Eurotrip!

This week in Spain is Semana Santa (Holy Week), so I had no classes. To get away from the masses of tourists that come to Sevilla for the Semana Santa parades and festivities, I spent 3 days in Paris, 2 in Amsterdam and 2 in Berlin.

Last Thursday I left for Paris. We got there around 8pm, and we immediately met up with our friend Ali who is studying in Paris. It was so nice to be able to stay with someone that knows the city, otherwise it would've been overwhelming. Paris is HUGE! That night we celebrated Ali's roommate's 21st birthday. After some drinks and games of flip cup, we headed out to a club. The next day we woke up early to see the Louvre, walk through the Jardines des Tuileries and the Avenue des Champs Elysees, and to see the Arc de Triomphe. I thought I walked a lot in Sevilla-I was wrong! My feet have never hurt so much. After hours of walking around the city and along the Seine, we headed home to rest before going out. That night we cooked vegetable pasta, and I realized how much I miss cooking! Wierd, right? In Spain, Lola (my host mom) makes all my meals for me so it sometimes gets old not to be able to pick what I want to eat. After dinner, we headed out to an Australian Bar and I had a blast. After an hour or two we tried to get into a an upscale club, but with one look at the 5 of us the bouncer turned us down. I guess we didn't dress to impress. Also, being American isn't always the most favorable in Europe.

The next day we checked out the Notre Dame, climbed the Eiffel Tower (only to the second floor because the top was closed), ate nutella and banana crepes by the Palais de Chaillot, and wandered around the city some more. Wandering is  probably one of my favorite ways to explore cities because I get a feel for a city this way. Also, Paris was beautiful so I loved walking around and seeing different parts of it.

On the third day we took a train to Fountainebleau to see the Chateau de Fontainebleau. I learned that the Chateau was used by all of the French ruling dynasties, dating back to the 1100s. The Chateau was had absolutely beautiful gardens and was breathtaking from the outside. Inside, we toured the Grand Apartments, which included the Papal Apartment, the sovereign's apartments and the Emperor's apartment and the Throne Room. All of the rooms we saw had much of the original furniture and intricate tapestries and paintings. It was quite a sight to see. After touring the Chateau, we headed back to Paris to see the Sacre-Coure, a beautiful Roman Catholic Church located on the highest point of the city. This area of the city was one of my favorites because there were hundreds of people sitting on the hills below the Sacre Coure lounging around and enjoying the weather. There were also a lot of cute shops and restaurants. After enjoying yet another crepe, we headed to the Moulin Rouge.

The next morning we woke up at 6am to catch a train to Amsterdam. Amsterdam was a lot smaller than I expected, but it was really pretty with all its canals and small bridges. In Amsterdam we found a foreign food that I haven't been able to find in Europe yet - BAGELS! I was so excited to finally have one. After eating breakfast, we headed to the Anne Frank House. It was really eerie and sad to see, but I am so glad I did. That night we met some Dutch guys who took us out on the town and bought us multiple rounds of Heineken. Let's just say, I don't like Heineken in the first place, and after this trip I never want to drink it again!

The next day we went on a hunt to the find the Taco Shop. There's a Taco Shop in Madison, and the only other 2 locations in the world are Amsterdam and Copenhagen. After walking for what seemed like an eternity we finally found it but it was CLOSED! Instead, we took a picture just to document our dedication. We then headed over to the Van Gogh museum. Although I enjoyed the museum, I was disappointed that this museum didn't have Starry Night. Oh well! That night we went to a restaurant that boasted over 100 specialty beers and traditional Belgian food.

The next morning we woke up at nice and early to catch a plane to Berlin. Berlin was not what I expected at all. Since its the capital of Germany, I expected to be extremely modern and metropolitan. Although some areas were, there were other areas that were really old and there were obvious remnants from the Cold War. I think this is what made Berlin such an interesting city. Different parts of it seemed like a completely different city.

