back in Valladolid

*October 13*

Back in Valladolid! It was fun being able to talk to everyone about their weekend trips! Most people went to San Sebastian or Barcelona... I think only 3 people in our program stayed in Valladolid, and went grape picking at a vineyard on saturday.

Argh being back in class isn't so much fun though. I feel somewhat lost on my Spanish classes. I understand what we are learning, but it is still challenging when I don't always understand what my professors are actually saying. I don't know what I would do if they didn't write everything on the board. I am definitely more of a visual learner than an audio learner. Our grammar professor is also getting more and more impatient with us. We don't think we've seen her smile in over a week... and we heard she is dating our culture teacher? No idea if that is true, but he is soo nice and patient, and she is, well, the opposite.

I did have a conversation with my mama though! Usually Emily is there, so I don't feel the pressure to respond as much, but it was just me and her since Emily was in the shower. We talked about my future weekend traveling plans, and she told me that she went to University in Granada. We also talked about how excited she is for me to be planing to travel to a lot of places in Spain, and I showed her some of my Nerja pictures.

Oh and I booked my tickets to Ireland today! We are going in December during our 4-day weekend... it's going to be freezing! And now I'm working in my tickets for Sevilla and Granada for the next 3-day weekend. Ah! So excited!

Málaga? ...Nerja!

*October 9 - 12, 2009*

What an AMAZING weekend in southern Spain!

We left town around 7 pm from the Valladolid train station. Natalie, Aubrea, Tiffany, Hanna, Kristen and I were going to Málaga for the weekend! (or so we thought)

The train ride there was one such a great way to start out the trip. Since it was a night train, I expected us all to sleep on the train, but we ended up talking the entire time. I feel like I can't say it enough, but these ladies just continue to amaze me, and I can't believe how we just keep getting closer.

So we got into Málaga around 1 am. As we were leaving the train station, an older man with a Scottish accent approached us asking if we were lost... he turned out to be Natalie's relative, Ian. We followed him outside, where Ian had gotten us a minivan/taxi for us. Inside was Ian's wide (Natalie's grandpa's cousin) waiting for us).

Turns out, they don't actually live in Málaga like we thought, but they live in this town called Nerja, about an hour east of Málaga on la Costa del Sol.

When we got to Nerja and to their home, we realized that they rented us the two apartments next door to them! Four of us stayed in one, and Natalie and Aubrea stayed in the other apartment. Before we went to bed, Ian asked us if we were hungry, and although we said no, we ended up having a midnight (well, 3 am) feast! He brought us pizza, some sort of dip (which I learned later was a home-made mackerel paste), octopus, toast, and champagne and orange juice! So nice of them... and we went to bed very content :)

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The next morning, we were in awe at the view! Through the front door, we had the view of the ocean, and we also had a balcony overlooking the pool of the complex, and also a view of the ocean! To our surprise, Ian brought over some cereal and milk for us for breakfast, along with some cappuccinos mixes. We definitely didn't expect them to provide so much for us, but their generosity didn't stop there (you'll hear more about it as the weekend goes on).

(Ian, Natalie, and Pat)

After breakfast, we walked down to the old town, and took a ton of pictures at the lookout point over the ocean, and did some shopping. When we met back up with Pat and Ian, we got some gelato, then headed towards the beach. We ended up finding a place for lunch, and sat down to eat some pizzas - with an ocean view of course. Nerja is so beautiful!

Ian and Pat left us there to head to the beach to go play, where he told us that if we follow the water around the rocks to the other side of the beach, we will find a man with a bunch of paddle boats - he had reserved one for us! So we slowly wandered down to the beach, and walked along the water's edge. As we headed down towards the paddle boats, we discovered that nudity is allowed on public beaches. Many kids were playing in the nude, along with a TON of older women just sunbathing without tops. Strange, and somewhat awkward, because I wanted to take pictures of the view and beautiful beach, but didn't want to accidentally capture the, umm, other people.

Anyway, so we found the guys who had the paddle boats, and just had to tell them that we were "The Six," and we were able to take a paddle boat out on the water for an hour.

Well, we of course chose the most outlandish looking boat: a HUGE pink flamingo! We paddled it out for a while... and jumped in! I couldn't believe how clear the water was! It was about 20 feet deep, but you could clearly see the bottom! The water was also super calm, since there are no waves in the Mediterranean. It is such a weird concept too that the tide never changes.

Back in the paddle boat later, we noticed these huge jellyfish. They were the size of a basketball, and had fish swimming underneath them! At that point, we were glad we had gotten out of the water.

