I miss Spain

I miss Spain. UVA is great, but I wish I could just fly back over to Valencia for the weekend. Spain was awesome and I miss it. The end.

The adventure comes to an end and the trip back to the USA

Friday August 3, 2007 Cordoba

I woke up at 6:30 and got a shower. I finished getting ready and everyone was still asleep. I was supposed to wake them up, but I thought that they heard my alarm. They all got up and frantically got ready. I went downstairs to get breakfast and call a cab. The first cab that came was too small. The second cab that came was big enough for all of us. We took the cab to the train station and got there with 20 minutes to spare. We waited for the board to show our gate number and when it did we went to our platform and boarded the train. The train ride was a little over an hour and we all drifted in and out of a light sleep. We arrived in Granada around 9:30 and Caleb bought a ticket to Valencia for the following day. We caught a taxi and went to our hotel. It was interesting because our taxi was small so it was a tight fit. Our hotel was very nice. I thought it was a hostel, but it more resembled a hotel. Caleb and I shared one room and the girls shared the other room. We each had bathrooms in our rooms too which was nice. We were located right near the Mezquita as well. We got settled in then walked to the Mezquita. We toured that- it was interesting, but nothing spectacular. It was a Christian church, converted into a Muslim mosque and then taken back over by the Christians so it was an interesting mix of architecture. Liz, Caleb and I prayed the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish then in English in the church. It was cool. We left there and Annie had run into Emily, a girl who was also a part of the UVA in Valencia program. We saw here then left to go get lunch. We walked around and the fors place Caleb’s book recommended was closed so we went to a kabob place, but the kabobs we not ready yet so we came back to our hotel. A little while later we went back to the kabob place for lunch. It was good, but it was really hot and we ended up standing because Caleb did not like how Annie was the only one standing. It was funny. We came back to our hotel and took a siesta. We got up and went to a tea house. We all got something and it was good. The environment was also really cool. We walked around some more and went to a few shops. But it was so hot that we decided to go back to the hotel for siesta numero dos. I watched some tv then ended up figuring out the wireless on my computer. I updated my blog and then the girls come over with their laptops. We all went through some of our pictures which was fun. It was about 8:30 so we decided to go see the Palace of Cordoba. The main part was closed, but we were allowed to enter the gardens for free. It was really cool- the mix of plants and water features. We walked around there and then went to a restaurant for dinner. It was closed so we went to a really good tapas bar. We had sangria, meatballs, spicy potatoes, chicken and croquettes with ham. It was a really good typical Spanish meal. We came back to the hotel to relax and went to bed at a reasonable hour.

Saturday August 4, 2007 Cordoba to Madrid

I woke up in the nice hostel and got a shower. I was all packed and we got a taxi to the train station. The taxi was small so we were packed in the car like sardines. After distributing the breakfast food we said bye to Caleb and we boarded out train to Madrid. And then there were 3. Caleb was going to spend the rest of his time in Valencia with Paul until we all meet back up in Madrid to fly home. On the train ride to Madrid, Liz and I planned what we wanted to see. When we got to Madrid we decided to change our train tickets to and from San Sebastian to beds. I went to the ATM expecting to pay more with the ticket change. The Madrid train station (well there are 3, but the one we came into) was really nice and so were the people. We were able to change out seats to beds and even got money back, it wasn’t more! We found the metro and took that towards our hotel. There were not escalators everywhere and it was hell carrying all of our luggage up and down stairs. We finally made it to out hotel and we checked in. it was a really nice 4 star hotel. Annie, Liz and I shared a room, but I had a cot. We put all of our stuff down and went to find lunch. We found a menu del dia, but it did not start yet so we went to Burger King for a cheap meal. Liz and I left Annie to begin our tour of Madrid because Annie had already visited there this summer. We went to Placio Real and bought audio guides. The palace was awesome. We left there and walked through Plaza Oriente, Puerta del Sol, stopped at El Corte Ingles to buy drinks, walked through Plaza mayor, and then went to the Museo Reina Sofia. It was a contemporary art museum that had many works of Picasso including one of his most famous works- La Guernica. We took the metro back to the hotel to meet up with Annie. The girls went shopping and I went shopping on my own. I didn’t find anything to buy, but got some gift ideas. I met back up with them and was surprised because they wanted to go back to Burger King. Apparently they got coupons on the street for a burger, fries and a drink for less than 3 euro. After that we went to McDonalds for mcflurries. It was not a good day for eating healthy, but oh well, when on vacation right? Wait this whole summer has been a vacation- new plan. We went back to the hotel to watch a special on the bridge collapse in the United States and then went to bed.

Sunday August 5, 2007 Madrid

We slept in and got up around 9. I got a shower and we packed up and had some muffins for breakfast before heading down stairs to check out around 10:15. The hotel was nice enough to hold our luggage all day, but then again it was a 4 star hotel. Annie, Liz and I walked to the Latino district to the flea market. This was no ordinary flea market- it was huge. I found great gifts for my dad and my brother. It was time for Annie to go, so we said bye to here. She was going to Norway to visit AC and taking my UVA duffle bag because Ryan Air is ghetto. She had to ship her suit case home because the weight limit for Ryan Air is 30 pounds. She left and then there were 2- just me and Liz. Liz and I took the metro to the Prado museum. We were hungry and got a snack of a smoothie and a doughnut from dunkin doughnuts (it is hard to heal healthy when you want to be cheap and you are on the go.) We made it to the Prado Museum and they had a lot of art from Patinir (the man who began the landscape genre), El Greco, Goya, Picasso, and Velasquez among others. We got to see some more famous paintings which was cool. We left there in search of café, but had no luck because it was Sunday. We ended up walking to the huge park in Madrid. We found the small water are where people rent boats and paddle around and there was also a cool state and waterfalls. Liz and I ate at a café right by the water. It began to rain so we finished our meal inside. It rained for a while, but we had not experienced rain all summer in Valencia so it was ok. The rain subsided so we finished our walk through the park and ran into the next landmark- another body of water with fountains, a waterfall and a glass house/green house thing. It was cool so Liz and I got some pictures. We finished our walk through the park and took the metro back towards our hotel. We bought tickets to see Ratatouille. We ended up walking through el Corte Ingles, looked at the typical dress of each region of Spain, saw gifts from Valencia (that were too hard to carry home) and had dinner at the café there. I had a good chicken bagel, but Liz had a pizza that was not so good. We finished that and went to see Ratatouille. Spanish theaters are different. First of all they are cheaper than in the US, you have assigned seats, and they have people assist you to your seats. Spanish people are also very expressive during movies- they clap and laugh a lot. The movie was funny, but in Spanish. I translated the first part, just watched the middle and translated the end. After the movie we went back to the hotel to collect our stuff, Liz changed and we walked to the metro to get to another train station. This train station was also cool. They had a digital water fall on one huge wall that reminded me of the Matrix, but it was blue instead of green. We chilled at the train station until 10:30 and boarded our train. We had beds, but we were in a small room with 6 beds- 2 rows of 3 stacked on top of eachother. It was a very small room. We had 3 Australian roommates, an old man then there was Liz and I. We had to sleep with out luggage and the pillows were too flat to be considered pillows. Other than that I slept well because I was so tired. We sleep well everywhere.

