Live, Laugh, Love, Lisbon

Welcome to Lisbon!

Sister to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fran

This past weekend, my roommates and two other friends from school decided to stop over next door and check out Portugal for the weekend.  We arrived in Lisbon early Friday morning at about 8am.  At this point, we all had slightly different agendas as some of the girls had to register for classes in the afternoon.  Steph and I, having no school obligations, decided to go check out the beach that the hostel had recommended to us.  A mere half an hour later, we found ourselves relaxing on the beautiful beach of Cascais on the western most coast of Europe.  The weather was beautiful and hot and Steph enjoyed the day soaking up the sun (luckily we remembered the sunscreen) and only took a break to get a sandwich and pitcher of sangria to split.

Steph and I headed to the beach

Cascais

That night, we met up with the rest of the girls at the hostel and enjoyed a hostel-made dinner of a famous Portugal dish involving Bacalou (codfish) and it was absolutely delicious.  We met two guys from Canada who were possibly the funniest duo I have met on this Euro adventure thus far.  They were like a comedy act playing off one another and kept us entertained all night.  Interestingly enough, they thought my Minnesotan accent was the funniest which is ironic seeing as how I was by far the closest in proximity to them back home.  They got a kick out of how we supposedly turn the o's in words like hockey or coffee into an 'a' sound... go figure.

New friends at the hostel taught us the After Eight challenge

Goal: get the thin mint from your forehead to your mouth without using hands

On Saturday, we woke up and were all set and ready to go on the 10am "We Hate Tourism Tour" we had booked which everyone who had been to Lisbon was raving about...too bad the tour was actually at 9am and the time was wrong on the website.  Needless to say, we missed the tour and were pretty upset about it and made sure to give the tour group an earful about having the correct information posted online.  After ensuring that we got our money refunded, we decided to roll with the punches and took off for the beach once again.  After a full day on the beach with lots of shenanigans, we all came back to the hostel with battle wounds of sunburns in places where we forgot to reapply.  Personally, aside from the random splotches, my feet looked like two raw slabs of meat... still recovering from that one.  That night we ate with the hostel again and met some British guys from the Cambridge field hockey team who taught us all sorts of games we had never played before.  We went out with them to see what the Portugal night life was all about. After braving the insane crowds we realized that mingling with the entire Portuguese population and getting shoved, stepped on and hissed at (guys will do this in lieu of whistling essentially) was not conducive to our idea of a fun evening on the town so we headed back a little early.

Nursing sunburns after a day at the beach

On Sunday, we had no real agenda planned so we decided to take a ferry across the river (the river leads into the ocean just a little ways down) to a town called Costa do Caparica.  We spent the day wandering around town and then went to the coast once again to enjoy one of the longest beaches in Europe.  The weather was once again beautiful but as we were all still suffering from the pains of the previous day, we made sure to stay a little more covered up.

The ferry we took

Lexi and I on the ferry

The whole crew at Costa do Caprica

Ridin' Solo

That leaves me here today, quite a bit tanner but still recovering from some lingering sunburns and looking at the daunting task of packing for spring break which begins this Friday...

I (am)sterdam

At the beginning of this semester on our trip to Sevilla, we met a girl from Amsterdam named Guusje (we call her Holly from Holland as we could not form the sounds that make up her actual name) who told us if we were ever in her city that she could put us up.  So, my roommate Steph and her friend Leah took her up on her offer and we able to spend the weekend with a true Dutch.

We got to the airport at around 1:00am and got to spend a lovely evening attempting to sleep cramped up on the benches outside our gate.  Our flight left at 5:55am and needless to say we all headed straight for the coffee upon arriving in Amsterdam.  Right away, all three of us fell in love with the city.  The canals and houses that are slightly crooked that surround them and the bikes everywhere you look provide for some beautiful aesthetics.  As if that weren't enough to capture our hearts, the Dutch people were honestly the most friendly and happy people I have ever met.  They all speak English and were more than happy to help us find our way and go out of their way to ask if we needed anything.