We eventually got back to the apartment, by which time we had to get ready for dinner. Ian and Pat took us to one of their favorite restaurants (where they were each very adamant about how often they go there). Pat and Ian are in their 70s and are both super witty - they always crack jokes about the other, and never miss a beat. You can tell how much they adore each other though, even when they are always making quips about how they can't stand each other. They were very entertaining all weekend!

After dinner, they suggested we go to the "Feria" - since it is the National Holiday of Spain (celebrating Christopher Columbus discovering the Americas), there was a huge carnival/festival going on down by the beach. There were games, rides (we rode the roller coaster!), lots of junk food, and even a section with bars and a DJ, where we danced for a while.

It was an exhausting day, but one of my favorites so far :)

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The next day, we went to Nerja’s Sunday market, which was like a swap meet. We spent hours shopping, getting breakfast at a café nearby, and talking to the locals. I was surprised to find that a lot of the people who were selling things at the market were locals, but not originally from Nerja, or even Spain! I talked to people from Ireland, London, Thailiand – and almost everyone spoke English. There were also way more tourists shopping along with us than I expected. Apparently it is a huge holiday weekend, and since the southern coast of Spain is still really warm (it was 80 all weekend), it attracts a lot of tourists.

Ian and Pat took us to lunch later to what they call a “chiringuito” – a restaurant on the beach. Like last night at dinner, Ian just ordered a ton of different things on the menu, and we all shared them all. It is the true Spanish way to eat (they call is “tapas” in Spain).

We spent the rest of the day at the beach… and there was the most gorgeous sunset!

On our way home, we got ice cream and crepes, and just sat and enjoyed each other’s company. I really love traveling with these girls – we always have an amazing time, and I loved that Natalie joined us and was able to invite us all to stay with her family.

Ian and Pat were also amazing this entire trip…. They were so generous in getting us a place to stay, treating us to meals and other excursions, despite the fact that all six of us were complete strangers to them. They even made us packed lunches the next day for our trip back to Valladolid. They are some of the most generous people I have ever met, and we were all truly grateful for their hospitality.

Overall? It was an AMAZING weekend. I loved traveling with all 5 of these girls... this weekend was one that I will never forget :D

October 8

So I am starting to feel as if my Spanish *might* be improving. I understand a little bit more of what Maria is saying, and I don't feel as foolish responding sometimes, or ordering something in a café, or even speaking a little Spanish to the international students.

Tonight, the language school had an "intercambio" - where the students studying English, and us Cal Poly students who are studying Spanish, get together and try to speak in each other's languages. They called it "speed dating," since we are supposed to talk in Spanish for 4 minutes, then switch to English for 4 minutes.

It was more fun than I expected! Since a lot of the Spanish students knew just as much English as I knew Spanish, we had similar things to discuss and ask each other. We were easily able to find common ground, and everyone was understanding about having to talk slow.

Since tomorrow starts the weekend and everyone is going out of town, we decided to go out for the night! We found a place that has yummy Sangria, and just enjoyed the night. I am loving España :D

day... 16?

(October 7)

Okay so now that I am in a routine, it isn't so interesting to talk about my daily life. Instead, I would love to reflect upon things that I'm slowly discovering about life in Valladolid. I think Dr. H inspired this, since at the beginning of each Culture in Spain class, one person has to ask "Why do Spaniards do _____ this way?"

So the other day, while I was studying for one of my Cal Poly classes with my friend Rachel at the Facultad de Derecho (the UVa law school), a law student at the university approached us about what we were studying (I had a Spain map in my hand). We were explaining that we were studying the culture of Spain in Valladolid, as well as the language. So many people in Castilla y Leon have told us that this is the best place to learn Spanish, whether that is from ride or truth, I haven't determined, but it was interesting that this student, a guy my age, also said that this is the best place to learn Spanish. When we told him that people in our group are visiting places like Malaga and Barcelona, he continuously insisted that the Spanish they speak is "crap." Granted, he was born and raised in Valladolid - but my Mama was not, and she feels the same way. They have so much respect and pride in their country and province - it's refreshing and exciting to know that I am living in a place that is so valued by all of its inhabitants.

Sunday Cafe Days

So I do apologize because I am a bit behind a bit, but I will try to catch you all up this weekend!

The day after Burgos was a Sunday (October 4), and it might take me awhile to get used to almost everything being closed on Sundays. Luckily, we found a cafe that is open, and also has wee-fee (I'm in the habit of calling it "wee-fee" instead of "wi-fi," since that's how Spaniards pronounce it).

