An update

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