San Sebastián!

This must be a record for me- only 5 days since my last post and I'm writing another one! haha. I just couldn't wait- I have to tell you about my weekend, because it was just absolutely amazing. As I mentioned last time, Courtney and I went to San Sebastián, a beach town in northern Spain, for the weekend. We took a bus there...left from Madrid at 12:30 Thursday night, and arrived at 6 am on Friday. 

Friday

So when we first got there, it was still dark out, raining, cold, and we were running on no sleep. As nice as they try and make those busses, there's still no possible way to get comfortable for an extended period of time and actually get a good night's sleep. But ah well. Anyways..of course, we had not packed umbrellas, jackets, or any kind of good clothing for the rain. And we couldn't check in to our hostel until 11:30, so we had about 5 and a half hours to kill. We quickly found a small little café (luckily something was open at 6 am) and ordered some coffee and hid out in there for an hour or 2 until the sun came up and the rain kind of died down. 

(Court was not happy when her coffee was gone)

Then, we ventured out to try and make our way to the beach/main city area (where we were staying). Now, of course, this was not an easy task with the two of us. Long story short, we ended up walking in the completely opposite direction along the river, got stuck in some construction zone, asked multiple people for directions who all said different things, crossed over the river about 4 times, and finally eventually made our way to the beach. (Mind you, this is all in the rain, with our luggage) Luckily, we had plenty of time to kill anyways, and hey, we got to explore the entire city.

Once we made it to the main beach area, we were so relieved. Even though it wasn't the greatest weather, the city was still beautiful- all of the old, historical buildings, the bridges, the river opening up into the ocean, the coastline....oh how I've missed the beach. After some more searching, we eventually found our hostel, Roger's House. This was both of our first experiences staying in a hostel, and we were pretty nervous, but it ended up being the best decision. So we checked in, and got our room, which was a 6-person co/ed room with 3 bunk beds. There were about 6 of these rooms in the hostel, most with the same set up. There were 2 bathrooms and 3 showers for everyone to share, so that was interesting, but it worked out. The guy who checked us in was extremely helpful and friendly, and gave us a map and suggestions of what we needed to do while we were there. So after a much needed nap, we went out and explored some more, went down to the beach, did a little shopping, and just had fun walking up and down all the streets and taking everything in.

Later that night, the guy who worked at the hostel did this deal where if you paid 6 euros, you got his homemade paella for dinner, freshly made sangria, ice cream, and then he took us out after. So we figured we might as well...seemed like a good deal. I am so happy that we decided to do it, because we had the best night. First of all, the paella was absolutely delicious, probably the best that I have had since I've been here. He made a huge dish of a seafood one, with mussels, shrimp, and calamari...and then a chicken one for the couple people who didn't like seafood. And we got huge portions, along with about 4 glasses of sangria, and ice cream after. So the food was definitely worth it. But mainly, it was a great way to meet people. We met people from all over the world- Australia, Finland, Canada, and so many more. Everyone was so fun and friendly, and we all went out together to a couple bars and clubs after dinner, which was awesome to have a group to go out with. I don't have many pictures from that night, Court has them on her camera, but here's one of us and our friend Caley, from Melbourne, Australia.

Saturday 

Saturday morning we woke up to a very pleasant surprise....sun!!! After sleeping in a bit, we got ready and went out to get a late breakfast/brunch. We ended up finding this crepe place....I got one with ham, cheese, and egg, and a coffee to go with- oh my goodness it was absolutely amazing. Is it bad that I miss Aroma's crepes at USD? :/

After our scrumptious meal, we decided to go work it off and take the famous hike up to the Jesus statue to see the city. Unfortunately, we did not bring hiking shoes, or even tennis shoes for that matter, so we suffered through in our sandals with absolutely zero traction. But let me tell you, it was way more than worth it. Especially with the sun out, the view was unbelievable. I honestly felt like I was in paradise. These pictures are great, but they don't even do it justice. 

Afterwards, we of course could not pass up the opportunity to go to the beach, so we met up with some friends we had made and spent the afternoon lying on the sand and soaking up the sun.