Anyway so Sundays have become homework days, and as the day went on, more and more of us collected at this cafe called Toledo, which is right next to the Plaza de Santa Cruz near our school. I am slowly becoming addicted to cafe con leche, but today tried the Spanish version of hot chocolate. It looks like chocolate pudding, but it is warm, and the tradition is to dip churros in it. Sooo delicious.

Oh but you might enjoy this story about lunch... so I always go home for meals, and today I was looking forward to it because Maria told us she was making Paella. I loved the Paella I tried in Madrid, so I was really excited to have home-made Paella. Well, turns out it was Paella with a variety of shellfish. For those of you who don't know, I don't eat shellfish. So I thought, okay, I can eat around the fish, and just eat the rice, but when Maria served it, I realized that the shrimp, or prawns, still had their eyes, and they were staring at me as I was eating O_0

So I couldn't do it. I felt bad that I didn't eat the food after she spent so much time preparing it, but I just didn't have the stomach for it.

But dinner was delicious! We had what tasted like chicken noodle soup... I hope she makes it all through the winter :)

Oh and we're for sure going to Malaga for the weekend! I bought my very expensive train tickets, but Natalie's family is being so generous and renting us our own apartment for the weekend. As long as I remember my bathing suit, I'll be set!

Beautiful Burgos!

Wow so Burgos is one of the most BEAUTIFUL cities I've seen in Spain so far. It isn't the biggest town, but everything is clean and colorful and wonderful! All of the buildings are painted different colors, and there are soooo many trees and lots of greenery.

So we spent the day touring the city (it was a planned day trip for UVa students - so all of the Cal Poly students and other international students at the University of Valladolid went together). It ended up being an anniversary of some sort, so there was a medival parade we managed to be in the right place at the right time to see. We walked around the market of local artists and such, and went to the cathedral Burgos is famous for (Catedral de Burgos).

For lunch, our tour guide took us up to a hill behind the city where we climbed a TON of stairs, but it was definitely worth it for the view of the entire city.

On the way home, we stopped at a mosque, where Alfredo (a teacher at UVa and our tour guide for the day) explained to us the history architecture and other things - all in Spanish. I was proud that I did understand a lot, but I did need someone to translate for me. He is an awesome tour guide and is interesting and entertaining to listen to, which did make it easier.

That night, the girls and I planned our next weekend, which we are planning on spending in Malaga, on the southern coast of Spain. Can't wait!

Yup, I live here!

Another day! We had Spanish again, like we will every morning. We are definitely moving quicly when it comes to grammar, which I am glad for. Although it is overwhelming, I have never been so motivated to learn a language. It's also fun since we have international students in our class - it's nice talking to a more diverse group of people, other than just Cal Poly students.Since it was Friday, we didn't have afternoon class, so I took advantage of time to explore the city I'll be living in for the next two and a half months. I ended up going shopping near the Plaza Mayor with Rachel, which was fun! We have so much in common, and I knew her before this trip so we are really comfortable with each other. There is always a difference in spending time with new friends than those you've known for while...

Anyway we met up with a bunch of other girls later in the day for gelato (delicious!). The guy who was working there was impressed with Rachel's Spanish, and tried to help us all ask for what we wanted correctly. That's how I feel most of the locals are here - they are very encouraging and supportive that are studying and try to learn Spanish in Valladolid, and are curious about us in general (besides the other group of students from Wisconsin, we are the only Americans in all of Valladolid, since it isn't a city that attracts many tourists).

I think their curiosity sometimes tends to be misconstrued though... I definitely get a lot of weird looks and stares when I am just walking down the street. And we are apparently obviously American, because when I was walking home with Emily one time, we passed a group of older women who I heard mention "chicas" and Estados Unidos" when we walked by. Hmm I guess I'll have to change something about the way I dress so I look more like a local. They definitely dress more sophisticated here, and I wouldn't mind coming home with more sophisticated clothing :)

After shopping and dinner (which were home-made deep fried cheesy mashed potatoes, I think), everyone met up to go out to celebrate Laurel's birthday. Oh but before I left the house, I showed my Mama my new outfit (which was a red dress and boots I bought that day), and she exclaimed "muy sexy." I guess they don't have a word for "sexy" in Spanish lol.

Going out in Valladolid for the first time was fun! We started at this bar called "La Biblioteca," which is funny because San Luis Obispo has a bar called "The Library" downtown. We spent the rest of the night bar hopping and dancing, and making sure Laurel had a memorable birthday. Then again, we are in Spain - who could complain about that?

