The one of the Eiffel tower at night

So I am EXTREMELY PROUD of this picture, all the more so because I took it with a $70 camera on night mode without a tripod.  I can only imagine how legit it would be with a legit camera :)  The trip was pretty  much worth it for this picture alone.  How awesome am I?!?! Ok, brag-fest is officially over.  Besides, if I was really that awesome, I would have pictures like this all the time.

The one where my legs almost fell off (Paris)

Paris Day 2 was pretty much as full as it possibly could have been.  Ok, I’m lying, if we had gone back out to see more sites after dinner, it could have been fuller, but we did our best.  We started the day in the same manner as Saturday, with our croissants and nutella, coffee, and orange juice, once again smuggling our bread into our bags.  We headed straight over to Notre Dame to get in line for the towers before they even opened around 9:45AM.  We wanted to make sure that we got to the top with as little wait as possible.  We climbed the nearly 450 steps and saw some of the best views Paris has to offer.  One of the great things about city center is how nearly all the buildings stay true to Paris’s architectural style.  It really gives the place a definite feeling of “Paris,” rather than the placelessness that seems to permeate so many cities today.  After we went up to the bell towers, we went inside, which was really fascinating, as a church service in French was going on.  The perimeter inside was separated so that people could walk around and see all the various altars and stained glass.  If you happen to be reading this, Memere, I lit a candle and said a prayer especially for you and Pepere J 

Next we headed off to the Pantheon, which I am pretty sure is the old government building.  Whatever it used to be, it is quite impressive with classical architecture, all columns, domes and such.  The crypt was really neat as well, with the tombs of well-known French people, like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Madame Curie.  That would be awesome to be so important as to warrant a special tomb that people from all over the world come to visit you at.  After we tried to go to Pompidou center, which is another art museum, and currently has a large Salvador Dali exhibit going on (one of my favorite artists), but there was like an hour wait to get into the museum and another 90 minutes for the Dali exhibit, so we moved on.  The outside of Pompidou was cool too though, it looked like it had one of those hamster tunnels attached to the side ;)

Next on the list was the Arc du Triomphe.  Marissa had kept saying how small it was, but her memory obviously deceived her because it was extremely tall and had excellent views.  By this point, my legs can attest to its height because they burned more and more with each passing step.  It was windy and worth it J 

We made our way over to the Louvre, taking our time to enjoy our light lunch along with way.  Masha had plans to go out salsa-dancing that night, so we took the obligatory outside pictures and she headed back to the hotel to rest her worn-out legs while Marissa and I tackled the Louvre.  When people say that you could spend days, weeks, months even in the Louvre, they aren’t kidding, but we managed to see the biggest things for us in less than 90 minutes.  We made our way through the French statues, the Renaissance tapestries, and the Egyptian art to see Hammurabi’s code, which was pretty cool and definitely steeped in history.  Next we rushed over to Venus de Milo, followed by the Wedding Feast and the Mona Lisa.  We didn’t stay any one place very long, but I was impressed by the ancient greek sculptures the most.  My favorite was probably the Wedding Feast; I just love the style of painting from that period (Renaissance I think).  We tripped the light fantastic toe (supposedly our Spanish/English dictionary thinks this is a suitable translation for saltar, which is really to dance or leap) through the Spanish paintings and headed out. 

The Wedding Feast

Our day was finally winding down as we headed to L’Orangerie, the home of Monet’s water lilies.  Our Museum pass let us bypass the long line, and we were in within minutes.  As expected, they were breathtaking.  Monet always makes me think of this painting Mom & Dad had hanging above their bed when I was little, pretty sure it was Monet and some variation of water lilies.  Anyways, I digress. I could have sat in there listening to classical music and reading one of the classics for hours, but on we continued. Last official stop of the day, and pretty much the trip, was Musee Rodin home of the ‘The Kiss,’ ‘The Thinker,’ and ‘Gates of Hell.’ I am glad we went, but honestly I was so tired that I would have sat down on a bench and fallen asleep if it wasn’t so gosh darn cold.  We contemplated one more stop, but we were sooooo done, so back to the hotel we went. 

