Thursday, March 29, 2012
Updates...
Hello All!
My spring break has officially begun! How wonderful! I will be traveling with my friend Amy to Dublin, Galway (west coast of Ireland), and London. We will be gone for six days in total and it should be amazing. So, since I will be on vacation, please don't expect me to post another blog for a week and a half.
By the way,I would like to wish my Grandma Laurel a be-lated Happy Birthday! I hope you had a great birthday Grandma!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!
Love, Roseanna
Monday, March 26, 2012
Weekend in Madrid!
Friday, March 23, 2012
We left at 8:30 am this morning on our 3 day trip to Madrid. We traveled to Toledo first and took a part bus tour, part walking tour through the city of Toledo. It is a gorgeous city, with the city center built on a mountain, with a river surrounding the mountain and bridges connecting the city center to the rest of the city. Unfortunately we only spent about 2 hours there, but I hope to go back before I leave Spain.
We finished our journey to Madrid, checked into our hotel, that's right, I said HOTEL not hostel. It is fantastic to stay in an actual hotel again. After checking in we walked around the city center of Madrid, saw the Palacio Real (only the outside), and Plaza Mayor (a very famous plaza in Spain). After that was supper at a very interesting Mexican restaurant (there was a car coming out of the roof ;) ) where we shared a jar of sangria (delicious!) and I had a wonderful salad. Once our bellies were full we stopped at a supermarket and grabbed some red wine and lemon Fanta (the makings for Tinto de Verano) and me and my friends (Shannon, Amy, Sara Kelly, myself, Liasor, and Alex) spent the rest of the night playing cards and drinking in our hotel room.
Saturday, March 24
This morning we had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel, then headed to the Palacio Real for our tour of the palace. Unfortunately, the palace forbids picture taking in the palace, so I was unable to take pictures, but I was able to listen to a brisk, short Spanish women who reminded everyone in my group of Edna Mode from The Incredibles tell us about the palace. It has over 2000 rooms and is used now mainly for celebrations (mostly royal weddings), stately meetings (when ambassadors from other countries visit), and for tourism (like what I did today!).
After that our free time started! Yay! Amy, Shannon, and I went back to the hotel quick to drop off coats (it was warm out today, Thank God!) and use the restrooms. Then, we set off to find theHard Rock Cafe, so Amy could buy her dad one of the pins. After walking for about a half hour, a few wrong turns, and a lot of laughs between the three of us we found the Hard Rock and Amy got her pin. Our next goal was to find a cheap cafe or mercado to grab lunch to go and eat it in the park. We ended up finding a nice cafe where I got paella, Amy got something that looked like Rigatoni, and Shannon got some type of pasta salad. We enjoyed our lunches and about an hour and a half in the grass (yes, there actually is grass in Spain! I was doubting that for a bit...) in Parque Retiro.
While still in Parque Retiro, when walked past a beautiful lake and the Palacio de Cristal. I had wanted to go to the Palacio de Cristal because I had seen some pictures of it that showed it to have amazing stained-glass windoows, but in reality the windows were just windows, which disappointed me greatly.
We left the park and wandered through the streets, going into a few stores (I found adorable grey sandals!) and eventually stopping for chocolate con churros before returning to the hotel to rest up a bit before the play this evening.
Like I said, the group went to a play this evening called, "El Manuel de la Buena Esposa" (The Manuel of the Good Wife). It is a comedy about the fundamental woman during the time from 1934-1977 (this is the time of Franco's dictatorship, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, and the recovery from it all). It was a very interesting and funny play, but I found it difficult to follow it because I started off the play not understanding the plot and struggling to understand what they were saying because they spoke very fast. Fortunately I was not the only person in my group who had trouble understanding what the characters in the play were saying, almost every person in my group said they had trouble understanding what they were saying.
After the play, Shannon, Amy, and I went to a wonderful Chinese buffet for dinner. I filled my Chinese cravings for a while. :) After, we went back to the hotel, found Alex and Liasor in their room and played cards and listened to music.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
The clocks sprung forward today, but we were still able to sleep in till 9:30 or so. Breakfast came and went and we checked out of the hotel as well, loaded our bags on the bus and walked to the Museo de Prado (Prado Museum). This museum is basically the Spanish version of the Lourve. The group walked together through the first 3 rooms, then split up. I walked through part of the museum with a group of my friends and we saw paintings by many artists, including Goya and Velazquez.
We only stayed for about 30-45 minutes then left. Today I walked around with Tesla, Sara Ireland, Elizabeth, Gonzo, Breann, Holly, and Hope. Most of them wanted Starbucks, so we stopped at one so they could get their drinks, then we found a Mexican restaurant for lunch. After lunch we headed back to the hotel where our group was going to meet up. Along the way Holly, Breann, and I did some impromptu shopping and I ended up buying a beautiful blue dress for under 11 euros! Great buy!
The group met up at 4:30 this afternoon and we are currently on the way back to Granada. We aren't supposed to be back till close to 11 pm tonight.
We left at 8:30 am this morning on our 3 day trip to Madrid. We traveled to Toledo first and took a part bus tour, part walking tour through the city of Toledo. It is a gorgeous city, with the city center built on a mountain, with a river surrounding the mountain and bridges connecting the city center to the rest of the city. Unfortunately we only spent about 2 hours there, but I hope to go back before I leave Spain.
We finished our journey to Madrid, checked into our hotel, that's right, I said HOTEL not hostel. It is fantastic to stay in an actual hotel again. After checking in we walked around the city center of Madrid, saw the Palacio Real (only the outside), and Plaza Mayor (a very famous plaza in Spain). After that was supper at a very interesting Mexican restaurant (there was a car coming out of the roof ;) ) where we shared a jar of sangria (delicious!) and I had a wonderful salad. Once our bellies were full we stopped at a supermarket and grabbed some red wine and lemon Fanta (the makings for Tinto de Verano) and me and my friends (Shannon, Amy, Sara Kelly, myself, Liasor, and Alex) spent the rest of the night playing cards and drinking in our hotel room.
Saturday, March 24
This morning we had a wonderful breakfast at our hotel, then headed to the Palacio Real for our tour of the palace. Unfortunately, the palace forbids picture taking in the palace, so I was unable to take pictures, but I was able to listen to a brisk, short Spanish women who reminded everyone in my group of Edna Mode from The Incredibles tell us about the palace. It has over 2000 rooms and is used now mainly for celebrations (mostly royal weddings), stately meetings (when ambassadors from other countries visit), and for tourism (like what I did today!).
