So starting tomorrow spring break is officially over...sadness. Mom, dad and Noah came to visit me for my break and that was a lot of fun! They arrived the Wednesday before my break began and we spent the rest of the week and weekend in Madrid, with me playing a bit of tour guide and all of us exploring together. We went all over the city: to the Palacio Real, Prado, Reina Sofia, Parque Retiro, Sol, Plaza Mayor, etc etc. We had pretty nice weather while in Madrid so that was nice. Even sun for a few days (although that was majorly shortlived). Then, early Sunday morning we set off for Lisbon, Portugal!
Our journey to Lisbon was supposed to be quick and easy but towards the end of our flight the captain announced that we couldn't land in Lisbon for some unannounced reason and we didn't have enough fuel to hang around so we had to land in a city in the south of Portugal and then retake off and fly back to Lisbon. We later learned that the reason we couldn't land was because there was a dog on the runway and it took them forever to get it off! Oh, Portugal...
Once in Lisbon we settled into our hotel and kind of took it easy for the day. Typical of me, I got sick once my family arrived so I was trying to recover a bit. Lisbon is really beautiful, surrounded by ocean and mountains, but it is definitely not as modern a city as Madrid and it shows. It's a lot more run down and visibly old, which in some cases is beautiful but in other cases was kind of dirty...We spent our days walking around the city, attempting to find restaurants that suited all our tastes (some people in my family are picky eaters...*cough* Noah *cough*) and resting. We took an old trolley to Belem, along the coast and ate the famous desserts at the pastry shop there. Delicious!
One of the days we took a train to a tiny town about 40 minutes outside of Lisbon called Sintra. Sintra was absolutely beautiful! It was home to two palaces and an 8th century Moorish castle, along with tons of cute little shops and winding streets and outdoor cafes. We visited one of the palaces that was right in town - really beautiful. Then, after lunch, we took a scary bus ride up the windy hills to the castle, which was amazing! Old rock walls and towers snaked along the green hillsides overlooking Sintra and Lisbon and all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. They really were breathtaking views.
After we wrapped up our stay in Portugal, we headed back to Madrid where we had once last night in the city before my family left ridiculously early the next morning for their long journey home. It was really nice to have them here - a little taste of home - and it's sad that they're gone now. But school is starting up again and things will quickly get back to their normal Madrid ways. This past weekend people started coming back from their trips so I had a fun and busy weekend with friends, and of course, homework avoidance.
Oh, quick new flash...not sure if you all read about the Greek cruise ship that sank last week, but two of my friends from the program were actually on board the ship! They're back in Madrid now, safe and sound, but sadly all of their things are now at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Glad to have them back safe though!
Alright I should finally get to my reading. Hasta luego!
Monday, April 9, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Massive Update!
So this is officially the longest I've gone between posts. Ooops! Let me try and play catch up for a bit...Where did I leave off?
Things have been great. Incredibly busy, as the semester is starting to wind down which is nuts. Two weekends ago I went to Barcelona again with a few girls from the program and to see Jessica. I love that city (it actually reminds me a lot of San Francisco) so that was a lot of fun! We ventured by train to Figueres which is where the Dali Museum is and that was fantastic. We spent most of the day there just wandering around the exhibits and slightly exploring the tiny but charming town. The weather is Barcelona was wonderful, heaven compared to freezing Madrid. We also celebrated St. Patty's day there which was really fun (I got an awesome green guinness top hat from one of the bars)!
Once back, we had a quick half week of classes because early Thursday morning we left for our group trip to the north of Spain! It was a fantastic trip! We went by bus and our first stop was Bilbao to see the Guggenheim museum. Sadly, we had a bad guided tour which kind of ruined the museum for me, but it was still a very cool building. Then we continued on to San Sebastian which was by far my favorite stop on the trip. It was absolutely beautiful! And it was really rainy and gross out so I can't imagine how amazing it would be in the sunny, warm weather. Ha! We had the afternoon/night there so we explored the city and its nightlife and then the next day had a guided walking tour all around the city, from one end of the beach to the other and into the center, etc. It was a lot of walking but such a pretty city! We had lunch at a great restaurant at the top of a hill overlooking San Sebastian's bay. Amazing view!
From San Sebastian we took our bus to a tiny little town in the La Rioja region of Spain. The town was called Haro and was really small and quaint, with not a lot going on but it was a cute place. We stayed there overnight because it was close to the winery/wine museum we were visiting the next day. We went to a wine museum which was cool, but kind of a tease because I think most of us wanted to see the vineyards, wine cellars and taste the wine. Apparently we were supposed to have a wine tasting at the same place but something got messed up and we didn't end up getting to do that (which was VERY disappointing). So from there we drove to another small town for lunch at supposedly one of the best restaurants in Spain. It was in a really cool building, like someone's old house and the food was good and we more than made up for the lack of wine tasting because they just kept bringing us jugs and jugs of wine at the table. :-)
From there we went to our last overnight stop on the trip, Burgos. We stayed in a really nice hotel (as SC always puts us up in reallly nice hotels) and just relaxed there for a bit before venturing out into the cold (and snow!) at night. The town is really pretty, right on the river and really beautiful. But I think we were all ready to head back to Madrid after our whirlwind tour of the North!
The next day we stopped in Laguardia for lunch in a palace, which was really good and a nice ending to the trip and then we headed back to Madrid. It's still cold here and poured this morning but hopefully it will start to clear up and warm up because I'm MORE than ready for some sun! Tomorrow night my family comes!! I'm really excited for them to come and be able to show them the city and then Sunday morning we go to Portugal for a few days which I'm really excited about. Hopefully it will be warm/sunny there!!
Ok I think that's a lot of catch up for now...Hopefully I'll remember/have the time to write again soon!
Things have been great. Incredibly busy, as the semester is starting to wind down which is nuts. Two weekends ago I went to Barcelona again with a few girls from the program and to see Jessica. I love that city (it actually reminds me a lot of San Francisco) so that was a lot of fun! We ventured by train to Figueres which is where the Dali Museum is and that was fantastic. We spent most of the day there just wandering around the exhibits and slightly exploring the tiny but charming town. The weather is Barcelona was wonderful, heaven compared to freezing Madrid. We also celebrated St. Patty's day there which was really fun (I got an awesome green guinness top hat from one of the bars)!
Once back, we had a quick half week of classes because early Thursday morning we left for our group trip to the north of Spain! It was a fantastic trip! We went by bus and our first stop was Bilbao to see the Guggenheim museum. Sadly, we had a bad guided tour which kind of ruined the museum for me, but it was still a very cool building. Then we continued on to San Sebastian which was by far my favorite stop on the trip. It was absolutely beautiful! And it was really rainy and gross out so I can't imagine how amazing it would be in the sunny, warm weather. Ha! We had the afternoon/night there so we explored the city and its nightlife and then the next day had a guided walking tour all around the city, from one end of the beach to the other and into the center, etc. It was a lot of walking but such a pretty city! We had lunch at a great restaurant at the top of a hill overlooking San Sebastian's bay. Amazing view!
