So I just got home from my last traveling extravaganza, visiting my sister in Madrid, and it was lovely!
We did a self-led walking tour on Friday and saw the Plaza de Espana, the Temple of Debod (SOO amazing!! It's the only piece of Egyptian architecture (or one of the only ones) that can be found outside of Egypt (that wasn't stolen... *cough* Paris *cough*)), Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol (with the plaque commemorating the middle of Spain), Puerta de Alcala, Parque del Retiro, and Palacio de Cristales.
Then on Saturday we went to the Prado Museum and saw religious paintings, and portraits of royalty, and Greek/Roman mythology, and then more religious works, and more religious works, and more portraits, and MORE religious works. By the end, I was like, "dear goodness, how many pictures with the same theme can you have in ONE building??" But then we went to the Reina Sofia and that was really cool, although I liked the second floor better than the fourth floor (the permanent collection is divided up into these two floors, with art from the early 1900's to the avant-garde movement on the second floor, and then more contemporary art on the fourth floor (read: modern art)) but I REALLY liked the second floor so it made up for it. (I got to see Picasso's Guernica... :)!!!!)
On Sunday we went to the Rastro, which is basically like this giant flea market, but it was wonderful! I bought lots of presents for other people and for myself, and had a really good time with my sister. It did get SUPER busy, though, like so busy that we could barely walk down the aisles. It was kind of insane. I was sick for the duration of the trip (darn sinus infection), but it didn't hinder anything we wanted to do, which was nice.
I'm really glad I went to Madrid because I really enjoyed getting to see my sister, but Barcelona is still my favorite city in Spain that I visited (sorry other Spanish cities...)
In other news, I only have twenty days left in Spain. Holy cow. I'm going to be home and get to see all of my friends and family within the month. I'm incredibly excited, but actually kind of feeling bittersweet about the whole thing. I mean, yes, I'm SO ready to get home and have all of the comforts of home (love of family, friends, Pauly, central heating, Internet...), but it's just going to be weird to go home and not be in this place that I've finally really gotten used to. There's still a bunch of stuff that I want to do before I go, so I'm going to have to make sure I fit it all in!
In all honesty, though, if I don't burst of excitement within the next twenty days at the thought of getting to see my novio very soon, I might just burst when I do see him. So, if you see me and I'm looking a little jumbled, it's because I exploded and had to put myself back together again.
Just thought I'd warn you all.
: )
Monday, November 24, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Dear goodness...
I am listening to Christmas music already...
I have found that it makes for excellent background music when I am studying, or avoiding studying, as I'm doing right now. It's just so pretty!!
It also reminds me of home and warm fires crackling in the fireplace, and hot cocoa with marshmellows, and being at my Grandma's house for Christmas, and being so excited to give my family and friends everything I've bought for them here.
I have found that it makes for excellent background music when I am studying, or avoiding studying, as I'm doing right now. It's just so pretty!!
It also reminds me of home and warm fires crackling in the fireplace, and hot cocoa with marshmellows, and being at my Grandma's house for Christmas, and being so excited to give my family and friends everything I've bought for them here.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Barca!!!
So... Barcelona is officially my favorite city in Spain that I've visited so far.
It really was just wonderful. We had gorgeous weather (low 60's the entire weekend) and there is just SO MUCH to do there!! We visited Las Ramblas (a famous street with lots of shops that runs into the Mediterranean), the beach (they're actually fake and the sand gets brought up from Egypt every few years), the statue of Christopher Columbus "pointing to the sea", the Plaza Real (built by the Bacard family - yes, when you thought Bacardi rum, you were thinking correctly), the old palace for Ferdinand and Isabel, Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Mila La Pedrera and Casa Batllo (but didn't go into either of these, just saw them from the outside), the Picasso museum (this was wonderful, and I decided that I like early Picasso a LOT and I really don't appreciate later Picasso very much), and lots of other random places.
We also signed up for a cooking class where we learned how to make sangria and paella. The sangria was absolutely fantastic!! I'm super excited to get that recipe and try it when I get home - it's supposed to be better if you let it sit overnight first so I'll definitely have to do that. The paella was decent, definitely not as good as when my senora's dad makes it. It did have prawns in it (read: shrimp with a head, eyes, antennae, skin, and feet) but I braved the storm and peeled and ate them, and actually thought they were quite delicious!