After that our free time started! Yay! Amy, Shannon, and I went back to the hotel quick to drop off coats (it was warm out today, Thank God!) and use the restrooms. Then, we set off to find theHard Rock Cafe, so Amy could buy her dad one of the pins. After walking for about a half hour, a few wrong turns, and a lot of laughs between the three of us we found the Hard Rock and Amy got her pin. Our next goal was to find a cheap cafe or mercado to grab lunch to go and eat it in the park. We ended up finding a nice cafe where I got paella, Amy got something that looked like Rigatoni, and Shannon got some type of pasta salad. We enjoyed our lunches and about an hour and a half in the grass (yes, there actually is grass in Spain! I was doubting that for a bit...) in Parque Retiro.
While still in Parque Retiro, when walked past a beautiful lake and the Palacio de Cristal. I had wanted to go to the Palacio de Cristal because I had seen some pictures of it that showed it to have amazing stained-glass windoows, but in reality the windows were just windows, which disappointed me greatly.
We left the park and wandered through the streets, going into a few stores (I found adorable grey sandals!) and eventually stopping for chocolate con churros before returning to the hotel to rest up a bit before the play this evening.
Like I said, the group went to a play this evening called, "El Manuel de la Buena Esposa" (The Manuel of the Good Wife). It is a comedy about the fundamental woman during the time from 1934-1977 (this is the time of Franco's dictatorship, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, and the recovery from it all). It was a very interesting and funny play, but I found it difficult to follow it because I started off the play not understanding the plot and struggling to understand what they were saying because they spoke very fast. Fortunately I was not the only person in my group who had trouble understanding what the characters in the play were saying, almost every person in my group said they had trouble understanding what they were saying.
After the play, Shannon, Amy, and I went to a wonderful Chinese buffet for dinner. I filled my Chinese cravings for a while. :) After, we went back to the hotel, found Alex and Liasor in their room and played cards and listened to music.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
The clocks sprung forward today, but we were still able to sleep in till 9:30 or so. Breakfast came and went and we checked out of the hotel as well, loaded our bags on the bus and walked to the Museo de Prado (Prado Museum). This museum is basically the Spanish version of the Lourve. The group walked together through the first 3 rooms, then split up. I walked through part of the museum with a group of my friends and we saw paintings by many artists, including Goya and Velazquez.
We only stayed for about 30-45 minutes then left. Today I walked around with Tesla, Sara Ireland, Elizabeth, Gonzo, Breann, Holly, and Hope. Most of them wanted Starbucks, so we stopped at one so they could get their drinks, then we found a Mexican restaurant for lunch. After lunch we headed back to the hotel where our group was going to meet up. Along the way Holly, Breann, and I did some impromptu shopping and I ended up buying a beautiful blue dress for under 11 euros! Great buy!
The group met up at 4:30 this afternoon and we are currently on the way back to Granada. We aren't supposed to be back till close to 11 pm tonight.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
How to Make a Tortilla Español
Because I was feeling a little lazy today, I just decided to post a recipe for how to make a tortilla español. This is one of my favorite foods here in Spain and I cannot wait to learn how to make them when I go home...So here it is!
How to Make Spanish Omelet Step-by-Step Recipe - Tortilla Espanola
By Lisa & Tony Sierra, About.com Guides
What You Will Need to Prepare Spanish Omelet - Tortilla Espanola
Fortunately, the Spanish omelet or tortilla espanola, like most
Spanish cuisine does not require fancy equipment to prepare it. For
this famous tapa, you’ll only need:
Sharp Knife for Chopping Onion and Potatoes
1 Large Frying Pan for Frying Potatoes and Onions
1 Medium Frying Pan for Cooking the Tortilla
Potato Peeler
2 Mixing Bowls – 1 large and 1 small
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
Serves 4 for Dinner
Serves 6-8 for Appetizers
Gather the Ingredients
6-7 medium potatoes, peeled
1 whole yellow onion
5-6 large eggs
2-3 cups of olive oil for pan frying
Salt to taste
Making Spanish Omelet - Tortilla Espanola
Cut the peeled potatoes in half lengthwise. Then, with the flat side
on the cutting surface, slice the potato in pieces approximately
1/8-inch thick. Make sure to separate the pieces that stick together.
It is not necessary to slice the potatoes paper thin and it is best
not to use a food processor because most will slice the potatoes too
thin. If you slice them a bit thick, don’t worry - it will simply take
a bit longer for them to cook. As with any recipe, the more time you
prepare it, the more you’ll know about how fast the potatoes fry, etc.
Peel and chop the onion into 1/4-inch pieces. Put potatoes and onions
into a large mixing bowl and mix them together. Salt the mixture to
taste.
Making Spanish Omelet - Tortilla Espanola - Fry the Potatoes and Onions
"Spanish Omelet - Tortilla Espanola - Fry the Potatoes and Onions"
In a large, heavy, non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil on
medium-high heat. Drop a single piece of potato into the oil to ensure
it is hot enough to fry. Carefully place the potato and onion mixture
into the frying pan, spreading them evenly over the surface. The oil
should almost cover the potatoes.
Note: If the oil is too hot, the potatoes will brown rapidly on the
outside, but still be raw on the inside. You may need to turn down the
heat slightly, so the mixture does not burn.
Leave in pan until the potatoes are cooked. If you can poke a piece of
potato with a spatula and it easily breaks in two, your potatoes are
done. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula. Some cooks
place the potato and onion mixture in a colander for a few minutes to
allow more oil to drain. If you do this, place a plate underneath to
catch the olive oil and you can use it again.
While the mixture is draining, crack the eggs into a small mixing bowl
and beat by hand with a whisk or fork. Pour into the potato onion
mixture. Mix together with a large spoon.
Pour 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil into a small, non-stick frying pan (aprox.
9-10 inches) and heat on medium heat. Be careful not to get the pan
too hot because the oil will burn - or the tortilla will! When hot
enough, stir the potato-onion mixture once more in the bowl and pour
into the pan, spreading evenly over pan. You may need to turn heat to
medium-low heat. Allow the egg to cook around the edges. Then, using a
spatula, carefully lift up one side of the tortilla to check if the
egg has slightly browned. The inside of the mixture should not be
completely cooked and the egg will still be runny on top and in
middle.
Note: This is the hardest part of the recipe and the one that makes
most cooks nervous. Don’t worry! It’s not as hard as you imagine – and
if you turn it over the sink, the worst that can happen is that you
spill a bit of the egg mixture.
When the mixture has browned on the bottom, you are ready to turn it
over to cook the other side. Carefully carry the frying pan to a sink.
Place a large dinner plate (12-inch) upside down over the frying pan
to cover top. With one hand on the frying pan handle and the other on
top of the plate to hold it steady, quickly turn the frying pan over
and the omelet will fall onto the plate. You’re almost done!
Carry plate with potato-egg mixture and empty pan back to stove. Place
the frying pan back on the range and put just enough oil to cover the
bottom and sides of the pan - approximately 1 1/2 tsp. Let the pan
warm for 30 seconds or so on medium to medium-low heat. Carefully
slide the tortilla (which is probably still a bit runny), into the
frying pan, using a spatula to catch any egg mixture that remains on
plate or tries to run out. Use the spatula to shape the sides of the
omelet. Let the omelet cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and let
the tortilla sit in the pan for 2 minutes. Carefully slide the omelet
onto a large plate.