From San Sebastian we took our bus to a tiny little town in the La Rioja region of Spain. The town was called Haro and was really small and quaint, with not a lot going on but it was a cute place. We stayed there overnight because it was close to the winery/wine museum we were visiting the next day. We went to a wine museum which was cool, but kind of a tease because I think most of us wanted to see the vineyards, wine cellars and taste the wine. Apparently we were supposed to have a wine tasting at the same place but something got messed up and we didn't end up getting to do that (which was VERY disappointing). So from there we drove to another small town for lunch at supposedly one of the best restaurants in Spain. It was in a really cool building, like someone's old house and the food was good and we more than made up for the lack of wine tasting because they just kept bringing us jugs and jugs of wine at the table. :-)
From there we went to our last overnight stop on the trip, Burgos. We stayed in a really nice hotel (as SC always puts us up in reallly nice hotels) and just relaxed there for a bit before venturing out into the cold (and snow!) at night. The town is really pretty, right on the river and really beautiful. But I think we were all ready to head back to Madrid after our whirlwind tour of the North!
The next day we stopped in Laguardia for lunch in a palace, which was really good and a nice ending to the trip and then we headed back to Madrid. It's still cold here and poured this morning but hopefully it will start to clear up and warm up because I'm MORE than ready for some sun! Tomorrow night my family comes!! I'm really excited for them to come and be able to show them the city and then Sunday morning we go to Portugal for a few days which I'm really excited about. Hopefully it will be warm/sunny there!!
Ok I think that's a lot of catch up for now...Hopefully I'll remember/have the time to write again soon!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Halfway through...
Midterms are over!!! We all breathed a huge sigh of relief on Thursday afternoon after our last test (art history). The past week was hell, a lot of writing and studying all crammed into a few days. But it's over now and there's been a bit of time to relax. :-)
But the scary thing about that is that, ok, midterms are over, but that means the program is half gone as well! This semester has really flown by, it's crazy how fast it's going. This weekend I'm here in Madrid just relaxing, and it has been wonderful so far. Yesterday, I did absolutely nothing except for catch up on some American tv shows and read (which I haven't done since probably the first week I was here) so that was a nice little break. Today I'm waiting for lunch at home and then going to venture out to the park (because it's finally sunny! - although still kind of cold) and continue my search for cute flat shoes. Very productive I know.
Thursday, after midterms, those of us from my theater class that were still in town (a bunch of people left for their weekend trips early) went to see La Casa de Bernarda Alba at the theater. I had read and seen the play in high school (yay C.T.E) but the class had just finished reading it so it was a great way to make sure we all fully understood the script. Plus, the play was obviously in Spanish which was of course different from the version I saw. The play was great, I really enjoyed it. By far the best one we've seen here in Madrid so far. There were tons of American students in the audience, probably because almost everyone reads the play in a Spanish drama/literature/culture class so that was kind of a neat experience.
After the show, I went out to dinner with some of the girls in the program. Mexican food at the only good Mexican restaurant I've found in Spain so far. Yum! I do miss my L.A. Mexican food though. Then, we treated ourself to some churros con chocolate and tried to make it home before the metro closed.
As I said before, this semester is really flying by! I'm here this weekend, then next weekend I actually head to Barcelona again (I just can't stay away), then the weekend after that we have a group trip to the north of Spain. Then my family comes!! Yay! And it's spring break where I show them around for a few days and then we head to Portugal. Then it's April, basically the last month of our program and I'm here in Madrid for a few of the weekends and traveling to Amsterdam for one of them. :-) Craziness...
Alright well it's just about lunch time (I hope...) so I'm going to head off. More updates to come if something exciting happens!
Ciao!
But the scary thing about that is that, ok, midterms are over, but that means the program is half gone as well! This semester has really flown by, it's crazy how fast it's going. This weekend I'm here in Madrid just relaxing, and it has been wonderful so far. Yesterday, I did absolutely nothing except for catch up on some American tv shows and read (which I haven't done since probably the first week I was here) so that was a nice little break. Today I'm waiting for lunch at home and then going to venture out to the park (because it's finally sunny! - although still kind of cold) and continue my search for cute flat shoes. Very productive I know.
Thursday, after midterms, those of us from my theater class that were still in town (a bunch of people left for their weekend trips early) went to see La Casa de Bernarda Alba at the theater. I had read and seen the play in high school (yay C.T.E) but the class had just finished reading it so it was a great way to make sure we all fully understood the script. Plus, the play was obviously in Spanish which was of course different from the version I saw. The play was great, I really enjoyed it. By far the best one we've seen here in Madrid so far. There were tons of American students in the audience, probably because almost everyone reads the play in a Spanish drama/literature/culture class so that was kind of a neat experience.
After the show, I went out to dinner with some of the girls in the program. Mexican food at the only good Mexican restaurant I've found in Spain so far. Yum! I do miss my L.A. Mexican food though. Then, we treated ourself to some churros con chocolate and tried to make it home before the metro closed.
As I said before, this semester is really flying by! I'm here this weekend, then next weekend I actually head to Barcelona again (I just can't stay away), then the weekend after that we have a group trip to the north of Spain. Then my family comes!! Yay! And it's spring break where I show them around for a few days and then we head to Portugal. Then it's April, basically the last month of our program and I'm here in Madrid for a few of the weekends and traveling to Amsterdam for one of them. :-) Craziness...
Alright well it's just about lunch time (I hope...) so I'm going to head off. More updates to come if something exciting happens!
Ciao!
Monday, March 5, 2007
Midterm Avoidance
It's that dreaded week again: midterms. Lovely USC Madrid scheduled all of our midterms in the same week, and yet we still have our normal class schedule as well, so it's going to be a bit of a hectic week. I had a paper due today for my theater class (in spanish of course) so at least that's out of the way, but still three more tests to go! Two on Wednesday and one on Thursday. But then I'm done :-)
This past week was relatively uneventful, as I spent most of it sick at home. :-( But now I'm feeling much better, so at least it was worth it. On Friday we had a group day trip to El Escorial, a royal palace built by Felipe II about an hour away from Madrid. It's in a beautiful location, surrounded by mountains which still have snow on them and lavish gardens. The palace itself is very dark and gloomy though. Felipe II was a very Catholic king and wanted to show the citizens of Spain that even the king lives by Catholic principles, which apparently meant his palace had to be cold and dark. There were tiny windows and big stone walls, and although lots of magnificent artwork, not enough light to appreciate it with. There was, however, a very cool library (with almost all of the original books!) that was beautifully decorated and lavish in contrast to the rest of the building.
On Saturday, frustrated with my theater paper, I left and met up with a few girls to explore more of Madrid. It is finally sunny and (slightly) warmer so we walked ALL around the city for hours, exploring parts we hadn't gotten to yet. It was definitely nice to see more of the city, instead of traveling from freezing point A to freezing point B underground on the Metro. Saturday night we celebrated one of the girl's birthdays on the trip. We started at this restaurant/bar/hookah spot near her homestay which was really fun and different and then of course the big group split up and my part headed to the university area to check out some of the cheaper bars. It was a fun night!
Today I am avoiding studying for my tests (as always) and trying to figure out my plans for after the program ends. Planning travel is always very stressful for me. Anyway, just a quick catchup to a slightly uneventful week. This weekend I'm in Madrid again (taking a break from traveling for a few weeks) so I'm sure I'll find time to post soon!
