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!
Monday, February 26, 2007
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!
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