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.

Barcelona

I had an awesome weekend in Barcelona! I will update more on that later, but right now I have to go to class.

bad day, good day

Lunes (Monday July 2, 2007)

Today sucked, but then it got better at the end. I woke up and my feet were extremely sore. I think I got some foot thing from walking on a sidewalk and near a bathroom barefoot while we were in Sagunto at the beach. I have never had that before. Jordan and I were supposed to get up early and walk to class, but we were late and had to take the bus. Conversation and grammar class were fine. After classes I found out about the trip to Barcelona. Alex said he was planning the trip and when I asked him about it he said that he already had a hostel for he and Caleb. I was not expecting to have to plan a trip to Barcelona and was not sure whether or not I should go because of how expensive everything is. Then Lisa calls me and I find out that she may not go to Rome because her flight because Caleb booked it wrong and it would cost 100.00 euros to change it. My bocadillo was not that great, but at least I had an orange. I stayed at school talking to people and doing work. I spent most of my time updating my blog, sending e-mails, and getting caught up on facebook. Liz and Annie were working on hostels for our trip after the program. There were not many options left in Cadiz so that will cost each of us $202 (dollars, not euros) and I realized how expensive this is going to be. I was there a long time and went to the mercadona (grocery store) with Annie and got 1.5 liters of water (huge) and freshly baked chocolate muffins for less than a euro. It was awesome. I went back to school and met up with Lisa. She went with me to the Farmacia to get medicine for my foot. She helped me communicate with the pharmacist and they were able to give me the medicine I needed. It was less than 3 euros! All of the medicine here is so cheap because it is government regulated. You don’t need prescriptions for most things (you could walk in and get valium) and all health care is free if you are over 60. It is a great deal. Lisa, Matt and I went to a coffee shop and had some more granizado (so good!) and talk about our days (mainly Lisa and I because we had bad days). I felt better after talking with her. We went to the mercadona and then I went home. I started doing my work, but I was still a little pissed off. I decided to go for a run while listening to my iPod. I started to feel a lot better and I even ran into Liz. We had a good talk and decided she, Matt and I would go to Barcelona on our own. I was glad she still wanted to go even thought Alex was not really planning it for us. I finished my run, ran home, home, got a shower and we had dinner. We had fish that had skin on it and had a lot of bones in it. I was not a big fan. We also had artichokes and of course, fruit. I finished my homework and then met up with Matt to start planning what we wanted to see in Barcelona. The Spain book my mom bought me came in handy. There was a park near by for kids and it was fun to play on the seesaw. I felt like a kid again. I went home and went to bed.

Tuesday June 3, 2007

I got up at 8, had breakfast and Jordan and I made it downstairs in time to meet Lisa and walk to school. It only took us 30 minutes walking by some really cool sites. We got to school early so I was able to send some e-mails. Conversation class was great and so was grammar. I talked with Caleb and Lisa and they decided to go to the airport to fix the flight to Rome. I talked to Danny (this really jacked guy that looks like he spends a lot of time at the gym) after class and asked him where the gym was. He went on to talk about the guys who workout in Spain and it was hilarious. Apparently the wear man capris, nice shoes, designer shirts, and they are constantly checkout their own bodies. Oh and they only workout their chests and arms. Danny and Jessica were talking about intercambios so I decided to go sign up. It means I am paired with a Spanish student who is studying English. We are supposed to get together twice a week and help improve each others language skills. It should be good. I requested a girl. I helped Liz look for a hostel for Barcelona and then I went to the Port with Annie, Matt, and two other girls. It was really cool to watch the America’s Cup. Switzerland (Alinghi) won the final race so they won the competition. After a lot of pictures I went to the beach. The water was so warm and I really enjoyed it. I got a bus home, showered and called Lisa. She came by and we walked to her apartment. She had a cool apartment. We talked for a while then looked at our Rome trip. We found a great hostel. I came back home and had dinner with Jordan. Madre was not feeling well so she went to bed early. I did some work then Jordan let me drive the Vespa moped he rented for the day. It was so much fun to drive a moped in a city with all of the crazy drivers. It was not as fun as my motorcycle, but in a city it was great. It was a little hard not knowing all of the traffic signs. I want to rent one for the rest of the month. I finished my homework, relaxed and went to bed.

My first week in Spain!

