¡Viva Hogueras!

Parades, concerts, parties, oh my.
The past week has been pretty chaotic around here. There have been parades everynight, usually carrying on for a few hours, right down my street.
This parade featured dancers and performers from every hispanic country, South America and Central America. They all had on traditional outfits and performed old tribal dances.
The streets were all decorated with lights and tents and fireworks were going off all the time in all directions.
We met up with all my friends from my program and watched the end of the parade before heading down to the beach.

Down on the beach everyone had brought bevs and started bonfires and was basically just hanging out. There literally were more people on the beach during the Hogueras nights then there are on a sunny weekend afternoon here. It was insane.
This night was called the night of magic. The ritual is that you take a piece of paper and write down all the bad things you have done within the last year. Then you write down all the things you want to accomplish within the next year. After that you throw the piece of paper in a bonfire and go down to the sea and jump over seven waves. Supposedly, then the following year all your dreams will come true and you will become a better person. Of course we all gave it a shot- we figured it couldn't hurt!
During Hogueras all the spanish people go all out for the five days of the festival. I don't know when they have time to sleep. They literally stay out all night drinking and dancing and shooting fireworks. Spain is obsessed with fire, and Hogueras is actually a fire festival. The last night they burn all the floats in the streets of downtown. There are huge giant floats in the middle of apartment buildings, with flames shooting out of them. The fire department is all around keeping it under control and eventually putting them out, and usually spraying the whole crowd with the hose in the process.
All the kids wear their swim suits and scream "A-gua!" until they are drenched. The floats are so colorful and so intricate that it is kind of sad to see them burn, but so cool at the same time. Something like that would never fly in the US, Bromley said it was a lawsuit waiting to happen. Which if one of the buildings caught on fire, it would probably be the end of Hogueras. My internet went out and was out all the next day, and we think it's because the cable got burned in one of the fires. One of the floats was right on the corner of my apartment- and the workers were there all the next day repairing, then the internet reappeared. No pasa nada.

Warning: Explicit VIdeos

Hogueras is the yearly week-long festival of Alicante. From June 19-24 the entire downtown of the city shuts down. There are huge tents with food and tables in all the streets, vendors, gypsies, performers, concerts, dancing... At 2:00pm there is a giant fireworks display in Plaza de Luceros, with deafening booms that are meant to wake everyone up from the night before to go out and start "fiesta-ing" again. From 2:00pm until about 7:00 am it is chaos. Since my apartment is right about "La Rambla," or the main street of Alicante where all the fireworks and concerts happen, sleeping at night is close to impossible. Fireworks, bonfires, beach parties... anything goes. More about that later.
Part of Hogueras is a three weeks of bull fights, all held in Plaza del Toros. Each night three or four matadors perform, killing 6 bulls. Spain is known for their bull fights, and even though I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, I felt it was something I should see before I formed my opinion. Bromley and I went about a week ago. We bought the cheap upper balcony sun seats, (if your seat faces the sunset they are cheaper), figuring there was no need to be right on top of the bulls and blood. Wise decision. I would definitely not have wanted to sit any closer.
The entire ritual of the bull fight is very traditional, and distinctly separated into different elements of the fight. First they let in the BULL. These bulls are bred and brought up specifically for bull fighting by estate owners. The agressiveness and behavior of the bull means either honor or disgrace for the estate owners. If their bull puts up a good fights, or an "exceptional performance," the estate owner shares a victory lap with the matador after the fight.
The bull is released into the pen, with fire in its eyes, and races around trying to gore anything it can reach. Each matador works with a team of six other men, two on horseback with giant poking sticks, three flagmen who divert the bull in the ring when needed with capes, and two sword servants who hand the matador the weapons. First the flagmen test the bull's ferociousness, making him run around the ring, and the matador observes. The matador knowns the bull's pedigree before the fight, name, weight, age, quirks. These first few minutes are used to observe tiny little patterns, if the bull favors left over right, has eyesight in both eyes, which way it likes to turn, etc. All these factors are used to determine his strategy: how long the fight will last, how close to the bull he will get, which passes he'll try.

Next the picadors, or men on heavily padded and blindfolded horses, enter the ring. The bull attacks the horse, who stands still without knowing what is going on, and the picador uses his lance to stab the large mound of muscle on the neck of the bull. At the same time, the bull tries to pick up the horse with its horns, all of which weakens the neck muscle and causes a huge loss of blood, weakening the bull.
Next banderillas are thrown into the bull's flank by the flagmen or the matador himself. These are little dagger like rods decorated in the local colors. (Graphic, I know.) These further weaken the bull and sometimes make his charges more ferocious. The second video is of this portion. (I was freaking out during all this stabbing and blood everywhere. I was very glad we chose to sit further back, there was no need to be any closer. The Spaniards however were screaming and cheering and loving it. By this point I just wanted the bull to die and get it over with.)
The final stage is known as "death." The matador reenters the ring with a red cape, which is solely a matter of tradition because bulls are in fact colorblind. A series of passes are performed, demonstrating the control the matador has over the bull. (See the first video.) Eventually the matador uses a giant sword and stabs the bull through the aorta, aiming for a quick and clean death. Within a few moments of being struck, the bull literally collapses to the ground dead. It is drug out of the ring by a team of four horses, which pull it by its horns.
So that's about it. Then the next matador comes out and they release the next fresh bull, full of fire and ready to fight. Then it dies. Next... Keeps on going.
While I can appreciate the art and difficulty of the tradition, I don't know that I would want to go to another show. It was interesting, but not exactly my idea of a great time. There is an intermission in the middle, where everyone whips out a bocodilla (think sub sandwich) and their coolers of bevs. Bromley and I didn't know it was ok to bring things into the stadium, so obviously we were not prepared. However we were sitting next to some really nice people who gave us there extra sandwich and a giant bottle of water, just to be nice. I'm sure they had been watching my cover my eyes and seen both of our faces and known we were first-timers. Good samaritans.

World travels...

Where to begin?  Last I wrote I was in Germany- so much has happened since then...

Now I am back in Alicante, Espana, for the last few weeks of my semester.   The rest of the trip went smoothly; there were no more train problems, everything went according to plan.  We ended up having make reservations on most trains, with the exception of Italy.  The trains were very convenient, easy means of transportation and I wish there were more of them in the US.  They came on time, left on time, and were pretty relaxing.

This is a pic of me on the Old Bridge in Heidelberg, right outside Brian's apartment.  You can see the castle in the background.  Brom and I took a little tram up to the castle, explored for a bit, and hiked back down.  Heidelberg was very cute and homey.  We went out to watch the Euro 08 soccer games every night and all the locals were very into it.  The weather was great and we got to see all of the old downtown area.  Very successful.

We had an early (I mean 6:00 am early) train to Lucerne on the morning of the 10th.  Brian's army friend Claudia, who also met us when we arrived to deliver the keys, was nice enough to come and take us to the train station at 5:30 am.  She was a great and very helpful.  We made it to Lucerne no prob.

