Athens, Ireland and home!!

The ferry arrived in the morning at 8am after a night of sleeping in chairs and Andy on the ship floor. We thought we had about 9 hours to kill in Athens when we later found out it was actually more like 12 hours…our flight didn’t leave till 1030pm. We wandered around….a lot. We went to Acropolis and saw the ruins.

It was all very interesting to see, but it was a super hot day outside and we were extremely tired. For lunch w had some bad gyros (which was a sad way to end our greek food experience). The rest of the day we walked around, shopped around, saw some more ruins and flew out around 10:30. Andy scored a free sandwhich on the plane and we got into Dublin at 2am. We spent that night in a 16 bed hostal. I think we woke the whole room up when we came in and set up our beds.
In the morning we took a 5 hour busride to Cork, the city that Andy is studying in. Cork was a gorgeous city although a little cloudy and rainy.

Andy and most of the people in his group had finals that week so they were studying and taking tests while I was there. Although I couldn’t really hang out with them too much during the day, Andy was able to show me around his campus and we were able to go out at night. Andy took me to his favorite pub across the river and bought me a beer called the “Blarney Blonde!”

The next day Andy had two finals so I went for a run around Cork. It was a great way to see things and it was a beautiful morning with good weather! After Andy finished his tests we went and got ice cream and mini donuts at this new place near his apartment. That night we went to a club in Cork and I had my first Guinness. It was really fun seeing what Andy’s study abroad experience was like and meeting everyone in his group! I left super early the next morning on a plane from Cork to Dublin and then Dublin to Madrid.

When I got back to Segovia there was a huge full rainbow behind the aqueduct. It was so beautiful and a perfect way to come back to Segovia.
The next day I spent with my host family. We went for a walk around the city because it was gorgeous weather. We made our way to Carmiña’s house and had lunch with some of the family. After that we sat on an outside terrace and got coffee and met Dani to say goodbye to her. That night we watched the pursuit of happiness in Spanish and I stayed up super late packing.
It was a pretty long day of traveling but when I arrived in Minnesota some of my roommates from St. Ben’s were there as a surprise to welcome me home!! I cannot believe it has been 4 months, but I am so excited to be back. I had the most amazing experience and these memories will last a lifetime! ☺

More Italy and Greece!

Easter Sunday- I was rather disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to look for my Easter basket this year since I am not at home, so Andy and I brought Easter to our Florence hotel. We hid each other “Kinder Eggs” (chocolate eggs with a surprise inside!)

Great way to start the day! We found a hostel for the night in the city because we didn’t want to have to go through the whole bus thing again, but when we went to wait for the busses into the city we were informed that they weren’t running because of the holiday….so we had to call a taxi. 50 euro later we made it to Florence and our hostel.

During the day we walked around again and finally made it to Gusta Pizza!! The wait to get our pizza was close to 1 hour because there were so many people in the restaurant, but it was so worth it! Andy and I split a magherita pizza ….it was delicious.


After that we did some more shopping and walking around. Later that night we got gelato at the same place and then sat on the Ponte Vecchio bridge to listen to this guy playing music. My favorite one was “Don’t worry be happy!” ☺

Monday morning we took a really nice train to Milan. Unfortunately, Andy left his coat and sweatshirt on the train so we had to wait to get them back. We caught the train at a different stop and the conductor met us to handover Andy’s things….lucky boy!

After that we took a train to Costronno, a little city outside of Milan, to stay at a Bed and Breakfast for the night. It was a super cute place and definitely a new experience. We ordered a pizza to the house and in the morning we were very excited for out “traditional Italian breakfast”, but it ended up being some plastic wrapped scones. The rest of the day was another full day of traveling….
We took the plane from Milan to Athens, Greece then got on an hour busride to the port. Then we were on the ferry to Santorini, and island of Greece, for the rest of the day and night. The ferry was a lot nicer than I imagined. It was very big with a bunch of different restaurants and sitting areas. We were there so early that we picked a really good spot next to some outlets, which ended up being the hot commodity that everyone was searching for throughout the night. The bad thing about our spot was that we were by this super crabby lady with the smelliest feet in the world!
We arrived in Santorini at about 2am and Stavros, the owner of our hostel, was there waiting to drive us to our place to stay!

After catching up on some sleep we went and got some groceries and went into Fira, the capital of Santorini. There were tons of touristy and fun stores and we spent some time shopping around and discovering the beautiful city.

That night we got drinks and some bread with olive oil at a restaurant that overlooked the water and the rest of the island. The island and city was so beautiful all lit up. After that we walked around and stopped in a few bars. We watched the Real Madrid vs Barcelona soccer (futbol) game and listened to some great oldies.

The next day was not very nice outside. In the middle of the island it was very smoggy, damp and pretty chilly. We rented an ATV and drove around the entire island.

First we went to the southern part of the island. Perissa beach is a black sand beach and we were planning on spending the last 4 days of our vacation there, so we found the hostel we wanted and booked it with the people. Then we went to red beach and it was absolutely gorgeous out with not a cloud in the sky. We sat on the beach there for a little while and took in the sun! Then we continued even further down the island and went to this lighthouse right at the edge. The views were gorgeous. For dinner we got some two euro gyro pitas and attempted to see the sunset in Oia, which is the furthest city north, but I think we just missed it! It was really a bummer because it took us about 45 minutes to get there and it was really cold! We drove back a different way then the way we came. It was all along these cliffs that winded around a mountain. It was super scary, especially in the dark. But Andy was having so much fun and the views were incredible!

The next day we moved to our other hostel, Stelio’s, in Perissa Beach. It was a pretty lazy afternoon, which is exactly what we wanted. We laid out in the sun at the pool for a little while, watched some Modern Family, went to the grocery store and made some pasta dinner.