¡Yo amo Valencia! La cuidad es muy grande y muy bonita. (I love Valencia! The city is very big and very pretty.) But before I go on about what has been going on here I will start at the beginning.

Lunes (Monday June 25^th, 2007)

I woke up and Liz’s mom drove Liz, Caleb and I to Dulles airport. Everything went fine and we boarded our plan which only took 45 minutes to get to JFK. We were spoiled with individual tv’s so I was able to watch and episode of CSI, but I soon found out that while that was standard on jetblue, it was not standard on Iberia Airlines. JFK was a big airport and under construction, but after Liz, Caleb, and I all got different directions as where to go we found our way to Iberia Airlines. We met up with the group and the first person I saw was my roommate Jordan. He went to lunch with us and he is really cool. We have been getting along great. I was surprised how many other students I recognized as well. After making a few phone calls and waiting a few hours we boarded our plane for Spain. We got on the plane around 5:30 and got off the ground around 7. We were served dinner and then I tried to get some sleep. There was a group of students on board headed to Israel and there was a big group of students headed to Spain to play tennis as well. The second group was loud, so I did not get very much sleep. I sat next to Krystal, who was also going to Spain for the UVA program. After a long 7 hour flight we arrived in Madrid, but of course it was 6 hours behind in Spain so we got there around 7:30am (1:30 am EST).

Martes (Tuesday June 26, 2007)

The airport in Madrid was really nice. I was very impressed with the architectural detail. At first the airport was quiet, but then we got to customs and found the long lines. More lines were opened as the lines grew larger and we were done with that after about 30-45 minutes. We then took a subway to the baggage claim. This airport was huge. When we got to the baggage claim I was still impressed. Apparently the airport was recently renovated and the floors were all made of marble or granite and everything was just really nice. We got our baggage (equipage) and checked in with our bus coordinator. After waiting a while we all go on the bus and made the journey to Valencia. It was around 10am. The views from the bus were awesome. I got to admire the views between short naps. We stopped after two hours at a gas station, but better. They served good food as well. A typical Spanish lunch is bocadillos which is a lot of bread with a thing slice of ham, tomato, cheese, tuna (atún) or all of the above. We got back on the bus, except Caleb and I decided to stay up and enjoy the views. At one point we went over a bridge and the water was a really nice blue and green color. There was a lot of construction along the way as well. Mainly converting land into farm land. There were just hills of farmland and trees. Pictures will be up later. There were also several modern windmills. They sere are energy efficient over here. There were not the windmills out of Cervante´s Don Quixote, but they were still cool. We arrived in Valencia around 2:30. I was really impressed by the city, it did not realize it was so big. It was not like New York, it was better because there are trees everywhere and everyone speaks Spanish. They pay a lot of attention to detail here that is forgotten in America. When we arrived at the soccer stadium or host mothers were all there standing with our names written on big pieces of paper, it was really cool. I met my madre and she was awesome. She kissed Jordan and I on each cheek and then she hailed a taxi after we got our luggage. My Spanish is not great, but it was really bad after traveling for almost 24 hours and still being very tired. Jordan is not great at Spanish either so it was a challenge to speak to our madre and it still is. When we got to our apartment I was impressed. We live in a nice 3 bedroom apartment. My room is a good size with a bed, a desk, 2 wardrobes, a night stand, a fan and a bookshelf. After we ate lunch and talked some Spanish it was time for siesta (naptime) and it was great. I slept for about 2 hours then Jordan and I went out with our madre. I tried asking her about cell phones, but the language barrier made the conversation what should have been 2 minutes about 20. Jordan and I left and went to the phone store. It was amazing how I was able to converse with the cell phone agent and buy a phone. I got her to write the price so I could understand. Here, if you are not a resident, you can not buy a cell phone plan, only minutes. So I got a cell phone for 59 euros which included 20 euros of calling and texting. This has been very handy and after looking around I found that I got a good deal. Many students here are buying cell phones so we can all contact eachother. Jordan and I returned to the house and then went to walk towards the center for arts and sciences. They have some of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen. Me gusta mucho. We headed back for dinner which is at 10pm. It was really good. We had ensalada (salad) with tomatoes and a lot of olive oil and salt. We also had pork. After dinner Jordan and I walked around the city. There was a lot to see, but unfortunately the city was quiet because it was so early to go out. We found and irish bar and each had a beer (New Castle which was really good considering I am not a big beer fan). We sat and talked in the corner for a while then headed home and went to bed.