We headed back to the hostel around 6 to shower and get cleaned up, then went out again for the night. We made it back to the water just in time to watch the beautiful sunset- also something I have missed.

Then it was time for pintxos! So, this is the thing in San Sebastián...instead of going out to a restaurant and sitting down and ordering a meal, you go out for drinks and pintxos. These are basically like little appetizers- you order them individually and they each only cost 1-3 euros. So there's a ton of these pintxos bars around the city, really close to one another, so you go to one, order 1 or 2, hang out for awhile, then head to the next one, order a couple more, then keep going. It's such a cool experience- so different from anything at home. People are just lining the streets all over, standing, sitting, talking, drinking, and eating their pintxos. Oh, and the plates of food are just lined all along the bar, so they just give you a plate and you take whichever one you want. You don't need to wait to order them, and you already know exactly what you're getting, since you can see it right in front of you. And by the way, they are absolutely delicious. There's so many different kinds, but the majority are probably seafood. Some that i can think of are a piece of bread with crab salad and shrimp on it, a pastry type thing with ham, goat cheese, and a berry sauce, a wrap with artichoke, ham, and cheese, little sandwiches (bocadillos) with all different kinds of mixtures inside, tortilla españolas, so much more. I really like how they do this here because it makes you realize that it really is unnecessary to eat all that we do in America. I was pleasantly full off of about 3-4 small pintxos, and it made me wonder why the US restaurants insist on giving you a huge plate of food that you can never finish, and if you do finish, you always know you ate way too much. Anyways. I don't know. I think I should bring this pintxos tradition home. I think people would like it. Well, for the rest of the night, we just went in and out of bars, ordered some drinks, and just had a great night.

Sunday

Sadly, this was our last day in San Sebastián, but at least our bus didn't leave till 6:30, so we had most of the day. We didn't do too much, got some food for lunch, and headed back to the beach, since it was sunny again...even nicer than the day before. The beach was packed- the people of San Sebastián aren't used to beautiful weather at the end of September! There was also some triathlon or race going on, so we got to watch a whole bunch of swimmers go out into the ocean and swim a pretty long distance out and back...I was definitely impressed. That's a lot of work. Anyways, after we got too hot to stay on the beach any longer, we decided to treat ourselves to some gelato- oh what a good idea that was. I got half brownie and half "Trufo Negro", which I'm pretty sure is dark chocolate truffle. I was in heaven. The rest of the afternoon we just walked around more, got one last pintxo, checked out of the hostel, and then walked to the bus station. 

So that was our trip!!! I probably missed a few things, but that pretty well sums up what we did. As I'm sure you can tell, we had an amazing time, and I would recommend taking this trip to anyone. It was so worth it- I really did not want to leave. First weekend trip- success! Now it's back to classes and homework, lots to do this week. But I guess I can't complain, I'm still in Madrid, Spain. Not too shabby. Alrighty well that is all for now! Until next time!

Finally feeling like a local!

So, I know it has been a long time since I've posted something...I'm sorry!! Things have been busy. But I figure it's probably time to give an update :)

Well...as of today, I have officially been in Spain for one month! That's so crazy to think about...the time has flown by. Classes are in full swing now- already have had quizzes, assignments, lots of reading, papers...you name it. Doesn't seem to be too much to handle though, so that's good. I don't have too much new exciting news, the past couple weeks we've just been exploring Madrid, meeting new people, and finding some new places. I finally am starting to feel like a local here- I know how to get around, where to go (more or less), and don't get lost as often. I'm really loving living here :)

So here's some of the main things we've done/gone to the past couple weeks:

1. Parque del Retiro- You've probably heard of this park before, it's one of the largest and most popular in Spain. Its absolutely beautiful, and really does go on forever. Last weekend, we decided to go explore it, and it was a perfect gorgeous day to do so. There's a lot of fountains, monuments, cafes, sculptures...and a large lake right in the middle. We had lunch at one of the cafés right next to the lake...unfortunately the food wasn't that great, I think it was a pretty touristy place and not too authentic. But the view was nice and it was very relaxing. Here's some pictures...there were so many I had trouble choosing!
   