Wait, I live here?

First day of classes! As much as it's been fun playing tourist, I have been yearning to have a routine and getting settled. I am also really excited about my classes this quarter, which makes it even better :)

Our mama's friend walked us to class since she had work, and it's a 30 minute walk from our house to the language school. Such a longgggg walk. And we have Spanish class 5 days a week, for 3-4 hours each day. So much Spanish, but I'm hoping this will help us learn the language faster. We have a class for grammar, oral expression, and culture. We are all in separate classes according to our level of Spanish we placed at. There are about 10 other Cal Poly students in my class, along with a few other international students. We have people from Taiwan, Germany, India, Afghanistan, Sweden, and Japan in my class - I love that our common language is Spanish (though most of them so speak some English). Oh here is the language school:

So after our Spanish classes ended (after 4 hours of trying to think in Spanish, I thought my head was going to explode), Emily and I stopped at a florist shop on the way home to pick up something for our Mama's birthday. We picked out a huge and beautiful plant in this cute pot, and she was so excited when we brought it home! She put it right onto the patio, and she kept telling everyone who called her to wish her a happy birthday that her chicas bought her the perfect plant for her birthday. We felt so proud :D

For her birthday, we drank some delicious champagne with lunch, and shared some of these mini pastries that someone must have given her as a gift. Yummm

Then we had our Cal Poly classes. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk to the Law School, which is nice. My first class was Humanities 310, where we will learn about the culture of Spain. I actually enjoyed that class more than I thought I would. Dr. H is an awesome teacher, and I definitely connect with his teaching style. Plus it is awesome that everything we are learning is relevant to our lives right now. We're learning about the history and culture of Spain while living in Spain! What a concept!

My next class is History 306, which is about the history of the Witch-hunt in Europe. This class is going to be sooo interesting. Most of the text we have to read are primary documents from the time period, describing certain events about the trails, torture, and first hand experiences.

I do have a lot of work for both classes though. Besides the copious amount of reading we have to do, we have weekly quizzes (geography and reading), as well as papers due for each class. And of course exams. This is going to be a tough course load, considering how much I want to travel while I am here.

First day in Valladolid

Early day! Our mama walked us to the Student Center where we had to take our Spanish placement test. It was fun seeing everyone with their Mamas.... it felt like it had been so long since I'd seen everyone! When we were all catching up, I realized that everyone had had very overwhelming first days with their families, which was comforting.

I didn't do very well on the Spanish placement test... I forgot the majority of the Spanish I learned in high school, so I will probably be relearning a lot. This will actually be good though, because I need to be refreshed. Spain Spanish is also very different from Mexico Spanish, so it will be good to learn the language the way it is spoken here, which is true Castilian Spanish.

We got a "survival" tour of the city - basically all of the things we will need to know in the city. My favorite is the Facultad de Derecho, which is the University of Valladolid Law School, where we will be taking our Cal Poly classes. It is a really old building from the outside, but the interior is completely modern. Though it does have some gorgeous stained glass windows that I think were apart of the original building before it belonged to the University. We get Wi-Fi (which Spaniards pronounce "wee-fee") at the University, which everyone is happy about, since I am one of the lucky few who gets internet at my house.

After the tour, our Mama met us at Plaza Mayor (pronounced like "platha" - working on my lisp), and we went home for a delicious lunch! Chicken filet with veggies... the chicken was so amazing! No sauce, but pounded thin and so much flavor!

Maria told us it is her birthday tomorrow, so Emily and I are going to pick up flowers on our way home from Spanish class. She has a huge garden on her porch, we we're hoping that's a good choice.

I'm slowly adjusting. I definitely get stared at a lot... I'm pretty sure people can just tell that I am American from the way I look and dress. And our meals are at such odd times. We have lunch at 2:30, and dinner around 10. This is going to take some getting used to. I am looking forward to starting our Spanish and Cal Poly classes though, so we will actually have a schedule and routine.

Hasta mañana!

Meeting Our Families!

WE MEET OUR FAMILIES TODAY! Waking up, I couldn't believe we were leaving our hotel in Madrid and going to Valladolid to live with our families, or in my case, a Mama and her little dog.