To Serve as a Main Course: Slice it into 6-8 pieces like a pie. Serve
sliced French bread on the side.
To Serve as a Tapa: Slice a baguette into pieces about 1/2-inch thick.
Cut the tortilla into 1 1/2-inch; squares and place each piece on top
of a slice of bread.
The tortilla espanola, also called tortilla de patata is simply
delicious served with sofrito, fried tomato sauce that is made all
over Spain. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers and olive oil
sautéed in a frying pan.
Variations
The following are a few of the most popular variations to the classic
Spanish Omelet.
Green Pepper - Add 1 green or red bell pepper (chopped) to the
potatoes and onions and fry.
Chorizo - Slice a Spanish chorizo sausage and add to the potato
and onion mixture after frying.
Ham - Using a couple thick slices (1/4") ham, finely chop them.
Then add the pieces to the potato and onion mixture after frying.
Canadian bacon or smoked ham that you buy in a deli work well for this
variation. Be careful to adjust the salt accordingly, since ham may be
salty!
How to Make Spanish Omelet Step-by-Step Recipe - Tortilla Espanola
By Lisa & Tony Sierra, About.com Guides
What You Will Need to Prepare Spanish Omelet - Tortilla Espanola
Fortunately, the Spanish omelet or tortilla espanola, like most
Spanish cuisine does not require fancy equipment to prepare it. For
this famous tapa, you’ll only need:
Sharp Knife for Chopping Onion and Potatoes
1 Large Frying Pan for Frying Potatoes and Onions
1 Medium Frying Pan for Cooking the Tortilla
Potato Peeler
2 Mixing Bowls – 1 large and 1 small
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
Serves 4 for Dinner
Serves 6-8 for Appetizers
Gather the Ingredients
6-7 medium potatoes, peeled
1 whole yellow onion
5-6 large eggs
2-3 cups of olive oil for pan frying
Salt to taste
Making Spanish Omelet - Tortilla Espanola
Cut the peeled potatoes in half lengthwise. Then, with the flat side
on the cutting surface, slice the potato in pieces approximately
1/8-inch thick. Make sure to separate the pieces that stick together.
It is not necessary to slice the potatoes paper thin and it is best
not to use a food processor because most will slice the potatoes too
thin. If you slice them a bit thick, don’t worry - it will simply take
a bit longer for them to cook. As with any recipe, the more time you
prepare it, the more you’ll know about how fast the potatoes fry, etc.
Peel and chop the onion into 1/4-inch pieces. Put potatoes and onions
into a large mixing bowl and mix them together. Salt the mixture to
taste.
Making Spanish Omelet - Tortilla Espanola - Fry the Potatoes and Onions
"Spanish Omelet - Tortilla Espanola - Fry the Potatoes and Onions"
In a large, heavy, non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil on
medium-high heat. Drop a single piece of potato into the oil to ensure
it is hot enough to fry. Carefully place the potato and onion mixture
into the frying pan, spreading them evenly over the surface. The oil
should almost cover the potatoes.
Note: If the oil is too hot, the potatoes will brown rapidly on the
outside, but still be raw on the inside. You may need to turn down the
heat slightly, so the mixture does not burn.
Leave in pan until the potatoes are cooked. If you can poke a piece of
potato with a spatula and it easily breaks in two, your potatoes are
done. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula. Some cooks
place the potato and onion mixture in a colander for a few minutes to
allow more oil to drain. If you do this, place a plate underneath to
catch the olive oil and you can use it again.
While the mixture is draining, crack the eggs into a small mixing bowl
and beat by hand with a whisk or fork. Pour into the potato onion
mixture. Mix together with a large spoon.
Pour 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil into a small, non-stick frying pan (aprox.
9-10 inches) and heat on medium heat. Be careful not to get the pan
too hot because the oil will burn - or the tortilla will! When hot
enough, stir the potato-onion mixture once more in the bowl and pour
into the pan, spreading evenly over pan. You may need to turn heat to
medium-low heat. Allow the egg to cook around the edges. Then, using a
spatula, carefully lift up one side of the tortilla to check if the
egg has slightly browned. The inside of the mixture should not be
completely cooked and the egg will still be runny on top and in
middle.
Note: This is the hardest part of the recipe and the one that makes
most cooks nervous. Don’t worry! It’s not as hard as you imagine – and
if you turn it over the sink, the worst that can happen is that you
spill a bit of the egg mixture.
When the mixture has browned on the bottom, you are ready to turn it
over to cook the other side. Carefully carry the frying pan to a sink.
Place a large dinner plate (12-inch) upside down over the frying pan
to cover top. With one hand on the frying pan handle and the other on
top of the plate to hold it steady, quickly turn the frying pan over
and the omelet will fall onto the plate. You’re almost done!
Carry plate with potato-egg mixture and empty pan back to stove. Place
the frying pan back on the range and put just enough oil to cover the
bottom and sides of the pan - approximately 1 1/2 tsp. Let the pan
warm for 30 seconds or so on medium to medium-low heat. Carefully
slide the tortilla (which is probably still a bit runny), into the
frying pan, using a spatula to catch any egg mixture that remains on
plate or tries to run out. Use the spatula to shape the sides of the
omelet. Let the omelet cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and let
the tortilla sit in the pan for 2 minutes. Carefully slide the omelet
onto a large plate.
To Serve as a Main Course: Slice it into 6-8 pieces like a pie. Serve
sliced French bread on the side.
To Serve as a Tapa: Slice a baguette into pieces about 1/2-inch thick.
Cut the tortilla into 1 1/2-inch; squares and place each piece on top
of a slice of bread.
The tortilla espanola, also called tortilla de patata is simply
delicious served with sofrito, fried tomato sauce that is made all
over Spain. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers and olive oil
sautéed in a frying pan.
Variations
The following are a few of the most popular variations to the classic
Spanish Omelet.
Green Pepper - Add 1 green or red bell pepper (chopped) to the
potatoes and onions and fry.
Chorizo - Slice a Spanish chorizo sausage and add to the potato
and onion mixture after frying.
Ham - Using a couple thick slices (1/4") ham, finely chop them.
Then add the pieces to the potato and onion mixture after frying.