It is amazing how an hour of lying down can rejuvenate you, as was the case with us.  We interneted it up and then decided to seek out some more of those mouth-watering crepes.  On the way, we made a detour down the street to take a gander at the infamous Moulin Rouge.  As we walked the street, I couldn’t help but think of another trip not too long ago to Las Vegas and to a certain friend (Alyssa) who would have thought this the best place on earth.  Sometimes you go so far away to realize what you have right there at home…We got our crepes, the exact same as Saturday (what can I say, I am a creature of habit), and returned to the warmth of our hotel room. 

And what was the best part of our trip?  I never feel like I can pick just one part, but the highlights.  Laughs and jokes with friends, French crepes straight out of the pan, going to bed and waking up warm, FaceTiming with Katie and Chelsea, and experiencing a place that is different from anywhere I have ever been before.  All in all, it was worth every penny.

The one where Marissa put her ticket in the wrong hole (Paris)

We definitely started our morning off right with a free breakfast of croissants and nutella with coffee and orange juice.  We also hid our buttered rolls in our bags to eat at lunch time.  We made our way to the Metro and bought our day passes, while also trying to figure out where we could buy a 2-day Museum pass that would let us get into all the sites we wanted to without paying anything more.  In the end, we connected through like 6 trains/metros before finally arriving at the right stop for the Palace of Versailles. 

Two side notes about the journey: First, on the way we had to buy special to and return tickets from city center to Palace of Versailles, so we disembarked from the train at the edge of city center and exited the metro to buy our tickets.  Masha bought all six tickets, and then we paid her back.  Masha and I put our tickets in and made it inside, and the next thing we know, “Guys, I think I put my ticket in the wrong hole…” Marissa had somehow put her ticket into a random crack instead of the ticket reader, losing it for all eternity! We almost died laughing, and Marissa had to buy a new ticket. Oops! Glad it wasn’t me for once. Second, I really enjoying having a conversation with other people who understand everything I say and who I don’t have to speak abnormally slowly and enunciated for.  We talked to this group of women on the metro about what we have been doing in Spain, and it was really nice.  I even gave a woman some tips for her middle-school aged daughter about what to do with her curly hair! I love Spanish- and French-speakers, but I really love me some English-speakers.

Hall of Mirrors

The Palace of Versailles and the gardens were amazing.  As much as they are superfluous and over-the-top unnecessary, they are awesome! And I wish that we had something like that in the States.  One of the things that seems to impress me the most is always the ceilings.  The paintings and designs that they put on the ceilings in these palaces are certainly something to behold.  My favorite place there was probably the Hall of Mirrors, which had me singing a song from ‘Anastasia.’ I also loved the hall of paintings from various battles.  There was one of the siege at Yorktown with George Washington which was a nice reminder of home. 

George Washington and the siege at Yorktown 1781

After, we hit up the Eiffel tower, which was neat, but mostly we went because you have to.  I was really glad we did because the obligatory pictures are awesome! We elected not to go up because we didn’t want to walk and we weren’t going to pay to take the elevator up.  Next we headed to the Musee d’Orsay which is an old railroad station that has been converted into an art gallery.  We saw some of Van Gogh’s paintings, which were really neat, though I really liked the awesome rail station clock and the miniature statue of liberty. 

Pont Neuf

Our last officially planned stop of the day was Notre Dame.  Awe-inspiring to say the least, and even better because it was over-looking the river.  We were going to go up in the bell towers, but the line was closed for the day.  Regardless, we took some very nice pictures and decided to come back.  On the way back home we decided to walk by Pont Neuf, which to us was the bridge from the Bourne Identity scene.  It was pretty epic, and became even more epic when I later read that it is the oldest bridge in Paris and an actual site (lol). It wasn’t just us; while we were there, some other American tourists were there to see the Bourne Identity bridge.

Sacre-Coeur

Our crepe God

The metro to our hotel overshot it a bit, so we went to Sacre-Coeur, a basilica very near our hotel.  It was extremely beautiful at sunset and we got some great pictures of the city from the top of the hill.  After a rest for our feet and our bodies, we headed out to find some dinner.  We all ate these amazing crepes, one Chicken and Cheese and one Nutella.  They were soooooo good, and I watched the cook’s technique, so with the right tools, I could totally replicate!  All in all, a Parisian-perfect day!!