Monday August 6, 2007 San Sebastian

I woke up on a moving train. It was a weird feeling. The train employee gave us back the tickets he collected the night before and we got ready to get off the train. We arrived in San Sebastian at 6:50am. It was so early. It was overcast and drizzling, but I loved it- the Basque country in northern Spain looked so different from the rest. There were mountains all around us. We walked through the city, with all of our luggage, in search of our hotel. We found it and the lady let us up early. We sat in the living room and the lady told us to make ourselves comfortable using the tv and internet. She even served us breakfast- toast and coffee even though our reservation was not until that night. Flipping through the channels a UVA basketball game was on in Spanish and they were playing Tennessee. It was a game from last year and it was really weird that it was on here. We relaxed and got to check into our room 4 hours early- no charge. We settled in and decided to walk through the city. We went to purchase some umbrellas because it was beginning to rain. We walked to the beach and it was a great view. The beach was a cove surrounded by mountains on each side and an island between the 2 mountains. There were also many sail boats right off the shore. We walked around the base of one side of the mountain went into a few cathedrals, crossed the river and reached the surfing beach. The waves were great so we watched them for a while. We found a great restaurant with a menu del dia for only 9.50 euros. We had fettuccini, paella, meatballs, chicken, bread, dessert, bottled water and a bottle of wine for that one low price each. It was awesome. Liz and I had a good talk about our backgrounds over lunch. We left and it was pouring down rain. We walked back to our hotel and got soaked. Liz took a nap while I uploaded pictures to facebook, and relaxed. Liz got up and we decided to go climb on of the mountains. One of the mountains had a large Jesus statue on top so we climbed that one. The views of San Sebastian on the way up were awesome. We reached the top and got some great pictures. I took a lot of pictures, a lot. The view of San Sebastian while looking out over the top of the mountain looking at the ocean on 3 sides, another mountain, and an island made this my favorite city so far. We walked around the top for a while and got to see the huge Jesus statue. We then had a great walk down the mountain. Everything was so green and then you look out and see the ocean and waves crashing against the city wall and rocks. It was so awesome. It reminded me of New England. The looking out at another mountain- there was a cliff that dropped right off into the ocean- it looked like pictures from Scotland. If you can’t tell, I really liked this area. I saw an ear piercing place and was temped to get my ear pierced, but decided to think about it over the night. Liz and I continued our walk then split ways to go shopping. I went into a few stores, but nothing interested me so I came back to the hostel. Liz came back soon after and we chilled until we went out. We started at a tapas bar and had 2 pinchos (various appetizers that are at the bar on plates and you just pick what you want) each. We had some good stuff then went to another tapas bar and did the same thing. We each got 2 pinchos and each got a beer. It is very typical in San Sebastian to go to 3 or 4 bars/restaurants and have pinchos and drink. After that we went to get gelato and sit in a park to talk. We went back to the bed and breakfast. We were about to ask the hostess if we could leave our stuff at the hotel and use the showers the next day after we checked out and before we did she offered us her house and showers and everything. She was so nice. We chilled and went to bed.

Tuesday August 7, 2007 San Sebastian

We slept in and got up around 10. Our beds were so comfortable. We went to the dining room to have breakfast and the hostess had fresh quarter of a pineapple for us. It was so sweet and good. We also had toast, coffee, orange juice, mango juice, jellies, and cereal. This lady was a great host. We packed our things and put our luggage in a secured room. We left and went to the super market. We bought food for lunch then walked along the beach to the other side where there was another mountain. We walked around and got to as far as we could walk out. There were great views. There were also sculptors coming out of the rocks and places where the waves blew air up pipes to where people were standing. We walked to the little train that would carry us up the mountain. We bought tickets and boarded the train. It was a special train that went straight up the mountain and was carried by cables. We reached the top and the view was amazing. One of the best views I have seen. There was a great view of San Sebastian, mountain ranges, the ocean and an island. There was even a log flume water ride at the top and a water wheel. Liz and I sat on one side over looking the ocean from above and a lighthouse below and had bocadillos for lunch. We finished that and after enjoying the view for a bit longer we took the train back down the mountain. We met a guy from Harvard on the way down. He was backpacking around Spain and hiking. We also met a little Spanish kid who insisted on talking to us all way down the mountain. We walked back to our side of town along the beach and went back to the hotel to get our bathing suits. We changed and went to the beach. We laid on the beach and then I went swimming. The water was a little cold, but it was not too bad. I swam out to a floating dock where there were slides. It was fun. I ran into some Spaniards from Pamplona as well as some other college students from Scotland. They had cool accents. I swam back to shore and read on the beach with Liz. We chilled there until around 6 and went back to the hostel to shower. We then went out to get more pinchos at tapas bars. We had some great ones, but my favorite was a pork and pineapple kabob that was so tender. They cooked it after I ordered it and the presentation on the plate with sauces was great. We had some more gelato and chilled in a park then we went to another tapas bar. We both had a seafood concoction that was in a big shell. It reminded me of my aunt’s seafood chowder and it was good! We left there, walked around and went to a plaza to have sangria. It was good and out last time to have it. We chilled then went back to the hotel to change, and pick up our baggage. We said bye to the really nice hostess lady and walked to the train station. I called my mom to leave her a message and Liz and I waited for the train. We did not have to wait long and we boarded the train a little after 10:30 pm for our 9 hour train ride to Madrid. We got to our room with 6 beds and we had 2 Australian room mates. Australians love to travel we meet them everywhere we go. They were coming from Paris and on their way to Morocco. We also had a Spanish couple as the other 2 roommates, but they were sharing a bed which was awkward. After settling in we all went to sleep on a moving train and thus began our 30 + hours of traveling. Que guay!

Wednesday August 8, 2007 Madrid to USA

I woke up at 6:30am on a moving train. I tried to go back to sleep, but with out success I laid awake until we got up arrived in Madrid at 7:30. We said bye to our Australian roommates and walked up to the train station, used the restrooms, and looked fror the exit. We thought the metro was closed at the train station so we tried to exit. A nice spanihs man, who we thought was trying to help us told us that the elevator was broken and that we had to take the escalator up to exit and eventually go down. On the way up the escalator, it stopped. The Spanish man lifted up my bag to help me and it was not helpful. I tried to help Liz, but the Spanish man was pushing us up the stairs so Liz tripped and fell on the escalator. I felt really bad. We reached the top and there was no one there. The Spanish man was really weird and started talking to us. He led us to no where. Finally I said to Liz, “let’s go and get out of here.” We were both extremely pissed off and found another escalator which was also broken. We had to drag our bags down that as well. I got to the bottom and discovered that handle to my suitcase was broken , it would not go down. The Spanish man broke it when he lifted up my bag. It worked fine the last 2 months and now it was broken. Liz and I recollected our thoughts and decided to have a positive attitude. We discovered that the metro was open and we were able to take that to the airport. We met some Americans on the metro. One was studying abroad and from Atlanta and the other 2 went to the University of Alabama. One of the kids from Alabama was from Nashville, Tennessee and after finding out he went to Montgomery Bell Academy I remembered that I had two hall mates from first year who went there. It turned out that this kids new them. They talked about how they were both swimmers and did not have much free time. Liz and I had a good time talking to them. We arrived at the airport and Liz and I were able to brush our teeth, and change clothes. I repacked my bag and tried to fix the handle, but it was still stuck in the upright position. We tried to change our flight to the earlier one, but it was full so we just checked our bags for our original flight. Liz and I had a great time chilling in the airport. We made the best of our 8 hours of waiting time. We had breakfast at a café, sat and had lunch. We went to a lot of the stores, relaxed and had fun. We spent the last of our euros on gifts for our family in the airport. We finally went to our gate about an hour before take off. Caleb met back up with us soon after that and so did Jordan. Caleb spent his last few days in Valencia and Jordan spent his last few days in Italy, England and Scotland. We boarded the plane around 4:15 and took off a little after 5. It was a long 8 hour flight back. We were served lunch and a snack. I read more of Mere Christianity and read some newspapers. They showed Shrek 3 and Spiderman 3, but the headphone jacks for Liz and I did not work so we did not watch them. It was ok though because I had seen both of them. We arrived at JFK in New York a little before 7pm (1am Spain time), but we waited on the runway 30 minutes for a gate to open up. This gave us and hour to make our connecting flight. We got off the plane, went through customs, got our luggage (which were some of the last to come out) and said bye to Jordan. We rushed through the second customs doors where we had to hand in some forms and ran to the air tram. We figured out which terminal we had to go to for Delta and when we finally got there the main entrance to the terminal was closed. Liz, Caleb and I were thoroughly annoyed because it was now 8:30 pm, the time our flight was scheduled to take off. We had to take an elevator down then walk around up a ramp where cars were coming downs towards us to find the check in area which was under renovation and explains why the main entrance was closed. It was very hot and humid in New York for some reason so Liz, Caleb and I got extremely sweaty and gross. We finally made it to the Delta are, but there was a long line. By this time we had missed our plane, but fortunately the plane was delayed 45 minutes so we would be able to make it. We used the self check in kiosks and then checked our large suitcases. We ran to the gate which seemed so far away and we made it. We boarded the plane and still had some time to wait. A friend of Caleb and Liz was also on the plane from UVA- Dew Macklin. He was also traveling around Europe over the summer (which seems to be very popular among rising third years). We waited at the gate for another 30 minutes for Delta to load the luggage and push us back then we waited even more to take off on the runway because JFK is ridiculous. Once we were finally in the air it was only a 50 minute flight to Reagan Airport in DC. We arrived there around 11 and we were greeted by Mr. Euhus and Joe. We went to the baggage claim area. My mom showed up and I gave her a big hug. I had been gone for 2 months. We waited for the luggage, but nothing came. It turned out that Delta failed to load any luggage onto the plane from JFK to Reagan. We went to the lost baggage area and filed a claim. They said Liz, Caleb and I should have the luggage by the next day. It is funny how you can travel around Europe for 2 months and nothing happens to your luggage, but when you get back to the USA it can not make it on a 50 minute flight between two major US cities. We all parted ways which was sad because I had spend the last 2 months with Liz and Caleb, especially the last 11 days and this was a sign that the trip was really over. My mom and I drove away (I was not allowed to drive because I was so tired) and headed towards Bryce resort to meet my family on vacation. We stopped at a Walmart at 1:30 in the morning to buy some basics- a cheap change of clothes, a toothbrush and deodorant. I drove the rest of the way and we got to Bryce around 2:30 in the morning (8:30am Spain time). That was over 34 hours of traveling from San Sebastian to Madrid to waiting at the airport to the USA (JFK) to DC to Bryce. I was exhausted. I got a shower and fell asleep in bed almost immediately.

