiFi and a movie playing on the TV in my four-star hotel. Just talked to my mom, who is soo excited to see me and a couple of friends who are already planning to hang-out as soon as I'm up to it. So. I guess my life there was only put on pause and maybe I can figure out how to press "play" again.
Anyways. I'm going to get myself situated and settle in for bed. See you tomorrow, everyone!
But... I got nothing. I've spent the last two days furiously packing, saying goodbyes, wiping tears and tying loose ends... and they still aren't all tied. I'm trying to figure out how to do this without feeling like I'm being ripped in half, but I don't think there is a way -- other than this: I'm coming back.
As soon as I realized that, everything got a heck of a lot easier. Because, well, why not? I've got family in Alicante, now, don't I? And don't you make sure you visit your family every couple of years?
So, saying goodbye wasn't goodbye. It was "Hasta pronto" -- See you soon. Of course, I'm sad. I'm terribly, terribly sad. But, I've embarked on my journey back, and I will be back in the States within the next 24 hours. Right now, I'm in my hotel in Madrid, having taken the train from Alicante along the snow-capped countryside and am now sitting with a can of Coke, half of my Spanish madre's wonderful tortilla-bocadillo sandwich, free WiFi and a movie playing on the TV in my four-star hotel. Just talked to my mom, who is soo excited to see me and a couple of friends who are already planning to hang-out as soon as I'm up to it. So. I guess my life there was only put on pause and maybe I can figure out how to press "play" again.
Anyways. I'm going to get myself situated and settle in for bed. See you tomorrow, everyone!
12.17.2009
Days When I Miss "The Customer Is Always Right":
As I am attempting to buy a pair of adorable boots at the cash register of a 3-6-9 shoe store (where all of the prices are either 3, 6 or 9 euros) - I just fought them out of some other lady's hands and snuck into where they were hiding the others to get my size:
"Oh, sorry, I can't sell those to you."
"Uhm...why not?"
"I don't know the price."
To which I stare at her blankly and blink at her for a moment before I answer:
"Well, who does?"
"You can come back in the afternoon and get them then."
We go round and round for a while and I even talk to the boss, who doesn't know the price either. I don't really understand why they don't actually know the price, or why they can't just call someone who does. So I ask to put my name on them at least and put them behind the counter, which, of course, they can't do either.
I wanted to yell at them that I was the customer, I had my money and I would give it to someone else, that I didn't want to come back later, that I was sick and I wanted these boots now so I could go home and sleep and that they were being really stupid because they weren't going to get my money there anymore. But, then I remembered, I was in Spain, and they wouldn't care.
Oh, Spain. These are the days I miss the American preoccupation with doing whatever it takes to take your money.
"Oh, sorry, I can't sell those to you."
"Uhm...why not?"
"I don't know the price."
To which I stare at her blankly and blink at her for a moment before I answer:
"Well, who does?"
"You can come back in the afternoon and get them then."
We go round and round for a while and I even talk to the boss, who doesn't know the price either. I don't really understand why they don't actually know the price, or why they can't just call someone who does. So I ask to put my name on them at least and put them behind the counter, which, of course, they can't do either.
I wanted to yell at them that I was the customer, I had my money and I would give it to someone else, that I didn't want to come back later, that I was sick and I wanted these boots now so I could go home and sleep and that they were being really stupid because they weren't going to get my money there anymore. But, then I remembered, I was in Spain, and they wouldn't care.
Oh, Spain. These are the days I miss the American preoccupation with doing whatever it takes to take your money.
12.15.2009
Noche de Paz
I had my choir concert last Saturday and last night. On Saturday, it was at this amazingly beautiful cathedral in a town called Villena by the mountains. We all met at the university, and then took a bus over. It was freezing! I wish I could have captured the inside of this cathedral, though. So gorgeous and I love the way songs sound in big churches. It was one of the most moving experiences -- I wish you all could have been there! We sang 'Silent Night' and we sang it in every language that people know in our choir. People sang in German, French, Vallenciano, English and Spanish...and it was just so cool to be standing there, with this group of random people from all over the world singing this song that we all know. Magical.
Then, last night, I had my final choir concert in Teatro Arniches, which is awesomely right next to my house! I was so happy because a bunch of my friends came and surprised me! (My Spanish madre was supposed to come and so excited about it, but it was FREEZING and she wasn't feeling well so she couldn't go brave the elements, which was a bummer, but I understand!) I had such a great time. Here's a video of "Silent Night" -- its on facebook, so I think you might have to log on to see it. Anyway, I am in the second row on the right behind the tall girl with blonde hair.
video of choir.
Greeley, another American student, and Paco, our choir director.
Me, Greeley and Paco. They're so awesome!
Alicante friends who came to see the show! Love them :)
Anyways, it was so much fun. I am so bummed out to be leaving the choir!! As Paco, the choir director said: You've got to be American.. you just come, help and then leave everything a mess! Hahah. He also says that California is a separate country because I don't speak English right!! (He doesn't speak English practically at alllll, so this is hilarious.)
Well, I am laying in my bed wrapped in a blanket looking at my piles of things and hoping they will magically fill my suitcase. Maybe if I wish hard enough?
Okay, okay, time to get cracking!
Then, last night, I had my final choir concert in Teatro Arniches, which is awesomely right next to my house! I was so happy because a bunch of my friends came and surprised me! (My Spanish madre was supposed to come and so excited about it, but it was FREEZING and she wasn't feeling well so she couldn't go brave the elements, which was a bummer, but I understand!) I had such a great time. Here's a video of "Silent Night" -- its on facebook, so I think you might have to log on to see it. Anyway, I am in the second row on the right behind the tall girl with blonde hair.
video of choir.
Greeley, another American student, and Paco, our choir director.