The one with Sandy's checked bag

Today we slowly made our way all the way from Zafra to Paris.  I always thought the Europe was relatively small; Oh, once you are there, it is easy to get anywhere.  That may be true, but only if you are living in a major metropolis.  Marissa and I leave our flat around 9:45 to meet up with Masha and to get on the 10:10 bus to Sevilla.  Nearly two hours later we arrive in Sevilla and then took a taxi to the airport, nearly 40 minutes away.  Then we had to get checked in at our airline, Vueling.  This is where the complications really started.  You see, I had looked up the bag requirements for RyanAir, supposedly the most stringent in Europe.  To check in at the ticket counter, they make you weight all bags (even carry-ons) and everyone must put them in a “basket” type thing to make sure they fit.  My width (less than 8 inches) was fine, my length-no problem, but my height was maybe half a centimeter two big because of my stupid wheels.  I nearly ripped them off but paid the 25€ fee to check the back instead. 

I set off the alarms at security and had to be patted down (read: physically assaulted).  All in all, we made it through security, though I left some of my dignity, as well as my luggage, behind.  We had another hour before our flight, so we relaxed and ate the bocadillos (bread and chorizo) that we had brought along with us.  The flight was mostly uneventful.  The altitude got to me, as it always does, and I passed out within minutes after take-off.  The unfortunate thing is that it makes me so groggy, but it is impossible to sleep well on an airplane. Oh well.  At the airport, we had to discover the cheapest way to make it into the city from an airport that almost can’t really be considered a “Paris” airport.  We took an almost 90 minute bus into the city, followed by another 20-30 minutes on the metro before finally arriving at Hotel Luxia. 

We manage to check-in, despite our limited French and their limited English and head up to our third floor room.  We open the door to discover that the beds have been slept in by somebody else, Goldilocks perhaps.  We make our way back down to attempt to communicate this to the hotel staff.  The desk clerk gets on the phone and starts jabbering away in French.  Finally, they tell us that they will give us clean sheets and towels, but it looks like it is up to us to make our own beds.  Sigh.  At least they gave us the internet password for free to make it up to us.  We finally got into the room, made our beds, and headed out to find dinner.  We walked a good ways up the main street but quickly realized that Paris was already living up to its reputation of being extremely food snobby and expensive.  We settled for a café/fast foodesque place, where I got a kebab and french fries that we took back to the room to eat.  After, we relaxed and planned out the next day, heading to sleep relatively early.  Despite some bumps along the way, can’t complain too much, we are in Paris after all :D

The one with a Zafra Thanksgiving

To put it mildly, Thanksgiving here in Zafra was AWESOME! Thursdays here are usually a good day because I don’t have class until the afternoon.  I spent the morning running errands and picking up all the delicious foods we needed for our Thanksgiving feast. At school, I taught my third and fourth years about the history of Thanksgiving and how we celebrate today, by a big feast with friends and family, some good American football, and a nap.  We also watched a youtube video of someone making a pumpkin pie that definitely made my mouth water and my stomach grumble.

After school, I headed to my favorite café, Restaurante Ramirez, for a café con leche and a Thanksgiving skype session with my family.  Everyone was there (Mom, Dad, Maggie, and Jenny) except Katie, who was spending Thanksgiving with the Rose family.  Because they are all coming to Europe for Christmas, I had them open their presents, which was really fun.  Dad got a SCUBA book with 100 of the best dive sites. I made Mom a ribbon/pearl necklace and bracelet.  Maggie got a set of greeting cards and a book of 116 things to do before she graduates UVA.  Katie got a book on Marriage and Finances, and I made Jenny a slideshow of family pictures put to Disney songs that Maggie and I sang for her.  It was a blast watching Jenny watch her slideshow, and I can’t wait to give all of them big hugs in a little more than three weeks.

At home again, I began preparation for Thanksgiving dinner.  I am the main cook of the group, and since Marissa and I were hosting, I was in charge of the turkey, gravy, candied yams, and corn.  Masha and Rebecca came over around eight, bringing a fantastic salad, apple crisp, and wine with them.   We listened to some Christmas music and began the feast, which lasted over three hours.  It was a fantastic time, just talking and laughing around the table, eating until we were all unbuckling our belts to make room.  I made the candied yams completely from scratch, and based on the reviews, they were the best candied yams on the whole planet.  The party broke up around midnight because we were headed to Paris in the AM J Happy Thanksgiving to all, and I hope that yours were filled with as much joy and thanks as mine!!

