Escaping Reality

The Westin

2012-01-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

Our hotel was AMAAAAZING! Here's the view from our room!

Since we went in January, it was a little overcast and windy. It wasn't ideal for playing in the pool and sunbathing....

Our pool was still INCREDIBLEEE! It's just like the one in Modern Family... (the episode where they are on vacation in Hawaii).

I've decided that when/if I go back to Cancun, I will be staying in the resort... and only leaving to get tacos from my favorite taco stand.

From Miami to Cancun

2012-01-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

We get off the airplane and of course we have to go through customs. The line is so long (because there are so many tourists). The line moves slowly as the officials take their time checking passports and another 30 minutes drag by before we finally make it out of customs.

Instead of several carousels filled with luggage, our suitcases have already been taken off the carousel and arranged in lines across the floor. We're lucky enough to find our few suitcases with bright green tags, but Andria's bag is missing. After about another 30 minutes of searching, we decide to report the missing bag to an agent. He tells us that they will deliver it to our hotel when and/if it arrives....

I speak to a random worker in broken Spanish and ask about another flight coming in from Miami. Luckily, there is! So we wait another 15 minutes and we see another round of luggage starting to come out.

Then, we see Andria's little blue suitcase with the rainbow luggage tag roll into the airport. Thank god!

After checking in, we walk to a store nearby... to buy tequila and margarita mix. :) It's not my fault that they have margarita glasses AND a blender in our room...

Also, we found some BOMB tacos. She recommended these special tacos (I forgot what they were called) that she adds cheese and pineapple too. The lady was super nice and talked to me in Spanish as well!

Sorry the photos are a little blurry, I was too excited....

Universal Studios

2012-01-25T16:59:00.000-08:00

In Florida, there are two parks for Universal: Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure.

Universal Studios basically has the same attractions as the one in California... so it doesn't excite me too much... However, instead of having a behind the Studio tram tour, they do presentations of the various special effects (tornado, lighting, earthquake, fire, horror) in different shows and stations. It's cool, but I like the tram ride better, which is probably why I'm wasn't that impressed.

I also just think that Islands of Adventure is way cooler! Aside from having the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there's a Comic book land - they feature X-Men, Pop-Eye, the Hulk, Spiderman, Betty Boop, etc. My all time favorite ride is definitely Spiderman tho. My second favorite (a close-second) is Harry Potter, but it gets negative points for scaring me so much! The Incredible Hulk roller coaster is pretty awesome too.\

in the world of Marvel Comics

& Marmaduke!

Shutterfly traps

2012-01-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

They keep sending me emails with all these deals! Therefore, I just made a photobook for my vacation in the South in July and another for my vacation in Maui in September... I also realized I never did anything for my vacation to Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver....

SO MANY PHOTOS.

so my new years resolution is to get on top of my memories. must. catch. up.

my goal... is to catch up with my blog by the time i go on my next vacation....St. JOHNS in MAY!

& hopefully, i can update photo albums and stuff by end of the year (not including Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic in September 2012 - I'm going to need more time for that one). BUT, this does include 2 shutterfly books - one for oregon/vancouver and another for st. johns - AND i want to do a really, REALLY nice one of my semester abroad...

maybe i'm being a little ambitious.... :)

Craving for Butterbeer

2011-09-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The #1 reason that I wanted to go to Orlando.

We should have been prepared for a crazy day the minute we parked our car. We arrived in the lot at 10am and we strolled our way down the City Walk. Families sprinted past us, but I figured their kids were just excited to be on their way to an amusement park.

We finally get inside the park around 1030am and made it to HARRY POTTER LAND (as I like to call it). We were greeted by the Hogwarts Express and paused for a picture with the friendly conductor.

We pushed our way through Hogsmeade and noticed lines forming outside the stores. Yes, lines to get into Honeydukes and Olivanders. We decided that we need to find the main ride before exploring the other attractions.

....

.......

The line was already out the castle and overflowing into a differently themed section of the park. 90-120 minute wait!! I think I'm spoiled because I usually get some kind of hook up to cut the line... but still. We opted for Butter Beer. The frozen one tastes like a butterscotch icee with whipped cream. It was a little sweet for my liking... but I'm going to say I enjoyed it because it was $12.95!! with the souvenir cup. so it better be worth my money.

The castle was awesome! I eventually got on the ride and I don't want to spoil it for anyone.. but it's really fun (and scary too)! It was the first time I've laughed and screamed on a ride because I was so overwhelmed with emotions.

Catching up on old news

2011-09-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Now that I work behind a desk, I thought that I could keep myself awake (on days like these) by updating my travel blog. I always read and follow other blogs, but I often neglect my own. I'm two vacations behind and leaving for Maui again this weekend... so I'll work diligently in the next few days and see how much of my travels I can even remember..

I'm also an avid coffee drinker and have a new favorite coffee shop. PHILZ!!

EPCOT

2011-03-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

I've been to Florida so many times, but I still have fun every time ago. I always get to travel with someone new and it always makes the adventure worthwhile. This time, I was lucky enough to bring Andria!

Who needs to travel around the world when EPCOT gives you a little taste of every country? Even though I'm always hungry, we opted out of eating a big lunch and instead we snacked our way around the world.
Fish and chips in the UK (we also saw Alice from Wonderland?) and pastries and coffee in France.

fish and chips!

goal: go to france and eat dessert

Other highlights included Morocco, Italy, Japan, and China (we found Mulan!). Who even needs a passport? Hopefully, you can identify which countries we're in!

I'm going to try to post more about my trip this weekend. Even though I went two months ago... It will be a slow update...

Night Market - Can't wait to go to Asia!

2010-08-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

One of these days, I'm going to go to Asia and enjoy the real stuff. All the food we had seemed pretty authentic. OR, it was just so amazingly creative.. that it won me over anyway. If you ever get a chance to go to a Night Market, you definitely should. If I had Canadian money on hand, I probably also would have done some shopping. I mean, if you need color contacts, iphone cases, cell phone charms, random electronics... We did skip out on the deep fried oreos and twinkies (thank god, gag).

At the very beginning..we started when it was still light outside.

"hurricane" potato w/ korean hot sauce (saw it before: http://www.thisiswhyyourefat.com/?p=1185)

it was 2/$5. of course we got two of them. the other one is white cheddar.

BBQ octopus and deep fried tofu

TAKOYAKI - they make this in japan.. I think. it's like a gooey fish-ball

a close-up shot. =)

SUMO BITES - rice burgers. yes, rice burgers.

see it?! rice patties. amaaaazing.

Seattle

2010-08-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

As I've been telling whoever I've talked to so far.. all I've been doing is eating. There was no exception on our way to our timeshare in Washington. We stopped in Seattle for Pike's Market. It was definitely busy for a weekday and the seafood restaurant (Lowells) was overpriced/overrated, but we picked up some yummy food for dinner. I'll just let your imagination fill in the rest. Hard Rock Cafe. Cheesecake! Starbucks. Sashimiii.

One of the famous signs for the Public Market in Seattle

As Seen on the Food Network - on an episode of the Best Cheeses

Mexican Chocolate, Lemon, White Chocolate Raspberry, Quadruple Chocolate. DROOL.

Inside the very first STARBUCKS! ever.

We had to get some coffee, of course. <3

Pike's Place Fish Market (where they throw fish when you order)

The tempting display of crabs....

OUR DINNER. sooooo good. fresh salmon and albacore from the market.

Canadian Border

2010-08-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

this post will be short and sweet.

day 1: everything was fine.. they checked our passports and we left the USA and came back w/o any problems.

day 2: we left the USA easily, but on the way back.. we got stuck in "commuter" traffic... why people would commute over the border... i have no idea. anyway... we were stuck in a line of cars for TWO HOURS. i took a really long nap. it was very unnecessary.. lol

day 3 (last night): again, entering Canada was just fine. on the way home (after eating at a Night Market in Richmond, BC - so fun), we got STOPPED at border control. we had to get out of our car while our van was inspected.... he made me turn off my itouch bc he told me there were no phones allowed... x_x AND they told us there were no bathrooms. lameeeeeee.

anyway, we'll see if there's a day 4. and hopefully we can look less suspicious.

VOODOO Donuts

2010-08-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

I swear, I should just work for the Food Network. (this place was featured on Amazing Race.. and something else)

It was quite an experience heading down to downtown Portland for some donuts. It was located in an area that reminded me of the Tenderloin in SF and Berkeley. Mostly because of the theater showing hentai one end of the block and an oyster bar on the other. Strange location..

We waited in line for about 30 minutes and chatted with the friendly family behind us. When we finally got inside, we realized how small the bakery was. It was pretty much a counter with a ton of those pink boxes that remind me of Chinatown.

This was our collection of donuts that we ate.....

I think my favorite one was the Maple Bar with Bacon.. well, it's the most unique, anyway.

and this photo, was taken in the store only. SOMEONE failed to order it. it's a voodoo donut! the pretzel is for stabbing..good thing I'm not an angry, revenge-seeking person. I'm too lazy.

STILL FULL.

2010-08-12T23:52:00.000-07:00

The non-stop eating has slowed down.. finally. I probably gained 5 pounds in less than a week. After waking up at 330am last Saturday, we headed straight up to Portland, OR.

For lunch, we stopped at this random hole-in-the-wall hamburger joint. Mostly, for our uncle and his banana milkshake. The hamburgers were alright.. but after seeing everyone leave with ice cream cones, I had to have one. Peppermint. =) They even offer 4 scoops on a cone, but I settled for less.. just two.

Nona Emilia's for dinner. I almost died. They gave us portions equivalent of Bucca di Bepo only everything tasted 5x better! Check out the size of this meatball and pizza.. (that's my cousin, Keeley) Needless to say... we had a lot of leftovers.

The next morning... I couldn't eat anything. just coffee (which i haven't managed to stay away from). not much for lunch either. but dinner was delicious! We stayed in for a HUGE dinner. prime rib, risotto, cheesy veggies, ribs, sushi. yummmmmm. and my favorite, the drinks! CHEEEEERS! i love being 21.