Canals and Crooked Houses

Bikes everywhere!

After coffee, we walked around for a little bit just enjoying the atmosphere of the city and then went to meet up with Holly after she got off work at 1:00pm.  Her house is about a 15min bus ride from the center of the city which really wasn't too bad.  We put our stuff down in her cute, little apartment and then she took us to get Rookwurst (a very typical Dutch food, Rook meaning smoked)  and from there we went walked to the Van Gogh museum.  The paintings were obviously mostly by Van Gogh, a Dutch post-impressionist, but also included Manet, Monet and even an exhibition on Picasso in Paris which was really awesome to see.

Van Gogh Paintings

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After that, we decided to walk to meet up with Holly at one of the squares for dinner so that we could take in more of the city.  We got pasta and then went over to the Red Light District just to see what all the tourist hub was about. That was an interesting experience to say the least and one time through was definitely enough of a "cultural" experience for me.  At this point, it was around 9pm and while in Madrid, we'd be eating dinner, it was time to go out on the town.  We went to a Dutch birthday party with Holly at one of the bars in the center of town and got to meet a whole bar full of Dutch people.  Once again, they proved to be super nice and fun to hang out with.  There were a lot of blondes, a rare sight in Spain, and I have never felt so short in my life (and that's saying something) as the average girl was around 5'8 and I don't think I saw a guy under 6'2.

The next morning, we woke up early and went to the Anne Frank house to try to avoid the inevitably long lines and only had to wait about 45 minutes which really wasn't too bad.  While in line, we talked to the people behind us and one of the women was from LA and had two kids in college who were planning to study abroad.  We chatted with her for awhile about our experience and then she surprised us by paying for our tickets, which was so nice of her.  The museum itself was an amazing experience.  I read the Diary of Anne Frank in 3rd grade for the first time and have been interested in her story ever since and I loved being able to see the house where she actually was in hiding.  The museum was super well done with a good balance of reading, artifacts, and video supplements and personal testimonies from Otto Frank, Anne's father.

After the museum, we went and got the first bagels that we have seen since coming to Europe and supplemented by Chai tea lattes, we were in 7th heaven.  After filling our stomachs, we set out for a warm, sunny day in the city.  We walked around and went to the flower markets and saw the colorful tulips that Holland is famous for.  We meandered through town and wound up at a park where we hung out and people watched for awhile.  Later, we went on a tour of the Heineken Brewery which was really cool.  We learned how Heineken was made and went on this cool 4-D virtual experience of the whole process which was really fun and interesting.  At the end, we got two Heinekens as a part of the deal and enjoyed those before setting out for dinner.

Flower Market along one of the canals

People watching in the park

        

The e's in Heineken are called the smiling e's (good marketing)

Water + Barley + Hops+ Yeast = Heineken

 I left Amsterdam at 3:30am and with a lot of help from the locals managed to make it to the airport in time to catch my 6:00am flight which of course had multiple delays.  I would like to thank our friend Guusje for taking us in for the weekend and showing us her beautiful city, which I am now in love with..

Farewell Amsterdam...Until we meet again!

Field Trip: Explorations in the South with Spanish418

This past weekend for my Spanish Culture and Civilization class we took a class trip to southern Spain to see the sights of Granada and Cordoba.  So, at 8:30am on Friday morning I hopped on a fancy bus with big leather seats with my professor and 20 other classmates and embarked on the 5 hour journey to our first stop in Granada.

We arrived in Granada at around 2:00pm and put our bags in our 4-star hotel (they charged us an arm and a leg for this trip so I guess that's where all our money went).  Right away, we all met in the lobby and went on a guided Spanish tour through some of the older parts of town and through the chapel and cathedral, both of which were very pretty.

Outside the Cathedral of Granada

Inside

After the tour, we went and explored the hippie-Moroccan-gypsy part of the city which was super cool and we saw a few hippie vans fully equipped with beds and dressers.  We got some dinner at a little restaurant we found which had delicious eastern European food and a fun atmosphere.  We hung out for awhile and walked around town then decided we should head back as we had a long day ahead of us.