This past week was relatively uneventful, as I spent most of it sick at home. :-( But now I'm feeling much better, so at least it was worth it. On Friday we had a group day trip to El Escorial, a royal palace built by Felipe II about an hour away from Madrid. It's in a beautiful location, surrounded by mountains which still have snow on them and lavish gardens. The palace itself is very dark and gloomy though. Felipe II was a very Catholic king and wanted to show the citizens of Spain that even the king lives by Catholic principles, which apparently meant his palace had to be cold and dark. There were tiny windows and big stone walls, and although lots of magnificent artwork, not enough light to appreciate it with. There was, however, a very cool library (with almost all of the original books!) that was beautifully decorated and lavish in contrast to the rest of the building.
On Saturday, frustrated with my theater paper, I left and met up with a few girls to explore more of Madrid. It is finally sunny and (slightly) warmer so we walked ALL around the city for hours, exploring parts we hadn't gotten to yet. It was definitely nice to see more of the city, instead of traveling from freezing point A to freezing point B underground on the Metro. Saturday night we celebrated one of the girl's birthdays on the trip. We started at this restaurant/bar/hookah spot near her homestay which was really fun and different and then of course the big group split up and my part headed to the university area to check out some of the cheaper bars. It was a fun night!
Today I am avoiding studying for my tests (as always) and trying to figure out my plans for after the program ends. Planning travel is always very stressful for me. Anyway, just a quick catchup to a slightly uneventful week. This weekend I'm in Madrid again (taking a break from traveling for a few weeks) so I'm sure I'll find time to post soon!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Flamenco and Florencia
So once again it's been quite a while since I've written. Maybe this will turn into a once a week type of thing...
This past week was hectic and fun as usual. Classes are really picking up (we have midterms next week, ah!) and I'm struggling to keep up with all the reading as always. But...this past weekend I went to Florence with Jessica to see Bekah which was amazing! It was so wonderful to see friends from home and explore Italy (which is absolutely wonderful).
Oh, before I get into my Italy trip...last Thursday my program organized a trip to a Flamenco show for all of us, which was so cool! It was in this old taberna and featured a 5-piece band (2 guitarists, a drummer and two vocalists) and two dancers. The show was great! I loved the guitarists, I still can't believe how fast they played and they way the just improvised these incredible pieces. Dad, you would have loved it! The dancers were also amazing. There was a man and a woman who danced together at first and then the woman had a solo and then the guy got to dance on his own also. They were both very talented, but very different dancers. The woman was so passionate, it looked like she was in pain while she was moving and the guy was smiling and looked like he was having a lot of fun up there, so for me that was a little more enjoyable to watch (although I know Flamenco is often a very serious, somber dance).
Anyway, so that ended late and I had to get a cab at 5 am in order to catch my 6:30 am flight. Woo hoo! I met Jessica in Milan, where we flew together to Florence. From the airport, we took a cab to our hostel (Leonardo House). It was basically this guy's house which he had converted into a hostel with a few rooms and a couple bathrooms. He was really nice and helpful and the place was clean and in a great location, so we lucked out. Yay hostelworld.com haha. Bekah was spending the day in Sienna with her mom who was in town to visit so Jessica and I spent the day wandering the city. We climbed the Duomo (all 500 steps!) to see the gorgeous view of Florence. The climb was intense, with tiny and narrow spiral staircases that wound up forever and considering they were all open and I'm terrified of heights, I'd say it was quite an accomplishment. The view was beautiful. Florence is so pretty with its red rooftops and sprawling hills. And small enough so that you can see it all at once! After our climb, Jessica and I treated ourselves to a really yummy lunch on Piazza de Republica. I LOVE Italian food! I could eat pizza, pasta and gelato forever. Not kidding. After lunch we wandered around for a bit more and then napped (much needed) and then finally met up with Bekah and her mom for dinner. Dinner was again, wonderful. We joked how our days just revolved around food...you kind of do things in between meals but it's really all about the food. Haha. After dinner, we went back and saw Bekah's dorm (which is so cute!) and then went out for the night. Florence night life was really fun, although it's weird because there are SO many Americans. You seriously hear more English than Italian on the streets. We ended up at a club (with no cover charge...amazing!) that was actually playing American music. Yesss!
Saturday was another busy day. We went and got coffee (sooo good) and then got in line to see Michaelangelo's David. The line moved quickly and the statue was magnificent. It was such the opposite experience from when I saw the Mona Lisa last summer (I was really underwhelmed). The statue was bigger and more beautiful than I thought. We just sat and looked for a while, taking it all in. We then wandered around for a while, touring the open-air market and the old bridge and then ducked back to the hostel before it started to really rain. Dinner was incredible (how could it not be...) and then Saturday night was fun as well, although I was starting to feel really sick so we made it a relatively early night.
Sunday was a really long day of traveling (they cancelled my flight and had to reroute me around for a few hours) but now I'm back in Madrid. Sadly, all my weeks of fighting really hard to not get sick failed and now I'm sick. :-( Hopefully my many medicines I stocked up on before I came here will help!
Anyway I must get to the homework I did not do today while I was searching for a doctor's office. Hope everything is great back at home!
Adios!
This past week was hectic and fun as usual. Classes are really picking up (we have midterms next week, ah!) and I'm struggling to keep up with all the reading as always. But...this past weekend I went to Florence with Jessica to see Bekah which was amazing! It was so wonderful to see friends from home and explore Italy (which is absolutely wonderful).
Oh, before I get into my Italy trip...last Thursday my program organized a trip to a Flamenco show for all of us, which was so cool! It was in this old taberna and featured a 5-piece band (2 guitarists, a drummer and two vocalists) and two dancers. The show was great! I loved the guitarists, I still can't believe how fast they played and they way the just improvised these incredible pieces. Dad, you would have loved it! The dancers were also amazing. There was a man and a woman who danced together at first and then the woman had a solo and then the guy got to dance on his own also. They were both very talented, but very different dancers. The woman was so passionate, it looked like she was in pain while she was moving and the guy was smiling and looked like he was having a lot of fun up there, so for me that was a little more enjoyable to watch (although I know Flamenco is often a very serious, somber dance).
Anyway, so that ended late and I had to get a cab at 5 am in order to catch my 6:30 am flight. Woo hoo! I met Jessica in Milan, where we flew together to Florence. From the airport, we took a cab to our hostel (Leonardo House). It was basically this guy's house which he had converted into a hostel with a few rooms and a couple bathrooms. He was really nice and helpful and the place was clean and in a great location, so we lucked out. Yay hostelworld.com haha. Bekah was spending the day in Sienna with her mom who was in town to visit so Jessica and I spent the day wandering the city. We climbed the Duomo (all 500 steps!) to see the gorgeous view of Florence. The climb was intense, with tiny and narrow spiral staircases that wound up forever and considering they were all open and I'm terrified of heights, I'd say it was quite an accomplishment. The view was beautiful. Florence is so pretty with its red rooftops and sprawling hills. And small enough so that you can see it all at once! After our climb, Jessica and I treated ourselves to a really yummy lunch on Piazza de Republica. I LOVE Italian food! I could eat pizza, pasta and gelato forever. Not kidding. After lunch we wandered around for a bit more and then napped (much needed) and then finally met up with Bekah and her mom for dinner. Dinner was again, wonderful. We joked how our days just revolved around food...you kind of do things in between meals but it's really all about the food. Haha. After dinner, we went back and saw Bekah's dorm (which is so cute!) and then went out for the night. Florence night life was really fun, although it's weird because there are SO many Americans. You seriously hear more English than Italian on the streets. We ended up at a club (with no cover charge...amazing!) that was actually playing American music. Yesss!