Lucerne was beautiful.  It is a smaller city right on Lake Luzern (the swiss spelling of Lucerne).  The water was perfectly clear; you could easily see the rocks all the way down at the bottom.  Mountains were all around in the distance, which we could see despite the fog.  On a clear day there would be much more.  The houses and apartments are adorable, with flower boxes and balconies everywhere.  The streets were all extremely clean and all the city buses ran on electricity.  Switzerland was amazing.

From Lucerne, we took the Golden Pass scenic train to Interlaken.  It was the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life.  The train passed through tons of tiny swiss villages in the middle of mountains in the middle of nowhere.  The houses were like life-size cuckoo clocks with shutters in all colors.  The train went over a mountain and through a clearing  with waterfalls coming down the Alps in all directions.  All of the lake water was more than drinkable; it was the best water I have tasted in my life.

Interlaken got its name because it is positioned between two lakes, with mountains all around.  It is internationally known for its extreme sports: sky-diving, para-gliding, canyoning, white-water rafting, canyon jumping, bungee jumping, it goes on and on.  Bromley and I went biking the first day down the edge of one of the lakes.  It was beautiful and peaceful and a nice flat ride.  We took some sandwiches and had a little picnic in the middle of nowhere.

The next day we were signed up for canyoning, (I'm not even sure what that is, but Bromley wanted to try it...) but by some mix up we were put into a group of white water rafters.  We went with the flow, thought it would be fun and extreme nonetheless.  Our guide, Drew from New Zealand, was quite a hoot.  He has rafted all over the world for the last 15 years: Africa, Australia, Europe... He was very into it.

So he was telling us all about the dangers of the river and what to do it you fall out, the correct way to float or get back in the boat, how you never stand up because you could get caught on a rock... he basically scared the wits out of me.  He told us everything that could go wrong.  Then he was like, "Ok, none of that will happen, let's go!"  

He loaded us in the boat, two Australians in the front, two little british boys in the middle, Brom and I in the back, with Drew right behind me.  He said that way he could grab me if I did anything wrong.  He had no faith in me.

Everything went fine.  We made it, obviously.  Anytime there was a big rock coming, Drew yelled, "Watch the bump!"  If things were really rough he would yell, "Hold on!"  The problem I had was that the rope to hold onto was outside the boat, and I was scared my hand was going to be peeled off by the giant rocks.  If things were really rough, Drew yelled, "Get down!" which means that you needed to dive into the bottom of the boat.  So, whenever I was scared, I got down.  I never fell out, so that seemed to work.

Bromley was a natural, of course.  None of us fell out, which was nice.  The water was fairly shallow and there were rocks everywhere, so I definitely didn't want to fall out.  Also it was water coming down from the tops of the mountains, so it was freezing cold, even through the wetsuits.  There were a few calmer parts of the river that Drew let us jump out of the boat and swim around, and it was invigorating, to say the least.

So from Interlaken we trained down to Milan for the night, mostly because Milan is a big city and lodging it relatively cheap, at least compared to Switerland.  In the morning we had a few hours to walk around and see the castle, Duormo (or basilica), and a few of the major streets.  (Would have been dangerous to stay there longer, there was some serious shopping.)

So then we trained over to Venice, or Venezia.  It was beautiful, everything you would expect it to be: canals everywhere, boats, gondolas, italian architecture.   We got a little lost on the way to the hotel (See Venice album for pics...).  Bromley had both of our bags and was hauling them up and down the stairs of the 410 bridges.  He had a map and was sure he could find the hotel himself, and eventually he did, after 3 hours of exploring with all the luggage.  I followed behind with a few little carry-on bags and my camera, takings pics.  That night we grabbed some pizza for dinner (Bromley had pizza for every meal in Italy) and walked around the city.  Visited Piazza de San Marco which is where their duermo is, as well as a giant clock tower. 

Afterwards we decided we had to go for a gondola ride, in Venice it is practically mandatory.  Our guide's name was Tito, but he told us to call him Bond, James Bond.  He was quite the character as well.  He and his twin brother were born and raised in Venice and are both certified Gondoliers (he showed us his license to prove it).   He showed us the palazzo where Marco Polo lived, where Mozart lived, and the city hall and many other city sights.  He was talking all about his new Brazilian girlfriend and showed us her picture on his video phone.  We have a ton of video of him and his antics.  He showed us how to row the gondolas and let me try it for a minute.  It was classic Venezia.

From Venice we trained over to La Spezia, a small Italian town on the riviera that is one starting out point for Cinque Terre.  Cinque is the italian word for '5' and is a series of five fishing villages on rocky mountain slopes right on the oceanfront.  Hundreds of years ago peasant farmers converted the mountains into terraces for farming lemons, other fruits and many vineyards.  They also grew into famous fishing areas.  The houses are adorable, all bright happy colors and lining sidewalks.  There are no streets and no cars.  From Cinque, it is train or boat to leave.  In-between each town are hiking trails, which were all along the water, winding through the mountains and the vineyards.   

From La Spezia, we ended up in Pisa.  In Pisa there isn't much to see besides the Leaning Tower and the piazza it is in.  We checked that out, took the mandatory pics (holding up the tower, pushing the tower down... etc.) and decided to explore the countryside a bit, especially since we had our rail passes and all.  

So we trained once again to the little town of Siena, between Florence and Pisa.  The ride there was amazing; vineyards and villas scattered along the rolling hills.  It was picture perfect Italy.  Siena was a great little town, a little bigger than I expected it to be.  The cathedral was amazing, with an octagonal pulpit and perfectly preserved Renaissance frescos.  We didn't get to see as much of the town as we would have liked because it started sprinkling right when we arrived and slowly began raining harder and harder.  We took cover in the cathedral for a while, but then headed back to Pisa. 

We had a Ryanair flight our of Pisa the next morning at about nine.  If you have never flown any of the European budget airlines, Ryanair in particular, you can not imagine.  There are no assigned seats, so if you are not careful you will end up sitting by a rando.  Everyone always claps when the pilot takes off and when they land, as if celebrating they made it through the flight.  If for some reason there is turbulence or a quick bump or something, people scream. I don't think it is so much them being afraid, they are just crazy.  There are also an unusually large amounts of little kids, usually crying, chatting away in foreign languages, or kicking the back of the seats.  The plane ride from Pisa to Alicante is only about 2 hours, so it was tolerable, but an experience none the less.