What an awesome summer! I had the best experience studying abroad and traveling around Europe with friends. I am truly blessed for being allowed to have such a great adventure.

THE 11 DAY ADVENTURE BEGINS! GRANADA, CADIZ, SEVILLE

Friday July 27, 2007 continued..

I had dinner with madre one last time then she went to bed. I finished packing, watched some tv and wrote madre a thank you note. I woke her up to say good bye and it was actually more sad than I thought it would be. She watched me get on the elevator and that was the last time I saw her. I walked to Liz’s apartment and waited for her. She came down with her madre and sister. We all said goodbye then Liz and I got a taxi to the train station. We met up with Annie and Caleb and settled into the train station. Caleb and I went for one last walk through Valencia and got some good pictures. I am really going to miss Valencia- it was an awesome experience being there, learning, meeting new people, and really getting to know the culture. We walked back to the train station and boarded around 12:50am. We all had beds in a sleeping car. It reminded us of Harry Potter. The rooms were separated by sex and this nice old Spanish man helped caleb and I lift our very heavy suit cases above the beds. It was a room with 2 sets of bunk beds- it was tight, but sufficient room for its purpose. I had a top bunk and after putting everything away I tried to go to bed. It took a little while to fall asleep on a train that was moving, but I fell asleep and was out for a while.

Saturday July 28, 2007 Granada

I woke up in a moving train and I have to admit it was a really unique and cool experience. The bed was comfortable and I slept ok for a few hours. I woke up and walked to the sleeping car to have breakfast with Annie and Liz. Caleb decided to sleep more because his throat was hurting. We had a large breakfast of 2 croissants, toast, coffee and juice for 5 euros which was not a bad deal. The problem was that almost as soon as we got our breakfast, we arrived in Granada around 8:40am. I ran back to my sleeping car to grab my stuff and we all got off the train. We bought a map of Granada and we were going to walk to our hostel, but we decided to get a taxi. We managed to get one large enough to fit the 4 of us and all of our large luggage. We arrived at Hostel Nevada and I was impressed how nice it was considering we only paid 14.95 euros for the night each. We could not check in yet, but left our luggage at the hostel and went to explore the city. We went to several shops to buy gifts for family and friends, but I did not see anything that stood out and decided to wait until later on in the trip. We went back to our hostel to check in and we were amused by our room. It was one decent sized room with 4 beds, a sink and a shower in the middle of the room (not in it’s own bathroom). We dropped our stud, went to the super mercado to buy water and stuff to make lunch. I hit my led on a large metal pole sticking out of the ground. At first glance I thought I saw mu bone, but after a closer look, it was just skin that didn’t start to bleed yet. It was painful, but the pain wore off. We walked to the El Alambra. We walked past a bakery which smelled great and then part of the way up a mountain. We stopped along the way to make sandwiches with the food we bought and had lunch. It was good and really cheap to do it that way. After a little confusion as to what gate we were to enter we figured it out, got our tickets, bought audio guides and entered the Alambra. The Alambra is described as follows: “A magical use of space, light, water, and decoration characterizes this most sensual piece of architecture.” It was built under the Nasrid Dynasty and the aim was to great their idea of paradise on earth. The views were amazing as it sat above Granada on a Mountain and the Alambra itself was awesome. The pictures do not do it justice and is something you have to see in person to fully appreciate. We spent several hours there and I loved it. The gardens were some of the nicest I have seen and the architecture was awesome as well. We walked back down the mountain and Caleb bought a really cool skirt for his mom from a small shop along the street. We all stopped at a bakery for a snack and orange flavored Nestea which is my new favorite drink. I really hope that I can find it in the United States. We walked around to some more shops where Liz and Annie found some other cool stuff to buy. We went to a restaurant for a cheap dinner of sandwiches. We got a taxi and went back up the mountain to see Flamenco. For 20 euros we got a ticket for 2 drinks of sangria and a great show of Flamenco. The venue was great too because it was small and we were right there in the middle of the flamenco. Caleb, Liz and Annie even got to get up and dance with the dancers. I was kind of glad that I was not picked, but I got some great pictures and videos of it all. We walked out and got another great view of the Alambra lit up at night. We walked back to our hostel and got to see all of the Spanish people still having dinner and dressed up to begin their night at midnight. We were tired and headed back to our hostel. We figured out that we needed our ticket numbers for the bus the next day. I tried calling my mom a few times and my brother, but they did not answer their phones. Caleb and I set out to find an internet café and food for Annie. We finally found one and got our ticket information. We bought some Nestea and after searching for a bag of chips we ended up stopping at a restaurant and buying a 4 euro gigantic bag of chips. We walked back to the hostel and they were amused. It was good that we left because it gave them a chance to use the shower in the room which offered no privacy. We all talked and then went to bed. Granada was an awesome city- we got to see a lot and I had a great time.

Sunday July 29, 2007 Leaving Granada and heading to Cadiz.

We woke up at 10 and I felt so refreshed. I slept so well the night before. Annie and Liz left to go buy us food for breakfast and lunch while Caleb and got showers. We packed up our stuff and the hostel called a large cab to pick us up. The cab ended up being too small so they called another one. We were a little crunched for time but the next taxi that we called for was large enough. The man was very nice- he loaded our stuff and even gave us a quiz in Spanish after he found out we spoke Spanish. He drove a little slow so when we got to the bus station we had to run. We got to the bus in time and even got our large luggage loaded, but then we found out that we had to go get our tickets at the ticket counter. That was not true in the past when all one needed was a confirmation number which we all had. We ran to the ticket counter and asked for our tickets. We found all of them except mine. They kept asking for a localization number but we did not know what it was. Luckily we had e-mailed our tickets to Annie’s blackberry, but it was not on the e-mail. We were all stressed out and about to miss out bus we got one ticket printed and Liz went to ask the bus driver to wait. We finally found my ticket- they had changed my name to Roberto instead of Robert. Then we could not figure out how to spell Annie’s last name. We finally figured it out and ran to the bus. We mad everyone else wait 15 minutes, but they were not too mad. We were able to calm down once we got our seats. Thus began our bus ride to Cadiz. We made a stop in Seville to let people off the bus. Annie, Liz, Caleb and I made sandwiches with the stuff we bought at the store. We got back on the bus and got all of the money issues taken care of. I owed Annie 90 euros for some train tickets and hostel booking deposits. Then I owed Liz 200 euros for other train tickets, hostels, and other stuff. We also figured out who owed what from Granada. We would take turns paying for taxis and groceries, but it was never even. It was complicated to figure out, but after we finally figured it out, we decided to have a general pot for common expenses which will be much easier in the future. We got to see some field of sunflowers, but because it is late in the summer they were mostly dead. We got to Cadiz and the view was amazing. We crossed the bridge to go to the island and got off at the bus stop. We walked to our hotel and we were very impressed. We did could not find a hostel that was available so we ended up booking a hotel for 3 nights. We are paying much more than the other nights, but it is really nice. Caleb and I are sharing one room and Annie and Liz are sharing another. We have a nice flat screen tv, a refrigerator, and our own bathroom. We got directions from the receptionist at the hotel and walked around Cadiz. The streets are very small and the town itself is very unique. It is the oldest city in Spain and Columbus even set off for a voyage to America from here. We went to a Catholic church and mass was about to start so we went in and stayed for the service. It was interesting. I did not under stand much, but I under stood the Lord’s Prayer I had to learn in Catholic school in Spanish. We went to telepizza and got a pizza for dinner. We took a walk to the ocean (about a 5 minute walk) and watched the sun set over the ocean. It was an amazing sit. I have now seen the sun rise and set in Spain. We went for a walk through a garden along the coast and the views were great between the ocean and the gardens. We stopped to get ice cream at a little ice cream store and sat in a park to enjoy it. We shared stories about our pets and talked about how grateful we are to have the opportunity to be in Spain and traveling. We walked back to the hotel to relax and enjoy the ac, watched some tv and went to bed early. Cadiz is awesome!