Miercoles (Wednesday June 27, 2007)

I got up at 9:30, got a shower and our madre took us to school on the bus. The bus ride was a little longer because the bus driver stopped to have coffee and breakfast. In spain the philosophy is to sleep in and get to work around 9 or 10, work until 2, have siesta until about 4, then work again until around 8 or 8:30. Family is important, but work is not as important. We got to school and I got to see Annie and everyone else which was really cool. Everyone talked about how much they loved their madres. We had a session on why we are here in Spain and they told us about the trips. Some of us went to have lunch in a plaza in the middle of the city and it was really good. I had a drink (granizado) which was like a slushe, but lemon flavored and better, pan tostado con aciete de olvie (toasted bread with olive oil). We walked around the city seeing some of the sites and I got some more pictures. Jordan and I returned to our house for siesta. I love naps in the afternoon. Then we took a bus back to the school for information on the classes we would be taking. After that some of us traveling after the program decided to go to a café and talk. I had chocolate con churos and it was good. We made a tentative plan. I walked around with Liz and Matt and then I went with Liz to see her madre and her apartment. Her apartment was awesome. She lives on the top floor and there was a huge terrace with great views of the city. Her madre was nice and invited me in for a tour. I made the 4 block walk back to my house and had dinner at 10pm. Dinner was much better than before because I am getting much better at communicating with my madre. We ate paella and fruit for dessert. After dinner Jordan and I met up with Lisa, Alex, Liz, Matt, Ben, Paul and Caleb. We all walked to the port where the America’s Cup takes place because the area was known for having good bars. We found a really cool wicker bar on the water and decided to each get a drink. A vodka and Fanta costs 10 Euros ($14 US) which was crazy, but when in Europe you have to live it up. After we all relaxed there by the water for a while we decided to leave and walk to the other side of the port. Some people wanted to go to another bar (by the way there are millions of bars in Valencia and really nice ones by the water) to get a cheaper beer. One of the coolest parts about the port was that there were a lot of lights shows set up for the America’s Cup which looked awesome at night. Liz, Matt, and I decided we did not want to pay for another drink so we went to walk on the beach because the bar was right on the beach. We walked towards the Mediterranean (which was along walk because the beaches here are huge) and even put our feet in the water which was refreshing. After the many kilometers of walking I had 2 big blisters from my top siders which I should have worn with socks. Some of decided to leave and go home because it was 1:30 (which is about the time the night life begins in Valencia) and we had class at 9. We hailed a cab and headed home. I fell asleep as soon as I got home.

Jueves (Thursday June 28, 2007)