Hallo aus Deutschland

(That means 'Hello from Germany,' definitely had to look that one up...)
Well, I am writing this little post from the comfort of my cousin Brian's Heidelberg flat, courtesy of the US Army internet connection. Let me tell you, the Army hooks up their men. This two story apartment is fully equipped with vaulted ceilings, a flat screen tv, washer and dryer (!!), and a full kitchen including an oven! I don't even know what to do with myself. In Spain, we use the good 'ol clothesline and cook food on the stove... life is hard.
We got to Heidelberg a day later than expected because all the trains from Paris on Sunday were full. We didn't realize that even though we had a Eurail pass, we still had to reserve tickets. Another night in Paris... not a problem.
Backing up, Paris was amazing. Bromley and I got to see all the big sights: the Louve, D'Orsay, Tour Eiffel, Seine, Jardin des Tuileries, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur. We went up the Eiffel Tower and cruised down the Seine in one of the tour boats. Five days isn't much, but we made it work. The weather held up for us too; even though it was overcast, it was a decent mild temperature and only slightly rained one day. We metro-ed all over that city. More about that later.
Back to now- Germany is fab. Especially after being in Paris, Heidelberg is a very comfortable, relaxed, hometown sort of place. Everyone is very friendly and most speak English, or at least try. (Which is good because German is nothing like anything I have ever heard in my life. No clue.) Brian's flat has to be primo real estate zone. It is literally right in the middle of the cutest block in town. The Euro 2008 soccer tournament is going on right now and Brian lives right above an English sports bar, so we got to see the game last night and tonight, in English, a luxury these days. Holland beat world champs Italy last night, which made the Germans very happy, and Sweden dominated Greece tonight, which did not make the Germans happy. Over the past two days we have walked all over 'Old Town,' the historical district of town where Brian lives. Also Bromley and I went for a run down the Necker River earlier tonight. There are mountains and trees all around, very beautiful. Heidelberg has been a nice relaxing place, makes me not want to leave.
Tomorrow morning we leave at 6:00 AM for Lucerne, Switerland. We will be back in Alicante on the 18th! I will have a much more thorough report from there. (And a million pictures, get excited!)

Mikey and Co visit, Alicante C.F. wins... Good week.

Mikey came to town!
My cousin Mike Kelly and his two friends, Casey and Matt, came to town last Tuesday. They were in the middle of a two week whirlwind tour of europe, and Alicante made it to the itenerary... no big deal. They were in town for two full days, three nights- plenty of time for beaching and "barrio-ing." They got to see all the major sights, at least from a distance. (They never made the hike up to the castle, but there is still a nice view of it from Playa Postiguet, so no pasa nada.)
Even though my spanish roommate, Cristina, is slightly on the anal-retentive side and likes to leave libby and I random Post-It's with different messages of things she doesn't like around the apartment, we all managed to stay in our little apartment with no problems. The boys got to spend everyday on the beach, and gave Bromsky someone to hang out with as I studied for my last final in my court interpreting class. It was a great few days and it was nice to see a familiar face.
Last night all the Mizzou kids from our program went to the Alicante C.F. (the local soccer team, Division 2) playoff game. The game was at 8:30 pm and we had the perfect seats to see the sunset. The team dominated 3-0 and we even snuck down to the lower section for the second half, scoring some killer second row seats. Here is a video we caught of a nasty play... Alicante is the blue team. Major Foulage. We are testing out the blog's video abilities, let me know if it doesn't play.....

Holy Toledo!

Flying back to Madrid, we caught the half hour high speed train to Toledo, a small medieval city 70 km south of Madrid.  Toledo was once the capitol of Spain and still retains the atmosphere and aura of its decorated past.  The buildings and winding streets of the old city are contained withing city walls, holding hundreds of years of history.  The walls are surrounded on three sides by the Tajo River, known as the Rio Tejo in Lisbon, where it flows into the Atlantic.  

 In the 13th century in Spain, Toledo became one of the only places where Moors, Christians and Jews lived together and tolerated each other relatively peacefully.  The combination of these cultures' styles, architecture, art and general culture is what makes Toledo one of the greatest cities in the world.

Because of Toledo's charm and close proximity to Madrid, in high tourist season and during most afternoons it is packed with tourists.  The daytrippers from Madrid flood the streets every morning, wandering around most of the day before catching the train back to the big city.  Things worked out perfectly for Bromley and I, since we got there at about 8 pm, in time for the sunset without the hassle of crowds. 

The narrow streets were still decorated from a festival the town had hosted the previous weekend.  There where thin cotton runners down the center, lined with antique lanterns and baskets of various flowers.  The streets still maintain their medieval layout, and wind throughout the buildings, at times more like alleys.  The entire city is on a giant hill, with smaller hills within it.  Around every corner seems to be a snapshot of the past.  Cobblestone, churches, small family businesses- everything dark, shut down for the night.  The main square, Plaza Zocodovar, was right next to our hotel, and despite it being a Sunday night, was full of people eating, drinking and just hanging out.  

  The next day we had to catch the 1:30 train back to Madrid to then get on a 4 hour train to Alicante.  We woke up early and checked out the cathedral, the most famous in Spain.

We did a little souviner shopping, but didn't find much.  Souviner are tough because you want to remember the places you have visited, but at the same time, luggage room is limited.  (In my case, extremely limited.  I have absolutely no idea how I will bring my belongings back to the states.  Things just seem to appear and multiply so quickly!)  Anyway, we bought a little pin because I have a project I am going to do with them when I get home.  I'm going to need some metal work lessons from Dad because I think it might involve some soudering, that's another story.  We also bought some Marzipan, Toledo's famous sweet.  It is made with sugar and ground almonds and is amazing.  There are tiny, family run stores selling it everywhere in Toledo.  The older lady who sold it to us explained that they sold two kinds, one was 50% almonds/50% sugar and the fancy artisan kind was 80% almonds/20% sugar.  We went for the good stuff.  Neither of us had tried it before, which was probably a good thing because we probably would have bought a lot more.

It came in regular almond color or dyed and shaped like certain fruits.  Both were amazing, but I think I liked the fruit ones the best.  We still have some left; we had to ration it.  I'm not sure what is going to happen when it runs out--- might have to go back to Toledo!  

Lisboa, Sintra, e Coba da Roca

Arriving in the Lisbon airport we took a taxi to our hotel.  During the ride it was interesting  seeing everything written in Portuguese from being used to Spanish and looking similar but different.  The hotel was nice we arrived around noon.  From there we went exploring Lisbon, Heading down towards the River Tejo, we were kind of following our travel guide and kind of just walking and exploring.  We walked passed plazas and cathedrals and climbed up the endless hills to lookout points above the entire city. Hiking around the city all day, even up to the castle, we saw all of the Lisbon sights.  Exhausted from walking so long with countless hills.  We decided to take the train back to the hotel. Taking the metro back to the Hotel we bought a pass for 10 trips and thought it would be fine to just pass it back so we could both use it.  That did not pan out; I went through the turnstile then handed the pass back to Brom and it would not work again and let him through.  Luckily a nice local man was walking by and saw our troubles and swiped his card so Bromsky could get through.  After that we bought separate passes for the rest of our metroing.  Back at the hotel we took a break before heading back downtown for dinner.  It was past 11 o'clock so a lot of places had stopped serving food.  We wandered around for a bit, but it was still raining, so we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was nice to have some American food, a good old fashioned veggieburger.  Bromley had some macaroni and cheese.  Classic.

