So I know I haven’t written in a long time, but I will give a brief summary of what happened the last few weeks in my European adventures:
After the Barcelona weekend, the school funded a trip for us to go to Granada. (March 6-8). There we stayed in a nice four-star hotel and saw the Alhambra. It’s a palace of Moorish and Christian influence and was almost named a man made wonder of the world in 2007. The Alhambra is quite impressive: its massive gardens and sprawling buildings are big enough to be considered its own city.
On Sunday (the 8th), Mike came to visit. I was nervous about finding him in the airport because he didn’t have a phone, but it ended up all right. That day I showed him Parque Retiro (which is the massive park in Madrid the size of central park). Then I took him for free tapas at the infamous “El Tigre” (it means “THE TIGER” and its a tapas bar which gives you massive portions of delicious free food after ordering one drink). We continued the night by strolling along the Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant on the Gran Via. The next day we got up early so that I could make my 10 am class on time in Toledo. The rest of the week, I showed Mike around Toledo (we went in the beautiful cathedral…which I am convinced is the prettiest cathedral in the world) and went to dinner with my friends. On Thursday, we left for Paris to meet up with my friend Lindsay and her boyfriend.
For those of you who have not been, Paris is a city that cannot be described with words. Everything about the city is breathtaking: the view from the Eiffel tour, the Eiffel tour lit up at night, the arc de triumph, sacre couer. We also visited Napolean’s burial site, the Louvre, and Notre Dame cathedral. We certainly did not have enough time to explore the most beautiful city in the world.
The next weekend, Dad and Lauren came to visit. The first few days we stayed in Madrid and did the same touristy things that I took Mike to do. We also went to the Reina Sofía museum which houses a lot of original Picasso and Dalí works. We then went to Toledo Monday-Wednesday, and back to Madrid on Thursday. We ate lunch with my host mother on Wednesday, and Dad and Lauren finally were able to realize the kind of food I have to eat everyday (have one of them explain it to you…it will be much funnier. Ask about the asparagus and mayonnaise cake). On Thursday we went back to Madrid and on Friday we went to tour King Phillip II’s monastery in El Escorial. We came back to Madrid that night and ate dinner with my friend Andrea and her parents at an Asian inspired restaurant.
The next morning, Dad and Lauren left, while I took a bus to Valencia to celebrate my friend José’s birthday. While we were supposed to hang at the beach all day, the weather thwarted our plans. Instead, we went to an “indie” theatre which showed the original version of Slumdog Millionaire in English with Spanish subtitles. It was a nice way to remember home, and for those who have not yet seen the movie, I highly recommend it.
That night we went out for a lot of paella to celebrate José’s birthday. This morning, I came back to Toledo and have just been cruisin’ the internet since then, procrastinated some homework. I cannot believe I have just about 2 weeks left in Toledo. In four days I leave for Spring Break in Italy for a week. After that, I have just about 10 days left in Toledo before I begin my adventures in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. I come home in 38 days. Wow. Time flies.
Miss you all
Ellyn
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Barcelona
Just a quick outline for a journal entry:
Since I didn’t journal last week, I thought I’d recap the last two weekends of my life in this one:
Last weekend, it was Carnaval so my friends and I decided to stick around Madrid and Barcelona. On Thursday, the streets of Toledo were teeming with lots of children dressed in Halloween Costumes (or Carnaval costumes, whichever you prefer). There was a parade, a big brass band, and a stage set up in the middle plaza. But the party didn’t truly start until Saturday.
Friday afternoon we headed to Madrid because we had heard that the Carnaval there was huge. All of us girl had bought bright colored tights and beautifully decorated masks to celebrate. The boys complained that they didn’t have costumes. So we went to El Corte Ingles (which is Spain’s version of a Nordstrom + a Walmart) and they floated around the toy area until the came up with the most ridiculous costumes. They bought skeleton masks for one euro and bright colored wigs. It is suffice to say that they looked like dead drag queens, and here is the real joke: little did we know that the people of Madrid do NOT, in fact, celebrate Carnaval. They looked like hilarious buffoons as we walked around Madrid. (See facebook pictures for those who have it). We still had a super fun time, and probably more fun because we were all dressed up.
Saturday we returned to Toledo where there actually was a huge Carnaval celebration. They had set up a makeshift bar in the middle of the plaza and there was a stage playing live music. During mid afternoon, there was a huge parade with loud music that went through the town, and at night the plaza was jam packed with people dressed as anything you can imagine. NOTE: it is a popular Carnaval theme for men to dress like women.
Okay so this weekend. I went to Barcelona to visit Britany and Adam Baljevich. We left Thursday for the Madrid airport even though our flight wasn’t until Friday morning. We had to spend the night in the airport because public transportation in both Madrid and Toledo doesn’t start running earlier enough to get us to the airport at 5:30 for our 7:30 flight. But when we got to Madrid, our friend Courtney introduced us to her parents that were visiting, and they took us to dinner at this tapas restaurant. It was very relaxing and enjoyable to just have a nice dinner.
After “sleeping” in the airport, we finally landed in Barcelona and I met up with Britany at about 9 am. We ended up taking naps for a while, and when Brit went to class at 2 o’clock, I met Adam for lunch. We then walked up and down “Las Ramblas” which is the famous street in Barcelona with a huge market. Lauren’s favorite part of Spain is located in the market: a large wall of gummy candies. We continued on to walk down to the port so we could look at the beautiful view of the water. We then met some of Brit’s friends for a happy hour, went out for tapas, and went home to get ready. That night at the club, there was a mini Maine South Reunion. I ran into 3 people I knew this weekend accidentally. It’s crazy how a continent can be so small.
