the rain in spain stays mainly on the plain

New Idea?!?!?/ Post-Soviet World with a side of Turkish Delight

2010-06-10T23:56:00.001+02:00

So my BFF Adrienne is here visiting me and she's a Media Communications major. So we were talking about my blog and I was complaining that I love sharing my pictures, but I struggle with writing the prose. I love communicating through photography, but find the text tedious. Hence, the new idea was formed. PHOTOJOURNALISM-style blog. I would love to share my photos with you along with short descriptions. I want the photos to speak for themselves. Let's see how this goes.

The second half of my Spring Break trip with Stephanie took us to Sofia, Bulgaria and Istanbul, Turkey.

We took a night train from Athens, Greece to Sofia, Bulgaria with no train staff and no English-speaking fellow passengers. Customs was a little rough.

In Sofia there are natural water springs where everyone collects their water.

Greek Orthodox religion + Russian architecture = Breathtaking.

Sofia carries signs of the USSR everywhere. There is definitely a "vibe" that is totally different from anwyhere else I've traveled.

Then another train to Istanbul complete with staff and English speakers. Yet Steph became a little exasperated by the repeated taking of our passports only to disappear. She finally declared, "I'm putting on my pants and following that character." Needless to say, side-splitting laughter ensued.

The Hagia Sofia combines an ancient church and mosque making it a fascinating fusion of religious iconography.

The Christian symbols were beautifully rendered yet mostly destroyed.

The Blue Mosque makes a stunning impression. And there are snacks!

Street markets hold a place in my heart I will never truly understand. Something about the crazy energy just gets me.

The bazaar is huge and full of goodies! Turkish delight anyone?

Hope this new format works a little better. We'll see!

Semana Santa: Feta cheese with a side of feta!

2010-04-22T11:55:00.002+02:00

So my friend, Steph D, and I concocted this crazy plan for spring break. We had dreams of Greek cuisine and beaches, encounters with Bulgarian vampires, and Turkish teas in hammams. So we decided to head to Greece and see Athens, Santorini, and Crete. Then take a night train to Sofia, Bulgaria, and finally take another night train to Istanbul, Turkey. In this blog I will try to recount the crazy adventures of the Greek leg of the trip. Fasten your seat belts! Here we go!

So we arrive in Athens and immediately realize that we cannot read any of the street signs because of course in Greece they use a different alphabet. Luckily Steph could use her experience jogging on frat row to interpret some of the signs. Athens wasn't my favorite city. It was a big jumble of unplanned streets crowded in an urban sprawl. But the way the urban was mixed with the ancient was really interesting. Right next to a huge business complex there would be the ruins of a temple.

I did enjoy seeing the Acropolis. Acropolis technically means the furthest point of the edge of the city. This is where the ancient Greeks would build the monuments. So the Acroplis contains a beautifully conserved amphitheater as well as the famous Temple of Athena. The temple was one of the largest constructions I've ever seen. It's sheer enormity was astounding.

The next day we headed to Delphi. It was a 3 hour ride on a bus and we arrived in the most beautiful mountainside town. This town has the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle at Delphi would predict the future by placing herself above a hole in the temple floor, which experts now think was emitting drug filled fumes. The ruins were interesting, but I enjoyed seeing the landscape more.

The next morning we boarded a ferry to Santorini. We got off the ferry and expected to be in the middle of a city. That would be too easy. We were in the middle of nowhere. There was the Greek version of a strip mall and that was it. So we got the last cab at the port and headed to Fira, the capitol. After settling in at the San Giorgio hotel and speaking with the hilarious George we decided to walk towards the old port to see the sunset. As we walked he kept meeting up with these awesome stray dogs so of course I made friends with them!

We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset on a Greek isle and I couldn't have been happier!

The next day we headed to the Red Beach. Santorini is a volcanic island so the beach is made up of both black and red volcanic rock. It was a rough sand beach but the atmosphere was so cool (and I've never even heard of a red beach before!).

