It’s my last day in Spain ☹
Mom and I have been in Madrid since Friday. Madrid is really, really pretty. I’m a huge fan of the city. The weather is beautiful. Not anywhere near as hot as Sevilla which is refreshing. It’s a different scene than Barcelona. Barcelona reminds me more of NYC, as I have said before. Madrid is quieter.
When we got here Friday, we walked around to Plaza Mayor and Puerta de Sol, which are important landmarks. We had dinner and just relaxed. That’s kind of been the scene for the past few days. All this traveling is actually starting to catch up with me lately. I’ve been pretty tired.
Saturday we went and saw the Museo del Prado. It was the biggest art museum I’ve ever seen. So much art. We couldn’t bear to see it all. But we did see the important stuff. I was content to see Velazquez’s “Las Meninas” because I had to do a project on that in high school. It was very cool to see the original. Later in the day we walked around to see the King’s Palace and walked through gardens. There was a concert, which was really pretty to hear. Spain is just so much cooler. Sheesh!
Today when we woke up mom went to church and I stayed in the hotel and used their gym. I needed to get a run in. It made me feel much more energized, today was more tolerable than yesterday. We then had some coffee and went to Museo de Reina Sofia. It’s a modern art museum and I absolutely loved it. Picasso’s “Guernica” is there – it’s huge and historic and magnificent and sooo cooooool. Picasso is my favorite artist in case you haven’t noticed. I also was pleasantly surprised to see the other art that they had there. I went in excited about “Guernica” but I really liked looking at the other art. There was lots of abstract art, modern, surrealism, cubism….so many styles! After the museum we had lunch. My last big meal in Spain ☹ I had gazpacho and albondigas (meatballs!) and I was more than content with that. Mmmm.
Right now my mom is taking a siesta (she’s such a Spaniard!). I’m just listening to music so I figured I would update my blog. Madrid has been a perfect end to my Spain travels. Seeing the art museums after I’ve learned so much of Spain’s history over the past 7 weeks has been more meaningful than it would have been if I hopped off a plane and saw them.
I AM SO SAD TO BE LEAVING TOMORROW : ( But I am so happy I have amazing friends and family to come home to.
Well, don’t want to spend my last hours on the computer. Gonna go do some last minute absorption of Spain.
I’ll probably have a tearful blog entry when I get back and recuperated in the United States…but this is the last one from Spain
Hasta Luego Amigoooooos
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
MADRID here we come!
So it's our last few hours in Barcelona. We leave for Madrid as soon as the lady we rented our apartment from comes and checks us out! I'm excited, I've only been in Madrid for a few hours before when I was trying to catch my train to Sevilla. So I didn't really have time to look around. I'm excited to end my visit with the capital of Spain! Then it's back to Philly on Monday.
We've had such a nice time so far. Yesterday we went to the beach, then the Picasso Museum, and then went shopping for a bit. Once again, it's sad to leave Barcelona, but I am excited to be somewhere entirely different for a few days!
That's all for now! Hasta luegooooo
We've had such a nice time so far. Yesterday we went to the beach, then the Picasso Museum, and then went shopping for a bit. Once again, it's sad to leave Barcelona, but I am excited to be somewhere entirely different for a few days!
That's all for now! Hasta luegooooo
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
ANOTHER post. Barca day 2
My mom and I just milked Barcelona for all it is worth.
Busy, busy day. So tiring!
We woke up and decided today would be a good day for sight seeing. It was overcast, so it made the beach a tiny, tiny bit less appealing. After breakfast, we embarked on our journey to see three separate sights: Parque Güell, La Casa Mila, and La Sagrada Familia. I’ve seen all three before with my friends, so that made it easier to know what I was doing in regards to arriving there. It was different because we are staying in a different part of town, but knowing how the metro and bus systems work around here is really helpful. I can thank my friend Cristina for that because she researched all that information before we got here last time. THANKS CRISTINA. The systems are really well planned out and easy to follow though. I think the United States should get the hint because I can’t figure out Philadelphia’s system to save the life of me.
Anyway, first stop was Parque Güell. I already wrote about this place in a previous blog entry, but it’s a big park designed by Gaudi with an amazing view of the city. All three places that we visited today were Gaudi related, and having my mom the artist along with me really helped me learn more about his techniques and his life background. He was an extremely artistic architect. His designs are amazing - I truly love them. This park is one of the most beautiful I have ever been to because it was one of a kind.