Saturday morning, we woke up to our first breakfast buffet we've had the luxury to have in Spain thus far.  After being used to eating a piece of toast and cup of coffee EVERY morning, the array of eggs, bacon, fruit, and everything else you can imagine was a real treat.  Of course, being on the Spanish schedule, we left a little later than planned but finally we began our tour of the much anticipated Alhambra, the most visited site in Spain.  The Alhambra is a huge palace and fortress that was built under the Islamic rule and then taken over by the Catholics as the last Spanish city to be conquered by them in 1492.  It has beautiful and intricate Islamic architecture and is set in a heavily wooded area with pathways and gardens surrounding it.  It was the perfect day to enjoy such an amazing piece of Spanish history, with no clouds in the sky and temperatures in the 70's, although I did manage to get a decent sunburn unfortunately.

Some of the class in front of the Alhambra in the distance

Professor learning about Castanets

Kenzie and I outside of the Alhambra

View of the City

The Alhambra reflection pool

Right after this visit, we were all shuffled onto the bus again and headed out to the next stop on our trip, Cordoba, about 2 hours away.  Upon arriving there, we had the whole night free so we decided to grab some dinner and walk around.  While we were eating, a girl in our class informed us that she found a Flamenco show down the street from our hotel that she goes to with her father every year.  She said the man who runs the place remembered her and offered us all half-price tickets to the show.  Not having experienced this part of Spanish culture yet, I, along with many other classmates, jumped at the opportunity.  At 10:30pm we all went to the show which included a glass of wine and we learned that the performers were actually award winning dancers and so we were really lucky to even be able to see them at all.  Needless to say, the show was amazing, with the guitars and singers and the intricate dresses and dance moves.  This was a great way to experience the traditions of Spain and I am so glad I got to see such an amazing performance.  Two hours later, though, I was ready for bed and a little bummed that it had finally reached the date of Spanish daylight saving's time and we would be losing an hour of sleep.

Welcome to Cordoba

Flamenco Show

Favorite act of the night

Ole!

After missing our alarm, Kenzie and I did manage to run downstairs and make it in time to eat some of the amazing breakfast before heading out for the day.  We met up with our tour guide outside of the hotel and went across the street to the main site of Cordoba, the Mezquita.  The Mezquita was originally built as a Muslim mosque in the 8th century and then when the Catholics conquered the Muslims in the Reconquista in the 15th century, they captured it and turned it into a cathedral.  Inside the Mezquita is the most amazing combination of Moorish-Muslim style which transitions into plateresco Renaissance grandeur of the Catholics.  It is almost like walking through completely different buildings and feels a little bit like a time warp with such stark contrast in styles and yet both are beautiful in their own way.

Bell tower of the Mezquita

Muslim influence

Little bit of Muslim/Catholic mix

Transitioning styles

Catholic chapel inside the Mezquita

Goodbye Cordoba!

After this tour, we had enough time to grab some lunch and then we were on our way back to Madrid.  At this point we were all tired and ready to be home, but of course, Spanish law says that you have to stop for half an hour for every given amount of time (I'm not sure the exact law) so we had to stop twice for half an hour each to allow our bus driver to leisurely eat, watch a bit of futbol, and smoke a cigarette.  Needless to say we were all pretty grumpy by this second stop and were so happy when we finally got home to Madrid!

Madrid: Yes, I do Actually Still Live Here...

Looking back on all of my posts, it dawned on me that I have very little on here about Madrid as I have been mostly talking about my travels to various other locations.  I do, however, spend most of my time in Madrid but I figured countless blog posts about my classes would result in losing my small but loyal following.  Finally, I have some points of interest from my "hometown" to talk about though so here goes.

