Paris

I officially have one week left here in Spain. Unfortunately I also have five exams to worry about this week, but I'm not going to let that slow me down! I spent my second to last weekend in Paris. Me and Sondee flew out Friday afternoon and arrived in Paris that evening. We took a train into the city and then my friend Amanda met us and helped us find our hostel. Our hostel was....interesting. The rooms didn't come with sheets but you could pay to rent them (which we immediately did). After we found our room and dropped off our things we went to the Latin quarter to get dinner. We found a crepe/sandwich stand. I had a delicious panini and Sondee had a crepe. Then we took our dinners down to the river and sat and ate. It was a beautiful night, but much chillier than in Madrid. We walked along the river a little and then walked over to the Louvre to see it all lit up at night. Then we found the metro and went back to the hostel to get some rest. Saturday morning we got up bright and early and tried to find breakfast. Apparently our hostel didn't provide breakfast even though it advertises that it does. We walked all around but nothing was open. Apparently the French don't get up super early on Saturday mornings. We ended up eating at McDonalds which was kind of a let down. Then we found a grocery store and bought picnic supplies. We took a train to Versailles and spent all day exploring the palace and the gardens. We ate our picnic lunch (bread, wine, and cheese) in the gardens and planned to go to a garden show, but it started raining. We got pretty wet but we decided to stick it out and see the rest of the things we wanted to see. I mean, how often are you in Paris? When we had seen what we wanted to see, we took the train back into the city and headed to the Eiffel tower. We took lots of pictures and then waited in line to go up to the top. Last time I was in Paris, we didn't go up the Eiffel tower so I was really excited. It was a lot of waiting but definitely worth it. As we waited, the weather changed and the sky got nice and blue so we could see everything from the top. Then we met up with Amanda again to have some dinner and crepes for dessert. We went to a nice little restaurant for dinner and then went to Amanda's favorite crepe stand. I got a nutella crepe and it was AMAZING! Then we strolled around a bit and saw some break dancers on the street. We left Amanda and went back to the hostel to sleep. The next morning we got up super early again to get to the Louve when it opened. We found a bakery nearby and got some breakfast. It turns out the line is very short on Sunday morning so we didn't have to wait at all. We went to buy tickets and discovered that our European ID's get us in for free! We saw all the important things and then left. We had to take a bus to the airport because we were flying out of an airport that is REALLY far from the city. The bus company says to get there 3 hours before your flight so we did. We got on a bus and were on the way to the airport when the bus slowed down and then eventually stopped. It was dead. The accelerator didn't work. They sent another bus but I was slightly frantic. I had an exam today and really didn't want to be stuck in Paris. The bus came in time though and we made our flight. I was absolutely exhausted when I got home. This traveling stuff is hard work! Today I had my first exam. Now I just have to make it through 3 others and a final paper and I'm home free! I am going to try to cram as much fun and culture into this last week as possible. I'm sure it will fly by.

Sevilla and Cordoba

This past weekend we had our final AYA trip. We took the AVE train to Cordoba on Saturday morning. I LOVE the AVE. It is so fast and so comfortable. They showed High School Musical 3 on the train so I thoroughly enjoyed my ride. When we got to Cordoba, we went to lock up our things in a locker. Later that day we were going to Sevilla to spend the night so we had our luggage which we didn't want to carry around all day. On our way to the bus station to lock things up we ran into Kirsten, a girl from Ripon who is studying in Sevilla! I couldn't believe it! She was in Cordoba for the day to see the Mezquita, which is what we were going to see as well. She tagged along with our group so I got to catch up with her a bit which was nice. It sounds like she is having a good experience here in Spain but quite different from my own. It's interesting how different two different cities can be. We went to visit the mezquita which is a masque and a cathedral. The history goes like this. There used to be a catholic church here but later the land was bought by the Moslems and a masque was built where the church had been. The arquitecture is amazing. Later, during the reconquest of Spain, the Catholics tore down every place of worship that wasn't Catholic and built a church on the holy land. In Cordoba, the mesquita was so beautiful and arquitecturally impressive that the Catholics decided to keep it and build their cathedral inside. So now it is a huge mix of Catholic and Muslim arqitecture and symbolism. We spent a few hours wandering around and being amazed at the greatness of the monument and then went back to the train station to catch our bus to Sevilla. This train wasn't an AVE, but I still enjoyed it.

We got to Sevilla in the afternoon, checked into our hostel, and explored the city. We saw the site of the 1929 world's fair where there is an artistic representation of each province in Spain. We found all the places we have visited and took pictures of them. Unfortunately, Madrid is under construction. Then we wandered through the park and by the river. We saw the bull rink and the cathedral from the outside. The city is beautiful with white buildings and narrow windy streets. For dinner, we went tapa hoping with our director. She studied abroad in Sevilla when she was in college so she knew all of the best places to go. We got to taste lots of different tapas and I found some new favorites. Our tapa hopping lasted pretty late so we went right to sleep when we got back.

We woke up Sunday to the sound of rain. Boo. Our morning plans consisted of a tour of the Alcazar, an ancient residence of the king. The most impressive part of this site is the gardens. We went despite the rain and had a really fun time. We trudged through the mud to see the flowers and a peacock! We even found a labyrinth in the gardens and got lost in it. After that we were cold and wet so we went out for coffee. We walked around a bit and met for lunch. Our director took us to a really good restaurant for a big sit down lunch. I had ravioli with spinach sauce and it was heavenly. We all got to order a dessert after lunch. Little did we know, the desserts were culinary masterpieces. I got cheese cake which was the most simple thing on the menu. Other people got Venetian crepes, Spanish pastries, or elaborate pies, cakes, and tarts. We were stuffed. We had the afternoon free so me and a couple other people went to the cathedral. This is the third biggest cathedral in Europe. The main alter is the biggest in the world. It is 64 feet high and all gold. The organ has 700 pipes. It was pretty impressive. But the most impressive part of all was the bell tower. You can climb to the top and see all of Sevilla. It has ramps instead of stairs because it was originally designed to accommodate a horse and rider so they could go to the top and ring the bells. In the courtyard of the cathedral there is a orange garden where oranges are grown to make marmalade. The marmalade made from these oranges is sent to the queen of England each year as a gift. After our visit to the cathedral we did a little souvenir shopping and headed back to our hostel to pick up our things before going to the train station.

Despite the rain, we had a pretty great weekend. We all noticed how much has changed since our first trip together. We were virtually strangers and really stuck with the people from our own school. Now we're all friends and get along really well. Three weeks from today I will be on a plane home! It's sad to be leaving, but I am getting ready to see my family and friends again. And I am definitely ready to be done with classes! I have a four day weekend coming up with no plans so I'll let you know what I find to do. There is so much to do around here I'm sure it wont be a problem at all!