Canada

2010-08-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

As usual, I'm looking forward to my vacation. Even though it's just Oregon, Washington and Canada.. (Eventually, I will make it around the world..) It will be nice to relax a little and be with nature..? I'm bringing eat, pray, love and dear john. might have to buy the girl who kicked the hornet nest.. bc the suspense is killing me.
I decided to do a little research before my trip (like 5 minutes) and i found a place i really want to go. The sad thing is, adult admission is $35. Maybe, I can convince my parents to let me go inside by myself and I can pretend I'm 17 and pay like $15. Anyway, it's Butchart Gardens.

I was on their website.. and they have 5 SEASONS. spring, summer, autumn, winter.... and CHRISTMAS. lolll at first, i wondered why they sell a season pass, but if i lived there. i think i would get one. for at least one year...

omg. they know why i want to go. "No matter the season, you'll find it filled with exciting colours and the sliding photo window allows you to take great, glare free images." LOL heaveeeeen. i hate glare.

WOWWWWW. if i don't go... somewhere BETTER take me to the botanical garden in berkeley. OR i'm dragging you to SF for the japanese tea garden.

Urge to Blog (and my love for good food)

2010-07-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Some days I'm really inspired to blog.. and other days, well... not so much.

Today, at work, I've realized how much I love to travel. Good. and Bad. On the positive side, I'm hoping new experiences will make me a more well-rounded person. I always like to try new things and esp. foods, so I'm grateful for that (love love love spices). HOWEVER, i feel like my love for traveling makes me a dreamer. Always thinking about where I want to go, what I could be doing right now, etc. At the end of this year (in May), it's welcome to the real world. where i will have NO money and NO time. lameeee. definitely not looking forward to it.

Anyway, thought I'd update about San Diego. We didn't have time, or much desire, to go to places where I would normally go w my family. (No Cafe 222 or giant pizza on Coronado Island) BUT, I did get to try the infamous carne asada fries and soft tofu stew.

so we went to some restaurant (by a wooden rollercoaster?) and got VIP parking. and the carne asada fries were pretty bomb. ESP. combined with HORCHATA! yum. it's like nachos... on fries. but MY GOD, there's no way you can eat them all. it's like a heart attack. so good thing i was with helen so that we could split. i still had a major food coma afterwards.

Adele also took us for some tofu stew. flashback to freshman year, where i also ate in Convoy, at the very same restaurant. I was overly excited about the korean appetizers... AND my gyoza tofu stew, with 2 eggs, and purple rice. yeeeee!

Alsoooooo, I finally had the honor of eating at Boiling Crab. The wait is CRAZY. The place opens at 12.. and we got there at 1130.. and there was already a line. Thankfully, we got seated in the first wave of customers (so we waited 30 min, instead of an hour and 30min...)

Anyway, that place is also a heart attack in a bag. You have a choice of seafood.. then sauce (which is the killer) It's something like.. 1. lemon pepper 2. garlic butter 3. cajun 4. the whole SHA-BANG (all of the above) So, the sauce was AMAZING. I ordered mine a little too spicy, but I just drank lots of water to compensate. Overall, good experience. But, I decided it's a once a year adventure... it's too much work for me. At least we got BIBS!

It also reminded me of when I was in Southern Spain and we cooked shrimp that was DELICIOUS. just olive oil.. and yummmmmm. and so much cheaper (like $5/lb)!

SAN DIEGO

2010-07-14T13:12:00.001-07:00

hahahaha I JUST remembered I'm going to San Diego this weekend to reunite w/ MBS (my big sis..)

I got this email from her: Dear Little, please don't forget your huge camera. Love, YBS EOM

loll hopefully, i don't forget and I'll have some content for a new post.

The US is def. not Europe

2010-07-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

First of all, EXTREMELY jealous of those who went to Pamploma for the Running of the Bulls (these pics are AWESOMEEE. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/07/the_festival_of_san_fermin_201.html) AND VIVA ESPANAAAAA. world cup soccer. beautiful soccer players. i wish i was in madrid... but anyway.

I've been back for a while now and I miss having to update my blog w all the exciting things I used to do on the weekends. My life is back to "normal." I find myself listening to a lot of Spanish music trying to practice listening and understanding the words. I've realized that I changed the settings on my blogger to Spanish.. and I think I might leave it that way. Ver blog. Publicar Entrada. Guardar Ahora. I have to say, even though I miss the nights out in Europe, I think I'm way happier at home w all the ethnic, affordable, authetic food I can get. In the first month I've been back (prob sooner than that), I've had sushi (many times), chinese, vietnamese, thai, mexican, bbq, jamaican, brazilian, burgers, etc. I'm still missing out on Indian and Korean, if i have any takers. loll

However, I do have to say, American are fat bc we eat so much. It's not the food we eat, it's how MUCH of it. Spaniards eat bread every day. They're stick-thin. They also smoke too, but I'm just saying.....

Over the past month and a half, I've been sorting pictures for my family, for me, for my senora. and all I gotta say is STUDY ABROAD if you can. for sure. Things change when you're gone, but if they change then it wasn't meant to be anyway. I still have the same friends (mostly) lol

I know that Berkeley is going to kick my butt next semester, but at least I sort of have an intercambio. A girl is coming to Berk from the same school I studied at in Spain. I get to take her around a little and she said she'd help me w Spanish. yeeee.

Anyway, I'm gonna fix this blog up next week and use it as an online journal for my travels (not just Spain), so look out for my next vacations. I would travel all my life if i could. and if I didn't eventually want a stable life and family. haha

Sooo I'll be back. I'm heading up to Oregon, Washington, and Canada from August 7th to the 17th. Hope they at least have good food. I'm bringing books in case I get bored.... Suggetions are welcome. lol

botanical garden in madrid

2010-05-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

took a break from studying to practice some shots with my camera.

just wanted to share.

pics uploaded.

2010-05-20T12:48:00.001-07:00

finally got around to uploading. check it out.

Mallorca

2010-05-13T14:56:00.001-07:00

Eat, Sleep, and Drink.

That was pretty much the theme of our trip.

We pretty much went from white, red, to brown. Well, I’m still recovering from the mild sunburns that I earned from our little vacation. I went with Antoinette to the island of Mallorca, which is off the Eastern Coast of Spain. Amazing and probably some of the most relaxing days of my life.

I have mixed feelings about Mallorca. Mostly, because the beaches are amazing, but the people were speaking mostly… Dutch? German? I can’t even tell you. All the restaurants had menus in 3 or 4 different languages. Even the tv channels were in random languages. It was just sad that my last few days in Spain didn’t feel like Spain.

but, it was beautiful =)

Morocco

2010-05-13T14:54:00.003-07:00

So this is pretty sad, because I’m currently on a bus tour of Southern Spain and a little bit of Portugal and every hotel has a different policy for the internet… which means, I only have internet when it’s free. Therefore, I’m writing this post for a word doc… and I’ll try my best to add pictures later.

I need to catch up (which is the story of my life) and so here’s my recap of Morocco, AFRICAAAA! So we booked a round-trip flight to Tangier before reading the description that Tangier is like the Tijuana of Mexico. Fail.

It’s okay though, because I still had a wonderful time, and Morocco leaves me wanting more.

We basically stayed in Tangier for the weekend and made a day trip to the beach town, Asilah. We didn’t actually SEE much, but it was definitely a huge culture shock.

You know you’re in Morocco when you notice a change in:

1. The language. They speak mostly French and Arabic and understand very little English and Spanish… It was pretty funny getting around bc we had to write down prices and make sure we had the exact change, etc.

2. The food. There was flavor and a little bit of spice. Ah, heaven.

3. The demographics. I was pretty much scared for my life traveling with three other girls. We dressed conservatively, but still got attention. Most women were covered from head to toe or just weren’t outside at all. There were men EVERYWHERE. It was like women don’t exist…

Reasons why I would go back (aka who wants to go with me Spring Break 2011?):

1. Exchange rate (they use dirham). We ate a full course, seafood meal for 5 euros… I bought a magnet for like $.20

2. My AMAZING hostel/palace. We chose a place from hostelworld and the family was soooooooo nice. After we arrived, we heard another knock at our door, and we were pretty much scared out of our minds. We peeked through the door (with the chains still on) and it was the mom with a GIANT plate of couscous. Later in the trip, she brought us fruit and MINT TEA (sigh, so good). The family even drove us back to the airport for free!! (This experience leads me to believe that Moroccans are friendly once you get to know them).

3. My henna! Although this lady was pushy, I still liked it. =)

4. Most importantly, I still need to ride a camel.

arabic.

asilah

mint tea and our henna

in my palace (our hostel/apartment)

BULLFIGHT

2010-05-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

or they call it the CORRIDA de TOROS.

surprisingly, i was able to stay for about 75% of the show. the fights started to look the same.. which is the reason why we decided to leave.

after searching for tickets all day.. we took a chance and decided to buy them at the stadium instead. we got to the ticket counter and we told them we wanted the cheapest seats they had. he laughed at us and told us it was 11euros. i was confused bc i thought they had seats for cheaper than 5 euros. we asked him exactly what we were buying.. and he told us it was the TOTAL for five people.... LOL so we asked him for the next cheapest seats and ended up paying about 3.50euros per person. the seats were pretty high in the stands, but it was better bc we couldn't see the blood and gore.

Every CORRIDA de TOROS has 3 bullfighters that each kill 2 bulls. Each fight takes about 20-30 minutes. So the entire thing is about 2-3 hours and 6 bulls are killed. I didn't realize at first, but it's sad bc it's such an unfair fight..

The first round includes a man and horse in armor. The man stabs the bull with a spear between the shoulder blades.

The second round has a few men with shorter spears with some sort of decorations. They run up to the bull and stab it in the same place. The decorations dangle off the bull for the rest of the "fight."