The next day we went to the black sand beach and it was beautiful outside!! ☺ This was a perfect relaxing way to end our travels since they were usually go go go. That night we saw tons of busses driving through the city and they were all honking and making tons of noise. We found out it was all for a wedding! We had pasta again for dinner and ate it on our balcony. During dinner there were some very intense fireworks going off for the wedding, which really added to the ambiance of our meal! The rest of the night was filled with the office and modern family episodes.

Santorini was amazing but it was really strange because there were so many bars and restaurants not open since there were not many people there. I guess the common time for tourists is in the Summer, but since its an island I just assumed it would be popular all year round. It would be really cool to see how different the island is during the summer because I am sure there would be a lot more going on everywhere.

The next day we had to check out of our room at 11am but we were not getting on the ferry back to Athens until 2:30 am…so we needed to kill a lot of time. We rented an ATV again so that we could cruise around the island. First we went to Red Beach, but it was supperr windy so we went back to Perissa Beach to lay around because it was very sunny and not windy there. Andy and I got some fun beachy drinks to celebrate our last day. We both got extremely burnt…we only had a tiny bottle of sunscreen because it was very expensive all over Europe. (so if you are ever going there, definitely bring your own sunscreens).

After a day in the sun we took the ATV into Fira to walk and shop around. We were trying to finally catch the sunset, so we attempted to walk around until about 8pm, but it was so windy and chilly. The other bummer was that it was very smoggy out…I think we were basically in a cloud because our bodies and hair were super sticky and damp. (It was a gross feeling and we stayed that way for a while because we had to sleep on a ferry..then spend a day in Athens..then a night in a hostal and we were not in Cork until 2 days later to finally shower…ick!) The smoginess blocked us from seeing the sunset so we were fine getting on the ATV to get back to the coast where it wouldn’t be as windy and cold. The ATV company gave us these huge jackets to wear and they really came in handy during the ride back. On the drive back we finally saw the sunset!!! Up in Fira we were too high and were not able to see it through the clouds….so on the way down to the coast we saw the whole thing basically! I was very excited we finally succeeded. We went to Dinner at the restaurant Aqaurius along the beach in Perrisa. We each got a pasta but neither of us were able to finish …they gave us sooo much! The service there was really great though and it was a perfect last dinner! They surprised us with free dessert ☺ Stelios, the owner of our hostal, was able to drive us to the port at 10pm so we ended up waiting around there for a while but it was better then getting a taxi! We didn’t sleep that well on the ferry that night….Andy laid across the floor of the boat and I was on a chair… but it was nice to get there overnight and arrive in Athens in the morning!

Italy- Cinque Terre and Florence

We are now on our way to Italy. After our flight we took a train to get to Cinque Terre and sat with people from Jeruselum and Italy. It is crazy how everyone communicates through English though… Very cool to see. Italian is very close to Spanish, so I was able to understand a little more than when we were in France.
More traveling bad luck came when we got to our stop in Rigommiore, Cinque Terre and we were unable to get off the train due to tricky door handles. We sat at the door and pulled and pulled until the train started moving and we had missed our stop. So, we had to get off at the next one, wait an hour, and go 8 minutes in the other direction to our stop. That day was full of traveling…14 hours in taxi, bus, plane and 3 trains.

Our hostal was a hike to get to. Cinque is very hilly and has tons of stairs. After checking in we walked around to see the town, which is very small and quaint…so much so that we were unable to find anything to eat at 8:00 pm (Jorge and Marta would have died knowing that they had to eat dinner before 7:30). We had to eat out, which we didn’t necessarily want to do, but we were starving! We ordered a pizza and plate of pasta to share and got gelato for dessert. We ran into some friends of Andy’s from cork, which was very unexpected!
On Thursday we woke up and went on a hike along the coast that went to the next city. It was called Via del Ammore. It took about 25 minutes. The thing to do is put up a lock along the way if you are a couple, but we didn’t have one at the time.

After that hike we continued on another route to the next city, but this one went up into the mountains. It was much harder with millions of stairs and vertical incline! There were some amazing views, but the path was very scary because it was super narrow and there were now guard rails. I am very clumsy when it comes to walking and happened to trip a few times..there were definitely some close calls. The trails were also not very well marked and we ended up getting lost super high in the mountains because we missed a sign along the way for the right path. We backtracked and went all the way back down the mountain to the city of Cornigilia. It was almost more difficult to go down.

We took a train to Monterosso, the first city out of the 5 that make up cinque terre. This city was absolutely gorgeous with a beach covering the whole coast and it seemed like a lot more was going on then in Riogammiore. We attempted to walk around to find a place to stay for the next night and eventually found ourselves in a market talking to a lady who had a place with kitchen, couch and a view open for the night we needed! We were so excited we finally got lucky! That night we had pizza and pasta on these huge rocks on the water while watching the sunset. Then we got a strawberry and nutella crepe to share for dessert.
Friday we got up early to go to our new place in Monterosso. When we got there the lady told us that our room was no longer available because we came to late…. Andy and I think there was actually no room to begin with. She called one of her friends to set us up for the night so we ended up following this lady who spoke no English across the city. We ended up in the basement of a building in a closet/ storage room we think. The hallway to our “room” had this scary looking doll and clown stuffed animal and was super dirty.

Then, our room was just big enough to fit a bunk bed and in the back was the toilet/sink/shower combo. We talked our way down a little on the price, but it still cost more than it should have.

After that we felt as though we deserved something for all we’d been through so we splurged for a daquiri and margarita on the beach. We spent the rest of the day lounging in the sun on the beach. Later that night we went to Vernazza (the only city out of the 5 that we had not yet seen) and had dinner there…this really good small square pizza we had been eyeing all trip. Then we did the Via del amorre hike/walk again and this time brought a lock with us. We found this hidden place where you had to climb some stairs and put it behind a barbed wire fence. We tried to catch the sunset but it was too cloudy. Then we ended back up in Riogammiore and wish we would have just kept our first hostel because we almost missed the last train from rio to monterroso. Crazy crazy crazy.

