I made it!

Well, I made it back home at about 1:oo in the morning Sunday after leaving my "home" in Salamanca at 5:00 AM on Saturday. The trip was longer than expected because my flight was delayed by almost 3 hours in Madrid, which made me miss my connecting flight in DC. It was exhausting, especially after not sleeping much on the flight and having to stay awake in the airports. It was kind of cool because I met a lot of people. One girl was from Barcelona and was moving to DC to teach Spanish for a year. I also met another woman from the southern part of Spain. She was telling me about all of the things that she can't get used to in the US. They were all of the things that I noticed were different for me when I was in Spain. Anyways, I'll see you later! Wedding planning here we come! Adiós!

Last day!

Just got done eating my last lunch in Sali and I'm all done with my exams now, hurray! My host sister is opening her first restaurant tonight so we're going to go there for dinner. Last night we had our little "graduation" ceremony. It was chaotic as usual with everyone standing up at the same time...all I can say is that we do it much more organized in the U.S. I really had a good time here but I'm so ready to be back home...it's a long time to be away. Tomorrow I leave bright and early..well, early but not quite sunny bright. Hasta luego :)

Relaxing long weekend!

I'm just finishing up a nice long weekend. We had off today and got Paella for lunch because it's Santiago Day...People walk or bike across the country to go to this cathedral in Santiago, which is the capital of Galicia just north of Portugal. So it's a religious holiday and people get off of work. Actually the whole country doesn't recognize it. Anyway, yesterday I went to the rastro in Salamanca; it's a huge flea market that opens every Sunday. I also climbed the tower of the new cathedral of Salamanca. Very cool veiw! I'll post some pics. When I got "home" my host mom, Filo, asked me if wanted to go with her to the pool. She goes almost every afternoon after work. It was so cool and a short walk...There were two pools. One normal sized outdoor and a huge olympic one that was heated with a dome that can open and close like Miller Park. When I was suntanning I found two four-leaf clovers too! I have an eye for them even in Spain I guess ;)

Pasta night

The night before last the girls and I made pasta in the dorms. It was yummy to have some different food for a change. We "made" some gazpacho out of a carton and ate it out of plastic cups. It surprised us how good it was, considering all we had to do was pour it out of the carton, lol! Nothing else is really new...just studying again. Exams start Tuesday!

El Escorial

Today we went on our last group excursion to El Escorial. It was kind of a light day in comparison to some of our other trips where they try and fit 2 or 3 things into one day. It was cool because we saw real paintings by Valazquez, who we´re learning about in our art class right now. It was also a little creepy because it´s a place where they hold dead royalty. When we went into this small room, there were stacks of caskets from the floor to the ceiling. I didn´t like it one bit...I was getting carried away with my imagination! It was pretty cool though I guess. I couldn´t take any pictures of the inside, otherwise I would post them. For lunch we had the menu del dia at this really busy place and ate outside. (The gazpacho was yummy.) Nothing else is really new. Last night we went to see Resacon II (The Hangover II) en español and Mary spilled the popcorn all over the floor, lol. In the movie theatres here you have to choose your seats. Also, they don´t have butter for your popcorn! I guess that resists the temptation! Hasta luego!

Ahh la siesta!

I'm actually posting this from my bedroom as I'm relaxing and trying to nap...I was starting to think I was getting used to the siesta. I'm only able to get internet from my Kindle from inside the house-I was psyched to see it worked! I am past the month mark...now I have been in Spain longer than any other country. I can see how people can do it for longer, but I still like being in my own home :). Tomorrow I'm going to go shopping and see a movie and Sunday our excursion is to El Escorial. Hasta pronto...9 days left of class, not that I'm counting...

Estudiando...

Tomorrow I have three exams for Art History, Grammar, and "España Actual," which doesn´t translate the best, but is a study of the differences in how Spanish is spoken within Spain. So I´m off to study some more. I´m fighting off a cold, so I´m hoping I can stay awake long enough to get enough studying in...Hasta pronto!

Otra excursión

We arrived back from Madrid Saturday afternoon around 4, after only sleeping about 3 hours Friday night. We went to the discoteca Kapital, which has 7 different floors. One of the floors had karaoke and the girls and I sung Backstreet Boys, "I Want it That Way." It was hilarious and really bad, since we only had one microphone and there were 4 of us. It was also fun for dancing because it was packed, so we weren't the only ones dancing.

On Sunday we went on another excursion with our program to three different places in the province of Salamanca: Alberca, Mogarraz, and Miranda del Castanar. This was my favorite excursion yet! In Alberca there's a big pig that walks around freely and gets fed by the people. In September every year they raffle him off to get eaten. Sad, but true. Jamón Ibérico is a huge part of the culture here. It's kind of like Italian prosciutto, but better. The pigs run around freely and only get fed this certain acorn thing. They also cure the ham for a minimum of 2 years--crazy! The houses were really old looking in Alberca and they all had flowers on them; it was cute. I also got my cat fix--I miss my Simon. We ran into two adult cats and just as we were leaving Miranda we found two kittens in a whole an old building. The view was beautiful in Miranda--very green actually, and mountainous.