The matedor finally comes out and places his hat on the ground to dedicate the fight to someone. This part is really interesting bc he uses his cape to distract the bull.. and the bull just goes in circles around him following the cape. Bulls are colorblind.. so they're really only following the movement of the cape. After a few passes, the main bullfighter takes a sword and stabs him between the shoulder blades. Once he hits the right spot, the bull staggers and falls. It's pretty surreal.

The worst part of the CORRIDA is when they bring out horses to drag the bull away. It usually leaves streaks of blood.... My pictures are like a million times zoom... so I couldn't actually see all the blood... lol or else, i might have fainted.

DAY9&10

2010-04-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

DAY 9&10: ROMEEE!

It was basically a dream come true. I've been wanting to go to Vatican City since I saw a panoramic view book of Rome (junior year of high school). For me, Rome was a little bit too crowded. It was probably bc we were there the weekend of Easter Sunday. Rome is another one of those cities where it's mostly about checking off the list of famous sites: St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum.

Again, the weather and airport situation wasn't working in our favor. We got one beautiful day and the next day it rained. Since I had no more room in my backpack/carry on, I opted to buy a poncho. =) Don't judge me. We also found out that the airport we were leaving from closes from 12pm to 6am... so we couldn't sleep there. soooo (after our adventure from Pisa to Naples) we found a hostel near the station and fell asleep immediately (after some wine, of course)..

DAY 8

2010-04-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

DAY 8: Pompeii

Pretty much all i got for you is.. pictures! Pompeii is the place where Mt. Vesuvius blew up and preserved an entire city. mas o menos.

a plaster mold of someone who was caught in the eruption

DAY 7

2010-04-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

DAY 7: Naples

I was so happy to get to Naples. You have no idea. Basically we got to our sweeet-little hostel.. and fell asleep on their couches for three hours until our room was ready. He even put a blanket on us..

Needless to say, we were exhausted.. but we still decided to walk around Naples a little. We walked to the pier to take a ferry to Capri, but decided not to waste $30 for a round-trip boat ride when it was already 2pm. Basically, all I remember is that in Naples, I ate the BEST PIZZA i've ever had. (better than the one I had John's in New York).

Check it out. The menu said something with 8 toppings. LOOK AT IT! yummmmm. i'm drooling..

there was.. ricotta cheese, mushrooms, bell peppers, eggplant, sausage, ham, olives, and just cheeese

the oven that made our delicious pizza (we are such tourists lol)

DAY 5&6

2010-04-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

DAY 5: Cinque Terre

Each day had its own new set of adventures and scenaries. The views at Cinque Terre were probably the most beautiful. We went to the western coast of Italy to do a series of hikes. We hiked 4 trails between the 5 quaint towns: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. In the end, the hikes were totally worth it (we hiked for about 5 and 1/2 hours) and we were saved by the peanut butter (from vlfo and tiff from the states) and jelly sandwiches and pesto pizza.

Riomaggiore

Corniglia

the little bit of sun that decided to come out..

we should have known to turn around...

Of course, our vacation was running too smoothly.. so we hit our series of unfortanate adventures. On the last hike (the hardest one), we started off by climbing mountains and mountains of stairs. I thought of turning around after the first set of stairs, but I wanted to add Cinque Terre of my list of completed hikes. Anyway, it started to mist, and we were sort of relieved that the sun went away for a while bc we were starting to sweat... WELL, the mist turned into a light sprinkle.. which turned into a moderate rain...which eventually turned into a STORM. or well, i couldn´t even really see what was in front me bc there was always water hitting my face. one of the craziest moments of my life. we stopped on the side of a cliff and i was laughing.. and crying.. and i just didn´t really know what to do with myself. Anyway, we finished the last hike (the hardest one) in less than an hour and a half bc we were practically running (they suggest two hours). We were holding onto each other and inching on the side of a cliff.. and i wish i could say i was exagerrating..but, it was pretty bad. We were soaked from head to toe.. shivering on the train ride back. Ended the day with some delicious pesto pasta and a few glasses of wine. Unforgettable.

beautiful view from our balcony window. my camera makes everything look that much cooler!

DAY 6: Florence? Pisa? Naples?

So when we thought the horror was over.. we were wrong. (okay, not that bad)... but we took a train back to Florence bc we missed the museums on Monday bc they were all closed.. we waited THREE HOURS to get into the Uffitzi Museum (where the Birth of Venus and Spring - Botticelli are). It was nice to go inside... but I would have much rather paid the extra 2 euros to make reservations and get in at a specific time (or I wish I had skipped the museum altogether). We headed to Pisa to catch an overnight train to Naples. When we got there, the train we wanted to take was booked. We debated over a few options, but decided to suck it up and take the overnight train (even though we didnt have seats) since we doubted we´d find a room for four in Pisa with such late notice. It was a Harry Potter style train with cabins and everything! Only, since we didn´t actually have seats.. we were stuck in the hall. all night long. and it was cold. long long long long long long night.....oh, did i mention we didn´t even see the tower of Pisa....

After going to Venice and realizing when you walk out of the train station, you´re already at the Gran Canal. you´d think when you get to Pisa, the tower would be right in front of you. It turns out you have to take a bus there and back and they stop running at 8pm. With our complications, we didnt even get tickets until around 9pm... On the bright side, I was able to find asian ramen at a supermarket nearby. You´d never think you miss those sort of things...

DAY 3&4

2010-04-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Morocco!! (another place i want to go back to) and realized that I need to finish updating about Spring Break before I can blog about my other experiences. so here it goes..

DAY 3: Siena

We got a lot of recommendations to go to Siena.. and I'm not quite sure why.. It's a little medieval town outside of Florence where all the streets lead to the same plaza. An interesting fact.. the Crayola crayon color, "burnt siena" is named after the color of the brick in the Piazzo de Campo. Siena also had its own palace and duomo.

Got a chance to try a real espresso shot from the famous cafe, Nannini. When I get back, Starbucks just isn't going to cut it.

I've decided that one of the things that defined my trip to Italy was the amazing food. Everywhere! Hence, Siena did get a little better with our 1euro giant beers (and a view of the Tuscan countryside) and pistachio/creme brulee gelato.

DAY 4: Florence

Tons of history and artwork. Not much to say aside from that. It was a chill day to enjoy the city and finish the night by dancing to the music of Claudio Spaudi (the man that sings with his guitar every night on Ponte Vecchio).

replica of David - his hand was made really big bc it was originally supposed to be a statue on top of a building.

Statue of Perseus after he killed Medusa

small car!!!

ponte vecchio - where the love of my life sings every night.

DAY 2

2010-04-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Venice is just a really cute city.. and I loved it. We decided the first thing we wanted to do was get to the other islands. We only made it to Murano (where murano glass comes from), but when I go back I want to make sure I make it to Burano and Lido, for sure.

We spent the second half of the day wandering around the canals. Maps aren´t very useful in Venice bc the streets are all so small and windy. It was hard to for me to stay out of the shops (bc I was eyeing the jewelry and the masks that they use during Carnavale) so it took a while to explore the city. We went to St. Marks Square to run around with the pigeon, went inside the Basilica, and saw Doge´s palace (looks like the Venetian). Somehow we wandered to the Railto Bridge (one of the more famous on the Grand Canal) and enjoyed the random pizzerias we found along the way.

St. Mark's Square w/ the pigeons! (and a crowd of other tourists)

Doge's Palace (like the Venetian in Vegas)

Rialto Bridge

We are always on the go, so of course, we ran to the train station to catch our train to Florence. It was tough saying good-bye, but I know I´ll be back. Esp. since my trip was incomplete without a visit to the Hard Rock Cafe.

PRACTICA

2010-04-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

LOL this was a really awkward spanish class.. but it was pretty funnnny.

anyway, we´re practicing the subjunctive.. and desires.. so we got a worksheet about things that women complain about (when it comes to men).

Lo que ellas esperan de lo hombres. (what women expect from men)
1. que los hombres devuelvan las llamadas (return phone calls)
2. que sean más originales para terminar una relación (to be more original when they end relationships)
3. que si nos piden ´´su espacio,´´ también nos den el nuestro (you want space? give me mine)
4. que aprendan a escuchar (learn to listen)
5. que no intenen lucirse en el cuarto lleno de mujeres (stop trying to be so macho - only in a room full of women)
6. que no se toquen sus partes íntimas en lugares públicos (not to touch your ¨partes intimas¨ in public)
7. que sean originales a la hora de conquistar (conquistar means to flirt.. so, to be more original)
8. que mientan con más creatividad (be more creative)
9. que no subestimen la inteligencia femenina (not to underestimate the intelligence of women)
10. que no sean más rápidos que nosotras en la cama (not to be faster then women.. in bed..)
11. que acepten que conducimos mejor que ellos (to accept that women drive better than men .. questionable..)
12. que no nos comparen con sus madres (not compare us to your mothers)
13. que no las prefieran bobas y voluptuosas (to not go for idiots-ditsy-superficial girls) AMEN.
14. que dejen de tener fantasías sexuales sobre dos mujeres (to stop having sexual fantasies with two women)
15. que acaben con su miedo al compromiso (to stop being scared of compromise)
16. que dejen de ser autisas cuando ven deportes (to stop being ¨autistic¨ aka deaf when watching sports)
17. que no odien a nuestar mejor amiga (to not hate my best friend)
18. que no crean que su ex novia es la mujer más buena del mundo (to not believe your ex gf is the most beautiful in the world)
19, y finalmente, que no nos hagan llorar (and finally, to not make us cry)

hahhaha imagine talking about these things in class...

DAY 1 (Attempt to Update)

2010-04-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

So this week, I need to catch up on a lot of work before finals. I have a few essays due... ranging from 1 to 6 pages.. so I´m gonna get on that, but I also want to update about my trip. So hopefully, I can get a post-per day. Some things to look forward to reading about.. my entire 10 day trip to italy, the BULL FIGHT i went to, andddd i´m going to morocco this weekend. yeeee.