Monday July 30, 2007 Cadiz

We slept in until 9 and went to get our continental breakfast. It was good they had assorted pastries, juice, cereal, coffee, tea, fruit and more. It was much more than we were used to and it was good. We decided to walk around the city. Cadiz is very small so if it looks like it is far away on the map, it really is not. We were able to walk everywhere in a short amount of time. We visited the cathedral of Cadiz. We did not go in, but we did pay to climb the tower. It was the tallest point of the city and it was right off the ocean so the views were great. I got a lot of pictures. We then went to an museum which was a little disappointing, but it was included with the cost of walking up the tower. We did some more window shopping. Caleb got some more stuff for his family, but I did not see anything I wanted. We went to the super market to get some food for lunch. We are really good about eating very cheap. I got some Nestea naranja as well. We came back to the hotel to make sandwiches and relax. We went to the beach that was closest to our hotel. It was nice because there was lots of shade, but the water was not so great. The locals said that the change in wind had messed up the water color. I was tired of the beach so I went back to the hotel. I got a shower (it is nice not to be limited to one shower a day) and went shopping. I found some stuff that I liked, but did not buy anything yet. I came back to the hotel to meet up with the others and we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. It was really good and really cheap. After dinner on the way back home Caleb called me out on how I make fun of people. At first I was really pissed off, but when we got back to the hotel and talked about it, he made me realize that I do that to Dylan all the time. We went down to the girls room and all had Tinto de Verano sabor lemon. I was tired and went to bed right after that.

Tuesday July 31, 2007 Cadiz

We slept in until 10 and had another great continental breakfast. We decided to go to the nice beach today. We walked a little further and went to the beach Cadiz was known for. It was nice and we walked a little further to avid some rocks and people. We even rented some nice hamacas y sombrilla (beach chairs and sunshade (umbrellas)). It was worth ir for the day. We basically sat on the beach and relaxed all day. I brought my goggles and went swimming. The water was nice and clear so I got to swim along the bottom and see the fish and plant life. It was awesome. I called my mom from the beach to talk to her for a few minutes. I started reading Mere Christianity. Last time I tried to read it I never finished it. Caleb and I were in charge of getting lunch. The first 2 super markets we went to were closed for siesta. We found a Supersol to buy lunch. We only spent 6.25 for lunch for 4 people. What a deal! We went back to the beach and ate. I swam some more, went for a walk with Caleb on the beach, took a nap in my beach chair, read, and listened to music. It was very relaxing. We walked back to our hotel, showered, and got ready for dinner. I went back to a store and got a shirt I liked for really cheap with rebajas. I almost got my dad a tie, but the one I liked had a tear in it. We all went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner again. We had some more good food for even cheaper than the night before. We also had really good talks at dinner about how there is much more spousal abuse in Spain and the women just take it, how guys and girls send mixed messages, etc. It was really interesting. We walked around Cadiz some more and stopped for ice cream. We ended up getting a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone and then got the ice cream dipped in chocolate. It was so good. We had a talk about our grandparents which was really good as well. We walked back to the hotel and al talked in the girls room about how our parents met. We just had a lot of good conversations today. Caleb and I went back to our room and I fell asleep shortly thereafter.

Wednesday August 1, 2007 Cadiz- Seville

We woke up at 7:30, I got a shower, and we packed. We met the girls downstairs for breakfast, ate fast, paid for the hotel (our most expensive one, but it was nice and there were no other options in the city), and walked to the train station. We boarded the train and we were on our way to Seville. We arrived in Seville and took a taxi to our hostel. Our hostel was interesting- it was one where there were a lot of young people who interact. We dropped off our bags then went to a café. I had fresh squeezed orange juice. We went back to the hostel to use the computers and check in which took a while. We got to our room and we laughed. We had 2 sets of bunk beds and the bottom 2 were on the ground. We were fair about who got what. We went to the super market and bought lunch for cheap and came back to the hostel to eat. We went to adventure into the city of Seville. We went to the Cathedral first and it was the 3^rd largest in the world. It was impressive. We climbed the tower for a good view of the city too. As we left the cathedral we noticed 3 different Starbucks right around the cathedral. It was amusing. It was really hot and Liz blurted out and said. “where are the billets.” It was really funny, but I guess you had to be there. We went to an OpenCor and got drinks then we went to McDonald’s for McFlurries. They were good. Caleb had a beer, Gatorade, and a mcflurry and he felt sick, but it was comical. We went to the post office then we went to fnac which is the equivalent of a Best Buy and Barnes and Noble combined. We spent some time there and Annie got a book. Then we decided to go shopping. We all hit up a lot of stores. I got my mom a really cool gift that was hand made in Spain. Caleb was in love with H&M and spent a lot of money there. Liz and Annie were busy shopping else where. Then I ran into Burberry. I really like the store and went in to look. I never want to buy anything because it is so expensive, but I found a bathing suit that was on sale and I bought it. We all walked back to our hostel happy with our purchases. We went to the super mercado and bought pizza for dinner. Annie wanted to get a salad and I told her that was not in the budget. Then after we checked out we realized that we each only spent 3 euros on food for the day. That included breakfast, lunch and dinner- only 3 euros per person. I was amazed that I could eat 3 meals for that. We walked back to the hostel and cooked the pizzas and had dinner. Our conversations were awesome again. We all came back to our room and went to bed early because we were so tired.

Thursday August 2, 2007 Seville

We woke up at 8am afraid that there would not be breakfast with all of the other hostel people. We went down to eat and there was no one there. We all ate in silence and then came back to the room to sleep. I got up and got a shower then we left for the Alcazar Palace which is one of the many palaces of the king and queen of Spain. We got there and realized that the entrance fee was 7 euros, but free for students. We all got audio guides for 3 euros and Liz, Annie and I went to see the royal living quarters for 4 euros. My audio guide stopped working so I got a refund for the 4 euros to see the living quarters. We spent some time there walking around the palace and it was really cool. We left there and walked by the river to a park. We walked thought the park and saw bike rentals. We ended up renting a 4 person bike- we biked through the park for half and hour and just laughed up a storm. It was so much fun. We returned the bike and walked to the plaza de Espana. It was so cool. It was one of my favorite things about Seville. You will have to see pictures of this, because I can not adequately describe it. They had a mosaic devoted to every region of Spain. We went to see Valencia’s and there happened to be 2 americans sitting there. We talked to them for a while. They were from Maine and Massachusetts, bit going to school in Hawaii. They left and we got some pictures of the Valencia tiles. We all have such a deep love and respect for Valencia after living there for a little while. It was such a great experience and we are going to miss it. We walked around there for a while enjoying it all. We left and Liz and I got granozado- I combined lemon and orange- it was good. We walked towards the shopping district and ran into the American girls again. We went to opencor and mcdonalds for another snack. We sat and talked for a while. Talking with this group of people has been one of the most enjoyable parts about this trip. Annie got an message from her mom about a bridge collapsing in the united states during rush hour and many people were killed. We saw more of this new story on the news later. We left there and went to the shopping district. I went to Boss and then back to Burberry. I walked further and saw repeats of many stores, but they carried different styles. I like the other H&M I found. Caleb was in there buying more stuff he loved. I went to some more stores and have a better idea of what to get my dad and my brother now. I walked around some more then we all met back at the hostel. We went to the super mercado and bought pasta to cook for dinner and some light breakfast stuff. We came back to the hostel to cook and there was a line so we chilled in our room. We went to go cook and there were some Italians trying to cut in front of us, but someone explained that we were next. We finally had our turn to cook. Pasta takes a while, but these Italians were getting mad at us. Then they laughed at Annie and Caleb for burning the pasta. Caleb was so pissed off at them. We had our salad, bread and spaghetti. It was so good. We had a good talk about how a lot of people really hate Americans. Sure we do not agree with everything that Bush does, but he is still our president and we are not going to say we hate the leader of our country. That just wouldn’t be American of us. Annie informed us that the US Congress currently has a lower rating that our president because they have not passed anything in such a long time. Politics make me mad sometimes and I am going to have to do some research for this next election. We washed our dishes and then came back to our room. We listened to music, packed and got showers. We went to bed early again because we had an early train the next morning. Seville was a great experience.

TRAVEL ITENIARY FOR SPAIN EXCURSION July 27- August 8

(CHECK OUT THE MAP ON THE SIDE FOR A VISUAL)

July

28-29 Granada for 1.5 days

29-31 Cadiz for 2.5 days

July 31- August 2 Seville for 2.5 days

August

3- Cordoba for 1 day

4-5 Madrid for 2 days

6-7 San Sebastian for 2 days

8 back to Madrid to fly back to the USA

My last few days in Valencia

Tuesday July 24, 2007

I woke up and walked to class with Jordan. In conversation we prepared for a test and in grammar we went over the subjunctive. I stayed after school to study in the library and update my blog about my Rome trip. I went home and took a 3 hour siesta. We had dinner at 10 then I stayed up until 3am studying for my conversation vocabulary final.