Real Madrid

The other night I went to see a Real Madrid soccer game. I have to admit, I was hesitant about going since I'm not too into soccer, but I am so glad I went! I met my friend Kara at the metro station and as we walked towards the stadium there were people everywhere. Everyone was wearing Real Madrid scarves and carrying flags. Also, everyone had a plastic bag with their dinner in it. No one told me to bring dinner! I ate at home before I left! We got to the stadium and met up with a couple other girls. We found the right entrance and went to our seats. Our seats happened to be the very last seats in the entire stadium (it holds 80,000 people) so it was a long walk up. The game was super exciting. We were playing against Getafe which is where my school is so I figured I'd be happy no matter who won. Although I didn't pay that much attention to the game, I am aware that we won at the very last minute! It was really fun to see how much people got into it. Soccer is a huge part of the culture here people have a lot of pride for their teams. ´Here are some pictures. Sorry everyone is so tiny, we were pretty high up!

Easter in Rome

Last Friday, I got up at the crack of dawn and flew to Rome to meet Emily. I was convinced we would never find each other but as I was walking to our hostel, there was Emily sitting on the steps of a church! I was so happy to see her. We couldn’t check into the hostel until noon so we walked a few blocks to get our first glimpse of the coliseum. Wow. It is impressive. Then we walked to our hostel and got all settled in. The hostel only had three rooms and ours was the only private one. We had to share a bathroom with everyone. It was kind of like staying in someone’s apartment but it was really nice. Emily was really tired but we decided to go out and explore to help keep her awake. We saw the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and some other monuments and fountains. We stopped for lunch at a nice Italian restaurant where we could eat outside and enjoy the sunny, 70 degree weather. We ate some gelato at a famous gelateria where they had over 100 flavors to choose from! That night we ate at a little restaurant near our hostel and went to bed pretty early.

The next morning we were up bright and early to catch a bus to the Vatican. We knew there would be a line to get into the Vatican museum so we wanted to get there right as it opened. We had a little trouble figuring out how to buy bus tickets but we did a lot of gesturing and pointing and figured it out. When we got to the museum, the line was very short and we got in right away! We saw tons of art but most importantly we saw the Sistine chapel. It was absolutely beautiful. We stood and stared for quite a while. We had a guide book and I read aloud the information provided. After that we went to the Vatican post office to send a postcard that will be postmarked from Vatican City. We went over to St. Peter’s Basilica but the line to get in was waaay to long so we just looked at the outside. That afternoon we went to the old Jewish quarter and lost ourselves in small, windy streets. We stopped to have lunch on a sunny terrace in a plaza somewhere. Then we saw the roman ruins including the roman forum. We visited a few churches to see the art but couldn’t stay long as all the churches were preparing for Easter Sunday. After our legs were sufficiently exhausted, we went to a grocery store and bought dinner and food for the next day. We weren’t sure what would be open on Easter and didn’t want to starve. We ate in our hostel and planned on going back out for ice cream but Emily fell asleep about 5 seconds after dinner. She was still on New York time I think!

Sunday morning we headed back to St. Peters to see the Easter mass. We had no idea if we’d be able to get in or not but when we got there a nun was handing out tickets so we took some and went on in! We found a seat on some stairs and waited for the Pope to arrive. The mass was in Latin and very far away so we didn’t stay the entire time, but it was really cool to see how many people were there and to see the Pope. We were freezing so we went to get some hot chocolate and coffee. Apparently the coffee in Rome is tiny! I have never seen such a small cup of coffee in my life but Emily seemed satisfied. From there we went to the flea market that is held in Rome every Sunday. It is a lot like the flea market in Madrid. Some things are used, some are new. Some are very practical and some are completely useless. We didn’t buy anything but it was fun to walk around and see. Then we had a picnic lunch in the park. After lunch we walked to the church that has the Bocca della Veritá. We had to wait in line to get our picture taken but it moved quickly and was worth it. We examined the ruins more closely and then went back to our hostel to pack and get ready for our flight to Madrid. We had our last dinner out at a little outside restaurant we had been eyeing up all weekend. It was beautiful and delicious. We walked over to see the Trevi fountain lit up at night and got some gelato at a small shop near there.
Monday morning we got up and took a bus to the airport to catch our flight to Madrid! Emily and I did touristy things in Madrid all day Monday while the weather was beautiful. Tuesday and Wednesday it rained so we had to try to find inside things to do. Tuesday Emily came to school with me and we went to the infamous sandwich shop. Wednesday Emily went to the Prado while I was at school and we met later for tapas. Today I had to say goodbye and it was hard but we really had a great vacation together. Now I have one month left in Madrid before I come home for the summer…and boy will it be a busy one. I still have a trip to Seville and a trip to Paris planned as well as three class field trips and tons of tests and papers. I know this next month will fly by so I will try to take advantage of it!

Semana Santa

I've been enjoying the sun and the beach for the past 6 days. Last Friday I left for the South of Spain to spend my spring break. My friend Sondie was able to transfer her parent's time share to a little city near Malaga and they let us all go stay there for the week. We took a 6 hour bus ride down and it was delayed at every point possible. We got into Malaga pretty late and had to take a taxi to our resort. We went to sleep and the next morning got up early to enjoy the sun. We layed out by the pool, explored the town a little, and had lots of fun cooking in our very own kitchen. We made a big dinner Saturday night and sat outside on the patio eating and talking. Sunday we headed to the beach and spent the majority of the day relaxing next to the ocean and eating ice cream. That evening we made a mexican feast and later that night Christy got there! Monday, me and Christy went into Malaga to see some of the processions for Semana Santa. Sondie wasn't feeling too well so her and Kara stayed behind and rested. Me and Christy had a great time. It was so interesting to see the celebrations. The entire city came out to watch hundreds of people dressed in robes resembling the KKK walk down the middle of the street carying these floats. Some of the floats needed up to 150 people to lift them! We had to get there pretty early to get a good spot, but it was definitly worth it. Tuesday we were supposed to go to Gibralter for the day on organized excursion with our resort. They called Monday night and told us there weren't enough people and the excursion was canceled. I was bumed but we decided to go to a beach instead. The resort people recomended one of the best beaches on the costa del sur and even drove us there in the resort's mini bus. The wind was pretty intense that day but we found a good sunny spot and stretched out our blanket. Later, I went for a run and got really lost in these hilly neighborhoods. I got a good little tour of the town! Late Tuesday night our friend Ryan was getting into Malaga and was going to stay at our resort for the night. We were all exausted but managed to stay awake until he got there. Our mini bus driver from Tuesday recomended that we go to a little town not to far away called Mijas Pueblo. We had nothing to do Wednesday so we decided to check it out. We had to take two busses to get there and it took forever...but it was so beautiful. The town is exactly what you think of when you think of Spain. There are white washed buildings and donkeys on the streets. It is built into the mountains and the views are spectacular. We spent all day walking around and looking in museums and at the views. Then we went back to our room and freshened up for a dinner in town. We ate at a Mexican restaurant that was not nearly as good as when we cooked Mexican food for ourselves. This morning I left at the crack of dawn to catch my bus back to Madrid. This city is compleatly empty. Everyone is on vacation somewhere warm! Tomorrow I leave at 4 in the morning to go to Rome to meet Emily! I'll fill you in when we get back!

