I've officially been living in Spain for 100 days today!!
In elementary school we used to celebrate the 100th day of school by writing paragraphs about what the world would be like in 100 years or by bringing in 100 of some small object to make a collage. Although I was tempted to eat 100 churros to celebrate our 100th day here, I decided to write a blogpost instead!
It's also my half-birthday! Six more months until I'm 22 :-(
So 100 days have passed and there are only 37 left. WOW time sure flies! Here's what I have to look forward to in the remaining 5 weeks:
April 27 - May 1: Trip to Germany to visit my relatives there
May 4 - May 6: Salamanca for the weekend
May 12 - May 17: Rohan visiting me in Granada!
I can't believe that I still have so many plans left... I feel like the semester is ending so soon! Definitely not looking forward to leaving Spain, but I am starting to get ready to go home.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Not rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail...
So this weekend I learned that Spring in Granada is just as temperamental as Spring is in NJ!
I went with my program this weekend to two coastal towns (Almuñecar and Nerja) and a mountain region (Alpujarras). We were hoping to have a lovely day on the beach, but no such luck. It was raining as we left Granada Saturday morning, and it basically continued to rain all day long. We still managed to have a fun day, though! We visited an old castle in Almuñecar and got a beautiful (cloudy) view of the Mediterranean Sea. In Nerja, we visited some very cool caves and got more lovely, rainy views of the sea!
After some rainy free time in Nerja, we went back to Almuñecar and checked into our hotel. It was really nice and super close to the beach, but sadly it was still raining. Lame.
I did get to take a walk through the town with our trip directors and several other girls and we got to go on the beach. It seemed nice--too bad we didn't get to tan on it!
On Sunday we packed up early and headed up the mountains to Alpujarras! While we were in the mountains, we visited two little towns with great views. We also got to experience a little sun! But soon the sun left and it started to SNOW! More snow fell than I've seen since winter 2011... crazy!
So now I am home again and ready to face my last 5-day week of class! After this week, we won't have any more classes on Friday, which is excellent. Crazy to think that things are slowly but surely coming to an end... I have SUCH mixed feelings about wanting to come home and wanting to stay here. As I write this, I wouldn't mind going home soon since it's about 50 degrees here and practically 80 in NJ! I could also really used some fantastic peanutbutter cookies that my mom sent me once in college... 39 more days!
I went with my program this weekend to two coastal towns (Almuñecar and Nerja) and a mountain region (Alpujarras). We were hoping to have a lovely day on the beach, but no such luck. It was raining as we left Granada Saturday morning, and it basically continued to rain all day long. We still managed to have a fun day, though! We visited an old castle in Almuñecar and got a beautiful (cloudy) view of the Mediterranean Sea. In Nerja, we visited some very cool caves and got more lovely, rainy views of the sea!
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| Rainbow on the way to Almuñecar |
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| Castle! |
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| Unfriendly clouds |
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| Inside the cave at Nerja |
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| Coast of Nerja |
After some rainy free time in Nerja, we went back to Almuñecar and checked into our hotel. It was really nice and super close to the beach, but sadly it was still raining. Lame.
I did get to take a walk through the town with our trip directors and several other girls and we got to go on the beach. It seemed nice--too bad we didn't get to tan on it!
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| Angry Almuñecar Sea |
On Sunday we packed up early and headed up the mountains to Alpujarras! While we were in the mountains, we visited two little towns with great views. We also got to experience a little sun! But soon the sun left and it started to SNOW! More snow fell than I've seen since winter 2011... crazy!
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| View from the hotel room |
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| Alpujarras! |
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| Drink from this fountain and you will find a boyfriend or girlfriend! |
So now I am home again and ready to face my last 5-day week of class! After this week, we won't have any more classes on Friday, which is excellent. Crazy to think that things are slowly but surely coming to an end... I have SUCH mixed feelings about wanting to come home and wanting to stay here. As I write this, I wouldn't mind going home soon since it's about 50 degrees here and practically 80 in NJ! I could also really used some fantastic peanutbutter cookies that my mom sent me once in college... 39 more days!
