From Barcelona, Steph and I went to Nice, France. Getting there was a challenge… We went to one of the Barcelona train stations, got lost trying to find it, and ended up missing the train we wanted. So we went to the train ticket office and asked for the next available train to take us to southern France. The woman told us to take the next train to Cerbere.
So we went to Cerbere. Once we got there, we still had no idea how to get to Nice, so we took the next train from Cerbere to Narbonne. When we got to Narbonne, we asked the ticket office there to help us, and he gave us reservations to Marseille, then Nice from there.
So after a total of four trains, we finally arrived in Nice. Our hostel was rated one of the top ten in the world, so we were very excited to stay there. We had a 15 person room. It’s funny how quickly I had gotten used to sleeping with a dozen other strangers, sharing one bathroom, living out of a suitcase…
The hostel was great. It was really big and there were a lot of people staying there. Most of the people were from the UK, Australia, or the U.S. I never even heard any French being spoken.
The next morning Steph and I set out. Nice is beautiful. I know I keep saying that each city I travel to is my new favorite, but Nice really is gorgeous. The whole place looks like a painting or a computer screen saver. It’s right on the ocean, so there are ports with lots of fishing boats. Cafes, restaurants, and stores line the side of the beach. The houses are all white cottages, and the city is built on different levels because the land is so hilly. On the other side of the city are mountains.
We went to the old part of the town first. There is a flower and fruit market every day there. There were lots of bright flowers, cheese, wine, bread, and every fruit imaginable. Steph and I spent a lot of time walking through this part of the city. There was street after street filled with shops. We also went into the cathedral in the center.
Later we took a bus out to a small fishing village 5 minutes away from the city. The bus went on a road above the city, so the view was awesome. The fishing village was very cute. There was a stone fortress there, a big harbor, and even more restaurants and cafes. We went to the beach and laid there for a few hours. The beach is actually all rocks. It was full of tiny rocks, so it felt like lying on a bean bag. It was actually very comfortable.
That night we ate dinner at the hostel. There is a big restaurant/bar connected to the hostel, so it is a great place to hang out and meet everyone else there from other countries. We met a girl from Colorado and a girl from Australia.
The next morning Steph went scuba diving with the two girls we had met the night before. Scuba diving scares me because of my asthma, so I slept in instead. When they got back, the four of us went and bought food at a supermarket, then went to the beach in Nice for the afternoon.
The beach in Nice was different than the beach we went to the day before. The rocks varied from the size of my hand to the size of my head. It was difficult to walk on them. We laid on our towels on the rocks. We had to kind of even out the piles of rocks and throw out the sharp ones before we could lie down. It took a while to get comfortable, but once we did it was really nice.
That night we hung out again in the hostel and played cards. We met lots of other young people from Canada and Australia. It was a lot of fun. The next morning Steph and I set out to the train station for yet another traveling adventure.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Barcelona
After Valencia we went to Barcelona for 2 nights. Barcelona was awesome! It might be my favorite city in all of Spain that I’ve seen.
First of all, Barcelona is huge. It’s an enormous metropolis. The buildings are really tall, the city blocks are big, the streets are all 5-6 lanes. It’s a crowded, busy, modern city – very different from the other cities in Spain.
We arrived in Barcelona after my final bus ride EVER in Europe. It’s all trains and planes from here! The bus ride was about 5 hours and every seat was full, including 2 not happy babies and an elderly man who fainted halfway there. Let’s just say that I was very relieved when we got to Barcelona…
By the time we got checked into our hostel and set out into the streets, it was late afternoon, so we didn’t have much time to see a lot the first day. We went to several Gaudi houses. Ok so Gaudi was a very famous architect who designed a lot of amazing but very weird buildings in Barcelona. The style is like something you would see in a Dr. Seuss story.
After we saw some of his houses, we ate paella at the hostel and met a lot of the other people staying there. It was a nice hostel, just very small and crowded. The next morning we went to the Park Guell. It’s high up on a hill, it took years to climb all the way up, even with the help of some escalators now and then.
The park is awesome. It was like a big adult playground. Kind of like what you would find in Willy Wonka’s factory. The park is huge, we were there for hours and didn’t see even half of it. There are levels that lead to terraces, then you go down a path and see a fountain, then up stairs to a big area with pillars and statues. All the architecture is random, and almost bizarre. There are benches shaped like serpents on the edge of a big plaza that overlook the entire city. There is a fountain with a dragon that is apparently very famous. The entrance of the park has two buildings that look like gingerbread houses. The whole place was very cool, nothing like I had ever seen before.
After the park we went to the big market in Barcelona. It was an inside market, and it was enormous! There was a lot of fruit, some candies and dried fruit, meat and seafood, cheese, bread, and wine. It was very crowded and I felt like we all smelled like fish after being in there, but it was the biggest market I’ve ever been to. We all bought fruit and bread for lunch and ate it outside.