Barcelona

We had no school Thursday for father's day and I didn't have any classes on Friday so I spent my long weekend in Barcelona! I absolutely loved the city. It is so beautiful and there is so much to see and do. Sondie, Christy and I decided to take the AVE train which is super fast rather than fly Ryan Air again. It was a very positive experience. Thursday morning we met at the train station and easily got our tickets and found our platform. Christy ended up having to take a later train because her ticket reservation had some problems. Me and Sondie were in different cars of the train so we set a meeting time for breakfast in the cafateria car. I loved being able to see the country as we rode. Trains are also nice because you can walk around if your legs get tired of sitting. While we ate, we looked at all of our tourist guides and maps and books to make a very detailed itinerary. There was so much we wanted to do so we really had to be organized. We maped everything out so we could maximize our time sightseeing and minimize our time traveling. When we got to Barcelona, we met our friend Katie who flew in that same morning. We went to our hostel which was super nice. There were 5 beds and our own bathroom. The kitchen was down the hall and was basicly ours since we were the only ones staying there. We droped our stuff and headed out to see the city. Our first stop was Casa Batllo. This is one of Gaudi's creations. We took a audiogude tour of the house but the best part was the roof. You could see the entire city from there! We ended up staying there for quite a while so once we left we were kind of hungry. We found a restaurant called Obama's, so of course we had to check it out. We ordered tapas and relaxed a little. Then we went grocery shopping and walked around Las Ramblas until Christy's train arrived. We took her back to the hostel and got her all settled. Then we decided to walk down towards the water via Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is a street full of people, performers, and stores. When we got to the port, we saw a girl who is in Madrid on our same program! She was in Barcelona visiting her boyfriend. They recomended a good Mexican restaurant for us so we went. I have been craving Mexican food for quite some time so I was pretty happy with this decision. We had a nice huge meal outside on the tarrace. By the time we got back to the hostel it was close to midnight and we were exausted. We decided it made more sense to stay in and sleep so we would be ready for our big day on Friday.



Friday started out with a big American breakfast that we cooked in our kitchen. Then we set out to see the Cathedral of Barcelona and the whole gothic neighborhood. We made our way to the Picasso Museum which I really enjoyed. Some of his young paintings are there as well as his interpretations of Las Meninas, which were my favorite. Then we headed over to the Chocolate museum. It was basicly a historical look at how chocolate came to Barcelona. There were a ton of sculptures made of chocolate and I thought it was pretty great. After sampeling some chocolate we walked to a huge park to have our picnic lunch we brought. At the entrance to the park there is a giant arch named the Triumphal Arch. The park also has a zoo, a museum, and lots of fountains and paths to walk on. We walked until we were too tired to walk anymore. Then we went to Montjuic which means "Mount of the Jews". It is a part of the city that overlooks all of Barcelona. Our plan was to spend a good half of the day there but everything we did took longer than expected so it was already getting dark when we got there. Oh I almost forgot! We took a funicular up the mountain which was like a metro but above ground and going up a mountain. I was pretty excited by it. When we got there we walked around looking for the Poble espanol which has immitations of all of the villages in Spain. You can look at the arcitecture and they sell traditional things from each place. On our way there, we saw the magic fountains. My tour book talked about a water and light show at the fountains on the weekend nights. Of course we had to stop and watch. It was probably my favorite part of the entire trip. There were huge sprays of water in all different colors to choreographed music. It really was magical! By the time we got to Poble Espanol it looked pretty closed. We decided not to pay to get in since it wouldn't be open for long. We went back down the mountain and had dinner at an italian restaurant close to Las Ramblas. Then we went back to our hostel and changed for the night. We had plans to meet up with Jennette, the girl from our trip. She was going to take us to a discoteca on the port. We went and met her but found out that the discoteca was at capacity already so we couldn't go in. It was probably for the best since it was already almost 1 in the morning!

Saturday we got up bright and early for another day of tourism. We went to Segrada Familia first because we knew there would be lots of people there. We were right! We waited in line for quite a while just to buy our tickets. I think it was definitly worth the wait. Segrada Familia was started by Gaudi in 1883. He continued working on it until his death in 1926. This is said to be his greatest work. The church is still not nearly finished, but other people have continued working off his plans and it has made considerable progress. They are expecting to work on it at least another quarter century. The church was so different from all of the other cathedrals and churches we have seen. Gaudi's style really shines through. In the basement (which will eventually be the crypt) there is a musuem with models of what it will look like when its finished. I guess now I have a reason to come back in 25 years! After Segrada Familia we headed over to Park Guel, which is Guadi's famous park. He intended it to be a gated residence for rich people but at that time the wealthy wanted to live in the city, not on the outskirts. So now it is an amazing park. This is definitly what I think of when I think of Barcelona. It has the curvy mosaic benches and lots of green space for lounging. We ate lunch in the park and hung out there a while. Then we went to Casa Milla, another Gaudi designed house. This house is so interesting. There are 33 chimnies and the view from the roof is unreal. The house was built as an apartment building with two residents on each floor. One of the appartments is still intact with furniture and everything so you get to tour that. They give you a headset that tells you information as you go. I was fasinated by the entire thing. Casa Milla is very close to Casa Batllo, which we saw on the first day. We decided to walk past it on our way home so we could see it at night. It was beautiful! I'm glad we toured it during the day so we could see Gaudi's use of light on the inside, but it was good to go back and see the night effect too. Then we went back to our hotel and changed into something a little nicer. Our teacher recomended a nice restaurant to us so we were going to check it out. Amazingly, we found it and got a table. It was really late, even for Spain time. We ate a delicious meal except I had a little problem with ordering. There were no vegetarian options on the menu so I was asking the waiter the ingredients of many of the dishes. I have a hard time with food words because they always use very flowery words to make it sound better. I miss heard him and tried to repeat what he had said but accadentally said something very vulgur! I didn't even know that it was a bad word and I didn't understand why he was looking at me so strangely. My friends are taking a coloquial Spanish class and they told me later that I was not saying rabit, but instead a bad word for a female body part! I was so embarased! We made it through the rest of dinner without any drama. After dinner we went to meet up with Jennette since Friday night fell through. Her boyfriend knew of a bar with very extravegant drinks so we went to check it out. There were hundreds of drinks listed on the wall and they all had wild names... we opted for the Harry Potter. There was an orange slice and they put sugar and cinnamon on top and set it on fire! The cimmamon sparked like a magic wand!. It was pretty exciting. Then we went back to the hostel to sleep.