The next day we woke up and it was raining again.  It rained in Portugal everyday, but always just a light sprinkle and never lasting for more than an hour at a time.  Kind of annoying, but could have been worse.  We decided to head out by the airport to "Parque das Nacoes" or Park of Nations, where the 1998 World Fair was hosted.  The complete opposite of downtown Lisbon, the buildings, museums, arenas and aquarium there are very modern architecture.  Big, white, lots of windows, right on the Rio Tejos, it was a nice change.  To escape the rain, we went to the aquarium first.  It has a huge central tank the size of four olympic swimming pools and home to hundreds of sting rays, sharks, tunas and schools of random little fish.  The four quadrants of the building are spilt up into more tanks and exhibits featuring different oceans- arctic, tropical, mediterranean, Caribbean, everything.  Bromley was into the photography and got some killer pics.  (see picasa web..)

In the park we walked around the water gardens, rode the cable cars over the promenade, ate some Pizza Hut, and checked it all out.  

After a layover at the hotel, we went out to the Barrio Alto, Lisbon's nightlife district.  We saw some interesting folk, walked around, checked out some of the local establishments and ate seafood at a cute little place.  We didn't stay long because we were tired and the neighborhood is a little sketchy, honestly.  

The next day we took a day trip to Sintra, only a 40 minute train ride away from Lisbon.  Arriving, we took the bus from the city center up to the Palacio de Pena Parque, the oldest palace of European Romanticism.   It was the summer residence for the Portugese royal family.  The last queen of Portugal, Amelia, spent her last night in the palace before leaving the country in exile in 1910.  Since then it has become a major tourist attraction and has been declared a UNESC World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. 

We bought the double pass for the entire palace and the moorish castle close-by.  Definitely a bargain, we got to go inside the entire palace and see many of the original decor and furniture used by the royal family.  Of course, no photography allowed, but it was beautiful.

The palace is surrounded by a huge park with many lakes, giant trees, old relics and hills everywhere.  The climate is warm and humid, with ferns and flowers everywhere.  The park was beautiful and deserted, so it was fun to walk around and explore.

From there we went over to the medieval castle, built by the Moors in the 9th or 10th century.  It reminded me of Alicante's castle, but was slightly more ruined.  Again, it was on top of a giant hill with breathtaking views.

From Sintra, we took a local bus to Cabo da Roca, the western most point of mainland europe.  It was beautiful--the rocky cliff shore with the Atlantic splashing against it.  There wasn't much there besides a little monument, a lighthouse and meadows of wild flowers.  We got there right at sunset and missed the rain; everything worked out perfectly.  

Matthew Bromley is in Spain

So then, after a few finals, a research paper or two and some Medieval Spanish Literature (ew), I hopped on a train to Madrid (anyone coming to Spain, if you check the Renfe website ahead of time, they will have internet specials on certain trains and cut the price down to nothing...) and met up with Brom.  The last time I saw him was around Christmas/New Year's... it had been some time.  Almost didn't recognize him.  :)

We met up at our hotel which was right off of Puerto del Sol, the plaza that marks the very center of Spain and basically the center of downtown Madrid.  First we wandered around the Botantical Gardens, and took some great flower pics.  It seemed like they were replanting some sections of it, but the parts that were done were very pretty.  The gardens were right next to the Prado, Madrid's famous art museum, so we headed there next.  No pictures allowed inside, but it was awesome.  They were hosting a huge Goya exhibit that week, so it was perfect timing.  Bromley lasted a few hours before the jet lag started to set in and he couldn't handle any more art.  

That night we walked around Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor, and ate dinner at a very cute italian restaurant in the middle of the plaza.  

The next day we got up early and went to the Royal Palace.  There was some sort of official ceremonies going on outside and on the streets the around the palace, with horses and carriages and guards dressed in costumes.  The horses were beautiful.  

We ate lunch with my friend Kim who was in Madrid with her Aunt who is visiting from the States, then we headed over to Retiro Park.  Hundreds of acres, with forests, gardens, lakes, fountains, pavilions, almost anything you could imagine.  Bromley decided we should rent a row boat, so we rowed around the lake for a while.  There was an accordion player on the shore, which I loved, so it was really nice.  We walked along the entire park and stumbled across some sort of movie shooting, which a water glass player.  Probably some crazy spanish movie.  

Next we went over to the Reina Sofia, the modern art museum.  Two of the rooms were closed for maintainance, including Picasso's "Guernica," very disappointing.  On the up side, our admission was free.  We saw other Picasso's and many Dali's, so it was pretty exciting.  

On the way back to the hotel, we found some ice cream in Plaza Santa Ana.  

Madrid is a great city because all of the major sights are within a few miles right in the center of the city.  We barely used our metro passes.  All of the museums and monuments are right next to each other.  From Madrid, we woke up early the next day and headed off to Portugal.

Lots to catch up on...

First, Camino de Santiago.

May 9-15 about twenty other kids in my program and I hiked 104 kilometers from Ourense to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain.  We took a 14 hour bus ride up to Ourense- you can imagine the excitement.  We spent the first night there in a hostel type place in a cemetery.  Yes, slightly creepy.  The bunk beds were comfortable and despite the coughs and other noises that come from having 30 people all sleeping in the same giant room, it was a good night.  The next morning we got an early start on our route, Via de la Plata.  There are many different routes of the pilgrimage, from everywhere in western europe, all leading to the cathedral in Santiago.  The oldest and most famous route starts in Paris.  Our route started in Sevilla, but we just did the second half. 

The legend is that St. James body, which was beheaded in Rome and sent into the sea, washed ashore off the coast of northwestern Spain, and was drug inland to the spot where the cathedral stands today.  In the ancient times, when news of this spread, the pilgrimage to Santiago became one of the most famous in the world, along with Jerusalem and Rome.  It is said that if you complete the pilgrimage for religious reasons, your are directly admitted into heaven, no purgatory necessary.  We aren't sure if we qualify of not, since we are also getting 3 credit hours for school...

Anyway, the countryside in northern Spain is gorg.  It is green and hilly, vineyards everywhere.  We had a few rain scares- it would start sprinkling and we would whip out our poncho/trash bags,  but then nothing major would happen.  It rained all night one night, causing some swampage in the lower lands in between the hills.  We got a little muddy, there was no choice.  I had to throw away some socks- there was no hope for them.  Galicia, the northern region, is famous for their bread, soup and seafood.  The food along the way was delicious.  We would wake up and eat some fruit or something for breakfast, then start hiking.  About halfway through the day we would stop in a meadow and have a picnic, complete with bread, ham, cheese, wine and fruit.  Then back to the hike, until we reached the overnight stop.  Galicians love pilgrams and would constantly stop and wave at us, invite us inside for water or food, anything.  The places we slept are specially made and run for pilgrams.  People do the camino all throughout the year, but it is most popular (and less cold) in the summer.  Armando, our guide and fearless leader, said that during the peak times you have to hurry to get to the lodges before they fill up--- it becomes more like a race.  We were all thankful that we all had a bunk bed and were able to walk at our own pace and enjoy the countryside.  We walked a total of 4 days: about 20 km, 35 km, 30 km, 20 km.  Not bad.  We got to Santiago in the afternoon on the fourth day, and were all ready for a break.   We spent the next day walking around the city, going to mass in the cathedral (which has an amazing incense urn hanging from the ceiling that they swing across the entire church....see pictures) and having an amazing lunch in one of the downtown restaurants.  Then back to the bus for an overnight drive home.  It was funny driving back through the same hills we had just walked.  They didn't look quite the same out a bus window.  We got back to Alicante the next morning at about 6 am and were ready to collapse.  It was an awesome experience and I definitely never would have gotten to see that countryside in any other way.  