We went to the Barcelona Cathedral, the Arc of Triomf, and several really pretty plazas. Our last stop was the Sagrada Familia. This was Gaudi’s masterpiece. It’s been under construction since 1882 and won’t be completed until 2026 or so. It’s really big, but I wouldn’t describe it as beautiful. The design on the front of the building almost looks like it melted together. We walked all the way around it to see all the facades. It was cool to see it in person after I have studied it so much in school.
We left the next morning for Nice, France. I’ll have lots to write about Nice later!
First of all, Barcelona is huge. It’s an enormous metropolis. The buildings are really tall, the city blocks are big, the streets are all 5-6 lanes. It’s a crowded, busy, modern city – very different from the other cities in Spain.
We arrived in Barcelona after my final bus ride EVER in Europe. It’s all trains and planes from here! The bus ride was about 5 hours and every seat was full, including 2 not happy babies and an elderly man who fainted halfway there. Let’s just say that I was very relieved when we got to Barcelona…
By the time we got checked into our hostel and set out into the streets, it was late afternoon, so we didn’t have much time to see a lot the first day. We went to several Gaudi houses. Ok so Gaudi was a very famous architect who designed a lot of amazing but very weird buildings in Barcelona. The style is like something you would see in a Dr. Seuss story.
After we saw some of his houses, we ate paella at the hostel and met a lot of the other people staying there. It was a nice hostel, just very small and crowded. The next morning we went to the Park Guell. It’s high up on a hill, it took years to climb all the way up, even with the help of some escalators now and then.
The park is awesome. It was like a big adult playground. Kind of like what you would find in Willy Wonka’s factory. The park is huge, we were there for hours and didn’t see even half of it. There are levels that lead to terraces, then you go down a path and see a fountain, then up stairs to a big area with pillars and statues. All the architecture is random, and almost bizarre. There are benches shaped like serpents on the edge of a big plaza that overlook the entire city. There is a fountain with a dragon that is apparently very famous. The entrance of the park has two buildings that look like gingerbread houses. The whole place was very cool, nothing like I had ever seen before.
After the park we went to the big market in Barcelona. It was an inside market, and it was enormous! There was a lot of fruit, some candies and dried fruit, meat and seafood, cheese, bread, and wine. It was very crowded and I felt like we all smelled like fish after being in there, but it was the biggest market I’ve ever been to. We all bought fruit and bread for lunch and ate it outside.
We went to the Barcelona Cathedral, the Arc of Triomf, and several really pretty plazas. Our last stop was the Sagrada Familia. This was Gaudi’s masterpiece. It’s been under construction since 1882 and won’t be completed until 2026 or so. It’s really big, but I wouldn’t describe it as beautiful. The design on the front of the building almost looks like it melted together. We walked all the way around it to see all the facades. It was cool to see it in person after I have studied it so much in school.
We left the next morning for Nice, France. I’ll have lots to write about Nice later!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Valencia
So I began my final trip. Destination #1 was Valencia, but first I had to leave Caceres and my host mommies... It was so much harder than I thought. I made it though finals week with my tests and essays. During the last day of classes my favorite professor took our whole class to the school cafeteria and bought us all coffee and breakfast. That night we had a farewell party with all the students and professors. It was a lot of fun to hang out and talk with our teachers outside of school, but it was really sad to say good-bye to them...
My last weekend in Caceres was bittersweet. We all hung out a lot as a group because most of the students were going to leave Monday or Tuesday. It was really sad saying bye to all of them too. I know I'm going to see them at Iowa State, but it won't be the same. We won't all be together like this, or have this experience, again.
The hardest part was packing. I hyper-ventilated in 4 minute intervals while packing because I honestly didn't think everything was going to fit in my 2 suitcases! I packed my big one, and it was already over-flowing, then I looked back at my closet and realized it was still completely full of clothes! It took a lot of strategically planning and sitting/jumping on the suitcases to get them closed, but I did it!
While Steph and I were packing, our mommies came into our room and asked for our apartment keys. I cried. Then we had to say good-bye to one of them that night, because she wasn't going to be able to see us off at the train station. I cried again. Go figure.
Our train left Caceres at 5am. Our other host mommy took us there, which was a good thing, considering Steph and I each had 2 suitcases, a backpack, a purse, a laptop, the tickets/passport, and a sack lunch. We were a show trying to get through the station.
Our mom helped us get all of our stuff on the train, and we were trying to get the beasts (as I refer to our suitcases as) on the storage rack in the train car, and we realized that the car was pulling away and our mom wasn't on it anymore! I ran to the door and asked the conductor if I could get off and hug her, but we were already leaving. So all I could do was wave... Steph and I were sooo sad! We didn't get to say good-bye to our mommy...