Wednesday July 25, 2007

I got up at 7am to study. Jordan and I got to school early. I think my conversation vocab final went well. In grammar we reviewed for the final. I stayed at school for an hour to use the computer. Matt and I decided that we really wanted to see more of Valencia. We went to the Museum de Beleas Artes and I remembered my camera this time so I could take pictures. I got some great pictures of the river gardens too. We walked around the Plaza de La Virgen, bought postcards, went to see the really nice post office to buy post card stamps, went to Valor to have chocolate con churros, studied for our grammar test on a park bench in the city, got some drinks at Consum then I went home. I studied, used the internet, took a nap, had dinner, studied, read about where I am going on my excursion through Spain in my Spain book and went to bed.

Thursday July 26, 2007

I walked to school with Jordan for the last time. In conversation we had our final exam which was an oral exam and we were assigned time slots to come in. I was not there Monday when groups and times were assigned so I was assigned to Alexa and in the first time slot- 9:15am. I think we did an ok job with our oral exam. I studied for my grammar final in the library until the final at 11:15. I think that final went well too. Everyone was so happy to be done. I got a picture of our entire class and Sunita and I got pictures around the school. I used the wireless at school then headed home with Jordan for comida with madre, my niece and my sister. We had fried chicken and fried potatoes. Surprise, surprise- it is all fried. Liz came over and we were going to find a hotel for San Sebastian and Madrid, but decided just to go to the beach instead. The beach was fun- most everyone from the program was there. After chillin on the beach for a little while I went to Horchata Daniel with Annie, Lee and Emily. We took the metro and had horchata (sweet frozen, drink made from tiger nuts) and fagros (glazed rolls to dip in the horchata)- which are both very famous in Valencia. I took the metro back to my house and got a shower. I had dinner by myself and watched a movie which was nice and relaxing. I made a map of where I am traveling and e-mailed it to friends and family. I met up with Liz and Alex then we walked to a bar near the soccer stadium. The school was sponsoring a bar night with free Aqua de Valencia and reduced priced drinks. I danced with a lot of people including some middle aged Spanish women when we were in a group dancing lesson. I ended up having 4 aqua de valencias because they were not very strong and I felt fine. It was also cool because most everyone from the program was there. And then we went to another bar to get more free drinks- I had 2 free mohitos which were so good. They had mint leaves, sugar and other good stuff in it. At this point I still felt fine. There were a few funny instances like Randee using the guys restroom because she could not find the girls. We walked back to the orgional bar and gathered the crowds to go to La Indiana. We took taxis there and got to the club around 3am. The club cost 18 euros to get in for guys and it was free for girls, but it was worth it because that included the price of a drink and the club was awesome. There were several rooms with different styles of music where a lot of people were dancing. There were also other floors, but they were closed off because it was a Thursday night. The coolest parts of the club were the large aquariums which had real sharks in them. I got my free drink- a big red bull and vodka and by this point I started to feel the alcohol. It was a good feeling. I would not call it drunk because I could still understand everything that was going on around me and I could walk and talk fine, but my friends said that I was extremely funny. I had a lot of fun dancing. We left that club at 6am and took taxis to the beach. We watched the sun rise and I got some great pictures of the sun rise over the Mediterranean. We left there at 7:30 and after waiting for a taxi I decided to take the metro home by myself because it was now running for the people going to work. I fell asleep on the metro, but was fortunate to wake up at my stop. I walked home and got there at 8:30am. I went to sleep right away.

Friday July 27, 2007

I woke up at 12:30 after getting only about 4 hours of sleep. I got a shower and got ready for comida with the group for our departure meal with the teachers and all of the students in the program. Jordan was all packed because he was heading to the airport after the lunch. He said by to madre then he and I walked to the lunch. We exchanged stories about or evenings and he had an interesting evening too. He went into the ocean with his ipod and ruined it, he lost his shoes and had to buy new ones and his night went on. He said he had a terrible night, but I had my best night in Valencia. We got to the comida and it was great. The school had reserved and entire restaurant just for us. I sat with Phil, Joe, Jessie and a few other people. We had bottled water, sangria, salad, muscles, bread, chicken paella, and ice cream all on the school. It was the best meal I had in Valencia and I was so glad that I went. The people I sat with were great company and it was just a great way to end the program. Everyone got pictures with the professors and everyone else. It reminded me of what it was like to go to small school because that was basically what it was and I really liked it. UVA can seem so intimidating sometimes because of its size. I said my final good byes to the teachers and the other students in the program. I will not see some of them again because they go to different schools. The UVA kids will all have reunions when we get back. It was said that it was now really over. The 5 weeks went by really quick and I had a great experience. Jordan left. We said our good byes and he left for the airport. I will see him again because he is on my return flight to the USA. I walked around Valencia with Caleb, Lisa, Liz, Phil and Alex. We went to the post office and to El Corte Ingles. I said bye to them and came home to pack. Now I am at home updating my blog and about ready to pack. I have to write 2 more post cards, mail those, go to an ATM and finish packing. I have dinner with madre at 10 then I am going to the train station. Caleb, Liz, Annie and I leave for Granada at 12:50am. I am really looking forward to our 11 day adventure!

Rome Italy

Friday Continued-

After classes I went home and took a siesta after lunch with madre, her daughter, and her granddaughter. I packed for Rome then met Lisa at her house. We walked to the metro where I was almost robbed. Lisa spotted a lady with a scarf over my backpack about to unzip it. I had no idea. Lisa confronted here and she left the metro station and walked out. It could have been a bad start to the trip. We took the metro to the airport and our plane was delayed an hour. We were at the airport for a long time so I got decided to enjoy some granizado while I waited. We finally got on the plane around 11. The plane was packed with people and there was little legroom- I guess that’s what you get for a cheap flight. The flight was a quick 1 hour and 40 minutes over the Mediterranean and we had a great view of Rome at night on the way in. We also had a good view of Sardinia at night. We took a bus to the train station from the airport and walked to find out hostel. We eventually found it around 2am, and went to bed almost immediately. The hostel was nice and I was impressed for the price.

Saturday July 21, 2007

We woke up at 8am and went to a café to have breakfast which was included in the hostel- cappuccino and a croissant. We walked to the metro and took the metro to the Vatican. We met our tour group and walked to the Vatican. It was very nice to bypass the 3 hour line waiting to get in with our tour group. Our tour was good and our tour gide was very knowledgeable. I took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed the Sistine Chapel. I like St. Peter’s Basilica, but there was so much detail that it was hard to take it all in. I liked it all over all and it was worth while. We got some funny pictures outside of the Vatican and then walked to a pizza place for lunch. It really felt like Italy now. We stopped by a store to have gelato then we went to a book store to read for a little while. It was nice to get out of the heat. We walked to one of the plazas and it was cool to see all of the art work that street vendors had for sale. Lisa bought a small picture. We walked to the Pantheon and got a UVA picture outside of it because the Rotunda at UVA is based off of it. We visited a government building and saw the Coliseum in the distance. We checked out some of the clothing stores along a main street and got some more funny pictures. We went back to the hostel to shower and nap and then got ready to go out for dinner. I had a tomato and mozzarella sandwich. We went to see the Spanish steps which were packed with people, but it was cool to see it lit up at night. We walked toward a concert, but it was over when we got there. We also passed a Valentino dress worth over 6,000 euros that Caleb and Lisa really liked. We wanted a drink and some ice cream so we decided to go to McDonalds- and waited in line for over 45 minutes. It was a nice McDonalds with a café and gelato as well as the first McDonalds in Italy, but the service was slow. We walked to the Trevi fountain which was also great lit up at night. We walked back to the hostel to shower and go to bed because we were exhausted.

Sunday July 22, 2007

We woke up at 9 and went to breakfast. We decided that we wanted to go the beach. We took a metro to a train and then we got to the beach. The metro in Rome is really dirty and covered in graffiti. We could not figure out how to get to the beach. There were private resorts blocking all of the entrances. We finally found a really good pool and decided to go there. They had several diving boards of various heights right on the ocean. We chilled there all day by the pool on the ocean. It was not the fishing village we hoped to fine, but it was ok. There were not many tourists- only Italians so that was cool. I only brought a speedo so I wore that for the first time where as Caleb and Lisa had to buy bathing suits because they left theirs in Spain. I had lunch and a drink for really cheap. The beach was not good at all- the sand was dark and the water looked gross- I was glad we were by the pool. The high dive was a highlight. We did not buy sunscreen beacue it was so expensive, but after over 6 hours in the sun we were all burnt. We were all hungry, burnt, tired and not in a good mood. We took the metro back to Rome. The metro was so packed and that made things worse. We went back to our hostel to shower and regroup. We were tired of spending money because Rome was so expensive and we went to McDonalds. We ran into 2 other Americans who invited us to an Opera concert they were performing in across the street. We decided to go to that and it was really good. They were a group of 50 selected students from the USA performing Opera in Rome. We went back to the hostel after walking around to plan Monday, talked, and went to bed.

