Cuenca

We went to a city called Cuenca this past weekend, which is about two hours South-East of Madrid by train, in a province called Castilla - La Mancha. And if you're wondering: yes, that is the famous setting for Cervantes' Don Quixote de La Mancha.

Cuenca was a really cool little town, with all sorts of little tiny streets and amazing vistas. The weather was crappy most of the day (rainy and cold), but it was still a fun trip. They have casas colgadas, or hanging houses, that are built into the side of cliffs - very cool.

Here are the pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2669393&l=e647f&id=2062483

=D

So because I found out that some of you actually do read this thing, I wanted to send you the links to some of the pictures I've taken while I've been here.

I've been uploading the pictures to Facebook, and neglecting it here (it takes forever), so I'm giving you the links to my Facebook albums (you don't need an account to view them).

Rome Photo Albums:

1. When in Rome ... <3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2660455&l=c5999&id=2062483

2. Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2660473&l=e9ef6&id=2062483

3. + La Bella Vita +
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2660502&l=27007&id=2062483

4. Pizza; Pasta; Crêpe; Gelato. Repeat.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2660765&l=cf1ab&id=2062483

Vatican City Photo Album:

1. The Vatican
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2660978&l=57865&id=2062483

2. The Vatican Part 2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2660996&l=f5475&id=2062483

Venice Photo Albums:

1. Venice Part 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2661145&l=bc8dc&id=2062483

2. Venice Part 2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2661146&l=15915&id=2062483

Alright! I took over 700 photos in Italy (these aren't all of them), so enjoy!

When I have time, I'll post some of the links to the other albums I have of the cities I've visited.

Talk to you soon!

Madrid - A Rebellious Schoolgirl?

I’ve got two weeks left.

I can’t believe that I’m saying that. It’s so crazy to think that nearly four months ago I was just unpacking all my things, absolutely freaking out about being in another country, and here I am today, wondering how it’s possible that the time has passed so quickly.

I know I haven’t been as faithful to this blog as I probably should have been, but I like to think that that’s because I was out experiencing the best that Madrid has to offer. It really is an amazing city – you should definitely visit if you ever have the chance. I was checking out Lonely Planet’s guide to Madrid (trying to make sure I’ve visited all the key things in the city), and I read a description that I thought was very fitting:

“If Madrid were a woman, she’d be a cross between Penélope Cruz (beautiful and quintessentially Spanish) and Madonna (sassy, getting better with age). If it were a man, it would have to be Javier Bardem (not the world’s most handsome but with that special, irresistible something). And if you could distil the city to its essence, it would be this: Madrid is a rebellious ex-convent schoolgirl who grew up, got sophisticated but never forgot how to have a good time.”

This city isn’t as unbelievably charming as a city like Paris or Vienna, but there’s something about it that draws you in and makes you love it. Everything is relaxed, and the people are extremely approachable and nice; my grocery store closes from 2:30 to 5:00 every afternoon, and isn’t open at all on Sundays; bars and clubs don’t start filling up until after 1:00am, and stay open until 6 or 7 in the morning; most restaurants won’t serve dinner until at least 8:30 or 9:00pm. Madrid marches to its own beat, and is entirely different from any other European city I’ve ever visited.

Speaking of other European cities, Rome and Venice were amazing! Rome has so much history and I felt like everywhere I looked I was seeing something that was 2000 years old! Seeing the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel was surreal, and completely incredible. We climbed all the way to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica (320 steps!), and the view made every step worth it. The Colosseum was really cool, and I know I sound like a complete nerd for saying this, but I felt like I was going to see Russell Crowe walking out in Gladiator gear at any second. We also visited the Trevi Fountain, and according to legend if you throw one coin in you will return one day to Rome; two coins means you’ll fall in love with a Roman. Not wanting to press my luck, I only threw in one coin. I’ll be sure to throw in my two coins the next time I make it to Rome. Haha.