We slept for most of the 4 hour train ride. When we got to Madrid, we had to get the beasts off the train, up an escalator, into the station, and outside to the luggage storage. You can't imagine the looks we were getting from people. We seriously must have looked ridiculous trying to handle all our bags and suitcases...
We each stored one suitcase at the train station so we would only have one to travel with. We took another 4 hour train to Valencia and took a bus to our hostel, where another girl, Lauren, was meeting us.
That night we went to the Quart Tower and climbed it. It had a really great view of the old city of Valencia. Valencia is... not that pretty. It's a neat city, but kind of ugly. Not what I was expecting...
The next day we went to the beach first. It wasn't hot enough to go swimming, so we just sat in the sand. The beach is very beautiful. We had heard that Valencia has one of the best beaches in Spain. After that we went to the city of Arts and Sciences. It is a huge cluster of museums, an aquarium, an opera and music palace, a mall, and other buildings. The arquitecture of buildings was amazing, it was like a city from the future.
We walked around and did some shopping. Lauren and Steph had paella for lunch. Paella is the rice and seafood dish that is very typical in Spain. It was actually originated in Valencia, and everyone says it tastes the best there. We also bought orxata, which is a famous Valenica drink. It is sold on almost every corner in the main part of the city, and it takes like coconut milk. I loved it.
After that we ate kabobs for dinner. Doner Kabobs are everywhere in Valencia and the other students told us we have to eat them. They were very delicious. We went back to the hostel because our bus to Barcelona left early the next morning. I'll have more updates about Barcelona soon!
My last weekend in Caceres was bittersweet. We all hung out a lot as a group because most of the students were going to leave Monday or Tuesday. It was really sad saying bye to all of them too. I know I'm going to see them at Iowa State, but it won't be the same. We won't all be together like this, or have this experience, again.
The hardest part was packing. I hyper-ventilated in 4 minute intervals while packing because I honestly didn't think everything was going to fit in my 2 suitcases! I packed my big one, and it was already over-flowing, then I looked back at my closet and realized it was still completely full of clothes! It took a lot of strategically planning and sitting/jumping on the suitcases to get them closed, but I did it!
While Steph and I were packing, our mommies came into our room and asked for our apartment keys. I cried. Then we had to say good-bye to one of them that night, because she wasn't going to be able to see us off at the train station. I cried again. Go figure.
Our train left Caceres at 5am. Our other host mommy took us there, which was a good thing, considering Steph and I each had 2 suitcases, a backpack, a purse, a laptop, the tickets/passport, and a sack lunch. We were a show trying to get through the station.
Our mom helped us get all of our stuff on the train, and we were trying to get the beasts (as I refer to our suitcases as) on the storage rack in the train car, and we realized that the car was pulling away and our mom wasn't on it anymore! I ran to the door and asked the conductor if I could get off and hug her, but we were already leaving. So all I could do was wave... Steph and I were sooo sad! We didn't get to say good-bye to our mommy...
We slept for most of the 4 hour train ride. When we got to Madrid, we had to get the beasts off the train, up an escalator, into the station, and outside to the luggage storage. You can't imagine the looks we were getting from people. We seriously must have looked ridiculous trying to handle all our bags and suitcases...
We each stored one suitcase at the train station so we would only have one to travel with. We took another 4 hour train to Valencia and took a bus to our hostel, where another girl, Lauren, was meeting us.
That night we went to the Quart Tower and climbed it. It had a really great view of the old city of Valencia. Valencia is... not that pretty. It's a neat city, but kind of ugly. Not what I was expecting...
The next day we went to the beach first. It wasn't hot enough to go swimming, so we just sat in the sand. The beach is very beautiful. We had heard that Valencia has one of the best beaches in Spain. After that we went to the city of Arts and Sciences. It is a huge cluster of museums, an aquarium, an opera and music palace, a mall, and other buildings. The arquitecture of buildings was amazing, it was like a city from the future.
We walked around and did some shopping. Lauren and Steph had paella for lunch. Paella is the rice and seafood dish that is very typical in Spain. It was actually originated in Valencia, and everyone says it tastes the best there. We also bought orxata, which is a famous Valenica drink. It is sold on almost every corner in the main part of the city, and it takes like coconut milk. I loved it.
After that we ate kabobs for dinner. Doner Kabobs are everywhere in Valencia and the other students told us we have to eat them. They were very delicious. We went back to the hostel because our bus to Barcelona left early the next morning. I'll have more updates about Barcelona soon!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
My Birthday! :)
Wednesday was my birthday! It was a great day. In the morning one of my host moms drove Steph and I to the market in Caceres. This market is every Wednesday, but that’s the day that I have 5 classes in a row so I haven’t had the chance to go to it. So our mom took us there right as it opened. It was very cool. I didn’t know it was that big! There were dresses, shoes, scarves, jewelry. I wish we would have had more time to look at everything. Steph bought me a very cute pair of earrings for my birthday from there.