Monday July 23, 2007

We woke up at 8, showered, packed our stuff and headed to breakfast. We went to see the house of John Keates- a famous English poet who spent his final years in Rome. His house was right beside the Spanish Steps. We were there for about an hour, went by the nice McDonalds to use the nice restrooms then went to get a daylight picture of the Trevi Fountain. It was not running so we moved on to the next sight. We walked to the Botanical garden a good distance away, but when we got there it was closed. We went to a café near by and had the best mozzarella and tomato sandwiches for really cheap. We passed several more water courtesy of the aqueducts on the streets to drink and cool off (one of my favorite things about Rome). Circus Maximous was less impressive than I thought it would be. We walked some more and paid 11 euros to see some roman ruins. The Palatino was closed and it was really hot. We later found out that it was over 100 degrees and I had to try hard not to bicker and get mad because we were all hot, tired and dehydrated from standing in the sun. We almost passed out. We went to the Coliseum which was cool I guess. So much of it was destroyed, but it was hard to enjoy much as hot as it was. We waked all around then went back to the hostel to get our bags and then we walked to the train station. Caleb and I ate at a pizza place whish was good. We rode the bus from the train station to the airport. We waited for our flight which was delayed half an hour. By this time Caleb was not feeling well and really annoyed. We finally boarded the plane and were on our way back to Valencia. We had great views of the setting sun as well as views of some Spanish islands and a great night view of Valencia as we landed. As the plane landed the Spanish people all clapped, bur when the plan was struggling to break the Spanish children yelled break, break, break in Spanish and it was very comical. We took the Metro back to our houses. I ran into Liz, Larry and Danny on the street and talked to them. I called Jessica to get our homework then I went home to eat dinner, talk to Jordan, go some work and go to bed. It was a good weekend- I saw a lot, but it was expensive and very hot. I think it would have been a better idea to stay in Spain.

* A note on Rome *

I feel like Rome was not as great as it was made out to be. First of all I am glad I went, but most of the city is just a big tourist trap. Everything was expensive and I spent about $490.00 US dollars on the trip. I got to see a lot, but it was also very hot and Lisa, Caleb and I got mad at each other during parts of the trip. I would have enjoyed it more if I would have stayed longer, had more money, it was not as hot, I knew some more Italian and most of all- if I had time to visit other parts of Italy which I hear are incredible. I was glad I came to Rome, but I am not sure that this was the best time for me to visit.

fair in Valencia and off to Rome Italy!

Thursday July 19, 2007

I woke up at 7am to study for my 2 tests after getting 4 hours of sleep. I got a shower, had breakfast and walked to school by myself early to study some more. I felt like my conversation test well and so did my grammar test. After school I stayed at the center to prepare for my presentation, walked home with Caleb part of the way, then went home to take a siesta. I slept from 7:30 until 9:45. It was great. I got up and dinner was a surprise- fried sardines with everything except the head- tail, scales, and even the bones were inside. Madre was not there so after Jordan and I tried a few we decided we were done. It was gross. I was not that hungry anyway so it was fine. I was about to go back to sleep when Liz called me. She invited me to the fair going on in Valencia. I decided to go and met up with Liz, Alex, Phil, Annie, Lisa, Liam, Caleb, Paul, Alexa, Ashley, and many others. We rode the farris wheel that was the best one I have ever been on. It was larger and went faster than others. I rode with Liam and Lisa. Liam (who I know from UVa and was here first session and came back to visit Valencia for the night before heading home) and I decided to moon Caleb and Paul who proceeded to moon us back. It was so much fun and I felt like a little kid. Then we rode the bumper cars which were equally as great. Some other people met up with us and we all went to a bar. Lisa and I decided not to drink and only stay for a few minutes. I really wanted to try this wine and coke combination, but Lisa and I decided to head home. I finished my presentation, read and went to bed. It was a great night and I was glad that I went to the fair.

Friday July 20, 2007

I woke up early to review my presentation then Lisa, Jordan and I walked to school. My presentation in Conversation class went well. My presentation was on the famous architecture of Gaudi. We did not get our tests back yet. In grammar I got my test back and I got a 24 out of 25! I was so excited. I hardly had time to study and still did great on the test! After grammar our teacher gave me some great recommendations for places to eat in Rome Italy this weekend. That brings me to now. I am in the library at school about to head home for lunch with madre and Jordan then I will be getting ready and sleeping for Rome Italy! Our flight leaves tonight at 10pm and we get to Italy a little before midnight. Lisa, Caleb and I are going to have a great time and I can not wait!

Bull Fight.

Tuesday July 17, 2007

I walked to class with Jordan and Lisa. Conversation and grammar were good. I thought I actually learned some stuff. After class I worked at the center for a little while then went home. I got my camera and went to the las fallas museum with Lisa. We got to see some of the displays they use in their parades, but it was not as good as the other museum. I came home and found dinner already prepared so I ate by the tv and watched Lilo and Stitch. My madre’s sun-in-law came by to walk the dog and said that madre was in the hospital. I was confused because I did not understand why he said she was there. I finished the movie and did some work. Jordan came home than madre. I guess she was not in the hospital long. I did not understand the medical terms she was using. I got a postcard from my mom from the beach. I like getting mail. I did some more work and decided to call my parents. They were both at work and we talked for a few minutes. It was good to catch up. Jordan and I ended up watching some Mary Kate and Ashley move on tv in Spanish. It was ok, but I was tired and went to bed early.

Wednesday July 18, 2007

We mainly just reviewed for tests in my grammar and conversation classes. After classes I had lunch with some other students outside of the school and then went to study with Matt for the grammar test. I came back to school to study for my conversation test which was just a lot of vocabulary. I walked home and madre was taking a nap. Since she was asleep I raided her refrigerator because I was starving. I had a snack and started to watch There´s Something about Mary. Madre woke up and the movie was stupid so I cut it off. I met up with Ben and Matt to walk to the the plaza de toros (Bull fight arena) to see the bull fight. We got there a little early, but it was cool to see everything get set up. The setting reminded me of a UVA football game, but a lot different. We had seats in the sun and we baked. It was really hot. It was 7pm, but the sun does not set until after 9:30 here. The bull fight was unlike anything I have ever been to in my life. There are 6 rounds, but each round begins with a pissed off bull running out into the arena. Then men in the arena wave their capes to get the bull to run around and loose energy. Next 2 guys on a horse come out to stab the bull. The horses are wearing protection, but the bull’s boar the horse with their horns for a while and the men on the horse stab the bulls in their back with a long sharp wooden stick. The bull starts to bleed profusely and thus begins the next round. In this round 3 men, each with 2 sharp objects, get up close the bull and just as they are about to be bored by the bull they jump in the air and stab the bull with the 2 sharp objects. By this time the bull is weaker from loosing all the blood and the next round begins. The matador comes out and after teasing the bull several times he jumps in the air stabs the bull with a long sword which leads to the bull’s eminent death. The bull falls to the ground and is stabbed in the brain to make sure it is dead. The whole thing is very graphic. Two horses come out and drag the bull out of the arena. This entire process is repeated for 6 bulls. Between 2 of the rounds some of us decided to see what they do with the bulls. In a matter of seconds after the bull is dragged out of the arena butchers begin their work. The bull’s legs are chopped off with an ax, and then the bull is skinned. They take an ax to chop open the ribs and proceeded to cut out all the organs. They chop off the head and by this time only the meat is left so they hang it is a truck with all of the other butchered bulls to be taken away. It was very fascinating and very graphic at the same time. I went back to watch the rest of the bull fight and then went home for dinner. Surprisingly I was still hungry. I had to finish studying for my tests and ended up studying until 3am. It was a long night, but I had to study for my tests.

Australians!

Monday July 16, 2007

Lisa was really sick and could barely talk on the way to school. She slept all day Sunday and was still not feeling well. Conversation and Grammar were ok. We did a lot as usual. After class I ended up staying at the center from 1 until 7 to get work done. I did talk to a few people online, but other than that I got a lot of work done. I walked home with Randee and Larry. I got home and proceeded to do even more work. We had dinner early again at 9:30 and I was stuffed so I went for a walk. I ended up running into Liz and she invited me to go out with her. We met up with Matt, Ben, Annie, Joe, and 4 Australians. We went to the Plaza De Virgen and all got a drink. The Australians were really cool. They had so many great stories to tell and I really learned a lot about Australia. First of all their minimum wage is really high- over $20.00 an hour and when they travel- they really travel. They were traveling anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. They graduated from college last December and went east. They started in Hawaii, worked their way across the US, spent some time working in England teaching PE and then they were currently in Spain working their way back to Australia. I thought it was so awesome that they get to do that. We all exchanged phrases that were unique to our own countries and after talking to them I really want to visit Australia. Then to top it off we got an old British man to get a picture of all of us. An ordinary day in Valencia turned into a really fun day after running into Australians.