Venice was beautiful, and even though it was rainy and cold (it even snowed our first morning there!) it didn’t lose any of its charm. Street vendors there sell really neat things, and every time I crossed a bridge I couldn’t help but smile. I’m pretty sure all we did for the two days we were in Venice was walk and eat (Italian food is amazing, by the way), but it was definitely a fun trip.

I’m finally making it to Barcelona this weekend, so I’ll tell you all about that as soon as I get back!

¡Hasta luego!

¡Hola!

It's been a while since I've last updated ... sorry about that! It's amazing how many things there are to do in Madrid, and how busy I still manage to be even though I'm not on campus at UF. But on to the more interesting things I've been doing ...

I've been really, really enjoying my "Arte en el Museo del Prado" (Art in the Prado Museum) class. During the week we study the paintings of some of the great Spanish masters (El Greco, Diego Velazquez and Francisco Goya) and then every Friday we go to the Prado Museum (one of the best art museums in the world) and get to actually see the paintings. I even had to do a presentation in the Prado on one of Velazquez's works – in front of my entire class and all the other Spaniards who stopped to listen to the interesting things I had to say. It was a bit terrifying and I'm sure I made all sorts of grammatical mistakes, but it was definitely worth it. I always enjoyed studying art in school, but I do have to say that there is nothing, nothing like seeing the real paintings up close. You can see every detail and every brushstroke, and it makes you truly appreciate how talented these people were and why these paintings are still so popular today.

I went on a day trip with my school to Segovia, a city about an hour north of Madrid. They have a Roman Aqueduct there that is over 2000 years old, and a castle (El Alcazar) that was some of the inspiration for Disney's Cinderella castle. It was a beautiful city with a lot of really interesting history. I really enjoyed visiting, and trying some of their local cuisine. They have a bean dish (that I can't remember the name of to save my life) which is great. Definitely look for it if you go.

I also recently took a trip to Prague and Vienna, both of which are amazing cities. Prague is incredibly charming; the buildings are very well preserved, and nearly every street I walked down was beautiful. The Charles Bridge is very cool; there are vendors all along the sides selling all sorts of different things and its very tempting to spend every last Koruna (they don't use the Euro there) you have. Vienna is also an amazing city, and as we were told by one man: the home of Wiener Schnitzel, Sachertorte (yum!), and classical music. Mozart and Strauss both come from Austria and I had the opportunity to see a classical music concert while I was there – a great experience! I also visited the Shonbrunn, the Hapsburg's summer palace, which in reality is not that far from their winter palace (about 10 metro stops or so), but by horse and carriage I'm sure it took longer. It was built to rival Versailles, and having seen both I don't know which I prefer more. The gardens at the Shonbrunn are beautiful and as its now fall, all the leaves had changed colors - something we don't really get in Florida. It was utterly breathtaking.

The elections are now over, and I do have to say it was interesting seeing them from this side of the planet. Every time anyone found out I was an American, they instantly wanted to know who I was voting for. In the U.S. most people consider that a pretty personal question and don't usually ask (I don't, anyway), but in Madrid it seems to be the norm. I heard somewhere that about 80% of the Spanish population would have voted for Obama had they been given the opportunity – so there was obviously some excitement on November 5th when everyone heard the news.

My time in Europe is starting to come to a close, and every time I think about it I'm sad. Madrid is wonderful – Europe is wonderful – and I don't think I'll ever want to leave.

Some friends and I are taking a trip to Rome and Venice next week and I'm going to a Flamenco show tonight, so I'll have more stories to report back soon!

¡Hasta luego!

Segovia Photos

We took a day trip to Segovia, a city about an hour North-West of Madrid, in Castilla-Leon. It was amazing. The castle (called the Alcazar) helped inspire Cinderella's Castle at Disney World, and the Roman Aqueduct has stood for over 2000 years!

Enjoy the photos!

Parlez-vous français?