I woke up at 8 and was surprised that I was not still tired. I got a shower, had breakfast then Jordan and I got on the bus and went to school. They have the best transportation system in Valencia. There are a lot of cars everywhere- double parked, etc., but the way to travel is by bus, metro, or walking. Riding a bike, a moped or motorcycle is also very popular. I guess it all makes sense in a city as well. We got to school and it was the first day of class. I recognized a few people in my SPAN 313 Conversation, but Be and Matt were in the other section. There are only 8 students in the class which was awesome. We had to buy a book and packet, but together it only cost a little over 14 Euros which was so much less than it would have cost in the US- books at UVA are expensive. I really liked the class. It is so much fun talking in Spanish and sharpening my ability to do so. We are only allowed to speak Spanish in the center. We had a few ice breaker games then we conversed. We were assigned homework, but I was actually looking forward to it- weird considering it is the middle of summer and I am in Spain. My next class, SPAN 311- Grammar Review was not as good, but I knew several people in the class and I guess grammar can only be but so exciting right? We played similar ice breaker games in that class then learned about Spanish articles. Classes were about 2 hours each and ran from 9-1pm. I had to buy a packet for my second class for 4 Euros and a book for 14.50 Euros. Yet again I thought it was great compared to UVA prices. I went back to the school and used the internet. I updated my contact info on facebook, wrote on a few walls, e-mailed some people and checked my e-mail. I have not really missed the internet except for updating this blog which I still have to post, oh, and I guess I miss posting pictures from the trip as well. Annie, Liz and I talked and we made a more definite plan for our trip after the session. We have decided to go to Barcelona during the program and the day the program ends we will be going to Granada which is in southern Spain. From there we will go to Cadiz (a costal city in Southern Spain with quiet beaches) and then heading to Sevilla for 3 days. We will spend a day in Cordoba then head north to San Sebastain (a costal city in northern Spain). This area is supposed to be amazing- it has nice beaches, mountains and it close to the boarder with France. We will end our 11 day excursion in Madrid where we will spend 3 days before heading home. I am really looking forward to the trip. I went to the beach with Matt and we ran into Lisa. This was my first time at the beach during the day and it was really nice. The beach was packed, but it was still nice. I loved the view of having the mountains and the beach right there. The water was a little cold, but we all enjoyed it. I had a bocadillo for lunch which my madre packed for me- it was good and had tomato, ham, and oil on it. We were at the beach for about 4 hours before we took the bus home. (oh, the bus pass we use is called Bonobús which we all think is a great/funny name). I got home around 9 and started my homework. We had dinner at 10 which was really good. We had gazpacho (cold soup), fish, and some cooked vegetable coated in olive oil. The best part was that our conversation with madre was the best it has ever been because we understand her better and we can speak better now. I felt like I was hogging a lot of the conversation, but Jordan was tired and just woke up from a nap and he said it was fine. I got back to my homework and finished about 1am. I could not believe I spent so long on the homework. It was basic stuff, but I really want to learn it, it is interesting. The coolest part about being here was that one of my books I had to read was about culture differences in Valencia and I had already experienced everything I was reading about- now that is hands on learning. So awesome! Jordan had a lot more than I because he is taking 201 and 202 in 4.5 weeks. That is a class I took over the course of 2 semesters. He had a lot of work and was doing work most of that this afternoon. I am exhausted and now I am heading to bed.

Viernes (Friday June 29, 2007)

Jordan and I were supposed to walk to school with Lisa at 8:15am, but I decided to sleep until then so Jordan and I took the bus. Conversation class was really good and even Grammar class was good. After class Caleb, Liz, Lisa and I decided that we wanted to go to Rome Italy during the trip so we got on the computer and planned a trip to Rome July 20 to July 23. (any places I have to go while I am there mom?) That will give us Friday night, Saturday, Sunday and Monday to see Rome. We will miss class on that Monday, but we are allowed one skip day. We got plan tickets for 100.01 euros and a hostel there for only 25 euros a night per person so that is 75.00 Euros for a place to stay. It is going to be awesome. I have never been to Italy. I am trying to plan a trip to Paris France the weekend before that, but I don’t think that is going to happen because there is already so much other stuff planned for Spain and Rome is the big weekend away from Spain. After we booked the flight and other stuff for Rome I went with Matt to see where he lived. He lives with Ben close to my apartment. I dropped off my stuff at my apartment and then several of us met up at the beach. I got to the beach around 3:30 and stayed until 7. It is so awesome sitting on the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Life can’t get much better than this. I took a bus home. Jordan was taking a nap so I decided to walk around the city. I walked around for 2 hours looking into shop windows, I went to the supermercado (supermarket) and got a coke for 0.17 euros and got to experience how different the supermarkets are here. It was really cool. Then I walked to the big department store here- El Corte Ingles. There were 5 floors of clothes, books, tvs, music, furniture, outdoor stuff, games, and a restaurant. I spent an hour there just admiring how cool everything was. I even spent a few minutes looking at a book on Rome. It was in Spanish, but I am learning and understood some of it. I wanted to get some European clothes, but rebajas (sales) start Sunday so I will wait. It is a big time for sales everywhere in Spain. I walked back home and had dinner with Jordan, and madre. We had a slab of pork, french fries, and fruit for dessert. It was really good and conversation with madre was good in Spanish as well. I asked madre if she likes wine and she said no, but she likes liquor. She got out some liquor that has some sort of herbs in it. It was really good and smooth. She did not have any because she takes so many different sorts of medicine. She showed us the bag of all the pills she got that day, but the cool part was that it was all free. Spain pays for all health care for their citizens over 60 years old- medicine, hospital, etc which I thought was really cool. Jordan and I got ready and met up with some other friends to go out. They were having a bar night for all of the students here studying abroad so we all went there. We even walked because the city is so easy to get around. A cab would have cost us 5 euros. The bar was really cool. I had a beer and a shot of tequila for only 5 euros. We all danced and hung out there until 3:30am. I came home and went to bed.