DAY 1: Milan

So the metro closes from 1:30am to 6:00am and of course, we book our flight to leave Madrid at 6:25. So instead of paying for a taxi in the middle of the night, we took metro around 12:30 and spent the night in the airport drinking calimochos (red wine and coca cola). not a bad combination.

Anyway, the only thing I saw in Milan, was the train station and McDonalds. It was overcast and starting to sprinkle..so we decided to just find food and a train to Venice. Apparently, there´s a beautiful church and the fresco, ¨The Last Supper¨.. but, other that that I can´t say I really missed out too much. esp since i can only window shop in this famous fashion capital.

looks like Grand Central Station

For some reason, I didn´t realize that Venice is the city filled with canals. So, I was warmly welcomed by a huge canal immediately after we walked out of the train station. AMAZING. We walked around admiring the beautiful masks and murano glass on a mission to find a recommended restaurant. We got a distracted.. and took a GONDOLA RIDE! he dropped the price from 20euros to 10euros... so we got suckered into it. It was the best way to start the trip though!

i was really excited, okay?

my point of view.

For dinner, I wanted a lasagna or meatballs.. but instead, I tried squid-ink pasta. =) and after our first restaurant.. we realized.. we should never eat the bread. The basket was 7.50euros.. (almost the price of my meal).

Antropologia de Danza Oriental

2010-04-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

CRAZY stuff.

if you can read spanish. here´s the syllabus: DANZA

sooo i find out that the one girl who was going to take it with me.. felt sick today. so i went alone. all she did was tell me that the classroom is near the cafeteria. aka. i had to go underneath the cafeteria to find a bunch of people sitting in the hallway..

i'm glad i'm in the class.. even though i can only understand about 80% of whats going on. my teacher is super animated and excited about dance. i think she's from Brazil, but has been all over to study dance. She really likes.. Indian? dance and likes to talk about the movement of the hips.

Needless to say, I learned a lot in the 2 1/2 hours.

Thankfully, I was walking behind two girls in my class and I found out they speak English.. and they've been learning English since they were 3. All their econ classes are in English. Anyway, they were able to sort of clarify the details of the final...

Not the best news I've ever gotten... I understood that for the final we have to write a paper and do something else additionally. I assumed it was just in front of her. They told me it was in front of the entire class.. soooo i'll be dancing awkwardly as my final project. can't wait.

BURN BURN BURN.

2010-04-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

Italy was amazinggggggg. can't wait to go back. i have some funny stories to tell.. (that weren't so funny at the time..) however, those will come later bc i forgot to update about Valencia and las Fallas.

Paella originated from Valencia so our goal was to order one of those giant pans to share.. Well, our first mistake was to look for paella for dinner.. Usually, the custom in Spain is to eat a huge/late lunch and then a smaller late dinner.. which means, we should have been searching for paella at 2 or 3 pm.. anyway, we toured the city around 6pm looking for paella and only found one shop that was sort of selling it on the street. We passed it up and instead we found a cuban fusion restaurant and decided to give up and eat there. It was the best mistake we ever made. We ordered this HUGE rice dish.. and almost died bc we were so deliriously full. We tried some interesting appetizers too. Basically, I was really happy.

PULPO A LA GALLEGA (OCTOPUS)

CALAMAR A LA PLANCHA (GRILLED.. CALAMARI..)

BOQUERONES Y ACEITUNAS (ANCHOVIES AND OLIVES)

ARROZ (with i have no idea what.. we couldn't finish it with 5 starving girls...)

I went a little picture happy (so you can check my shutterfly if you want to see more pictures), but I thought the statues were all really cool. There was basically one on every corner. They're called "fallas." Since usually "fuego" means fire.. my theory is that "fallas" also means fire.. but, in the language/dialect they speak in Valencia. Anyway, they spend the entire year building these things and on the day of the festival.. they burn them all down. It's ridiculous.

We got lost a few times during the day, but there were soo many of them that we rarely saw the same falla twice. At around 11pm we got to see two or three burn down. They call it "la crema." There are firemen waiting at every corner and they even hose down some of the buildings to make sure they don't catch on fire. For each falla, they start with a bunch of fireworks and then torch the entire statue. It's crazy. There are barriers... that don't stop the fire from coming towards you.. lol at one point, we were running away from it.. as it was falling. and the sunglasses were intended to stop the ashes.... we didn't really factor in the fire part...

you can see the firecrackers and fireworks they set off.

the inside structure, burning away

Oh yeah, I felt like I had terrets? or w/e it's called.. bc firecrackers were going off non-stop! worse than Chinese New Years...

not too shabby

2010-03-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

Guess I´m starting to blend in =)

one woman just asked me where the bathrooms were, which i didn´t know. so i just said sorry..lol
(which is probably better bc i´m not sure how i would have explained it)

AND

i just helped a girl print her hw. and before she left she said thank you and bye.

yeeeee.

ITALY SOON!!!! (after finishing up all my work. gah)

Spanglish

2010-03-23T02:47:00.000-07:00

When I get home.... I´m not going to be able to speak English correctly. I´ve realized that this blog is the most I ever write in English and I don´t even update it very often. Sometimes when I´m writing, my sentences come out backwards. It´s not good.

It takes me a few paragraphs to realize that I´m reading in English.. and sometimes the documentaries in English don´t even make sense to me. Also, not good.

Yesterday, we were talking about transportation..and in my head I was thinking about ¨viajes del tren,¨ which is translated to train trips. fml. it sounds weird, but it took me a few minutes to realize i meant train RIDES...and the other day, I was telling my friend that the restaurant is ¨cerca¨ to...(aka it´s close to)

Practicad (vos command) tu castellaño para hablar conmigo.

Also, I´m up early (at school at 10:45am), bc I was supposed to have a 2 hr class from 10-12. It got cancelled.. so today, I only have class from 1-230 and 5-6. Pretty awesome, but it also means I could have slept in. a lot.

Barcelona Nightlife

2010-03-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing I'm not studying in Barcelona.. bc then, I would never be studying. The nightlife is ridiculous!

Highlights of the trip:

LAS EXTRANJERAS: (nice way of saying foreigners)

thanks to Veronica&Tiff for coming to visit me!!

EL GATO NEGRO: CHUPITOS BAR

Coolest place I've ever been. The menu of shots is ridiculous.. and the funniest part is you don't know what you're ordering until you get your drinks. I would avoid things like black widow and titty twister, but that's your call.

A few of my favorites were:

#1 Harry Potter: has some patron (patronus.. haha..) etc. etc. and the bartender lit in on fire!

WATCH IT LIGHT ON FIREEE seriously, it's only 16 seconds.

#2 the "stupid shot"

connect three straws, put the chupito over your head.. and drink it (as she demonstrated).

#3 Willy Wonka

some chocolate heaven.. that came with whipped cream and a piece of chocolate

SAMOSAS!!

Smartest businessmen ever. Samosas are the best late night food.

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Thanks for taking us around Louis

As much as I loved Barcelona, and want to go back, I'm still glad I chose to study in Madrid. I think I'd be overwhelmed by the Catalan pride and language. Everything is written in Catalan instead of Spanish, which is still hard for me to believe and understand. It's an amazing place to vacation, but not so much if you wanna practice Spanish. I also heard a lot of English on my trip to BCN - more than I normally hear in Madrid. It's just a totally different culture. Through EAP, it has its pros/cons.. The university is right in the middle of the city and everything is in walking distance, but you have to find your own apartment, which means I wouldn't have a senora! =( Anyway, these past two weekends (that I've stayed in Madrid), have made me realize how much I love Madrid. ME ENCANTA.

Now, I'm feeling sort of bittersweet about my study abroad time.. bc I'll be home in exactly TWO MONTHS. Mostly, I can't decide if I'm excited to go home or sad to leave Spain. I could make a list of things I miss about the states.. and I'm getting a little homesick (which is why i keep myself so busy). I also wonder if anything will be different when I get back. We shall see.

Barcelona (Part II)

2010-03-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

BCN wouldn't be as cool without Antoni Gaudi.

that's pretty much all i have to say. we all saved up our money to see his famous architecture (the first house we went into was 14 euros!). so all i'm going to do is post pictures...

Casa Batllo

supposed to look like a tornado.. he did a good job.

beautiful and functional (they're chimneys)

rooftop

Casa Mila (La Pedrera)

i'm not really sure what that is.. or where veronica went..

the most photographed chimneys in the world

La Sagrada Familia (still being built)

Park Guell

isn't it pretty?!

we were sitting on top of this.. that's why it's all curvy

one of the decorated tiles on the roof

the end of a successful day =)

Barcelona (Part I)

2010-03-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

was an adventure (to say the least)

it all started when we thought staying at the airport overnight was a good idea. we saved 10euros each, but i'm pretty sure we only got 3 hours of sleep, maybe? (including the 1 hour flight) but, it's okay.. bc we're troopers. and at least we found out there's a McDonalds with comfy chairs that we can sleep in next time (aka for our 6am flight to Milan)..

our first day was our adventure down LAS RAMBLAS, which is a famous street in Barcelona known for it's street vendors/performers and LA BOQUERIA. La Boqueria is amaaaaazing. I've never seen so much fresh fruit in one market in my lifeee! There were fresh fruit smoothies for 1 euro.. yum yum yummm.

I've realized that a lot of things they do in Spain, would never fly in the US. Right now, I'm referring to the street vendors with CAGES of animals.. There were like 20 hamsters in one cage.. and tanks with turtles.. We saw a ferret! I'm pretty sure it's just all kinds of illegal.

During the day we explored the older part of the city and ended up at the beach! Being in Madrid for so long makes me miss the coast.. However, the most memorable part of the view of the Mediterranean Sea would have to be the two naked guys we saw. Once they started walking in our direction... it was time to go.. not a pretty sight.

But our day immediately got better when we met up with Louis! We ate at la CHAMPAGNERIA which is famous for it's CAVA (pink champaign) and the hamburgers were soooooo good. I never thought I'd miss hamburgers.. but omg. I think the pickles, ketchup, and mustard made it taste like heaven. The place was so packed.. that I didn't even take pictures. It was ridiculous. I love hole-in-the-wall restaurants...

