Paris

Bonjour! Sorry it took me a while to finally get this post up, but things are very busy around here with only a few days left. To continue the spring break tour of Europe...

We arrived in Paris very late at night and got to our hostel only to just go to bed. However, the next day was nothing short of amazing. We went to the Notre Dame cathedral, probably the most famous in Europe, and toured around before eating some crepes at a street side cafe.



Next we took a tour around the Latin Quarter and looked around the street side bookshops, but then the most amazing idea ocurred to us...why not go to the Palace of Versaille? Versaille is about 30 minutes outside of Paris, and we took a train. Versaille is the most amazing site I have been to in Europe, and after the year I've had that is saying something. Here are pictures.




After that one breathtaking site, we decided to go to another: The Eiffle Tower. After hanging around the base, we went up top to see a great night view of Paris, and when they turn the lights on it's pretty amazing. Here are pictures and also later pictures from when we went to see the view late at night.



Later we decided to take a boat tour on the Seine. Very relaxing and pretty cool.

That day was very packed, and we still had a lot of sights left in Paris. The next day Michael and I went to the Louvre, the most famous museum in the world that happens to hold the most famous painting in the world, The Mona Lisa by DaVinci. We saw it, it was cool, and then toured a little more of the museum. It's impossible to do the whole museum because it's way too big.

After the Louvre we met up with my friends at the Arc de Triomphe, strolled the Champs-Elysees (a big street) and then headed to Napoleon's Tomb, which is way over the top. Unfortunately I ran out of pictures here, but I'm going to get some from my friends. That sums up the last leg of our European Tour. Hope you enjoyed! Tonight I'm leaving for Sevilla, and it's going to be an amazing time because I'm going during the Feria de Abril, a huge festival. After that I only have one week left, which is sad but I can't wait to get back home and see everyone!

Tour of Europe

Finally my spring break had arrived! I picked up my brother Michael, who visited me for his spring break, at the airport on Saturday. We had a paella that Lola made on Saturday afternoon, and after a little bit of rest we were ready to head out on Sunday. Our first stop: Amsterdam. I've never been to such a quaint city. The canals were beautiful, and the weather was perfect. Our first day we met up with some friends of mine who were there for a few more hours and walked around the city and here are the results!:


This is Michael and I in front of a government building in the main square.

The next day we went to a bike rental place and rode around for the morning! Everyone rides bikes in Amsterdam, so it was a good way to experience the culture and see the city.


Here is a cool sign in the musuem district.

We also went to the Van Gogh musuem and the Anne Frank house, which were both awesome (Anne Frank sad of course), but no pictures allowed. So you'll just have to visit Amsterdam yourself!

Next stop: London! We saw Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westmister Abby (tombs of royalty), and many other things. Here are pictures!


This is Downing Street, the White House of the UK, where Tony Blaire lives.

Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, there was no changing of the guard while we were there.

This is the famous platform nine and three-quarters, from the Harry Potter books. This kid looks excited to be going to Hogwarts!

Shakespeare's Globe

Michael and I in front of the Tower Bridge.

That's all for London, and we also went to Paris, but I don't have time to post that yet, it will have to wait until Monday. Thanks for being patient with my posting, and don't forget to check out Barcelona below, which is also new!

Barça...en un día

Before my spring break, I was waiting for my brother to arrive in Valencia while everyone else in the program left for their vacations. I was in Valencia with not that much to do, and everyone else had already been to Barcelona, so I decided to go alone for one day! However, doing Barcelona in 1 day is like doing Rome in 2 days. You really need 6 days in Rome and 3 days in Barcelona. But, being the expert traveler that I am, I managed to do everything I wanted to and get back to my train for Valencia (really it was Rick Steeves who helped me through it). Before pictures, an interesting note about the region of Catalunya: they don't really speak Spanish. Most of the people do know how to speak Spanish, but the official and common language is Catalan. It's the same where I live in Valencia, the people speak Valenciano, but the influence isn't as strong as it is in Catalunya. Anyway, here is a picture summary of my day:

This is me on the train, that left very early in the morning and took about 4 hours to get there.


This is Plaza de Catalunya.


This is Las Ramblas, a busy street that leads to the port. You can also see a large monument to Chrisopher Columbus, which is odd because he really didn't have anything special to do with Barcelona, only Spain in general.


This is the famous Sagrada Familia, which is incredibly large and beautiful, and the thing is, it isn't even finished yet! It was begun by architecht Gaudí in the early 20th century, but he died and then the Spanish Civil War happened and then the dictator Franco, so not much progress was made until recently. When it is finished, it will have 3 facades, respectively dedicated to the Nativity, the Passion, and the Resurrection. Also, the last tower will be 3 times bigger than the ones that are up there now.


Inside the Sagrada Familia, you can see Gaudí's inspiration from nature. He believed that God had already created perfection in nature and that all that man could do was try and imitate. Turns out it was a pretty good idea, because the church is beautiful. you can also see that it's incomplete, and probably won't be even in my lifetime.



This is in Parque Gruell, another of Gaudí. The park is on a very large hill, so I was very tired, but it was also really beautiful. At first it seems strange, but then walking around it begins to look like nature. He wanted his park to blend in with the surrounding nature, and it does.

This is me sitting in one of the benches at the park, with Rick Steeves, of course.

To end the day, I went to Casa Milá, another work of Gaudí. These used to be apartments, and again you can see how Gaudí was inspired by nature.


Between all of this, I also went to the Picasso Museum and two cathedrals, but I couldn't pictures so you'll just have to trust that they were cool as well. After Barcelona my feet were asking my why I had done what I did, but I still had the whole spring break ahead of me, so I had to rest up!