Saturday was another busy day. We went and got coffee (sooo good) and then got in line to see Michaelangelo's David. The line moved quickly and the statue was magnificent. It was such the opposite experience from when I saw the Mona Lisa last summer (I was really underwhelmed). The statue was bigger and more beautiful than I thought. We just sat and looked for a while, taking it all in. We then wandered around for a while, touring the open-air market and the old bridge and then ducked back to the hostel before it started to really rain. Dinner was incredible (how could it not be...) and then Saturday night was fun as well, although I was starting to feel really sick so we made it a relatively early night.
Sunday was a really long day of traveling (they cancelled my flight and had to reroute me around for a few hours) but now I'm back in Madrid. Sadly, all my weeks of fighting really hard to not get sick failed and now I'm sick. :-( Hopefully my many medicines I stocked up on before I came here will help!
Anyway I must get to the homework I did not do today while I was searching for a doctor's office. Hope everything is great back at home!
Adios!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Tour al Sur!!
Just got back to Madrid from a whirlwind tour of the south of Spain. During the program, USC has organized two entire group tours of other parts of Spain, and last Wednesday we set out for the south of Spain. The trip was incredible! We spent two nights in Sevilla, two nights in Granada, and just a few hours in Cordoba on the way back up to Madrid. Each of the cities were distinct and absolutely beautiful, filled with reminders of Spain's history and the years of Muslim control of much of Spain.
Our first stop, Sevilla, was my favorite of the trip. The city is a strange mix of modern and old, but it seems to work. On our first day there, we took a bus tour of the city. Our guide explained that the city has changed a lot in recent years because it hosted an Iberian American Exhibition in 1929 and a World's Fair (i think) in 1992. So the city is filled with pavillions built by each country represented in the Iberian American Exhibition and then also with modern looking structures (like bridges and arenas) for the more recent exhibition. After our bus tour, we stopped in the Juderia, the old Jewish neighborhood from before the Spainish Inquisition. This part of town has maintained its old world feeling, with tiny streets and whitewashed houses with potted plants spilling off the balconies. From there, we walked to the Cathedral, which is one of the most beautiful things I've seen on my trip so far. The current Cathedral was built in the same spot as Sevilla's old mosque and some of the mosque's features have been preserved (like the orange tree filled patio and the minaret). We took a tour of the inside and then climbed the 41 floors to the top of the minaret for spectacular views of the city. So beautiful!
After a group lunch (meals on the trip were paid for by the program so that was fabulous), we were given some free time which most of us used to nap because we had to be at the train station ridiculously early that morning. Then it was time to explore Sevilla's nightlife. The city has a large university so there are a lot of students and a lively nightlife. It was one of my favorite nights out!
Our second day in Sevilla, we took a bus to the site where Columbus set sail for the Americas. We visited the monastery where he sought support and then got to play on replica's of his boats. It was a fun excursion, although we had one of the grumpiest tour guides ever. We got back to Sevilla just in time for another fun night out and then early the next morning, we set out for Granada.
When in Granada, we toured the old part of the city up on the hill, just at the foot of Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains. From there we got an incredible view of the Alhambra and got to soak up some sun at the lookout point. We saved our Alhambra tour for the next day, which was a bit unfortunate because the next day, the temperature dropped about 40 degrees and rained consistently, so the Alhambra trip was a bit miserable. However, it was still breathtakingly beautiful with its manicured gardens, fountains and beautiful architecture. I think I'm going to need to go back when it's sunny though to really appreciate it fully.
After two exhausting days and nights in Granada, we took a bus to Cordoba where we toured the Mosque (in which is housed a Catholic cathedral because they didn't want to fully destroy the mosque). It's a beautiful city, but I think we were all tired and ready to get "home" to Madrid so we didn't spend as much time there as we could have.
Sadly, it was not a good technology weekend for me. I stupidly dropped my camera and it broke right before we visited the Alhambra so from that point on, I don't have any pictures to share. :-( However, I'll be sure to steal some of my friend's pictures and try and post those. Haha. Also, my phone just decided to stop working so sorry if I don't keep up with my phone calls or return messages for a few days.
Anyway, hopefully I'll get those things fixed soon...hope everything is well in the states! I need to get back to my reading. :-)
Hasta luego!
Our first stop, Sevilla, was my favorite of the trip. The city is a strange mix of modern and old, but it seems to work. On our first day there, we took a bus tour of the city. Our guide explained that the city has changed a lot in recent years because it hosted an Iberian American Exhibition in 1929 and a World's Fair (i think) in 1992. So the city is filled with pavillions built by each country represented in the Iberian American Exhibition and then also with modern looking structures (like bridges and arenas) for the more recent exhibition. After our bus tour, we stopped in the Juderia, the old Jewish neighborhood from before the Spainish Inquisition. This part of town has maintained its old world feeling, with tiny streets and whitewashed houses with potted plants spilling off the balconies. From there, we walked to the Cathedral, which is one of the most beautiful things I've seen on my trip so far. The current Cathedral was built in the same spot as Sevilla's old mosque and some of the mosque's features have been preserved (like the orange tree filled patio and the minaret). We took a tour of the inside and then climbed the 41 floors to the top of the minaret for spectacular views of the city. So beautiful!
After a group lunch (meals on the trip were paid for by the program so that was fabulous), we were given some free time which most of us used to nap because we had to be at the train station ridiculously early that morning. Then it was time to explore Sevilla's nightlife. The city has a large university so there are a lot of students and a lively nightlife. It was one of my favorite nights out!
Our second day in Sevilla, we took a bus to the site where Columbus set sail for the Americas. We visited the monastery where he sought support and then got to play on replica's of his boats. It was a fun excursion, although we had one of the grumpiest tour guides ever. We got back to Sevilla just in time for another fun night out and then early the next morning, we set out for Granada.
When in Granada, we toured the old part of the city up on the hill, just at the foot of Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains. From there we got an incredible view of the Alhambra and got to soak up some sun at the lookout point. We saved our Alhambra tour for the next day, which was a bit unfortunate because the next day, the temperature dropped about 40 degrees and rained consistently, so the Alhambra trip was a bit miserable. However, it was still breathtakingly beautiful with its manicured gardens, fountains and beautiful architecture. I think I'm going to need to go back when it's sunny though to really appreciate it fully.
After two exhausting days and nights in Granada, we took a bus to Cordoba where we toured the Mosque (in which is housed a Catholic cathedral because they didn't want to fully destroy the mosque). It's a beautiful city, but I think we were all tired and ready to get "home" to Madrid so we didn't spend as much time there as we could have.
Sadly, it was not a good technology weekend for me. I stupidly dropped my camera and it broke right before we visited the Alhambra so from that point on, I don't have any pictures to share. :-( However, I'll be sure to steal some of my friend's pictures and try and post those. Haha. Also, my phone just decided to stop working so sorry if I don't keep up with my phone calls or return messages for a few days.