Me, Greeley and Paco. They're so awesome!
Alicante friends who came to see the show! Love them :)
Anyways, it was so much fun. I am so bummed out to be leaving the choir!! As Paco, the choir director said: You've got to be American.. you just come, help and then leave everything a mess! Hahah. He also says that California is a separate country because I don't speak English right!! (He doesn't speak English practically at alllll, so this is hilarious.)
Well, I am laying in my bed wrapped in a blanket looking at my piles of things and hoping they will magically fill my suitcase. Maybe if I wish hard enough?
Okay, okay, time to get cracking!
Blogged with the Flock Browser
12.12.2009
Christmas On The Beach
The other day I decided to take a walk downtown. Christmas has sprung in Alicante, complete with Bellenes (nativity scenes) and Christmas lights strung all along the street. It is absolutely magnificent!
The weather has been pretty cold (though not as cold as San Jose, I hear) but it was warmer, so I grabbed a sweater and took a walk down to the beach. Here's what I saw:
How many times am I going to say I watched the sunset over the Mediterranean sea? I leave in exactly seven days. Whoa.
The weather has been pretty cold (though not as cold as San Jose, I hear) but it was warmer, so I grabbed a sweater and took a walk down to the beach. Here's what I saw:
How many times am I going to say I watched the sunset over the Mediterranean sea? I leave in exactly seven days. Whoa.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
12.06.2009
What This Means.
Suddenly, I find myself in a pub in Barcelona, the walls brightly lit, the tables filled with laughter and companionship. In fact, I am sitting next to a British woman in her forties whose name is Joy, who has had her birthday today and celebrated it by coming to Barcelona and getting a tattoo. Her husband next to her, telling me about their 30th-wedding anniversary coming up, how they have three daughters, how I need to understand the importance of this gift I have been given. Across the bar, a Dutch bartender keeps the misshapen glasses full, his shoulder-length blonde hair falling across his face. It turns out, this is a Dutch holiday, and we're in a Dutch bar, filled with people celebrating. Football is on the screen behind the bar -- Real Madrid versus another team, but no one is paying attention, too busy talking and laughing and flirting in Spanish, Dutch, English, German... it is all a mix of languages, the sounds flowing through the air until they are all mixed into one language, the language of humanity, the one that we all understand. Even if we may not understand each other's words, laughter is universal.
I have two pieces of advice for you, the man says, leaning over to me and placing his hand on my shoulder. His hair is greying slightly at the temples, and his eyes are a little red, but his hand is quite steady. Keep your words clean, he says, because one day you may have to eat them. He then pauses for a moment, looking right at me for this next part, as if to emphasize the importance of his words. And, most importantly, he says, voice serious, do what makes you happy. Don't waste your life with bollocks. I don't care if my daughters turn out to be hippies, or anything else, he says. I just want them to be happy. So, make yourself happy.
Behind me, the bar continues to fill, the night continues to swell, the people of Barcelona coming out from under the rocks, it seems, to fill the streets with merriment. The world out there is still turning, but in this moment, I am floored.
I am home in two weeks exactly.
I am not sure what to feel.
I have two pieces of advice for you, the man says, leaning over to me and placing his hand on my shoulder. His hair is greying slightly at the temples, and his eyes are a little red, but his hand is quite steady. Keep your words clean, he says, because one day you may have to eat them. He then pauses for a moment, looking right at me for this next part, as if to emphasize the importance of his words. And, most importantly, he says, voice serious, do what makes you happy. Don't waste your life with bollocks. I don't care if my daughters turn out to be hippies, or anything else, he says. I just want them to be happy. So, make yourself happy.
Behind me, the bar continues to fill, the night continues to swell, the people of Barcelona coming out from under the rocks, it seems, to fill the streets with merriment. The world out there is still turning, but in this moment, I am floored.
I am home in two weeks exactly.
I am not sure what to feel.
12.04.2009
Only A Few Hours In Barcelona......
....and I am already in love with this hostel!
We are staying at the:
which is AH-DOR-AH-BLE. When we walked in to the hostel, the owners were sitting down for some lunch at the big kitchen table in the middle of this comfy room -- I felt like I walked into their house, not a hostel! They took our stuff, and we went out downstairs to a "lounge" to relax... It feels like a little den! It is underground, with really cool arched brick ceilings, a tv, couches.. it is so clean and friendly. I'm sitting in it as I'm writing this!
Everyone here is just so nice and friendly -- they even offered us free dinner that they cooked for the whole group! And, as I am sitting here, the other owner walked by with a puppy that was very cute (and named Manualito!) and even gave me a few licks and I got to hug it.
Well, tomorrow is a day of sightseeing, so I'm gonna hit the hay. Love you all!
We are staying at the:
which is AH-DOR-AH-BLE. When we walked in to the hostel, the owners were sitting down for some lunch at the big kitchen table in the middle of this comfy room -- I felt like I walked into their house, not a hostel! They took our stuff, and we went out downstairs to a "lounge" to relax... It feels like a little den! It is underground, with really cool arched brick ceilings, a tv, couches.. it is so clean and friendly. I'm sitting in it as I'm writing this!
Everyone here is just so nice and friendly -- they even offered us free dinner that they cooked for the whole group! And, as I am sitting here, the other owner walked by with a puppy that was very cute (and named Manualito!) and even gave me a few licks and I got to hug it.
Well, tomorrow is a day of sightseeing, so I'm gonna hit the hay. Love you all!
Blogged with the Flock Browser
12.03.2009
Sevilla -- Warning: Picture Overload!
SEVILLA!!
So, after the Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night, I hopped on a bus at 7am on Friday morning to head over to SEVILLA. Sevilla is in southern Spain, in Andalusia, which is what you think about when you think of Spain. Beautiful, southern Spain.
