I'm the worst. Barcelona's the best.

I say this every blog post, but I'm the worst! I literally have not updated my blog in ten days! BUT I have an excuse...I'm in Spain, enjoying myself, so who cares?! I've so so ridiculously busy over the past week and a half that I have literally not had time to sit down and write a blog post. But, the nice thing is that over the past week and a half I've been having so much fun and just enjoying life, traveling, Spain and friends. That being said...let's get to the blog!

When we left off last post I just got back from Lagos, Portugal and I think I posted that on a Monday night...OK so last week was filled with a lot of catch-up work and trying my best to get ahead on some homework so that when I left Thursday afternoon for Barcelona with Paige and Quinn I wouldn't have to do homework all weekend. It turns out that my Cervantes class is a lot of work. I remembered reading excerpts from Don Quijote in Middle or High School and thinking, this is pretty funny. I mean Don Quijote and his crazy antics, getting into trouble, Sancho trailing behind...what's not to like? Plus, two summer's ago I was in "Man of La Mancha" (A musical based on Don Quijote) at Flat Rock Playhouse...Well it turns out there's a lot more to it. While I Dale Wasserman would have included more of the content from Don Quijote into "Man of La Mancha" so I could understand the book more easily, I don't blame him. It is after all a about 1200 pages....

Anyway, that week seemed to fly by as I was so eager to get to Barcelona. Next thing I knew it was Thursday afternoon and we were in the airport frantically re-arranging our backpacks so that it fit Ryanair's crazy baggage requirement. For those of you who don't know Ryanair, it is an incredibly inexpensive airline that flies throughout Europe. The catch is that their baggage requirements are crazy (only one carry on per person, for the girls their purse has to fit within their carry on), no assigned seats, and they try to sell you stuff on the plane (Scratch cards, perfume, etc...) It was quite the experience but hey...they get you from one place to another and that is all I need!

We arrived in Barcelona and headed to our Hostel. We stayed at Urbany Hostel for two nights. I was actually kind of worried about staying in a hostel after seeing the movie "Hostel" and hearing Mary talk about some of her hostel experiences when backpacking through Europe after high school! BUT, it was surprisingly really nice. Paige, Quinn and I shared the room with two other girls from Long Island who planned to stay in London all semester. Their internship in London fell through, so they basically said "fuck it, let's travel" and are backpacking around for the semester! There was also a French-Canadian in the room with us too. Really nice, but a snorer...Good thing I got my tonsils out! I don't think anyone would want to share a room with me if I still snored! Sorry Katie....

We went out the first night and met up with Paige and Quinn's friend Gregg from Elon. I knew Gregg from my freshman year, we lived on the same floor in Smith and he was in my Elon 101 class. We had a great dinner...a little Americanized but I can't complain...good food is good food! From there we went to a club which seems like it's the typical thing to do in Barcelona. There I saw Hannah Berg and some other people from Westport and also ran into a friend of mine who I literally had not seen in maybe 6 years. CRAZY. It's amazing how small of a world we live in. The club thing wasn't really my scene but we had a lot of fun anyway and decided that the rest of the nights we kinda wanted to do something a little more relaxed.

The next day we walked around Las Ramblas which is a long street in Barcelona and huge tourist attraction. It has lots of cool little shops, street performers (the pic to the right is me helping a  "genie" after she dropped her fan), people selling weird animals, AND the coolest food market. There are rows and rows of fresh food stands, from mushrooms to fish, the most amazing looking fruit to a literal pig head (not really fond of that, but you get the point.) AND LOTS OF OLIVES. We regretted our decision to eat before walking into the market because it would have been great place to try a bunch of different things. We literally could have spent hours in there but we swore to come back later in the weekend because it was time to head to the Picasso Museum! On the way, led by Paige and Quinn, we saw Gaudi's first Cathedral. Pretty damn cool.

I never fully understood Picasso until I went to the Picasso museum last Friday. The museum takes you from the start of Picasso's education as an artist to his death and you really see his progression and how he gets more and more experimental. But, you see this paintings in the first couple of rooms and you see the date they were painted and you think, no that can't be right...because some of these unbelievably complex and gorgeous pieces were painted when he was like twelve! It's mind boggling. As you move on from room to room you see his collection of blue paintings, his collection of pink paintings, and then my favorite part was this video screen that was at the end of the exhibit. It showed how Picasso took famous paintings and then interpreted them in so many different ways. The video monitor put one painting on top of another and showed how Picasso could interpret even one little section of a great, large painting, and make 4 new pieces out of it. His paintings are definitely an acquired taste... but the museum was so worth it.