Anyway, hopefully I'll get those things fixed soon...hope everything is well in the states! I need to get back to my reading. :-)
Hasta luego!
Monday, February 12, 2007
One Month Down!
So apparently I fail at updating this regularly...sorry! This past week was fabulous, with classes, nights out and a last minute weekend trip to Barcelona!
Classes are going well. It's crazy to think that we're already prepping for midterms. Wednesday it will be one month since I left, which is just crazy to think about. It's gone so fast! I've been doing a ton of reading for my literature classes, some of which I understand, some of which I don't. Oh well. On Wednesday we went to see another play for my theater class, this one called "El arquitecto y el relojero" (The architect and the clockmaker). It was a two person play centering on the theme of whether or not to preserve Spain's somewhat tumultuous recent history (Civil War, Franco, etc). The idea of it was interesting and I think if I had read the script, I would have liked it much more, but it was a ton of dialogue (because only two people...) and I couldn't understand all of it. So basically we were sitting there a bit bored and confused for two hours. Oh well, hopefully we'll be seeing a few good plays this semester! Haha. Art history is still going really well. I really wish I had taken something like this before, but I think part of why I like the class is first of all because of the teacher and secondly because we talk about all these styles, etc and then get to go see the actual thing the next class! So it really sinks in...
Anyway, enough about school. On Thursday night, I left with a couple girls from the program to Barcelona!! It was a last minute decision, but after I found out that Jessica (friend from high school) was going to be in town that weekend, I had to go. We did a whirlwind tour of the city during the two full days we had there, seeing everything from Gaudi's famous building to parks to shopping to yummy coffees on Las Ramblas. I love Barcelona! It's such a bustling city, but it really has an old world feel with its amazing architecture and laid back attitude. Plus, it has a beach! Sadly it wasn't warm enough to lay in the sand. Maybe later in the year...Anyway after our long days of tourism we unwound at some very cool bars. We went to one called The Fairy Bar, which had incredible decorations of an enchanted forest. So cool! (Check out my pictures to see.) I also got to go out with Jessica and her friends, which was fun to see how her program is working out and who she's met there. And always nice to see a friend from home :-)
Anyway this week is a short one (only two days of classes!) because early Wednesday morning the USC program is taking us all to the south of Spain. We are going to Sevilla for a few nights, then Granada and then Cordoba. I'm so excited because I've never been there and it sounds amazing (and also, I have to admit, because it's going to be warmer there...I'm over the cold weather). We have a pretty busy schedule, with tours, museums and meals (paid for by SC...yes!) but also some free time to explore so that should be nice.
I must get back to my art history reading, but I'll try and post more regularly. I don't know what my internet situation is going to be on our trip, but if I get a chance I'll keep you updated. I hope you are enjoying reading about my travels! :-)
Love from Spain!
Classes are going well. It's crazy to think that we're already prepping for midterms. Wednesday it will be one month since I left, which is just crazy to think about. It's gone so fast! I've been doing a ton of reading for my literature classes, some of which I understand, some of which I don't. Oh well. On Wednesday we went to see another play for my theater class, this one called "El arquitecto y el relojero" (The architect and the clockmaker). It was a two person play centering on the theme of whether or not to preserve Spain's somewhat tumultuous recent history (Civil War, Franco, etc). The idea of it was interesting and I think if I had read the script, I would have liked it much more, but it was a ton of dialogue (because only two people...) and I couldn't understand all of it. So basically we were sitting there a bit bored and confused for two hours. Oh well, hopefully we'll be seeing a few good plays this semester! Haha. Art history is still going really well. I really wish I had taken something like this before, but I think part of why I like the class is first of all because of the teacher and secondly because we talk about all these styles, etc and then get to go see the actual thing the next class! So it really sinks in...
Anyway, enough about school. On Thursday night, I left with a couple girls from the program to Barcelona!! It was a last minute decision, but after I found out that Jessica (friend from high school) was going to be in town that weekend, I had to go. We did a whirlwind tour of the city during the two full days we had there, seeing everything from Gaudi's famous building to parks to shopping to yummy coffees on Las Ramblas. I love Barcelona! It's such a bustling city, but it really has an old world feel with its amazing architecture and laid back attitude. Plus, it has a beach! Sadly it wasn't warm enough to lay in the sand. Maybe later in the year...Anyway after our long days of tourism we unwound at some very cool bars. We went to one called The Fairy Bar, which had incredible decorations of an enchanted forest. So cool! (Check out my pictures to see.) I also got to go out with Jessica and her friends, which was fun to see how her program is working out and who she's met there. And always nice to see a friend from home :-)
Anyway this week is a short one (only two days of classes!) because early Wednesday morning the USC program is taking us all to the south of Spain. We are going to Sevilla for a few nights, then Granada and then Cordoba. I'm so excited because I've never been there and it sounds amazing (and also, I have to admit, because it's going to be warmer there...I'm over the cold weather). We have a pretty busy schedule, with tours, museums and meals (paid for by SC...yes!) but also some free time to explore so that should be nice.
I must get back to my art history reading, but I'll try and post more regularly. I don't know what my internet situation is going to be on our trip, but if I get a chance I'll keep you updated. I hope you are enjoying reading about my travels! :-)
Love from Spain!
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Art, The Theater and Salamanca!!
Ah this week has been busy and crazy without much time to post. I'm going to try and update on the events of this week...so sorry if this one is long!
The second week of classes was decent. They're diving right in with the work and really not skimping on the reading assignments. But for the most part I'm enjoying my classes, especially art history which is still my favorite so far. On Wednesday instead of having regular theater class, the class went to see a play! We saw "La Duda" by Galdos (a Spanish author and playwright who I'm actually studying in two of my classes) at this cool, underground theater in Madrid. It was really fun to get out and see a play (although I'll admit I couldn't understand every word). The play was good, a little slow, but good. We saw a pretty early show on a Wednesday, so the audience was mostly filled older women in their long fur coats (I swear, you're not a cool old Spanish woman if you don't own a floor-length fur coat) so it was fun for people-watching too!
On Thursday, half of the program went to the Reina Sofia, Madrid's contemporary art museum (the other half will go next week) after our art history class. The Reina Sofia houses some fantastic collections of artists like Picasso (including Guernica!) and Dali, so we spent the majority of our time looking at their pieces. Our art history prof, Paco, was our guide for the trip so it was really great to have someone narrating while we were viewing the pictures. Seeing Guernica was really amazing, both because of its size and because I have studied it in so many classes and so to see the real thing was really cool. Same with many of Dali's pieces, which I've studied in past classes. And Paco's insights really helped us to understand the context of the paintings. I wish I could bring him with me to every museum I visit!