After we walked around the park for a bit, we went back to the metro and went on our way to La Casa Mila. It is an apartment building designed by Gaudi. Last time, I just walked around the gift shop with my friends. This time, we entered inside. With the “tour” you get to see the terrace (the roof of the building), the attic (with a bunch of different museum type things in it), and an example of an apartment in Casa Mila. I would lovveeeee to live in that apartment! It was so pretty and well designed. It was modern looking, but this building was built in the 1900s! It’s mind-boggling that someone could be that creative – over 100 years before his time! Then we went into the gift shop. My mom bought a beautiful scarf and I bought a bag! Quality souvenirs. We act like we have room in our suitcases to shop…but we don’t. eeek.
I was dying of hunger by this point, so we stopped at a restaurant. I was so impressed with it! The food was delicious. I got gazpacho of course and “revuelto con champiñones” which is like scrambled eggs with mushrooms. I KNOW MUSHROOMS. But my señora would make it for me a lot and I actually liked them. You can barely taste the mushrooms anyway. My mom got ensaladilla, which is like a potato-salad type thing, and pollo cataluna, which is some kind of chicken. It was good and well needed at this time of day. I was getting cranky…
So finally it was time for La Sagrada Familia. We bought tickets to go inside and I am so happy I did. The line was much shorter this time than the last time I had visited so it was bearable. The inside was breathtaking. Unlike anything I have ever imagined or seen before. Of course it is still under construction. I learned it’s projected to be finished by 2030. I’m determined to see it once it’s done!
So after this full day, we made our way back home. Our dinner was solid – white wine plus an assortment of some cheese, tomatoes, bread, dried fruit & nuts, and a nectarine. Then we went for a walk down by the beach, and now we are just relaxing in our hotel. I’ll probably fall asleep very soon because I have been absolutely exhausted lately. I think the past six weeks of little sleep and lots of traveling is really starting to catch up with me. I won’t let it get to me yet though! We still have until Friday here, then Madrid! Lots of things planned, too ☺ It’s been great.
I love Spain.
Busy, busy day. So tiring!
We woke up and decided today would be a good day for sight seeing. It was overcast, so it made the beach a tiny, tiny bit less appealing. After breakfast, we embarked on our journey to see three separate sights: Parque Güell, La Casa Mila, and La Sagrada Familia. I’ve seen all three before with my friends, so that made it easier to know what I was doing in regards to arriving there. It was different because we are staying in a different part of town, but knowing how the metro and bus systems work around here is really helpful. I can thank my friend Cristina for that because she researched all that information before we got here last time. THANKS CRISTINA. The systems are really well planned out and easy to follow though. I think the United States should get the hint because I can’t figure out Philadelphia’s system to save the life of me.
Anyway, first stop was Parque Güell. I already wrote about this place in a previous blog entry, but it’s a big park designed by Gaudi with an amazing view of the city. All three places that we visited today were Gaudi related, and having my mom the artist along with me really helped me learn more about his techniques and his life background. He was an extremely artistic architect. His designs are amazing - I truly love them. This park is one of the most beautiful I have ever been to because it was one of a kind.
After we walked around the park for a bit, we went back to the metro and went on our way to La Casa Mila. It is an apartment building designed by Gaudi. Last time, I just walked around the gift shop with my friends. This time, we entered inside. With the “tour” you get to see the terrace (the roof of the building), the attic (with a bunch of different museum type things in it), and an example of an apartment in Casa Mila. I would lovveeeee to live in that apartment! It was so pretty and well designed. It was modern looking, but this building was built in the 1900s! It’s mind-boggling that someone could be that creative – over 100 years before his time! Then we went into the gift shop. My mom bought a beautiful scarf and I bought a bag! Quality souvenirs. We act like we have room in our suitcases to shop…but we don’t. eeek.
I was dying of hunger by this point, so we stopped at a restaurant. I was so impressed with it! The food was delicious. I got gazpacho of course and “revuelto con champiñones” which is like scrambled eggs with mushrooms. I KNOW MUSHROOMS. But my señora would make it for me a lot and I actually liked them. You can barely taste the mushrooms anyway. My mom got ensaladilla, which is like a potato-salad type thing, and pollo cataluna, which is some kind of chicken. It was good and well needed at this time of day. I was getting cranky…
So finally it was time for La Sagrada Familia. We bought tickets to go inside and I am so happy I did. The line was much shorter this time than the last time I had visited so it was bearable. The inside was breathtaking. Unlike anything I have ever imagined or seen before. Of course it is still under construction. I learned it’s projected to be finished by 2030. I’m determined to see it once it’s done!