Friday, April 13, 2012
When In Rome: Spring Break Part 3
So our train to Rome was super uneventful (finally a calm, normal transfer from one city to the next!). We got to Rome around 4:15 and took the metro to our hostel, called "Snow White." We found it easily enough, but once we got there, the owner told us that there had been a mix-up and our room was actually going to be at the "Sleeping Beauty Guesthouse." The owner was very nice and paid for our cab from Snow White to Sleeping Beauty. We were met at the guesthouse by her husband, who took us to a cafe and got us drinks, then spend 15 minutes going over a map of Rome, marking the different neighborhoods, where to go for food/shopping (and where not to), and how to get to the famous landmarks. It was so helpful!
Our room was really cute (and did not have bunkbeds!). Once we settled in, we took a walk all around the area to get a feel for the neighborhood and for Rome. We ended up in this little park with a fenced-in dog area and some Italian boys playing soccer. For dinner, we picked up snacks and wine at a grocery store (Carrefour, Liz!) and got pizza from a pizzaria. We actually got to watch them make our pizzas, which was very exciting. We ate dinner in the guesthouse while watching a movie on our room's TV and DVD player! Having a movie night was a super nice treat, since we can never have them at our host-stays in Granada.
On Friday we got up early and headed over to the Vatican! We tried to get to the Vatican Museum early so we wouldn't have to wait in a giant line and we were successful! After only waiting 20 minutes, we got into the museum, bought our tickets, and started wandering through the giant galleries. We must have spent almost three hours checking out all the art and exhibits. There were tons of statues, paintings, and artifacts, not to mention amazing ceilings and walls. We even got to see the famous Sistine Chapel! It was quite a museum!
Afterwards, we ate in the pizzeria inside of the museum (which was surprisingly not expensive!), then left the museum to explore Vatican City. We ended up at St. Peter's Basillica and got to go inside. SO gorgeous!! There were a TON of chairs set up inside and outside, ready for the Easter services on Sunday. It was super crowded--I'm glad we decided to check it out of Good Friday instead of Easter!
Since we'd gotten up so early, we decided to go back to the guesthouse for a siesta, but not before stopping at (what claims to be) the oldest gelato factory in Rome! It was surprisingly cheap and DELICOUS. Best gelato I've had ever. And it came with homemade whipped cream :-)
After our siesta, we walked to a neighborhood called Trastevere for dinner. It was somewhat of a hike, but we got to pass the Colosseum and other awesome ruins, as well as through a few famous plazas. Then we crossed the river and found a great restaurant for dinner. I got to eat more pasta! After the delicious dinner, we decided to try to take a bus back. Turns out there are two "San Giovanni" stops, however, and we managed to choose the wrong one. We took a tram in the complete opposite direction and ended up in a random Roman neighborhood. With the help of a friendly club-owner, however, we grabbed a taxi and got back to our hotel.
On Saturday we conquered the Colosseum! We stood in the most unorganized line of my life for an hour to get our tickets, but then we were in! It was SUCH a cool experience. I was completely overwhelmed by how epic it was to be standing in a building so old. It was the oldest thing I've ever seen (unless you count dinosaur bones in the Museum of Natural History, but I do not). I was blown away by the architecture the Romans managed to create without modern tools and technology. We toured all the other ruins around the Colosseum next (between rain and hail showers...). Again, completely amazed by the buildings! Also by the fact that you can just be driving along a highway and BAM! suddenly you're in front of 2,000 year old ruins! What a cool place.
Sunday we had to check out of our hotel. We couldn't store our luggage there, so we had to take it to the train station for the day. After we dropped off our stuff, we went to a nearby church (Santa Maria Maggiore) and went to an Easter mass! As a non-Catholic Christian, I was super lost for a lot of the service. It also didn't help that it was in Italian and Latin haha. Nonetheless, it was a very incredible place to spend my Easter Sunday. The church was seriously gorgeous and the choir was beautiful! (It's got nothing on Holmdel UCC's music, though!)
