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 : )

Barcelona Round Two: a Euro Family Reunion

This weekend, I made the trip back to Barcelona, the spot of my first adventure to Spain, to meet up with Carlota, who hosted me on my first visit, Louie who is studying there and my cousin Jimmy and his girlfriend who were visiting for their spring break.  

My first mistake was that I opted to take the 8 hour night bus from 11pm to 7am rather than sleep in the airport to catch an early flight.  Well, I don't know why I thought I would sleep any better than I had on the night bus to Sevilla, but needless to say I didn't get much more than a wink of sleep in.  So at 7am Friday morning, I had yet to really sleep and was dead tired, that is until Carlota picked me up from the bus station on her moto and suddenly I was more than awake and fearful for my life.  If you have seen movies of European vespa drivers weaving in and out of traffic, that is exactly what it was like, I honestly thought I was gonna die right then and there.  However, once I made it out alive, I decided it was actually pretty fun and a little bit like a snowmobile ride without the snow.  Anyway, from there, I went and talked to Carlota's family for a little bit and they were all pleasantly surprised with how much my Spanish had improved since my last visit.  Then, I took a little nap so that I would be at least a little ready for the weekend ahead of me.  

Upon waking up, Carlota had class in a few hours so we got back on the moto to head to the beach towards where her classes are and to a spot where I told Louie I would meet up with him later on.  Carlota and I just walked around the beach and caught up with one another until she had to go to class.  At about 3pm, I met up with Louie, Jimmy and Libby and our weekend adventures began.  We just hung out at the beach for a bit then went and saw Louie's dorm.  From there, we were all a little hungry but it was in between our meal times so we decided to take Jimmy and Libby for their first tapas experience.  We got a pitcher of Sangria and a bunch of very typical Spanish tapas cuisine including tortilla espanola, croquettes, jamon serrano, pan con tomate, and patatas bravas.  It was all very good and unless they were very convincing liars, I believe, Jimmy and Libby enjoyed their first taste of true Spanish food.

A pleasant view of the Barcelona beach!...not quite how I remember it, just be glad I spared you the front view.

By the time we finished tapas, it was pretty dark out so we decided to go to the fountain show at Montjuic Palace, which was incredible and almost like a firework show on the Fourth of July.  Every night, outside the palace, there are huge fountains that get illuminated in different colors and do all of these different tricks with the water to a 15 minute playlist of songs, one of which happened to be Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" which was pretty funny.  After taking that in, we climbed to the top terrace where the palace is and got a beautiful view of the city and night.  We walked a little further and saw the Olympic stadium from 1992.  After all that, it was about time for dinner, so we went to a little pasta bar that looked pretty cheap and got some dinner.  Unknowingly, since the menu was in Catalan (the language of the region Catalunya in which Barcelona resides) I ordered some sea food pasta which was literally black spaghetti.  Luckily it was good and I ate the whole thing before finding out that it was actually squid ink that I had ordered on my pasta.  Carlota later filled me in and told me that it was a very Spanish dish, so I was a little proud of myself for that.  

Montjuic Palace all lit up at night

Progression 

of

the

Fountain Show

Louie, Libbie, and Jimmy taking in the show like children on the 4th of July

View from the top

Outside the Olympic Stadium
(looks cooler before you realize it's a satellite for a phone company)

The infamous black pasta

Apparently, squid ink dyes your mouth black

Saturday, Carlota and I woke up and since Louie, Jimmy and Libby weren't quite up and at 'em yet, we went off to some of the less touristy sights of Barcelona that I had really enjoyed last time I had visited.  We went to the Gothic part and went into the old Barcelona cathedral which was just as pretty as I remembered.  When we were walking out, we happened upon the set of a Spanish music video that was being filmed, so we watched that for a bit and were even filmed in the panoramic view of the crowd so maybe I'll happen upon that footage on the Spanish MTV someday!  After that, we went into the Mercado de St. Josesph which was a huge market like that one that we have in Madrid filled with the freshest produce, fish, meat and tapas you can find.  We then wound our way through another little neighborhood where they have really cool vintage stores so we walked in and out of those for awhile until it was time to meet up with the rest of the crew.

On set, filming a Spanish music video

Barrio Gotic, the Gothic neighborhood

We met up with Louie, Jimmy, and Libby then decided to get lunch before beginning the day's activities.  We went to the sandwich shop that Louie knew of and I got the best sandwich and patatas bravas that I have experienced thus far in Spain after which I was more than ready to unstuff myself with a hike through Gaudi's beautiful Park Guell.  To get there, we had to climb a virtually completely vertical street that has escalators to the top because it is so steep.  Once we got to the top, however, we entered the park and spent the next few hours wandering through the scenic nature combined with the unique architecture of Gaudi all flowing together for a very nice effect.  Louie then took us to the very outskirts of the park where we did a little mountain climbing and huffed it to the top for a 360 degree vantage point of the city of Barcelona at an insane height, definitely worth the effort to get there.

Park Guell

Entrance to the Park
(I cheated, this is actually from two summers ago..but the lighting was better then)

Same with this one..

The Stodolka-Czech-McQuillan clan takes Barcelona for a Euro family
cousin-brother-sister-cousin Irish-Polish reunion
(I swear I only look that small because of my surroundings)

Bienvenidos a Barcelona

Later that night, Carlota and I decided it would be cheaper and fun if we cooked dinner for everyone like a typical Spanish dinner that a group of friends would host for one another before they go out at night.  So, while the rest of the crew went back and showered and napped, we prepared a nice Spanish meal at Carlota's house complete with Spanish cuisine, Spanish wine and dessert and Spanish beer and shandy to cleanse the palate afterwards.  We all had a great time just enjoying the food and talking about the cultural differences between the U.S., London, and Spain.  At about 1:00am, it was finally about going out time (one aspect that Jimmy and Libby found to be insanely different than in London) and we went to a bar to meet up with some of both Louie's friends from his program and Carlota's friends.  It ended up being a great mix of people and I had a ton of fun.  Although, upon waking up at 8:30am to catch a flight back, I was slightly regretting having stayed out until 6:30am....

The dinner hostesses at work in the kitchen

Oh well, it's like they always say, you can sleep when you're dead...Let's be honest though, that has never been my motto and I will probably spend all week trying to catch up on the sleep that I missed.  I can, however, say that it was a fabulous weekend and worth the lack of sleep.  It was so great to see Carlota again and I am so thankful to her and her family for allowing me to stay with them again.  Also, it was so great and almost surreal to be able to meet up and hang out with my brother and cousin for the weekend in Spain and seeing all those familiar faces made me think a little more about everyone back home, love and miss you all!!!