VALENCIA!!! Day 3

Today is our last day in Valencia!! The breakfast staff was pretty rude to us again today... I just really miss waiters from the US. I mean, you don't have to tip here, so maybe that's why their attitudes are so different, but who knows...

Anyway, I'm still not feeling great, but I was really excited to go to the beach today!! We checked out of the hotel around 10:30, and then went straight to the beach. One of my friends and I rented a couple of lounge chairs and an umbrella on the beach so that we wouldn't have to lie in the sand. We swam in the ocean some, and relaxed in the shade some, and then around 12:40 we went over to the showers and rinsed off. We did a sort of crazy clothes changes act with people holding up towels and stuff, but finally we were all changed and ready for lunch. We ate at a sub restaurant, which was pretty good. I had a ham and brie sub, but it wasn't as good as the one I had in Porto.

We got back to the bus area around 1:45 only to find out that our bus had gotten stuck in a sandy parking lot!! He had to wait another hour and a half because it was a Sunday, and they had to find a tow truck!! We spent the time walking around the shops at the edge of the beach, and then got some ice cream at a stand. We finally got to get on the bus around 3:30. The bus ride back was pretty uneventful...I wasn't feeling great so I mostly just listened to music and looked out the window. We stopped at a gas station, and I got a coke for my headache, but then I spilled it all over me in the bus. Awesome. When we got back I had to take the metro all the way back home, carrying all my luggage.

Basically, I got home exhausted and covered with salt, sand, and coke. Now, I'm going to shower, because I have never wanted a shower so bad!!

VALENCIA!!! Day 2

I feel like crap today!! Ugh I'll probably have to go to the doctor when I get back to Madrid. But I refuse to let this ruin my good time in Valencia!!

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel, which was pretty tasty. Unfortunately the waitstaff hated us. Apparently some people put food in their bags, so they got really mad. It seemed to me like they were really surprised at how much Americans eat for breakfast too, because in Spain, breakfast is tiny!

At 10:15, the group met up and got on the buses to go to la Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias, which is essentially the part of the city that focuses on art and science. We went to the Hemisferico first, which was this huge IMAX theater that was the whole ceiling of a domed building. We watched a movie about mummies with these weird headband things that provided sound in different languages. It was kind hard to get it to work, but eventually I got mine going. It was really nice to lie there in the air-conditioning.

Next we went to the Oceanografico, which was a lot like an aquarium, plus penguins and ducks and stuff. Basically all water animals.

Next, the loaded us all back into the buses and took us to a restaurant that was right in the middle of a mall. Lunch was good!! We had two salad-like dishes, one with smoked salmon over lettuce, and the other with tomato, cheese, and anchovy. The main course was paella!! I'm not gonna lie, I was really disappointed that she didn't get seafood paella, but one of the waiters brought a little plate of it for use to try. I could have kissed him! The seafood paella was so much better than the chicken!! For desert we had some sort of flan, but we were all so full that we could barely eat it!!

We had free time for the rest of the day, so a couple friends and I went and took the double-decker tour bus around the city. It was so nice just to ride around and see everything. We got off at one stop and went to Corte Ingles because I realized I forgot my swimsuit, and then had to wait about 1/2 an hour for the bus to finally come back! It was way late!! We didn't end up having time to go to the beach that day. For dinner we went back over by the Miguelete Cathedral and found a really good tapas place!!

I really hope I feel better tomorrow...we'll be going to the beach though, so that will be fun, no matter what!!

VALENCIA!!! Day 1

I had to get up SO early this morning!! I had my mom call me at like 5:15am here (10:15pm at home) just to make sure that I'd actually get up! haha good thing I packed last night!