It is an 8 to 10 hour bus-ride to Sevilla, so we didn't get to our hotel until late in the afternoon. We stayed in a pretty nice hotel about a twenty-minute bus ride from the city center. It was a bummer that it wasn't directly in the city, but I hear that the hotels in the city are incredibly expensive, so, oh well.
First off, we walked around downtown Sevilla a bit and got acquainted with the place. I went on an organized trip through the university, so we had a tour guide the entire time and a chartered bus -- it was pretty sweet. There was an optional excursion to go on a boat cruise along the Gualdaquiver river, but we opted out and did our OWN version of a river cruise....:
I know this is a terrible picture, but you can get an idea of the boats we rode in! So tiny.
That's right! We were walking along the river and saw the sign to rent some paddle-boats! So we took the last few, hopped in and paddled around the river for an hour. So much fun! It was absolutely freezing and everyone was looking at us like we were crazy because it was getting dark, but we had a blast.
It got dark really fast while we were still on the water. This is one of the bridges we paddled under.
Afterwards, I met up with Lauren and Trevor for approximately four minutes and then we trooped off for dinner. We had a very Spanish meal of tapas where everyone got to pick something. I should've taken a picture of this meal -- it was pretty intense. Spanish tortillas, mussels, weird fish meatballs, salad, bread... all kinds of things! After, my friend Liz and I got some Spanish beer and hung out at this bar by the Cathedral that seemed to the ~the place~ for all of the Spaniards to hang out. There were people allll around the Cathedral! Very cool. We didn't talk to anyone, but we did people-watch quite a bit....
The next day, we woke up early and went on a bus tour around Sevilla. Sevilla was the site of two different Expos -- one in the twenties, and one only a couple of years ago. Countries from all over the world came to these and built buildings and such, so there's all sorts of cool buildings from both Expos dedicated to all the countries. There's like, an Africa building.
After, we walked around with a tour guide who showed us around the city...
Fountain in Sevilla. I took a lot of solo pictures -- gosh, Lauren!
This street is called 'Aqua' because its right next to the aquduct and water would used to run down it.
This is the thinnest street in Sevilla, in the Santa Cruz Barrio. The Santa Cruz Barrio is a little bit like the Ritz of Sevilla, but it didn't used to be. Back in the days of the dictator, you weren't allowed to have any sort of public affection, even if you were married. So couples would go down this street (which is known now as the Calle de Besos or 'Street of Kisses') to have some intimate moments because it was easy to hide there. Also, the streets are so thin so that people could jump from rooftop to rooftop and homeowners could drop things on criminals. Okay, I don't really know if that's why, but that's what people do!!
From the Barrio de Santa Cruz, we headed over to the Catedral de Sevilla, which happens to be the third largest Christian cathedral IN THE WORLD. (First is the Vatican, second is in London). It is Gothic-style, which means the huge turrets and intricate architecture. So absolutely beautiful. Allow me to indulge you:
Outside of the Catedral. It is HUGE.
Main entrance door.
It is realllyyyy hard to get pictures inside of a Church, but I did manage to snap this one. This is the patron saint of the Internet, who gets his own big statue in the Catedral. So, you know, my patron saint.
Sevilla is the fourth-largest city in Spain. First is Madrid, then Barcelona, then Valencia. Hey, I've been all those places! (Or soon will be!)
Looking down from the Bell Tower.
I can hear the bells! (Musical theatre reference.)
Also, I kept making hunchback jokes, but nobody laughed. Womp womp.
I feel like all of these pictures are just of me. Well, probably because they are. I don't like pictures of just buildings because they're boring, so you have to look at my face all the time. I always have to make sure I like my outfit when I go sightseeing, hah.
NEXT (I know, there's more) we went to Alcazar, which is a miniature Alhambra. Except, the word "miniature" is relative here, because the Alhambra is like, the size of a large city. Alcazar was really pretty; we walked around all the gardens and such. We even got lost in a hedge maze! (And then pretended we were Harry Potter trying to find the Goblet of Fire... Man, I'm cool.)
This picture is probably superfluous, HOWEVER these fish were grossing me out. They were swimming in this pond that used to irrigate the gardens or something? I was watching them because I thought they were kind of cool, then I realized they actually grossed me out and I had to run away from them. I thought I would share that charming story.
Some of the girls on the tour to Sevilla. Yay for new friends!
Inside the gardens. Pretty, eh?
Saturday night I went to a flamenco show! I had already gone to one in Granada, but Sevilla has a different type of flamenco, so I wanted to see that, too. It was absolutely amazing. It was in the tiny little courtyard, with ivy covering all of the blue-and-white Spanish tile and lit by candle-light. The dancers were soo good. One day I might put up an example of flamenco so you can listen to it -- it is a little strange, but hauntingly beautiful in person. Flamenco is all about storytelling in dance and song, and they told some beautiful stories that hit you right at the soul; it gets you at a gut-level, in a way that only music can. Must-do at some point in your life.
On Sunday it was RAINING. I was very unhappy about this because I, once more, did not bring a warm enough jacket. (This is a constant theme in my life. I just need to bring. my. jacket. always.) Luckily enough, it stopped raining right when we got to the PLAZA DE ESPANA.
The Plaza de Espana. All of the regions of Spain are represented here in the artwork.
Standing on the steps of the Plaza.
View of what the Plaza looks like.
NOW -- Take a good look at my above pictures. Now, watch this short video.......
Yes, that's right -- they filmed Star Wars at the Plaza de Espana. Very cool if I do say so myself. I ran around like a fool pretending to be a Jedi. Lovely. Across from the Plaza de Espana is El Parque de Maria Luisa, which is this huge beautiful park.
And then we hopped on the bus for another eight hours back home! Talk about a long weekend, whew. Did you get through that? Have I lost everyone?