On the first day we headed to a section of the old Berlin Wall were there was a memorial for all those that died trying to cross it. We then headed to the Parliament building, the Brandenburg Gate (the only remaining city gate of the original 14), Unter den Linden, and Bebelplatz (the square where the Nazi's burned the books). That night we ate some authentic German food - unleavened bread, sausage, potatoes and sauerkraut. Although I wouldn't want to eat heavy food like that everyday, it was surprisingly really good. I even ate the sauerkraut, which I've always been hesitant to try at home. That night we headed out to a club called Watergate that overlooked the river. Going out in Berlin is MUCH different than Spain. In Spain if you want to even think about getting into a trendy club, you must wear heels, a skirt or dress. If you want to get in for free, I've learned to not speak English while I'm waiting in line. However, Berlin is more laid back. Basically, you won't get into a club if you are too dressed up. Also, house music was founded in Berlin, so the music was a lot different. Although I had a lot of fun at Watergate, the club scene in Berlin wasn't my favorite. Trying to dance to house music was an interesting experience..

The next day we checked out Topographie des Terrors, which was the former location of the headquarters for the SS and the Gestapo during WWII. Outside there were more remains of the Berlin Wall and inside there was a plethora of history on WWII. I find WWII really interesting to read about, so I tried to take my time going through this exhibit. We then went to the Berliner Dom, a church that was supposed to have a good view of Berlin, but it was closed. Instead, we decided to enjoy some German beers by the river and we met some Dutch people that we ended up going out with that night.

Its good to be back in Sevilla, but its bittersweet. This trip was my largest, and it felt like it was so far away for such a long time. Now that its over means I go home soon :( Although I do miss my family and friends at times, this trip had been such an amazing experience. I'm not ready to go home yet, but I have to snap back into reality at some point. I only have 3 weeks left here, so I better take advantage of it!

waka waka AFRICA

This weekend I went to Morocco with my program. Traveling was quite extensive. We first took a 2 and a half hour bus ride to the coast of Spain, a one hour ferry ride across the Strait of Gibraltar, and finally another hour and a half bus ride to Tangier. Tangier was probably my least favorite city because it was really dirty. Our guide gave us a tour of the markets, where there were endless amounts of raw meat, fish, and flies. There were even speckled of blood on the cobble stone from killing chickens in public! This was by far the most different place I have traveled to date. Also, during our tour of the city, I saw 4 funeral processions. The bodies of the dead were carried in a wooden coffin by about 4 men. What I found really odd was that only men were present at these funeral processions. Sometimes they were singing in Arabic, and other times they were silent. I was also really surprised by how Western many of the men dressed. On the other hand, many women dressed in the traditional long gowns over their clothing with scarves over their heads.

After our tour we ate a traditional Moroccan meal. All of the meals were 3 to 5 courses, which I wasn't expecting at all. The first course was a broth which was kind of bland. I must be getting used to the salty food in Spain. The second course was cmeat kebabs. They proceeded to serve us another course of cous cous with chicken and vegetables. After that we had green spearmint tea which was by far the best tea I have ever tasted. Our tour guide told us that Moroccans like to add a lot of sugar to their food, so this must've been why it was so delicious. Finally, after the tea we finished the meal with cookies. What a meal!

The next day we went to Tetouan. On the bus ride to Tetouan I noticed that Morocco was much greener than I expected. No, I wasn't expecting sand dunes and dessert, but the green landscape and mountains reminded me a little of Colorado. It was really beautiful.

Tetouan was much more modern than Tangier. We started our day off with a visit to the Coca Cola  factory. We got to see how the different products were manufactured, and we also sampled some of the special products sold in Morocco. I even took a glass coke bottle with writing in Arabic for a souvenir. After the visit we stopped at the beach, which was absolutely breathtaking. The beaches were so natural and untouched, I had never seen anything like it. After lunch, we went to the Caves of Hercules. We then headed into town to do some shopping. I absolutely loved bargaining with the locals. What really surprised me is my Spanish skills came in handy in Morocco. For some odd reason, many of the venders approached me in Spanish. I'm still slightly confused by this because I know others that were approached in English all the time, and we all know I don't look Spanish at all! But hey, I'm always up for practicing my speaking.

On our final day we went to Chechuan, a city where many of the walls and doors are painted blue. This city was by far my favorite because it was beautiful and I actually felt pretty safe. Originally, the purpose of the blue paint color blue was to make the city cooler during the day. I question if that is actually true, but regardless it was fun to see. After the tour, we did some more bargaining and I bought most of my souvenirs for my friends and family for a total of 440 dirham or 40 euro. I even bought a purse and a bracelet for myself :) Gotta love bargaining! After lunch we headed back to Sevilla, which involved excessive amounts of traveling. After about 7 hours of bus rides and ferries, it was good to be back.