That same day we headed to Crete with wet beach hair on another short ferry. This time we arrived exactly where we expected, Heraklio. We immediately took a bus to Rethymno, a Venetician city. It took us a million years to find our hostel, but the wandering around was absolutely beautiful. After getting into our hostel, we headed to this cafe/bar we had seen while wandering. The cafe was in a brick tunnel of sorts and the menus were in all Greek. Our first authentic experience! The waiter came over and between his broken English and our minimal knowledge of Greek food we ordered a traditional Cretan drink and some bruschetta. It was fantastic! At the end of the night the waiter came back to our table and told us that some guy at the bar had bought us a shot, but when I looked over at the bar the guy over there wasn't even looking at us. Then he awkwardly said, "Well who bought it doesn't matter. It's italian and it means pretty girls. Will you take it with me?" So cute! He was adorably awkward, and nervous. And I'm almost positive he was the one that bought the shot. It was a wonderfully authentic Greek evening. But alas we had to head to Plakias the next morning.

But Plakias did not disappoint. It was a gorgeous, natural oasis. The bus let us off right at the beach and we walked to our hostel set in the middle of an olive grove. Yes, it was as delightful as it sounds. The very first day we decided to head out for a hike. These hikes are not a joke by the way. The hostel owner, Chris, mentions on the instructions that these were originally donkey paths, but I didn't quite realize what it means. It means essentially that they are tiny, thistle covered "paths" that are incredibly hard to find. Our first hikes destination was this 14th century Venetian mill and church. We made it quite easily to the mill which was super cool.

But getting up to the top of the mountain proved a little more difficult than we expected. We got to the top and came to a gate marked "CLOSE GATE SHEEP FALL AND DIE." So we passed through the gates but just as we turned the corner three growling dogs came roaring around the bend. Two seemed to just want to make a racket. But one brindle-colored monster kept jumping at me with his teeth bared. Just as he nipped my legs and I began to pee my pants this homeless man came around the corner and yelled at this dogs in Greek to follow him. Phew, that was a close call.

We spent that afternoon relaxing on the beach after a long hike and it was joyous! The next morning we decided to embark upon an even more challenging hike. This hike involved going to where the mill was yesterday and then going down into the river and walking up in the river for around an hour and a half!! I LOVE RIVER WALKING! So this was totally up my alley. It was so much fun. But of course there were mishaps.
1. There were a lot of spiderwebs and at one point I got a spiderweb in my face along with the spider. So of course I spastically scratched my face until I realized that blood was running down my face from the nose ring that I had messed up. Great. And the blood was getting all over my fav tie-dye shirt. ugh.
2. Upon reaching the end of the river walk we had to hike straight up a thistle covered mountain. Yes my legs were covered in scratches.
3. Upon reaching the top of this mountain, I encountered a road . . . and 6 mountains goats complete with horns and bells! (kind of cool but kind of still a mishap)
4. The biggest mishap of all. After surviving the goats, we walked maybe 100 yards along the road and there she was in the middle of the road, a gargantuan momma hog!!!! It had like a million teets and a snarl like I've never seen. I was terrified. She started walking the same direction as us down the lane so we started to follow her. But she was not about to tolerate that. She turned around and stared us down until we had not only stopped walking, but moved off the path. We decided to wait until she had walked a good ways and then try to walk after her. Alas she was too smart for this ploy. Right after we started walking she came back towards us! Finally she started eating some grass on the side of the road so we climbed through the thistles on the other side and managed to get around her. I can now add another animal to the already lengthy "Farm Animals I'm Scared of List": momma hog.

Crete was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life. I would absolutely love to go back and explore some more. I loved that I spent every morning hiking until I was exhausted and then every afternoon laying out on the beach. It was the perfect combination. Unfortunately we had to leave that afternoon to head back to Athens. We boarded the ferry around 9pm, which is literally like a floating hotel room complete with shower and everything!

We knew the ferry was supposed to arrive at 5am, but there was a loud speaker in the room so we didn't set an alarm. Mistake. We woke up to a kind gentleman saying something to us in Greek at which point, Steph looks at her watch and in tones of panic says "It's 7am, and I think he said we are in Naxos," which is not the port in Athens where we needed to be. Of course my first reaction is to take off running after the guy down the ferry's hallway. In order for you to be able to fully form the visual, I'd like you to imagine me with morning hair wearing a blood stained tie-dye t-shirt (it was my only sleep shirt, don't judge), black leggings, and baby blue life is good boxers. Quite a sight to have chasing after you. After a few tense minutes of communication issues, I determined that we were in Athens, but had overslept by 2 hours. It was so embarrassing to walk past all the open doors with the cleaning people working. As we disembarked the dock workers shook their heads at us. What silly girls!