The only really bad thing about Barcelona is that the people who run the gift shops are all REALLY pushy. We'd go into a store and if we spent even more than a couple moments looking at something, they'd come up to us and tell us how much it was. AND they followed REALLY closely behind us ALL the time, and it really made me not want to buy anything from them, so I really didn't.
I absolutely LOVED the Sagrada Familia and Park Guell (see my Picasa album for pictures!!). I'd seen it all in pictures before and it was just thrilling to get to see it in person and take my OWN pictures of the places! I really wanted to go inside Casa Batllo as well but it was 16,50 euro to get in, which was WAY too expensive... I was just so excited to see all of Gaudi's stuff, since I'd done a presentation on him in high school. It was fabulous!
So... yeah, Barcelona is pretty amazing as far as Spanish cities are concerned, and if given the opportunity, I'd go back in a heartbeat (because there was still stuff that we didn't get to see because we didn't have enough time).
I've got one more trip to Madrid to see Megan this upcoming weekend, and then I am done traveling. While I'm sad that I'm not going to get to see EVERYTHING that I want to see here in Europe, I think, on the whole, I made good decisions about my travel destinations and I enjoyed my time in them. Additionally, my feet have been yelling at me this last week and a half to STOP WALKING EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME! Goodness, they are tired. I think it's some sort of combination of all the traveling I've done and just plain walking everywhere, but my feet are looking forward to a break, a day where they don't have to be constantly walking.
Also, I can't believe that I'll be home in four weeks! It's such a weird thought for me, because for a lot of this trip, I thought it would never end, but now, the end is FAST approaching and I can't believe how quickly it seems to have gone (quickly and not at the same time). I mean, I'm visiting my sister this weekend, and then it's Thanksgiving, and then almost right after that I'll have finals, and then I'm going home. It's like, bam! bam! bam! all going at once.
I feel like a rock that has been traveling over this giant hill for the time that I've been here, at least since the halfway point. Right after the halfway point, I felt like things were still moving decently slowly, but now I'm rolling and picking up speed now that I'm halfway down the hill. Such an odd thought to be almost done with such a life-changing semester...
It really was just wonderful. We had gorgeous weather (low 60's the entire weekend) and there is just SO MUCH to do there!! We visited Las Ramblas (a famous street with lots of shops that runs into the Mediterranean), the beach (they're actually fake and the sand gets brought up from Egypt every few years), the statue of Christopher Columbus "pointing to the sea", the Plaza Real (built by the Bacard family - yes, when you thought Bacardi rum, you were thinking correctly), the old palace for Ferdinand and Isabel, Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Mila La Pedrera and Casa Batllo (but didn't go into either of these, just saw them from the outside), the Picasso museum (this was wonderful, and I decided that I like early Picasso a LOT and I really don't appreciate later Picasso very much), and lots of other random places.
We also signed up for a cooking class where we learned how to make sangria and paella. The sangria was absolutely fantastic!! I'm super excited to get that recipe and try it when I get home - it's supposed to be better if you let it sit overnight first so I'll definitely have to do that. The paella was decent, definitely not as good as when my senora's dad makes it. It did have prawns in it (read: shrimp with a head, eyes, antennae, skin, and feet) but I braved the storm and peeled and ate them, and actually thought they were quite delicious!
The only really bad thing about Barcelona is that the people who run the gift shops are all REALLY pushy. We'd go into a store and if we spent even more than a couple moments looking at something, they'd come up to us and tell us how much it was. AND they followed REALLY closely behind us ALL the time, and it really made me not want to buy anything from them, so I really didn't.
I absolutely LOVED the Sagrada Familia and Park Guell (see my Picasa album for pictures!!). I'd seen it all in pictures before and it was just thrilling to get to see it in person and take my OWN pictures of the places! I really wanted to go inside Casa Batllo as well but it was 16,50 euro to get in, which was WAY too expensive... I was just so excited to see all of Gaudi's stuff, since I'd done a presentation on him in high school. It was fabulous!
So... yeah, Barcelona is pretty amazing as far as Spanish cities are concerned, and if given the opportunity, I'd go back in a heartbeat (because there was still stuff that we didn't get to see because we didn't have enough time).
I've got one more trip to Madrid to see Megan this upcoming weekend, and then I am done traveling. While I'm sad that I'm not going to get to see EVERYTHING that I want to see here in Europe, I think, on the whole, I made good decisions about my travel destinations and I enjoyed my time in them. Additionally, my feet have been yelling at me this last week and a half to STOP WALKING EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME! Goodness, they are tired. I think it's some sort of combination of all the traveling I've done and just plain walking everywhere, but my feet are looking forward to a break, a day where they don't have to be constantly walking.