Special Post- "A Day in the Life of a Spaniard"

Hello everyone! Since I haven't posted in a long time, and since I won't be posting for another 2 weeks because my brother and I will be vacationing around the continent, I leave you a special post. Before I do, however, I did go somewhere this weekend, to a town nearby to see a Shakira concert, nothing really all that special, but it was really fun. She spoke in Spanish obviously, and that made us feel special somehow, somewhat spanish I guess. And speaking of being spanish, on to the second part of this post.

My friend Katie writes a blog for her school, and I looked at it the other day and she had captured a "Day in the Life of a Spaniard" very perfectly and funnily. So, thanks to Kaite, I hope you all enjoy what she has to say about the spanish. Please note the times that each activity occurs, because it gives a lot of insight into how their day works here. Hasta Luego! *Note: This description is certainly not my life in Spain or the specific life of any person, just a collection of observations (stereotypes, really) that we've all made about the spanish youth culture during our time here.*

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***Though I love the Spanish, and constantly try to modify my outward appearance and habits to appear to be one of them, I must say that they have a tendency to confuse the living hell out of me. As to not knock someone without walking a kilometer in their zapatos, I try sometimes to imagine what life might be like if I was an actual española and not a shameless imposter. What might my life consist of?

8:00- Wake up. Consider showering. Look in the mirror and check Euromullet. Think, “Yep, looks just skeezy enough.” Decide not to shower. Put on some jeans, boots, and sweater. After all, it is a warm, sunny day.

8:15- Squeeze fresh orange juice. Eat one cracker. Drink orange juice. Put on overcoat and scarf and leave house. Light up cigarette.

8:30- Wait at the bus stop and stare at some tourists wandering with a map, who ask for directions to some street you have never heard of. Give them directions anyway. Wonder if said directions are at all relevant.

11:00-12:00- Take break from hectic day. Meet up with friend/coworker/classmate at the first cafe or bar around the corner. Have a coffee with Bailey’s and a pastry. Or maybe a glass of red wine and a small plate of ham with olive oil all over it. Stare at Americans who try to pay at the counter when they order their coffee and then drink the entire thing in less time than it takes to finish stirring in a packet of sugar.

14:00-16:00- Take break from hectic day. Go to Mom’s house, and get served soup, rice, and shrimps with the heads still on. Suck gooey stuff out of shrimp head and comment on how great it tastes. Dump olive oil on rice. Eat three slices of fresh bread and put bread slices on the table instead of plate. Finish off with slices of cheese on bread. Eat an orange for dessert. Put on fleece bathrobe over clothes and watch the news or the Simpsons, followed by as many episodes of Friends as possible.
Or, if Mom’s house is far away, go to nearest restaurant and order a three-course menú del día for 10 euros. Drink a half a bottle of wine. Finish with coffee. Take as long as possible. Stare at Americans who think there is such thing as a “wait” during lunch time, as opposed to the restaurant just being full for the afternoon.

Have a cigarette. Return to work, school, or other activity of the day.

19:00- (Optional) Relax! Hectic day is over. Meet up with group of friends (greet with a kiss on each cheek) or forbidden secret lover (make out for minimum of five minutes) at the nearest corner bar. Have few cervezas or some red wine, served by a grungy old man who spends most of his time in the back watching the futbol game on TV. Share a plate of olives or some microwaved octopus from the tapas counter and, if with friends, constantly interrupt each other during conversation. Possible topics may include: the poor customer service these days, a desperate desire to move out of one’s parent’s house, or how ridiculous South Americans are. Wonder why the Americans sitting in the next seats over actually asked or cared what the ingredients of the tapas were, or if they were actually listed on a menu. Did they seriously just mention an allergy? Who does that?

20:00- Fill up downtime by doing something productive–taking out the dog to poop on the street (leash optional), shopping, peeing in a street corner (men only), taking a cart that looks like a baby buggy for some grocery shopping to buy some eggs that are not kept in the fridge. If the Metro is utilized, step in front of people as necessary. Do not apologize.

22:00- Eat dinner consisting of fried (in olive oil) eggs or an omlette, toast, and pork. Amuse yourself with the idea that in parts of the world, this is breakfast. Watch a dubbed episode of House, Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy, Dancing With the Stars, or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, flipping back to a Penélope Cruz movie during the 15 minute commercial breaks.

24:00- Go meet friends in bar, dressed in the finest Eurotrash clothing money can buy. Do not be seen sans cigarette. Order some type of liquor with Fanta from the bartender. Pour Fanta from mini-bottle into half-full glass of liquor. Do not tip the bartender. Repeat this for a few hours. Laugh at the Americans downing tequila shots with the Mexicans, mistakenly thinking they are getting more for their money when they order such tiny servings of booze. Do not dance, but stare at the fools who do. Make out with someone, most likely right in front of the bar so people have to walk around awkwardly to order a drink.

3:30- Pay 20 euro to get into a discoteca and dance your cula off to “Put Your Hands Up for Detroit” (important: do NOT put hands up) “I’m So Lucky,” “Irreplaceable,” and “Hips Don’t Lie,” despite the fact that all words are in English. Dance with very strange arm movements and play very hard to get, then bluntly refusing unwanted male attention, sending them off to all the overly-hyped American college girls who will, at first, try to reject them nicely, before they realize that it doesn’t work like that, and are also left wondering whether said man is gay, or just European. Stop drinking somewhat early on, so as not to pass out before 5am, a common amateur mistake made by the same people who are also currently spending their night warding off clingy Ricky Martin wannabees. Laugh to self, throw mullet over shoulder, and sneak into the background of their picture and throw in a sarcastic thumbs up. It has been a good day.***