The next morning we met up with Paige's parents who were staying in Barcelona! They were nice enough to let us stay in the hotel with them so we didn't have to stay in a hostel....Let's just say it was a pretty nice upgrade. The concierge made a joke to Paige and I saying "Going from a hostel to an ocean view apartment at the Ritz...not bad." NOT BAD AT ALL! I've been very lucky to have stayed in some wonderfully beautiful resorts and hotels, but this was easily the nicest. We didn't want to leave the hotel room! We just wanted to hang there all day...and we did for a couple of hours until we finally went to lunch/Las Ramblas again with Paige's family. After a great meal and catching up/meeting her parents, Paige, Quinn and I went to Park Guell garden complex  designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí and built from 1900 to 1914. I find all of Gaudi's work to be so interesting. His building's are incredibly ornate and detailed. Parts of Park Guell made me feel like I was in a Dr. Seuss book!

The next day we took the Gondola up to Montjuïc where we saw beautiful views of the city and of the Mediterranean. It was very serene and you could see the entire city! Riding up on the Gondola though made me think of skiing and got me very excited...even though I don't have any ski trips planned! I think part of the reason I was so happy in Barcelona, besides the great company, sights, city, etc... was that I ate like a king for the entire weekend. Everyone knows that I love food. But let me say it again... I love food and good thing Paige's dad went to culinary school because he knew what to order! We kept getting plate after plate, trying things I'd never tried before and I loved every second of it. Great champagne, great cheese, wine...everything. But even before we met up with Paige's parents Paige and I shared a bunch of dishes at this one restaurant and I could not have been happier... mushroom risotto, fresh pasta, artichokes, desserts...No complaints. Period.

We actually decided to stay in Barcelona an extra day... Partly because of the hotel, how amazing the shower was haha, how much fun we were having and partly because I screwed up my booking with my flight back to Seville...long story...don't want to get into it because I'm an idiot... anyway... We were so glad that we did because right before we left for the airport we went to La Sagrada Familia. It is Gaudi's master work of architecture and is a large, privately-funded Roman Catholic church that has been under construction in Barcelona since 1882 and is not expected to be complete until at least 2026. How crazy is that!? Well when you see it you understand why. It is the most ornate, elaborate piece of architecture that I have ever seen and think I will ever see. The inside just opened for public tours a couple of months ago and while you are there it is under construction. Everything he designed he designed for a reason. The beams holding up the inside, for example, look like trees and the ceiling like a sky. But some of the construction and architectural methods that he used are among the most complex of his and our time. It's not at all complete and they still have a lot of work to do, but you can just imagine what it would be like to attend a service there. Not even for the religious sense but for its sheer beauty.

After La Sagrada Familia we went back to the hotel, got our stuff, and went to the club lounge where we had champagne and ate lunch overlooking the Mediterranean. A perfect way to end our trip. I was so incredibly grateful for the generosity of Paige and her family, not to mention the wonderful company that I have found in Seville! Such fun people. Here's a link for more pics from the weekend!

This afternoon I head to Madrid to meet Mom, Julie and Mimi who have already arrived and are ready to conquer Spain! I'm bummed that my Dad can't come, but I'm doing him proud with my adventuring, shmoozing, and loving every second of this opportunity I've been given!

Hasta que volvamos a ver!

Lagos/Feels like home...

Monday, Monday! How I hate you... Last night I got back to Seville from a wonderful weekend in Lagos Portugal! But that wonderful weekend came to a screeching halt when I stepped back into my apartment and realized that I had a shitload of hw still left to do...WHOOPS! Luckily I was able to finish it before my classes today and no classes tomorrow! A lot of the people here talk about their majors and studies, etc...and they always ask me what do you do for homework?! I explained to them that we're always busy working on something and practicing for something, ridiculously long days, with the occasional reading or paper. But last night as I was doing my homework, which really to be honest wasn't even that bad, I missed my Elon homework! I missed actually LIKING my homework! How weird is that?