Madrid (otra vez!)

Hola! Another week gone by...crazy! I´ve been studying for mid-terms, which are already next week. It´s nice because we don´t have classes Friday afternoons, so we´re going to leave soon for Madrid. We love Salamanca, but it´s good to get away for a little bit. Some other girls and I are going for one night. We have our excursion on Sunday like usual. I can´t remember where I´m going for that...I will try and post some pix soon too.

La ruta de las fortificaciones de frontera

On Sunday we went on an exursion to the border of Spain and Portugal. We saw some old fortifications that were constructed for the defense of the land in the 17th and 18th centuries. They are now just ruins, but we saw what they were designed to be and what they were when they were first built. It was really a cool design...in the shape of a star kind of with 8 different points. Pretty interesting.
When I arrived back ¨home¨after the excursion I had two new American ¨sisters.¨ They´ll be living with us for the rest of the month. They´re 21, but I feel a lot older than them, lol! I feel like my teacher is coming out of me. Yikes! Í´m shaking right now so much. It´s probably because I had a really strong cup of cafe con leche this morning. I don´t know why it would be hitting me now though. Classes are zooming by! So much to study. I´m at the residence right now, but I´m about to head back to study. We didn´t really do anything special yesterday for the 4th of July, but had our inauguration, so we had two less classes, which was cool!

A la piscina!!

Hola! Hoy vamos a ir a la piscina! Today we´re going to go to the pool! It´s our only free day of the week, so I´ve been taking advantage of the time by relaxing. I walked to the park nearby and sat on a bench to people watch. There was a group of older men playing something like boccee ball. Lots of older people at the park today. My host mom is not here this weekend because she had a family wedding to attend in Bilbau, which is north of here. It´s been kind of nice having the place to myself. She was so worried about me having enough food, etc. while she was gone. She prepared all of this food and put it in the fridge for me and then asked her two daughters to come to stay at night with me. I thought it was really sweet because she bought apples especially for me because she said they keep better when you pack them in a bag lunch, since I have my excursion tomorrow. So sweet. I was talking awhile with her daughter yesterday about a lot of things, and one of them was about the cost of college. I never knew this...in Spain public colleges are free. Insane! I wish it was like that for us! Pretty cool :) She couldn´t believe how much we pay to attend college and that even so, so many people still go in the US. Anyway, I should get going because the girls just got back from lunch and we´re going to head to the pool! Luego!

Today is flying by!

I just got done with my last "morning" class and I'm about to head back to my "home" to eat. It's about 2 pm right now. She serves lunch at 2, but I usually don't make it back until 2:30. It seems late, but we have dinner at 10, lol! I'm still trying to adjust to being alone. I guess there are two other girls that are going to live in the house starting this Sunday. The thing that gets me down is that I have to walk alone back and forth to class and it's kind of a long walk. It's always an adjustment to get used to the serious people here! My last professor is very serious; after one of my friends answered one of her questions today she reworded it and said that she can say it better just because she's Spanish...a little snobby, right?! It was discouraging because I can never change that, even if I perfected my Spanish I would still be a gringa! Yikes! On a happier note, we're going to get some tapas tomorrow night and then go swimming on Saturday. It should be fun :) Hasta luego!

Las clases...

Well, I started classes yesterday. Everything went well...walking to and from my ¨new home¨ wasn´t too bad. It´s been very hot here, but I was expecting it because last year it was just as hot I thought...although all of the people here say it´s never been this hot. I think it´s just because it´s hotter sooner this year. Anyway, since we started classes that´s been taking up a lot of my time. My most difficult class is grammar. I´m always amazed at how I can speak and write Spanish just fine without knowing all of these strict rules! It´s a little frustrating, but it will be good to know how to explain why we say certain things.
It´s been a little bit of challenge finding internet since I don´t have it at my house here. Right now I´m at the dorms because they have computers we can use for free :) The dorms are close to a class that I went to this afternoon, so that worked out well...That way I don´t have to carry around my laptop.

Salamanca

We're in Salamanca now! Mike came with me to meet my host family. My host mom insisted on serving us authentic seafood paella. It was yummy! She greeted us both with two kisses--the Spanish way. We also met her daughter who is a little older than us. After that, we took a bus to the dorms where all of the other students are. I have a meeting in a little bit and then it all starts. It's always a lot to take in right away, but I feel at least better than last year because I know what to expect. Mike's leaving tomorrow at 7 and I have class at 8:30. Sad that our vacation is over but it was fun!

Un día MUY ocupado!