Our mom dropped us off as school and I had my classes. They actually seemed to go fast. It was our final exam week last week, so we had a lot of tests and essays, but I had most of the work done on Monday and Tuesday so I could relax on my birthday.
After school, Steph and I waited for our host moms to get home so we could eat together instead of just by ourselves like we usually do. Our host moms made us a special lunch for my birthday. We had peppers filled with this Spanish white cheese, which was very good. Then we had gazpacho. It’s a very typical Spanish food during the summer, which is why we hadn’t had it yet. It’s basically an oily cold tomato soup. It was good, it had a very strong flavor! The next course we had some sort of meat filled with something that we ate with an orange sauce. I know that’s not a good description, but it was delicious! Dessert was lemon mouse, which I guess is another typical summer food here. Very very good. We also had apple champagne that’s made here in my city. I was sooo full!
My host moms gave me a present. It was a silver acorn charm. Acorns are very important in the part of Spain where I live. They make a lot of things with acorns and it’s a symbol of my city. So I can wear the charm always have a reminder of this semester. That was very sweet of them.
Later that afternoon, Steph and I met up with all the other students in the plaza for ice cream. So after we all got the ice cream, we took it outside and sat on the steps by the church to eat it. The plaza was very crowded with people!
From there Steph and I went to the apartment of our friends. They are two boys from the U.S. who teach English here in high schools, we met them earlier this year and have hung out with them a lot. They had an American grill-out that night. They made grilled chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers. We also had potato wedges and melon. It was soo good! I hadn’t had food like that in such a long time. It was very fun to have real American food.
I left from there to meet the other students again in our favorite place to hang out. It was another girl’s birthday the same day as mine, plus that was the last night we would all be together in Caceres, because a few students were going to leave Thursday and another one of Friday. So everyone came out and we hung out for a long time. The other birthday girl and I blew out candles and they sang for us, and it was a fun night. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday in Spain!
Our mom dropped us off as school and I had my classes. They actually seemed to go fast. It was our final exam week last week, so we had a lot of tests and essays, but I had most of the work done on Monday and Tuesday so I could relax on my birthday.
After school, Steph and I waited for our host moms to get home so we could eat together instead of just by ourselves like we usually do. Our host moms made us a special lunch for my birthday. We had peppers filled with this Spanish white cheese, which was very good. Then we had gazpacho. It’s a very typical Spanish food during the summer, which is why we hadn’t had it yet. It’s basically an oily cold tomato soup. It was good, it had a very strong flavor! The next course we had some sort of meat filled with something that we ate with an orange sauce. I know that’s not a good description, but it was delicious! Dessert was lemon mouse, which I guess is another typical summer food here. Very very good. We also had apple champagne that’s made here in my city. I was sooo full!
My host moms gave me a present. It was a silver acorn charm. Acorns are very important in the part of Spain where I live. They make a lot of things with acorns and it’s a symbol of my city. So I can wear the charm always have a reminder of this semester. That was very sweet of them.
Later that afternoon, Steph and I met up with all the other students in the plaza for ice cream. So after we all got the ice cream, we took it outside and sat on the steps by the church to eat it. The plaza was very crowded with people!
From there Steph and I went to the apartment of our friends. They are two boys from the U.S. who teach English here in high schools, we met them earlier this year and have hung out with them a lot. They had an American grill-out that night. They made grilled chicken, hot dogs, and hamburgers. We also had potato wedges and melon. It was soo good! I hadn’t had food like that in such a long time. It was very fun to have real American food.
I left from there to meet the other students again in our favorite place to hang out. It was another girl’s birthday the same day as mine, plus that was the last night we would all be together in Caceres, because a few students were going to leave Thursday and another one of Friday. So everyone came out and we hung out for a long time. The other birthday girl and I blew out candles and they sang for us, and it was a fun night. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday in Spain!
San Jorge
Last weekend was San Jorge, which is a huge holiday here in Spain, and especially in my city Caceres. There is a legend that says that a long time ago, there was a dragon that lived in the lake by a city. In order for the people to be able to get the water, they had to make human sacrifices every day. One day, it came up as the princess’ turn to be sacrificed. The king tried to stop it, but couldn’t. So just as the princess is at the lake ready to be eaten, San Jorge comes riding in on a horse and slays the dragon. He brings it back to the city, and the people all convert from paganism and become Christians.
Thursday night was the main part of the celebration. We all went to the old part of the town, by the plaza. We got good spots along the street, which was hard because of all the people. So we had a really good view of the parade.