On Friday I took a train with a few people from the program to Salamanca! It's about 2 and a half hours away and I'm so glad I decided to go. The city is absolutely beautiful! It is wonderfully preserved from the city's days as a medieval center in Spain and the little streets and old buildings were so pretty. We got in pretty late Friday afternoon, so after finding our hostel we decided to just walk around for a bit. It's great because Salamanca (or at least the old part of town) is such a small area, that it's so easy to go for a little walk and see all the sights. We did a little touring and then got some tapas. The next day, after lunch and a long night of pubs and clubs, we set out to do the sightseeing. Salamanca houses one of the oldest universities in Europe and it is almost the same as it was when it was founded so it was fantastic to see such an old place, where students are still studying! We also saw beautiful cathedrals (we climbed the towers to the top of one for some beautiful views) and the Roman Bridge (which my friend and history buff Garrett told me has 17 of the original 21 arches still standing...very impressive). After we saw all of Salamanca's main attractions, we split up for a bit and the girls did some shopping. Then we rested up for another night of Salamanca's fun nightlife (which is so much cheaper than Madrid!). Salamanca's still a college-town so it was really fun going out and exploring what it's like for students there. We caught an early afternoon train back and now I have to catch up on the sleep I didn't get and the homework that I didn't do this weekend. And I'm also debating going to watch the superbowl late tonight (but we'll see...).
I took some pictures this past week so if you're interested you can see them on my picassa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/carlygoldsmith
Hope everything is great in the states! I miss you all! Hasta luego!
The second week of classes was decent. They're diving right in with the work and really not skimping on the reading assignments. But for the most part I'm enjoying my classes, especially art history which is still my favorite so far. On Wednesday instead of having regular theater class, the class went to see a play! We saw "La Duda" by Galdos (a Spanish author and playwright who I'm actually studying in two of my classes) at this cool, underground theater in Madrid. It was really fun to get out and see a play (although I'll admit I couldn't understand every word). The play was good, a little slow, but good. We saw a pretty early show on a Wednesday, so the audience was mostly filled older women in their long fur coats (I swear, you're not a cool old Spanish woman if you don't own a floor-length fur coat) so it was fun for people-watching too!
On Thursday, half of the program went to the Reina Sofia, Madrid's contemporary art museum (the other half will go next week) after our art history class. The Reina Sofia houses some fantastic collections of artists like Picasso (including Guernica!) and Dali, so we spent the majority of our time looking at their pieces. Our art history prof, Paco, was our guide for the trip so it was really great to have someone narrating while we were viewing the pictures. Seeing Guernica was really amazing, both because of its size and because I have studied it in so many classes and so to see the real thing was really cool. Same with many of Dali's pieces, which I've studied in past classes. And Paco's insights really helped us to understand the context of the paintings. I wish I could bring him with me to every museum I visit!
On Friday I took a train with a few people from the program to Salamanca! It's about 2 and a half hours away and I'm so glad I decided to go. The city is absolutely beautiful! It is wonderfully preserved from the city's days as a medieval center in Spain and the little streets and old buildings were so pretty. We got in pretty late Friday afternoon, so after finding our hostel we decided to just walk around for a bit. It's great because Salamanca (or at least the old part of town) is such a small area, that it's so easy to go for a little walk and see all the sights. We did a little touring and then got some tapas. The next day, after lunch and a long night of pubs and clubs, we set out to do the sightseeing. Salamanca houses one of the oldest universities in Europe and it is almost the same as it was when it was founded so it was fantastic to see such an old place, where students are still studying! We also saw beautiful cathedrals (we climbed the towers to the top of one for some beautiful views) and the Roman Bridge (which my friend and history buff Garrett told me has 17 of the original 21 arches still standing...very impressive). After we saw all of Salamanca's main attractions, we split up for a bit and the girls did some shopping. Then we rested up for another night of Salamanca's fun nightlife (which is so much cheaper than Madrid!). Salamanca's still a college-town so it was really fun going out and exploring what it's like for students there. We caught an early afternoon train back and now I have to catch up on the sleep I didn't get and the homework that I didn't do this weekend. And I'm also debating going to watch the superbowl late tonight (but we'll see...).
I took some pictures this past week so if you're interested you can see them on my picassa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/carlygoldsmith
Hope everything is great in the states! I miss you all! Hasta luego!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Catch Up
Sorry it's been a while...I had a busy weekend and didn't get around to posting. Life here has been good. The weekend was fun, but freeeezing! I did some shopping, although it's always so hard to buy something when you're actually looking for something in particular, and explored a bit more of my neighborhood. The area where I live is sort of a strange mix of residential and commercial. My street is filled with apartment buildings (most look pretty expensive) and then several banks and even a few car showrooms. Anyway it was fun to wander around, although I must admit I didn't last for too long in the ridiculous cold. I swear it was snowing everywhere in Spain except for Madrid (even the southern coast got some snow)!
Friday night a group of us went out to check out another one of the gazillion clubs in in the city. It was a fun night, apparently some famous British dj was spinning...but it got to be just a bit too much techno for me haha. The rest of the weekend was filled with homework, relaxing and wandering. Today marked the beginning of another week of classes and with a little rain this morning, the temperature seems to have risen a few degrees! Yes! Let's hope it stays that way...
I'm in the middle of planning a few weekend trips (to Barcelona, Florence and Amsterdam) so that's exciting. I can't wait to visit friends and see how their semesters abroad are going! :-) Also just found out the my family is coming to visit in April and we're possibly going to Portugal (?). Should be nice to see them and get to another country. If you've been to any of the places above and have suggestions, let me know!
Alright I must get back to my Art History homework and hopefully to bed early tonight to catch up on some sleep. Hasta luego!
Friday night a group of us went out to check out another one of the gazillion clubs in in the city. It was a fun night, apparently some famous British dj was spinning...but it got to be just a bit too much techno for me haha. The rest of the weekend was filled with homework, relaxing and wandering. Today marked the beginning of another week of classes and with a little rain this morning, the temperature seems to have risen a few degrees! Yes! Let's hope it stays that way...
I'm in the middle of planning a few weekend trips (to Barcelona, Florence and Amsterdam) so that's exciting. I can't wait to visit friends and see how their semesters abroad are going! :-) Also just found out the my family is coming to visit in April and we're possibly going to Portugal (?). Should be nice to see them and get to another country. If you've been to any of the places above and have suggestions, let me know!
Alright I must get back to my Art History homework and hopefully to bed early tonight to catch up on some sleep. Hasta luego!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
One down!
Done with the first week of classes! It's crazy to think that I've almost been here for two weeks. Feels like much shorter and longer at the same time...hard to explain I guess. Anyway classes went pretty well. It's a little more work than I thought I was going to have, but that's alright. Most of the work seems interesting and the Spanish is definitely challenging. I can't remember if I already explained this, but I'm taking two Spanish literature classes (hard!), a Spanish theater class and an art history class. I'm realllly looking forward to the art history class just because I've really never had a chance to take anything like that before, the Museo del Prado is absolutely wonderful (and that's what our class is based on) and the teacher is fabulous. It's looking like it's going to be a bit of work, but at least the class time will be entertaining.
This weekend a bunch of people are going out of town (some to Rome, others to Barcelona) but I decided to stay put so I can get to know the city a little more. I want to check out the not-so-touristy districts and cafes, stuff like that. However, it is so freezing here (LA weather has spoiled me...Lisa told me today she was going tanning...) that going outside is an ordeal all on its own. It's supposed to snow tonight, but they have been saying that for a few days and so far no snow...so we shall see. I'd really like to go to El Rastro this Sunday, which is Madrid's most famous and largest flea market. We'll see if I can get up and out that early on a Sunday morning, but it's supposed to be something you can't miss. Although it's notorious for muggings and pick-pockets so I probably won't bring much with me.