Still living the dream...

Well, life goes on.  I have a few new updates for ya'll.

Last Tuesday a few friends and I took a day trip to Alcoy, a town about an hour and a half inland from Alicante.  We went for their huge festival, called Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians) that celebrates the battles between the two cultures centuries ago.  The festival happens at different times of the year in many different towns in the Valenician region, but Alcoy's is the largest and most famous.  The festival is three days, but we were only there for the middle day, last Tuesday.  The main event is essentially a giant parade.  Hundreds of people of all ages are dressed up either as Christians or Moors and walk through the downtown area.  The costumes are very intense and the crowed loves it.  The whole parade lasts from 4 - 10 pm, so we only stayed for part of it since we had to catch a 8:45 bus back to Alicante.

The best part of Alcoy was the people.  They were all so friendly, slightly drunk, and very excited about the Moors and Christians.  At one point we were walking down the street with lines of "Christians" on either side and they started chanting "USA, USA."  It was great.

During the parade I was standing inbetween a little old lade and an little photographer man, who both were from Alcoy.  They were asking me all about the United States and who I voted for or planned to vote for.  Everyone here tries to speak politics with us, and for me, I have no idea what I'm talking about, and really don't want to discuss it with them.  Then they started telling me everything I could ever want to know about Alcoy and the festival.  It was a fun day and I got some good pictures!  The horses in the parade were awesome.  (Really made me miss Blue...)

Anyway, other than that things have been pretty standard.  The weather keeps getting warmer and warmer so we have been spending a lot of time on the beach.  The last few days it has even been warm enough to swim and there were lots of boats out so we had some waves, which was fun.

A few days ago a bunch of American students and I were all down on the beach, hanging out.  Out of no where some guy comes over and says, "Hey, you guys speak English?"  We were like... Yes.  He started talking to us and turns out that he was on the Washington Generals basketball team that travels with the Harlem Globetrotters.  Pretty soon all his teammate/friends show up and were asking as all about our semester and travels.  They were really friendly and had been in Spain a week, so were thankful to have found other english-speakers.  They ended up inviting us to their game that night, each player got so many free tickets, so there were plenty for us to use.  Twelve of us went and had a great time.  I had heard of the Harlem Globetrotters before, but I thought they were a normal basketball team.  It was really fun to watch, and fun to also see all the Spanish people cheering and loving it.  After the game the team wanted us to show them the town, so obviously we took them to all our favorite bars.  They had a great time, and I think were a little sad that they were only here one night.  They have a four month tour of europe going on now, so they are scheduled every night to the max.  I put a few pictures up of the game, but I should have more soon.

That's about it for now.  Hope everyone is well at home!  I really miss you guys!  . . . and I keep having dreams about barbeque, so I must miss KC some too!

Senda del Poeta - Walk for Miguel Hernandez

This past weekend, everyone in my program and I had the pleasure of walking 70 km (roughly 44 miles) in honor of a famous Spanish poet, Miguel Hernandez.  Hernandez was born in Orihuela and died in Alicante, and the walk follows the same route.  Early Friday morning we took a bus up to Orihuela, a small town south of Alicante.  About 2,000 people began the walk the first day, including what seemed like millions of grade school age kids.  We began walking at about 11 AM and walked all day, arriving at Albatera, the sleeping point, at about 6 PM.  It really wasn't bad since we stopped about every 45 minutes for water or fruit breaks, and an hour-long break for lunch.  My only issue with the entire thing was the crowd- I definitely prefer to have my personal space and Spanish people do not understand that concept. 

In Albatera there is a theater dedicated to Hernandez where we were allowed to sleep.  However, it was attached to a beautiful little park with waterfalls and palm trees everywhere, and my friends and I thought it would be a great idea to sleep outside.  At about 3 AM we were all still awake and freezing, so we moved into the theater.  (Imagine hundreds of strangers all sleeping in a giant theater-- snoring, coughing, laughing... it was a long night.)

The next morning all the Spaniards were up by 7, so we had no choice but to get up too.  We started walking again at about 10, same routine as the first day.  Walking through small towns, orchards, suburbs, farms and countryside, stopping here and there for breaks.  The second day was the longest, due to the 28 kms and the lack of sleep from the night before.

We spent the next night at the University of Elche, the same city of the Palmera grove.  Many of the walkers dropped out after the first day, so there were considerably less people.  (About 300ish?)  We slept in the main part of the University, spread out everywhere, so there was much more space.  Libby and I were asleep by 10, not waking up the next morning until 8, despite the tile floors.  We were exhausted.

The next morning we ate breakfast and were back on the trail by 10.  The last day had the most beautiful scenery by far.  Alicante is the most mountainous region of Spain, and walking through the mountains was beautiful.  There were less villages and the ground became more and more dry and desert-like.  The finishing point of the walk is Alicante's cemetery, just outside of town.  We walked straight up to Hernandez's tomb and got a good look at it.  There were tons of local poets, all wanting to recite their poems at his grave.  The spanish peopler really got into it; we were all ready to catch the local bus back into the city.

The weather was great, pretty sunny, warm in the afternoons and more chilly in the morning and evening.  We got to meet a few local spanish people, so that was interesting.  This walk has been going on for years, on the anniversary of Hernandez's death, and for many people it is an annual tradition.  Hopefully it will get us in shape for the Camino de Santiago in four weeks!  

Ciao Ciao!!

The past week I have been in Rome visiting my friend Whitney, who I know all the way back from the old STA days.  Whitney went to Sion but we met through Melissa.  Despite the St. Teresa's/Sion "rivalry," we all hung out together and became a big happy family.  Such a sweet little history.

Anyway, Whitney has been in Rome since January.  She is quite brave: she actually took French in school, but went to Rome by herself without knowing any Italian.  By now is practically fluent-- well, almost.  She lives in an apartment near the Vatican with 5 other girls, none of whom knew each other before moving in.  I got to stay with them, which was amazing, because staying in a hostel by-myself would have been a little sketch.  They were from all over the US, and it was fun to just meet some new people.

So I arrived on Monday afternoon and Whitney and I dove right into the sightseeing mode.  We went to a bunch of the piazzas, which are big open squares usually with a fountain or monument in the middle and cafes, stores or churches lining the sides.  I have never seen so many churches- literally one on every street.  That night we went to dinner with Whitney's friend Michelle's entire family who was in town visiting for spring break.  Michelle has 5 younger brothers and they all look so much alike.  Her family was quite entertaining and the pizzeria was incredible.  The food in Rome was amazing- thin, crispy pizza with almost anything you can think of on it and tons of different types of pasta, bruschetta, focaccia, salads... it was amazing really.  