The parade was amazing. San Jorge was in the beginning of it, dressed up as a knight and riding on a horse. There were other knights, and Christian soldiers. There were also a lot of people all painted up on stilts, and there was a woman wearing a “skirt” on wheels that was almost 2 stories high. There were people dressed in lion cloths with different drums and instruments, and men who lit off sparklers in the street as they walked. At the very end of the parade was the dragon. The dragon was HUGE. It took about 10 men to push it on its wheels. Very cool.
After the parade, everyone started pushing toward the plaza. It was hard to stay together with all the other students, we could barely walk. I have never ever seen that many people in one place. It was soo crowded!
We finally made it to the plaza. By then, we were pretty far away, so it was hard to see. The entire open plaza was just packed with thousands of people. Pretty soon they started the show. Every year they reenact the San Jorge legend. So it was kind of like a play. But the stage was the entire plaza. We would be watching gypsy belly dancers in the front of the plaza by the clock tower lit up by green lights, then have to turn around and see the princess in the tower behind us with purple spotlights and smoke. San Jorge came down from the hill by the church and entered into the plaza, and the dragon came from a street on the other side. There was a commentator telling the story as it went on big speakers, and there were smoke machines and dramatic music playing loudly in intense scenes. It was so neat!
The whole play lasted about 45 minutes. At the very end, San Jorge defeated the dragon and they lit it on fire. At that point, I was very happy we didn’t get a closer spot. That dragon was HOT. I was standing far from it, but I could feel the heat from it. I don’t really understand how it’s not dangerous; I mean they just light this dragon on fire that’s 2-3 stories high and huge, in the middle of an immense crowd of people…
Right after that were the fireworks. The fireworks lasted a long time! Longer than most 4th of July displays I’ve seen. The fireworks were really cool too; there were some different ones that I’ve never seen before in the states. The fireworks started to become dangerous though, because they kind of tend to fall on the people standing in the plaza. Fiery balls were raining down on us. Thankfully the wind was just right so it was hitting the people to the left of where we were standing, so we were ok. But later we heard stories from other students who had to run and take cover because they were getting burnt. Again, how is this not dangerous?
After that, the people all mingled in the plaza. All the restaurants and bars were packed, and there were so many people in the streets. We went out dancing that night at a discoteca that was the most crowded I’ve ever seen. It was a very fun holiday. Kind of like the 4th of July + New Year’s Eve.
Thursday night was the main part of the celebration. We all went to the old part of the town, by the plaza. We got good spots along the street, which was hard because of all the people. So we had a really good view of the parade.
The parade was amazing. San Jorge was in the beginning of it, dressed up as a knight and riding on a horse. There were other knights, and Christian soldiers. There were also a lot of people all painted up on stilts, and there was a woman wearing a “skirt” on wheels that was almost 2 stories high. There were people dressed in lion cloths with different drums and instruments, and men who lit off sparklers in the street as they walked. At the very end of the parade was the dragon. The dragon was HUGE. It took about 10 men to push it on its wheels. Very cool.
After the parade, everyone started pushing toward the plaza. It was hard to stay together with all the other students, we could barely walk. I have never ever seen that many people in one place. It was soo crowded!
We finally made it to the plaza. By then, we were pretty far away, so it was hard to see. The entire open plaza was just packed with thousands of people. Pretty soon they started the show. Every year they reenact the San Jorge legend. So it was kind of like a play. But the stage was the entire plaza. We would be watching gypsy belly dancers in the front of the plaza by the clock tower lit up by green lights, then have to turn around and see the princess in the tower behind us with purple spotlights and smoke. San Jorge came down from the hill by the church and entered into the plaza, and the dragon came from a street on the other side. There was a commentator telling the story as it went on big speakers, and there were smoke machines and dramatic music playing loudly in intense scenes. It was so neat!
The whole play lasted about 45 minutes. At the very end, San Jorge defeated the dragon and they lit it on fire. At that point, I was very happy we didn’t get a closer spot. That dragon was HOT. I was standing far from it, but I could feel the heat from it. I don’t really understand how it’s not dangerous; I mean they just light this dragon on fire that’s 2-3 stories high and huge, in the middle of an immense crowd of people…
Right after that were the fireworks. The fireworks lasted a long time! Longer than most 4th of July displays I’ve seen. The fireworks were really cool too; there were some different ones that I’ve never seen before in the states. The fireworks started to become dangerous though, because they kind of tend to fall on the people standing in the plaza. Fiery balls were raining down on us. Thankfully the wind was just right so it was hitting the people to the left of where we were standing, so we were ok. But later we heard stories from other students who had to run and take cover because they were getting burnt. Again, how is this not dangerous?