Anyway, on to Lagos! Or as mom said before that some people pronounce it Lagoosh. But Mom- I did not hear that said once! :) We left Friday morning from Sevilla with a group called Discover Sevilla. It's one of the student travel agencies in town and we had heard fun things about their trips and it was a good price. We took a 3.5 hour bus to Lagos and made a stop once we crossed the border in Portugal to grab a coffee/pee. It was so weird being in a country where they don't speak Spanish! In fact it seemed like the majority of the people spoke English over Spanish even though they are so close to Spain! I'm sure it will be weird once I go to Italy and France and Morocco too! We got to our hotel in Lagos, checked in and walked around. Now this whole trip was advertised as a beach getaway so needless to say we were all pretty disappointed that the weather report called for rain almost the entire weekend :( Here's a pic of what it looks like in nice weather!

Regardless, the beach was beautiful and the first day we hung out by the beach right near our hotel. No swimming, the waves were HUGE and the water was kinda murky because of all the rain runoff from the cliffs! I was really bummed about that because the pictures of the crystal water in Lagos seemed amazing!! That evening we went to a store down the street and bought some drinks and some cheese and crackers and had a mini feast in Christine and Sahar's room which was a perfect way to start of the evening festivities! There were two huge buses of kids that all came through Sevilla to take this trip from other cities in Spain, but all American students. We met everyone down in the lobby where the guides took us to some restaurants and then later to a bar where it was just kids with this travel agency. Lots of dancing, lots of fun!

The next day Scott and I slept in a bit and grabbed breakfast downstairs in the hotel. Now I'm not a big breakfast person, but when i do eat breakfast I like a big omelet and home fries...not just a piece of toast! That's what they do here in Spain and Portugal...not one of my favorite customs! But I do enjoy the other big meals! :) Anyway, we met everyone in the lobby and headed to a couple of locations around Lagos. We went to this one set of cliffs that was incredibly beautiful and saw where we were supposed to go on our Sangria Sailboat cruise! (It was canceled because the waves were so high and we were supposed to go through the grottoes. They showed us where we were would have gone and I was a little more at ease that it was canceled because we legitimately would have died!) We also went to another beach closer to the downtown harbor area. The beach there was much calmer and during a moment of sunshine I decided that I had to go swimming. The water was freezing, but swimming in the waves reminded me of swimming at Silverpoint beach and it made me very happy! HUGE WAVES, like shit you see in the movies! But so much fun. After that we went to a cafe along the beach and I had the must unbelievable bruschetta in the world. Made up for the lack of a spinach/feta/mushroom omelet at breakfast ;)

That night we went to Cabo San Vicente to watch the sunset. This cape is the south westernmost point in Portugal and was what the explorers thought was the end of the world because when you look around all you see is ocean. That plus the giant waves crashing up against the cliff! I could see why it would be "the end of the world." It was one of the coolest things that I have ever seen. It truly showed the beauty and the power of nature. I was also really excited to see the sun set over the ocean! Since I live on the east coast I've never seen the sun set over a body of water and was looking forward to it. Well screw you weather for ruining my excitement! While we didn't get to see a huge sunset it was beautiful nonetheless and I was so glad that I went on that mini excursion. I certainly slept well that night after great Thai food (yes, in Portugal I ate Thai haha) and lots of fun that night!

The next day we had breakfast and headed to the beach closest to the hotel again to try to test out the weather. After about an hour of sun it started to rain so we decided we would walk around downtown instead and grab lunch there. We were all exhausted from the past couple of days so we had a pretty relaxing last day in Lagos before heading on the bus back to Seville. We got back at around 10:15 and as I crossed the bridge walking home from the bus station I realized how frickin beautiful Seville really is. All of the places I have traveled to so far have been magnificent and unique. But to me, there is nothing like Seville. It felt good to be "home."

Oh, click HERE for some pics!

Hasta que volvamos a ver!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary! Today, October 6th, I have officially been in Spain for one month! Holy shit! In the first couple of weeks it seemed like the semester was gonna go by really slowly... lots of orientations, grammar lectures, etc... but now I think that we're starting trips my time here is gonna fly by! This means that I gotta remember to take in each experience, enjoy myself, and BLOG MORE! The past couple of nights I said to myself, oh I'll blog in an hour, or I'll do this first... but NO MORE. It's time to write. Actually, once I finish writing each post its like a relief...and hey! I get to write in English so I'm not complaining!