So, for a few days I had been passing the Palace on my runs and I noticed that they were building some sort of temporary clear building outside it on the plaza and I was thinking that maybe there was going to be a concert or something but I wasn't sure.  Then, one night we came home from class and the building was finished and there was a red carpet rolled out down our street from said building into the Opera house which is across the street from us.  There was a large crowd outside despite the rain and a lot of police and guards at all the doors and lining the gated red carpet.  We had no idea what was going on until we asked our host mom who told us that the event being hosted was the Premios Goyas which are the Spanish Academy Awards, the biggest film award show in Spain and all of the famous actresses and actors and such were there.  So, from our balcony we got to watch all of them walk down the red carpet and even though I didn't recognize a single one, it was still really cool to witness just knowing that everyone else knew who they were.

The Academy Awards!
Couldn't get great shots from the balcony, not that I would have recognized anyone anyway...

On Thursday, I went to my first European futbol (soccer) game- Real Madrid vs. Malaga.  We got the cheapest nosebleed seats we could get which were still 20 euro but it was something I was told I had to experience and I am very glad that I did.  Now Madrid has two futbol clubs, Real Madrid and Atletico, and you support one or the other and by support I mean you are a die hard fan with a bitter rivalry against whichever Madrid team you don't support.  My knowledge really only went about that far, but it was explained to me that Real Madrid is like the Yankees of Spanish soccer.  They are very commercialized, wealthier, and more well-known but in general I guess their fans are pompous and obnoxious.  I, however, had a fantastic experience at my first game and loved all of the chants and cheers of the fans.  Despite being in the fourth tier, I got to watch Cristiano Ronaldo score a sweet goal on a penalty kick.  At another point, he got a goal off a header and my roommate Liz turns to me and goes "DID YOU JUST SEE THAT? HE HEAD-BUTTED IT IN FOR A GOAL!!!?"  I thought that was pretty hilarious, needless to say, she had never played soccer before.  Madrid won the game 7-0 and the bantering from Madrid fans to the Malaga fans was ruthless but very entertaining.  The atmosphere was super energetic and everyone was so into the game, I now hope to make it to an Atletico game to see for myself the difference.

Cristiano Ronaldo (my future husband) #7 on the field but #1 in my heart..

"He headbutted it in!"

No mercy.

Malaga made a valiant effort but it's hard to keep up with the big leaguers.

Real Madrid C.F.

While my friends back home were busy celebrating Mardi Gras this weekend, we here in Spain were celebrating Carnaval which is essentially their version of Mardi Gras mixed with Halloween.  All weekend, there are crazy festivals and everyone from kids to adults are dressed up in costumes from Disney princesses to witches to Mardi Gras-esque jokers.  On Saturday, we went to a huge parade in Parque Retiro and saw some really cool floats and costumes.  Our favorite by far was this crew of kids from age like 12 to 16 dressed up as nuns and priests and cardinals doing a fantastically choreographed dance down the street to "Everybody Dance Now" blaring from the truck.  From there, everyone goes out to this huge night club in Casa del Campo (a park on the outskirts of town) and that was fun but a little overwhelming in sheer size and number of young adults all in one place.  On our way back, we finally caved and got our first Spanish McDonald's meal, only because everything else was closed.  I had my first Happy Meal since I was about eight years old last night, but at least I got a water with it!

Flipping over five men, no big deal.

The dancing nuns! 

Space creatures emerging from the smoke

All done..Feliz Carnavales!

Today, I finally took some time to recover from the stress of all the traveling and midterms and escaped for an afternoon to go meander through another park by the river and just hung out with my roommate Stephanie laying in the grass, a very precious commodity here in urban Madrid.  That is one thing I do miss, seeing grass and yards is a foreign concept here.  If you you go off the beaten path though, it appears greenery does exist...in beautiful, yet generally crowded parks.  I also realized today that I am about halfway through my time here which is insane! Time is flying over here across the Atlantic, I'll be back home before I know it. So until then I will do my best to make the most of my experiences and share the best of them with you all, or if people have given up on this blog then it will at least make for good documentation for my own personal reflection in the future : )