Anyways, it has been really great. I only have three more weeks here -- I cannot believe it!! My friend and I booked train tickets to Barcelona tomorrow morning, so we're heading off there next! Wow, Barcelona! I'm so excited!
Miss you all tons! Love you bunches.
Besos,
Kandace
So, after the Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night, I hopped on a bus at 7am on Friday morning to head over to SEVILLA. Sevilla is in southern Spain, in Andalusia, which is what you think about when you think of Spain. Beautiful, southern Spain.
It is an 8 to 10 hour bus-ride to Sevilla, so we didn't get to our hotel until late in the afternoon. We stayed in a pretty nice hotel about a twenty-minute bus ride from the city center. It was a bummer that it wasn't directly in the city, but I hear that the hotels in the city are incredibly expensive, so, oh well.
First off, we walked around downtown Sevilla a bit and got acquainted with the place. I went on an organized trip through the university, so we had a tour guide the entire time and a chartered bus -- it was pretty sweet. There was an optional excursion to go on a boat cruise along the Gualdaquiver river, but we opted out and did our OWN version of a river cruise....:
That's right! We were walking along the river and saw the sign to rent some paddle-boats! So we took the last few, hopped in and paddled around the river for an hour. So much fun! It was absolutely freezing and everyone was looking at us like we were crazy because it was getting dark, but we had a blast.
It got dark really fast while we were still on the water. This is one of the bridges we paddled under.
Afterwards, I met up with Lauren and Trevor for approximately four minutes and then we trooped off for dinner. We had a very Spanish meal of tapas where everyone got to pick something. I should've taken a picture of this meal -- it was pretty intense. Spanish tortillas, mussels, weird fish meatballs, salad, bread... all kinds of things! After, my friend Liz and I got some Spanish beer and hung out at this bar by the Cathedral that seemed to the ~the place~ for all of the Spaniards to hang out. There were people allll around the Cathedral! Very cool. We didn't talk to anyone, but we did people-watch quite a bit....
The next day, we woke up early and went on a bus tour around Sevilla. Sevilla was the site of two different Expos -- one in the twenties, and one only a couple of years ago. Countries from all over the world came to these and built buildings and such, so there's all sorts of cool buildings from both Expos dedicated to all the countries. There's like, an Africa building.
After, we walked around with a tour guide who showed us around the city...
Fountain in Sevilla. I took a lot of solo pictures -- gosh, Lauren!
This street is called 'Aqua' because its right next to the aquduct and water would used to run down it.
This is the thinnest street in Sevilla, in the Santa Cruz Barrio. The Santa Cruz Barrio is a little bit like the Ritz of Sevilla, but it didn't used to be. Back in the days of the dictator, you weren't allowed to have any sort of public affection, even if you were married. So couples would go down this street (which is known now as the Calle de Besos or 'Street of Kisses') to have some intimate moments because it was easy to hide there. Also, the streets are so thin so that people could jump from rooftop to rooftop and homeowners could drop things on criminals. Okay, I don't really know if that's why, but that's what people do!!
From the Barrio de Santa Cruz, we headed over to the Catedral de Sevilla, which happens to be the third largest Christian cathedral IN THE WORLD. (First is the Vatican, second is in London). It is Gothic-style, which means the huge turrets and intricate architecture. So absolutely beautiful. Allow me to indulge you:
Outside of the Catedral. It is HUGE.
Main entrance door.
It is realllyyyy hard to get pictures inside of a Church, but I did manage to snap this one. This is the patron saint of the Internet, who gets his own big statue in the Catedral. So, you know, my patron saint.
Sevilla is the fourth-largest city in Spain. First is Madrid, then Barcelona, then Valencia. Hey, I've been all those places! (Or soon will be!)
Looking down from the Bell Tower.
I can hear the bells! (Musical theatre reference.)
Also, I kept making hunchback jokes, but nobody laughed. Womp womp.
I feel like all of these pictures are just of me. Well, probably because they are. I don't like pictures of just buildings because they're boring, so you have to look at my face all the time. I always have to make sure I like my outfit when I go sightseeing, hah.
NEXT (I know, there's more) we went to Alcazar, which is a miniature Alhambra. Except, the word "miniature" is relative here, because the Alhambra is like, the size of a large city. Alcazar was really pretty; we walked around all the gardens and such. We even got lost in a hedge maze! (And then pretended we were Harry Potter trying to find the Goblet of Fire... Man, I'm cool.)
This picture is probably superfluous, HOWEVER these fish were grossing me out. They were swimming in this pond that used to irrigate the gardens or something? I was watching them because I thought they were kind of cool, then I realized they actually grossed me out and I had to run away from them. I thought I would share that charming story.
Some of the girls on the tour to Sevilla. Yay for new friends!
Inside the gardens. Pretty, eh?
Saturday night I went to a flamenco show! I had already gone to one in Granada, but Sevilla has a different type of flamenco, so I wanted to see that, too. It was absolutely amazing. It was in the tiny little courtyard, with ivy covering all of the blue-and-white Spanish tile and lit by candle-light. The dancers were soo good. One day I might put up an example of flamenco so you can listen to it -- it is a little strange, but hauntingly beautiful in person. Flamenco is all about storytelling in dance and song, and they told some beautiful stories that hit you right at the soul; it gets you at a gut-level, in a way that only music can. Must-do at some point in your life.
On Sunday it was RAINING. I was very unhappy about this because I, once more, did not bring a warm enough jacket. (This is a constant theme in my life. I just need to bring. my. jacket. always.) Luckily enough, it stopped raining right when we got to the PLAZA DE ESPANA.
The Plaza de Espana. All of the regions of Spain are represented here in the artwork.
Standing on the steps of the Plaza.