I got back a little less than a week ago from Paris, and I still feel a bit like my head is in the clouds! Paris is one of the most amazing cities I have ever seen (I seem to be saying that a lot recently about everywhere I go), and I had an absolutely fantastic time. Nearly every building in Paris is beautiful in some way, and it was great to just walk along the Seine and watch the street performers or stop in a cafe to have a hot chocolate. We spent six days in Paris and had the opportunity to take a day trip to Versailles, the famous palace build by King Lous XIV. The gardens and the fountains are incredible! The weekend we were there they were having a festival, so from 3:30 to 5:00 they turned all the fountains on and played classical music throughout the entire area. It made me feel like I should have been part of the Royal Court and wearing a huge dress or something.

Visiting the Louvre was surreal - seeing all the paintings you´ve looked at in a textbook your whole life is very strange - and the Musée d´Orsay was really cool (they´ve got quite a few famous paintings by Van Gogh, Monet and others). My favorite part of the entire trip, though, was visiting Notre Dame and climbing all 400 stairs to the top and being able to look out over the city. I felt like I was going to die before we reached the top, but once we got there I realized that every step was worth it; you could see the Eiffel Tower and Sacré Cœur off in the distance, and the gargoyles are very, very cool. Overall, the week I spent in Paris was an amazing one and I would definitely recommend that you make the trip if you study abroad in Europe anytime in the future.

It was great, however, to get back to Madrid and fall back into my routine. My second round of classes started this week, and I´m taking an advanced grammar class, and another called Art in the Prado Museum. I only have to come to campus twice a week (I still have to keep up with my UF classes, though) but I do have a lot more time to experience Madrid which is great.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to go to El Rastro which is, essentially, a huge flea market in the La Latina area of Madrid. You can find all sorts of interesting things being sold - scarves, shirts, purses, sunglasses, electronics, jackets, hats - pretty much anything you can imagine, all for a reasonable price. I can tell you that I will definitely be visiting again soon. If you´re interesting in going, El Rastro occurs every Sunday from about 8:30am to around 2:00pm right outside the La Latina Metro stop.

There are always interesting things going on here in Madrid, so I´m sure I´ll be posting again soon!

¡Hasta Luego!

The Most Amazing City

I haven’t even spent an entire month in Madrid yet, but I’m absolutely convinced that this is the most amazing city in the entire world.

For the month of September I have class every day for about four hours, and I’ve learned an incredible amount of Spanish since I’ve been here. There are all sorts of little changes between the Spanish I learned in Miami, and the Spanish they speak in Spain. “Carro” in South Florida translates easily into “car,” but here in Madrid it means “shopping cart.” A “tortilla” in Miami is a sort of flat-bread, but in Spain it’s an omelet (and a darn good one at that), and everyone in Madrid says “vale” (pronounced a bit like balet) all the time – it roughly translates into “okay.”

In the few weeks that I’ve been in Madrid I’ve visited El Museo Reina Sofia, which is home to numerous Salvador Dalí paintings and Picasso’s famous Guernica, all of which were amazing to see in person. I also took a long weekend and visited Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (an autonomy in the northwestern-most part of Spain). This city, a major pilgrimage site for Catholics, is said to be the final resting place of Saint James and is home to one of the most stunning cathedrals I have ever seen in my life. While there we paid 20 euros a night to stay in a monastery right next door to the cathedral (the best 20 euros I’ve ever spent), and had plenty of time to walk around this amazing city. While in Galicia we also took a day trip north to a city called La Coruña, which a beautiful beach town. We spent some time on the beach and then visited their famous lighthouse, the Tower of Hercules, which is almost 1900 years old and is the oldest Roman lighthouse still in use today. From there we watched the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean, and headed back to Madrid the next day.

Everything about this city has been amazing – the food, the nightlife, and the people – and I don’t regret for one minute choosing to study abroad here. I have made some incredible friends - from UF, other schools in the U.S. and from all over Europe – and I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything.

I’m headed to Paris this coming weekend for almost a week, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of new information to share with you then!

¡Hasta luego!

P.S. I'll be posting more pictures soon! :)