Weekend in Valencia

Thursday July 12, 2007

Classes were ok. I had a test in grammar. I felt like some of the answers could have gone either way. I went to say hi to Caleb in the library and he looked stressed as he was writing a long e-mail to his parents. I got to go to the beach and it was nice to sit out and enjoy the sun and the warm ocean. I came home to shower, use the baday (sp?) for the first time and eat early (tortilla and salad) before heading off to Lisa’s house to watch the office and hangout. I did not have any pressing work to get done, just an essay for grammar. We came to my house because she had never seen it, but unfortunately when we walked in the dog had pooped and thrown up in the house (probably from all of the human food madre feeds it.) We met up with Danny and then met up with Tara and Ashley to go to a tapas (spanish for appetizer) bar. I took Lisa home then I came home. I decided to call my parents for the first time since I have been here and it was good to talk to them. They are at the beach and having a great time. I went to sleep after that because it was 1:30am.

Friday July 13, 2007

Class, then most people let for Barcelona and Madrid. I came home for comida with Madre and Jordan. We had a good rice and egg dish. I took a nap then Lisa called to go to the beach. Jordan, Lisa and I took a bus to the beach and chilled there for a while. When we were walking home Jordan’s friend Glen called saying that he was here. We gave him directions where to meet us. I went home and got a shower then met up with Lisa to celebrate here ½ birthday. We got ice cream and went back to her house to watch the office. I came home for dinner and Jordan told me that his friend had to get a hotel for 100.00 euros a night because all of the hostals were booked. I took a nap then Lisa called me to go out. We went to meet up with my intercambio Merten and two of her friends, one of which was a guy from Greece. We all met at St. Patrick and then Jordan and Glen joined us. I just had a fanta because I did not feel like drinking. I was tired so I went home and went to bed.

Saturday July 14, 2007

I woke up at 10am and walked to Mercado Central. I had a small pastry and walked through all of the market. I was looking through my guidebook and as I looked up I saw another guy looking at a guide book in English and wearing Rainbows- I thought he had to be American. I would never do this in America, but I went to say hi. It ended up that he was from California and just graduated from University of California at Santa Barbra. He majored in Economics and got a job in California. We stopped at a café to chat and it ended up that he will probably be in Rome when Caleb, Lisa and I are there next week. He was able to give me some advice on finding a job with an economics degree and it was cool. It also ended up that he dated a girl who went to UVA. It sure is a small world. We parted ways and I went to a book store to look at some travel books. I found a really good Valencia Calendar for only 8 euros, but decided to buy it later. Next door was a cloth store and I went in to see if they had any orange cloth I could buy for Rachel. A nice little old Spanish man helped me and after I was finally able to communicate what I wanted he got me some orange fabric. When I asked how much it was, he told me it was free. I love Spain! As I walked home I passed a really cool wine and fresh food store that I stopped to check out I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to window-shop. I had lunch with Jordan and madre. We had chicken soup. It was ok. Madre is really cute- she now likes to joke with us at meals and occasionally asks us what we want for lunch and dinner. I went to go get tickets for the City of Arts and Sciences. I got admission tickets to 4 buildings for 31.00 euros. First I went to the L’Hemisferic to see a move in a cool domed room. The chairs were tilted back and we viewed the imax movie on the domed ceiling. The movie was ok- Secrets of the Titanic in Spanish. Then I went to the Titanic exhibit. I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. I had an audio guided tour in English, but a majority of the tour consisted of only pictures and stories of people and I expected remains of the ship. There was a really cool model of the ship both before and after it sank as well as a few other ship remains. Most of the other stuff was simply a replica of the real thing. They did have a cool replica of the 3^rd class and then 1^st class areas. I went to the mall, but was not impressed enough to buy anything. Spanish stores are very different. I went home to shower and got dressed up for dinner. Lisa came over and went to the port at 7. We wanted to eat around 7:30, but when we got to the restaurant we found out that it did not open until 8:30. We made a reservation at La Pepica and walked along the beach. There were several games of soccer and rugby in the beach to watch and several vendors selling things along the board walk. Police came to run into the water as well, but we never figured out why. It was finally 8:30 so we went to the restaurant and we were starving. We were there for almost 3 hours (from 8:30 until after 11) because Spanish food service sucks. The problem is that they are not tipped and only on salary. On top of that Spanish people like to have long meals to socialize. I am used to quick meals and good service in the states. We would have a course and then wait up to half an hour to order another course. We had a Valencian salad (lettuce, ham, tuna, tomatoes, oil and mustard), Valencian Paella (rice, chicken and rabbit in saffron spices), as well as creps and flan for dessert. After waiting a while more we got a bill (50.00euros for the two of us) and left. We took a taxi to a bar where we had two great drinks. Lisa had sex on the beach and I had a Flaming Lamborghini. My drink was awesome. They light it on fire and you drink it at the bar. My first drink on fire and it was cool. I also liked how the bar was nice. I do not like cheap crappy bars. We were tired so we went home after 1 drink. I got online and went to bed.

Sunday July 15, 2007

What a relaxing day. I slept in until 10:30 and went to the Museo de las Ciencias (science museum) de Principe Felipe. They had a lot of cool stuff there to see and I spent about 2 hours there looking at everything. I got to ride a machine that made me feel weightless and it was cool. Then I went to L’Oceanografic (aquarium). It was really cool as well. They had a dolphin show that was the best I have seen as well as animals from around the world. I had some great lemon lime granisado. The best aquarium was the one that had a tunnel going through it. There was a lot to see and I got a lot of pictures to share later. I ran into Jordan and Glen who were also there. I went home because by this time it was 4pm and I was starving. I had my bocadillo and enjoyed having the house to myself. I watched Hitch and then relaxed on the balcony and got online. I did some homework and then we had dinner early- 9:30 (not so early for the states, but early for us). We had meat, French fries, a fried egg, bread and fruit. It was good. Conversation with madre is getting much easier. It helps the relationship when we can understand each other a little better as well. I updated my blog, sent some e-mails, read and went to bed.

I finally discovered internet in my house after walking all around finding wireless to steal!

Tuesday July 10th, 2007

I woke up early to study and had a big bowl of cereal then walked to school with Jordan and Lisa. I had a test in conversation and it did not go too well. There were a lot of words to memorize. Grammar class went well then I stayed at school to get some work done. I went to the grocery store and ran into Caleb. He was buying food for a trip to Madrid this weekend and I told him that we were going there after the program. He did not know that and said that he may not want to go on the trip with us after the program. I was mad, but we talked later and he is still going. I walked to meet my intercambio Merman. She was really nice and brought a friend with her. We went to an art museum in Valencia where there was a self portrait done by Velasquez. It was cool. She said that she wanted to go out with me and my friends on Friday so I agreed to call her. I walked home and saw that I had a postcard from my mom. It was good to get actual mail. I went to meet up with Lisa at her apartment. I spent a lot of time on facebook and we watched the office. I did not have any more work that I had to do so it was fine. I came home for dinner at 10 and it was gross. We had squid. It was the entire body and I could not eat it. I thought I was going to be sick to my stomacj. And then my real family is at the beach right now eating good food. Not fair. I told my madre that I was full, but then I told her that I just really did not like it. Jordan and I started watching Mr. Deeds in Spanish, but then started watching Hitch in English with Spanish subtitles. I was tired so I left to go read and go to bed.

Wednesday July 11th, 2007

I woke up a little late, but it was nice to have a full 8 hours of sleep for a change. Jordan beat me to the shower so I had to wait. I walked to school with Lisa and Jordan (which seems to be a common theme everyday). Conversation was ok. Danny had areally long 1 hour presentation on the Alhambra. I got my quiz back and got a C. (not as good as the A I got on a test in grammar). The test also had a note on it that said for me to speak with Pilar (my teacher). Grammar was good. We just reviewed for the test. After class I went to speak to Pilar. She asked me if I sometimes switched letters around because apparently I did that a lot on the test. After thinking about it I realized that I do it a lot. Maybe I am a little dyslexic? I do not know. I think part of it was the fact that I am not a good speller and did not know how to spell all of the words too. After that Caleb clarified that he was planning to go on the 11 day excursion with us which I was happy about. It is better to travel in an even number of 4- 2 guys and 2 girls. I walked home with Jordan, Matt, Lisa and Ben. Jordan and I had lunch at home with our madre and some of her family (a granddaughter less than 2 years old, 2 of her daughters and her son in law). We had a really good pasta dish with fresh shrimp and I was glad I was there instead of eating a bocadilla. I did some work then went to study for the grammar test with Matt. After that I went to Lisa’s apartment to write a Spanish paper and study some more. We also watched 2 episodes of the office. I came back to my house for dinner around 10 and it was another good meal. I discovered that I can access the internet from my house sitting on the porch. It was nice to figure that out. Now I am off to study and get some sleep. Tomorrow should be good- I have a chance to go to the beach.