I only have about 3 more weeks of classes left. I can't believe it! This Thursday I leave for my 8 day eurotrip, which includes 4 days in Paris, 2 days in Amsterdam and the last 2 in Berlin. I will get back to Seville on the 22nd, just in time to see the end of Semana Santa (Holy Week). Semana Santa in Sevilla is a huge week long celebration. I have heard it is almost impossible to walk around the narrow streets of the centro because there are so many tourists. Thank god I will be gone for the majority of it!

Can life get any better?

Hey everyone! Every day the weather in Sevilla is getting more and more beautiful. This past week I went to the river with friends almost every day after class to enjoy the sunny 80 degree weather :) On Wednesday night I met up with some Spanish friends and we got drinks by the river and later went to a hookah bar. I ended up staying out until 4:00 am with them, so I was not a ball of sunshine when I had to wake up for class the next morning. Only in Spain :)

On Friday I went to Portugal with a few friends through a travel agency. It was nice to not have to plan our own excursions for once. All we had to do was show up to the bus every morning, and they took us to beaches and other sight seeing spots. Portugal was definitely a more spring break type trip. Friday was probably my favorite day because the weather was beautiful and we just sipped on drinks all day. We later went on a little excursion and hiked around the rocks on the beach. That night the travel agency took us out on a bar crawl and we ended the night at a club that didn't open up until 3am. The next day we woke up early to check outs Lagos, and we then spent another relaxing day on the beach. Unfortunately it was raining today, so we packed up a little early and headed back to Sevilla.

Lagos, Portugal

Elise and I riding the bull. I thought that all the leg muscle I've acquired from running would've made me a pro at this. False. I fell off within 10 seconds.

This month I am going to be doing a lot of traveling. On Thursday I am going to Morocco. Then, on the 14th I leave for my 8 day Eurotrip - Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin! Although I am excited to explore more countries, its makes me sad to miss a weekend in Sevilla. My days here are dwindling!

Hasta luego!

Barcelona would've been fun but..

I left for Barcelona on Friday morning. Being that Barcelona is one of the top party destinations in the world, I decided to get a good nights sleep, so that I could be well rested for the weekend ahead of me. However, I woke up Friday morning feeling nauseous and threw up 2 times before even arriving in Barcelona. So basically, my entire first day/night in Barcelona was spent laying in a my bed in possibly one of the dodgiest, unclean hostels I have stayed to this date. Oh irony. I later found out that a 24 hour stomach flu had been going around Sevilla. Thankfully, I woke up Saturday feeling fine. I explored the city with some friends, and later that night we went out for Mexican food. Let me tell you, it is difficult to find Mexican food in Spain. I think that miiight have to be my first meal when I get back. After dinner, we went to a bar called Dow Jones. Basically, alcohol prices were all about supply and demand, so we chose our drink selections based on what was cheap at the moment. The next morning I had to head back to Sevilla. I felt like I was barely there due to my unexpected bought of the stomach flu. Oh well, better luck next time!

Parla inglese?

What a weekend! On Monday I got back from Rome, and this was by far my favorite trip yet. We arrived in Rome around 9pm on Friday night. We then took a 40 minute bus ride into the city. I tried to do my homework before I left so that we wouldn't have to take a cab to where we were staying and I researched the metro stops. Unfortunately, the metro closed at 9pm. To add to that, the bus dropped us off in possibly one of the most dodgy areas of town. As my friend and I frantically looked for  cab, homeless men were yelling things in Italian at us. We speed walk to a more well lit area, clutching our bags and hoping nothing would go wrong. We tried multiple times to flag down a cab, but none would stop for us. Finally in desperation we sprinted across the street and basically ran right in front of a cab hoping it would stop. Thank god he stopped. Without speaking a word of Italian, and only having a piece of paper with an address on it, this was by far the most unsafe I have felt in Europe. We later found out that Rome uses taxi stands where you must wait for a cab to pick you up. Makes sense why it was so difficult to find a cab!

My friend Alison had some friends in Rome, so we got to stay in their apartment for free. We arrived around 11pm and quickly got ready to go out. That night we went to a club called Coyote. Since Alison and I didn't know Italian, we had fun speaking Spanish to each other to throw the locals off. Surprisingly, many Italians didn't know how to speak Spanish. The languages are so similar, so I thought  it would be more commonly spoken.