   
   
    Me and Alphie...for all my ADPi girls! <>
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Look at all the turtles!! I've never seen so many wild turtles before!
   
   
   
   
   One of the many beautiful fountains
   
   
   
   The main lake and central area of the park
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   2. Puerta del Sol/Plaza de Santa Ana/Plaza Mayor- So we had been to Sol before, but hadn't really explored it too much, so last week we went back with a friend we met who was able to show us around more. It was so neat to see everything- walking around here, you never know what new historical site or beautiful old building you'll find. Even just the cobblestone streets, lined with cafés and little shops...it's all so different from anything in California. After walking around, we sat down in Plaza de Santa Ana (I laughed when I first heard that name...but believe me, it's nothing like Santa Ana, CA :)) and just ordered some sangria and watched all the people go by.
   
   Plaza Mayor
   
   
   
   The streets of Madrid :)
   
   
   
   An AMAZING chocolate dessert! ahh so yummy
   
   
   
   Plaza de Santa Ana
   
   
   
   
   3. Camille's Visit! So Camille got into Madrid on Sunday, and before she headed to Sevilla, she of course had to spend some time with me! We had a nice dinner out in Sol, where we shared some authentic Spanish food - tortilla española, paella, and sangria- and got to catch up. Afterwards, we met up with her group and Courtney and we all went out to a bar to just spend time together and have a fun night. It was nice seeing a familiar face, and I'm so happy she's here in Spain with me! <3

             4. Bars/Clubs- So of course I have to at least mention the update on bars/clubs here....so last weekend we went to Kapital, one of the biggest and most well-known clubs in Madrid. It's 7 stories, all with different music and different types of dancing and everything. Had such a great time, came back on the metro at 6 am when it opened again, so the next day was filled with a lot of sleeping. But definitely worth the experience. We also went to this place known as the "Cave Bar", where their huge famous drink (which is milk mixed with sugar and a bunch of different types of alcohol and other things) comes out of the ceiling!!! It was crazy. Of course we had to get one and share. There have been some other fun nights of course- some themed nights at clubs, finding the places with free entry...etc. Don't have many pictures because I don't take my camera....don't want it to get stolen!!

Well, I know this was a short post, but I don't have much more time because I need to pack....we're leaving for San Sebastián tonight!! I'm so excited! Our bus leaves at 12:30 and gets there at 6 am-then we can't check in to the hostel until noon tomorrow. We get back at 12:30 Sunday night. Should be an interesting travel experience but hey, it's all part of the adventure! I will definitely have more to write about next time, after this weekend's trip. As always, thanks for reading....adiós!!

¡Viva España!

1st week of classes!

Well, it's that time of year again...time to start classes!! I was beginning to think this was just a 4 month vacation....unfortunately, turns out we have to do some studying too. haha.

So last Monday we ventured to our new campus for our first day of class. Now, officially, we are students at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, a Spanish University here. However, since our program is so big, and a lot of us (well, most of us) don't speak fluent Spanish, they couldn't have our classes at the actual campus this semester. So, we have class at this other venue, which is like 30 mins away from Comillas, called the Sergio Arboleda campus. It is nice to have our own place, with professors we understand and classmates we can communicate with, but it is kind of a bummer that we don't have class at Comillas, because now its a lot harder to meet the Spanish students and integrate with them. Ah well. 