July 4th in Spain and Barcelona!

Wednesday July 4^th, 2007 (July 4th is not important in Spain- I wonder why? haha)

I woke up and walked to class with Lisa. Jordan rented a moped so he rode that to class. Classes went well. I stayed after school to use the internet and even got o talk to my mom on aim. I walked home and got clothes for the beach then walked to the beach with Ben and Matt. The water was nice and warm. I went home for a quick shower and got ready for dinner. Many of us got together at Tony Romas for dinner. We had to celebrate July 4^th American style with American food. I had chicken and it was great. We all toasted to something we missed about America- milk that is not on the shelf (here it is not kept in the refrigerator), free water, dryers, and other cool random stuff that we will not appreciate more when we go back to America. We finished the meal with apple pie and other American style desserts. Several of us thought it would be a goof idea to go to Heineken Bar (an American Bar), but it was awful because every American in Valencia was there. I left, went for a walk and went home to go to bed.

Thursday July 5^th, 2007

I walked to class only with Jordan because Lisa got to sleep. She did not have her first class. Grammar class was hilarious. I think I like it better than conversation class now. I accidentally broke the blinds in grammar when trying to open them. It was not my fault that there were not installed properly. Conversation was bad because we did an exercise of having to order food at a restaurant. We all have a lot to learn. I stayed at school to use the internet and do homework then I went to the park to study for a grammar test. I went home to get my passport then met up with Lisa and Matt. I stopped by an ATM to withdraw some money. (I hate the exchange rate- to get 300.00 Euros it cost me over $400.00.) Then we went to the train station. Liz was late so we went to McDonalds to get McFlurries. It is nice to have a little taste of America every once and a while, but it is weird because I never want McDonalds in the US. We went back to the train station and bought train tickets for Barcelona. They were not too expensive at 61.30 euros roundtrip. Several of us went to Starbucks, but I did not get anything and just chilled. I went home to take a nap, study, have dinner, pack, read and go to bed.

Friday July 6^th, 2007 (Barcelona is awesome!)

I walked to school with Jordan and Lisa. I really enjoy walking instead of riding the bus. It is only a 20 minute walk through some cool parts of the city. It is definitely worth getting up a little earlier to walk. I had a test in grammar, but it went well. Right after class Liz, Matt and I got a cab to the train station and waited for our train. The trains are right on time in Spain and we boarded and left right when we were supposed to at 2:05. Alex and Caleb were also on our train. The trip was 3 hours long and the views were awesome. We ride along the Mediterranean the whole way except when we were passing through mountains. I got some great pictures of the really cool blue water. We got to Barcelona a little after 5 and we took the metro towards our Hostel. Liz, Matt and I were staying together, but we had some trouble finding the hostel office. Once we found it we were happy with the location. We were right on Las Ramblas- one of the most famous and busiest streets in Barcelona. After we settled in we went to check out the huge food market right near our house. It was called Mercat Boqueria. We met up with Caleb and Alex. We all had good fresh squeezed juice and walked around to see all of the other cool stuff there. We checked out the erotic museum across the street. It was expensive and more so weird than anything, but I guess now we can say we went. We walked down Las Ramblas listening to music being played in the street, listening to comedians, observing dancers and observing other cool stuff. We walked to the end and got to see the Columbus Statue which is right by the port where the Olympics were held a few years back. We had a cheap snack then went to a really nice restaurant called La Fonda. It was classy, had good portions and it was cheap. We all split some sangria which was really good and I had fish paella which was also good. We walked around the Barrio Carmen area and saw a cathedral, but went back to our hostel early and went to bed because we were tired and had a full day planned the next day.

Saturday July 7^th, 2007 (07-07-07)

We woke up and I was surprised how well I slept in a crappy hostel. Matt, Liz and I went to a café and I had a pastry and a cappuccino. I liked the cappuccino because it had chocolate in it. We met up with Caleb and Alex and began out tour of Gaudi in Barcelona. The first place we went to was closed because it was before 10am and being renovated. We walked through the city past Burberry and Louis Vuitton and got to Casa Batillo which was a house Gaudi designed. We just admired the outside because we were more interested in his other work. We got to Casa Mila (called La Pedrera in Spain because it reminds them of a cavern) and it was really cool. We walked through most of the building and had headset guides telling us what everything was. We started in the attic and went to the roof which was the coolest. I can not describe in words how cool the architecture was, but not to worry- I took lots of pictures. We finished Casa Mila by walking through an apartment in the building which was also cool. We took a walk to the next, and probably most famous Gaudi work, La Segrada Familia. This was a massive cathedra that Gaudi designed and is still under construction today. We spend hours walking around this cathedral and I still do not feel like we got to see it all. We had headphones for our own guided tour. Gaudi architecture is so unique and very cool. We even took the elevator to the top of one of the towers which had a great view of the city. Another cool part was walking down the tower to the bottom it was a small circular staircase with a hole in the middle where it appeared you could fall to the bottom. We left the cathedral after that in search of food. It was 4pm and we had not had anything to eat since breakfast at 8:30. We were not too far behind normal Spanish lunch time at 2pm. We ended up eating at a pizza place which was good but expensive, but oh well everything here is. We took the metro to another part of the city and then climbed a really steep street that even had escalators. This led us to Parc Guell. This was another famous work of Gaudi and a really cool park overlooking the entire city and the Mediterranean. I got some great pictures of this as well. After spending some time there we went to the metro and went back to our hostel to shower and get ready to go out for dinner. We met back up with Alex and Caleb and went to a Kabob place for dinner. I had an apple fanta for the first time and it was good. We all went back to Caleb and Alex’s hostel and had champagne, and dessert with them and went out to a pizza place. I did not eat again, but had a good drink- it was a mixture of lemon fanta and beer. We left there around 2:15am and went to a discoteca. These do not really get going until 3am in the morning, but there were a lot of people there at 2:30am. After dancing for over an hour we decided we were tired and went back to our hostel. We enjoyed the view from our balcony and went to bed.

Sunday July 8^th, 2007

We packed up our stuff and went to a café for breakfast. We tried to check out of our hostel, but they were not open yet. We went to the Picasso museum which was really cool. He painted so many works at such an early age and over his lifetime. It was cool to see that. We went to check out of our hostel and I got some orange granizado along the way which is my favorite Spainish drink. We tried to see the Plau de la Musica Catalana, but unfortunately we did not have time for the tour. We walked around the building outside, but were not allowed in without a tour group. It was a really cool venue and upcoming performances there included Norah Jones. We took the metro to the train station and grabbed lunch before taking the train back to Valencia. We got to see a lot while in Barcelona and I was happy. We again enjoyed the great Mediterranean views along the way back and watch the movie Poseidon in Spanish. We got back to Valencia a little after 5 and I headed back home. Jordan was back and we talked about our trips. He ended up going to Pamplona, but he said it was awful and he left after only being there for 3 hours. So that was a 13 hour bus ride for 3 hours. I felt bad for him, but I guess it was an experience to get to see the running of the bulls. I studied, talked to madre, then went for a walk around Valencia. We had dinner at 10pm (as always) and then I did some more work and went for another walk and some of us ended up streaking part of the city in a park. I guess we just brought the UVA tradition to Spain. I went home and went to bed.

Monday July 9^th, 2007

I did not to go to class and was disappointed that a lot of my extended family was at the beach, but I walked to class with Lisa and Jordan. We all exchanged stories about the weekend and I found out that Lisa’s grandfather had passed away. I felt bad because she really wanted to be there with her family, but they were so far away. Conversation class was bad, but grammar was good. We had a review session in conversation and I realized just how much I needed to study for my test. I walked home with Lisa after class and bought flash cards. We tried to go to the library, but they were about to close for siesta. I went home to eat, study, and took a nap. I went to Lisa’s apartment and we studied there. We ended up on facebook, looking at pictures from our weekends, listening to music, watching an episode of the office and eating some really good food. I got to talk to some friends on AIM and even sent my dad and brother text messages over aim. (Lisa has internet and I do not at my house.) I went home, had dinner with madre and Jordan then studied until I went to bed.