The next day we went to the market and picked up some blood oranges.  I had never heard of them before, but they are delic.  They are like regular oranges, except they are red on the inside and have a slightly different flavor.  From the market, we went walking around, strolling through the winding cobblestone streets until we came across a landmark.  Rome was unbelievably big, and you couldn't walk more than a block or two without coming across some amazing building or piazza or famous monument.  We saw the Pantheon, Spanish Embassy, stopped and ate some blood oranges on the Spanish Steps, had a little picnic in Villa Borghese... it was quite a day.  

The weather was UNBELIEVABLE the entire time I was there- sunny, 70's and beautiful.  They said it had rained five days in a row the week before and that this was the best weather so far of the year, so I was pretty lucky.  (The last morning was a little chilly and overcast while I was on the way to the airport, but no prob.)

That night we went out to dinner at another small restaurant in Trastevere, which is an old part of Rome on the opposite side of the Tiber River from the rest of the old central part.  It has a bunch of winding cobblestone streets, little cafes and restaurants everywhere, sort of the bohemian quarter of Rome-- so cute.  Dinner was amazing again.  From there we went to a few pubs and bars.  We were with people from Whitney's program and all her friends from school, all Americans, and it was great.

The next day was still more sightseeing.  We went to a long relaxing lunch at a small cafe, ate on the sidewalk out front.  In the afternoon, Whitney had to study for her midterm the next day, so her friend Kelly and I went walking around.  We went into St. Peter's Basilica, which was pretty overwhelming.  It's huge.  From there we walked down the Tiber River, past the island and saw a few temples and churches.  Then we walked up to this little orange tree park that had a great view down to the river and overlooking the city.  You had to walk up a long winding road to get to the park, then we kept just walking along the street.  There were a bunch of little churches hidden up there, including the one that the pope had said Holy Thursday mass in.  Anyway, we were walking along this little road and all of a sudden you come up to a huge green door, like 15 feet high.  When you look through the keyhole of the door, there are green shrubs inside the gated garden and the opening on the other end perfectly frames the dome of St. Peter's in the distance.  It was really neat, and something I had never heard of before.  That night we hung out in Whitney's apartment and watched some 30 Rock on the internet.  Classic.

The next day Whitney had to be up at 6 in the morning to register for her classes next semester (midnight at home...the time difference is so annoying.)  So we got an early start on the day and got some coffee from the cafe downstairs.  The guy that works there is friends with Whitney since she has been going there since January and offered to take us on a tour of Rome the next day.  Then straight to the Vittorio Emanuele, which is a relatively new monument that the locals don't like too much.  They feel it was selfishly built and doesn't fit in with the rest of Rome's architecture.  We walked up in it and through the museum, mostly just to see the view from the top, which was amazing.  It overlooks the entire Roman Forum, the Colosseum and many other ruins in that area.  We got drinks in the cafe and the top and had a few more oranges.  From there we walked down and saw the Colossuem close up, all the ruins, all that.  It is hard to look at them and actually realize what you are seeing, it seems so surreal.  It was really amazing.  We went to lunch in Trastevere again, got some sandwiches and sat in a piazza.  We also got some gelato.  (Actually, we had gelato everyday I was there, always from a different place.  It was so good, and since the weather was warm it was very refreshing and delic.)  

Whitney had her midterm that afternoon, so I let her study and went to the Vatican Museum solo, which was probably better since in museums you are mostly just reading the info and walking around looking at things quietly anyway.  There was no line, I walked straight in.  I decided to get an audio guided tour so I would know what in the world I was looking at, which ended up being really interesting.  You have a little walkie-talking looking thing and just type in the number and hold it up to your ear and it tells you all about everything.  The museum was incredible, everything in it was beautiful.  It takes at least 3 hours to walk through the whole thing, then the final room is the Sistine Chapel.  It was just like pictures, but ten times cooler in person.  It was beautiful, also somewhat surreal to be standing in.  

Whitney and I met back up after her test and hiked over to the Trevi Fountain.  We tried to find some short cuts and ended up just getting a little lost, but in a city like Rome, getting lost is still fun because every street is so beautiful, it was like being on a movie set or in a postcard.  Eventually we found the Trevi Fountain and threw in our coins, which is supposed to make it more likely that you will return to Rome in the future.  There were people everywhere, big tourist spot.  They say they pull over 3,000 euros out of the fountain every day, then donate it to charity.  

On the last night in Rome, we ate dinner at one of Whitney's friend's apartments, who made enchiladas.  They were delicious and it was nice to eat something different.  You don't find a lot of mexican food over here and we were all really excited about chips and salsa.  After dinner we met up with Whitney's baker friend and they took us to the Colosseum at night, all lit up, which is beautiful.  We also went to a park that overlooked the whole city, and you could see all the monuments lit up, popping up out of the rest of the city in the distance.  It was so beautiful and unreal to see.  

The next day I was on my way back to Alicante.  I am really proud of myself for traveling and flying alone.  I was very nervous, I don't know why, but there were no problems and it was actually kind of nice to just sit in the airport and read my book.  Well, if you read all of that, I'm impressed.  I kind of rambled, but that was Roma.  So fab.

No Pasa Nada...

This week as been pretty uneventful-- and very relaxing.  Since it is spring break time, we have had lots of visitors to Alicante.  Ryland was here for the weekend, Libby's boyfriend Kevin is here, and lots of our other friend's families or friends are in town.  They all spent a few days in Alicante before traveling around to random spots, leaving me here to hold down the fort.  I have been running a lot, going to the beach when its sunny enough, reading and watching random spanish tv shows.  Life is good.  The weather is warming up, somewhere in the 70's most days.  In a few weeks it will probably be quite toasty.  The beach is nice, except it can get very windy at times, and when big clouds come it is a little chilly still. 

I leave for Rome to visit Whitney next Monday.  I am extremely excited to see her, stay with her and see all the sights.  Live as the Romans do, you know.  I will be there from Monday through Friday, so it should be a nice relaxing trip, plenty of time to see the eternal city.

This pic is the Alicante port at sunset.  I have been trying to take as many pictures as possible, and now that the weather is warm, it is much more fun to go out on photo shoots.  Anyway, just wanted to update ya'll.  No news really, but that's always best.  Love you, Miss you!

London is so posh...

So from Dublin we moved straight on to LONDON!  It was amazing, didn't have much sleep coming off of St. Patrick's day, and our flight was at 8AM, so we were slightly groggy when we arrived at about 9:30.  We stayed with our friend RYLAND (XO Sister ♥) and she had sneakily arranged a place for us to pick up the keys to her flat, since she works as an intern at a magazine and wouldn't be home until the evening.  So, we dropped off our bags and hit the tube.  The first day we saw the Memorial Arch, Hyde Park, a bunch of random memorials, went up in the Eye, visited Parliament and Big Ben, went over the Tower Bridge and saw the Tower of London.  Busy day.  By the time we got back to Ryland's flat we were exhausted.  We went for a pint at her local pub and called it a night.