So, Monday morning, we didn't have class until 1:00 (our 11:30 was cancelled) so Court and I left  about 2 hours early, because knowing us, we would get lost. And hey, sure enough, we did. To get to campus, we need to get on Metro line 6 (which is a circular line, so very easy to get on the wrong way) and then we need to get off at Principe Pio and then get on a certain train to take us to school. So, by some miracle, we got on the right metro, and made it to Principe Pio. We got there, and we're feeling all  confident, like we got this. We found our friend Sukhpreet, who was also heading to class, at the same train stop, so we thought we had it. Well, turns out, the 3 of us ended up getting on the wrong train, which took us about 4 stops in the wrong direction, before we finally asked a local and found out we were not going the right way. So we had to get off, get on another to take us back to Principe Pio, then hop on the right train, going the right way, to take us to school. Then, once you get to the train stop by school, its a good 10 minute walk to campus. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare...yes, this is why we leave early. So, that was that...but don't worry, by the end of the week we got it down :) 

Classes seem like they are going to be pretty good, haven't gotten too far into the material yet since its the 1st week, but I like my professors and I am definitely taking some interesting classes. I'm in Problem of God, Ethics, Ecology(with lab), Management, Spanish 4, and the travel seminar class, which is business. So I'm taking quite the variety. The Problem of God and Ethics courses I can already tell are going to be pretty heavy in discussions and debates- the topics and issues we cover are pretty powerful, and people have some strong opinions about them. Ecology is not too interesting to me, but I've never been much of a science person. I'm glad to be getting the class and lab out of the way here, so I will be done once I get back to USD. Management and the travel seminar should be interesting, since I'm a business student...and I've already gotten to know the teacher, because he was with us all throughout our trip, so that's good. Lastly, Spanish is definitely going to be difficult, but that's good, because we're in Spain, and obviously it is important to learn and get better at the language. So, that's classes...already have tons of reading to do, but we've found some nice parks and cafes to go read at, so no complaints! ( There's a crepe cafe right next to campus...I will be there a lot!!!)

On Friday we got to go check out the actually Comillas University and its facilities- we have access to their library, study rooms, gym, computer lab, and any other resources we may need so that's really helpful. And that campus is only a 10 minute walk from our house! So convenient! I'll probably spend most of my studying time there- its a really nice school and definitely not as deserted as our campus.

(So I have to admit I didn't take this picture...I kinda forgot to take any so I took this from online haha. but it is what Comillas looks like! I'll take some on my own and put them in my next post:))

Other than classes, I've been having a pretty low-key week, trying to get over being sick :( I think I'm finally starting to feel better, so that's good. Trying to drink lots of tea and get extra sleep- I definitely don't want it to get any worse. 

We did do some fun stuff this week though...

• Explored where we live! So of course we've been walking to and from the metro, and in and out of our apartment, but other than that, we hadn't explored much around our apartment till this week. So we decided to go out and see what there is, and we found out that we live in a pretty cool area! There's tons of cafés and bars in walking distance- and many of them have some pretty good deals for an inexpensive lunch or Menu Del Día. We found this place called Rodilla's...it's nothing fancy, and looks like its a chain, but they have sandwiches and salads for really cheap- and its really good! We also came across a lot of cafés that will be good to go in and study/read, and order a yummy pastry or something :) There are also a good amount of little clothes/shoes stores, which is dangerous....but we're definitely enjoying that! So today, we walked the other way, away from all the restaurants and such, and found this beautiful park, Parque del Oeste! It is sooo close to our place, which is so nice because we will be going there a lot to study, run, maybe have a picnic or somethin!!

• Going Out- So we did go out a few times this week- mainly just bars and stuff. Dubliners is definitely our 'go-to' bar, they have good prices on drinks, there are always a lot of people there, and there's always some people who can speak English to you! It's good too because it's in Puerta del Sol, which is where everything is, so it's easy to go to a club or another bar afterwards.   We've met so many people, and had so much fun just talking, dancing, and hanging out with everyone. I definitely am going to miss being able to order drinks when I get home! Thursday night we went to this club Joy, it was a blast- we somehow were able to get in for free which was awesome. We went in with a group of about 10 of us from USD, and we all had such a fun night dancing, going up on stage, and just hanging out with everyone. Something to note though- drinks at the club are beyond expensive...5 euros for a shot, like 8 or 10 for a mixed drink- so its definitely good to go to a bar beforehand so you don't have to pay for that.