After that, the people all mingled in the plaza. All the restaurants and bars were packed, and there were so many people in the streets. We went out dancing that night at a discoteca that was the most crowded I’ve ever seen. It was a very fun holiday. Kind of like the 4th of July + New Year’s Eve.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
A few pictures of Merida
Roomie pic. :)
Roman ruins.
Ruins of what used to be houses.
Arches leading to the coliseum. This is our tour guide by the way.
Coliseum.
Lion's den.
Inside the coliseum.
View of the theatre stage from the stands.
The stage of the theatre.
Steph and I in the theatre.
Temple of Diana.
Main square.
uh...
Puente Romano. 
Over looking the river.
Crypt in the museum. Merida
On Tuesday I went on another class trip, this time to Merida. The city is only about an hour from Caceres, so it was a short bus trip.
The city is old. Like 25 BC old. It was founded by the Romans, and it has a lot of ruins from that time. It's actually known as the Rome of Spain, and I could see why. It's a beautiful city.
We saw ruins from what used to be houses. We also went to the Temple of Diana, which is a huge Roman temple right next to the city square. The Puente Romano (Roman Bridge) was really cool too. It was absolutely huge, it crossed the entire Guadiana River.
My favorite part of the city was the theatre. It is half reconstructed, half original ruins. But it's gigantic. It was built so the performers on stage could talk at normal volume, and everyone in the audience could hear them perfectly. We sat high up in the stands and could hear a little girl on stage talking with her mom. Very cool.
We also went to the Circus Maximus, which is where they had competitions that were basically ancient NASCAR. It's an oval-shaped ring, and men had to race in chariots around it.
Another cool thing was the coliseum. It looks exactly like the Rome one, but smaller. We could walk inside it, where the men fought and were killed by lions. We also got to go inside the dens where they kept the lions. It was a weird feeling standing there picturing that.
We weren't in Merida long, we left by 6:00pm. It was a really cool city though, and I'm glad I got to see it!
The city is old. Like 25 BC old. It was founded by the Romans, and it has a lot of ruins from that time. It's actually known as the Rome of Spain, and I could see why. It's a beautiful city.
We saw ruins from what used to be houses. We also went to the Temple of Diana, which is a huge Roman temple right next to the city square. The Puente Romano (Roman Bridge) was really cool too. It was absolutely huge, it crossed the entire Guadiana River.
My favorite part of the city was the theatre. It is half reconstructed, half original ruins. But it's gigantic. It was built so the performers on stage could talk at normal volume, and everyone in the audience could hear them perfectly. We sat high up in the stands and could hear a little girl on stage talking with her mom. Very cool.
We also went to the Circus Maximus, which is where they had competitions that were basically ancient NASCAR. It's an oval-shaped ring, and men had to race in chariots around it.
Another cool thing was the coliseum. It looks exactly like the Rome one, but smaller. We could walk inside it, where the men fought and were killed by lions. We also got to go inside the dens where they kept the lions. It was a weird feeling standing there picturing that.
We weren't in Merida long, we left by 6:00pm. It was a really cool city though, and I'm glad I got to see it!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Pictures of Lisbon
Streets of Lisbon.
Lisbon. Beautiful isn't it. :)
Belem Tower.
Steph, Angela, Me.
From the 2nd level of the Tower.
The top level.
View of the river.
Steph and I playing limbo with the drawbridge haha.
In front of the monastery.
Monastery.
Inside the monastery chapel.
Cathedral.
Inside the Cathedral.
More Lisbon.
The market.
I was getting kinda bored while trying to find the castle... :)
View from the castle.
Castle bridge.
Castle.
Another view.
More Lisbon.Lisbon - My new favorite place in the world
This past weekend I went to Lisbon, Portugal with Steph and Angela. It was an amazing trip and one of my favorite places I have visited so far!
We left Friday at 2:30pm. As always, it's impossible for me to travel without some sort of catastrophe, and this trip was no different. At the bus station in Caceres, I didn't have my confirmation number so I couldn't get my bus ticket printed off. This resulted in me sweet-talking the people working there, holding up the bus to wait for me, and finally having to call one of my friends to look up the number in Angela's email on her computer. Long story short, we finally got the numbers at 2:31 and I took off at a dead sprint to get on the bus that was about to leave any second. Close call!
We went from Caceres to Badajoz, then from there to Lisbon. We had to cross a huge bridge over the Tagus River to get to the city. From the bridge, we could see only water on both sides, and Lisbon in front of us. It was awesome.
Ok let me try to describe Lisbon. It's just an amazing city. The whole place is very very old. The streets are cobblestone, but very broken and uneven cobblestone. The houses are all orange and red and white, and are cramped almost on top of each other surrounding the narrow streets. The whole city is full of hills, so walking through the city includes hiking up a nearly vertical street, sliding down the next one, and turning the corner to climb up 3 flights of steep steps.