Sunday we got up early and cleaned before checking out. We went to the train station and back to Madrid. Our train experience was just as possitive except that there were no people on the train when we got on so we just sat together. We didn't realize that the train makes 4 stops and we were in someone's seat at the next stop. By that time someone was in our real seats so we just choose some other ones. But at the next stop these people came! We ended up moving about 4 times. It felt really good to be home. I was pooped! I'm still trying to catch up on sleep and school work. On that note, I'm going to go do some reading!

Prince Felipe

Me and my senora have been talking a lot lately and getting along really well. Yesterday she asked me if I wanted to go out for lunch with her and her friend. I said yes, and we went to a small pueblo outside of Madrid to their favorite resturant. It is famous for rabbit, which did not thrill me. I had some delicious grilled vegetables thought. My senora and her friend split a rabbit (ahhh!!!). It was nice to have the traditional long Spanish lunch. We sat around eating and talking until almost 5:00! Then we went to do a little shopping. My senora picked out a bunch of clothes for me to try on. I ended up with a really cute beach dress and a shirt. It was good to hang out with an adult for a change. I get so used to being with people my own age that I forget how nice it is to talk to grown ups.

Today I had a four hour art class in the Prado. We were having double class to make up for next week when we have a four day weekend. When we got there, there were tons of police. I asked my professor why there was so much security and she didn't know. It took us forever to get in and security was extra tight. While waiting in line for the metal detector, we found out that the Prince and his wife were expected at the Prado this morning! My professor wanted to continue with class, but we were all pretty excited. As we walked to go see Velazquez's work, the security woman made us move to the side because the prince (and about a million reporters and security people) were entering! We got to see them walk by! I know it isn't much, but I saw the future king of Spain! After that we had to continue with our VERY long class. I have been to the Prado three times now, and there is still so much left for me to see! This afternoon it was about 72 degrees so I did my homework outside on our patio. Then I went for a nice run in the park. I am definitly not missing the cold, that's for sure! Well, that's all for now!

Valle de los Caidos

My weekend full of class trips continued on Saturday with two excursions for my cultural studies class. The first was to the Reina Sofia art museum to see Civil War art. Many of the pieces we looked at I had just looked at with my parents but this time I had my teacher as a guide telling me the meaning. We studied Guernica in depth and looked at some Dali. Then we had a 20 minute break before our next trip. The second trip was to the Valley of the Fallen. This monument was built by Franco as a memorial to the victoms of the Spanish Civil War. It is also where he is burried. It is about 45 minutes outside of the city and is built underneath a mountain. The monument is quite controvercial because it was built by republican war prisioners and many died in the construction process. On top of the mountain there is a giant cross. You can see the cross from miles away. It was a pretty intense experience. Apparently this was Franco's pride and joy and his power is evident in every aspect. Inside there is a bisilica that still holds mass everyday. There are also the bodies of many people who died during the civil war. We got an extensive history lesson as we explored the grounds. I'm really glad I saw it, but I don't think I will be going back.

Today I had a great day! The AYA director invited us all over to her house for cooking class. We learned to make tortilla espanola, an omlet type thing. Then we made a spinach dish and arroz con leche for dessert. We learned to make sangria also! It was fun to work together to make a delicious spanish meal. I will definitly be repeating some of the recipies this summer for my family and friends. I'll leave you with some pictures of our wonderful cooking!

Medioambiente excursion

Today I had an excursion for my environment and society class. We took a big bus and drove through the mountains to our final destination of Segovia. We stopped three times on the way to see the change in climate and vegetation as the altitude increased. Our first stop was near a reservour at the bottom of the mountain. It was raining and quite windy, so this stop was brief and horible. We all got pretty wet from the water that blew off the reservour. Our teachers wanted to give us an entire lesson outside but we convinced them to do it from on the bus. Since we've been having such rainy weather lately, the bus couldn't go over the mountain so we had to go through a tunnel. We got to the other side, near the top, and got out at a national park. This would have been a lovely field trip had it not been raining. We learned about the different types of trees and why they can grow here but not lower on the mountain. We trudged through the snow to see the river that flows down the mountain. Many of the students in my class are from California and have never seen snow. They were not prepared at all for the cold. My feet were soaked, but I was not too uncomfortable. I had four layers on and two pairs of gloves. Today being from Wisconsin actually came in handy! When we were all too cold to walk anymore we got back on the bus and went to see the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. This is one residence of the king of Spain. It is beautiful but he only lives there during the summer months so it was pretty shut down. The gardens are supposed to be pretty amazing, but they looked a lot like snow to me. We walked around there for a while and learned a little about the history of the castle. Then we got back on our bus and headed to Segovia. Segovia is a great little town north of Madrid. It has a really famous aquaduct that I'd seen in many pictures. It was way cooler to see it in real life. It was made by the romans in the first or second century. I am very impressed by their arquitecture. The aquaduct carries water down from the mountains and ends up in a reservour to provide water to the people of Segovia. Although it no longer works, it is still quite a site to see. Then we went and looked at some of the arcitecture around the city and ended with the Alcazar castle. As we arrived at the castle, the sun began to set. It was beautiful! It was originally constructed as an arab fort but later was used as a residence for royalty. Rumer has it that this is the castle Walt Disney based his Cinderella castle off of. I can definitly see the resemblence. It was starting to get dark so we went back to our bus and back to Madrid. I was cold, wet, and tired by the time I got home. I really liked Segovia and wish I could have seen more of the city...I guess a day trip is in order soon!

Hannah the tour guide

As soon as my parents got here I got way to busy to write, so I'll fill you in on our time together. Sunday we woke up to a rainy morning. We got ready anyway and headed out to El Rastro, Europe's largest flea market. By the time we got there it was done raining and the sun came out! El Rastro is in the streets and it is a million little stalls, many of which sell the exact same thing. We looked around for a while and baught some souvinears. That afternoon we had lunch with my Senora. She made a vegetarian paella, which was delicious. It is usually a rice and seafood dish but she made it with vegetables instead. Then we had a traditional Madrid dessert but I forgot the name. It was a lot like french toast. We wanted to go to the Prado that night, but by the time we were done with lunch and back to the appartment it was already 6:30 and it is only free until 7. Me and my mom did some shoping instead and my dad rested at the appartment. We cooked some dinner and I headed home for the night.

Monday I only had one class so I decided to bring my parents to school with me. We took the train out to Getafe where the university is and I showed them around the city a little. I helped them to buy lunch at a famous little sandwhich shop and went to class while they ate. After class we went back into the city and went to the Retiro park. We rented a small row boat on the lake and paddled around for a while. In one of my tourist books we found this convent that has cloistered nuns that make sweets. We went there and had to say a password to get in. Then we had to put our money in a lazy susan contraption and out came our cookies! It was very strange. I showed my parents Plaza Mayor, which is quite a site. Then we went to the grocery store and got dinner supplies. We went back to the appartment and cooked and ate and I went home.