Once we all finished breakfast and got all of our stuff downstairs to the lobby (luggage and all), our bus driver looked at us like we were crazy! There was no way all of our luggage was going to fit on that bus. Dr. H ended up having to rent a truck to drive to Valladolid in order to fit all of our stuff and us. I couldn't believe some people actually had 5 pieces of luggage! I felt good that I managed to fit everything into one suitcase and one backpack. Thank you Linda for teaching me how to pack light :)

Well since it was going to take a while for Dr. H to get the truck, a few of us wandered to find some food. We went to a bake shop, where I wanted to get a cheese croissant. They actually didn't have any, but I asked the lady (in Spanish!) if they did, and she said she would take care of it. I was really proud of myself asking in Spanish, and I hope that by the end of this trip I will look back and laugh because it will seem like such a simple thing to do to ask such a simple question. One can hope.

Back on the bus, once everything was loaded, it took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Valladolid. I don't think it really hit me that we were separating from everyone and going to be on our own with our Mamas until that moment I got off the bus, and was greeted by Maria, who kissed me on both cheeks and said "Vamos!"

Our apartment is so cute! We were greeted by her little dog Mel,

who was so excited to see us! We went down a little hallway, and turned the corner where we passed her bedroom, a bathroom, the kitchen, a small bedroom, then the living room. Our bedroom is off of the living room, and is a decent size! We each have a bed, and share a wardrobe that easily fit the clothes I brought.

(Emily, in our room)

Maria is so cute, too! She is about 50, and works with elderly for a living. This actually gives me hope that she will have patience to deal with my lack of Spanish. She let us know over lunch (in all Spanish, of course - she doesn't speak English) that she is diabetic, so we will be getting lots of veggies (yay!). I'm not sure yet how I'm going to tell her I don't eat certain meats, but I guess I'll see how things go.

She went to work, so Emily (my roommate) and I spend the afternoon unpacking, napping, and familiarizing ourselves with the house. Maria seems somewhat of an artist - the entire house had paintings and framed pressed flowers that were signed by her. And she loves plants... the balcony is covered and full of flowers and plants!

After dinner, which was some sort of meat that looked like Spam-ham (now this is where I get worried about the food...), we showed her pictures of our family and friends from home, and Maria pulled out an atlas and asked us to show her where we are from and where we go to school. It was so cute - she wrote our names on her map where each of our families live, and she also circled Cal Poly.

Definitely an interesting and overwhelming day. Can't believe this is going to be my life for the next 3 months.

Last Day In Madrid

Before leaving for this trip, my cousin Melisa told me that her friend Sandra (who I met at her wedding) was living in Madrid, so I was able to get in contact with her and we met up! She told me to meet her at this cute bar Montaditos, where we ordered tapas like you would order sushi... they had a huge list of types of meat with types of sauces on different types of bread, and you just put a tally next to the ones you want. I tried one that was salmon with cream cheese (which they call queso de Philadelphia), another one was chicken , and then Spanish tortilla. They were so cute and mini and DELICIOUS!

Sandra and I just spent time catching up and talking about family and what she's been up to in Madrid the last year.

Later, our Cal Poly group walked down to La Rena Sofia, which is a huge art museum in Madrid. It is famous because it houses Picasso's Guernica, which was amazing to see in person... it takes up an entire wall in one of the galleries! We saw other modern art and amazing pieces by Dali, and more by El Greco. So awesome :)

Dinner was entertaining that night. I guess we’ve been eating dinner right before the kitchen’s close at the hotel, but tonight they wait staff was definitely in a hurry to get us out of there. At one point, we realized that if you put your silverware down, they take it as cue to take your plates away. There were a few of us who were mid chew when they waiters would swoop in and take our plates while we were still eating! We figured out that we had to keep our silverware in our hands at ALL times in order to finish our meal!

Well since I had slept so much the night before, I was wide-awake and decided to go out! Since the bars don't open until around midnight, we went to the store and bought my new favorite drink called Sidre, which tastes just like apple cider!

Okay so now is when it got interesting.... Once it was around midnight, a huge group of about 25 of us headed out. I think the best part of the night was all 25 of us attempting to take the Metro... not an easy task. We figured out that buying a 10-ticket Metro ticket was more cost effective, which we ended up doing. Problem was, that after the first 10 people went through, we heard a train coming, so we all ran to hop on it. Little did we know that there was still half of our group still getting tickets. As our door closed, we shouted at the people at the platform the name of the exit to get off at, which ended up being the wrong stop since we had to switch lines!

So, at the stop where we needed to switch, we got off and spread ourselves out along the entire length of the Metro, so we could wave at our other half of the group to let them know to get off. We must have looked ridiculous, but it worked!