Canadian bacon or smoked ham that you buy in a deli work well for this
variation. Be careful to adjust the salt accordingly, since ham may be
salty!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Saturday, March 17--Excursion to Sacramonte
Today my Central group took an excursion to Sacromonte and the Gypsy
caves. It was an alright excursion. We met at the meeting point (the
fountain of Isabel Catolico) and we walked up to Sacromonte. Sacramonte
is a group of gypsy homes in caves. All of the caves were carved out of
the mountain-side by the gypsies by hand. The caves are generally one
room and 6-11 people normally live in these. The kitchen and stables
make up 2 separate caves. We also saw the caves used for fabric-making,
pottery, and iron/welding. It was a very interesting excursion
That afternoon I studied for my Grammar mid-term with my friend Paul, then went out for chocolate con churros with Tesla and Amy. That night I went out with, Tesla, Shannon, Amy, Sara Ireland, Breann, Holly, and Hope for tapas. We started at a tapas bar known for having large tapas. We were mixing supper and tapas so we didn't spend as much money. We got mini-hamburgers and baked potatoes for our 2 tapas we had there. We attempted to go into Hannigan's, an Irish pub, but it was so full of people that we could hardly go through the door. We ended up at Cafe Futbol for sangria and our telling each other our life stories. Overall it was a great night!
That afternoon I studied for my Grammar mid-term with my friend Paul, then went out for chocolate con churros with Tesla and Amy. That night I went out with, Tesla, Shannon, Amy, Sara Ireland, Breann, Holly, and Hope for tapas. We started at a tapas bar known for having large tapas. We were mixing supper and tapas so we didn't spend as much money. We got mini-hamburgers and baked potatoes for our 2 tapas we had there. We attempted to go into Hannigan's, an Irish pub, but it was so full of people that we could hardly go through the door. We ended up at Cafe Futbol for sangria and our telling each other our life stories. Overall it was a great night!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Spanish Food
Food in Spain is both very similar and very different compared to the U.S. The
types of food are fairly similar, but the amount and the times in which
the food is eaten is very different.
The eating times in Spain are: breakfast 8:30-9 am, lunch 2-3 pm, and supper/dinner 8:30-9:30 pm. Spaniards eat a lot later compared to the U.S. In a way, I like that the eating times are so much further apart, because it helps me to be less hungry at 10 pm right before I go to sleep and I feel like people snack less often here because of it, I know I do.
The amount of food eaten at each meal is a lot less than what is typically eaten in the U.S. Normally for breakfast my señora gives me café con leche (coffee with milk) and a small pastry/muffin/toast. For lunch is typically soup with bread and a piece of fruit and for dinner we normally have a salad with a small serving of meat, bread, and sometimes fruit.
Soup is a very common dish in Spain, especially during the winter months. We have had all different types of soups in my apartment. One very popular soup is one that is a concoction of pureed vegetables, it is an ok soup, but not my favorite.
Paella is also another popular dish here. It consists of rice, vegetables, and (normally) some type of seafood, but it can be served with any type of meat or without meat. It is one of my favorite dishes here! It is only eaten at lunchtime (the reason for that I am unaware).
Bread is a very popular staple here. It is eaten with almost every meal (not always at breakfast). It is the type of bread that has the hard, crusty outside and the soft, moist inside. It is my favorite food here and I will sorely miss it when I return to the U.S.
Chocolate con churros (chocolate with churros) is a favorite snack/dessert here. It is literally a plate full of churros served with a cup of thick chocolate. You are supposed to dip the churros into the chocolate to eat it. It is a very rich dessert and I normally cannot eat all of the chocolate provided. Other popular desserts are postres (pastries) and helado (ice cream)--it is a lot thicker and contains less sugar than the ice cream in the U.S. Flan is another popular dessert here as well.
Normally eaten during supper-time is the Tortilla Española (Spanish Omelette). It is made with eggs, potato, and sometimes onion, and it tastes almost exactly like an American omelette. I am in love with this dish! Also normally served at supper-time is salad and the Spanish make their salads with olive oil as a dressing and they also put salt on their salads, which I know may sound a little weird, but they are actually very delicious!
Meat-wise seafood is a major staple here. I have had very little chicken or beef since I have been here, although I do know of some students who eat quite a lot of beef and chicken in their homes, so it may differ by the señora.
The eating times in Spain are: breakfast 8:30-9 am, lunch 2-3 pm, and supper/dinner 8:30-9:30 pm. Spaniards eat a lot later compared to the U.S. In a way, I like that the eating times are so much further apart, because it helps me to be less hungry at 10 pm right before I go to sleep and I feel like people snack less often here because of it, I know I do.
The amount of food eaten at each meal is a lot less than what is typically eaten in the U.S. Normally for breakfast my señora gives me café con leche (coffee with milk) and a small pastry/muffin/toast. For lunch is typically soup with bread and a piece of fruit and for dinner we normally have a salad with a small serving of meat, bread, and sometimes fruit.
Soup is a very common dish in Spain, especially during the winter months. We have had all different types of soups in my apartment. One very popular soup is one that is a concoction of pureed vegetables, it is an ok soup, but not my favorite.
Paella is also another popular dish here. It consists of rice, vegetables, and (normally) some type of seafood, but it can be served with any type of meat or without meat. It is one of my favorite dishes here! It is only eaten at lunchtime (the reason for that I am unaware).
Bread is a very popular staple here. It is eaten with almost every meal (not always at breakfast). It is the type of bread that has the hard, crusty outside and the soft, moist inside. It is my favorite food here and I will sorely miss it when I return to the U.S.
Chocolate con churros (chocolate with churros) is a favorite snack/dessert here. It is literally a plate full of churros served with a cup of thick chocolate. You are supposed to dip the churros into the chocolate to eat it. It is a very rich dessert and I normally cannot eat all of the chocolate provided. Other popular desserts are postres (pastries) and helado (ice cream)--it is a lot thicker and contains less sugar than the ice cream in the U.S. Flan is another popular dessert here as well.
Normally eaten during supper-time is the Tortilla Española (Spanish Omelette). It is made with eggs, potato, and sometimes onion, and it tastes almost exactly like an American omelette. I am in love with this dish! Also normally served at supper-time is salad and the Spanish make their salads with olive oil as a dressing and they also put salt on their salads, which I know may sound a little weird, but they are actually very delicious!
Meat-wise seafood is a major staple here. I have had very little chicken or beef since I have been here, although I do know of some students who eat quite a lot of beef and chicken in their homes, so it may differ by the señora.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Saturday, March 10--Salobreña
Today I went to Salobreña, a city about an hour southeast of Granada on
the coast of Spain. It is a small tourist city, with a population
probably no larger than 10,000 people. I went with Tesla and Sabrina
(another girl in my program). We went so we could work on our tans a
bit. ;)
We took a bus there at 10:15 am, arriving in Salobreña at 11:15 am. We got our bearings about us (barely) and set out to find the castle that is in the city. We didn't have a map and the tourist office was closed for the weekend, so we took a picture of of a map at an information station (I know, this probably wouldn't help us much, but it was better than nothing). At least we knew enough about this castle that we knew we had to climb the Albaycin (neighborhood on a hill) in the city to get to it. We started wandering towards the Albaycin, when thankfully we found a hostel that gave out free maps! Yay! Now, we could at least see where we needed to go!