• Gran Via- Yesterday we had the day free so Court and I decided to take the metro and head to Gran Via, one of the most popular streets/areas in Madrid. The buildings were all so beautiful, and there were so many people out and about, it was a really neat place. Tons of shopping there- so we definitely went in a lot of stores. We had lunch at this little restaurant that had made-to-order mini Spanish omelettes that were delicious! And we ordered a pitcher (jarra) of sangria for the 2 of us, not knowing just how much that it would be...but we still finished it! It was a great afternoon. 

Interesting/notable things I've noticed or have happened...

1. BUG BITES

Okay, so I've been getting eaten alive by bugs here...and for the longest time I was wondering whyyy that was happening. So then, I realized, that with it being so hot here, and having no A/C, I sleep with my window wide open every night. And they don't have screens here...not exactly sure if that's just my host mom's thing or if that's a Spain thing...I'm thinkin its a Spain thing. So, of course, that's how the bugs are getting in every night. But that is quite unfortunate, because now I need to choose between waking up with new bites every morning, or sleeping in a sauna....yeah, usually the bug bites win.

2. BUS STOPS

Alrighty, this is kind of random but I just have to mention it- so apparently they have bus stops on the freeway here?? Yeah...SO weird. We started taking the bus to class, cuz it's a little shorter- and it takes us on the freeway (well, I'm not sure if they call it a 'freeway' here, but it certainly resembles what freeways are like at home) so all of a sudden, we're riding, and it just pulls over. I was wondering what was wrong...maybe the bus broke down? Was there an emergency? What's up? And then I notice there's a bus stop right there, on the side of the freeway- and new people start getting on, and some off...just like no big deal. Then we started moving again, right back into the 70 or so mph traffic. Alrighty then. I guess that's a thing here. Personally, I'd be a little sketched getting off a bus on the side of a freeway, but hey! If that's what they do here!

3. MCDONALD'S 

So at home, McDonald's is a bad, cheap, fast food restaurant, right? At least that's pretty much what I always thought. Well, here, McDonald's has quite a different reputation. I mean, it's still McDonald's, but they are SO popular here. And so nice! When you walk in, you would never even know it was a McDonald's. There's one by our place that is 2 stories, with a whole separate 'McCafe' section, with pastries, desserts, coffee drinks, smoothies, and so much more! Then, in a different area, there's the regular McDonald's, with of course the normal hamburgers and such, but also, there's fresh salads, wraps..who knows what else. Then on the second floor, its just a huge area with booths and tables and bar seats- all modern looking and nice. I never thought I'd say this about a McDonald's, but it's actually a really neat place to just sit and have a snack and enjoy some A/C!

4. METRO BY MYSELF!!

This is a short one, but I just have to say that I took the train and metro home by myself for the first time this week! And I made it without even getting lost! I felt pretty cool...really made me feel like a local, putting my ipod in, getting on and off at different stops and knowing where to go, putting my metro pass in the machine...haha. But yeah, I definitely feel more confident now about knowing how all the transportation works and how to get around the city :)

So that's all for now....sorry I didn't have many pictures this entry...I'll have to take some more next time that I can put in :) Well, I'm going to finish some reading now for class, then head to bed..week #2 of classes tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

Travel Seminar-Part 2

So, as I said in my last post, the travel seminar was way too much to write about in one, so I'm splitting it up into 2 separate posts. So now I will tell you about the second half of the trip- which was Granada, Sevilla, and Córdoba.

GRANADA
Granada was an absolutely beautiful city- maybe one of the most impressive places we went, architecture and history wise. The downtown area was pretty calm compared to Barcelona, Madrid, and the bigger cities, but I really liked the feel of it.

• La Alhambra- Of course you cannot go to Granada and not see La Alhambra. This Islamic Royal Palace is one of the top 3 major tourist attractions in the world, and I can definitely see why. It was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful- from the well kept gardens, to the intricate designs on the buildings, to the amazing architectural talent, to the incredible location and views of the city...it's impossible to put into words. My pictures definitely don't do it justice, but they help to show how grand it was.