Anyway that night was a blast... we all had a good time going out together and trying to talk to locals, and experiences night life in Madrid in general. As fun as it was, I am so glad we are not studying in Madrid - I am looking forward to being in a more intimate city with fewer tourists so I can really experience living in Spain.

Valle de Caídos and El Escorial

The next day we took a day trip to Valle de Caidos (Valley of the Fallen), and then to El Escorial in San Lorenzo. The Valle de Caidos was incredible. I have never seen anything like it! It is this huge monument with a cross so big you can see it the entire drive there. It was built to honor those who fell during the Spanish Civil War, but it really only glorified the Spanish dictator Franco, making it controversial - also considering it was built by political prisoners under Franco's rule.

Then we went into the town of San Lorenzo, where we visited El Escorial, which used to be a monastery and a Spanish royal palace where the King lived. We were also able to walk around the town of San Lorenzo on our own, which was really cute!

It was such a long day that when we got back to Madrid, we attempted to have a movie night but all ended up falling asleep.

More Madrid...

We spent the next morning at El Museo del Prado. It is a museum that houses paintings by a huge variety of artists, including Velasquez, Rivera, Ruben, Goya and the famous el Greco. The first hour or two, we had a tour guide take us around and explain the significance of a few pieces from each gallery. We were able to have a break for cafe con leche and tapas (which becomes part of our daily routine when we are touring), then we were on our own for the day.

A few of us decided to go back into the galleries to spend more time looking at the paintings that interested us. I had fun having intellectual conversations about different artists' styles and comparing our likes and dislikes.

I really enjoyed this part of the day, as I think it is what I imagined college would be like. Well, not specifically being in a museum in Madrid, but being able to challenge and compare the ideas and of my peers. I love bouncing ideas off other students who are also interested in engaging in that type of educated conversation. It's one thing to learn about art history in a classroom, while it's a completely different experience to be able to stand in front of an artist's original work and discuss its reflection of history with my peers. So much fun :)

Since we had the rest of the day to ours

elves, a group of us decided to go to the park across from the museum. Now, this is not just a park with gardens like we expected, but comparable to Central Park in New York. There were fountains, after rows of trees, after more fountains and park and playgrounds... even a lake with people boating in front of a huge monument on the other side. It was beautiful!

Oh and we had AMAZING Kabob on our way back to the hotel. It might be a toss up between the Spanish tortilla and the kabob for my favorite food in Spain (so far).

And I don't know how I would survive this trip without naps... all of the windows everywhere in Spain have those light proof shades, which makes it easy to fall asleep in the middle of the day. We told our professor (Dr. H - I will probably mention him more) that we love how Spaniards have a set "siesta" time, but he told us that Spaniards don't actually nap during the siesta time of the day (from 2 - 5 pm). The majority of shops are closed, and people just go home from work and school for lunch and to spend time with family before going back to work.

Now while this makes sense, I don't understand how Spaniards have the energy to work all day, and stay out all night. In Spain, most bars don't even open until midnight, and the discotecas (dance clubs) don't open until 2 AM! When we went out that night, it amazed me how many people were out and about so late at night! By 2 am, we were all exhausted, but it seemed that night was only beginning.

I don't think I will be able to adjust to this lifestyle without my siesta :)

Toledo

The next day, we took a day trip to Toledo. The drive there was beautiful - since Toldeo is a natural fortress with water surrounding it, the actual drive to the city made it look impressive since we were looking at it from across a river.

Our tour guide took us on a walking tour of the city, and I learned that Toledo is commonly known for it's history of Christians, Jews, and Muslims living together in peace (up until the 1400s, when they were expelled). We visited quite a few cathedrals and observed Moorish (Muslim) architecture, and even visited one of the three remaining historic synagogues of Spain. When the Jews were expelled from Spain, all of the synagogues were either destroyed, or turned into Cathedrals. This was one of the few that was somewhat preserved since it had been used as a church. It's now a museum.

Because of it's history of peace, a lot of the souvenir shops sold pieces of jewelry that had the cross, crescent, and Jewish star overlapping together. There was also a ton of Marzipan, which Toledo is also known for.

Madrid!

We arrived in Madrid in a current of chaos... by the time we found our way to the metro in the airport, we had accumulated more people in our program (we bumped into them at the airport). So we had even more luggage and people to get from the airport to the metro, and to the hotel. Part of the adventure :)

It felt amazing to be able to drop our bags off at our hotel room (which are SUPER nice). I roomed with two girls, Leilani and Amy, and I am so glad that I did! I'm not sure I would have gotten to know them as well otherwise.