The streets aren't organized in any way. They are clustered together in anything but perpendicular, as if a 4 year-old designed the city with a crayon on a piece of paper. There are lots of squares with statues and fountains, and you can stand at the top of any street and look down the hill to see the water, or up to see the castle at the top of the city.
Lisbon is famous for their tram system. All the streets have wires above them, and there are adorable little red and yellow trams that have to be as old as the city itself. I absolutely loved the city. It was so cute and very different from anywhere I've ever traveled to.
So we arrived Friday night. After getting completely lost trying to find the hostel, I asked someone for directions and got my first dose of Portuguese. WOW. The words are very similar to Spanish, I can read any text in Portuguese, but when they speak, I can't understand a word. It kind of sounds like a German with a cold speaking a mixture of French and Spanish with a Russian accent. I'm not kidding.
So we finally made it to our hostel. It was actually very close to the center of the city, and only a few blocks from the water. Our hostel was so great. By far the best hostel I've ever stayed at. We slept in a girls' dorm with 8 bunks. There were lots of common rooms with couches, a TV room, computers, and a kitchen. The people who worked there were soo nice and very helpful. They gave us directions and advice. We also had really good breakfast and coffee and fruit. The whole hostel was decorated with lots of colors; it was really neat and cozy.
Saturday we set off for our big day of touring. First we went to the Belem Tower (Bethlehem in English). It was built in the 1500's because King John II wanted a defense system for the city. The tower is right on the water, we had to cross a small bridge to enter it.
Inside the tower was very cool. There were small windows with cannons all around, and 4 different floors that we climbed to via a tiny tiny tiny window-less curving stairwell. The very top of the tower was open, had look-out towers on all four corners. We could see all of Lisbon on one side and the river on the other.
After that we went to the Hieronymites Monastery. It's HUGE. But we didn't want to pay to go inside, so we were just able to visit the chapel part. That was still cool.
We then went to Pasteis de Belem. It's a pastry shop that opened in 1837 and is famous for their "pastel de nata." It's a cream pastry with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Probably one of the best desserts I've ever had in my life.
Next we went back to the center of the city to the Cathedral. It looks a lot like Notre Dame in Paris. It was ok, but nothing special compared to other cathedrals I've seen in Sevilla and Granada and Turino.
Since we were there on a Saturday, there was a huge flee market close to the Cathedral. We spent a lot of time there. There was so much stuff! There was a lot of crafts and jewelry with roosters. The rooster is a symbol of Portugal because of an old tale that says that a long time ago, a man was condemned to be hung. He said that if he truly was innocent, the already roasted fowl on the table of the Judge would come alive and crow. Which it did. So the rooster symbolizes honesty, integrity, honor, and it brings good luck.
We had one more thing we wanted to see: the castle. Other students in our group who have already been to Portugal told us it's impossible to find and they got lost trying to find it. We thought, there's no way. You can see it on the top of the highest hill from anywhere in the city. it can't be that hard to find...
Well. Two hours later, we had circles the castle about 4 times and could NOT find it. We could see on our map that we were right next to it, but we couldn't find how to actually get in. We couldn't even find the walls surrounding it. It was a maze of streets and houses. We were hot and exhausted, but it was a quest for us and we refused to give up.
We finally found it by accident, and I know I couldn’t find it again if I tried. It was completely worth it though. Inside the castle was a huge terrace that over-looked the entire city. It was beautiful. We climbed a drawbridge and went into the courtyard. From there we climbed narrow staircases up to balconies and towers and look-outs. It was like an adult playground. We climbed all over the castle to get different views of the city. So fun.
After getting utterly lost trying to find our way BACK from the castle, we finally were able to catch a tram... going the wrong way. So another tram later, we finally back-tracked our way to the hostel. It was a long day and we were very tired, but it was so much fun.
The next morning we left to catch the bus back to Caceres. Our trip home was long but uneventful, I didn't have to use my charm to talk my way onto the bus again. :) I was really really sad to leave. I could have stayed another week, or maybe a month. Or a few months... or a year. I LOVED Lisbon!
We left Friday at 2:30pm. As always, it's impossible for me to travel without some sort of catastrophe, and this trip was no different. At the bus station in Caceres, I didn't have my confirmation number so I couldn't get my bus ticket printed off. This resulted in me sweet-talking the people working there, holding up the bus to wait for me, and finally having to call one of my friends to look up the number in Angela's email on her computer. Long story short, we finally got the numbers at 2:31 and I took off at a dead sprint to get on the bus that was about to leave any second. Close call!
We went from Caceres to Badajoz, then from there to Lisbon. We had to cross a huge bridge over the Tagus River to get to the city. From the bridge, we could see only water on both sides, and Lisbon in front of us. It was awesome.