View of what the Plaza looks like.
NOW -- Take a good look at my above pictures. Now, watch this short video.......
Yes, that's right -- they filmed Star Wars at the Plaza de Espana. Very cool if I do say so myself. I ran around like a fool pretending to be a Jedi. Lovely. Across from the Plaza de Espana is El Parque de Maria Luisa, which is this huge beautiful park.
And then we hopped on the bus for another eight hours back home! Talk about a long weekend, whew. Did you get through that? Have I lost everyone?
Anyways, it has been really great. I only have three more weeks here -- I cannot believe it!! My friend and I booked train tickets to Barcelona tomorrow morning, so we're heading off there next! Wow, Barcelona! I'm so excited!
Miss you all tons! Love you bunches.
Besos,
Kandace
Blogged with the Flock Browser
11.30.2009
Accion de Gracis -- El Dia Que No Existe
Happy post-Turkey day all! We've made it through Black Friday, the official consumerist entryway into the holiday season. So let's bust out our Christmas music and ring in the holiday cheer!
Over on the Spanish front here, that mentality doesn't really exist. Black Friday, of course, is an American phenomenon...although, my madre told me that they have the day of rebajas (sales) in the spring before the Spanish festivals that sounds an awful lot like it. And, of course, Thanksgiving doesn't exist either, being one of the only truly unique American holidays.
I never really thought about how different it would be for people to not even know what Thanksgiving was. No Turkey-Day jokes, cranberry sauce or children's turkey handprints lining the walls. CIEE attempted to give us Americans a traditional Thanksgiving, though. It was actually slightly amusing to see the Spaniards do Thanksgiving... like most American things Europeans try to do, it never comes out exactly right.... But, I was extremely happy for their gestures all the same, and really loved going to a huge dinner with all of my CIEE family. The next time we're all going to be together like that is in three weeks when we're heading home (!!!).
In honor of Thanksgiving, I took some pictures with my Spanish family. (Although the dinner was just the American students, the families didn't come).
Adrian, Mario, Me and Juani in our living room.
Adrian and I. Why is is SO adorable???
Mario and Adrian acting silly in front of the camera.
Why do I feel like I'm looking at the next generation of the
"Kandace-and-Sarah" phenomenon?
They're cousins, too.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was in a restaurant near the University. A couple of people gave speeches, including miss Lauren (who spoke in front of the entire program in Spanish! woo! I am a proud stage-mom.) and some other people. Me and the other two kids from choir sang as well. It was a nice little ceremony!
Thanksgiving dinner set-up.
Afterwards I came home and skyped with my actual family at Thanksgiving dinner, which was a trip. I was climbing into bed because it was almost 2am, but my family back home was just sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner! It was a little overwhelming and made me miss home a lot -- I told them to save some pumpkin pie for me! -- but I was glad that I got to see everyone on Thanksgiving :) How weird that you can communicate like that from a thousand miles away! I felt like I was sitting right in the middle of my living room.
Oh, and while I'm at it, I meant to make a post earlier in the week about how choir's going. It is going great and I am having a ton of fun. On Wednesday night after rehearsal, we all went over to Burger King (yes, in Spain) and grabbed dinner and made an absolute mess of ourselves with laughter! I said, no matter what country I'm in, it is always a good idea for some burgers, fries and milkshakes after rehearsal with the cast! The Spaniards wasted no time teaching us all sorts of inappropriate things to say and the best ways to use our Spanish. (Don't worry, I won't repeat them here.) Even the choir director came to hang out with us! Once we got kicked out of BK (because it was closing!) we went over to this underwater bar thing in San Vicente, and hung out there for a bit. It was super fun just to chill out and hang out with all of the Spanish kids. I even got to go cruising in a car! (Which doesn't really sound that exciting, but when I haven't been in an actual car for four months, this is a big deal). We just drove down the freeway, blaring Spanish music, dancing, laughing -- very cool. Felt just like heading down the 101 with my friends. It keeps amazing me how, no matter where I'm at, we're all the same in some ways.
Then, of course, I was in Sevilla this weekend, but that deserves a post of its own, too. I'll probably split them up again, and spend the next few days posting pictures! Let's just say -- it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL.
Here's a teaser... (and yes, I took this picture):
Over on the Spanish front here, that mentality doesn't really exist. Black Friday, of course, is an American phenomenon...although, my madre told me that they have the day of rebajas (sales) in the spring before the Spanish festivals that sounds an awful lot like it. And, of course, Thanksgiving doesn't exist either, being one of the only truly unique American holidays.
I never really thought about how different it would be for people to not even know what Thanksgiving was. No Turkey-Day jokes, cranberry sauce or children's turkey handprints lining the walls. CIEE attempted to give us Americans a traditional Thanksgiving, though. It was actually slightly amusing to see the Spaniards do Thanksgiving... like most American things Europeans try to do, it never comes out exactly right.... But, I was extremely happy for their gestures all the same, and really loved going to a huge dinner with all of my CIEE family. The next time we're all going to be together like that is in three weeks when we're heading home (!!!).
In honor of Thanksgiving, I took some pictures with my Spanish family. (Although the dinner was just the American students, the families didn't come).
Adrian, Mario, Me and Juani in our living room.
Adrian and I. Why is is SO adorable???
Mario and Adrian acting silly in front of the camera.
Why do I feel like I'm looking at the next generation of the
"Kandace-and-Sarah" phenomenon?
They're cousins, too.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was in a restaurant near the University. A couple of people gave speeches, including miss Lauren (who spoke in front of the entire program in Spanish! woo! I am a proud stage-mom.) and some other people. Me and the other two kids from choir sang as well. It was a nice little ceremony!
Thanksgiving dinner set-up.