We set off in the right direction, took a couple of wrong turns, were directed by 4 nice, old men on the way, one who kept yelling "¡Arriba, arriba, arriba!", at us, which means, "Up, up , up!", and climbed too many stairs till we reached the castle. The castle was very small, especially after being in the Alhambra (the castle in Granada), but beautiful. It offered beautiful views of the city, beach,coastline, and mountains. So beautiful! We wandered around the castle for a while, then we walked through the Paseo de los Flores and down a steep pathway to the beach.
Telsa and Sabrina got Cokes at a cafe on the beach and then we set off to find a good spot to lay out on our towels. Unfortunately for us, a large line of clouds covered the sun about 5 minutes after we laid our towels down. With the sun under the clouds the beach was a little chilly and instead of laying out in our swimsuits we laid out for 1.5 hours in our jeans and sweatshirts. After the hour and a half lapsed the sun finally made it's appearance and we got about an hour of sun before we had to leave the beach to catch our bus. Tesla and I attempted to go in the water, but the water was about the temperature of ice water. I made it in up to my knees and Tesla only went in up to her calves. :)
We caught our bus back to Granada after a slightly chilly, but great day!
We took a bus there at 10:15 am, arriving in Salobreña at 11:15 am. We got our bearings about us (barely) and set out to find the castle that is in the city. We didn't have a map and the tourist office was closed for the weekend, so we took a picture of of a map at an information station (I know, this probably wouldn't help us much, but it was better than nothing). At least we knew enough about this castle that we knew we had to climb the Albaycin (neighborhood on a hill) in the city to get to it. We started wandering towards the Albaycin, when thankfully we found a hostel that gave out free maps! Yay! Now, we could at least see where we needed to go!
We set off in the right direction, took a couple of wrong turns, were directed by 4 nice, old men on the way, one who kept yelling "¡Arriba, arriba, arriba!", at us, which means, "Up, up , up!", and climbed too many stairs till we reached the castle. The castle was very small, especially after being in the Alhambra (the castle in Granada), but beautiful. It offered beautiful views of the city, beach,coastline, and mountains. So beautiful! We wandered around the castle for a while, then we walked through the Paseo de los Flores and down a steep pathway to the beach.
Telsa and Sabrina got Cokes at a cafe on the beach and then we set off to find a good spot to lay out on our towels. Unfortunately for us, a large line of clouds covered the sun about 5 minutes after we laid our towels down. With the sun under the clouds the beach was a little chilly and instead of laying out in our swimsuits we laid out for 1.5 hours in our jeans and sweatshirts. After the hour and a half lapsed the sun finally made it's appearance and we got about an hour of sun before we had to leave the beach to catch our bus. Tesla and I attempted to go in the water, but the water was about the temperature of ice water. I made it in up to my knees and Tesla only went in up to her calves. :)
We caught our bus back to Granada after a slightly chilly, but great day!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Host Families
When students study abroad in Spain and live with host families the
relationship between the two parties is mostly a business relationship.
The student is paying (indirectly through their program) for housing,
food, heating, water, electricity, etc. and the host family is paid
enough to cover those costs plus a little extra to make having a student
worth their while.
Now, even though I said that this is mainly a business relationship does not mean that students aren't able to get along with their host families; most of the students enjoy their host families immensely, myself included. The host families are very hospitable and do their best to make our stay as pleasant as possible, but there are the few horror stories where students receive the bare minimum of the requirements in order for the host family to squeeze ever dime possible out of the money given to them by our program. I have only heard of one or two of these things occurring in our program and normally it is nipped in the bud rather quickly.
I myself enjoy living with my host mother. I realize that living with her is a business relationship and that I should retreat it as such, but I am still able to get along with her very well and when my roommate and I go out she asks us where we are going, when we will be back, and she tells us to be safe, so she does care about us. I enjoy this grandmotherly affection from her. It is very comforting. The only problems I have had with my host mother is that sometimesvery different from the food in the U.S. and it isn´t the best, but this is a rare occurrence and I like the food she makes almost all the time.
Now, even though I said that this is mainly a business relationship does not mean that students aren't able to get along with their host families; most of the students enjoy their host families immensely, myself included. The host families are very hospitable and do their best to make our stay as pleasant as possible, but there are the few horror stories where students receive the bare minimum of the requirements in order for the host family to squeeze ever dime possible out of the money given to them by our program. I have only heard of one or two of these things occurring in our program and normally it is nipped in the bud rather quickly.
I myself enjoy living with my host mother. I realize that living with her is a business relationship and that I should retreat it as such, but I am still able to get along with her very well and when my roommate and I go out she asks us where we are going, when we will be back, and she tells us to be safe, so she does care about us. I enjoy this grandmotherly affection from her. It is very comforting. The only problems I have had with my host mother is that sometimesvery different from the food in the U.S. and it isn´t the best, but this is a rare occurrence and I like the food she makes almost all the time.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Alhambra
My group went on a tour today (Saturday) to the Alhambra. It is an
ancient palace used by the Muslim kings before they were pushed out of
Spain in 1492. The Alhambra is separated into 3 different parts, the
palace, the Alcabaza (the military fortress), and General Life (the
summer palace and the conjoining gardens).
We started in the main palace, entering through the largest of the 4 gates to the palace. This gate was used for the kings' personal use whenever he decided to leave the palace. Set in stone at the top of the gate is a symbol of Fatima's hand, a symbol of luck and a representation of the five pillars of Islam (1. Profession of faith, 2. Praying 5 times daily, 3. Observing Ramadan, 4. Pilgrimage to Mecca, 5. Giving to charity).
In the main palace we saw the king's quarters, the royal children's quarters, the main courtyard used by courtiers, and the room used for political matters. All of the walls in those rooms are ornately decorated with ceramic tiles and carved stone; they are so beautiful to look at. Next we walked through the Alcabaza, saw the homes where the soldiers lived, viewed the hole to the dungeons, and saw the wall used by firing squads. Finally we visited the General Life, where we walked through the gardens. We ended the tour by eating the sandwiches we brought.
Side note: the Alhambra is the most visited monument in Europe. The number of people who visit each year surpasses the number of people that visit the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
We started in the main palace, entering through the largest of the 4 gates to the palace. This gate was used for the kings' personal use whenever he decided to leave the palace. Set in stone at the top of the gate is a symbol of Fatima's hand, a symbol of luck and a representation of the five pillars of Islam (1. Profession of faith, 2. Praying 5 times daily, 3. Observing Ramadan, 4. Pilgrimage to Mecca, 5. Giving to charity).
In the main palace we saw the king's quarters, the royal children's quarters, the main courtyard used by courtiers, and the room used for political matters. All of the walls in those rooms are ornately decorated with ceramic tiles and carved stone; they are so beautiful to look at. Next we walked through the Alcabaza, saw the homes where the soldiers lived, viewed the hole to the dungeons, and saw the wall used by firing squads. Finally we visited the General Life, where we walked through the gardens. We ended the tour by eating the sandwiches we brought.