Last, but not least, we saw the water/light show at FONT MAGICA. and solved the mystery of where Veronica and Tiffany were located...

Taste of Spain

2010-03-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

when this song comes on at the clubs.. everyone gets excited: Wiki Wiki

i'm starting to like techno.. i could totally be a stage dancer here. @duom

i also heard things song in a candle shop and thought it was really catchy: El Profe Miranda

btw, i have OCD.. so i´m going to re-organize my blog after i get back from semana santa.. so the order will change soon

Granada

2010-03-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

since i've been slacking... and i'm leaving for italy in a few days.. i'm trying to update about all my little viajes in the next few days...

so on the same weekend we went to Cordoba, we also went to Granada.

Granada was another beaauuuuutiful city. The most striking thing was the ALHAMBRA, which i've finally learned is the arabic word for castle. In their culture, the architecture is way different because they put all the artwork and structural detail on the inside. Our guide told us it's bc it's more special for those who actually get to see it (royalty& aristocracy). The details on the walls are amaaaazing. There's also tons of water/fountains inside bc in the Southern Spain (Andalucia), there wasn't much water. If you ever wondered why an oasis is considered paradise, it's bc water represents luxury.

SQUARE not-so-fancy outside

round inside! here's all the UC kids =)

The walls inside. It means, "God is the only winner."

me&anto

If you're not into history, I'd stop reading here. But, one of the really cool things about the Alhambra is that it's at the very top of the hill. Perfect for a castle, right? Anyway, the king could always look down into the city and see what was going on. He even had windows that he could look out, that nobody could see into. Granada was a medieval city, so in the city below the castle the streets are arranged like a maze. When intruders tried to attack, the citizens had a huge advantage bc they could easily navigate the streets. Here's the view:

Another interesting fact.. the reason why Spaniards drink in the streets and eat so much jamon is because during the Inquisition everyone wanted to prove they were Christian. and in certain other religions (i forgot which..) they aren't allowed to drink alcohol or eat pork. so everyone would celebrate and openly "prove" they were Christian. aka i'm going to have to BOTELLON (drink in the streets) - FYI. tall plastic cups are the new red cups...

also, since i'm low on money.. i didn't exactly get to see the tombs of FERDINAND II and ISABELLA I (the king and queen that sent Columbus on his journey to find America), but i took a picture of the outside.. lol

hopefully, it wasn't too impressive....

Cordoba

2010-03-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I went to Cordoba and Granda and both cities were beautiful and packed with history. (I look really sloppy in my pictures...bc i barely made it to the bus on time...)

Anyway, in Cordoba, we stayed in the old part of town near the MEZQUITA. The history behind the city is the transformation from religion, to religion, to religion. (I sorta got lost between the specific groups..) After the inquisition, the Catholics/Christians? came in and instead of tearing the mosque down, they decided to build the cathedral inside. It's pretty amazing. I sorta forgot what the arches symbolize.. but they look really cool! If you look closely.. some of them are painted (bc they got lazy).

(can you see how the ones in the back are painted?)

(the ceiling of the church that was built inside the mosque)

As we took a tour of the city, we walked down the famous CALLE DE LAS FLORES (which will probably look a lot cooler in the spring/summer), but it was perfect when we walked down because one of the stores was playing flamenco music and it really felt like Spain.

We tried some of the typical food there.. and I can say it was alright. We tried SALMOREJO, which is a reddish-cold soup. It was thicker than gazpacho and has mostly tomatoes and olive oil. We also had FLAMENQUINES, which is some type of meat and ham rolled up and deep fried. Usually it's served with mayonnaise and can be served at 40cm long! We also had BERENJENAS con MIEL. They deep fry pieces of eggplant and give you thick honey to dip them in. yummmmm.

salmorejo

flamenquines

berenjenas con miel

Epiphany

2010-03-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Today, I just had one of those moments where I realize how much I love it here. I know I've been meaning to update about my other weekend travels.. but, just thought I'd share my other experiences. i realized how coool it is to be in SPAIN as i was watching the sunset from the 9th floor of Cortes Ingles drinking a cafe con leche. =)

Last night, I went to a random performance. It was at COLEGIO MAYOR SAN JUAN EVANGELISTA and it was this small intimate theater. The stage was filled with pinwheels and I should have known it was going be strange from the beginning.

Anyway, the play was called LA MALA HIERBA and I can't really tell you what it was about bc i had no idea what was going on.... I think what happened was there was one crazy lady.... who hired this man to kill her husband... then poisoned that man (buried them both in her garden of pinwheels aka the hierbas) and then accidentally poisoned her neighbor (who was an annoying old woman in a wheel chair).. and then poisoned herself.. (after trying to marry her fake husband that was made of vegetables).... hahahah clearly, i need to practice my spanish more..

I did, however, start an intercambio with this girl at school. So I only talked to her in Spanish for 30 minutes... and she understood most of what i was saying =) This other guy emailed me about meeting up to practice english/spanish.. but I'm sorta sketched out bc he already graduated from my school.. and is doing grad school and is 27! sooo i'm only chatting with him.. and don't plan on actually meeting up... (probably safer)

the funny story of the week is..... my senora has a neighbor that's my age that knows a little bit of english and he wants to practice speaking too. he injured his leg (or something, not really sure if understood) and can't leave his house...but, i'm supposed to meet up with him soon. anyway, she leaves one day and tells me to answer the phone just in case it's him. soooooo i do.

me: hola
lady: maytae (short for Maria Teresa) esta alli?
me: no, ella no esta aqui. pero, si quieras, puedo sacar un mensaje.
lady: oh something something. doy una vuelta.. hasta luego..

i think i said.. "if you want, i can throw away a message".. i meant tomar (to take).. =/ and i figured out that i should have said, "puedes dejar un mensaje." and with my luck, he didn't even end up calling bc there was a Real Madrid vs. France soccer game. fail fail fail.

Clubbing in Spain

2010-03-08T10:26:00.001-08:00

Still to come (Cordoba/Granada and Barcelona)...

but until then, i thought this was hilarious. and reminds me of the party-scene in Madrid bc I always hear techno/house (if it's not american music)

Resolved Question on Yahoo:

VERY POPULAR Techno Song?? HELP!!! They play it in clubs?!
"I ALWAYS hear this song on the radio or when I'm up in the club but I can't find what it's called...its all beats one part of the song is like this

k well it will get real low then slowly start picking back up and it will go faster as it does

dun dun dun dun
dun dun dun dun
err
dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun
dundundundundundundundundundun
er er er er er er er ER ER ER ER ER ER ER der der der der derrr

i'm sorry if this is really bad information but i'm sure if you think of REALLY popular techno/rave songs you could help!! thanks!!"

......... are you serious?

bonus points if you know what song it is.. there's actually an answer.

Tarea

2010-03-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

went to Cordoba and Granada this weekend. (i took almost 400 photos....)

but other than that, don't be expecting a blog from me anytime soon. too much hw to do before i go to Barcelona this weekend and finally get to see VERONICA&TIFFANY!

i have a 4 page paper about my "excursion" to Segovia, a brainstorm for my story, and a brochure of what to do in madrid.....

hasta luego

(PS, i had an amazingggggg birthday)

Ole! (I LOVE my camera)

2010-02-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

the flamenco show we saw in Cordoba. <3 <3 <3

My 21st Abroad

2010-02-25T16:01:00.000-08:00

Even though I wasn't really looking forward to turning 21so far away from all the people I love, I have to say it was a pretty epic night. I have to admit, it was pretty cool celebrating here (even though drinking age is 18 and they serve beer at school and at McDonalds..)

Anyway, started off the day with a long day of class and a Spanish test, but it was still a good day.. esp because i finally got some indian food. =) my friends took me out for lunch in the ethnic (semi-sketchy) area of LAVAPIES. when we asked for spicy.. it was actually spicy. heaveeeeen. the funny part was after lunch, the waiter came to our table with complimentary alcohol..? it was green.. and he said there were HERBS in it. anywayyyy, my first shot as a 21-year old!

Lunch was only the beginning of the day. We decided to finally enjoy the night as madrilenos. Left the house around 11pm. Went to a bar. Headed to the 7-story club, el Kapital, at 1am. It was really cooooooool. but, 7 stories means 7 lounges w/ diff types of music and not 7 levels of dance floors. Danced for the entire night. Left the club around 5:30am to stuff our faces with chocolate con churros at a random cart in front of the train station. Got on metro when it opened at 6am and was in bed by 6:30am.

The BEST part of the story.. was I had to be on a bus at 8am.... but my alarm wasn't set...so my senora comes to the rescue at 8am. (My friend, Antoinette, left her stuff here the night before so she wouldn't have to go all the way home.) So I jump out of bad, grab my stuff, and run out of the house. No time to change, grab my lunch, or contracts... but we make it to the bus by 8:15am..oh, btw, i ran there in my mini-skirt i was wearing the night before.. and vans.

=) thanks guys. [pic credits to Vanita and Ashley]

The longest day of my life.

2010-02-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

So my trip to Segovia was..... interesting. I thought we were going to spend most of our day admiring the aqueduct and the alcazar.. I was wrong. I saw a whole different side of Spain (that I don´t need to see again, mostly bc it was such bad weather).

Our teacher warned us that it would be cold and he told us we should pack extra socks and wear decent shoes, but I didn´t think that we were going to FREEZE. my feet were so cold, i couldn't feel my toes...