So after this full day, we made our way back home. Our dinner was solid – white wine plus an assortment of some cheese, tomatoes, bread, dried fruit & nuts, and a nectarine. Then we went for a walk down by the beach, and now we are just relaxing in our hotel. I’ll probably fall asleep very soon because I have been absolutely exhausted lately. I think the past six weeks of little sleep and lots of traveling is really starting to catch up with me. I won’t let it get to me yet though! We still have until Friday here, then Madrid! Lots of things planned, too ☺ It’s been great.
I love Spain.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
el fin de sevilla y el principio de barcelona
Hola todos!
It’s Tuesday night, July 5th, and I’m writing from Barcelona with my mom! We’ve been busy traveling, sightseeing, and enjoying what’s left of Spain for the past few days. It’s starting to hit me that this time next week I will be back in the United States…eeek. Not sure how I feel about that.
Anyway, my mom arrived Saturday. Both of us were pretty tired, but I showed her around parts of Sevilla. I think I wrote about this in my last blog entry…so I’ll skip to Sunday. We didn’t do too much more exciting things on Saturday anyway.
Sunday, we woke up (at 10:15! Latest I’ve slept in in what feels like forever!). We prepped ourselves for the day because we had a lot planned. We stopped to get some coffee and a pastry on our way to la Catedral to attend the noon mass. Mass was beautiful, as always. Even if you don’t understand every word they’re saying, there is so much detail of the altar to look at!
After la Catedral, we stopped at a Starbucks because mom of course needed a bit more coffee than the little café con leches that they give you here. Then, we made our way over to Plaza de España because as I’ve mentioned before, it’s my favorite place in all of Spain. So pretty. We took a gazillion pictures of mainly the architecture. It is all hand-painted ceramic, and being the artist that she is, my mom loved it so much. After the Plaza, we went over to Parque María Luisa. Since she loves flowers and being outside too, can you guess if she enjoyed herself there? OH – might I add – Sunday and Monday were the “coldest” days I have experienced in Sevilla the entire time I was there. It had been SCORCHING hot for the past few days, and then when my mom comes (after hearing me complain about the heat) and we have to wear sweaters! Granted, it was not that cold in the scheme of things, but it was cold enough in my opinion! It made it lovely to walk around in, though.
After the park, I gave my mom a mini-tour of where I lived for the past two months. She said she liked the area I was in the most out of everything she had seen thus far. I agree with her that I lived in such a nice part of town. It couldn’t have been any more perfect for me! She saw my house, my school, the paths I took, then finally we sat down for lunch. She had caprese, I had Greek Salad, and we both got a mojito! Nom nom nom. We chatted for a bit, then went back to La Catedral just so we could look around and climb up La Giralda – which is a tower that is part of the cathedral and the highest point of Sevilla.
When we arrived back at La Catedral, the most exciting thing happened to me. I wanted to get a discount to get in because I was a student, but since I handed them my Universidad de Sevilla ID card, they let me in for FREE because I was a “native” WOOOO study abroad win. That was exciting. Anyway, we climbed La Giralda and faced a BEAUTIFUL view of the city. I started to get sad because this would be my last time seeing all of Sevilla for a while. ☹ Depressing. But we took lots of pictures then looked around La Catedral. You never seem to run out of things to look at when you’re there. It’s huge.
We went back to our hotel, washed up, and then walked by the river for a little before searching for a place to eat for dinner. I ran into my friend Becky and her parents on the way which was great because it felt good to see a familiar face! Anyway, we finally found a place to eat dinner – we got Gazpacho, Paella, and Sangria. We’re so Spain.
Monday was a rough day. We got last minute souvenirs then had to check out of the hotel by 12. We went to the airport and had a semi-hectic experience with the flight (I’ve been told before never to use RyanAir, I wish I had listened. So - FYI – don’t use RyanAir). I won’t go into detail about that, but it just made leaving so much harder. However, I couldn’t be sad for long. I was on my way to Barcelona with my mom!