The rest of Easter was spent wandering the streets of Rome. We checked out several famous plazas, the Trevi Fountain (where we tossed coins into the water, ensuring our return to Rome), the Spanish Steps, and a great park with a beautiful view. We had an excellent Easter lunch (more pasta!) and had an impromptu mid-afternoon snack of nachos and cappuccinos at the Hard Rock Cafe because it started pouring when we were in their buying souvenirs. After we spent as much time as we could hanging out in Rome, we went back to the train station, grabbed our stuff, and took a taxi to the airport.
Our flight out of Rome was at 7am and the airport was outside the city, so we decided that instead of staying in a hotel another night and waking up at 3:30am and trying to find a cab, we would just camp out at the airport for the night. A surprising amount of people had the same idea, so it wasn't too sketchy, although I did spend some of the night sleeping next to a homeless man. It was a very interesting experience, and while I don't regret our decision to forgo the hostel, I really don't plan on staying overnight at an airport again.
Monday morning we flew to Barcelona and then back to Granada. Our Semana Santa adventures were really fantastic and GREAT experiences, but I was seriously ready to get back to Granada. Nothing like Ana's cooking and my own bed! It was really nice to feel like we were going home :-)
Our room was really cute (and did not have bunkbeds!). Once we settled in, we took a walk all around the area to get a feel for the neighborhood and for Rome. We ended up in this little park with a fenced-in dog area and some Italian boys playing soccer. For dinner, we picked up snacks and wine at a grocery store (Carrefour, Liz!) and got pizza from a pizzaria. We actually got to watch them make our pizzas, which was very exciting. We ate dinner in the guesthouse while watching a movie on our room's TV and DVD player! Having a movie night was a super nice treat, since we can never have them at our host-stays in Granada.
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| San Giovanni Church right near our hotel! |
On Friday we got up early and headed over to the Vatican! We tried to get to the Vatican Museum early so we wouldn't have to wait in a giant line and we were successful! After only waiting 20 minutes, we got into the museum, bought our tickets, and started wandering through the giant galleries. We must have spent almost three hours checking out all the art and exhibits. There were tons of statues, paintings, and artifacts, not to mention amazing ceilings and walls. We even got to see the famous Sistine Chapel! It was quite a museum!
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| Sistine Chapel! |
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| Sistine Chapel! |
Afterwards, we ate in the pizzeria inside of the museum (which was surprisingly not expensive!), then left the museum to explore Vatican City. We ended up at St. Peter's Basillica and got to go inside. SO gorgeous!! There were a TON of chairs set up inside and outside, ready for the Easter services on Sunday. It was super crowded--I'm glad we decided to check it out of Good Friday instead of Easter!
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| Sign at the Vatican Museum Pizzaria |
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| Inside the Basillica |
Since we'd gotten up so early, we decided to go back to the guesthouse for a siesta, but not before stopping at (what claims to be) the oldest gelato factory in Rome! It was surprisingly cheap and DELICOUS. Best gelato I've had ever. And it came with homemade whipped cream :-)
After our siesta, we walked to a neighborhood called Trastevere for dinner. It was somewhat of a hike, but we got to pass the Colosseum and other awesome ruins, as well as through a few famous plazas. Then we crossed the river and found a great restaurant for dinner. I got to eat more pasta! After the delicious dinner, we decided to try to take a bus back. Turns out there are two "San Giovanni" stops, however, and we managed to choose the wrong one. We took a tram in the complete opposite direction and ended up in a random Roman neighborhood. With the help of a friendly club-owner, however, we grabbed a taxi and got back to our hotel.