Saturday we got up early because we did not want to be in that “room” for longer than we needed to be. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for a train to our next destination…Florence. Our hotel was out of the city center because everything was booked due to easter. We left our bags off at the train station so that we could walk around the city for the day. We spent most of the day looking for Gusta pizza, which was suggested to us by a few people, but once we got there it was closed. However, we got to see a lot of the city during out search. We were starving so we found a different place that looked good to eat. Andy got pizza and I got pasta! (Italy duh!) Then we passed by this place with homemade gelato…they even had canteloupe flavor!! (my favorite fruit) I ended up getting nutella and tiramasu and andy got nutella and caramel. In order to get to our hotel we were told to take this specific bus. We found it but accidently got on the direct route, so it did not stop where we needed it to. The bus driver was very nice to us and helped us find another bus to our place. After 2 hours we finally made it to Ibis hotel by this big mall called I Gigli. We compared it to Bloomington outside of Minneapolis with the mall of America. That night we checked out the mall for a little bit and then watched some Jersey Shore (the only thing in English on TV)

ps- sorry for my crazy writing... we only have internet in select places so I am writing super fast!
PICTURES TO COME LATER!

European Adventures Begin-Ireland and London

When I got to the airport in Dublin the Wolfe’s were right there and I was very excited to see them! They rented a car while visiting Andy so we drove back to the hotel. Dublin is a very fun city and the hotel we stayed at was absolutely gorgeous! It had big sparkly chandelleirs, really comfortable down comforters on the beds and slippers! I got in around 7:30, so after dropping my stuff off we set out into the town to find a place to eat. We ate at a little Irish pub. It was really cool to interact with the Irish people. The waiter had a super high voice and a great accent. Him and the other Irish people I encountered throughout the weekend are extremely nice and friendly. After dinner we walked around town for a little while and went to a pub “poob” to get a couple beers.

The next day we woke up at 9:30 for breakfast and coffee at the hotel. Big breakfast and big coffee! ☺ After eating, we walked through a park and then went to an old church across the river to see some crypts. We touched a 800 year old mummies hand for good luck! We also saw some old tombs and coffins, which were all underneath the church! Creepy!! Our tour guide was definitely a character. I don’t even know how to describe him but he made the tour very fun. We spent the rest of the day walking around Dublin, enjoying the people, the sights and the weather! Big event of the day: Andy got a tattoo! He got a 4 leaf clover on his behind mostly to show off how lucky he is haha but he is also Irish and has been studying for the past semester in Ireland so it will be a great symbol to have forever. That night we got to go out for Sushi! We went back early because we all had to leave for the airport at 2:30 am. It was a great weekend and start to my adventures. It was wonderful seeing and spending time with Dan and Carol, Andy’s parents, especially since my parents were unable to come visit me! The weekend was perfect and Dublin is a gorgeous city!

We got to London in the morning around 9:30 and met Charlie (a friend from school who is studying there). The area where they live is one of the nicest in London. The cars on the streets consisted of Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini etc. Andy and I walked around all day and then went to the oldest pub in London with Charlie and some people from his study abroad group. We didn’t get much sleep that night because Andy and I slept on the two couches in the main room and people had to stay up late to study and wake up early to study. We felt bad and did not want to be in the way because they had finals the next day, so we got up early and went to Hyde Park. We sat by the lake, had a picnic, soaked up some sun and people watched. It was very nice out and there were people everywhere. Later that day, we rented bikes, rode through the park and got some starbucks!!

We also went to the London Tower and the London Bridge. The London marathon was going on during the day so there were a lot of people in the city for that.
That night we also saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Tower Bridge. We walked around this boardwalk where a lot of stuff was going on. We were waiting for it to get dark out to go on “The Eye”, which is a big Ferris Wheel. After some Subway for dinner we waited in line for The Eye and had perfect timing! We saw the whole city lit up and it was absolutely gorgeous. I had no idea how huge London was!! Andy got some great pictures that we will have to put up soon.

The next day we were able to sleep in a little later. We rented bikes again because we figured it was a good way to get around and see everything. We went to see Buckingham Palace, but unfortunately we missed the changing of the guards. There was a lot of construction and stuff going on due to some wedding that is coming up. ;) haha everything in the city is focused around the wedding, it is crazy! There is merchandise everywhere with Kate and William’s faces and the date of the wedding. I am hoping to watch the event on TV to see what they were making and setting up while we were there.
That night we went to….WICKED!! I felt bad because it was Andy’s 4th time seeing the show hah. We got the last tickets of the night and they were in restricted view, but it ended up being perfect! The show was absolutely amazing. It was so fun to actually see it, since I already knew all the music. Rachel Tucker played the role of Elpheba and she had the most beautiful voice. After the show we met Charlie and his group at a bar. There was karaoke going on when we got there and one of our friends sang “Sweet Child of Mine”. He gave a great performance! After the karaoke was over we stayed there for some mingling and dancing. We had to go back at about 1 in order to get ready to catch our bus to the airport at 2:30. Little did we know the bus didn’t run at night and we ended up having to take a Taxi. The taxi dropped us off at another bus that would take us to the airport. It was a very long night because our flight wasn’t until 6 am. Once Andy and I hit the plane seats we instantly fell asleep, however we both woke up over an hour later and hadn’t even left the ground. Two rows in front of us a girl was getting taken off the plane with paramedics, but we were clueless as to what had happened.
When we got to Paris all we wanted to do was shower and take a nap, but we were not allowed into our room until 4 pm due to cleaning. We walked up to Notre Dame and walked through it and then went over to the Louvre, which apparently is closed every Tuesday. After that we headed to the Eiffel Tower. We thought about going up it, but the lines were extremely long so we decided to get lunch instead. We ate at a café in view of the tower. We asked the person at our hostel where a good place to get crepes was and he directed us to this cute little hidden place. I got a crepe with dark, milk and white chocolate and Andy got banana and chocolate. We were wiped out and went back to sleep around 10. Luckily the two other girls who were sharing our room were going to bed then as well. France was very fun, but it was so hard not knowing any French, I felt helpless because a lot of the people we ran into did not speak English.
Early morning once again….we got up at 4:00 am to take the bus to another bus, but of course the bus never came and we had to hail a cab. The cab took us to our other bus in time and we took that bus to the airport. I think I have seen more sunrises than sunsets on this trip so far…

Hasta Luego Segovia

Well, I am writing from the bus out of Segovia and on my way to the airport. I cannot believe I am done here in Spain, that I am a senior and that it has been about 4 months!! The time flew by and it has been really hard getting ready to leave these past few days. However, I will catch you up from when I last posted!