Ok let me try to describe Lisbon. It's just an amazing city. The whole place is very very old. The streets are cobblestone, but very broken and uneven cobblestone. The houses are all orange and red and white, and are cramped almost on top of each other surrounding the narrow streets. The whole city is full of hills, so walking through the city includes hiking up a nearly vertical street, sliding down the next one, and turning the corner to climb up 3 flights of steep steps.
The streets aren't organized in any way. They are clustered together in anything but perpendicular, as if a 4 year-old designed the city with a crayon on a piece of paper. There are lots of squares with statues and fountains, and you can stand at the top of any street and look down the hill to see the water, or up to see the castle at the top of the city.
Lisbon is famous for their tram system. All the streets have wires above them, and there are adorable little red and yellow trams that have to be as old as the city itself. I absolutely loved the city. It was so cute and very different from anywhere I've ever traveled to.
So we arrived Friday night. After getting completely lost trying to find the hostel, I asked someone for directions and got my first dose of Portuguese. WOW. The words are very similar to Spanish, I can read any text in Portuguese, but when they speak, I can't understand a word. It kind of sounds like a German with a cold speaking a mixture of French and Spanish with a Russian accent. I'm not kidding.
So we finally made it to our hostel. It was actually very close to the center of the city, and only a few blocks from the water. Our hostel was so great. By far the best hostel I've ever stayed at. We slept in a girls' dorm with 8 bunks. There were lots of common rooms with couches, a TV room, computers, and a kitchen. The people who worked there were soo nice and very helpful. They gave us directions and advice. We also had really good breakfast and coffee and fruit. The whole hostel was decorated with lots of colors; it was really neat and cozy.
Saturday we set off for our big day of touring. First we went to the Belem Tower (Bethlehem in English). It was built in the 1500's because King John II wanted a defense system for the city. The tower is right on the water, we had to cross a small bridge to enter it.
Inside the tower was very cool. There were small windows with cannons all around, and 4 different floors that we climbed to via a tiny tiny tiny window-less curving stairwell. The very top of the tower was open, had look-out towers on all four corners. We could see all of Lisbon on one side and the river on the other.
After that we went to the Hieronymites Monastery. It's HUGE. But we didn't want to pay to go inside, so we were just able to visit the chapel part. That was still cool.
We then went to Pasteis de Belem. It's a pastry shop that opened in 1837 and is famous for their "pastel de nata." It's a cream pastry with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Probably one of the best desserts I've ever had in my life.
Next we went back to the center of the city to the Cathedral. It looks a lot like Notre Dame in Paris. It was ok, but nothing special compared to other cathedrals I've seen in Sevilla and Granada and Turino.
Since we were there on a Saturday, there was a huge flee market close to the Cathedral. We spent a lot of time there. There was so much stuff! There was a lot of crafts and jewelry with roosters. The rooster is a symbol of Portugal because of an old tale that says that a long time ago, a man was condemned to be hung. He said that if he truly was innocent, the already roasted fowl on the table of the Judge would come alive and crow. Which it did. So the rooster symbolizes honesty, integrity, honor, and it brings good luck.
We had one more thing we wanted to see: the castle. Other students in our group who have already been to Portugal told us it's impossible to find and they got lost trying to find it. We thought, there's no way. You can see it on the top of the highest hill from anywhere in the city. it can't be that hard to find...
Well. Two hours later, we had circles the castle about 4 times and could NOT find it. We could see on our map that we were right next to it, but we couldn't find how to actually get in. We couldn't even find the walls surrounding it. It was a maze of streets and houses. We were hot and exhausted, but it was a quest for us and we refused to give up.
We finally found it by accident, and I know I couldn’t find it again if I tried. It was completely worth it though. Inside the castle was a huge terrace that over-looked the entire city. It was beautiful. We climbed a drawbridge and went into the courtyard. From there we climbed narrow staircases up to balconies and towers and look-outs. It was like an adult playground. We climbed all over the castle to get different views of the city. So fun.
After getting utterly lost trying to find our way BACK from the castle, we finally were able to catch a tram... going the wrong way. So another tram later, we finally back-tracked our way to the hostel. It was a long day and we were very tired, but it was so much fun.
The next morning we left to catch the bus back to Caceres. Our trip home was long but uneventful, I didn't have to use my charm to talk my way onto the bus again. :) I was really really sad to leave. I could have stayed another week, or maybe a month. Or a few months... or a year. I LOVED Lisbon!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Pictures of the Canary Islands
View from our balcony
Overlooking the hotel pool area
One of the bedrooms 
Page and Michelle on our balcony
Living room
Kitchenette where we played cards every night
Dining room
Lobby
Garden
Front of the hotel
Beach 
Steph and me on our balcony 
Michelle and I
Market area
Shopping
Eating lunch at Hooters the last day 
Beach
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