Tuesday I had class all morning so my parents were on their own. They were planning to go to the Royal Palace, but it was closed for a royal function until 11. In the meantime, they saw a cathedral and got some good views of Madrid. At 11 they got to go inside the palace, which I think is one of the coolest things I have seen here. After class, I met them at the appartment for lunch. My mom and I headed out for the clothing museum. My dad thought this might not be his scene so he went to take pictures around the city instead. We got a little lost on our way to the museum, but found it in pleanty of time. It was a really cool museum and very hands on. You got to see the evolution of Spanish clothing as well as try on some fashion trends from the past. We met up with my dad at the Prado and went to see some famous paintings. We saw Velazques, Goya, El Greco and a few others but that museum is huge! By 8:00 our feet were exausted so we left and went back to the appartment for dinner.

Wednesday I had a big test at 1:00, so I went to school early to study and my parents were on their own in the city. My test went well and then I met up with my parents at my senora's appartment. We gave her a present and they got to say goodbye. Then we went and saw where Goya is burried. It is kind of far away but it is in a little church covered with his frescos. It was absolutly beautiful. We planned to go out for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant, but no restaurants open until at least 8:00. We had some time to kill so we wandered around the city a bit and then decided to walk to the restaurant instead of take the metro. It turns out it is really far and it was really windy and cold. We finally got there and it was closed, even though it said it opened at 8. We opted to go to an italian resturanted instead since they definitly had vegetarian food. It was a DELICIOUS meal. I had four-cheese ravioli with spinich. I haven't eaten a dinner out in Madrid since the first night here because my senora cooks for me every night. It was sooo good. Then I went home to sleep.

This morning I helped my parents check out of their appartment and took them to the metro that would take them to the airport. I couldn't take them all the way there because I had class, but I'm sure they made it fine. I headed off to school and had a regular day. I am super exausted. It is hard to go to school and play tour guide but it was definitly worth it. It was sad to say goodbye to my parents and even sadder to think that the next time I see them I will be in Wisconsin. I guess now I can look forward to Emily's visit over Easter!

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip to Segovia for my enviornment class. I am really looking forward to it except that we are stoping in the mountains and it's going to be really cold!! I do not miss the snow! I'll let you know how it goes!

I have visitors!

Today my mom and dad arrived in Madrid. Although their plane was super delayed and they missed their connection, they eventually made it safely. I picked them up at the airport and we came to my house so they could meet my Senora and see my house. She was so great and drove them over to their appartment that they rented. I had no idea how to get there and we had all the luggage so the ride was very much appreciated. The appartment they are staying in is sooo nice. There is a porch with a table, although it's not quite warm enough to use. There is a little kitchen with all the dishes and pots and pans we could possibly need. The living room has a sofa that folds out into a bed as well as a table and a tv. There is a nice bathroom and even a little staircase up to the roof! I think they are really going to enjoy living there for the week. After we dropped off all of their luggage and freshened up a bit, we went out to explore the city. I took them to the center of town and we saw the Royal Palace, one of the things on my mom's to-do list. They are going to go back one day while I am in school and go inside. Then we walked some more and saw Sol, the center of the city, and Gran Via. We accadentally walked all the way to the park so we decided to check that out too. Retiro park is my favorite place in this entire city so I loved showing it off to my parents. I showed them all the places I run and my favorite fountains and even the crystal palace. The Reina Sofia is free on Saturdays so we headed over there to see our favorite paintings. I have been learning about Guernica for my entire Spanish speaking career so it was pretty amazing to see it in real life. It is huge and really has much more meaning when you see it in person. I brought the book that Ben gave me for Christmas and read everyone the information provided about the painting. The other American tourists listened in and were thankful for the additional information. Slowly, we started fading and decided to head out and get some dinner. We went to a tapas bar that I have been to before and really enjoy. It was pretty empty since it was early for dinner (8:30). We ordered sangria and three different tapas. They were all delicious! Then we found a bakery and got some sweets to munch on as we walked back to the metro. I guided my parents back to their appartment to get some sleep. They are exausted since they haven't slept for approximately 48 hours. Tomorrow we are going to do some shoping and have lunch here at my house with my Senora. I am so happy that my parents arrived safely. I can't stop smiling, it is so good to see them and to play tour guide! I'm sure we'll have more adventures to comment on soon!

Carnival in Alicante

This past weekend, Christy, Sondie, and I flew to Alicante to visit some of our friends from Ripon who are studying there. Friday me and Sondie have art class in the morning so we couldn't leave until later in the day. For art class we went to the Palacio Real, which is not the palace where the actual King and Queen live, but it is still pretty amazing. This is where they host their royal functions and such. Every room has a famous fresco on the ceiling and is decorated very dramatically. I am really enjoying our art class because the format makes so much sense. Thrusdays we have class in the classroom and talk about a theme or type of art. Then Friday we meet somewhere in the city and actually see the art we just learned about. However I dislike the fact that it meets every Friday morning because it definitly makes traveling harder. Anyway, we left Friday night around 9:00. The flight is really short but our plane was an hour delayed. We arrived in Alicante at 11:20. The last bus from the airport was at 11:10. We were very sad but decided to just take a taxi. The taxi man droped us off right in front of our hostel and Theresa was there waiting for us! We checked in and went to check out our room. After my last hostel experience I was a bit hesatint, but it was great! There were three beds, two twins and one double. There was a little balcony and best of all there was heat! We decided to explore the town a bit before going to bed. When we planned this trip, we had no idea that this weekend was Carnival. Carnival is celebrated all around Spain but it is not a very big deal in Madrid. Alicante is on the mediteranean and it is celebrated much more there. There were decorations everywhere and three stages with concerts and such. We were all pretty tired so we just grabed a quick bite to eat and went to bed. In the morning we went on a hunt for a supermarket. We were trying to spend the least amount of money possible so buying groceries just made sense. We met up with Theresa and she showed us the market. The food was so fresh but I was not prepared to see fish THAT fresh. They still had heads and eyes!! We baught some delicious fruit and went to a real grocery store to get sandwhich stuff. Then we had to walk back to our hostel to put it all away because it was too heavy to carry around. Tour guide Theresa showed us all around her city, starting with the most important- the beach. Although it wasn't warm enough to swim or lay out or anything, it was still nice to see the ocean. There is a huge boardwalk that we walked out on to get a good view of the water. Then we looked at the little shoping stalls around the beach. We found a nice restaurant with outside seating and had lunch. Lunch in Spain takes about two hours so after lunch it was already 5:00. Theresa left us to go take a nap and get ready for her night and we decided to do some touristy things. There is a castle in Alicante that is super tall and from the top you can see the entire city and out into the ocean. We found the bottem and found an elevator that takes you to the top. It was the most amazing view I have ever seen. I knew it would be beautiful but I had no idea how far I would be able to see! We walked on the way down for as far as we could and then took the elevator the rest of the way. I guess the castle started as a fort for protection because you can see the entire city and protect all of the people. Over the years it housed various kings and had other various uses. Now it is a tourist attraction and has an art museum inside. After that we walked around the city a bit more and looked at the kids all dressed up in their costumes before heading back to our hostel to get ready for carnival. We weren't really sure what to expect so we each baught a mask and wore a niceish dress. Don't worry, we fit in quite well. We got beautiful and headed out to the city. The streets were full of people and music. We listened to some music, danced, and had a pretty good time. Me and Sondie even tried a gofer (a waffle with gooey chocolate all over). It was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. When we got tired we walked back to our hostel and went to sleep. We could still hear the party hapening in the streets all night long. Sunday morning we slept in a bit but had to check out by noon. Our flight wasn't until 11 at night so we had a lot of time to kill. We walked around the beach a bit more and found the bullfighting ring. We went out for ice cream and met up with our other friend Lindsay for lunch. We still had a lot of time left so we found a biodiversity exibit by the water and went. Sondie is a biology major so she was really interested in the science aspect of it all. I thought it was pretty interesting. Finally we were ready to catch the bus to the airport so we waited at the little stop. All of the sudden we saw our bus...going the other direction on the other side of the street. We ran to catch it but it didn't stop so we had to wait 40 minutes for the next one. We made to the airport ontime and caught our flight and everything. We made it home tired but it one piece. Now for another week of school! This week can't go fast enough because my parents are coming this weekend! It's pretty late here so I will post pictures later!