The next day we did a plethora of sight seeing. We started out with St Peter's Square and St Peter's Basilica. The church was by far the prettiest church I have been to. I was in awe the entire time. After that, we headed to the Vatican Museum. The Museum was interesting, but I wish I would've understood more of what everything was. At the end of the Vatican Museum was the Sistine Chapel. I was surprised by how small it was, but it was interesting to see how Michelangelo added depth and dimension to the flat walls of the Chapel. The Last Judgment painting was pretty amazing to see too. After that, we hiked over to a different part of the city to check out Trevi Fountain and make a wish. Instead of a euro, we threw a quarter in because a cab driver had given one of the guys quarters for change instead of euros. We thought it was funny and figured they were useless, so why waste our precious euros? After that went to the Pantheon.

Around 5 the guys went back to the apartment to siesta, while Alison and I stayed out to eat a late lunch. We went to this little restaurant that was known for having international students visit. The waiter was quite interesting - he insisted my eyelashes were too long to be real and had me pull on them. He then proceeded to kiss my cheek and asked me what I would like to eat. One good part of this unwanted attention was free wine. This restaurant made a special wine called "sexy wine." It was a sweeter version of red wine. It kind of reminded me of tinto de verano in Spain. With every meal, you were given a free glass of wine, but our waiter gave us an additional glass for no reason at all.

That night we went to a place called Tony's and I had the best Italian meal of my life. We started off with bruschetta. The tomatoes in Rome are absolutely amazing, so after that meal we ordered bruschetta with every meal. My friend and I split chicken parmesan and tortellini. I was stuffed midway through the meal, but it was too delicious to let it go to waste.  After appetizers, entrees, and 2 liters of wine, our meal split between the 4 of us was only 15 euro. Rome was surprisingly a lot cheaper than I expected it to be!

The next morning we got up and headed to the Colosseum and the Forum. Unfortunately, it was rainy and windy, so sightseeing was quite miserable. The Colosseum was huge, and I bought an audio tour headset to learn more, but it was a little too detailed for my liking. I'm more interested in the general history, not on specifics, so I quite using my headset midway through. We then went to the Forum, but didn't spend too much time there because we were cold and miserable. We quickly went home to change, and then went on a hunt for authentic Italian gelato. All I have to say is thank god I am not studying in Rome-I would easily come back 15 pounds heavier! The gelato was the best tasting I had ever had. Later that night we went out for pizza at a little family owned joint then spent the rest of the night at an Irish Pub.

On Monday we did a last bit of sightseeing at the Spanish Steps and ate our last delicious Italian meal. Now I know what they mean that you need at least a week in Rome. I would love to go back someday!

St. Peter's 

Vatican Museum

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Colosseum

Mmmmm gelato

View from the top of the Spanish Steps

Welcome to the palace

Hola! So as some of you know, I just moved into a new homestay. A lot changed this past week! Basically, I had been living with a bunch of random exchange students and I was very uncomfortable with it - 8 different people in my homestay since I had arrived. I felt like I lived in a hostel! So I went to my program coordinator asking if this was acceptable, and to my surprise she was appalled. She told me that we were not supposed to be living with any other exchange students in our homestays. Well, let me tell you, Isabel did NOT like that I ratted her out. After finding out that I had spoken to CIEE (my program), she went from sweet, innocent old lady, to Nazi patrol woman. It was terrifying. Well, she kicked us out (my friend and I) but let me tell you, it was a definite upgrade. I feel like I went from rags to riches!

Right now I am living in the heart of the centro with a family. My host parents are Juan and Lola, and they have a 22 year old daughter named Monica, and two little dogs - Nana and Chici. I love the family - Lola and Juan are soooo nice and Monica is awesome. Its nice that we're close in age because she's really easy to relate to. She also has a very attractive boyfriend, so of course my roommate and I are going to try and meet his friends :) Good looking men roll in packs, right? Anyway, their house is absolutely GORGEOUS. My roommate and I like to call it the palace as a joke. It's an old style Spanish home with a courtyard, 4 levels, and a roof top deck. Tanning please? Lola told me that it was built in the 16th century. Also, Lola is an amazing cook. My old Señora became accustom to feeding me only vegetables and bland pasta. Often times I would have to go to the grocery store to grab a snack in between meals because I was always hungry. But Lola never leaves me hungry. For example, this afternoon when I woke up at 3:30pm (please don't judge me. I was at the second largest  Carnival in the world last night in Cadiz and didn't get home until 8:30am), she told us that she understood that after a night of dancing and partying that we would be hungry. She then proceeded to feed us the largest meal I have had since I've been here - a chicken parmesan crusted chicken breast, a spanish omelette, noodle soup, a baguette, an apple and a pudding dessert. Did I eat all of it? Yes. It was sooo delicious.