We spent the entire day in Athens relaxing in a park and reading English books we bought at a bookshop. It was a nice preparation for the Bulgarian adventures to come!!!!

Three Broads Abroad

2010-04-12T11:53:00.000+02:00

First we need to flashback to December to start this story. For Christmas I decided to give my mom a plane ticket to come visit me in Spain. So I taped an electronic print out into my city map book and wrapped it. When momma opened it, she couldn't figure out what it was (but of course she faked excitement). I told her to look inside the front cover. She read the print out and couldn't believe. She said, "For me?" Then of course we cried and hugged a lot. That night we decided that it would be really fun if my aunts came with my momma to giver her company. By the end of Christmas day, we had a trip planned for March involving my mom and two aunts in Spain! I've been so excited ever since.

The day finally came when my family was coming to Spain. I imagined a glorious entrance into the airport involving flamenco dancers and a parade, but I couldn't really pull that off. So I went to the airport to retrieve them. Cue first disaster of the trip: Aunt Sally's luggage was lost. Great.

But we tried to keep up our spirits and headed to the hotel. We arrive around 9am and of course our room was not ready so the ladies couldn't get a much needed nap. Cue second annoyance. We decided that mom would come nap in my apartment while I went to class and then my aunts would stick it out until the room was ready. I armed them with a map and general ideas about the area and we parted ways.

After class, I met back up with everyone and we had a wonderful evening with tapas at Mercado de San Miguel, a really pretty, new, posh "market" of sorts. Tapas are typically small snacks that come free with drinks in Spain, but at the market you can buy them separately. So we ate some lovely Spanish cheeses, ham, and empanadas, a meat pastry. After an evening stroll, I headed home because we were leaving for Granada on a bus early in the morning.

We met up near momma's hotel, and then headed to the bus station. Cue third severe annoyance: traffic jams. The bus ride was supposed to be around 5 hours. Nevertheless we were on the bus no less than 8 hours! It was so long. I think we were all contemplating getting out and walking at some point. I couldn't even believe it.

Because the bus was so late we had to grab a quick bite once we arrived and head straight to the Alhambra. The Alhambra is the Moorish castle that the Moors occupied as rulers in Granada until 1492. Granada has arguably the deepest running influence of arabic culture of any city and the Alhambra was absolutely breathtaking.

After the Alhambra we headed in for a nice night's sleep. The next day we got up to explore the city a little bit. As we were walking towards the arab quarter there was beautiful architecture and quaint charm.

At one point I saw what looked like a convent and immediately remembered a Samantha Brown episode: CONVENT COOKIES! Basically there's a turnstile window where you place your money and order cookies. Then a nun on the other side places your cookies on the turnstile and turns it back. I had never done it and I was so excited. The cookies were really intensely sweet, meaning I think I was the only one who liked them. Either way it was a good experience.

Later that day, we walked past a guitar shop really close to our hostel. So of course we had to go in to look for Uncle Mark and my dad. I instantly well in love with the classical guitars. I've played guitar for almost 10 years, but mostly rock or jazz. I kept looking around at those guitars and I had the sudden strong urge to learn flamenco. As I was playing with a guitar the shop keeper had given me to look at, I knew I wanted it, but I wasn't sure I could afford it. My aunts shocked and delighted me by offering to buy it for me for a graduation present! I'm now the proud owner of a beautiful classical guitar (even though I can't really play it all that well).

Next we visited the cathedral. It was grand and beautiful. My mom and I lit a candle for my grandmother who recently died and converted to Catholicism right before her death. I thought it was a nice gesture.

That evening we went to a flamenco show. I absolutely love flamenco's rhythms and the impassioned movements. In the end, they got me, Aunt Sally, and Aunt Susan up to dance with them.

Then Sunday morning we got up intending to go on a tour of the olive oil producing countryside, but unfortunately it was raining so we canceled. We got back to Madrid a little earlier in the evening and settled back into our hotel with Aunt Sally's newly recovered luggage.

Cue the most major disaster of all. We decided to grab a bite close to our hotel at an outdoor cafe in a plaza. Aunt Susan had her purse hanging off the arm of her chair and at the end of the meal we realized that it was gone. I'm pretty sure that I saw the couple that took it sit down directly behind us, but then they left quickly. It was incredibly frustrating.