Today I bought my monthly metro pass (abono transporte) and it really made me realize that I'm going to be staying put for a while. Exciting! I put a few new pictures up on my Picasa site of my apartment and our outing to a Mexican restaurant (I know, I know...I'm in Spain...). I'll try and get more up soon but for some reason loading pictures is incredibly time consuming here.
Oh! And I'm trying to send out some postcards so if you get a chance please send me your address so I can get those in the mail! Gracias! Hasta luego!
This weekend a bunch of people are going out of town (some to Rome, others to Barcelona) but I decided to stay put so I can get to know the city a little more. I want to check out the not-so-touristy districts and cafes, stuff like that. However, it is so freezing here (LA weather has spoiled me...Lisa told me today she was going tanning...) that going outside is an ordeal all on its own. It's supposed to snow tonight, but they have been saying that for a few days and so far no snow...so we shall see. I'd really like to go to El Rastro this Sunday, which is Madrid's most famous and largest flea market. We'll see if I can get up and out that early on a Sunday morning, but it's supposed to be something you can't miss. Although it's notorious for muggings and pick-pockets so I probably won't bring much with me.
Today I bought my monthly metro pass (abono transporte) and it really made me realize that I'm going to be staying put for a while. Exciting! I put a few new pictures up on my Picasa site of my apartment and our outing to a Mexican restaurant (I know, I know...I'm in Spain...). I'll try and get more up soon but for some reason loading pictures is incredibly time consuming here.
Oh! And I'm trying to send out some postcards so if you get a chance please send me your address so I can get those in the mail! Gracias! Hasta luego!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Escuela
Classes started today. Woo hoo!...Not. But in all seriousness, I'm actually looking forward to having a little bit of structure in my week. I think it will make me feel like less of a tourist in Madrid, more like a resident. The first day wasn't so bad. I have three classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and then just one on Tuesdays/Thursdays so today was one of the long ones. The classes seem interesting (although I'm taking two spanish fiction classes and one spanish theater class on these days so that means A LOT of reading). I'm most excited for the theater class...the teacher is really low key and extremely knowledgeable about Spanish theater (he's an actor and a director here in Madrid) and judging from the syllabus we're going to be reading a lot of really well known Spanish plays. Yay!
In weather news, it got COLD here today. It's been pretty cold here since I arrived but for some reason today was ridiculously freezing and with a bit of rain. Not a fun walk to campus. Weather.com says it's going to snow here later in the week and I realize I'm going to regret saying this, but I'm kind of excited for there to be some snow on the ground! The rain I can live without though.
Tomorrow we have a group visit to El Museo Del Prado, which doubles as the first meeting of my art history class (Paintings in the Prado). I'm excited to visit the museum because since I've been here I've been seeing all these gorgeous buildings and museums but haven't really had the chance to go inside any of them yet. Also, last semester I took a class on Spanish art and we spent almost the entire semester talking about a few paintings that are housed in the Prado so it's going to be cool to see them up close and in person.
Anyway I'm off to bed. I have to get up early and try and get myself a metro pass tomorrow before the museum visit. I'll try and post new pictures soon! Adios!
In weather news, it got COLD here today. It's been pretty cold here since I arrived but for some reason today was ridiculously freezing and with a bit of rain. Not a fun walk to campus. Weather.com says it's going to snow here later in the week and I realize I'm going to regret saying this, but I'm kind of excited for there to be some snow on the ground! The rain I can live without though.
Tomorrow we have a group visit to El Museo Del Prado, which doubles as the first meeting of my art history class (Paintings in the Prado). I'm excited to visit the museum because since I've been here I've been seeing all these gorgeous buildings and museums but haven't really had the chance to go inside any of them yet. Also, last semester I took a class on Spanish art and we spent almost the entire semester talking about a few paintings that are housed in the Prado so it's going to be cool to see them up close and in person.
Anyway I'm off to bed. I have to get up early and try and get myself a metro pass tomorrow before the museum visit. I'll try and post new pictures soon! Adios!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Photos
If you want to see some pictures of my trip so far go to....
http://picasaweb.google.com/carlygoldsmith
Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/carlygoldsmith
Enjoy!
A night out
Just a quick update about last night's events...
Trying to stay true to Madrid's crazy schedule, a bunch of us met up around 12:30 at Puerta del Sol, a pretty and always crowded plaza in the center of Madrid's nightlife. Because 12:30 was still really early to head to a club, we grabbed a drink and a snack at a Museo del Jamon (yes, it's called the Museum of Ham). There are a few of these are around Sol and it's basically a butcher shop with a bar in the center...pretty crazy and slightly ham-scented but very cheap drinks and a quirky atmosphere. Back on the streets, we were bombarded with club promoters handing out little cards granting you free or discounted entrance into clubs and bars (always nice to get a discount) so we headed into a free-entrance bar for our second stop of the night. The bar was a little mellow, but with a small dance floor downstairs blaring remixed 80s songs and techno versions of 4-year-old American songs. We didn't stay for long and moved onto a club in the Sol area. The club was crowded and hot, but very fun and we were there for a long time. A little after 5, when we were finally ready to ditch the strobe lights we headed for a classic Madrid snack: churros y chocolate. For pretty cheap you get an enormous plate of fresh churros and a coffee cup full of rich chocolate sauce for dipping. So good! We made it back on the metro in time to pass out as the sun came out and I slept until late afternoon on the only day it has been sunny here so far (oops!). But apparently that's completely accepted because when I woke up my host-brother and the other student living here were still asleep. :-)
Just though I'd update quickly. I'm going to try and post some of my pictures online. I'll put the link up on this site, so look out for it!
Hasta luego!
Trying to stay true to Madrid's crazy schedule, a bunch of us met up around 12:30 at Puerta del Sol, a pretty and always crowded plaza in the center of Madrid's nightlife. Because 12:30 was still really early to head to a club, we grabbed a drink and a snack at a Museo del Jamon (yes, it's called the Museum of Ham). There are a few of these are around Sol and it's basically a butcher shop with a bar in the center...pretty crazy and slightly ham-scented but very cheap drinks and a quirky atmosphere. Back on the streets, we were bombarded with club promoters handing out little cards granting you free or discounted entrance into clubs and bars (always nice to get a discount) so we headed into a free-entrance bar for our second stop of the night. The bar was a little mellow, but with a small dance floor downstairs blaring remixed 80s songs and techno versions of 4-year-old American songs. We didn't stay for long and moved onto a club in the Sol area. The club was crowded and hot, but very fun and we were there for a long time. A little after 5, when we were finally ready to ditch the strobe lights we headed for a classic Madrid snack: churros y chocolate. For pretty cheap you get an enormous plate of fresh churros and a coffee cup full of rich chocolate sauce for dipping. So good! We made it back on the metro in time to pass out as the sun came out and I slept until late afternoon on the only day it has been sunny here so far (oops!). But apparently that's completely accepted because when I woke up my host-brother and the other student living here were still asleep. :-)
Just though I'd update quickly. I'm going to try and post some of my pictures online. I'll put the link up on this site, so look out for it!
Hasta luego!