It has been an absolutely beaufitul last week in Spain with weather in the mid 70s and the sun shining ☺
On Thursday night we went to zircus for our last time and danced to all our faves from spain! During the day I went shopping and enjoyed the weather. On Friday I taught for the last time . The kids were super fun and we took a picture with them!

During the rest of the day I had to do lots of homework, but took a break to get tapas and sangria with katee and erinn!
Saturday was amazing!! We drove about an hour out to a river called Duratón. There is a very old church in ruins on top of these cliffs and we walked out to it. The river is very far below where you walk because you are on top of the cliff. We tried forever to get down to the water and were soo close to making it! It was really fun climbing all around.

We had a picnic on the side of the cliff and enjoyed the sun and the weather with our bocadillos. I was really excited because marta made me a peanut butter sandwhich! After the river we drove a little further to a place with caves. You had to enter into a building, walk down a bunch of stairs and then go through a door to get to the cave! It was really cool and interesting and brought me back to my elementary school days learning about stalgtights and stalagmites.! The cutest little girl was on our tour and would ask questions at every stop we made.
I cannot believe how much we have seen and done around Segovia, which is such a small town that many people have never even heard of. I hope I can find some hidden wonders on my travels ☺
When we got back that night we had to go and get our last churros at the stand (all the lasts ☹ ) fresh from the fryer thingy!!

Saturday night the whole group went to the duct and we had an award ceremony! I received “best dressed” (probably because I packed and bought the most clothes out of everyone haha) and my other prize was most likely to be sleeping with a stuffed animal. (everyone happened to meet Sammie (my dog) and Sandy (my hippo pillow pet) on our excursions. But I am not bringing them to Europe with me, which is a very big step…we will see how it goes.
After the duct we went to La Luna and we all got mojitos and enjoyed each others company. After that we went to All the People to dance on our last Saturday night!

Sunday was another very eventful day. Marta, the boys and I took a bus tour around Segovia. It was super fun and I saw things that I didn’t even know Segovia had….like this beaufitul walking path I failed to discover. Marta said she will take me there when I come back. After the bus tour the whole family, along with Anna and Carmiña went to a pueblo named Pedraza. Marta and Jorge told me it’s the most beaufitul pueblo of Segovia. It has one door to enter and exit through. Everything in the pueblo is made from stones and is all very old and gorgeous. It also is up on a cliff/hill and has views that look out over everything. The restaurants in Pedraza are only open on Saturdays and Sundays and you have to make reservations and tell them what you are eating in advance. Marta and Jorge really wanted me to have cuchinillo (suckling pig- the famous dish of Segovia) before I left, so we went there specifically for that! I also had sheep. I liked the cuchinillo a lot, but not particularly the sheep. After the main course we got 3 different deserts to share, ponche segoviana (which is the famous segovian dessert) it was amazing. Then we had flan and strawberry cheesecake. It was very fun to spend the day with all of them!

On Monday we had our going away dinner with all the mothers, teachers and students. The dinner started at 7:30 and all of the mothers were freaking out because it was way to early to eat a dinner! We were just excited we would get home in time to watch El Barco.

When I got home from the dinner Jorge and Marta had some presents sitting out for me. I got a Spanish cook book!!! So now I can hopefully recreate some of these dishes I keep raving about in order to share. I also got a purple bracelet with a charm that is representative o Segovia.
The rest of the week was very stressful with tests, papers, packing and saying goodbye. My last full day was very emotional, I think for a number of reasons (stress, grades, tests, saying bye….) The littlest things would set me off and my eyes would start to water (thanks mom for this fun trait haha☺ ) On my last night, mis padres made me a big dinner with a bunch of my favorites that we ate in the dining room! (big deal!) we had two salads from bon apetit, tuna and red peppers, noodle soup and for dessert……a carton of strawberry cheescake ben and jerrys!! They have gotten to know me very well haha. Later that night the group (who was left) went out with each other one last time to say goodbye. We played night games in the Plaza Mayor and it was a lot of fun!
Today (Thursday) I woke up early to go for a run in order to enjoy the environment and the beautiful city one last time. I packed all day and had to catch the bus at about 2. Dani made me lunch early and we sat and chatted for a while. Marta came home with the kids right as I was leaving. Didi and Coque both latched on to a leg and wouldn’t let me go!! Then, as I was walking away to the bus stop, Dani, didi and coque popped their heads out on the balcony to scream goodbye a million times down the street. It was so so sweet. Marta walked me to the bus, which was very nice since I am now traveling with more than I had planned. She and dani sent me with sooo much food. Dani made me a picnic with some bocadillos and marta bought me tortilla that you pop in the oven, tuna, cheese, sausage, ham and colacao (hot chocolate) to share with people! She wants me to show them that I can now “cook” or make things haha.

My day of traveling has been very stressful. I found some Spanish women who were going to the bus stop so I basically just followed them the whole way and they really helped me. I got two pairs of sunglasses stolen along the way, but I need a new pair anyways. Those people are so sneaky.
I also had no idea what I was doing in the airport and everything was taking forever! But now I am sitting safely on the plane and when I get off the Wolfe’s will be there to greet me!! Although I was very sad to leave Segovia and my family, I am so extremely excited for the adventures ahead of me.