The next day we woke up early to go to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards.  However, sadly we waited forever and it never happen.  It was awesome to see the Palace just as it was though.  While we were waiting the Royal police/horseback riders (not sure of their proper name...) rode by, which I loved.  The horses were amazing and it was neat to see them just walking down the middle of the street, right in front of the palace.  From there, we met up with Ryland and went to lunch at Shakespeare's Pub, ate the local fish and chips, so british.  Next we took the tube out to the Globe Theater and took the tour, which was really interesting.  There was some sort rehearsal for a children's performance that was going on the next night, which we watched for a bit.  Next we walked past the London Bridge and over to St. Paul's Cathedral, where Prince Charles and Diana were married.  It was beautiful and huge and amazing.  

After that, it was back to Ryland's flat to regroup.  We got cleaned up and decided to go to a bar called O'Neill's (that name is everywhere...) in Piccadilly Circus.  Anyway, we took the tube out to Piccadilly and walked around until we found O'Neill's.  It was fun, pretty low-key, but a good time.  In London, the pubs close at about 11 and then you have to go to a club, which usually means a hefty cover charge--in pounds.  We somehow avoided that.  We decided to go to this particular bar because it had different floors, the bottom floor more of a pub, the middle just a bar, and the top a dance club.  We just sat in the bar and chatted for a while, it was great to catch up.

The next morning we had to be at the Ryanair airport, which is way outside London, by 9.  It was an early morning, but we made it to the flight no problem.  We got back to Alicante at about 3:00, there is an hour time difference between here and there.  Ryland took a later flight and got here at about 6:00 that night.  She has been here since then and we have been showing her the spanish ways.  It is so fun to be able to see where she has been this whole semester, and then be able to show her what we have been up to.

London was fabulous, it was a quick trip, but definitely worthwhile.

♧DUBLIN♧

I LOVE IRELAND.  Dublin was amazing.  Libby, Maggie and I left last Friday afternoon and arrived in Dublin at about 9.  We took the bus to our hostel, Globetrotters, which was perfect.  It was a few blocks away from Temple Bar, the Liffey, Trinity College... basically right in the center of downtown.  It was Libby and I's first hostel experience, and it really wasn't bad.  We were in 12 person rooms, bunk beds everywhere, and even though it was completely booked, it wasn't too crowded.  Each morning they had a traditional Irish breakfast, with everything from cereal and fruit to eggs and potatoes, lots of coffee... it was fab.  On the morning of St. Patrick's day they had an Irish band playing songs at one of the tables.  There was a dancing contest- i didn't compete, but it was so great.  

So the first night we just went out to dinner, walked around temple bar and called it a night.  We wanted to wake up early the next day to start seeing the sights.  On Saturday we went to St. Stephen's Green in the morning, which I loved.  It was beautiful.  The flowers were just starting to bloom everywhere.  After being in the Alicante desert for a while, it was nice to be surrounded by some green grass.  From there we walked to another park close by, looking for the James Joyce statue, but we never actually found it.  We did stumble across the Oscar Wilde memorial, which was nice.  It started raining/drizzling, and was freezing, but we pressed on.  We saw the Prime Minister's house, Huguenot Cemetery, and then decided it was time to head out to the Guinness storehouse.  We took the full tour, learned all about the beer-making process.  It makes you appreciate it a little more when you know how much work goes into putting it together.  The building was amazing, about 7 stories.  You start at the bottom and you work your way up... the top floor is the gravity bar, where you get to enjoy a complimentary pint.  I didn't think I would like Guinness, but I actually really did.  They say the Guinness in Dublin tastes different than anywhere else in the world, we'll see how Spain measures up...

Saturday night we went out to dinner and to Temple Bar.  It was still raining, which was annoying.  It was packed, obviously, but fabulous.  We were meeting people from all over the world... Holland, Australia, Switzerland, England, everywhere, and then of course the Irish.  So fun!

Sunday we woke up and tried to go to Mass, but we got to St. Patrick's Cathedral and found that 1. it wasn't Catholic, and 2. they didn't have services until the afternoon.  We tried to go to Christ's Church also, but the times were too late for us... at least we made an effort, I guess.  

Instead, we took a train out to Howth (pronounced as if it rhymes with both) which is a small coastal town about 10 miles out from Dublin.  It was my favorite part of the trip, hands down.  The town was adorable, with sail boats and fishing boats... we even saw seals swimming in the harbor.  There were houses all up on the bluffs overlooking the ocean,  and a strip of cafes and tiny stores...one was even named "Ann's."  (Got a pic, no worries.)  Later in the afternoon we toured Dublin Castle, brushed up on our history lessons.  It still is the major government building of Ireland, so they wont let you into a lot of the rooms, but it was nice to see what we could.

On Monday was the parade, which began at noon.  We had so much fun... it was still chilly, but sunny so it didn't matter.  It felt like being at a football game in Columbia, it was so great.  Everyone was out on the streets, dressed up to the max.  The parade was intense...about 2 hours.  Afterwards there were concerts on the streets, sort of a huge festival.  It was great.  We spent the rest of the day just walking around, listening to music and hanging out.  It really couldn't have been much better.  

Elche

Last Saturday Libby and I went to Elche, the second largest town in the Alicante province, just about a half hour drive down the coast.  It is home to Europe's largest palm tree grove, over 200,000 trees.  It is also the footwear capitol of Spain, making over 50% of the country's shoes.  We took a bus with a group of students from the university, leaving at 9 in the morning and staying just until the evening.  In Elche, we visited the town park, the archeological museum, the palm garden and spent lunch and the afternoon walking through the center of town, exploring.  

The town itself was very cute, little and clean, with palm trees everywhere.  We went to St. Mary's Basilica while there was a wedding going on.  You pay a euro and can take a tiny winding staircase up to the roof, overlooking the entire palm grove and the rest of the city.  As we were coming back down we stopped to check out the inside of the church and people were just getting married.  (The church was huge and we were all the way in the back...but still.  If tour group of foreign kids walked in on my wedding someday, I would not be very happy.)  It was neat to see, though.  We have visited all of these amazing cathedrals and churches, but I never really thought about people getting married, or baptized or anything inside of them.  

The garden was my favorite part.  There were palm trees everywhere, any type you can imagine.  They also had a very large cactus garden.  Since the climate is so dry and desert-like, those are really the only type of plants that survive well.  There were ponds spread throughout the garden, with ducks and turtles and giant gold fish.  The weather was beautiful, mid-70's, sunny.  It was really nice to see.  The flowers here are just starting to bloom, so pretty.  

On the way out of town we stopped at a shoe factory and museum.  It was interesting, we walked through their displays, then watched a 3-D video showing how they make the shoes by hand.  The tour led conveniently into their showroom and store.  It was awesome to see all the handmade, leather shoes, but I didn't made any purchases.  None of the students did-- they were definitely a little out of our price range.  It was fun to see how they were made, and something we never would have seen had we not been on the tour, so I'm glad we went.