Granada

I spent my favorite holiday weekend in Granada being a tourist. It was an adventure to say the least. The Erasmus group at my school organized the trip and I decided to go so I could meet other international students and have the trip all planned for me. The group left at 8:30 am on Friday, but I had class until 12:00. Being the good student that I am, I went and talked to the Erasmus people and told them I couldn't miss class during my first week of school and they told me I could take a later bus and meet them at the hostel. This all seemed like a great idea. Sondie is in my class and we are so adventurous, we knew we could figure it out on our own. We took a 1:30 bus and got to Granada around 6:30. We were told to take bus # 3 or 33 and were given the address of the hostel. Granada is not as big as Madrid but it is still a huge city. We had no idea where to find this bus and once we were on it, we had no idea when to get off. After riding for about 15 minutes, we saw a big plaza and decided to get out and walk around. Most hostels are near big plazas. We got a map from the bus station and headed off. Unfortunitly, our map only labeled about half of the streets and the hostel we were looking for was on a tiny alleyway. We got horibly lost for about an hour and asked everyone we saw if they knew where our hostel was. No one had ever heard of it. Finally, on a whim, we took a little side street/alley and there was another person there with luggage in front of an unlabeled door. This was the hostel. We got let in and talked to the man who ran the place. He was very confused to see us because all of the beds were already full for Erasmus. We explained that we were coming late but the organizers knew we were comming. He said that the Erasmus group was staying at two hostels and we must be at the other hostel. I thought I would cry. We consulted our map and headed back out into the city to find our second hostel. This one was much easier to find but again had no proper sign telling us we had arrived. The women in this hostel was expecting us but said there was no room for us to stay together. At this point I was just happy to know there was a bed for me. I stayed with two girls from Bulgaria. They were not thrilled to have a third roomate but eventually opened up a bit. I found out from them that it was almost time to meet the group at a plaza nearby to go see a flamenco show. I, of course, had no schedule or itinerary so I followed them. I met up with all of my friends who were staying at the other hostel and we got on the bus. The bus took us to a lookout site where you can see the Alhambra all lit up. It was absolutly georgeous. Then we went to a flamenco show that was in a cave. We got there early so we had to wait outside in the cold for about a half hour, but it was definitly worth the wait. The audience sat in a circle in the perimiter of the cave and the dancers danced inside the circle. It was pretty impressive. Then the bus took us to some bar and droped us off. I had no interest in being at a bar and was starving because I had yet to eat dinner. Me and Sondie ventured off in search of food, but were sad to discover that everything was closed since it was 2 in the morning. We finally found a little smoky bar that served us nasty bar food. Then we found our hostel and called it a night. My room was freezing and all I had was one tiny wool blanket that itched. I could hear everything that was happening outside and woke up when my Bulgarian roomates came home singing and chatting in Bulgarian. The next morning I was tired and cranky...and hungry! Sondie and I went and got a good hardy breakfast at a cafe and then it was time to meet for our tour of the Alhambra. For those of you who don't know, the Alhambra is Spains most visited site. It is a walled city that was the last Moorish city to be conquored by the Christians during the reconquista. It is full of beautiful architecture, art, and gardens. We had a guided tour which was extremely helpful because I had no idea what I was looking at. There are so many parts to the Alhambra that our tour lasted 3 hours. When it was over, we decided to walk back to town instead of take the bus. This way we could see more of the city and could see beautiful views of the Alhambra. By the time we were back in the city we were starving. The group split up for lunch. Since it was in the 60s, we wanted to eat somewhere outside. We found a little patio restaurant and ordered our drinks. 30 minutes later, our waiter still hadn't returned so we decided to leave. We went to a chinese/spanish restaurant instead and it was absolutly delicious. The Erasmus people had told us we were staying in a hotel so I did not bring a towel. Backpacker's Hostels do not come with towels so Sondie and I began a mad search for towels. We found a strange little everything type store and baught the cheapest towels possible. We went back to our hostel and showerd and got ready for the Valentine's day fiesta Erasmus was throwing. Our hostel was having its own fiesta on the roof so we decided to check it out. There were making paella in the hugest dish I have ever seen. We met lots of other international students and had a really good time. Then we went to the Erasmus party which was at a club in town. It was pretty fun, but very crowded. I met up with my roomates and we decided to take a taxi home. I slept much better that night. Sunday, Sondie and I decided to get up early to go explore the city since we had missed the tour the first day. I had my guidebook and my walking shoes and I was ready to go. We walked all over the city looking at monuments that we weren't sure what were. We climbed up the side of the mountain and got a great view of the ciry. I really wish I would have had more time in Granada because I really love the city. The streets are marble and beautiful and there is so much to see and do. Unfortunitly, it was Sunday so most things were closed. We met up with some friends and had lunch at an Italian restaurant and got our things together to leave. The bus was almost an hour late so we didn't leave until almost 5. We rode a double decker coach bus that made me very mostion sick. It was the longest 5 hours of my life. I was able to sleep a little but I was so glad to finally be home. Overall I think the trip was a success. I wish Granada wasn't so far away so I could go back- maybe next time I am in Spain! Although my Valentine's day wasn't typical, and hardly anyone was wearing pink, I still had a good holiday. I think next year I will have to celebrate twice as hard to make up for the lack of celebrating this year. I hope everyone back home had a great Valentine's day and knows that I love them and miss them!