Las Últimas Semanas en Segovia

Last weekend on Saturday we visited El Escorial, which is a palace very close to Segovia. In the building we saw the tombs of almost all of the kings and their wives since Charles I. We had our bocadillas and lunch that day in a park and on the way our driver got very stuck. We had to go down a huge hill backwards for about 10 minutes and on the way he managed to hit something. When we finally made it safely out of the bus we had a fiesta for Brian’s (our director) daughter, Carolina. She turned 5 and we got to hit a piñata and eat cake with her! ☺
That night my family was gone so I went and ate at Bon Apetit with Anna and Erinn. It was crazy in town because people were in Segovia from all over due to the Marathon the following day. We waited super long and ended up just getting our food to go….wishing we would’ve thought of that earlier. By the time we got out with our food it was pouring rain and we had to run for cover and we ended up eating outside under a covered area haha. It was definitely an experience.

It was Coque’s 5th birthday on Wednesday the 29th! I got to go out with the family for his birthday lunch …he picked burger king! I had no idea what to get him, I ended up finding these little things they are always playing with (Bokukon and Lyoko) I don’t know if those are popular in the US. When I got home there was a package waiting for me from mom and dad! ☺ SOO EXCITED! The goldfish and chocolate are hitting the spot and now all I want is some apple juice to go with my fishies. I also got some easter candy which was very exciting, since I am not going to be home to find my basket ☹ I gave the boys peeps and they got a kick out of them. Didi brought one into his class for show and tell.

On Thursday we had a very busy day! After class from 9-2 we had a pizza party for the group. It was gorgeous out so we ate outside in a patio and caught some rays. I cannot wait for American Pizza, who would’ve thought it could be that different? At about 4 we went on an excursion in Segovia to two different churches. They were on a hill a little away from the city center and we could see it all from on top of a hill. It was absolutely gorgeous! There was an area that was covered and to the outside there were open arches and on the other side a small pool. Then in the background was the castle. It was so beautiful…I am going to have it in my backyard when im older ☺ castle included! Later that night there was a fiesta at HOOK with the students from our university. It was super fun because we got to go straight to the discoteca and dance! On the bar they had tons of different kinds of candy sitting out…nummm! What a great idea right?
On Friday I taught in the morning and we were trying to explain the difference between our sports. They could not understand the difference between soccer, football or rugby and it was tough to explain with only a piece of chalk and limited vocabulary. After teaching a few of us girls went up on this hill that had a great view of the aqueduct and the city. We caught some rays and hung out for a while. After lunch and some homework in the sun, I helped out with what turned out to basically be a dance recital! It included Flamenco and ballet and some other fun numbers! We got involved because Bridget’s host mom was the one who put it on. I actually ended up helping with the little ballerinas to keep them entertained before dancing, but then we got to see some of the numbers later during the show. It was really fun to see the different styles and the similarties! There were a few productions to beauty and the beast and Mary Poppins and they were very similar to what you would see in the US at a dance recital.
On Saturday we went to “La Granja”, which is a palace and garden that is 10 minutes from Segovia. The Granja was a lot more modern than all of the other Castles and Palaces we have been to because it was during the reign of the Bourbon’s, starting with Philip V. It was made to be modeled after the Palace of Versailles and was used as the Kings summer home. The gardens and the fountains are very well known, however they were not on while we were visitng. Inside the palace every room has a different looking huge chandaleir. They were all so intricate and gorgeous. The Granja also has a museum and inside we watched some people blow glass, which I had never seen before!

Our group had the option to either stay or go back and I chose to say with a small group. We wandered through the gardens and woods and found a lake with a really cool cave. I later learned that the lake was how they made the fountains work when there was no electricity. The lake is situated much higher than the land where the fountains are and there is an underground system that carries the water and makes it shoot up from the difference in the heights. After our adventures Brian took our small group out for ice cream as a prize for sticking around! ☺

Later that night Jorge picked me up from the house and we drove to the family’s pueblo home! There are “pueblos” are the small town outside the city. There are a lot and each has its own church and little neighborhood. When I got there it was dinner time, so we ate and then sat in the TV room and watched Beethoven with a fire in the fireplace! The next day we had a big lunch for Coque’s birthday with the family. Carmiña and Anna came along with Carmen, Pepe and their son Pelayo (Carmen is Jorge’s sister). Then Jorge’s aunt and cousin came as well because they live in the pueblo. We had a great big lunch along with some champagne and later, coffee in the cutest little cups. The rest of the day we spent resting on the couch by the fire siesta-ing. I lost my second phone somewhere in the pueblo..booo. I am guessing its in the couch or under my bed.

It is Monday the 4th and I officially have a week and a half left of classes…it went by so fast I cannot even believe it. I have lots of homework (essays, presentations and tests) that I just want to be over, so I can enjoy my last week here doing all the “lasts”. This week is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous outside so I am thinking it is going to be very hard to get things done!
I will try to get another update up after this crazy week!
Adios amigos,
Morgan

Toledo y mucho más

Alright, a little confusing but we are reminiscing back to St. Patricks day and the following weekend in Spain..

On St. Patty’s day (17th) we went to an Irish Pub and it was so much fun! They played an incredible mixture of American tunes. There were some great oldies like “Think”, classics like “Sweet Child of Mine” and then “Single Ladies” with “Umbrella” in the background…hahah it was all so much fun! We had face paint and everyone wore green and it was a very good celebration!