On Saturday we conquered the Colosseum! We stood in the most unorganized line of my life for an hour to get our tickets, but then we were in! It was SUCH a cool experience. I was completely overwhelmed by how epic it was to be standing in a building so old. It was the oldest thing I've ever seen (unless you count dinosaur bones in the Museum of Natural History, but I do not). I was blown away by the architecture the Romans managed to create without modern tools and technology. We toured all the other ruins around the Colosseum next (between rain and hail showers...). Again, completely amazed by the buildings! Also by the fact that you can just be driving along a highway and BAM! suddenly you're in front of 2,000 year old ruins! What a cool place.
Sunday we had to check out of our hotel. We couldn't store our luggage there, so we had to take it to the train station for the day. After we dropped off our stuff, we went to a nearby church (Santa Maria Maggiore) and went to an Easter mass! As a non-Catholic Christian, I was super lost for a lot of the service. It also didn't help that it was in Italian and Latin haha. Nonetheless, it was a very incredible place to spend my Easter Sunday. The church was seriously gorgeous and the choir was beautiful! (It's got nothing on Holmdel UCC's music, though!)
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| Easter Sunday! |
The rest of Easter was spent wandering the streets of Rome. We checked out several famous plazas, the Trevi Fountain (where we tossed coins into the water, ensuring our return to Rome), the Spanish Steps, and a great park with a beautiful view. We had an excellent Easter lunch (more pasta!) and had an impromptu mid-afternoon snack of nachos and cappuccinos at the Hard Rock Cafe because it started pouring when we were in their buying souvenirs. After we spent as much time as we could hanging out in Rome, we went back to the train station, grabbed our stuff, and took a taxi to the airport.
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| Drinking Prosecco for Liz and Mom |
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| Hard Rock Cafe Ceiling |
Our flight out of Rome was at 7am and the airport was outside the city, so we decided that instead of staying in a hotel another night and waking up at 3:30am and trying to find a cab, we would just camp out at the airport for the night. A surprising amount of people had the same idea, so it wasn't too sketchy, although I did spend some of the night sleeping next to a homeless man. It was a very interesting experience, and while I don't regret our decision to forgo the hostel, I really don't plan on staying overnight at an airport again.
Monday morning we flew to Barcelona and then back to Granada. Our Semana Santa adventures were really fantastic and GREAT experiences, but I was seriously ready to get back to Granada. Nothing like Ana's cooking and my own bed! It was really nice to feel like we were going home :-)
Getting There: Spring Break Part 2
So there we were, stuck in a country whose language we did not speak at all, with airport workers who were not very keen on helping us at all. We finally found a woman at one of the information desks who helped us find a hotel near the airport for the night. It was more expensive than what we would have liked to spend, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We were able to take a free shuttle to the hotel from the airport and, thanks to free WiFi and our blackberries, were able to find an overnight train for the following night that would get us to Florence on Wednesday morning. We would still be missing out on an entire day in Florence, but at least we could get there!
We got to the Paris train station early the next morning (thanks to the shuttle driver at the hotel who took us there in his car...) and bought our train tickets. Then we spent eight hours waiting in the train station. We did get a lot of good people-watching in, but it was mostly boring. We did venture outside the train station for a while and got to see a new part of Paris, but unfortunately it was mostly a day of waiting. In the evening, we were able to board the train! I had been on an overnight train once before when my family took one from Barcelona to Sevilla in 2002, but this was quite a different experience. There for 6 of us in our cabin--the four of us, an older Italian woman, and a Pakistani man about our age. The woman was super friendly and helpful, but the man spent the first three hours talking loudly on his cellphone. Quite annoying. The cabin had six seats that could be folded down and make beds, so once it got late we all had a bed to sleep in! I am not the best at sleeping in vehicles, so I was glad to have a bed to lie in. I probably got about 4 hours of sleep that night!