Side note: the Alhambra is the most visited monument in Europe. The number of people who visit each year surpasses the number of people that visit the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Paris
Friday, February 24, 2012
Tesla, Amy and I took the city bus at 7 pm to the bus station, then at 8:30 pm we took a 4.5 hour bus rode to Madrid, arriving to the bus station in Madrid at 1 am.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
A train, metro, and bus took us to the airport where we spent 4 hours attempting to sleep on the benches, but what we really did was talk and watch a drunk, homeless man wander the airport in search of his missing shoe and search various people who were sleeping. Thank goodness we were awake because I would have freaked out to find that drunk man hovering over me in the middle of the night.
Finally at 5:30 am we checking in with Vueling Airlines, passed through security, and found our terminal and awaited our flight to Paris. The flight went quick because we all ended up napping a bit, then we arrived in Paris!! A train, metro, and our feet took us to our hostel, St. Christopher's Inn. We ate lunch, checked in, and left our things in a lockable metal crate in our room. Now the fun was about to begin...
The metro was our main form of transportation around the city. Without the metro we would not have been able to see half the sites we saw and we probably would have been lost for half the trip. We navigated the metro to the Paris Opera house. This site was where the movie The Phantom of the Opera was filmed. It is so gorgeous! We did not end up going in because we didn't want to have to pay for the entry fee.
Next, we traveled to the Moulin Rouge. If you don't know what this site is it is going to be difficult to explain. It also has a famous movie made after it, called Moulin Rouge (how ironic?!). It is famous for being a place for prostitution and having illicit dance shows. Like it said it is difficult to explain, if you don't understand watch the movie. We also just saw the outside of the building. In the few blocks preceding the Moulin Rouge was sex shop after sex shop. It was funny because we knew when we turned on to that street that we were on the correct street.
Our third stop took us to the Arc de Triomphe. This is a famous arch in France, but why it is famous I am not sure. We took pictures and then left for the Eiffel Tower. We would have tried to climb the arch, but it is situated in the center of a traffic heavy square. There were no cross-walks, that we saw that would help us to go over to the arch, so we decided that we enjoyed our lives and didn't want to be suicidal today.
Like I said, our last site to see for the day was the Eiffel Tower. We got there around 6 pm, which we thought was the perfect time to go because it allowed us time to talk the required pictures in the daylight of the tower, but then we were also able to talk pictures of it during the night as well. Once the sun goes down the Eiffel Tower is lit up with white lights and every hour, on the hour it sparkles for 5 minutes. Being able to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle was one of my favorite things of the trip!
Neither Amy, Tesla or I could get over the fact that we were seeing the Eiffel Tower with our own eyes the entire time we were there. I almost had one of them pinch me, but thought better of it just in case it was a dream because I didn't want to wake up from this dream. We were going to climb the stairs of the tower, but we found out that the top of the tower was closed and you could only go to the2nd floor because the elevator was out of order, so we decided to come back on Monday in hopes that the top would be open.
Supper consisted of Subway, a few blocks away from the tower. I know that Subway is American and we should have eaten something French, but I was craving it very badly and it was close. After supper we returned to the hostel and met our wonderful roommates.
The three of us had to be separated room-wise, so Tesla and I were in the same room and Amy was in a different room. We locked our stuff in a crate in mine and Tesla's room. The first night we were there, mine and Tesla's roommates consisted of an Australian couple, an American entrepreneur, and 3 American guys studying in Sevilla. Since it was Saturday night they all went out and got drunk. Tesla and I being exhausted went to sleep. At 1 am the came back and were all talking at full volume with the light on. Let's just say Tesla and I did not sleep till 4 am and we learned too many things about these people that we would rather have not learned.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
We woke up at 7 am, had breakfast at the hostel at 7:30 am (it consisted of cereal, French bread, jelly, and nutella--delicious!). We left the hostel and were on a metro train by 8:15 am headed to the Louvre Museum. The Louvre opened at 9:30 am and when we got in we "bought" tickets (we showed our passports and got in for free because we currently live in the European Union).
We dashed straight to the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci so we might be able to view the famous painting with as few people around as possible. I cannot believe I had the opportunity to see the Mona Lisa with my own eyes. It felt like another dream. The painting is even more enchanting in person. It is said that no matter which angle you view the painting from that it seems like she is always looking at you. This is so true! I wanted to test it out, so I viewed the painting from the center, the left side, and the right side, and she was always looking at me. It also seemed like when I was moving to a new angle that her eyes followed me as I moved. It was creepy, but very cool at the same time.
After the Mona Lisa, we wandered through other parts of the museum. We viewed mostly paintings, but also we saw Egyptian and Medieval sculptures as well. It was very interesting. We ended up running into 5 other people from our program, Alex, Taylor, Emma, Amber, and Becca. It was fun to run in to them. We spent 2.5 hours at the museum then left to go to Notre Dame.
At the metro stop we got off to walk to Norte Dame we ended up walking through an open-air market that was selling small pets, pet food, and accessories to go with the pets (i.e. cages, toys,etc.). I was not expecting that , but it was interesting to see.
Notre Dame Cathedral is just as beautiful as all the pictures. I could have sat and studied the architecture on the building all day long, it was that intricate. We also went in to the cathedral during Sunday mass. It was different to hear the mass in French, since I have only experienced English and Spanish masses. The cathedral is just as intricate design and architecture-wise on the inside as it is on the outside. I was especially mesmerized by the intricate stained-glass windows.
We departed Notre Dame and went to a French cafe down the road. I had a crepe with chocolate and bananas on the inside. It was delectable! Amy and Tesla both had spaghetti, which they were unable to finish because it was so large. French bread was also served with our meals.
Once our bellies were full we found the train that would take us to Versailles, the famous French palace where Marie Antoinette lived with her husband King Louis XVI before the French Revolution. Versailles had been used for many generations previously, but this king and queen were the last to use it. Many of you may not know that seeing Versailles was on my bucket list to see before I die and now I can check it off!
We showed our passports here again and were also able to get in for free. We wandered through the rooms of the palace. It was difficult at times to walk through the rooms because the majority of each room was blocked off for display and a small walkway was left open. With only the small walkway it became difficult to navigate because groups of people would be stopped in the middle of it listening to their guides.
All in all the palace is stunning. Everything in the palace is intricately designed, mostly in golden colors. We viewed the king's apartments, the dauphin's (prince/princess in line for the throne) apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, and other hallways in the palace. Outside the palace we walked through the perfectly manicured gardens, the Grand Treinon (a smaller palace used by the royal family as a vacation home, it is about a 15 minute walk away from the palace), and the Petit Treinon (Marie Antoinette's personal vacation home, even though it is ironically no more than a 15 minute walk away from the palace). All three things were beautiful to visit. I am very content now that I was able to visit Versailles and complete another thing off my bucket list.