Friday was a pretty busy day: I woke up to teach and then did some shopping with Katee. After that we sat at Tomate un Café Aquí (drink a coffee here- the name of the café) and sat in the sun. Dani took a vacation starting on Wednesday for a week, so Marta is home with me during the days now and it is very different but fun to be able to talk to her more. After lunch I had a group presentation and then I went for a run with a couple of girls. It was the most beautiful run around the city. We went up a hill and saw the sun setting from behind the aqueduct and the whole city with the mountains in the background. It was absolutely breathtaking and that plus the run put me in such a good mood the rest of the day. After a little bit of homework at the school, a few of us girls went to get tapas at El Sitio. I had a caña (small beer) but cerveza limon (beer mixed with lemon fanta) it is really different tasting but nummy! Then for my pincho (the food) I got calamari. After that, we walked by the churro stand and it was open, so we definitely did not pass that up! ☺ That night I stayed home alone because the family went somewhere up north with a group of friends. Marta left me out all of the ingredients to make a pasta salad: bowtie pasta, olive oil, vinegar, corn, tuna, red peppers and salt. I did an AMAZING job mixing it all together!! I really hope I can recreate that in the states when I come back…it was so easy and soooo goood. I spent the rest of the night doing homework and then I was able to skype my family on video and actually see them from Jorge’s computer!
On Saturday we left early in the morning to the gorgeous city of Toledo! The whole weekend it was beautiful weather, but of course this was the weekend I chose to not pack anything fun and summery that I have been waiting to wear. Oh well, hopefully it will get nice soon in Segovia. Anyways…. Toledo is about two hours from Segovia and is surrounded by a river with mountains and hills all around. We saw lots of hiking trails and bridges and it looked like one of the most beautiful places to live or study. (I think if I was not in Segovia I would want to be in Toledo because it still has a small town feeling)
When we got there we first visited the Puerta de Bisgara, which is a door in the front of the city. The city is surrounded by a wall so the door is actually necessary! The city was designed to shade the people so the streets are very narrow and curvy, and the buildings block the sun in most of these areas.

We walked to the Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz, Hospital de Santa Cruz ( which had paintings by Goya and El Greco) and La Catedral. In this catedral there was a huge window that shines it light on a painting of Jesus and also creates rainbows on the ground. It was gorgeous, but I learned the hard way that pictures are not allowed in this church. After the tours it was time for lunch and all we wanted to do was sit in the sun!! We sat there most the afternoon and ate, but we also had to walk around and buy the famous dessert that Toledo is known for, Mazapan. It was verry sugary and different textured but it was nummy of course. Toledo is also known for its swords! I really wanted to bring some back for my guy friends, but I thought that would be a little hard to get through security…the cool ones were also pretty pricey!

After our morning in town we drove to our hotel, which was out a little ways. It was the nicest hotel we have stayed with a huge room, balcony, pool, discoteca and the best breakfast!! When we got to our room we had to check out the balcony right away….and apparently so did everyone else in the hotel (which happened to be 110 guys from Sevilla) we walked out our door and in every direction there were guys staring at us….from the floor below, above and to the sides ..it was crazy!! They definitely were not shy. We quickly learned that the pool was closed until summer ☹ but we took advantage of the weather anyways, put on our suits and laid out by the pool! After catching a few rays we did some yoga!
I attempted to go out with some of the people from the group that night, but ended up feeling too sick and had to take a taxi home…I don’t know what is wrong with me, but once I laid down and rested I felt a lot better.

On Sunday we woke up and went down to a huge amazing breakfast buffet! It was gorgeous weather once again and we started the day at Santo Tomé to see the painting “El entierro del Conde de Orgaz”. In this painting, which is huge, there is a little boy, who is the painters son, and he is pointing down to something. There is also a man who is dying in the picture and for years people were not able to find his body. But, it was later found under the painting and under the ground in a tomb right where the boy was pointing. After that we went to Museo Sefarí ( a synagogue), San Juan de los Reyes (catedral) and Puente de San Martín ( a beautiful bridge). During the day we also stopped and looked at some views of the city over the river…so beautiful and also did some more shopping. Anna and I got popsicles, mango flavor and boy were they amazing! ☺

When we got back to Segovia it was about 6 pm so I decided to take advantage of this nice weather and gorgeous night and go for a run. It was 71 degrees out and it felt amazing!

Later in the week Marta made paella and I don’t think I have ever eaten so much in one sitting (3 huge platefuls! We ate the whole pan). She said this dish is typical for men to make, but she did a wonderful job! The kind we had was rice with lots of seafood. There were so many different surprises in it (seafood creatures). It is so different to have to take the heads (with eyes) and tails off of shrimp ah!

I learned how to eat an orange with a knife and fork …it was a fracaso (failure) juice was going everywhere. I think I will go back to the old way…just peeling the skin. I think both are equally as messy for me hah.

I cannot believe I only have 2.5 weeks left here…. I have so much I still want to do and so much homework and projects I should be doing as well. This week is going to be crazy busy!
Although I feel better that I am a little more caught up with the blogging!
Hope everyone is doing well and that the snow is melting ☺
Ciao
Morgan

Un día increíble

Buenos Dias!!

I know I am very behind, but I want to tell you about my day today and then I will get caught up on everything else!!

Today was Daylight savings so I lost an hour of sleep last night and am very tired! I woke up and caught the 9:30 (actually 8:30) bus to Madrid to meet mi familia! They spent the weekend there and invited me to come hang out with them on Sunday (today). It was a lot of fun J

First, we went to a very famous place to get churros and boy was it packed!! We ate churros with chocolate and had coffee.

 Marta was in a class all day for wedding planning, so I was with the two boys, Jorge and Emily, a girl who lives in Madrid and was a student of Jorge and Marta’s a few years ago.  It was really fun because she and Jorge together were able to show me a lot of things in Madrid that I did not see when I went there with the group.

After that we went to El Rastro, which is a humongous open air flea market that is only open on Sundays. It had everything you could imagine. After walking around for a while we got in the car and toured some areas further from the central part of Madrid. I saw where Jorge went to college and grew up.  Also, we went to an American Store!! It was soo fun to see all the American food and things.  Of course the first thing I saw was cinnamon toast crunch….when I looked at the price though i immediately put it back! It was 9 euros for a small box of cereal!! But Jorge ended up buying me that as well as a small thing of peanut butter J 

We also stopped by the Sushi shop and Jorge picked up our dinner, which I am anxiously awaiting right now !!! While we waited in the car for Jorge to come back with the food, I witnessed a boy getting chased by 4 police…it was absolutely crazy!