First Classes

There has been a lot happening in my life since my last post. Friday night I went to see the Ballet Folklorico de Madrid. Although we had front row seats, we were late arriving so we had to sit in the very back. From the back you could see all of the formation changes and get a pretty cool visual image. At intermission we moved to our actual seats and it was like seeing a whole different show. We could see the amazing costumes the dancers wore. Each one was so intracate and fabulous. We were so close we could see the expressions on their faces! I thought it was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. They did all sorts of traditional dances, including ballet and flamenco. Saturday I had a relaxing day with my host family. I went for a run in Retiro park and had a HUGE lunch with some of my senora's friends. We ate paella (and by we I mean they since there is lots of meet in paella). Then we sat around eating, talking, and relaxing for a few hours. Saturday night a group of us planed to go to a discoteca called Kapital. This is one of the hugest and most famous discotecas in Madrid. It is seven floors with a different type of music and dancing on each floor. On the sixth floor there is a movie theater and the top floor is a lounge for relaxing after all that dancing. Well discotecas don't even open until midnight and they don't really get going until 2 or 3, so I had to take a nap in the afternoon to prepare myself. We first went to a couple smaller, free clubs and danced until it was appropriate to go to Kapital. Kapital is so huge we didn't even make it to all of the floors. We had to wait in line to get in, wait in line to check our coats, and wait in line for the bathroom. There were just so many people there! We finally got to dancing and had a really great time. It was hard to not loose anyone but we stuck together pretty well. Needless to say, I slept pretty late Sunday so I missed el Rastro, the famous flea market. Luckly it happens every Sunday and I will be here for another 4 months. Me and Sondie went to the Prado Sunday afternoon durring its free time. Apparently a lot of other people had that same idea. Again there was a lot of waiting in line, but eventually we got to go in and see our favorite paintings. Luckly I am taking an art class that meets at all different art museums around the city so I will definitly get another chance to visit the Prado. Yesterday was my first day of classes. I had my language class first, which is about what I expected. It is an intense study of grammar and speech. I think it will definitly be good for me. Then I had a 4 hour break in my schedule so I thought I would check out some other classes. This week we can go to any classes we want to see how we like them and then we turn in our final schedule on Friday. I sat in on Spanish literature but there was nothing very thrilling about the class. After that was my medioambiente y sociedad class (Environment and Society). I think I am absolutly going to love that class. We discuss the relationships between environment and human beings and take excursions around Madrid and other parts of Spain to view the actual environment. Today I had two more classes. The first is called cuentos, which means story in Spanish. In the class we will discuss the characteristics of short stories and practice reading and writing short stories in Spanish. I think this will be great practice for my Spanish writing skills. My last class of the day is my favorite of all. It is called estudios culturales (Cultural Studies) and the teacher is just a little ball of energy. I am really interested in the culture of Spain so it should be a good class for me. For lunch, me and a few others ventured to a little sandwhich shop in town that all the students rave about. Now I know why! You can choose anything to put on your sandwhich...I mean anything and it is really cheep. You get the sandwhich on a whole baguette. I got pesto, havarti cheese, tomato, and lettice- not very adventurous I know, but I will definitly back to try more things. This afternoon it was really sunny and finally in the 50s so I went for a nice run in the park. As you all know, Valentine's day is quickly approaching. I believe that Valentine's day is the most wonderful holiday in the entire world and I am trying to wear all of my Valentine's day socks this week leading up to the big day. I've also madly been working on Valentine's for my family whenever they aren't home! Well, school really tires me out so I am going to go rest up for my third day of classes!

Chinchon

Yesterday we had nothing to do for school and nothing to do for AYA, so Sondie and I decided to take a day trip to Chinchon which is about 30 miles southeast of Madrid. It was a daytrip recomended in many of my travel books. We found a bus that went there cheaply and easily. The town in quaint and historic. It is known for its Plaza Mayor which is round and holds bullfights in the warm weather. There are ruins of a castle that was built in the late 16th-century but was later abandoned and turned into a liquor factory. While looking at the castle, we met an old man who told us a lot about the history and the archetecture. He also helped us find the local tourist office for a map. We ate at a restaurant in Plaza Mayor which was delicious and reasonably priced. Then we did a little walking tour with the map provided by the tourist office. We saw the Iglesia de la Asuncion as well as the Teatro de Lope de Vega. All of the roads in Chinchon are small and bumpy. There were a ton of hills so it was a great workout. Chinchon is famous for a liquor called Anis which was made in the abandoned castle. Everyone said we had to try it so we did. Apparently it is a sweet drink that people drink at Christmas time. It tasted like black licorice and was not my cup of tea. Then we headed back to our bus stop and made our way back to Madrid. I am very proud of our independence. We planned and executed an entire day trip by ourselves! Last night was international student night at a club called Pasion. A few of us went but it wasn't quite what we expected. It was mostly Americans and everyone was speaking English. The music was all American and it was so loud and crowded you couldn't hear anyone talk. Neadless to say, we did not stay long. Tonight I am going to see the Ballet Folclorico de Madrid which I am very excited about. I'll let you know how it goes! Oh, and here are some pictures of my wonderful perro, Oso.

Snow in Madrid?!

Apparently it hardly ever snows in Madrid. The snow usually falls north of here or in the outskirts of town. Needless to say I was quite surprised when I woke up Sunday morning to snowflakes the size of golf balls. They were huge and wet! They weren't sticking to the ground of course because it wasn't cold enough for the ground to be frozen and it had been raining all night. The city of Madrid shut down for the day. My senora said of course we would not be going anywhere since it was so horible outside. So instead she made a huge lunch of paella and invited Matthew over for lunch. Matthew lived here with my senora last year and is from the US. We ate and talked all afternoon and then settled in for our siestas. That is my kind of snow day! Today I started my orientation at the University. We took the written part of our placement test and then had a welcome reception. I ate so many delicious Spanish foods! Then each professor came to tell us about their class. Unfortunitly this was right after we ate and was 3 hours long so it was hard to pay attention. There are lots of classes I am interested in taking but I will have to wait until I take my oral exam and find out what language class I am placed in before I make my final schedule. Tonight I watched CSI in Spanish and actually understood most of it! Maybe I'm improving after all (or maybe the plot is almost the same in every single episode of that show). Well that is all for now. More updates to come.

My Address

Here is my address while I am here in Spain.