Afterwards I came home and skyped with my actual family at Thanksgiving dinner, which was a trip. I was climbing into bed because it was almost 2am, but my family back home was just sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner! It was a little overwhelming and made me miss home a lot -- I told them to save some pumpkin pie for me! -- but I was glad that I got to see everyone on Thanksgiving :) How weird that you can communicate like that from a thousand miles away! I felt like I was sitting right in the middle of my living room.
Oh, and while I'm at it, I meant to make a post earlier in the week about how choir's going. It is going great and I am having a ton of fun. On Wednesday night after rehearsal, we all went over to Burger King (yes, in Spain) and grabbed dinner and made an absolute mess of ourselves with laughter! I said, no matter what country I'm in, it is always a good idea for some burgers, fries and milkshakes after rehearsal with the cast! The Spaniards wasted no time teaching us all sorts of inappropriate things to say and the best ways to use our Spanish. (Don't worry, I won't repeat them here.) Even the choir director came to hang out with us! Once we got kicked out of BK (because it was closing!) we went over to this underwater bar thing in San Vicente, and hung out there for a bit. It was super fun just to chill out and hang out with all of the Spanish kids. I even got to go cruising in a car! (Which doesn't really sound that exciting, but when I haven't been in an actual car for four months, this is a big deal). We just drove down the freeway, blaring Spanish music, dancing, laughing -- very cool. Felt just like heading down the 101 with my friends. It keeps amazing me how, no matter where I'm at, we're all the same in some ways.
Then, of course, I was in Sevilla this weekend, but that deserves a post of its own, too. I'll probably split them up again, and spend the next few days posting pictures! Let's just say -- it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL.
Here's a teaser... (and yes, I took this picture):
11.20.2009
because this picture rocks:
this is what happens when i take too many pictures
in front of monuments smiling and looking cute.
in front of monuments smiling and looking cute.
that is all.
oh, also, i got a package from my bff THOMAS today filled with a DVD of When Harry Met Sally (yessss), a cool clay frog, and a card with lots and lots of love. As if that was not enough, I got a letter (in French!) from Miss Grace with cupcake illustrations. Man, I have the best friends! Thanks for making my day, guys! <3
11.17.2009
oh, more valencia!
Valencia, Day TWO
We woke up early and hopped on another bus, heading this time to the City of Arts and Sciences, which is basically a huge center similar to things you might find in the Tech Museum, but better. Unfortunately, we having more camera probz, as people forgot to bring their camera chargers. It was pretty funny, because by the end of the day, we were down to like, one camera for six of us. Oh, well. No-one can say I have a lack of pictures!!
First, we were going to go to an AQUARIUM, one of the biggest aquariums in the world. Now, I know, I know, aquariums are like zoos, which are giant prisons for animals, and I should hate them fundamentally. Fish should be free to swim as far as their little beating fish hearts desire. However, all of my progressive friends are just going to have to forgive me as I say: I LOVE AQUARIUMS. I like looking at fish!! :) Besides, fish don't have feelings anyway, so they don't care. ;P Kidding.
The aquarium was very cool -- we 'traveled' all over the world, and saw all different kinds of fishes. We also got to go to a dolphin show, which definitely was the highlight of the aquarium trip.
All the dolphins were doing such great tricks! I've decided I'm going to be a dolphin trainer.
Hello, dolphin friend!
After we were bored with the aquarium, (we literally had six hours of free time to spend there), we left and went to the nearby mall to get some comida and explore. Yup. It was very...mall-like. (Says my scientific evaluation!) We also explored more of the surrounding architecture:
Here is an example of the really cool architecture. Behind me is a bridge (the tall white part) and a building that looks like a whale. I don't know what it is.
It felt a little bit like we stepped into the future.
Afterwards, we went to the round building in the picture above to watch an IMAX film, which they said was in 3D, but I think I just misunderstood their Spanish because it wasn't. It was still cool, though, and it was the biggest IMAX I've been to -- you felt like you were sitting on the inside of a globe, more than a screen, and it felt almost like "Soaring Over California" at Disneyland, minus the orange scents and cool breeze. It was a cool experience, but I was a little whatever about the film itself.
By this time, it was time to hop back on the bus and head back to Alicante! We got back around seven, which was just enough time to hang out with my family, eat some dinner, then head out for a night on the town. It was brought to my attention that I only have five more weeks! I can't believe it.
On Sunday morning, Lauren and I woke up early to go to Mass at the Cathedral de San Nicolas, which we had been trying to do for quite some time, but never really got there.
It was a very interesting mass... very "fire-and-brimstone" and orthodox Catholicism. It was my first Mass in Spain, and I have got to say, it was an experience being part of the Catholic Mass in such a historically Catholic culture. Spain has been Catholic.. well, always. However, it was an interesting congregation because it was literally all older people -- there were no families, no young people. We stuck out, and not just because of our English. The homily was so interesting, because it was very..Spanish, if that makes sense. "Somos Espanoles," the priest kept saying, "Espanoles fuertes!" with his arms waving and his voice rising and falling, the way that I always imagined old-school preachers, but I've never seen. I wonder how much the pairing of religion and the dictatorship has on the current congregation; after, as we were talking about it, we thought that young people may be leaving the church because of that. What a shame. I hope that this was an atypical part of Spanish culture, more to do with where we chose to go than a reflection upon religion in Spain. Interesting cultural difference, nevertheless!
Anyways, I am off to work on some more homework. I know, homework? In Spain! I don't understand it either. What were my professors thinking!?
Hasta luego. More interesting things to come!
Besos!
<3 k
We woke up early and hopped on another bus, heading this time to the City of Arts and Sciences, which is basically a huge center similar to things you might find in the Tech Museum, but better. Unfortunately, we having more camera probz, as people forgot to bring their camera chargers. It was pretty funny, because by the end of the day, we were down to like, one camera for six of us. Oh, well. No-one can say I have a lack of pictures!!