We got off in Milan at 5:45 and caught another train to Florence, so we finally got to Florence a little after 8am. We went to a cafe to regroup and figure out how to get to our hostel, then headed there. I loved walking through the streets of Florence. Everything was so beautiful and Italian-looking!! Our hostel was on the second floor of a cute building, but we had to wait almost 30 minutes for the owner to show up to check us in! That was pretty annoying and sketchy. But alas, we checked in and were able to leave our stuff and explore the city! Our first stop was lunch. I had my first Italian pasta and my friends got pizza. YUM! Then we wandered all around the streets and shops and bridges along the river. Everything was really awesome. We bought matching beaded bracelets to commemorate the day we had lost in Florence and our journey getting there and then got some gelato! When I thought of Italy before the trip, I liked to picture eating gelato along a river, listeing to a street performer play the accordian. Well, I am super happy to say that that is exactly what I got!
Later in the day we went to the Accademia museum, where the David is! Very exciting to see such a famous piece of art up-close and personal. He was way bigger than I had expected!
We spent the rest of the day wandering through the streets of Florence, checking out churches and other buildings. We ended up eating dinner at a restaurant near the Duomo and I had super excellent pasta and wine. LOVE Florence!!
I was lucky enough in Florence to get to meet up with an old friend from high school who is studying in Florence for the semester, Casie. We had a great time catching up, and I loved that she could show me a bit of her Italian life!
Thursday morning we climbed up to Piazzale Michelangelo and got a breathtaking view of the city. There were several street performers up there, so we spent a long time just taking in the atmosphere and staring at Florence. Then we went and visited the Duomo. Sadly, our train was at 2:45pm, so we had to go back to the hostel afterwards, grab our stuff, grab a quick lunch, and catch our train to Rome.
We got to the Paris train station early the next morning (thanks to the shuttle driver at the hotel who took us there in his car...) and bought our train tickets. Then we spent eight hours waiting in the train station. We did get a lot of good people-watching in, but it was mostly boring. We did venture outside the train station for a while and got to see a new part of Paris, but unfortunately it was mostly a day of waiting. In the evening, we were able to board the train! I had been on an overnight train once before when my family took one from Barcelona to Sevilla in 2002, but this was quite a different experience. There for 6 of us in our cabin--the four of us, an older Italian woman, and a Pakistani man about our age. The woman was super friendly and helpful, but the man spent the first three hours talking loudly on his cellphone. Quite annoying. The cabin had six seats that could be folded down and make beds, so once it got late we all had a bed to sleep in! I am not the best at sleeping in vehicles, so I was glad to have a bed to lie in. I probably got about 4 hours of sleep that night!
We got off in Milan at 5:45 and caught another train to Florence, so we finally got to Florence a little after 8am. We went to a cafe to regroup and figure out how to get to our hostel, then headed there. I loved walking through the streets of Florence. Everything was so beautiful and Italian-looking!! Our hostel was on the second floor of a cute building, but we had to wait almost 30 minutes for the owner to show up to check us in! That was pretty annoying and sketchy. But alas, we checked in and were able to leave our stuff and explore the city! Our first stop was lunch. I had my first Italian pasta and my friends got pizza. YUM! Then we wandered all around the streets and shops and bridges along the river. Everything was really awesome. We bought matching beaded bracelets to commemorate the day we had lost in Florence and our journey getting there and then got some gelato! When I thought of Italy before the trip, I liked to picture eating gelato along a river, listeing to a street performer play the accordian. Well, I am super happy to say that that is exactly what I got!
Later in the day we went to the Accademia museum, where the David is! Very exciting to see such a famous piece of art up-close and personal. He was way bigger than I had expected!
We spent the rest of the day wandering through the streets of Florence, checking out churches and other buildings. We ended up eating dinner at a restaurant near the Duomo and I had super excellent pasta and wine. LOVE Florence!!
I was lucky enough in Florence to get to meet up with an old friend from high school who is studying in Florence for the semester, Casie. We had a great time catching up, and I loved that she could show me a bit of her Italian life!
Thursday morning we climbed up to Piazzale Michelangelo and got a breathtaking view of the city. There were several street performers up there, so we spent a long time just taking in the atmosphere and staring at Florence. Then we went and visited the Duomo. Sadly, our train was at 2:45pm, so we had to go back to the hostel afterwards, grab our stuff, grab a quick lunch, and catch our train to Rome.
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