Hannah WendLake
C/ Coslada, 12,6⁰D
28028 Madrid, Spain

Toledo

Yesterday we took a day trip to Toledo. Toledo is about 45 minutes south of Madrid and is really easy to access by bus. When we first arrived it was so foggy you could hardly see a thing, but as the day went on it cleared up and we were able to see the beautiful, historic city. The streets are super narrow and sometimes you have to jump in a doorway so you don't get hit by a car! First we went to the cathedral and I led some people on a walking tour that I found in one of my guide books. The cathedral was huge and had so much ornimentation that it was hard to take it all in. Inside the cathedral there is a little museum full of paintings by Goya, Velazquez, Caravaggio, and Bellini. It was cool to see the painting I've learned about in school in real life. All of the ceilings were beautifuly painted and I spent a lot of time looking up. After the cathedral we wandered through the old part of town to a synagogue, however it was 1:30 when we arrived which is when everything starts shutting down for siesta. We only got to look at the synagogue from the outside. Instead we went into this little shop that sold hand made golden jewlery. The man running the store showed us how the jewelery was made with fine threads of gold and the burned to be a beautiful piece of jewelery or a plate or a vase. I guess there aren't many artisans who can still make this gold jewelery by hand. Now most of it is made by machine. We got to watch a man working on a neclace that was about the size of a qarter. He said it would take him 4-5 days to finish. By this time we were starving so the owner of the store recomended a restaurant for us. He even called and made reservations. We walked up the hilly, winding roads and enjoyed a huge 3 course meal. We were all stuffed after we ate so we walked around a bit and did a little shopping to help us digest. Then we went to our last stop of the day, the Museo Sefardi. This is Toledo's jewish museum. It is an old synagogue converted into a museum. It is really cool because you can see the Jewish influence as well as the Muslim and Christian influence. According to my guidebook, "This 14th century synagogue was built at the peak of Toledos enlightened tolerance-constructed for Jews with Christian approval y Muslim craftsmen. Nowehere else in the city does Toledo's three culture legacy shine brighter than at this synagogue"(Rick Steve's Spain 2009). So there you have it! After that we called it a day and caught our bus back home. I went to my house and had dinner. A few friends and I decided to go and explore the nightlife a little so we went out to a tapas bar and to a dance club and had a really great time. Our evening ended in the traditional madridleno way, with churos y chocolate!

El catedral de Justo

I had a great day today. We met this morning to go to Mejorada del Campo which is a city a little ways outside of Madrid. There we got our permanent meto and bus passes. Mine took especially long because I will not be 21 while we are here so I need a youth pass which is much cheaper but needs a lot more paperwork. Mejorada del Campo is the city in which the AYA director lives. She knows a lot about it so she showed us around a bit. There is a man named Justo who has been building a cathedral in Mejorada del Campo for 40 years, brick by brick, all by himself. He is a monk but got teburculosis while in the monistary. He was sent home but believed it was his mission to build a cathedral. It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. There are towers and stained glass windows and grand staircases. It really shows persiverence and devotion. Everything he uses is donated so most of the bricks are rejects from building companies. Justo is now 80 years old and is still working on the cathedral. We saw him building away in his monk outfit. After that we had lunch at a little restaurant in town and caught the bus back to the city. Me and a few others decided to go to el parque del buen retiro. This park is humongous and will probably become my new place for running. There is a lake where you can rent row boats and a memorial to the victoms of the 2004 train bombing. It is a beautiful park and will be even more beautiful once spring arrives. Well now I'm going to go take my siesta- my feet are awfly tired from all the walking!

Churros y Chocolate

Today I got to explore Madrid a little bit. I took my first metro ride all by myself. I had to transfer lines in the middle which was a little scary but I figured it out. The metros are so clean here and they are really easy to navigate. All of the AYA students met at Puerta de Sol and together we went to eat churros and Chocolate for desayuno (breakfast). I may have found my new favorite food. The churros here are so delicious. They are crispy and round and you are supposed to dip them in this thick hot chocolate drink. I really enjoyed the whole experience. Then we all went on a little walking tour to get acclimated to the city. We saw the exact center of Madrid and then moved on to Plaza Mayor. There is a large square of buildings with shops on the first floor of each. In the center there is a statue and lots of open space. The plaza was currently under construction of some sort so I'll have to check back and see what it is supposed to look like. Near the Plaza Mayor is Madrid's oldest restaurant. It is really famous and hard to get reservations....it is also not a good restaurant for vegetarians. Then we went to see el palecio real which used to be a summer home for the king and queen. It is huge and is now a museum that is fully furnished as it was when it was a home. There are beautiful gardens and a huge fountain outside. Near by there is a cathedral where the royal family went to church. Our trip ended at el Corte Ingles, which is the hugest department store in the world. We all picked up the things we had forgotten to bring with us and then went our separate ways. I came home and had lunch and then enjoyed a nice jog through my neighborhood. I was pretty timid because I didn't want to get lost. There are a lot of angle streets here and many streets are to narrow to fit a person and a car. Tonight I met Carmen, the other girl who is living here. She is from the Canary Islands and is in Madrid to study ballet. She is 20, just like me and has lived here for about 2 years. She is very nice and it will definitly be nice to have someone my age who speaks Spanish. Maybe she can show me the good places to go in Madrid. Tonight my host brother is coming over for dinner so I will get to meet him as well!

I'm here!

I'm finally unpacked and settled enough to write about my past two days. Friday morning I left Milwaukee (3 hours late) and flew to Philadelphia. I had a nice dinner in the Philadelphia airport and my plane to Madrid left at 9 PM. I was lucky enough to have two seats to myself so I actually got a little sleep on the plane. When we got to Spain it was 10 in the morning, but to me it felt like 3 AM! There were two other girls from Ripon on my flight so we all went to what we thought was the place where they AYA director would meet us. We waited and waited and she never showed up. Finally we figured out how to call her and found out we were in the wrong place and she had been waiting for almost 2 hours for us! Opps! We met up with all of the rest of the study abroad students and went to our hotel. The hotel was right in the center of Madrid and within walking distance to everything. Me, Sondie, and our new friend Katie went to grap a bite to eat and then took a little nap because we had been awake for over 24 hours. Saturday night we went "Tapa Hopping" with out director. We went to two different tapa bars and got lots of different tapas to taste. They were all delicious (at least the vegetarian ones that I could actually eat). Today we got to meet our host families. My Senora is very nice and I think we're going to get along well. She hosted another Ripon student last year. We live in an appartment on the sixth floor and there is a huge balcony overlooking the street. Unfortunitly it's too cold and windy to go out on it today. My Senora has a grown son who does not live here. She also has a little dog that looks and acts just like Murray. I unpacked all of my things and had lunch with my Senora and her friend Anna. Tonight will be a relaxing night of getting settled. Tomorrow we have a walking tour of Madrid so I hope the weather improves!