Since at this point we were still early (we didn't have to meet up with the whole group until later), some of us decided to find food. Down the street from our hotel we shared a few dishes of Paella, which were amazing! Their food as soooo much flavor. It was our first time trying to order anything in Spanish though, and I definitely felt like a tourist. Hopefully this will go away in time...

Once we did meet up with the whole group (I think there are 46 of us total), we took a bus tour of Madrid. There actually ended up being way too much traffic, so we got of the tour bus and walked and took the metro! I actually think I appreciated this more, because you get a better sense of the city when you are walking, instead of driving. We walked to this huge square, where I learned later was the Plaza Mayor, where the architecture is beautiful! We ate dinner at a restaurant there, where we were able to try many different types of tapas. Some things were strange and I had never seen them before... but my favorite was what they call tortilla - it reminds me of latkes. It is made in a pie shape, and is made from what tastes like eggs, potatoes and maybe onions. Everything just had so much flavor! I am starting to feel optimistic about the food, even though I've heard some negative things from people who traveled and lived here in the past. On the walk back to out hotel, I also noticed how dirty Madrid is... but otherwise have no complaints.

To my ladies...

So before I begin about my time in Madrid, I want to express what an amazing time I had in London with Kristen, Aubrea, Tiffany and Hanna. Now, those reading should know that the 5 of us didn't really know each other before we went to London. I knew Aubrea because we are in the same major at Cal Poly, and I have only ever met the other girls briefly. When we all met up at the airport, it was the first time the 5 of us had ever been together, so we had no idea we would all become so close.

And we had such an amazing time! I have never met such an incredible group of women who have so many admirable qualities. You four are the reason I had such an amazing experience in London, and I greatly appreciate all of your kindness, caring, generosity, openness, and of course your big hearts :)

When we were in London, we discussed everything from the importance of our family and friends in our lives, to what experiences have made us the people we are today. We filled hours of time on buses, in pubs, and even on the Tube sharing our passions and weaknesses, and I have never felt so comfortable sharing such intimate pieces of my life with others. We had such an amazing dynamic together while we were traveling, and I hope to see our friendship continue to grow when we join the other 40+ people on our trip.

It is so comforting to know that no matter what happens in Spain, I know I will always have you ladies to help and support me through anything. Please know that I am here for you always, and I feel so lucky to have shared such an amazing experience with you all.

Last day in London :(

Day 3 in London! We didn't rush ourselves too much, as we really wanted to enjoy today after touring like crazy the last two days, so we strolled until we found a café for breakfast, where we had tasty omelets and delicious lattes, and just enjoyed talking on the patio.

Then we left for the Tower of London, which we toured for a while. We were going to follow the tour guide and his quirky explanations, but we decided it would be faster to go off on our own. We walked through the jewels and armor and living quarters, then wandered to the Tower Bridge. Took some pictures, enjoyed the scenery, then found our way to the Camden Market for shopping.

It was like bargain shopping for hats, cloths, some souvenirs… definitely some creeper guys trying to sell us stuff, so we didn’t stay too long. Just long enough for Kristen to buy a cute hat, and for Aubrea to get a dress to wear to the play.

At this point, we were somewhat behind schedule, but we eventually made it back to our hostel, where all 5 of us were able to take showers and get ready in only 45 minutes to leave for dinner! I was definitely impressive that five girls can get ready so fast in one small hostel room with one bathroom.

We ate dinner at another Italian place called Pizza Express, which from its name, you would think it’s fast food, but it was actually a nice restaurant. We got pizza and risotto, and shared a bottle of wine. It was fun being dressed up and going out!

Then we made our way to the Victoria Palace theater for the musical, Billy Elliot. There are no words to describe how amazing it was! I am still awestruck at the amazing ballet and tap dancing, beautiful singing, acting, and the story itself. The lead boy was amazing and such a well-rounded performer. Definitely laughed a TON, shed one or two tears, and clapped until my hands were red. My new favorite musical :)

Can’t believe it’s our last night in London already. I’m sad I won’t be living with these beautiful and amazing girls from now on, but I am also excited for our adventure in Spain to begin.

That’s all for tonight. Early flight in the morning! Overall sum up of London? An unforgettable experience!

Windsor, Bath, and Stonehenge

Earrrllyyyy day. It was still dark outside when we went down to the lobby at our hostel for breakfast.