Sabado (Saturday June 30, 2007) Sagunto & Canet D’En Berenguer Beach

I woke up at 10:30, got Jordan up and we took a bus to the soccer stadium where we boarded a bus for our day trip. The views along the way were really great. We went north of Valencia so we drove up right beside the Mediterranean. We got to Sagunto and climbed a large hill to see an old Roman theatre. It was sad because they restored parts of it, but not to the original look. They used modern materials. We climbed to the top of the mountain and got to see the remains of an old castle, That was cool and the views from the top were great. We walked around there for a while then we made the journey back down the mountain through the narrow streets of Sagunto. My bocadillo was not very good. It was 3 different types of port and one was blood sausage and another looked like poop. I tried some of each, but could not finish all of it. We got back on the bus and went to Canet beach. The beach here was even better than Valencia and the water was really blue. The view was awesome and unfortunately the camera could not capture how nice it was, but I got several pictures. We swam and then I took a 2 hour nap on the beach. It was great. There were probably 50 or more of us there from the program (mostly from UVA) but it was fun. I used sun tan lotion, but I did get a little burnt during my nap. We got helado (ice cream) and it was good. The cone was different tasting than in and it was a little hard to order, but all of these encounters where I have to use my Spanish only improves it. We made the bus ride back to Valencia and most everyone fell asleep. I already had my nap so I just admired the view. We got back and had to walk a little way to get back to the apartment. Jordan and I each got a shower then ate dinner madre had fixed us, but she was not there. Jordan took a nap and I relaxed in my room- read, listened to music, and updated this blog. We met up with some friends at 11pm (23:00) and headed to the port where a lot of stuff was going on for the America’s Cup. We walked all the way there- over 3 kilometers. The port was so crowded. I ended up going to meet up with Alex, Liz, Phil and some other people from the UVA group. We sat on the street at a bar near the beach. Liz and I shared some aqua de Valencia (orange juice, champagne, and vodka) which was really good. Then we watched an awesome display of fireworks on the beach and we even got to watch them burn a small tower structure. It lit up in flames and was obliterated to pieces in a matter of minutes. It was all for the America’s Cup and really cool to watch. Some people were going to a discoteco, but Liz and I decided not to go. The discoteco had 4 floors of different types of dance music and well as aquariums filled with sharks throughout the building. It was not enough to convince me to pay at 20.00 euro cover charge. Liz and I walked around the port then got a cab home. I got to bed around 3:30 or 4am, but the kids that went to the discoteco got home around 7am.

Domingo (Sunday July 1, 2007)

I slept in until 12:45 in the afternoon (technically still morning in Spain because it is before siesta). I got up and my house was quiet. We had decided not to go to Peniscula because it would be similar to the trip we had the day before, but it was nice just to relax in Valencia. I went to El Corte Ingles, and then I went to another El Corte Ingles. The place was packed with shoppers because it was the first day of rebajas (sales). I went into a Lacoste store as well, but after the rabajas, it is still more expensive than in the US because of the exchange rate right now. Matt and I went to a Chinese food buffet because I was tired of eating bocadillos for lunch. Then we went to the port to meet up with Randee for the America’s Cup race. We were confused as to why the boats were coming back into port so early, but assumed it ended early. After hanging out there for a while we decided to head back to our houses. I got on the bus and after asking a lady who won the regatta in Spanish, she told me that she spoke English. Apparently there was not a race that day because there was not enough wind. They rescheduled the race for Tuesday. I went to the newest El Corte Ingles and it was even bigger than the rest. There were 10 stories of everything you could possibly think of. Matt and I went to the 10^th floor and had lemon granizado (cold lemon drink, kind of like Italian Ice.) I went home and ran into Jordan. He and Ben tried to rent mopeds for the day, but the store was closed. I then ran into Danny and Larry who were coming back from a pick up game of soccer. I started my homework and then got a shower before dinner. Dinner was good- hamburgers, pan seared squash, bread, fruit, and we even had dessert. Conversation with madre was ok, but not the best it has been. I listened to my iPod then met up with Liz to go for a walk after dinner. She had not seen anyone all day and wanted some American interaction/conversation. I came home, finished my work and went to bed.