For supper we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (Amy's choice) where I had Spicy Mac, Chicken & Cheese. It was delicious! We returned to the hostel where we met our new roommates, mostly preppy, stuck-up girls. The same thing happen with the girls as with the guys this night, except I was pissed about not getting enough sleep for a third night in a row, so I opened my curtain and gave them the dirtiest look possible in order to shut them up. They were quite the rest of the night.
Monday, February 27
Monday morning came too quickly. We slept in till 8:30 am this morning, ate the same breakfast as the previous day, and departed the hostel by 9:30 am. We went to the Eiffel Tower this morning. Unfortunately, the top was still closed, but we climbed to the 2nd floor anyways, how could we not climb at least part of the Eiffel Tower? It took us 704 steps to the 2nd floor. What a work-out, but the view made it worth it! We took pictures, climbed down, and took more pictures, then walked over to the Statue of Liberty.
This Statue of Liberty is the sister to the one in New York. It stands about 35 feet high on a pedestal that is about 1.5 times the height of the actual statue. I believe this statue was given to the French by America as a gift of friendship.
After, we found a grocery store where I took my French bread picture for my mother. In 1979 my mom traveled to France for a trip to school and she took a picture with French bread, so I took one to copy her. It is actually really creepy how similar we look in the 2 pictures. I ended up buying 2 loaves thinking it would be nice to have the same number of loaves in the picture as she did, but I forgot that we were going to the Louvre again after this and you can't take food into the museum. Let's just say I was incredibly full after that.
Like I said we went to the Louvre again for 3 more hours for the rest of the day. The first time we went we felt that we had only seen about 25% of the artwork in the museum, after the second time we felt like we had seen about 60% of the artwork. We thought we did pretty good considering there are over 35,000 pieces of art in the museum.
We retired to the hostel for the night after the museum. Our roommates (the girls again) were very quite this night, it made me happy.
Tuesday, February 28
We woke up at 6 am in order to leave the hostel by 6:30 am. We took the metro and a train to the airport. Our flight to Madrid left at 10 am and arrived in Madrid at 12 pm. Another metro took us to the bus station where a bus leaving at 4 pm took us on a 5 hour journey to Granada.
Side notes:
During the whole trip Tesla had problems with her metro card. She bought the same type of pass that Amy and I had and ours worked perfectly. Amy and I thought it was the user who had the problems. :) This was a constant joke for us during the trip. We ended up having to let Tesla in the metro through the exits (this isn't frowned/enforced inFrance). For our memories we took pictures of Amy letting Tesla in through the exit. They are on Facebook for your viewing pleasure. :)
Also, you would think that since we traveled to France that we would encounter a language barrier. Even though there were time that we did not completely understand, overall we were able to get around and function fine. Most of the signs and intercom messages were multi lingual. When they weren't we were able to generally understand the the written messages because French and Spanish are Latin-based languages and they have similar words/roots of words. The part we had the most difficulty with was speaking. We were not able to understand intercom messages unless they were translated. When talking with the French people we found that most people knew a little or a lot of English.
Overall I enjoyed my trip to Paris immensely and would definitely go again. Amy and I are already planning our next trip over spring break to Ireland and London. We are very excited! We called Paris our "experimental trip" because now we know what to do and what not to do while traveling.
I hear the weather in the Midwest is not the most pleasant, you will all be happy to know that the past few days it has been about 17-18 degress Celsius, which is in the 60s in Fahrenheit. It is fantastic!! The weather is only expected to continue warming. :)
Tesla, Amy and I took the city bus at 7 pm to the bus station, then at 8:30 pm we took a 4.5 hour bus rode to Madrid, arriving to the bus station in Madrid at 1 am.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
A train, metro, and bus took us to the airport where we spent 4 hours attempting to sleep on the benches, but what we really did was talk and watch a drunk, homeless man wander the airport in search of his missing shoe and search various people who were sleeping. Thank goodness we were awake because I would have freaked out to find that drunk man hovering over me in the middle of the night.
Finally at 5:30 am we checking in with Vueling Airlines, passed through security, and found our terminal and awaited our flight to Paris. The flight went quick because we all ended up napping a bit, then we arrived in Paris!! A train, metro, and our feet took us to our hostel, St. Christopher's Inn. We ate lunch, checked in, and left our things in a lockable metal crate in our room. Now the fun was about to begin...
The metro was our main form of transportation around the city. Without the metro we would not have been able to see half the sites we saw and we probably would have been lost for half the trip. We navigated the metro to the Paris Opera house. This site was where the movie The Phantom of the Opera was filmed. It is so gorgeous! We did not end up going in because we didn't want to have to pay for the entry fee.
Next, we traveled to the Moulin Rouge. If you don't know what this site is it is going to be difficult to explain. It also has a famous movie made after it, called Moulin Rouge (how ironic?!). It is famous for being a place for prostitution and having illicit dance shows. Like it said it is difficult to explain, if you don't understand watch the movie. We also just saw the outside of the building. In the few blocks preceding the Moulin Rouge was sex shop after sex shop. It was funny because we knew when we turned on to that street that we were on the correct street.
Our third stop took us to the Arc de Triomphe. This is a famous arch in France, but why it is famous I am not sure. We took pictures and then left for the Eiffel Tower. We would have tried to climb the arch, but it is situated in the center of a traffic heavy square. There were no cross-walks, that we saw that would help us to go over to the arch, so we decided that we enjoyed our lives and didn't want to be suicidal today.
Like I said, our last site to see for the day was the Eiffel Tower. We got there around 6 pm, which we thought was the perfect time to go because it allowed us time to talk the required pictures in the daylight of the tower, but then we were also able to talk pictures of it during the night as well. Once the sun goes down the Eiffel Tower is lit up with white lights and every hour, on the hour it sparkles for 5 minutes. Being able to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle was one of my favorite things of the trip!
Neither Amy, Tesla or I could get over the fact that we were seeing the Eiffel Tower with our own eyes the entire time we were there. I almost had one of them pinch me, but thought better of it just in case it was a dream because I didn't want to wake up from this dream. We were going to climb the stairs of the tower, but we found out that the top of the tower was closed and you could only go to the2nd floor because the elevator was out of order, so we decided to come back on Monday in hopes that the top would be open.
Supper consisted of Subway, a few blocks away from the tower. I know that Subway is American and we should have eaten something French, but I was craving it very badly and it was close. After supper we returned to the hostel and met our wonderful roommates.