Anyway, our itinerary ended up being (9am to 9pm):
MOUNTAIN-Y LANDSCAPE
SKI RESORT
"PICNIC LUNCH" + HIKE through the forest
NARNIA
and finally, SEGOVIA

so, we thought we had it bad at our first stop when we pulled up to a "look-out point..." the bus pulled over on the side of the road, we got out and walked onto some rocks. it was so cold that the puddles of water had thin sheets of ice floating in them... out teachers ended up talking for 30 minutes about the flora y fauna, blah, blah..

so we get back on the bus and continue to drive uphill. i start ignoring what my teachers are saying bc there is gradually more and more snow... and then, all i see is WHITE. fml. then, we stopped to get food (another cafe con leche for me)... at DOS CASTILLAS, a SKI RESORT. we walked in the snow for about 10 minutes, stopped at the bottom of a SKI LIFT, they talked for another 20 minutes (as we listened to kids laugh and play in the snow), and finally we all walked back to the bus. i looked like a fool, but that beanie saved my life.

of course, it doesn't end there... we drove back down the mountain about 10 minutes and our professors tell us that we are going to have a picnic. we look outside and the benches are covered in SNOW. AND we're not allowed to eat on the bus. sooooo we get off... and the bus drives away. x___x

anyway, we explore a little. aka. we take a THIRTY minute hike through the woods... and at the end of our adventure, our bus was waiting for us. THANK GOD. we continue to the PROVINCE of Segovia. and end up at LOS JARDINES DE LA GRANJA, or better known as Narnia, or, if you prefer, the Secret Garden. It was a summer home for LOS REYES CATOLICOS, and probably other famous royalty. Its design is based on the gardens and fountains in Versailles.

Then, we finally made it to Segovia! At first I wasn't too impressed by the aqueduct (mostly bc i was already exhausted). However, since it was built by the Romans and has been there for centuries, so I've changed my mind and decided it's actually pretty awesome. There's nothing holding it together (no cement) and it was made using some sort of cranes (you can see the little holes they used to pick each block up). The cathedral was pretty (from the outside) and the ALCAZAR, or Disneyland was also amazing (from the outside).

I'm still deciding whether I want to go back to Segovia. I'll probably be too lazy..

Tomorrow is my one month anniversary.

2010-02-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

I've been here for about a month and looking back I'm already amazed by how much stuff I've seen/done. My 21st is next week and I feel like it's weird to celebrate it here since you're allowed to drink at 18.. in fact, at school, they sell beer during lunch.

A few things I've noticed/miss (aside from my FRIENDS and FAMILY):
1. People only eat at restaurants, cafeterias, or outside.. I never see people eating on bus, metro, and NEVER in school. We're not even allowed to eat in the hallways. aka, i still haven't figured out when/where I can eat. Hence, I think I gained 2 lbs and already lost it.
2. SPICY FOOD. i would kill for some thai/korean/mexican food right about now. She makes spaghetti.. and I put hot sauce in it. I feel sorta guilty... like it seems like I don't like her food or something, but I just want some spice. I think on Thursday I'm gonna treat myself to some Indian food. chicken tikka masala. drool.
3. noodles and sushi. too bad phomenow and nudesushi can't deliver halfway across the world.

however, i am LOVING:
1. class from 4-6 on wednesdays and no class on friday.
2. my senora! she always serves a variety of food (i thought i would be eating meat a lot like in Argentina. i'm so spoiled, i get fruit and DESSERT everyday) and she puts up with my broken spanish..
3. hearing spanish everywhere. sometimes i just like to listen to other people
4. getting tapas with your drinks. free food!
5. traveling every weekend (even though i eat crackers for lunch to save money)

and it just got better! there's this program called Intercambio and basically you pair up with a spanish student and they practice english with me and i practice spanish with them. my friend hooked it up with a pretty good-looking guy. hopefully he has friends =) as my cuento teacher said, "The best way to learn the language is to fall in love."

Wish me luck!

In just 3 easy steps..

2010-02-17T15:38:00.000-08:00

lots of posts today bc i'm procrastinating... i have to read two spanish plays: FUENTEOVEJUNA and LA VIDA ES SUENO. anyway, since it's hard to understand and focus, i've been reading summaries and this advertisement was NEXT to my summary.

CLIPS PRIVADOS (no vulgar pictures, don't worry)

Basically, it says in 3 easy steps you can make money by making porn videos.

1. make the video (they suggest you can use a webcam x____x).

2. upload it on this website.

3. make money every time someone watches it. EASY, RIGHT?

WTF. oh, spain.

these would never fly in the US either.

Everything is possible in a hotel room..... Click on the picture if you want to make it bigger.

"Room-mate Hotel"

.......

Semana Santa (Spring Break!)

2010-02-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

So, my Spring Break is March 26-April 5... and if you didn't know, I'm going to ITALY!

3/26 Milan

3/27 Venice

3/28-3/31 Florence (day trips to Piza, Siena, Orvieto, Volterra - yes, its supposed to look like the scenes in Twlight)

4/1 Pompeii

4/2 Naples (ferry to Capri)

4/3-4/5 Rome

I could really use a break from the rainy/dreary/miserable weather right now...I'm looking forward to CAPRI!

(hope you're not too jealous.. hehe) i'm gonna be so broke it's not even funny. we're taking a train overnight and sleeping in the airport one night so we can save money. oh, and veronica is bringing me peanut butter bc that's all i'm going to eat. maybe some granola?

A Bailar. A Bailar. A Bailar.

2010-02-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

FLAMENCO PART 1
the super intense, passionate flamenco

FLAMENCO PART 2
sevillanas (like what we learned in high school!)

Sevilla

2010-02-16T18:55:00.001-08:00

SEVILLA is my new favorite city in Spain. There was something about the old-town feel and architecture that made the visit pretty amazing. It was a short walk into the main part of town, but we were located right next to a HUGE cathedral (which are starting to all look the same to me) and REAL ALCAZAR. We didn't get to do much bc we came in from Cadiz around 3pm, but instead we went to a flamenco show. I left my camera in Madrid (for security reasons), so I didn't get any pictures.. but I have some videos that I will try to post tomorrow. They put our high school sevillanas to shame.

Anyway, we didn't get to go inside la CATEDRAL DE SANTA LUISA bc Sunday was a religious holiday and the worse thing is I came home, re-read my guidebook, and learned that Christopher Columbus' tomb is inside. FAIL. but, at least we got into REAL ALCAZAR for free bc we're students. I think it was the prettiest castle I've seen so far. We stood in the chapel were Ferdinand and Isabel were married. pretty awesome.

I didn't really feel like walking (after exploring Cadiz a little too much), but I'm glad we hit up the big landmarks. PLAZA ESPANA was beautiful. I expected a bronze statue or something, but it was really cool. There are ceramic tiles paintings of all the major cities/areas of Spain. I gave in and bought myself a flamenco fan.. and almost bought the castanuelas too...

Last, but not least, we went to PLAZA DE TOROS A LA MAESTRANZA. Basically, the 2nd oldest bullring in Spain. The tour was in Spanish and then she repeated herself in English. I tried to understand her in Spanish first and then reconfirm what she said when she said it in English. The only time it didn't work when she was explaining how bull fights are judged.

It's a pretty cruel sport. Each fight takes about 25 minutes. There's a bunch of different things they do to mess with and tease the bull for the first 20 and then the matador comes out to kill it. Depending on his style and precision, the crowd and president? decides what level of award he will receive. So, the matador can receive up the 3 TROFEOS (trophies). THREE, means a perfect show and the chance to walk out the "Puerta del Principe." It's so hard to win 3 that nobody received it last year. Anyway, it's a huge sign of honor and respect.

The crazy part is the TROFEOS are:

1 trofeo - the matador will receive 1 ear

2 trofeos - the matador will recieve both ears

3 trofeos - the matador gets both ears and the tail

fun fact: the bull's tail (RABO DE TORO) is a delicacy and they serve it as a tapa!

Now you can see why i had no idea what she was saying in Spanish bc the whole sport literally doesn't make sense.

Me encantais.

2010-02-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

The best part about traveling is picking up new words from the locals. the phrase of this weekend was, "me encantais." It's funny/creepy when you hear it from strangers, pues, vale. me encantais. =)

Our first stop was CADIZ. We should have been crazy college students and stayed up all night to party FOR CARNAVAL without anywhere to sleep, but instead, we arrived on Friday (a day early) and missed most of the festivities bc we didn't want to pay outrageous prices for a hotel on Saturday. It's okay though, probably would have passed out on a street somewhere anyway. Better safe then sorry.. We still dressed up as gypsies though and plan on reusing the costume for this weekend (close of carnaval) and halloween, maybe?

Anyway, we arrived in CADIZ around 7am and pretty much toured the entire city. We got lost a few times, but learned our landmarks quickly. As in, "there's that cool door we saw," "i remember that tanning salon," "OH, the church!" but hey, whatever works. Most fascinating thing was el CENTRO MERCADO. tons of fresh fruit, meat, seafood, and snails.... Our vacations seems to always revolve around food, but we've learned to eat on a budget, so we just bought bread, SALCHICA, y cheese. We were pretty much deprived of hot meals for the entire weekend (except for our weakness for CAFE CON LECHE, of course).

not really sure what the stuff on the right is.. but, it was moving

sea urchins!

everything is so FRESH.....

look at the GIANT green beans.

EW. i would never try another snail.

and all i could afford was my 1.30 cafe con leche

tips for when you go to CADIZ:

1. avoid rainy days, so you can enjoy the beach =/

2. no need to see the castles, they're sort of disappointing (unless you like sitting and watching a strange light show in the art gallery for 20 minutes, which we did bc we were so tired)

3. the TORRE (tower w scenic view) is hard to find and not that tall.. didn't want to pay to see the view so who knows if it's worthwhile

Out&About

2010-02-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

It's Thursday again and I'm packed for CADIZ y SEVILLA! We're taking another overnight bus, so wish me luck. I hope I sleep like a baby.

Anyway, classes are going well also. We have a substitute for one of my lit classes and she KILLS me. I'm so bored and she talks to fast I can barely understand her. Today, we did the strangest thing. She made us all get up and stand around the room while one student read a monologue and walked around the classroom. She told us that every 5-10 seconds we have to turn around and not pay attention to anything the student said... WEIRD. the funny part was the teacher was soooooo into it (like calculating exactly when she would turn around), but we were just standing. AND at first she told us we needed to move the desks out of the way to do this.... so my friends broke a desk.

she's crazy, i swear.