Saturday we woke up and Brit and I were determined to do a entire view of Barcelona in a day. Twelve hours and about twelve hours of walking later, I had seen all the major points of Barcelona. Sagrada familia (a church designed by Gaudi that is taking over 100 years to complete) and Park Guell (which are both designed beautifully by Gaudi), other Gaudi buildings, the Olympic Park (from the 1992 Olympics), the Arc de Triompf, and the Born neighborhood (it’s a little Lincoln Park like). Adam, Brit, and I ate dinner at this great restaurant in the Born neighborhood and got gelato afterwards. We went home to rest for a little before heading out to meet up with my Notre Dame friends at a Bar called Dow Jones. This bar has a board like the stock market where prices of drinks fluctuate. Whatever is popular at the time goes up in price, and then everyone tries to buy the lower drinks. Sometimes there is a “stock market crash” and the drinks are all really low priced. Pretty neat idea for a bar.
Next weekend we are going to Granada with the school to see the Alhambra (really famous Spanish Palace). The school is paying for the entire weekend, including a 4 star hotel. When I come back on Sunday, I will go immediately to the airport to get MIKE! I am so excited for him to come visit and see where I have been living for the past two months. Then, the two of us are going to Paris and meeting up with my friend Lindsay and her boyfriend. It should be a pretty exciting week, as long as I get my work done!
Miss you all!
Since I didn’t journal last week, I thought I’d recap the last two weekends of my life in this one:
Last weekend, it was Carnaval so my friends and I decided to stick around Madrid and Barcelona. On Thursday, the streets of Toledo were teeming with lots of children dressed in Halloween Costumes (or Carnaval costumes, whichever you prefer). There was a parade, a big brass band, and a stage set up in the middle plaza. But the party didn’t truly start until Saturday.
Friday afternoon we headed to Madrid because we had heard that the Carnaval there was huge. All of us girl had bought bright colored tights and beautifully decorated masks to celebrate. The boys complained that they didn’t have costumes. So we went to El Corte Ingles (which is Spain’s version of a Nordstrom + a Walmart) and they floated around the toy area until the came up with the most ridiculous costumes. They bought skeleton masks for one euro and bright colored wigs. It is suffice to say that they looked like dead drag queens, and here is the real joke: little did we know that the people of Madrid do NOT, in fact, celebrate Carnaval. They looked like hilarious buffoons as we walked around Madrid. (See facebook pictures for those who have it). We still had a super fun time, and probably more fun because we were all dressed up.
Saturday we returned to Toledo where there actually was a huge Carnaval celebration. They had set up a makeshift bar in the middle of the plaza and there was a stage playing live music. During mid afternoon, there was a huge parade with loud music that went through the town, and at night the plaza was jam packed with people dressed as anything you can imagine. NOTE: it is a popular Carnaval theme for men to dress like women.
Okay so this weekend. I went to Barcelona to visit Britany and Adam Baljevich. We left Thursday for the Madrid airport even though our flight wasn’t until Friday morning. We had to spend the night in the airport because public transportation in both Madrid and Toledo doesn’t start running earlier enough to get us to the airport at 5:30 for our 7:30 flight. But when we got to Madrid, our friend Courtney introduced us to her parents that were visiting, and they took us to dinner at this tapas restaurant. It was very relaxing and enjoyable to just have a nice dinner.
After “sleeping” in the airport, we finally landed in Barcelona and I met up with Britany at about 9 am. We ended up taking naps for a while, and when Brit went to class at 2 o’clock, I met Adam for lunch. We then walked up and down “Las Ramblas” which is the famous street in Barcelona with a huge market. Lauren’s favorite part of Spain is located in the market: a large wall of gummy candies. We continued on to walk down to the port so we could look at the beautiful view of the water. We then met some of Brit’s friends for a happy hour, went out for tapas, and went home to get ready. That night at the club, there was a mini Maine South Reunion. I ran into 3 people I knew this weekend accidentally. It’s crazy how a continent can be so small.
Saturday we woke up and Brit and I were determined to do a entire view of Barcelona in a day. Twelve hours and about twelve hours of walking later, I had seen all the major points of Barcelona. Sagrada familia (a church designed by Gaudi that is taking over 100 years to complete) and Park Guell (which are both designed beautifully by Gaudi), other Gaudi buildings, the Olympic Park (from the 1992 Olympics), the Arc de Triompf, and the Born neighborhood (it’s a little Lincoln Park like). Adam, Brit, and I ate dinner at this great restaurant in the Born neighborhood and got gelato afterwards. We went home to rest for a little before heading out to meet up with my Notre Dame friends at a Bar called Dow Jones. This bar has a board like the stock market where prices of drinks fluctuate. Whatever is popular at the time goes up in price, and then everyone tries to buy the lower drinks. Sometimes there is a “stock market crash” and the drinks are all really low priced. Pretty neat idea for a bar.
Next weekend we are going to Granada with the school to see the Alhambra (really famous Spanish Palace). The school is paying for the entire weekend, including a 4 star hotel. When I come back on Sunday, I will go immediately to the airport to get MIKE! I am so excited for him to come visit and see where I have been living for the past two months. Then, the two of us are going to Paris and meeting up with my friend Lindsay and her boyfriend. It should be a pretty exciting week, as long as I get my work done!
Miss you all!
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