View from the top of the palace

The girls :)

• Exploring the City- Other than going to La Alhambra, we didn't do too much in Granada- just explored the city on our own. Court and I had some time so we walked around and did some shopping- bought some necessary heels, a couple shirts, a couple other things, and of course, after a long hot day, had to get some gelato :) We really haven't had that much dessert since we've been here- at our host moms, she serves us fruit for dessert, which is pretty typical with Spanish meals. So I definitely have been missing my chocolate, and the gelato helped fill that craving.

SEVILLA

Sevilla was right up there with Barcelona in being one of my favorite cities. Our hotel was actually right near one of the main streets, so we were in walking distance to lots of cafes and shops and things like that, which was nice for a change to not have to pay for a cab or the metro.

• Tour of the City/Cathedral de Seville- So, at this point, we definitely had all seen quite a lot of cathedrals and to be honest, they were starting to merge together a bit. As you can see from the pictures, a lot of the architecture and layout of the different palaces/cathedrals looks very similar. However, it still was amazing, and was incredible to see. This cathedral also is known for its bell tower, La Giralda, which we climbed up to (all 35 flights of ramps....yeah that wasn't fun) and were able to see the entire city from the top.

The front of the Cathedral

 One of the views from inside

View from the top of La Giralda

Throwin up our diamonds! Reppin ADPi <>

• City of Sevilla/Food and Drinks- With it being the last place we went on the trip, of course we wanted to explore the city and see what Sevilla had to offer. As I mentioned already, it was so great that we could walk around without taking a cab or other form of transportation to the restaurants and everything. So during the day, we found a cute cafe for lunch where we only had to pay 4.50 euros for a sandwich, drink, and dessert...so that was wonderful in helping us save some money. For dinner, we went to another neat restaurant near the hotel-however, it was quite the complicated and detailed menu-and with it all in Spanish, none of us had any idea what we were ordering. We recognized words here and there, so we decided to just be adventurous and order something at random. Rachel and I ended up with a piece of meat that resembled steak, with some potatoes on the side. It was scrumptious- found out later that it was bull. Courtney had quite the surprise, as she ended up ordering duck. We all tried it, it had a very unique flavor, pretty salty- lets just say I don't think we'll be ordering that again. Sami and Mary had what looked very similar to a burrito- we were all jealous because we all miss Mexican food so much! Afterwards, we decided to have a low-key girls night, and found this little bar with absolutely AMAZING drinks. We each ordered a fancy drink (I got a 'Chocolada'- kind of like a piña colada with chocolate:))) and just had a fun night enjoying the city.

• Night Life- Our last night, Friday night, everyone wanted to go out and have some fun. So after another yummy dinner, a group of us went out and found an inexpensive place to order some 1 euro pitchers of sangria and beer. Afterwards, we took a cab to a bar, where we spent a couple hours- ordered some drinks and just had a good time with everyone (lots of USD people were there). Then, around 2:30, we made our way to the club- it was so much fun! Tons of people there, it was all outside, with dance floors, tables, bars, dancers, great music...awesome night. Didn't get back to the hotel till around 5:30, so waking up at 8 was definitely a challenge. But so worth the experience :)

the dancer at the club ;)

 the group!

CORDOBA

So on our way back to Madrid on Saturday, we made a stop in Córdoba to see the Mezquita of Córdoba- a really famous Jewish mosque that has been turned into a Catholic Christian Cathedral. We only stayed for a few hours, but we got to tour the mosque and the city, and it was absolutely beautiful.

 

Alrighty, well I suppose that is about it for the travel seminar! Sorry it took so long to post all this...but its finally up! Unfortunately, I woke up Sunday morning with a bad cold, so I've been trying to get lots of rest to get rid of that, and we also started classes yesterday, so its been busy! But other than being sick, everything is going great- I'm so excited to be back in Madrid, so I can actually settle in, get to know the city, get into a routine, and really feel like I'm living here. I've got quite the semester ahead of me!

Thanks for reading! More posts coming soon :)

*FIESTAS Y SIESTAS*