First, we were going to go to an AQUARIUM, one of the biggest aquariums in the world. Now, I know, I know, aquariums are like zoos, which are giant prisons for animals, and I should hate them fundamentally. Fish should be free to swim as far as their little beating fish hearts desire. However, all of my progressive friends are just going to have to forgive me as I say: I LOVE AQUARIUMS. I like looking at fish!! :) Besides, fish don't have feelings anyway, so they don't care. ;P Kidding.
Here is my professor and some friends and I being excited to go to the AQUARIUM.
Inside of the aquarium, being eaten by a SHARK.
The aquarium was very cool -- we 'traveled' all over the world, and saw all different kinds of fishes. We also got to go to a dolphin show, which definitely was the highlight of the aquarium trip.
All the dolphins were doing such great tricks! I've decided I'm going to be a dolphin trainer.
Hello, dolphin friend!
Here is an example of the really cool architecture. Behind me is a bridge (the tall white part) and a building that looks like a whale. I don't know what it is.
It felt a little bit like we stepped into the future.
Afterwards, we went to the round building in the picture above to watch an IMAX film, which they said was in 3D, but I think I just misunderstood their Spanish because it wasn't. It was still cool, though, and it was the biggest IMAX I've been to -- you felt like you were sitting on the inside of a globe, more than a screen, and it felt almost like "Soaring Over California" at Disneyland, minus the orange scents and cool breeze. It was a cool experience, but I was a little whatever about the film itself.
By this time, it was time to hop back on the bus and head back to Alicante! We got back around seven, which was just enough time to hang out with my family, eat some dinner, then head out for a night on the town. It was brought to my attention that I only have five more weeks! I can't believe it.
On Sunday morning, Lauren and I woke up early to go to Mass at the Cathedral de San Nicolas, which we had been trying to do for quite some time, but never really got there.
The Cathedral of Alicante.
It was a very interesting mass... very "fire-and-brimstone" and orthodox Catholicism. It was my first Mass in Spain, and I have got to say, it was an experience being part of the Catholic Mass in such a historically Catholic culture. Spain has been Catholic.. well, always. However, it was an interesting congregation because it was literally all older people -- there were no families, no young people. We stuck out, and not just because of our English. The homily was so interesting, because it was very..Spanish, if that makes sense. "Somos Espanoles," the priest kept saying, "Espanoles fuertes!" with his arms waving and his voice rising and falling, the way that I always imagined old-school preachers, but I've never seen. I wonder how much the pairing of religion and the dictatorship has on the current congregation; after, as we were talking about it, we thought that young people may be leaving the church because of that. What a shame. I hope that this was an atypical part of Spanish culture, more to do with where we chose to go than a reflection upon religion in Spain. Interesting cultural difference, nevertheless!
Anyways, I am off to work on some more homework. I know, homework? In Spain! I don't understand it either. What were my professors thinking!?
Hasta luego. More interesting things to come!
Besos!
<3 k
11.16.2009
oh, valencia!
I spent all weekend singing one of my favorite songs, "O, Valencia" (which, if you are not familiar with, get ON it) because, as you probably guessed, I spent Friday and Saturday in the city of Valencia, which is about two hours north of Alicante and the capital of the Comunidat Valenciano region of Spain, which is where I am living. Valencia is known for its antiquity while also being an extremely modern city, containing The City of Arts and Sciences, which was funded by the EU and contains all sorts of modern buildings, and cool things like one of the world's largest aquariums and an IMAX theatre, both of which I went to!
Much love to everyone in Alicante that I am stealing pictures from in order to document this trip (*cough* Lauren *cough*) because, as you know, my Canon has gone to the great Camera Place in the sky, where all lens errors are remedied and every camera becomes a digital-SLR. (Tech joke. Anyways.)
Ready to go on a bus trip at 9am! Woo!
We arrived in Valencia on Friday morning, after a two-hour bus ride from Alicante's centro. We dropped off our bags, and headed off to sight-see. First stop: La Lonja de Seda, which is where the ancient silk trade of Europe used to be centered.
The stained-glass window!
My Spanish professora Raquel, me and another one of the CIEE staff walking us to the rest of the group. We got a little behind taking too many pictures with graffiti.
Like this.
Much love to everyone in Alicante that I am stealing pictures from in order to document this trip (*cough* Lauren *cough*) because, as you know, my Canon has gone to the great Camera Place in the sky, where all lens errors are remedied and every camera becomes a digital-SLR. (Tech joke. Anyways.)
Ready to go on a bus trip at 9am! Woo!
The stained-glass window!
My Spanish professora Raquel, me and another one of the CIEE staff walking us to the rest of the group. We got a little behind taking too many pictures with graffiti.
Like this.
After, we went to the Torres de Serrano, which was really pretty to look at as well.
Torre de Serrano. We climbed up to the top of that. It's taller than it looks!
The view from the Torre de Serrano. Looks pretty normal, doesn't it?
Playing princess in the castle.
Lauren's rendition of a princess, calling for her Prince Charming. (We missed you, Trevor!)
The girls in front of a fountain in the Plaza de La Virgen.
The best travel partners around!!
Torre de Serrano. We climbed up to the top of that. It's taller than it looks!
The view from the Torre de Serrano. Looks pretty normal, doesn't it?
Playing princess in the castle.
Lauren's rendition of a princess, calling for her Prince Charming. (We missed you, Trevor!)
The girls in front of a fountain in the Plaza de La Virgen.
The best travel partners around!!