As you can tell, I am extremely happy I moved. Best decision yet. Oh and my internet works ALL THE TIME! No more freezing/pausing skype conversations :) Get excited people!

As I said earlier, last night I went to the Carnival in Cadiz. Its basically a week long festival in the streets. Everyone wears costumes, drinks and has a great time. Cadiz is an hour a half away, so we all went with a travel agency called "We Love Spain." When I first heard about Carnival, I assumed it was during the day (aka a Mifflin Block party type thing). Nope, we left for Cadiz at 8:30pm. The way there was basically a party bus and we arrived to Cadiz around 10pm. They then let us run wild in the city until 5:30am and basically if we weren't back in time that we would be responsible for our own way home. Well, I only brought 5 euro with me, so I immediately knew I could not mess this one up. Although I managed to get separated from everyone I was with, I still had a great time making friends with people on the street. It was a blast! And yes, I made the bus on time.

My new room!

Hang out area

Our balcony

Chici! 

Dressed before Carnival. After being pick-pocketed in Madrid, I refused to bring my camera to Carnival, so sadly I have no pictures of me there 

Speed walking never felt so good

This weekend I headed to Madrid. I absolutely loved this city! The moment I stepped off the metro, we knew we weren't in Sevilla anymore because people were walking at a normal pace - it caught me a little of guard (yes, the slow Andalusian lifestyle carries over to walking at a painfully slow pace as well). After successfully navigating the metro system  we arrived at our hostel (which with my directionally challenged ways, this was a huge success, and made me have a little more faith in myself for once I travel to a country where I don't know the language).

Our hostel had an amazing location - close to Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol, Palacio Real, and the Prado. After arriving we head out to explore the city a little. First we checked out Parque del Retiro. It was huge - I would like to refer to it as the Central Park of Madrid. After that we went to the Prado. There was a ton of classical art and works of many famous Spanish painters, like Goya and Velazquez. Later that night we met up with some friends to go check out the club, Kapital, that we were told was a must see. After paying 18 euro to enter, I thought to myself, wow this better be good. It definitely lived up to my expectations. This was by far the craziest club I have ever been to - 7 stories, a different theme on every floor, and a nice little blast of mist from the ceiling every 5 or 10 minutes to cool you off.

The next morning we checked out the Royal Palace.  It is home to the Royal Family in Spain, but today they live in a different home. Today it is used more for meetings. Throughout the entire tour I was in complete awe - unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures. But to give you more of a picture this palace has over 2000 rooms. In each room we toured, there were anywhere from 5 to 20 different chandeliers. There was even a room that was completely made out of porcelain. After the palace, we explored the city a little more. People in Madrid will do the craziest things for money - walk around in Disney outfits, dress like headless men, etc. Later that day we made friends with 3 guys in our hostel that were studying in Switzerland. Since I love making random friends, I invited them to dinner with us. Well, we didn't leave for dinner until about 11, and a lot of places at this point were only serving appetizers. Finally, at 11:30 we found a place that served dinner, but it was a little upscale for us. However, it was delicious and we chose to ignore the glares from the much older, sophisticated crowd.

The next day we were going to check out this part of the city that was supposed to look like Manhattan. We had to take a bus there, but when I opened my purse to grab money for the bus, my wallet was gone. I was in a state of panic because I had just taken out money (100 euro, equivalent to about $140) AND had my check card in my wallet. Unfortunately, none of the places I had gone had found my wallet. Yes, I believe I was a victim of pick pocketing :( Luckily, my passport and camera were still intact. Immediately after this happened, I bought an anti-theft neck wallet at a market to use in Barcelona, Rome and on my 8 day Eurotrip. Barcelona and Rome are notorious for having some of the worst pick pocketing on earth. Yes I'll look like a nerd, but at least no one can pick pocket me :)

Inside of Palacio Real (before I had to stop taking pictures)

Outside of Palacio Real (Royal Palace)

Palacio Real

Alison, Jen and I out 

Parque del Retiro

Creepiest thing ever. One of the crazy things people did to make a little cash in Madrid.

Room keys!