Also, I can't believe that I'll be home in four weeks! It's such a weird thought for me, because for a lot of this trip, I thought it would never end, but now, the end is FAST approaching and I can't believe how quickly it seems to have gone (quickly and not at the same time). I mean, I'm visiting my sister this weekend, and then it's Thanksgiving, and then almost right after that I'll have finals, and then I'm going home. It's like, bam! bam! bam! all going at once.
I feel like a rock that has been traveling over this giant hill for the time that I've been here, at least since the halfway point. Right after the halfway point, I felt like things were still moving decently slowly, but now I'm rolling and picking up speed now that I'm halfway down the hill. Such an odd thought to be almost done with such a life-changing semester...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Random
So, I know I posted yesterday, but I have been having some serious flashbacks from home. And it's weird because I'm actually NOT homesick, so I have no idea why I've been randomly getting memories from college and high school. Like the following:
-Reading a Streetcar Named Desire in J-Pot's junior year English class and CJ having to yell "Stella", which he did quite unenthusiastically
-Watching One Tree Hill on Valentine's Day freshman year of college and then having Paul come to the door of Stratford with b-e-a-utiful roses
-Finding out I didn't get into Cornell U and then having to go to work afterwards
-when we had to do a presentation on Rumpelstiltskin (I think it was) in Coan's junior year English class (I'm feeling a trend from this year)
-Carpooling with Ian senior year of high school
-When the second floor girls pretended the hallway was a runway and had a fashion show after the Victoria's Secret fashion show
And just all these other random memories, and it's been really, quite the weird experience. Just thought I'd put this up, even though it's really a pointless post.
-Reading a Streetcar Named Desire in J-Pot's junior year English class and CJ having to yell "Stella", which he did quite unenthusiastically
-Watching One Tree Hill on Valentine's Day freshman year of college and then having Paul come to the door of Stratford with b-e-a-utiful roses
-Finding out I didn't get into Cornell U and then having to go to work afterwards
-when we had to do a presentation on Rumpelstiltskin (I think it was) in Coan's junior year English class (I'm feeling a trend from this year)
-Carpooling with Ian senior year of high school
-When the second floor girls pretended the hallway was a runway and had a fashion show after the Victoria's Secret fashion show
And just all these other random memories, and it's been really, quite the weird experience. Just thought I'd put this up, even though it's really a pointless post.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Paris and other ramblings
Oh. My. Goodness. Paris is SUCH a beautiful city! I'm so glad that I went, like for serious. Plus, it was really good to get to hang out with people from home; it was kind of like we were just taking a trip randomly (minus that I had to spend a good amount of time working on a presentation for my culture class). Plus, we got to see Brett, which I was so incredibly excited about.
We went on a free walking tour and saw a whole bunch of stuff that I can't pronounce (including the French Academy, the New Bridge, the Grand Palace and the Petite Palace, see my Picasa album) and had a really cool tour guide. Then we saw the Louvre (I was shockingly not as impressed by this as I thought I was going to be; yeah, it has a lot of cool art, but just not my style of art, and it said it had a big section on Spanish art and there were only a few paintings), the Eiffel Tower (WAY bigger than I thought it was going to be, and it was really pretty at night; we even got to see it sparkle!), the Arc D'Triomphe (also very cool, and gargantuan), Moulin Rouge (but it wasn't open so we couldn't go inside, but the street that it was on was quite sketchy (most definitely the red light district)), Sacre Coeur (There was a service going on, so it was kind of awkward, but cool nonetheless), and the Musee d'Orsay (I loved, loved, LOVED this museum; it's the museum with all of the impressionist paintings, and it has Cervantes, Degas, Monet, Manet, Picasso, and all of these other artists and I was so blown away). It was just a wonderful trip, although I'm not sure I've ever spent that much money on food in one weekend.
In other news, I can't believe that I only have a little over a month left here. Now that I'm traveling and seriously in the downhill slope and have a ton of school assignments to occupy my time with, time is seriously flying. I can't believe that I've been here for over seventy-five days already. That is SUCH a long time!! I will say, though, I am still incredibly excited to head back to Champaign and see everyone that I haven't seen in a long time. I'm feeling very sad to have missed some of the Koin/Strat events this semester, which seems so ridiculous to say because I'm in EUROPE, but still.