BTW, I have been thinking about the show “Friends” a lot, so don’t be surprised when my blog posts have suddenly taken on a “Friends” theme!!

Thanksgiving package

I was just getting back from the market when I saw the mailman walking up the street to his car. I rushed inside to check and see if we had gotten anything. He had left a notice saying that he had tried to deliver a package. Since we weren't home, you have to go pick up the package at the post office. With bread and shopping bag in hand, I literally chased the mailman up the street to get my package! And let me just say that it was sooooo worth it! Thanks mom to an awesome Thanksgiving package!!! My feet thank you for my new wool socks, my tummy for the molasses cookies, and my boredom for the 19 random movies! Love you :)

Lessons and pen pals

Private lessons are going exceptionally well. I enjoy teaching, and I feel like I can really make a difference for these people when we are able to work so closely. I am exceptionally impressed with the six second years I work with. I can't believe this is only their second year studying English intensely.

Another thing that has got my excited is a project I have been working on with a teacher from the United States. We are setting up penpals, probably for my second and third years. I am super psyched for them to get to communicate with Americans closer to their own age. The possibilities are endless! We haven't decided what form and to what extent the communication will take place, but it should be an amazing opportunity for them! Stay tuned for more details on this seriously awesome intercontinental cultural exchange!!

At the Weekend

This weekend we elected to stay in Zafra to relax and save some money for a big trip we are going to take in a couple of weeks.  It was nice to enjoy some peace and quiet after going and going for several weeks in a row.  Saturday we met up for drinks with a big group that included almost all of the auxiliares in Zafra, Marissa, Masha, Rebecca, Danielle, Kelsey, Sev, and I.  Afterwards, we headed over to a bar to enjoy a comedy show.  Enjoy it I did, though I really didn't understand what was going on.  Saturday  night we had Rebecca and Masha over to our flat to play Apples to Apples and enjoy some wine & tinto de verano.  Neither of them had played before, so we had a good time teaching them the rules. 

Sunday we headed to the gypsy market that is held every Sunday on the outskirts of Zafra.  It is amazing the sorts of the things that people buy at these markets.  There is basically every type of clothes that you could possibly want, food, toys, things for the home.  It was beautiful out (i.e. not raining), but the wind was sooooo cold. 

At the market I bought two new scarves and a hat, all for seven euros! What a deal!! I can hardly believe that at home, many times I would have to pay $15 for a scarf.  At least now I know how to make my own scarves, and when I have access to a sewing machine again, I am going scarf crazy! Speaking of crazy, they say that it doesn't get cold here, but I was freezing outside this morning in my wool coat and scarf, not to mention I slept with my hat on last night.  Maybe cold doesn't mean the same thing here, kind of like afternoon doesn't actually start here until like 3-4pm.  All I know is that I am cold all the time, even if it isn't "cold" here!

Brrrrrr!

Playing in the snow, you ask? Nope, just chilling in our freezing cold flat! It was almost warm for a moment this morning, but then I did laundry. And since I am jinxed it had to rain. And so once again, it is sooooo cold!

Read a book!

Today I went to the library at my school to figure out how to check out books. In the end I got a library card! It isn't a very big library, but they have Love In the Time of Cholera (in spanish) which I can't remember if I have already read. I'll either start it and recognize it and stop or I will read it for the first time. Either way, yay books!!

Day 3--Lisboa

 Saturday was devoted to seeing the sites in Lisboa and so we bought a 24-hour transportation card that allowed us to use the Metro, buses, and trams for €5.  Best decision of our lives.  Even with access to all public transit, we still walked for what felt like miles on our already sore and tired legs. We had a difficult time deciding what to go see because, as is common in most big tourist-oriented cities, everything costs money.  In the end, we decided to go see everything and then decide at each site if we felt like paying to see the inside in addition to the outside. 