Friday, January 19, 2007
The First Week
So today marks the end of our orientation week here in Madrid...it's been a crazy hectic week filled with group activities and free meals haha. The past few days I've just been continuing to explore and get to the know the city (which is huge!) and the people in my program. We've had several guided tours of lots of different areas of Madrid, pointing out the government buildings, movie theaters that show American movies and the best bars. Yesterday we had a night tour of the theater district from the professor of the Spanish Theater class which I'm going to be taking starting next week. After that we had a USC-paid-for meal of tapas (yummy!) and wine. So fabulous to know that my tuition dollars are going to excellent bottles of wine! :-) It's funny because tuition for this semester is the same for a semester at USC, but somehow here tuition includes sponsored meals and trips and bar excursions! Makes me think that USC should probably start including this in LA...Anyways after the group meal we kind of split up and went in our different directions to explore the Madrid nightlife. We wandered around this area called Sol, which is one of the central points in Madrid and is filled with bars, shops, and tons of people. A few of us ended up in a very smokey Irish pub (of all places...) for a while and just hung out getting to know each other.
Bright and early this morning (well actually not so bright because it's been incredible foggy here...makes me think of San Francisco) we met for a day-trip to Toledo, a small town about an hour outside of Madrid. Toledo was so beautiful! We spend the day in old town, exploring the tiny, winding roads that were barely the width of one car yet miraculously buses attempted to navigate them. We had a really entertaining tour guide who took us through the city, to the cathedral (the 10th biggest in the world) and a sword-making shop and a small church to see one of El Greco's masterpieces "El entierro del señor del conde de orgaz". The painting was amazing to see because I had spent a while in my spanish class last semester discussing its importance. It's a huge piece of work that has never been restored and the colors and detail and still brilliant.
After our tour, we had a delicious (and once again fully paid for) lunch in a cute restaurant. It was long and leisurely and fun to sit and chat with the group. The bus ride back to Madrid was long because of traffic and we all dispersed to our homestays to rest up for tonight. I'm still adjusting to the night schedule here in Madrid. The plan tonight is to meet up with the entire group (read: 26 loud americans haha) and go out to a club. Things don't start happening here until around 1 am and the idea is to stay out until at least 6 so that the metro is up and running again for an easy return home. Luckily, tomorrow is Saturday so there will be some massive sleeping in!
So far, it's been pretty cold here...definitely colder than back home was over break...but scarily it hasn't snowed yet although it has snowed in LA. Crazy! That's expected to change soon though because apparently there is a massive cold spell coming in early next week that is supposed to bring snow to Madrid! I'm kind of excited actually because I've never lived where it snows but I'm sure that excitement is going to fade pretty quickly after my toes start to freeze off haha.
Alright I need to get in a nap before tonight! Lots of love to all! Hasta luego!
Bright and early this morning (well actually not so bright because it's been incredible foggy here...makes me think of San Francisco) we met for a day-trip to Toledo, a small town about an hour outside of Madrid. Toledo was so beautiful! We spend the day in old town, exploring the tiny, winding roads that were barely the width of one car yet miraculously buses attempted to navigate them. We had a really entertaining tour guide who took us through the city, to the cathedral (the 10th biggest in the world) and a sword-making shop and a small church to see one of El Greco's masterpieces "El entierro del señor del conde de orgaz". The painting was amazing to see because I had spent a while in my spanish class last semester discussing its importance. It's a huge piece of work that has never been restored and the colors and detail and still brilliant.
After our tour, we had a delicious (and once again fully paid for) lunch in a cute restaurant. It was long and leisurely and fun to sit and chat with the group. The bus ride back to Madrid was long because of traffic and we all dispersed to our homestays to rest up for tonight. I'm still adjusting to the night schedule here in Madrid. The plan tonight is to meet up with the entire group (read: 26 loud americans haha) and go out to a club. Things don't start happening here until around 1 am and the idea is to stay out until at least 6 so that the metro is up and running again for an easy return home. Luckily, tomorrow is Saturday so there will be some massive sleeping in!
So far, it's been pretty cold here...definitely colder than back home was over break...but scarily it hasn't snowed yet although it has snowed in LA. Crazy! That's expected to change soon though because apparently there is a massive cold spell coming in early next week that is supposed to bring snow to Madrid! I'm kind of excited actually because I've never lived where it snows but I'm sure that excitement is going to fade pretty quickly after my toes start to freeze off haha.
Alright I need to get in a nap before tonight! Lots of love to all! Hasta luego!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Hola!
Hi all! As of yesterday, I am in Madrid! After a ridiculously long day of travel, I arrived at my home for next four or five months...an adorable apartment right near the center of town. My homestay mom, my senora (for some reason it won't let me put in the special characters...) is wonderful. She's very sweet and helpful and patient with my lacking language skills. Also in the apartment is her son, who's in his late 20's and there's also another student studying in Madrid from Cordoba, Spain who's about my age but not very social (yet, anyway).
Madrid is absolutely beautiful! It is such a vibrant city with gorgeous buildings and parks and the people so far have been friendly and helpful. Today was the first official day of the program and after meeting at the school (which is a convenient 5 minute walk from my building) we spent the entire day touring the city. We took the metro and buses to familiarize ourselves with the public transportation (which is very extensive and organized). We saw a ton of the city, although it was very hurried so I'll definitely need to revisit all the places we hurried past. In typical Spanish style, we all had a long, leisurely lunch at a restaurant in town around 2 o'clock. The food's good...I'm still getting used to it and haven't had a big meal at my house yet so we'll have to wait and see how the cooking is.
This whole week is orientation. I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing but probably more touring the city and getting to know our way around. Classes don't start until next week so it will definitely be nice to have some time to get used to the Spanish way of life. As far as the language goes, I think I'm doing decently well. My family doesn't speak any English so it has really forced me to practice my Spanish and I think I'm getting my point across even though I struggle a lot. They all speak so fast that it's definitely hard to follow but hopefully my ears will adjust. Haha.
Anyway I'm going to head to bed because I'm still ridiculously jetlagged. Damn 15 hours of flying and the huge time difference! Hope everything is great in the states! I would love to hear from you either by email or comments or something!
Adios!
Madrid is absolutely beautiful! It is such a vibrant city with gorgeous buildings and parks and the people so far have been friendly and helpful. Today was the first official day of the program and after meeting at the school (which is a convenient 5 minute walk from my building) we spent the entire day touring the city. We took the metro and buses to familiarize ourselves with the public transportation (which is very extensive and organized). We saw a ton of the city, although it was very hurried so I'll definitely need to revisit all the places we hurried past. In typical Spanish style, we all had a long, leisurely lunch at a restaurant in town around 2 o'clock. The food's good...I'm still getting used to it and haven't had a big meal at my house yet so we'll have to wait and see how the cooking is.
This whole week is orientation. I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing but probably more touring the city and getting to know our way around. Classes don't start until next week so it will definitely be nice to have some time to get used to the Spanish way of life. As far as the language goes, I think I'm doing decently well. My family doesn't speak any English so it has really forced me to practice my Spanish and I think I'm getting my point across even though I struggle a lot. They all speak so fast that it's definitely hard to follow but hopefully my ears will adjust. Haha.
Anyway I'm going to head to bed because I'm still ridiculously jetlagged. Damn 15 hours of flying and the huge time difference! Hope everything is great in the states! I would love to hear from you either by email or comments or something!
Adios!
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