I leave for Dublin on Friday!! SO EXCITED.  I did just realize that I don't have any green clothes with me here--might need to make a purchase.  I'm not sure what would happen to you if you weren't wearing green on St. Patty's Day in Dublin.... 

Barca Futbol!

Last week some friends and I went to Barcelona for the Barcelona vs. Valencia soccer game.  It was intense--if there is one thing Spanish people are crazy about, it's soccer.  The game was at Camp Nou, the Barcelona stadium which is the biggest soccer stadium in the world.  It was basically sold out, even though it was a Wednesday night game.  We splurged and bought the second level of tickets, so our seats were amazing.  They were on the second tier, front row, right behind on the goal.  We could see the sweat on the players... :)  It ended up being a great game to go to.  Valencia scored around half-time, so all the Barcelona fans were a little annoyed, but then their team pulled through and scored right in the final seconds.  They went crazy.  I hate that soccer games can end in ties; I wanted someone to win.  But it was fun.  It was also neat because Valencia is technically Alicante's team, since Alicante is the second largest city in the Valencia region.  But, we decided it would be smart to go with the flow and cheer for Barcelona...we were definitely outnumbered and surrounded by Barcelona fans.  The Valencia fans that had come to the game had to be escorted from the stadium by cops...that's how crazy these people are about soccer.  

The next day we spent exploring the major sights of Barcelona.  I saw Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia, both famous works by Guadi.  The construction of the Sagrada Familia Basilica began in 1882 and is scheduled to be completed in 2026.  But that's a long story... (joke).  Park Guell had mosaics everywhere and was so beautiful.  Its up on top of a giant hill and overlooks the whole city.  Loved it.  We walked around La Rambla and the Gothic Quarter, the most famous part of Barcelona.  It kind of reminded me of a giant Alicante, really huge.  The Gothic Quarter was my favorite- it was small winding streets with awesome ancient buildings everywhere.  Tons of churches, boutiques, cafes- so cute.  Finally we went to the Arc de Triumf,  kind of like the one in Paris, except in Barcelona it is made of red brick.  It's massive.

It was a great weekend-went by way too fast!  

Another Dia en Alicante...

This is a picture of the Explanada, the famous walkway along the beach near downtown Alicante.  It is where all the merchants set up tents with random nicknacks, scarves, jewelry, dvd knockoffs, pretty much anything people will buy.  We live about 3 blocks inland from right here.  The brick walk right along the ocean is where I run.  I think its about a mile long, but that is just my estimation, who knows.  It goes by the sailboat club and the port, past the big hotels and along the main beach.  I have learned that if you go during siesta, from about 2-4, there are A LOT less people.  I have a feeling though that as the weather warms up and tourist season kicks in, things are going to get a little crazier.  

So far the weather has been pretty mild.  It ranges from about 40 to 70, usually being somewhere around 55.  No snow, thank god.  The last week it has been overcast and slightly misting all the time, but the locals say that the weather gets 'bad' (for them, misting 40's is bad...they have no idea) for a week or two in February, then by March it's 70's + and sunny.  :) Can't wait!

Tomorrow I am going to Barcelona with some friends for the Barcelona v. Valencia soccer game.  Everyone here is OBSESSED with 'futbol' so it should be intense.  Libby and I are going to stay in Barcelona for a few days with Megan, another Chi O who is studying there.  I'll post some pics as soon as I can!  Miss you all.

Valencia and More!

Last week we went to Valencia, the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona.  We had gone there with the entire group several weeks ago for a day, but we had run out of time to get to all the major sites.  We hadn't even made it to the Aquarium, which is known to be the best aquarium in Spain and maybe even all of western europe.   The aquarium was awesome.  They have several different buildings, mostly underground, all connected by tunnels and walkways.  One building is dedicated to Mediterranean fish, another to Tropical or Caribbean fish, another to big ocean fish like

 sharks and whales.  There was an Arctic building and even and Antarctic which was supposed to have penguins, but they were MIA.  The aquarium is slightly out of the major part of the city, but it is grouped together with a science museum and art museum.  We went to the science museum, which was exactly like Science City or the Science Center in St. Louis, except everything was in Spanish.

After the museums we took a bus into the center of the city and walked around for a while, before catching the train back.  There was a Medieval Market in the marketplace, with gypsies and renaissance people everywhere.   It was pretty intense, people back to back and everywhere you looked.  I got a chance to meet up with two friends from high school who are studying there, Kelly Connor and Angela Miller, which was really nice.  We grabbed a quick dinner, then were back on the train. 

Taking the train was so easy.  The train station in Alicante is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment and the trains usually take you right into the middle of the city.  

Classes have started and are going well.  I am taking a Spanish Classic Literature class through my program, then two classes on the University of Alicante campus.  One is Medieval Literature and the other is a Court Translation class.  The translation students at the university are required to know at least three languages, they call them A, B, and C.  A would be the language you grew up with, followed by B, C, D...who knows.  It's amazing to hear them translate things so easily.  We look at actual spanish court cases in the class; it is really interesting.

The weather hasn't been that great here lately, but it at least there's no snow!  It has gotten into the upper 50's each afternoon, been overcast, a few sprinkles here and there.  Nothing terrible, just could be better.  They say that by March things should be decent.

That's about it.  We did watch the Super Bowl, the first half  we watched the whole time with it dubbed over into spanish, then at half time the waitress figured out how to switch the tv over and we got to watch the second half in english.  I saw the half time show, but no commercials.  Oh well, next year.

Carnaval

Last night was Carnaval in Alicante.  It is a festival that is basically Mardi Gras and Halloween rolled into one.  Everyone dresses in costumes, anything from princesses to random scary things.  A lot of boys here like to dress up as woman--its a euro thing.  Most people have something on their face, either a mask or paint or wigs.  Libby and I found a little store run by the Chinese, "tienda china," where we found some great costume gear.  There will be pictures soon!

Spain is on a completely different schedule than the rest of the world.  Here, the parade doesn't start until 10 or 11, concerts are going on in all the plazas from about midnight until 4 in the morning.  People go out late and stay out later.  I still haven't gotten used to it, by about 2 in the morning I'm spent.  Anyway, we all went out together, and by we all I mean some Missouri kids, some German girls and some Japonese kids from our classes.   One of my favorite things about Alicante is that the university has a huge foreign exchange department and there are tons of students from all over the world, especially europe.  It's really fun to speak spanish with someone else who is learning spanish, who doesn't speak english.  If they speak english, its too easy to cheat when you don't know a word and break into spanlish.  When the only language you have in common is spanish, when you don't know a word you are forced to break into charades and act it out somehow.  I love that.

Classes don't start until Wednesday, so Libby and I have a few days to get everything organized in the apt.  We live right above a pub names O'Hara's that is showing the super bowl tonight, which is on at about 2 AM our time.   I am hoping that they show all the same commercials...  we'll see!