I got to the IES center at around 7, which was good because we had to leave at 7:15. The bus ride took FOREVER!! Probably about 6 hours total! Apparently some of the highways were closed, so we had to take back roads in an abandoned town, so all the roads were marked wrong!! We almost drove into a river, no joke. We stopped at this castle place to have a late breakfast. It was a big breakfast, which is really weird for the Spanish! It was so nice though, because they just kept bringing out these big bottles of cold water, and fresh OJ! We also had coffee, churros, toast and pastries of all kinds, and they kept bringing out different foods! I think they were trying to give us a breakfast that would be similar to one in the US. They brought out Spanish Tortillas (basically a potato omelet), chorizo (sausage), and this stuff called migas, which is like fried bread with meat in it, I think. I guess that was their version of a waffle haha

Then we got on the bus again for another couple hours before we finally got to Valencia. We checked into the hotel (Hotel Dimar) at about 2pm, and then had some free time before we had to go on our Paseo Historico (historical walk lol). Some friends and I went outside to a fountain and ate our packed lunches.

One the historical tour of the city, we saw the Plaza del Ayuntamiento (like the city center), the Plaza de Reina, Miguelete, which was this HUGH tower that we had to climb (I thought I might die, because I've been sick and my lungs are not functioning properly lol They call the bell Miguel or Miguelete. I'm not sure why, but I think it's really funny!!), a Cathedral, and Lonja (which apparently means "slice" in Spanish, but it just looked like a church to me hahaha). We saw a lot of orange trees outside one of the churches! Valencian oranges!

After the historical tour, some friends and I decided to relax for a little bit before going to a sushi restaurant near the hotel. Food was a little overpriced, but the restaurant was adorable! It was all white, silver and pink, and they little screen where you could watch them making the sushi! We got our food to go and then took the bus to the beach. I was so excited to be there!! We walked around in the water a little bit. It was my first time ever in the Mediterranean :)

The sushi was delicious!! And this lady who was walking on the beach with her little boy said "aproveche!!" which basically means, "enjoy your food!" I thought it was so nice, because people in Madrid really don't talk to people they don't know. It's been really weird for me, because in the Southwest, people are usually really friendly!!

After a while it started to rain, so we decided we'd better go back to the hotel. On the way back we got some really tasty ice cream :)

Hopefully tomorrow will be just as fun!!

Time to be a Tourist!!

After classes today, some friends and I decided that we should be really touristy! We went over to the bullfighting stadium first. Some people have already gone to see a bull fight, but I honestly don't think I could handle it. Instead, we went to the museum today. They had a lot of bull's heads up on the walls, and statues and paintings of bull fighters. Plus some of the swords they use to kill the bulls, and some of the sparkly outfits the bull fighters where. My favorite part was when we were leaving and passed by the stables! I got to peak in at all the horses!! :) I miss Jesse so much! Hopefully when I get home I'll be able to go out and ride him a lot before school starts.

We spent a lot of time taking pictures with all the statues they have outside the museum. We posed like the bull fighters!! haha it was really fun

After I went home for la Comida, I went and met up with the same group of friends, and we over to see the Basilica de San Fransisco El Grande, which is a baroque basilica that is rumored to be on the same site where Saint Francis of Assisi built a chapel is 1217! Crazy! It was so beautiful! The frescos on the ceiling were amazing! A lot of them were done by Francisco Bayeu, and Goya's The Prediction of San Bernardino of Siena for the King of Aragon is there too. I'm so glad that I got to see it while I was here :)

Next we headed over to La Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena. It was really interesting, because the decorations and everything were a lot more modern than what you would find at cathedrals in other major European cities. Apparently this is because Carlos I proposed to build the cathedral in 1518, but it wasn't even started until the 1880s, and it wasn't finished until 1992!!

We also saw the Muralla Arabe, which is over by the cathedral apse. Madrid used to have a big wall surrounding it built by the medieval Islamic rulers. Apparently some what's left of the wall (the Muralla) dates back to the 9th century! Talk about old! Other parts date back to the 12th and 13th century when Madrid was ruled by Christians.