We met Marta for lunch at VIPS. I had a club sandwhich with chocolate cake and mango ice cream for dessert that I split with Jorge.  When lunch was over we got back in the car and drove to the suburbs of Madrid.  We saw where certain girls “work”. It was very weird to see them in the middle of the day on a Sunday. On the way to the suburbs we went through a tunnel that was enormous…I even got a little claustrophobic.  But it was really cool because instead of having roads above, they put a huge park and all the cars pass underneath. I told them that in the US, or maybe its just my family, we hold our breath and make wishes in tunnels. The boys and I tried to do it on the way home, but we were in the tunnel for about 10 minutes (we breathed through our noses....its a trick ;) ) 

The weather today was not very good. It was very cloudy and rainy but at one point while we were in the car there was some sun and we saw a huge arco iris (RAINBOW!) I tried to take a picture but it did not work to well!

We wanted to go to a movie but everywhere we tried was sold out!!

Marta (mi madre) with the sea creatures!

Oh my goodness we just had a huge dinner full of seafood! We had another one of those huge boxes, called the black box, of a mixture of sushi…all amazing! Then, Carmiña brought us back some seafood from Galicia. Galicia is known for its sea food since it is in the northern part of spain on the atlantic.  Marta and Jorge said I was very lucky to have the opportunity to eat these creatures, and that people die to get them! They also explained that they are very expensive…so I tried to eat them as well as I could, but it was really hard because they all had heads and legs and tenticle things. there were also some eggs, hairs and eyeballs on a few. It tasted very good, but it was hard to get over the appearance. After eating them I went upstairs and looked up the English words of what I was actually eating. I guess I ate spider crab… which I had to remind myself has nothing to do with actual spiders…. Ah. I also ate some really good shrimp (marta says it is the best shrimp there is) and crawfish/crayfish.

Today has definitely been one of my most memorable days in Spain because I was able to spend a lot of time with the family, enjoy the culture and learn a lot! It was intimidating to be with Emily because she looks and talks like a Spaniard, but she is from Wisconsin…. However it was very fun because I learned a lot from just listening to her talk and also the dialogues between her and the kids, as well as her and Jorge. 

I am sad because I didn't get any pictures with the family today and it would have been a great time to do it! But we spent a lot of time in the car or eating and it was raining when we were outside, hopefully next weekend!! 

“El mundo es un panuelo”- I learned this phrase tonight at dinner. It means the same as "it’s a small world" basically. (a panuelo is like a handkerchief or small scarf)

Hasta luego

Las Aventuras en Andalucia

March 14

Buenos días! It has been gorgeous here the past two days and it is really a mood booster! Everything looks so different with a little sunshine J

I just spent Wednesday through Sunday in Andalucia, which is in the southern part of Spain. The first day we were in Granada. We got to the hotel at about 2 o’clock and it was very rainy everywhere, which was bad luck for us because it is supposed to rarely ever rain in Andalucia.  We had our first tour at the Capilla Real, which was very interesting because we saw the tombs of los Reyes Católicos (The Catholic King and Queen), Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragon.  Juana la loca (the crazy) was also buried there, which I found exciting because I did a project on her! Since it happened to be Ash Wednesday, a group of us found a nearby catholic church and attended an 8 o clock mass.  Overall the mass was pretty similar and easy to follow along. The big difference is how they get in line for communion (everyone just jumps up when they want to, there is no filing into line row by row).  The rest of the night was pretty low key; my roomies and I caught up on glee and chatted. We also ate a whole box of Frosties! (Frosted Flakes) I was VERY excited to discover those in the market that we went to J I have missed snacking on cereal 

            The next morning we woke up and went to the Alhambra, which is the main attraction of Granada. It is a huge area with parks, gardens, museums, ancient ruins, chapels, castles and a gorgeous view of the whole city. The next morning we woke up and went to the Alhambra, which is the main attraction of Granada. It is a huge area with parks, gardens, museums, ancient ruins, chapels, castles and a gorgeous view of the whole city. 

After that we drove to Seville, which was about 2 hours away. When we arrived it was really rainy and gross outside.  Some of the girls left to explore some areas of the city, but I stayed back because I was not feeling well. I didn’t mind though because walking through the rain didn’t sound to enjoyable to me. Also, since I stayed back I was able to watch Connor and the Edina hockey team on my computer!! (all i wanted was to be at the xcel with my family and a maui wowi in hand! )

            On Friday we started the day with a walking tour and then went to the Alcazar and the Cathedral. It is a gorgeous city and if I had the chance to return to Spain I would definitely want to go back to Seville. After the tours for the day a group of girls and I ate pizza and pasta at a restaurant (two things I have been missing!) 

 Later that night a small group walked to an area called the Plaza de España.  It was a big open plaza with a little river where you can rent sailboats, some bridges, beautiful architecture (of course) and a square tile for each are in Spain. We of course walked around until we found Segovia! We went during the night so everything was lit up and gorgeous! On the way back we got a little lost, but it was a beautiful area so it didn’t matter. That night I watched a movie with a few girls and then watched the next hockey game at 1 am.  It was against Duluth East and one of my friends here has a brother on that team, so that was pretty exciting and it turned out to be a great game, Connor played amazingly and I am so glad I was able to watch it (although my computer did cut out in the last 2 minutes during overtime..)

            On Saturday we took the bus to a nearby city called Itálica where we saw ancient Roman ruins.  The day turned out to be amazing…finally!! Anna and I spent the afternoon roaming Seville trying to find somewhere to eat outside and soak up some rays at the same time.  I wasn’t feeling well so I treated myself to a smoothie from starbucks…but it was not the same.  I have found out, slowly, that the smoothies they make in Spain are basically ice with some flavor mixed in. I cannot wait to get some jamba juice when I get home! After our relaxing time in the sun we did a little shopping. I am really going to miss all these stores!! (Bershka, Sfera, H&M, Mango, Mossimo Dutti, Zara….the list goes on).