Before we left, went checked with the front desk to make sure our directions to the bus stop were accurate, and the guy said that it was in Paddington and we would have to take a bus or the tube and it would take us at least 20 minutes! But our bus for the tour was supposed to pick us up in 15! Well, turns out another lady at the desk found the more accurate address, and it was really only a short walk up the street. Pheww!

So while we were waiting at the hotel where the bus was picking us up, we met two women traveling together. And they were from Winnipeg, Manitoba (sp?). The girls were somewhat impressed that I remembered something as trivial as that, but it’s actually where my Zaida (grandpa) is from :) One of the ladies also happened to be the mother of one of the designers for London Fashion Week, Mark Fast.

Anyway, our first stop once we were on the tour bus was Windsor! It was BEAUTIFUL! I loved the cobblestone streets! And the cute alleyways and shops! The town looked like it could have been out of a storybook, especially with the HUGE castle at the end of the road.

The first thing we saw once we entered the castle was a miniature version of the castle itself, which was a gift to for the queen. The miniature was an exact replica of Windsor Castle - completely accurate - including working plumbing (so they told us), real silver china, and the materials used for the tiled floors, wood for the bed, and fabric for the linens and everything!

Next, we went to the Roman Baths. So amazing. I really cant believe they were used as public baths, and so much of it is gone today.

Then, we went to the fabulous Stonehenge. BREATHTAKING. I couldn't believe I was actually there... it is just so magical. I was bummed we couldn’t go closer to get the full affect of how massive the stones are, but we all had a good time taking pictures of us jumping, cart wheeling, and just being goofy in front of the stones. I mean, when else are you going to be at Stonehenge?!

After we got off the bus back in London, we went to the cutest pub called Albert’s. We got fish and chips and sat in a cozy corner in the back room. We must have been there at least an hour just enjoying the amazing conversation and atmosphere.

Getting home was entertaining as well. As we were leaving the pub, we asked how to get to the nearest tube, and they said “if you hurry, you can catch the one right behind the pub.” For some reason, we took this to mean that we had to try to catch the last train, so we ran down the street! When we finally found it, it turns out they didn’t close for another 2 hours. Oops! But we got home okay and made another video of us talking about our day.

***if you would like to view some of these videos, go to youtube.com and type in "amazingaub8" and enjoy!

London, Baby!

So before going to Madrid, four other girls from my study abroad program and myself decided to travel to London for a few days. Man does that feel like a long time ago already...

Anyway, day 1:

All five of us (Me, Aubrea, Hanna, Kristen, and Tiffany) met up at LAX with all of our families, said our goodbyes, and flew straight to London. Getting to our hostel was an adventure in itself! It took us about an hour and a half from when we picked up our bags at the airport until we arrive at our hostel... half an hour on one train, at least another half hour switching lines and going up and down and up and down TONS of stairs with all of our luggage, then another half an hour walk trying to find the hostel once we were out of the underground, again, carrying all of our luggage. We were sooo relieved when we finally found it, and were able to get upstairs to drop everything off.

Our hotel room was about the size of my dorm room freshman year - 2 bunk beds, one single bed, and all five of us in one room! But we do have our own private bathroom and shower, which is nice. Oh - and they didn't provide towels, which we weren't expecting, so we ended up using our pillowcases to dry off after showers (we each had two, so it wasn't too bad). It worked, but now I know I will definitely be asking about that when booking at hostels in the future.

As chaotic as all of this was, all of us were still in pretty good spirits. At one point on the Underground, Hanna got stuck in the doors of the train car... like the doors literally closed on her while she was trying to get out.

At another point in the Underground when we were taking an escalator, Tiffany got on the moving stairs with her luggage behind her, and one of her bags got stuck at the bottom while her and her other suitcase were moving up the escalator. We definitely spent a lot of time laughing in the process of trying to get to our hostel.

Anyway, our hotel had a poster advertising a free walking tour of London in the afternoon, so we decided to check it out. It started near Hyde Park, and we ended up seeing so much of the city! We went to Buckingham palace, a few other royal palaces, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. The tour ended near big ben, and since we were near the river, we asked our tour guide for a suggestion of a place to eat dinner nearby. He pointed us in the right direction, and we headed over the bridge and past the London Eye, were we ended up eating at this cute Italian restaurant near the water. All of us really enjoyed the food and being able to sit down and relax after such a long day.

I Can't Believe This is Real!

Alright, so I finally have consistent internet, and was able to set up this blog for you, my family and friends, to see what I am up to while studying abroad in Spain!

I miss you all and hope you enjoy following me in my adventures to come :)