The Palacio Real is over there too, but my friends had already seen it, and didn't want to pay to go back, so I'll have to come another time. We did see the Campo del Moro and Jardines de Sabatini, which are the huge gardens behind the castle. Very pretty! Spanish Kings really know how to garden! haha

By this time we were getting pretty hungry, so we met up with another friend, and then walked around for a long time trying to find a reasonably priced restaurant. My friend's Senora told her about this place called El Jardin Secreto, which was all thought was going to be a real garden, but it was really just an overpriced restaurant!! Food here is so much more expensive in the states. Even McDonalds and Starbucks are overpriced!

Anyway, eventually we went over to Sol and found this AMAZING tapas place called Malaespina. Me and my friend Ryan ordered croquetas de jamon (ham croquettes), chorizo con pan caliente (sausage on toasted bread), and patatas bravas (like homefries with spicy tomato sauce). It was so good, and only about 11 euros each! YUM!! The only downside was the waitress. I miss waiters in the US! Here, they hate it when you order tap water, and sometimes even refuse to bring it! And some places won't even bring you a jug of water, only glasses, so you keep having to order them, and the wait staff gets annoyed that they have to come back so many times. It's really different here because you pretty much just order your food, and if you want anything after that, including the bill, you have to get the waiter's attention and ask them to come over. I miss going to Chili's and having an endless supply of water! As most of my friends know, I drink an insane amount of water!! haha

But all in all, today was really fun, and really busy. I'd better go to bed, because tomorrow I have to get up at 5 so I can be at school on time to leave for Valencia!!

Carmen

I'm feeling pretty much the same today, but I went to classes anyway because I didn't want to miss any more. I'm a little behind in homework because we watched a movie in grammar class on both Monday and Tuesday, so I missed the second half and couldn't do the writing assignment. It shouldn't be too hard to catch up though.

I got my midterm back today and got a B+. I'm totally fine with that, because this is a summer class, and I want to have fun, not study! hahaha

Tonight was really fun, because a bunch of people got together and went to a a Flamenco Ballet of Carmen! It wasn't the opera, but it was the same story acted out as a Flamenco dance. Very cool! Now I really want to see the opera! The basic idea I got was that the Carmen fell in love with about 3 guys (because she was a major flirt), and then one of them killed her at the end. What a bummer! haha

After the show, I hung around outside talking with some friends, and the actors started to come out! It wasn't like in the US where they come out in makeup and sign autographs. They just got on their vespas and went home! haha I want a vespa so bad! But I think people in the US would just think I was a major nerd :)

Now, time for bed. Hopefully I start feeling better soon, because tomorrow I'm supposed to be touristy, and then we're going to Valencia this weekend! :)

SICK!

As predicted, I am sick today :( I didn't go to classes at all (I only missed two), but I'm honestly kinda bummed because I missed a day at the Prado. Also, I felt like I was in the way because Tuesday is the day that Ana cleans our rooms and washes our clothes. I feel like such a bum! Mostly I've just watched movies on my computer all day...hopefully tomorrow I'll be all better and won't have to go to the doctor!

Another Monday!

UGH! Monday's are the worst, no matter what country you're in! I spent yesterday recuperating from a crazy day in Toledo, but it was still really hard to get out of bed this morning. I think it's because I have 2 classes in a row on Mondays, so I at school until 1:30. After classes I came home and had La Comida and took a little siesta :)

I spent some time hanging around the house a little bit, and then my friend Selina and I decided we would go see a movie. The problem was that we wanted to see Sex and the City 2, in English with Spanish subtitles...apparently that's easier said than done!! We walked around town for about half an hour checking at several movie theaters before we thankfully ran into someone else from the program, who was able to tell us where a good theater was. We bought this tickets, which were about 5 euros (pretty much the same as they would be in the US), and then we went to McDonalds!! haha I got another one of the FIFA glasses! YAY! Only 4 more colors to go :)

The movie was pretty good! I liked the first one better, but it was really nice to do something so normal as going to the movies, which is something I do a lot with friends from back home. Unfortunately, I think I'm getting sick...I can feel my throat starting to hurt. Hopefully I won't have to go to the doctor!!