 After shopping we went back to the hotel to get ready for the night! Some girls went to a FREE flamenco show at a nearby bar. It was extremely packed inside and we ended up standing on the side all smushed together. The show only lasted about a half hour, but it was very fun to see, especially since Seville is known for its Flamenco.  It consisted of one guy keeping the beat and singing, another playing guitar and then the woman who danced. I don’t understand how someone can stomp so much and so hard and not hurt their feet, knees or even back! It was incredible!  After that we went to a discoteca called Budha. It was three levels, with each level having a different type of music. There were a ton of people there and I even ran into some girls from Edina! (small world again!)

            On Sunday we got on the bus early and went to Córdoba where we saw the Mezquita-Catedral. It is one of the biggest cathedrals in the world and it was amazing. I think it is my favorite building so far because it was very different from all the others. There are Islamic and Christian influences mixed together. After that we had a 7 hour busride and arrived back in Segovia to rain and cold!

Mil besos,

Morgan

Carnival y galletas

Buenos Días!

           It is Wednesday morning and I am on a 7 hour bus ride down Andalucia (southern part of Spain).  Everyone is fast asleep because last night was Carnival! It is a big weekend celebration that ends with Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday.  All weekend there were people in the streets with costumes and there were also a few parades.

But rewinding back to last week….

During the week I was able to watch the Edina hockey game online (it got too late to watch it live, but I caught up the next day!) I am bummed I will be in Andalucía with lots of activities during the state tourney, but I am going to try to watch the game…or at least read and watch the reviews. Have so much fun Connor J !! I cannot believe you are a senior, its crazy!

            On Thursday it was the birthday of Amy, a girl in my group and we all went out to dinner at Bon Apetit! I was so excited to get the pasta Andy got when we went there together. That and my brownie with ice cream was an amazing dinner. After that we went out for the night and had lots of fun dancing and celebrating!

            On Friday I did not have to teach because the kids had a fiesta for Carnival at school.  We toured another church in Segovia, this one had nuns living in it and was a little smaller than the others we have toured. It was equally as impressive though with all of the gold and detailed pieces. That night was lower key because it was raining like crazy and nobody wanted to go out. Dana, Anna and I got together and hung out in a bar for a while. It ended up being super fun and we did a lot of talking in Spanish! Later, we met up with a couple guys from the group and went dancing.

Coque outside!

            Saturday was a big day!! In the morning, Dani, the boys and I went outside until lunch time. The boys rode on their bikes, I sat and watched them while enjoying the sun and Dani did a couple of errands.  She got the ingredients we needed to make the chocolate chip cookies and we started those when we got home. It was hard because I had to convert all of the measurements into grams and on top of that, they don’t own any sort of measuring utensils, so we ended up using glass cups. Dani ended up doing more then I did, even though it was my intention to teach her haha. I think she realized I am not the greatest cook or baker! The boys also helped mix a little and stuff. There were no chocolate chips anywhere, so we chopped up a chocolate bar instead. The cookies were good, but definitely did not taste anything like my moms, or any other cookie that is made in the US haha. I taught them all how to eat them warm out of the oven and dip them in milk J they all loved that! 

After we had lunch we all went to a movie, Rango. It was in Spanish and it was pretty cute! That night we got masks for Carnival and wore them out! There were some pretty great costumes that we saw in the streets and people usually dress up in groups. In the Plaza Mayor there was live music and people dancing all over! We joined in the fun and even sang the theme to Bob Esponja (Sponge Bob).

Dani and I with matching glasses

            On Sunday, Dani brought Coque (Jorge), Didi (Diego) and I to her apartment. It was about a 5 minute walk and the boys rode their bikes. On the way Dani took us to a Bulgarian market and bought us some goodies to try. At her place we met her mom and husband. They are both soo sweet. “majo” is the word she used to describe her husband, which means something like, all around great person. Dani had given her mom a pair of my socks that had holes in the toes, and her mom sewed them up for me. I thought that was the funniest thing! She asked if I liked them and I just started laughing and said yes of course! On the way home we stopped and let the boys play at a park. The boys fight a lot and Dani gets super frustrated. She always says she is too old to do this (she has two sons, 27 and 24). When we got back I spent the rest of the day studying for my test in Cine (cinema). We had to know 9 different Kings from Spain and be able to write a page about them, then our teacher picked two for us to do in class. It ended up not being too bad, but I did study a lot!

            It was really great to get to spend the weekend with Dani. I spoke a lot of Spanish and wasn’t nervous because I knew she wasn’t judging me too much. She came here 5 years ago and learned Spanish here. She also taught me a few different recipes this weekend, which I am hoping I will be able to make when I get home. She showed me how to make tortilla, the hardest part will be flipping it in the pan! She also taught me how to make crema de calabacin, which is my favorite soup! She showed me a few other things too, like how they make fried egg and vegetable soup.

Friday night carnival celebration

            After class on Tuesday I started feeling very sick! I spent the whole day in my bed and couldn’t even get out to pack. Coque and Didi went out with Dani, dressed as Batman and Spiderman. I really wanted to go out with them, but I could not move. Although that was really unfortunate, Andy and I got some flights booked for April.  I am starting my trip in Dublin for two days to meet up with Andy’s family and I am sooo excited to see them!! After that Andy and I got 12 euro flights to London. I am glad we have gotten a few things figured out, but I have no idea how I am going to only pack in a carry on for over two weeks. For this weekend alone I have a suitcase and a back pack :/

I finally made myself get up and out of the house around 8. I met some people and we watched the parade! It was the most people I have ever seen in the streets and everyone was dressed up so crazy!! The parade had a lot of different groups in different costumes. They definitely did not throw out candy like in our parades at home, instead there was one lady who handed people one mini ritz cracker haha. The last group in the parade was dressed as zombies. They had crazy makeup and looked super scary. After that I had to go back home because I still wasn’t feeling well. I couldn’t eat dinner and I stayed in. I was bummed I missed the Carnival celebration that night, but I am glad I am feeling a little better now.

 Ciao for now!

Morgan