We started our morning in the neighborhood of Alfama.  It is one of the oldest areas of Lisboa and is known as the heart of soul of the city.  To say the least, it was gorgeous.  We stopped in at several Cathedrals in the area to take a look, and they were breath-taking.  The Catholic faith may not specifically speak to me, but you walk into those churches and it is like heaven itself is there.  We also walked through Feira de Ladras (which means Thieves’ Market).  It is totally legal today but very interesting to walk through.  After that, we headed over to el Castelo do Sao Jorge (Castle of St. George).  We had seen it in the distance from the train station the day before, but we wanted to see if we could take a closer look.  Ultimately we didn’t get to see the castle up close, but we got to see some great views from the castle gate which was open to the public and in the surrounding area that we walked trying to find the castle. 

Church Number 1

Monasterio do Jeronimo

 Next we headed clear across town on a bus to the neighborhood of Belem where several important sites are located.  First we saw el Monasterio de Jeronimo (Geronimo’s Monistary) which is absolutely ginormous.  It was definitely impressive.  Then we headed towards the shore of el Tejo (the river) to see la Torre de Belem (Tower).  Honestly, we were not that impressed.  It was beautiful, but it wasn’t that tall.  I was more excited about being so close to the water!  There was also a pretty impressive bridge, reminiscent of the Golden Gate Bridge, and a tower/statue with some pretty impressive sculptures. 

Marissa, Masha and I with la Torre de Belem behind us

Giant monument/sculpture by the river

By this point, we were fairly exhausted and had to pull ourselves by our bootstraps to continue, but there was one more place we wanted to visit.  We headed back to the northeast on a bus/tram to see la Basilica Estrela (a Church) that was absolutely positively wonderful, probably the most impressive of the three we saw.  It was difficult to get good outside pictures because there were trees in the way, but both the outside and the inside were imposing/inspiring. 

Finally, two trams and two metro lines later we made it back to our hostel, tired and satisfied.  Marissa and I wanted one more meal somewhere, so we went online and tried to find a local Portuguese restaurant, but the closest one we found ended up being closed.  In the end, we “settled” for a Turkish kebab place, which was not settling at all because it was fan-freaking-tastic.  It is amazing how good food tastes after a long day of walking around! 

All in all, Portugal, Lisbon, and Sintra were AH-mazing! It was great to get to see another culture so close to the one we have been experiencing.  It was an eye-opening experience at how accustomed I have become to addressing people in Spanish and how difficult it can be to travel when you don’t know any of the language.  I had the hardest time remembering to say Thank you or Obrigadad (Portuguese thank you) instead of Gracias.  I wonder what it will be like once I return to the states!

Day 2—Trip to Sintra

Arriving in Sintra

On our second day in Portugal we decided to take a day trip to the nearby town of Sintra.  Everyone who has been to the Lisbon area suggests it, and it was definitely worth a visit.  We walked from our hostel to city center (which was beautiful and open) in order to find the train station that would take us to Sintra.  We needed to eat something for breakfast so we stopped at a café that didn’t look too busy and ordered our Spanish usual, café con leche y tostada con mermelada (coffee with milk and toast with jam).  I learned something new because the food arrived, and the coffee tasted watery.  The reason is because it was more like American coffee with the coffee brewed with water instead of the Spanish version in which café con leche is brewed in an espresso-type machine and then combined with steamed milk.  The mermelada was all fancy and came in little glass jars and the bread was like American sandwich bread and not the baguette that we are used to.  We had a feeling we were in trouble money-wise, and we were, spending more than €5 a person for such a simple breakfast (compare it to our freaking awesome chicken).  Welcome to tourist restaurants!

Stone staircase

We made it to Sintra without too much trouble, though figuring out how to order tickets at self-serve ticket stations that really only know Portuguese proved disastrous.  Right off the train, Sintra seemed wonderful.  We followed the masses and quickly surmised that the main sites to see were the Castelo de Moros y Palacio de Pena.  The bus station was located in the valley, and the sites were at the top of what was basically a mountain, so we started walking up street after cobblestone street.  Eventually we came to a stone staircase/path that was supposed to lead to the Castle.  It had some gorgeous views, and you could see the towns nearby spread out before us, but it was definitely a hike and some layers of clothing were removed in the process. 

 

El Castelo de Moros like all the castles we have visited was really cool! I wouldn’t necessarily say that it was my favorite because of the fact that it wasn’t free and was really crowded with tourists (not that we are locals or anything), but it was beautiful.  We could see all the way to the Atlantic Ocean from the top!  I wanted to visit, but we didn’t have time since we were really only in Lisboa for two days. 