We got in pretty late. We are currently staying at a rented out apartment. It’s so nice – modern and about 3 minutes from the beach. I couldn’t be happier about that because I absolutely adore the beach. So Monday night, we ate dinner near the beach and stayed there really late just talking. We needed to relax. Then we called it a night. (PS – Happy 4th of July!)
SO today. Here we are. Tuesday, we got up and made some breakfast in our room– I had toast with olive oil and tomato and my mom had toast with marmalade. Then we went to the beach and were there alllllll dayyyyyy and I was in heaven. I even got a massage from some lady that was walking around offering them. Best money I’ve spent in a while! Anyway, we just laid there, looked pretty, and got tan ☺ But around 3, we had to go clean up because we had a cooking class to attend at five!
We walked to the cooking class which was in a really cool kitchen. There were 14 total “students” – mostly foreigners that were interested in how to cool. It was interactive but you didn’t have to cook anything if you didn’t want to. We were situated around a counter and we had a teacher showing us each step. We cooked everything first, then ate. Mom & I didn’t have lunch so I was starving by the time we ate! We learned how to make a “Barcelona” version of Gazpacho, tortilla de patatas, pan con tomate, paella marisco, and crèma de catalan. Everything was soooo good and it was such a nice experience. My mom and I helped make the gazpacho by blanching, cutting, and blending the tomatoes! We got copies of the recipes so we can cook them whenever! (Like when I’m in my apartment next year….where I have access to all these ingredients…sarcasm) but still. I was so happy we went. We met a lot of nice people and learned a lot!
Well now I am absolutely exhausted writing this so I can’t elaborate more, but we stay in Barcelona until Friday, then we’re in Madrid until Monday. I feel like there’s so much I need to do before I leave Spain! Ahhhhh stressful….
Sorry this is long and kind of dry, but I want everyone to be filled in on what my mom and I have been up to! Thanks again to everyone who has been keeping up with my travels this summer. My mom was telling me that people are genuinely interested! THANK YOU! ☺
Un abrazo fuerte,
Kate
It’s Tuesday night, July 5th, and I’m writing from Barcelona with my mom! We’ve been busy traveling, sightseeing, and enjoying what’s left of Spain for the past few days. It’s starting to hit me that this time next week I will be back in the United States…eeek. Not sure how I feel about that.
Anyway, my mom arrived Saturday. Both of us were pretty tired, but I showed her around parts of Sevilla. I think I wrote about this in my last blog entry…so I’ll skip to Sunday. We didn’t do too much more exciting things on Saturday anyway.
Sunday, we woke up (at 10:15! Latest I’ve slept in in what feels like forever!). We prepped ourselves for the day because we had a lot planned. We stopped to get some coffee and a pastry on our way to la Catedral to attend the noon mass. Mass was beautiful, as always. Even if you don’t understand every word they’re saying, there is so much detail of the altar to look at!
After la Catedral, we stopped at a Starbucks because mom of course needed a bit more coffee than the little café con leches that they give you here. Then, we made our way over to Plaza de España because as I’ve mentioned before, it’s my favorite place in all of Spain. So pretty. We took a gazillion pictures of mainly the architecture. It is all hand-painted ceramic, and being the artist that she is, my mom loved it so much. After the Plaza, we went over to Parque María Luisa. Since she loves flowers and being outside too, can you guess if she enjoyed herself there? OH – might I add – Sunday and Monday were the “coldest” days I have experienced in Sevilla the entire time I was there. It had been SCORCHING hot for the past few days, and then when my mom comes (after hearing me complain about the heat) and we have to wear sweaters! Granted, it was not that cold in the scheme of things, but it was cold enough in my opinion! It made it lovely to walk around in, though.
After the park, I gave my mom a mini-tour of where I lived for the past two months. She said she liked the area I was in the most out of everything she had seen thus far. I agree with her that I lived in such a nice part of town. It couldn’t have been any more perfect for me! She saw my house, my school, the paths I took, then finally we sat down for lunch. She had caprese, I had Greek Salad, and we both got a mojito! Nom nom nom. We chatted for a bit, then went back to La Catedral just so we could look around and climb up La Giralda – which is a tower that is part of the cathedral and the highest point of Sevilla.
When we arrived back at La Catedral, the most exciting thing happened to me. I wanted to get a discount to get in because I was a student, but since I handed them my Universidad de Sevilla ID card, they let me in for FREE because I was a “native” WOOOO study abroad win. That was exciting. Anyway, we climbed La Giralda and faced a BEAUTIFUL view of the city. I started to get sad because this would be my last time seeing all of Sevilla for a while. ☹ Depressing. But we took lots of pictures then looked around La Catedral. You never seem to run out of things to look at when you’re there. It’s huge.