Also, I can't tell you how busy I'm going to be in the next three weeks or so. I had a culture presentation today (that went well, I think), an art history take-home test due tomorrow, a linguistics exam next Wednesday (the 19th - after my weekend in Barcelona), and then an art history paper due the 24th, as well as an art history presentation the 24th (after my weekend in Madrid). So I'm going to definitely have to use my time wisely in these next few weeks, and still find time to spend with people since I won't be around for a couple of weekends. I just have to keep reminding myself that school isn't everything and that people are more important than school.
Other than that, I don't have too much else to report, except that my sister decided to come home for Christmas, which I'm incredibly excited about, because I thought it would be really sad for her to be by herself on Christmas and also for us to be without her. So yay!
We went on a free walking tour and saw a whole bunch of stuff that I can't pronounce (including the French Academy, the New Bridge, the Grand Palace and the Petite Palace, see my Picasa album) and had a really cool tour guide. Then we saw the Louvre (I was shockingly not as impressed by this as I thought I was going to be; yeah, it has a lot of cool art, but just not my style of art, and it said it had a big section on Spanish art and there were only a few paintings), the Eiffel Tower (WAY bigger than I thought it was going to be, and it was really pretty at night; we even got to see it sparkle!), the Arc D'Triomphe (also very cool, and gargantuan), Moulin Rouge (but it wasn't open so we couldn't go inside, but the street that it was on was quite sketchy (most definitely the red light district)), Sacre Coeur (There was a service going on, so it was kind of awkward, but cool nonetheless), and the Musee d'Orsay (I loved, loved, LOVED this museum; it's the museum with all of the impressionist paintings, and it has Cervantes, Degas, Monet, Manet, Picasso, and all of these other artists and I was so blown away). It was just a wonderful trip, although I'm not sure I've ever spent that much money on food in one weekend.
In other news, I can't believe that I only have a little over a month left here. Now that I'm traveling and seriously in the downhill slope and have a ton of school assignments to occupy my time with, time is seriously flying. I can't believe that I've been here for over seventy-five days already. That is SUCH a long time!! I will say, though, I am still incredibly excited to head back to Champaign and see everyone that I haven't seen in a long time. I'm feeling very sad to have missed some of the Koin/Strat events this semester, which seems so ridiculous to say because I'm in EUROPE, but still.
Also, I can't tell you how busy I'm going to be in the next three weeks or so. I had a culture presentation today (that went well, I think), an art history take-home test due tomorrow, a linguistics exam next Wednesday (the 19th - after my weekend in Barcelona), and then an art history paper due the 24th, as well as an art history presentation the 24th (after my weekend in Madrid). So I'm going to definitely have to use my time wisely in these next few weeks, and still find time to spend with people since I won't be around for a couple of weekends. I just have to keep reminding myself that school isn't everything and that people are more important than school.
Other than that, I don't have too much else to report, except that my sister decided to come home for Christmas, which I'm incredibly excited about, because I thought it would be really sad for her to be by herself on Christmas and also for us to be without her. So yay!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Happy Birthday Ruthie-face!!!!!
Dear Spain,
When the rest of the world jumped on the central heating bandwagon, where were you?
In other news, I got to spend this weekend in Granada where it was, shockingly enough, RAINING all weekend, and very cold. There's just something so different about a rainy day when you can't curl up inside your warm house with a big comfy blanket. The rainy days here are just miserable. BUT, despair not, because I still had a fairly good weekend. We celebrated Halloween the best way we could on this side of the ocean, and it was actually quite enjoyable. I got to spend a lot of time with a lot of people that I don't normally hang out with and I quite enjoyed myself.
But I'm really just posting to avoid studying for my linguistics exam (second test in one day, whoo!...), so I'm going to go do that.
Hasta luegino!!
When the rest of the world jumped on the central heating bandwagon, where were you?
In other news, I got to spend this weekend in Granada where it was, shockingly enough, RAINING all weekend, and very cold. There's just something so different about a rainy day when you can't curl up inside your warm house with a big comfy blanket. The rainy days here are just miserable. BUT, despair not, because I still had a fairly good weekend. We celebrated Halloween the best way we could on this side of the ocean, and it was actually quite enjoyable. I got to spend a lot of time with a lot of people that I don't normally hang out with and I quite enjoyed myself.
But I'm really just posting to avoid studying for my linguistics exam (second test in one day, whoo!...), so I'm going to go do that.
Hasta luegino!!
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