Today was a VERY busy day! We started it out by taking a bus to the Real Alcázar, or Royal fortress. It was beautiful with its patios and gardens and detailed textiles--huge! The only thing I regret is not getting a guide since there wasn't a lot written for us to learn more about it. Afterwards we went to the cathedral of Seville. We then walked to the Torre del Oro, or Gold Tower, which is right on the Guadalquivir River. It's funny that it's called the tower of gold since there's no gold on it. It was supposedly stolen or lost years ago. Following this, we walked through the Maríaluisa park and got to the best place of the day, the Plaza de Espana. There, we rented a row boat and Mike rowed us around the square. It was very nice! Long day of walking in the heat, but it was definitely worth it. Tomorrow morning early we head for Salamanca, which is our last stop together. Mike leaves for home already on Monday and I start classes...yikes!

Sevilla!

Seville is VERY hot and dry! They're right when they say you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. We arrived here Wednesday night, but didn't do much because we were both exhausted and hot. Yesterday we went to Isla Mágica, which is sort of like Six Flags. It was good to get a little break from sightseeing and see people having fun, especially kids. There were a ton of teenagers. For lunch we left the park and found this little bar that served tapas and we ordered some noodle dish and some Fantas, our new favorite drink. They speak with such a different accent here, dropping the ends of words and pronouncing words with more air. The culture is different--I'm glad we came, although it is pretty dead because many people flee Seville because of the heat this time of year. Also yesterday was a holiday, Corpus Christi, so there wasn't much open and many people had off of work. Last night we went out to a couple of places. First we went to this tapas bar and we tried two different white wines and a goat cheese risotto along with some jamón ibérico--yummy! Then we headed to this upscale hotel after midnight that's right next to the cathedral in Seville. It had a terrace on the top that is lit up and has an awesome view of the cathedral that's lit up at night too. When we arrived they gave us each a slip of paper for us to write a wish on and then throw it into a little fire. Very nice! I loved the idea and also the smell of a campfire outside is nice :) We each ordered a mojito and then headed to this Flameco bar, just in time to see the ending. We thought it was open much later than it was.

Today we're going to try and rent some bikes to see some of the main historical sites in Seville. It's our last day here already....zooming by!

Madrid

We're in the capital city of Madrid now for a short time. It's very sunny, dry and HOT here. It felt like walking around in a sauna all day. We started out the day with some coffee at a nice place called Café y Té and then headed to the Plaza de Espana, the Palacio Real & La Catedral de la Almudena and museum, which is directly across from the Royal Palace. The cathedral was surprising VERY new. Some rooms were just added in 2005. We also ate a typical Spanish menú del día for lunch. Mike ordered the salmon and ceasar salad and I ordered the steak and gazpacho soup. I also had some flan for dessert. Mike of course chose the helado (ice cream)! Then we headed to the Plaza Mayor and passed by the Puerta del Sol on our way back to the hotel. Lots of places to visit in Madrid, but not very relaxing...much like NYC. Tomorrow we're going to go to the Parque del Buen Retiro and then we leave at two on a high-speed train to Seville! So exciting!

El último día en Valencia...

Today was our last day in Valencia, so naturally we spent it on a beautiful beach called El Saler, which is about 20 minutes outside of the city. We took a public bus there at 7 in the morning so that we could make the most of the day. When we arrived only a few fishermen were there and they were cleaning the sand, so we had our choice of where to go. We found a jellyfish on the shore, but never found one in the water thank goodness! The water was really nice! It wasn't a nude beach, but it is not uncommon to see women without tops...A little weird to get used to. Anyway, we were so hungry by lunchtime (no earlier than 2 in Spain) that we ordered a huge thing of lobster and shrimp paella and a huge tomato and tuna appetizer. I'll have to post a pic of that too. Mike couldn't believe how big the paella pan was, since they served it to us out of the pan. The restaurant we went to was right on the beach.

Oh, and last night I forgot to mention the pink rose. We went to an Italian restaurant to eat outside and were just finishing up our meal when this old man comes up to Mike selling this huge bunch of roses that smelled really good. Mike didn't want to buy flowers from him and kept telling him "No, gracias!" And then he asked me after like the fifth time how to say "Have a good night" to him, lol. Anyway, we didn't get that far because the man started telling me that he hadn't sold any all day and that he needed money to eat. I figured I'd just buy one, since they smelled really good anyway. Later on I took off the plastic and realized that he must have put rose smelling perfume on it because it was the plastic surrounding the rose that smelled better than the actual rose! Hehe. Mike joked that it was probably plastic and when I carted it around to all of these places I'd find that out because it would never die. Well, I took it to the beach this morning and it did die for lack of water. Mike told me he'd never forget that I gave in to buying that rose...