Palacio de Pena

Next we headed to el Palacio de Pena.  I am not sure if Pena means pain in Portuguese like it does in Spanish, but that is what we joked because a pretty significant amount of pain was going on by the time we made it there.  Unfortunately by this time the fog was rolling it, but it was still really neat to see. The colors would normally be really bright yellows and red.  The Palace is where the royal family resided during the 1800s and possibly other times, but I am not sure.  The outside was extremely impressive, and we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside. 

El Palacio looking creepy in the fog

Me, excited to be eating chicken again

Finally with the energy that we could still muster we walked carefully down the cobblestone streets and back down the mountain in the rain.  We could have taken a bus, but determination (stubbornness) and resistance to falling into the tourist traps forced us to persist.  We headed back to Lisboa and to a second night of that amazing chicken for dinner.  Honestly it was so good that I would go back to Lisboa just for the chicken.  We were so tired that we chilled in our room and went to bed by 10.  

Day 1—Journey to Portugal

Following the disappointing news that we were not going to be able to get tickets to see the Alhambra in Granada this weekend, Marissa, Masha, and I changed our plans at the last minute and decided to head to Lisbon, Portugal! Can I just say what a fabulous decision it was! Despite the fact that it was off and on raining while we there, we had a wonderful time, and it was great to get to do some exploring in a new country.

Marissa, Masha & I sans Masha's passport

We had Thursday and Friday off of school for Día de los Santos, so we headed to Merida on Thursday morning to catch the bus to Lisboa from there.  We were getting close when suddenly Masha looked over at us and told us she had a strange question for us.  Did we have our passports?  Thankfully, we did, but unfortunately she did not.  Thus when we got to Merida we began trying to find a way for Masha to get back to Zafra and then also to Lisboa that day, while we were going to continue on to Lisboa and check in to the hostel (there were fewer buses than normal because of the holiday).  In the end, Francisco (information booth guy and Masha’s future husband) helped Masha find a bus to Sevilla that would stop and pick up passengers in Zafra (though not drop them off because another bus company has a monopoly to the stop in Zafra).  So we head off to Lisboa, and Masha headed off to Zafra on the bus to Sevilla, with the plan that she would head to Lisboa on the 1AM bus and meet us at the hostel around 5AM.

El Tejo-bridge to Portugal

We got to Lisboa without anyone problems, though the bus ride was long, and we were definitely tired of sitting by the time we got there.  We then had to figure out the Metro system to get to our hostel. Keep in mind that everything is now in Portuguese, which is similar to Spanish but also more different than you would think.  Eventually we made our way there without too much hassle and checked into the hostel, but we were now starving. 

Portugal's best chicken

We started walking the streets nearby and eventually came upon this smell that was probably the best thing I have smelled since coming to Spain. We glance at a menu outside the restaurant, which strategically has their grill in the window, and in the process learn some Portuguese because they had the English translations.  We decided to eat there and both want the ½ Frango c/ Batatas e Arroz (otherwise known as half of a chicken with potatoes and rice), but we don’t know how to pronounce words and have no clue what half might be in Portuguese.  We are “this” close to pulling the framed menu off the wall to point at what we want, when Marissa has this brilliant idea to type it into a note on her Ipod (gotta love technology <3).  So we order and wait for it to be ready.  It is only when one of the cooks asks another customer if he wants chili spices (in English) that we realize all of our efforts and worries were for nothing.  Finally, we took the food back to our room and dig in to what was one of the best meals I have ever had in my entire life for €5.  It was probably enough food for two or three people, but I ate every last bite.  Dinner was followed by some Criminal Minds and early to bed. 

Masha, happy to finally be in bed!

I woke up in the middle of the night to a knock on our door.  We opened the door to an exhausted Masha.  The bus to Sevilla that was supposed to stop in Zafra to drop off passengers had not stopped after all because the attendant in Merida had sold Masha at ticket to the express bus instead.  So Masha rode the bus three hours to Sevilla then had to ride the two hours back to Zafra to pick up her passport only to catch the bus back to Merida to leave for Lisboa.  Luckily she had a good sense of humor about it, but she was definitely happy to crawl into bed (as were we all)!