Reasons to have Spanish babies.

2010-02-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

another cutie in Sevilla.. (photo quality not as good, didn't want to bring my better camera)

Parents better beware, bc i might kidnap your kids....
THEY'RE SO CUTE!!

BUT, not all of them... (just thought these pictures were really funny.... i love my stalker camera)

so so so entertaining. i'm pretty sure he was throwing around a toy car, picking it up, and balancing it on his head. most importantly, i think he has a mullet. i think he was neglected as a toddler.

notice the girl on the left. HAHAHA "are you talking to me?"

VU&CAREN, that was for you.

San Sebastian (capital of amazing food)

2010-02-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

spent forever in SAN SEBASTIAN, but it was really relaxing.. the beach was beautiful (i was tempted to try surfing again) and the food was to die for. i wish i could bring it back for you guys. anyway, all trips have their ups&downs. so i'll start with the worst.

not so great:
1. we decided to overnight it to save money/time. so we got to San Sebastian at 6am...and i didn't sleep really well on the bus..however, we were awake to see the sunrise (even though we were at the wrong beach..) still a cool view though.

2. my first hostel experience. overall, okay. the negative is we had noisy roommates that checked in at 4am the first night. good thing, i sleep like a rock.

so-so:
1. BILBAO - a rainy day.. =/ The Guggenheim Museum was pretty cool from the outside, but it was currently about FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.. from the US..so not so special. It did have this really cool iron artwork that we walked through called LA MATERIA DEL TIEMPO. (these are not my pictures)

For lunch, this pizza place had some BOMB nachos. it was chips baked in mozzarella cheese, fresh out of the oven. At the end of the day, we walked across town to see the bull-fighting ring, which was closed, so i only saw it through the window... We decided to practically run back to catch the bus back to San Sebastian.. but we missed it by a few minutes. Hence, we found another PASTELERIA. I tried a dessert made with rice.. It looked like a Chinese egg custard and it wasn't too bad. I'm not sure i would go back to Bilbao. I think once is enough for me.

AMAZING:
1. the food, food, food!! i had the best tapas so far in San Sebastian. They call them PINXTOS (pin-chos) instead. I had fried fish and calamari, goat cheese in a pastry, a king crab tart, artichoke sandwich... i tried la OREJA de CERDO. (look it up lol) it was crispy, but sorta fatty.. don't think i'll order it again, but it wasn't bad. and we had the BEST TORTILLA ever! it's only made at 1pm and 8pm at NESTORS BAR. we were talking to the guy and the bar was featured in a lonely planet magazine for a 3 page spread.

2. took the tram to the top of a mountain. they called it a FUNICULAR. lol fun word. anyway, view was worth the pay and sketchy ride.

3. hiked up a different mountain.. the view was breathtakingggggg. loved it. my pictures are so awesome. LOVE LOVE LOVE the camera btw. =)

4. even though the weather was overcast. we came on the weekend of two festivals. saturday night, everyone was dressed up as gypsies and they had performances and everything. sunday afternoon, they were dressed up in country clothing.. if you want to see what i'm talking about.. check out the youtube: CALDEREROS

Mi Casa

2010-02-08T04:08:00.000-08:00

it´s been about 3 weeks since i´ve been here.. and i feel like i have a new home

had fun in san sebastian and got some amaaaaaazing photos of my trip. but, i couldn´t wait to get back to madrid and sleep in my bed.

home is alameda, berkeley, and now, madrid.

Oh, spanish boys.

2010-02-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

as I was on the way home from school on the train, i had a good laugh with Vanita about an encounter from last night.

So first of all, I wore my new boots, and i pretty much can't walk quickly in heels. aka there was no escape.

anyway, as we were walking to the metro and out of a bar, these guys start smiling/trying to talk to us and we try to walk away fast.. but, as i mentioned, i couldn't really walk any faster. lol so we get inside and we're on the escalator to get onto the right train and one of them stops in front of me, turns around to face me:

him: what's your name? (smiling, of course)
me: uhhh.. no. (FAIL)
him: do you speak english?
me: yeah... do you speak english?
*end of escalator ride*
him: you are very beautiful, ciao!
me: ciao...

HAHAHAHA *awkward* now that i look back. that was a pretty dumb response. i was pretty flustered and didn't want to meet a guy in a metro station... at first i was wondering why he asked me if i spoke english, but looking back. it all makes sense...

and he was pretty cute too, SIGH.

The weekend has started!

2010-02-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

Thursday is the new Friday.

anyway, i'm just trying to get all my homework done before i leave. just gotta write about some poems. here's a a few things before i depart to san sebastian this weekend (hoping there's no rain!!!)

so i'm starting to actually really like my classes. well, i mean... the content is pretty interesting. my teachers are all fairly animated. and the work load is fair. it varies from class to class.. i either have a lot of reading or nothing due for 2 weeks.

in my spanish class, to review how to say things like, "do you want to go to the movies?" we've been practicing with real places in Madrid. so i learned that CHUECA is the gay district and LAVAPIES is the multicultural district. aka where i can get my fix for spicy food.

for my cuento class, even though i don't really understand the stories, our first assignment is to write a short story using the first-person. sounds lame, but the scenario is.. i'm a 70 year-old, middle-class man who is justifying the murder of my wife because she makes too much noise while i'm trying to sleep. hahah should be kinda fun..

journalism is super chill. we're making a blog about food (go figure) and it's worth 1/2 my grade. if you want to see it (there's not much right now), click here: LOSCALIS

not gonna lie, haven't done much in my environment class. just learned about mountains and different kinds of rocks... thrilling, i know. but i actually did learn that on one of the canary islands, there is a volcano.

finally, we're doing poetry in my other lit class. not into the whole syllable counting things, but the theme of love is fun. so romantic... guess i have to find a lover in Spain, move here, and live in a mansion. well, you know, that's the plan. =)

hasta luego, leaving at 11pm. won't be back til late, late, late sunday night.

Escorial and Toledo

2010-02-03T03:11:00.000-08:00

anyway, on friday, we went to see REAL MONASTERIO DE EL ESCORIAL. (wonder why it's not "del"). i totally wasn't ready for the weather and it was suuuuuuuuuuper cold. we were all freezing bc the wind was so persistent. the train stop was by a small town. so small that we walked around in a circle about 3 times deciding what we wanted to eat. we settled on sandwiches at a cafe. apparently it's pretty common for them to put an egg in the middle.. so it gets messy, but still pretty good. tip: if your sandwich comes on a plate, you're probably supposed to eat it with a fork and a knife. also we had this appetizer with mini-pickles and olives. not a big fan of olives, but the combination was really good!

tuna, vegetables, and egg sandwich

pickles and olives

eventually, after grubbing we walked up towards the monastery, which looks like a castle to me.. (when we asked donde esta el castillo, the park ranger was adamant about the fact that that it is NOT a castle..) anyway, the inside was pretty cool (again, not allowed to take pictures) but, they had an awesome library with texts from the 15th-16th centuries, a huge church, Felipe II's old wheelchair-thing, etc. the craziest part was entering the pantheon. anyway, it's where the kings and queens of the Bourbon dynasty are buried.. in these HUGE marble caskets. it was pretty chilling. there were also a bunch of tombs for the royal family, esp. children, that have died. the place was massive, but we couldn't really tell bc we were too close to it and only walked around 1/4 of it. on the way home, this crazy/drunk guy (who also touched my hair. GROSS.) got arrested for running across the train track while the train was coming... interesting way to end the day..

the big dome was where the church was

here's a view from the top that i found on-line

the next day we went to TOLEDO. an amazing city of cobblestone and history. at one point it was the capital of Madrid and probably housed the most diverse group of people (jews, muslims, and christians). we walked around the town and almost got run over a few times. the streets are so narrow, you wouldn't think a car would drive through.. but then you hear an engine and have to either run to an "open" area or flatten yourself along the wall. we took a train around to see the outside of the city and spent the day walking up and down the hills. it was like i was back in berkeley. lol we had a field day taking pictures by the fortress walls, tiny streets, and especially el PUENTE DE SAN MARTIN. another exhausting day, but at least it was finished with a cup of coffee. maybe sangria next time?

i wasn't kidding about cars..

the bridge =)

Spaniards likes Asians

2010-02-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

so i have some funny stories from last week, but you should probably just ask me if you want to hear the juicy details. anyway, i've learned that guys here are pretty aggressive and i don't think they see asian americans very often. i went clubbing last week and it was an entertaining night... one guy came up to me and bowed. another just walked by, played with my hair, and smiled. i'm not sure if i should be offended....lolll but, i've decided it's pretty harmless as long as they're good-looking and there's a lot of people around so they can't kidnap or drug me. so no worries.

sidenote, i'm really into graffiti and this picture is perfect for this post. =)

Mi Horario

2010-02-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

so i´ve realized i have a bunch of random readers and bc my mom was getting mad at me yesterday, i´m going to write about my classes. (so you can skip this if you´re not into reading about more school)

so, surprisingly i got placed in the top half of the students here studying spanish. i´m sure my grammar-writing pushed me up a level bc i still can´t speak very fluently, but i´m working on it. in fact, everyday i spend about an hour talking to my senora about anything. she knows a lot about history and what things to see around spain. she´s been housing people for 6 years and every morning she tells me, ¨buenos dias, carino¨ =)

anyway, mi horario (schedule) es:

LIT DEL SIGLO DE ORO - lit from the golden era (15-16 century)
teacher is pretty cool, really animated, but my reader is suppppeeer thick. so i´m going to have tons of reading with a lot of words i won´t understand.
CUENTO - short story
just switched teachers, but the stories i´m reading are super random.. very.. uh fantasty-like. today we read a story called el rio, by julio cortazar. it was about a married couple. the wife wants to commit suicide and the husband doesnt think she will. then he misses her and wants her and they have sex and she dies in the river. WEIRD.
ESPANOL avn. alto b - spanish..
funn so far. our intro was a spanish song from motorcycle diaries. it's really soothing, actually.
LISTEN. (not really sure what the video is all about...) but the song is talking about where his entire family is from.
PERIODISMO - journalism-media
will be writing another blog. probably about food. worth 50% of my grade. pretty awesome. we also watched man on wire. in english... but it was a really interesting documentary..
MEDIOAMBIENTE - environmental studies
so far i just learned some geography.. and i´m going to SEGOVIA with my class

overall, i´m a nerd and actually pretty excited for my classes. minus the reading.

the only thing that is unfortunate is that i have to commute to school, which takes about 45 minutes (walking, metro, train) so once i get on campus, i don't leave. the nice thing is on mondays i have a gap from 11-4 so i can actually leave and go do something, wednesdays i only have class from 4 to 6 (aka free afternoon) and thursday i finish by 2:30. and friday no school! (better for traveling. also, art was the only friday class. no thanks)

Buenas tarde. Estos son mis viajes!!