We had a little bit of free time next, and spent it walking around Valencia and exploring. We went into the Mercado Central, which is basically a huge indoor market of all the different Spanish foods. If you don't like meat, stay away! There's a ton of fish, bloody cow flanks, huge legs of things, etc etc. However, there's also so much fruit, vegetables and Spanish treats that its cool to just go in and look around!
Inside the Mercado Central. Lots of Spaniards doing their daily shopping.
Inside the Mercado Central. Lots of Spaniards doing their daily shopping.
Spanish strawberries. Mmm!! Note that its all in euros!
Good ol' meat. Very typical Spanish set-up -- meat just hanging out there until somebody buys it. I wonder how all the Spaniards don't get sick all the time?
We are pro at the jumping pictures by now :)
We are pro at the jumping pictures by now :)
Next, we went to the Catedral, which is huge and absolutely beautiful, like everything I've seen. I don't know if I'm starting to get jaded about all this beauty around me all the time! Apparently, a relic of the Holy Grail is found inside of this Church, a fact which I contested highly, but after a little bit of research, it looks like a lot of scholars actually do believe that it is possible Jesus interacted with this cup in some way or another during the time of his death -- so, I guess I've seen a piece of the Holy Grail! I'm still somewhat skeptical, but whatever it is, if Jesus touched it, it is still pretty darn cool.
One of the many doors to the Catedral of Valencia.. this is outside of the main door.
The Holy Grail??
Next, we climbed the Torre del Micalet, which looks out over all of Valencia. It was part of the Catedral, with this incredibly tiny turret that we had to climb up. Some people counted and I think it was about 200 something stairs? However, these aren't your typical stairs -- its a round turret, so its a winding staircase, that gets narrower at the top. If you get claustrophobic, I wouldn't recommend it: its either all the way up or all the way down! There is no inbetween, or landings! However, the view ... well, its worth it.
View at sunset over Old-Town Valencia.
The bell at the top of the tower. This decided to ring while I was standing under it taking a picture. Cool experience to see it actually ring, but very loud!!
Lauren and I overlooking Valencia.
My CIEE group of all the students.
This is the top of the staircase, just to give you an idea of how narrow it w as! Imagine climbing up at least seven stories of that in a line of 30 people!! Scary! No windows or doors or anything either. All or nothing!
One of the many doors to the Catedral of Valencia.. this is outside of the main door.
The Holy Grail??
Next, we climbed the Torre del Micalet, which looks out over all of Valencia. It was part of the Catedral, with this incredibly tiny turret that we had to climb up. Some people counted and I think it was about 200 something stairs? However, these aren't your typical stairs -- its a round turret, so its a winding staircase, that gets narrower at the top. If you get claustrophobic, I wouldn't recommend it: its either all the way up or all the way down! There is no inbetween, or landings! However, the view ... well, its worth it.
View at sunset over Old-Town Valencia.
The bell at the top of the tower. This decided to ring while I was standing under it taking a picture. Cool experience to see it actually ring, but very loud!!
Lauren and I overlooking Valencia.
My CIEE group of all the students.
This is the top of the staircase, just to give you an idea of how narrow it w as! Imagine climbing up at least seven stories of that in a line of 30 people!! Scary! No windows or doors or anything either. All or nothing!
Afterwards, we had more free time where Lauren and I went back to the hotel and hung out for a while. I got to take a BATH, which, I know, I know, does not sound like a huge deal, but seriously guys, stop taking baths for granted. I do not own one, so taking this bath was basically like arriving into heaven. I don't know if its cheating, but I LOVE traveling with CIEE because we stay in these 4-star hotels that feel just like America again, with a bidet. You know, sometimes, I don't have to be a legitimate Spaniard...which is why we got CHINESE WOK for dinner!
We are so excited about this chinese take-out. YUM.
And then, just to make sure that we were truly Spaniards, we went to a Valor chocolateria (remember our epic trip to the chocolate factory? Well, same company.) and got ourselves some chocolate con churros. For Jeana, who didn't really get to experience the magic in Alicante (although, casi), here's what it looks like:
Why, yes, this IS an attractive picture. You're welcome, friends, for putting it online :)
After all of that, the girls from my Spanish class (featured in chocolate picture above) and I went to this jazz club, where we got to feel very classy and listen to a jazz band play some live music and chat it up. It was the perfect way to end the evening, and like the old women we are, we climbed into bed about midnight, just as the drunken, loud other American students started hitting the pavement and the dance clubs. Oops. So, whatever little birdies have been telling y'all that I party too much, presta atencion! ;)
Anyways, there is more to this story of Valencia and my weekend (I haven't even hit Saturday yet!) but its after midnight here and I'm tired. I've got to get up early tomorrow for class! So, I will leave you with a cliffhanger -- what will happen next!?
Thanks for reading! Love you all.
<3>
We are so excited about this chinese take-out. YUM.
And then, just to make sure that we were truly Spaniards, we went to a Valor chocolateria (remember our epic trip to the chocolate factory? Well, same company.) and got ourselves some chocolate con churros. For Jeana, who didn't really get to experience the magic in Alicante (although, casi), here's what it looks like:
Why, yes, this IS an attractive picture. You're welcome, friends, for putting it online :)
After all of that, the girls from my Spanish class (featured in chocolate picture above) and I went to this jazz club, where we got to feel very classy and listen to a jazz band play some live music and chat it up. It was the perfect way to end the evening, and like the old women we are, we climbed into bed about midnight, just as the drunken, loud other American students started hitting the pavement and the dance clubs. Oops. So, whatever little birdies have been telling y'all that I party too much, presta atencion! ;)
Anyways, there is more to this story of Valencia and my weekend (I haven't even hit Saturday yet!) but its after midnight here and I'm tired. I've got to get up early tomorrow for class! So, I will leave you with a cliffhanger -- what will happen next!?
Thanks for reading! Love you all.
<3>
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)