When I last posted I talked about going to the cooking school with my interest group which, while it didn't turn out to be what I expected, was a lot of fun. We met up at the CIEE study center and walked to one of the bus stations in the city. It's 1.20 Euro for the bus fare and I sat down in one of the seats. As the bus got more crowded we got up and gave up our seats for older passengers so they could sit. This one woman was very grateful and started speaking to me in Spanish at 50875267101 words per minute and mumbling most of them. I just nodded smiled, said "vale, vale, vale" and hoped that I wasn't saying anything I shouldn't have or saying vale to some sad story she was telling me. I think she was just happy to have someone listen to her talk. I was happy to oblige... so long as she didn't care that I had no idea what she was saying! BUT, despite this encounter, my Spanish has gotten much much better. I've managed to fool a couple of people into thinking that I'm actually a Sevillano which is very exciting! I mean, cmon how could they think I'm a Spaniard :)

That night Carolina, one of the guides, came over for a late dinner adventure. I told her how much I detested the Residencia food and so she and I made a date for her to come over and we could cook dinner together. Turns out I had none of the things that we needed... I shattered one of the only plates we had, we asked my neighbor downstairs for a pan, and Carolina and I crammed into my tiny kitchen and we cooked some amazing linguine with this fresh tomato, pepper, onion, pica (spicy), cream sauce. Que delicioso. It was so much better than the residencia food and I really enjoyed her company. As we ate, and after dinner, she spoke in English and I spoke in Spanish and we shared some of our favorite songs, and talked about life in the US versus life here. She's incredibly down to earth and is always willing to lend a hand to any of our friends. Despite how long it took us to make the dinner it turned out out be a great night and I went to bed early in order to get up at the butt crack of dawn to go to Granada the next morning.

Since college, I've gotten so much better at sleeping while traveling. When I was younger, meaning middle and high school, I would never sleep in the car or on the plane...maybe I did a couple of times, but for the most part I had a hard time falling asleep. Thank god for reclining bus seats or I would have been miserably tired the entire weekend in Granada. I think that it was one of the coolest places, if not the coolest, place I've ever been. It's about a 3 hour bus ride from Seville and it is the capital of Andalusia. The city has a huge Moorish influence and was under Muslim rule up until the reconquest of Spain in the 16th century. You can see this with the architecture and many of the shops. At one point I felt like I was in the movie Casbah (a 1948 film I had to watch for a class at Elon) walking through all of these little streets and shops. Oh! One of my favorite fruits is Pomegranate. Guess how you say pomegranate in Granada! Granada! All over Granada there are Granada trees! I wanted to pick one every time I saw one but used my better judgement and decided not to...

By far the coolest part of the weekend was our visit to the Alhambra. The Alhambra is is a palace/fortress complex that was constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of Granada. The building is unbelievable and the gardens are gorgeous and incredibly extensive. To me it was like an Arab version of Versailles. The ceilings, walls, floors, reflecting pools are so incredibly ornate and beautiful. Not to mention the view from the Alhambra looking over the city of Granada is breathtaking and was so peaceful and serene. I think I had about 50 "holy shit, I'm in Europe" moments on this trip. Here's a link to the pictures from Granada. There are a ton from the inside of the building and then a lot of the gardens. The next day we walked around the older residential area where we got a great view of the Alhambra and the mountains in the background. Sierra Nevada, which is a ski resort, is right there! I wanna go back at the end of November because I've heard that if it's a nice day you can ski overlooking the Mediterranean. How frickin cool would that be?!

Yesterday after classes I went back to the hotel BecquerResidencia dining hall I met a girl who lived next door to Allison and Sarah. She's about our age, maybe a little younger. When I told her I was a music theatre major she told me she loved to play guitar and asked if I would come over and sing a bit with her. So last night I went over to her room with Allison and Sarah and we had a "jam session" for about an hour. She spat out her favorite American songs and I did my best to sing along. Despite the fact that I probably woke up all of her neighbors I had so much fun singing along and just getting my fill of performing for the day. She skyped in one of her friends during the middle and made me sing backstreet boys... Something I never thought I would be asked to sing. But hey! Why not?!

Hasta que volvamos a ver!