2010-01-31T06:24:00.000-08:00

fail. i woke up at 1pm today. (don't judge me!) i've only been getting 5-6 hours of sleep for the past few days.

my weekend was packed with late nights and day trips (to el escorial and toledo), but i gotta get some homework in.

just thought i would make you guys jealous. hehee

my plans for the semester:
2/5-2/7 SAN SEBASTIAN/BILBAO
2/12-2/14 CADIZ/SEVILLA (for Carnival.. =D)
2/19 SEGOVIA
2/26-2/28 ANDALUCIA (Granada y Cordoba)
3/5-2/7 BARCELONA (w/ vflo and tiff!!!)
3/19 VALENCIA (for Las Fallas)
3/26 -4-5 ITALIA!!!
4/16-4/18 MOROCCO
5/2-5/22 MI FAMILIA (vacationnn and no more school)

aka i should be coming home with SIX hard rock cafe pins (and no money):
SPAIN: Malaga, Madrid, Barcelona
ITALY: Venice, Rome
PORTUGAL: Lisbon

NIEVE

2010-01-26T06:38:00.000-08:00

that means SNOWWWWW!!

It snowed about an inch last night! So i´m wearing thermals underneath my jeans. Let me tell you, skinny jeans and thermals are not a good mix. =)

that alone deserved it´s own post.

El Parque del Retiro y El Rastro

2010-01-26T06:17:00.000-08:00

Since i have yet to update about my weekend, here it goes.. (i´ll add pictures when i get home)

On Saturday, I went to PARQUE DEL RETIRO. It´s a huge park kind of close to my apartment. It´s known as ¨el pulmon de la ciudad.¨ People go there to relax and escape within the city, sort of like Central Park. It´s really beautiful and we only saw about a quarter of it, so I definitely plan on going back.

My only warning about the park, like always, is to hold onto your purse and beware of gypsies. One woman was handing out ¨flowers,¨ that looked like weeds, like they were presents. However, when we tried to give them back, she wouldn´t take them and demanded money instead. It was a pretty sad looking plant... Good thing, I was lucky enough to walk away before she handed me. Others in my program, not so lucky.

Our adventures are always tiring, so we either take naps and go out later.. or don´t go out at all. Saturday night, we made it out to a cave bar called LAS CUEVAS DE SESAMO. Basically, we waited for 30 minutes to sit at a really small table and stools to drink a pitcher of sangria. The room was filled with smoke and it was clear that you can only squeeze a certain amount of people per table. Nevertheless, the bar was underground and featured a live piano player, so it was one of the cool places to be. We went home ¨early,¨ which means i ended up sleeping at around 3am, which is why you find me on-line around 6pm sometimes.

On Sunday, I went to the flea market called EL RASTRO. It gets super crowded, but for some things it´s worth the fight. Small souvenirs and stuff. Apparently, it´s an even more common place for pick-pockets. Locals have gotten their purses/phones/wallets stolen.. After I took a shopped my heart out and went home to rest, I headed back out to EL MUSEO DEL PRADO. Art is definitely not my specialty, but I did get a chance to see some famous Goya paintings and also my favorite Velasquez, Las Meninas. I probably need to go back and see a little more, but I will say Las Meninas was hugeeeeeee. For some reason, I always looked at the little girl in awe, but when I saw it up close, the first thing I noticed were the two.. uh.. not-so-cute girls in the front.

do you recognize these?

GOYA - SATURNO (scary... but famous, of course...)

GOYA - EL TRES DE MAYO

BOSCH - GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS (ap euro, anyone?)

VELASQUEZ - LAS MENINAS (see them in the corner? lol)

Interesting..

2010-01-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

hahaha so i was going to blog bc i had an hour and a half til class, but i decided to plan my 3 months of travel.

morocco, maybe?

don't worry mom and dad, i will ask you about it soon. =)

also, i have found these to be pretty accurate if you ever feel inclined to visit spain. especially number 8, which is my biggest concern.

MISCONCEPTIONS

today we walked into the restaurant excited to eat indian food to find out that the owners were just too lazy to take the old menus down... walked around looking for mexican.. no use. surprisingly, there was a chinese restaurant... but we just went for kebabs. ethnic food, where are you?

and for dinner, she made pasta =) and gave me hot sauce. i went a little crazy and had to add more noodles... go figure.

My first encounter with graffiti (or ARTE!)

2010-01-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

(jamon. loll do you see it?)

so as we took a walking tour/adventure around the city, we came upon EL PARQUE RASTRO. i thought the graffitti was pretty awesome and my camera takes amazing pictures, so there you go. (still haven't figured out how to use the settings, but it's okay, the quality is the best)

i've also been having my fun experimenting with the food here. i realllllly like ham chips and today, i found ketchup-flavored potato chips with cut outs of smiley faces in them.. we just walked and ate everywhere. we sorta had a field day with desserts today too...

i've spent most of my money on food. that confirms i'm a fatty. oh well, only in spain once

ALSO, what should have been the highlight of the day, but they wouldn't let me take pictures inside.. was EL PALACIO REAL. it's where some of the spanish royalty used to live. (if i had paid another $10, i would prob be able to tell you who lived there, but i took a self guided tour instead). The decor was breathtaking.. so i'm planning my trip to france already to see the palace of versailles! anyway, here it is:

Getting adjusted.. sorta..

2010-01-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

As i typed ¨sorta¨ it came out as <8sorta<9´.. freakin´ spanish keyboards. There´s a button for ñ and ç tho, which is pretty cool.

Anyway, i´m on campus right now and i´m listening to all the teachers give little blurbs about their classes, but the classes i´m interested in aren´t giving their presentations for another 20 minutes, so i thought i should update.

Yesterday we had our orientation and got a tour of the school, University of Madrid, Carlos III. I´ll play tourist and take a bunch of pictures later, but all the girls with me love to take pictures (as much, if not more) than i do. so i had my first experience with tapas and i think, so far, i like dim sum better.. lol bc tapas has a lot of fried foods (calamari, shrimp, ham) and cheese/ham/fish on a piece of bread. the ham is really good here though! it´s called jamon crudo and its basically proscuitto and i´m getting used to eating it all the time. Lays even makes a chip with the flavor of jamon crudo. At our orientation, they walked around serving us beer and wine. Needless to say, I´ve been taking advantage.

At night, I went to my first tapas bar with the guys that i´m staying with and their other friends from MIT. The bar was really crowded and everyone just stands around, huddled in groups. I had some tinto de verano, which is a cheaper, less sweet version of sangria. The best part is when you order a drink.. sometimes the tapas are included! well, at ELTIGRE, they were. and my huge cup of vino (aka tinto de verano) was 3euros (including the fatty potato balls, chorizo, etc.)

The one thing I learned last night.. was people like to publicly makeout. frequently. hahahaha on the subway, in the bar, on the corner.

¡what happens in spain, stays in spain!

(lol, but really, nothing has happened)

iSangria!

2010-01-19T05:32:00.000-08:00

so i mostly wanted to post some pictures of the food!

cafe con leche

aguja de ternera (not sure what that means) - but, it was beef

paella mixta!

my first cup of sangria

I'm hungryyyy..

2010-01-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

lol so it's about 2:30 pm here and i still haven't eaten lunch. my senora is the sweetest lady ever and i think she's making some sort of stew with salmon for dinner? lunch? i don't know, but she knows i haven't eaten. i'm a little intimidated bc i can't understand everything she says, but i hope she feeds me soon.

i recently finished unpacking my stuff into my room and i like it. it's small-ish but i really don't need much room and i have two closets.. for like 2 weeks worth of clothes. right now, there are two other guys here staying in the room next to me. i guess our programs overlap so they're here for a few more days. maybe i'll spend some more time with them this weekend?

anyway, i woke up early to sightsee with my roommate from the hotel and now i'm kinda tired and want to siesta.... but i don't want anyone to judge me. hahaha so i'm forcing myself to stay awake. i'll add some pictures soon! and edit my post from yesterday.. since i thankfully, bought a converter this morning that works for my laptop. yeeee.

Madrid

2010-01-18T15:31:00.001-08:00

so i can happily say i made it and i'm relieved. it's gonna be an amazing semester and i know you're jealous. =)

anywayyyy, the first thing that went right was my luggage weighed EXACTLY 50 lbs and i didn't get charged for it. (so i saved $20 there) and my flight was about 4 hours to dallas and from dallas it was 9 hours to madrid. i had a 6 hour layover in dallas where i just slept with my luggage wrapped around me.

OKAY. FAIL. my converter isn't working aka my battery is really dead.

so update tomorrow when i meet my family!!!!

thanks for those of you who saw me before i left and on skype. add me!

Work in Progress

2010-01-13T13:55:00.000-08:00

(more to come)

but i have packed half of my suitcase...

btw, if you think i don't have your school mailing address and you want a postcard.. let me know asap.

and download skype and add me! simplynicoley