We went back to our hotel, washed up, and then walked by the river for a little before searching for a place to eat for dinner. I ran into my friend Becky and her parents on the way which was great because it felt good to see a familiar face! Anyway, we finally found a place to eat dinner – we got Gazpacho, Paella, and Sangria. We’re so Spain.
Monday was a rough day. We got last minute souvenirs then had to check out of the hotel by 12. We went to the airport and had a semi-hectic experience with the flight (I’ve been told before never to use RyanAir, I wish I had listened. So - FYI – don’t use RyanAir). I won’t go into detail about that, but it just made leaving so much harder. However, I couldn’t be sad for long. I was on my way to Barcelona with my mom!
We got in pretty late. We are currently staying at a rented out apartment. It’s so nice – modern and about 3 minutes from the beach. I couldn’t be happier about that because I absolutely adore the beach. So Monday night, we ate dinner near the beach and stayed there really late just talking. We needed to relax. Then we called it a night. (PS – Happy 4th of July!)
SO today. Here we are. Tuesday, we got up and made some breakfast in our room– I had toast with olive oil and tomato and my mom had toast with marmalade. Then we went to the beach and were there alllllll dayyyyyy and I was in heaven. I even got a massage from some lady that was walking around offering them. Best money I’ve spent in a while! Anyway, we just laid there, looked pretty, and got tan ☺ But around 3, we had to go clean up because we had a cooking class to attend at five!
We walked to the cooking class which was in a really cool kitchen. There were 14 total “students” – mostly foreigners that were interested in how to cool. It was interactive but you didn’t have to cook anything if you didn’t want to. We were situated around a counter and we had a teacher showing us each step. We cooked everything first, then ate. Mom & I didn’t have lunch so I was starving by the time we ate! We learned how to make a “Barcelona” version of Gazpacho, tortilla de patatas, pan con tomate, paella marisco, and crèma de catalan. Everything was soooo good and it was such a nice experience. My mom and I helped make the gazpacho by blanching, cutting, and blending the tomatoes! We got copies of the recipes so we can cook them whenever! (Like when I’m in my apartment next year….where I have access to all these ingredients…sarcasm) but still. I was so happy we went. We met a lot of nice people and learned a lot!
Well now I am absolutely exhausted writing this so I can’t elaborate more, but we stay in Barcelona until Friday, then we’re in Madrid until Monday. I feel like there’s so much I need to do before I leave Spain! Ahhhhh stressful….
Sorry this is long and kind of dry, but I want everyone to be filled in on what my mom and I have been up to! Thanks again to everyone who has been keeping up with my travels this summer. My mom was telling me that people are genuinely interested! THANK YOU! ☺
Un abrazo fuerte,
Kate
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Mama!
She made it!
My mom came today! I'm so happy to see her!
Last night we had a goodbye dinner with all of the people that we're leaving. It was awful saying goodbye to everyone :( I've met some awesome people and I'll never forget any of them!!!!
This morning, I woke up around 10 and left Gloria's house around 11:30. I was sad to say bye to her but she has treated me so well over the past 6 weeks I cannot thank her enough. She got me these really pretty earrings and I almost teared up when she gave them to me! She said when she was shopping she told the saleswoman she was shopping for her daughter, who is really tall! Sooooo cute!!! I got her a handpainted cellphone holder because she would lose her phone a lot. She loved it! I'll remember her forever and I gave her my e-mail so we could keep in touch.
Anyway, I checked into my mom & I's hotel around noon and waited for her arrival. I had no idea when she was going to come so the anticipation was killer! Haha. She finally knocked on the door around 2 PM! She looks exactly the same - so I recognized her right away don't worry :-P.
We settled in then went to lunch at a restaurant. I never had to eat out over the past six weeks because Gloria would cook for me, so I don't really know how the restaurant scene works. But we ordered little sandwiches and a plate of croquetas, potatoes, meatballs, and chicken. It was delicious! Then we walked around for a bit and came back to the hotel to nap because we were beat!
Now, we're about to go out and walk around again for some tapas. Tomorrow we're going to see a bunch of tourist-y things. Can't wait to show her the beautifulness of Sevilla!
Hasta luego!
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