La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

Today we walked to the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. We tried to rent bikes, but as it turned out it was a quick walk! It looked so cool--so modern! The buildings remind me a little of the art museum in Milwaukee. There were also new sculptures outside of little people with different expressions and colors. Muy guay! The buildings are surrounded by clear blue water and they have a huge dome that plays IMAX films. Right near the buildings is also a little dog park and a garden with different flowers and a river. Lots of people have dogs here. We noticed that the dogs people own in Valencia are bigger than the dogs in Barcelona...maybe because they have bigger places to live here. Oh, and Mike tried his first cup of café con leche, which he guzzled down pretty quickly. We also got ourselves some gelatto. He ordered in Spanish and now will never forget how to order a cone, lol! If you know Mike, you know how much he loves his ice cream! "Un cono de banana split, por favor." jijiji :)

Adiós Barcelona--Hola Valencia!

Today we had to leave Barcelona at 7 in the morning after only two hours of sleep--We're definitely not used to the time change yet as it is, and lots of people stayed up late at the hostel. Anyway, after 3 days of practice using the metro we were going to try it again hauling our bags through it to get to the train station. We thought we were giving ourselves enough time, but things just weren't going our way. First, we left a little later then planned because the elevator was stuck at the tippity top floor of the hostel. Then we were debating taking the taxi since we were cutting it close. The receptionist at the hostel told us that it would cost 30 Euro to get to the train station, as opposed to about 3 Euro on the metro. We also didn't even have that much cash on us. Anyway, so we zoomed to the metro station and tried to get through the gate, but our T-10 card, which gives us 10 trips on the metro was used up! We had used it more than we thought. So I was quickly unlocking my backpack to get out my credit card to buy two more tickets, then it wouldn't accept my credit card. Yikes! This just gets better! So I tried calling the cab company to get a cab quickly, but of course that wasn't working either...I'm not joking--crazy morning on little sleep. So we ran back to the hostel--with our huge bags and then asked the receptionist to call us a cab. He told us it would take a cab 10 minutes to get there; that was cutting it close, but there was nothing else we could do. Luckily the cab showed up within a minute thank God! I asked the taxi driver to stop at an ATM so we could pay him, and we got to the train station in time--yay! By the way, it ended up costing us 10 Euro for the taxi, I'm not sure how he judged that number wrong, yikes! I thought it seemed like a lot!

Anyways, so we made it to Valencia and we love it here! The hotel that we're staying in has internet in the room and there are palm trees everywhere. The culture is also a lot more laid back, and there are a lot less tourists from all over the world. We went to the beach right away and now we're about to get to dinner. Hasta pronto!

Last day in Barcelona!

Today was busy day--our last day in Barcelona! We started off the day early taking a cable car up Montjuic mountain and took a tour of a the castle there. It had an awesome view of the sea. After that, we visited the Sagrada Familia and went to the beach. At night, we walked the streets of Las Ramblas and also visited the Torre Agbar, which was beautifully lit at night. Tomorrow we take the train to Valencia--beaches here we come!!!

Park Güell

Yesterday (Thursday) Mike and I went to Park Guell, which is a beautiful park with very interesting buildings and a great view of the city of Barcelona and the sea. It was very colorful and it also had a lot of pretty flowers and even palm trees. Mike and I walked as far to the top as we could get. That was definitely the highlight so far. Before that we ordered the "menú del día" for lunch. This is a three course meal that you can choose from a few different selections for each course...very common in Spain.

Later on in the night we went to the Placa Espanya, where they lit up all of the fountains and played music with it. It was an awesome show! We also saw some break dancers on the walk there. We're really loving Barcelona!!

We made it!

Wow! Mike and I headed for Chicago around 9:30 in the morning on Tuesday and arrived at our hostel here in Barcelona on Wednesday around 4:30 pm. We figured our whole trip took us 24 hours...not too bad, considering it takes about that long to get to Florida. Taking the metro to our hostel with our huge bags was ridiculous! We were rolling them up and down stairs in grueling heat, hoping we wouldn't break off a wheel. Won't be doing that again, lol! (But hey, at least we gave it a try!)

Anyway, we just got back from a walk through the city. Took some pictures of the outside of La Pedrera, one of Gaudí's architectural designs. By the time we got there the inside of it was closed. We also tried a really fancy cappuccino next door. I'm even getting Mike to speak a little Spanish to order! So much to see and do tomorrow and the next day! Can't wait! The weather was beautiful and I hope it stays that way.

Ahora vamos a comer! (Now we're going to eat!)

Hasta pronto :)

Next trip: Barcelona

Before I start studying again at the University of Salamanca this summer, Mike and I are going to travel around Spain for a bit. We're flying into Barcelona on June 14th! It will be really nice to see the rest of the country! We're also going to go to Valencia, Madrid, and Seville. It's another full-time job planning the trip and on top of that the wedding-yikes! It will be worth it though :)