The three of us had to be separated room-wise, so Tesla and I were in the same room and Amy was in a different room. We locked our stuff in a crate in mine and Tesla's room. The first night we were there, mine and Tesla's roommates consisted of an Australian couple, an American entrepreneur, and 3 American guys studying in Sevilla. Since it was Saturday night they all went out and got drunk. Tesla and I being exhausted went to sleep. At 1 am the came back and were all talking at full volume with the light on. Let's just say Tesla and I did not sleep till 4 am and we learned too many things about these people that we would rather have not learned.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
We woke up at 7 am, had breakfast at the hostel at 7:30 am (it consisted of cereal, French bread, jelly, and nutella--delicious!). We left the hostel and were on a metro train by 8:15 am headed to the Louvre Museum. The Louvre opened at 9:30 am and when we got in we "bought" tickets (we showed our passports and got in for free because we currently live in the European Union).
We dashed straight to the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci so we might be able to view the famous painting with as few people around as possible. I cannot believe I had the opportunity to see the Mona Lisa with my own eyes. It felt like another dream. The painting is even more enchanting in person. It is said that no matter which angle you view the painting from that it seems like she is always looking at you. This is so true! I wanted to test it out, so I viewed the painting from the center, the left side, and the right side, and she was always looking at me. It also seemed like when I was moving to a new angle that her eyes followed me as I moved. It was creepy, but very cool at the same time.
After the Mona Lisa, we wandered through other parts of the museum. We viewed mostly paintings, but also we saw Egyptian and Medieval sculptures as well. It was very interesting. We ended up running into 5 other people from our program, Alex, Taylor, Emma, Amber, and Becca. It was fun to run in to them. We spent 2.5 hours at the museum then left to go to Notre Dame.
At the metro stop we got off to walk to Norte Dame we ended up walking through an open-air market that was selling small pets, pet food, and accessories to go with the pets (i.e. cages, toys,etc.). I was not expecting that , but it was interesting to see.
Notre Dame Cathedral is just as beautiful as all the pictures. I could have sat and studied the architecture on the building all day long, it was that intricate. We also went in to the cathedral during Sunday mass. It was different to hear the mass in French, since I have only experienced English and Spanish masses. The cathedral is just as intricate design and architecture-wise on the inside as it is on the outside. I was especially mesmerized by the intricate stained-glass windows.
We departed Notre Dame and went to a French cafe down the road. I had a crepe with chocolate and bananas on the inside. It was delectable! Amy and Tesla both had spaghetti, which they were unable to finish because it was so large. French bread was also served with our meals.
Once our bellies were full we found the train that would take us to Versailles, the famous French palace where Marie Antoinette lived with her husband King Louis XVI before the French Revolution. Versailles had been used for many generations previously, but this king and queen were the last to use it. Many of you may not know that seeing Versailles was on my bucket list to see before I die and now I can check it off!
We showed our passports here again and were also able to get in for free. We wandered through the rooms of the palace. It was difficult at times to walk through the rooms because the majority of each room was blocked off for display and a small walkway was left open. With only the small walkway it became difficult to navigate because groups of people would be stopped in the middle of it listening to their guides.
All in all the palace is stunning. Everything in the palace is intricately designed, mostly in golden colors. We viewed the king's apartments, the dauphin's (prince/princess in line for the throne) apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, and other hallways in the palace. Outside the palace we walked through the perfectly manicured gardens, the Grand Treinon (a smaller palace used by the royal family as a vacation home, it is about a 15 minute walk away from the palace), and the Petit Treinon (Marie Antoinette's personal vacation home, even though it is ironically no more than a 15 minute walk away from the palace). All three things were beautiful to visit. I am very content now that I was able to visit Versailles and complete another thing off my bucket list.
For supper we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (Amy's choice) where I had Spicy Mac, Chicken & Cheese. It was delicious! We returned to the hostel where we met our new roommates, mostly preppy, stuck-up girls. The same thing happen with the girls as with the guys this night, except I was pissed about not getting enough sleep for a third night in a row, so I opened my curtain and gave them the dirtiest look possible in order to shut them up. They were quite the rest of the night.
Monday, February 27
Monday morning came too quickly. We slept in till 8:30 am this morning, ate the same breakfast as the previous day, and departed the hostel by 9:30 am. We went to the Eiffel Tower this morning. Unfortunately, the top was still closed, but we climbed to the 2nd floor anyways, how could we not climb at least part of the Eiffel Tower? It took us 704 steps to the 2nd floor. What a work-out, but the view made it worth it! We took pictures, climbed down, and took more pictures, then walked over to the Statue of Liberty.
This Statue of Liberty is the sister to the one in New York. It stands about 35 feet high on a pedestal that is about 1.5 times the height of the actual statue. I believe this statue was given to the French by America as a gift of friendship.
After, we found a grocery store where I took my French bread picture for my mother. In 1979 my mom traveled to France for a trip to school and she took a picture with French bread, so I took one to copy her. It is actually really creepy how similar we look in the 2 pictures. I ended up buying 2 loaves thinking it would be nice to have the same number of loaves in the picture as she did, but I forgot that we were going to the Louvre again after this and you can't take food into the museum. Let's just say I was incredibly full after that.
Like I said we went to the Louvre again for 3 more hours for the rest of the day. The first time we went we felt that we had only seen about 25% of the artwork in the museum, after the second time we felt like we had seen about 60% of the artwork. We thought we did pretty good considering there are over 35,000 pieces of art in the museum.
We retired to the hostel for the night after the museum. Our roommates (the girls again) were very quite this night, it made me happy.
Tuesday, February 28
We woke up at 6 am in order to leave the hostel by 6:30 am. We took the metro and a train to the airport. Our flight to Madrid left at 10 am and arrived in Madrid at 12 pm. Another metro took us to the bus station where a bus leaving at 4 pm took us on a 5 hour journey to Granada.
Side notes:
During the whole trip Tesla had problems with her metro card. She bought the same type of pass that Amy and I had and ours worked perfectly. Amy and I thought it was the user who had the problems. :) This was a constant joke for us during the trip. We ended up having to let Tesla in the metro through the exits (this isn't frowned/enforced inFrance). For our memories we took pictures of Amy letting Tesla in through the exit. They are on Facebook for your viewing pleasure. :)
Also, you would think that since we traveled to France that we would encounter a language barrier. Even though there were time that we did not completely understand, overall we were able to get around and function fine. Most of the signs and intercom messages were multi lingual. When they weren't we were able to generally understand the the written messages because French and Spanish are Latin-based languages and they have similar words/roots of words. The part we had the most difficulty with was speaking. We were not able to understand intercom messages unless they were translated. When talking with the French people we found that most people knew a little or a lot of English.
Overall I enjoyed my trip to Paris immensely and would definitely go again. Amy and I are already planning our next trip over spring break to Ireland and London. We are very excited! We called Paris our "experimental trip" because now we know what to do and what not to do while traveling.
I hear the weather in the Midwest is not the most pleasant, you will all be happy to know that the past few days it has been about 17-18 degress Celsius, which is in the 60s in Fahrenheit. It is fantastic!! The weather is only expected to continue warming. :)
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