The next morning we got up and made a police report. I hope it didn't ruin Aunt Susan's experience, because I've been robbed and it definitely is upsetting. We spent the morning shopping and then I headed to class while they went to the Royal Palace.

That evening we had a final Spanish dinner, and then I saw them off to the airport the next morning.

It was so nice getting to show parts of my experience here in Spain to my family. I hope they enjoyed it, and it helps put a visual to some of the things I do everyday. Despite the difficulties of the traveling experience, I truly loved getting to spend time with the ladies of the Ragsdale-Harris-Clayton clan!

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

2010-03-15T19:47:00.000+01:00

In the past few weeks I've been trying slowly but surely to explore different parts of Spain. I really want to leave here with an experience in most of the regions of Spain, and since I was accepted to Teach for America in Chicago for next year I feel the June 12th deadline. I have less than three months left here and I really want to make the most of it. So two weekends ago, I headed to Sevilla (yes think Barber of Seville). It's a gorgeous city but my umbrella was nearly permanently glued to my hand for the weekend. We arrived late Friday, spent Saturday going to the sites, and then came back Sunday. It was a whirlwind of a trip!

First we went to the Alcazar (castle in arabic). It was one the of the most exquisite things I've ever seen in real life. The arabic architecture is so intricate and geometric.

But the gardens were by far my favorite part. Despite the rain I spent nearly an hour wandering around. There were lush patches of palm trees, orange trees everywhere, and beautifully haunting fountains. Every surface was covered in brightly colored tiles. The whole time I just kept imagining what it would be like with a bright blue sky, although there was something beautifully melancholy about seeing the misty, rainy garden.

After seeing the Alcazar we walked to the Cathedral and the sun peeped out for a few wonderful minutes.

The cathedral is in the gothic style, which is one of my favorites. I really loved this huge silver altar, but none of my pictures did it justice. I just thought the use of silver over the more traditional gold was really cool and it had this huge crown with sun rays coming out of it at the top. It was great. The cathedral also holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

You can climb to the top of the bell tower and see the city laid out before you.

After this crazy weekend I was exhausted and slept forever on Sunday night!

This weekend, I decided to take a day trip with some friends to Alcalá de Henares, a small pueblo near Madrid where Cervantes was born. We took a quick train ride, 35 minutes, and were in a charming pueblo. First we visited a garden filled with sculptures, but I found the weird mossy waterfall the most interesting.

The happened upon a beautiful plaza in front of a convent. If you look carefully at the top of the building you can see the nests of the storks for which Alcalá is famous.

We tried to visit Cervantes' home, but it was closed. So instead I grabbed a photo of the Don Quixote statue with an oddly fat Sancho.

Finally we made it to the central town plaza. There were family playing games, and strolling everywhere. It's one of the things that I love about Spain. Families hang out around town together on the weekends and really utilize parks, plazas, even streets. One of the most posh streets in Madrid, Fuencarral, gets shut down on Sunday mornings so that families can roller blade, see sidewalk puppet shows, and play games. It's an awesome Spanish tradition.

At the end of the day, my good friend Stephanie, suggested we buy bread and go down to the river to feed the storks. So we bought some snacks and bread to feed the birds. Needless to say, we ate most of the bread for the storks ourselves during the walk. Then we arrived at this "river" to find it was barely a stream. It was hilarious. Steph it's such an optimistic, idealistic person that she just really wanted it to be considered a river, but there's no way!

After a fun day we headed back to Madrid!

Las Islas Canarias

2010-02-17T23:50:00.000+01:00

Sorry I haven't been very timely about publishing this post. Two weeks ago I had finals week and it was grueling. Three exams and four papers in one week. So seven friends and I decided to celebrate in style by heading to the Canary Islands. I checked the weather and saw a high of 70 and immediately knew I was in. There ended up being seven girls and one boy so we booked two condos in the same building complete with full kitchens for 14 Euros a night per person. I was stoked!

Immediately when we stepped out of the plane, I could feel the warm air and knew it was going to be a good weekend. We got a city bus across the island, which only took us 20 minutes, to Playa del Ingles. After settling in to our condos, the first thing we did was head to the beach. It was gorgeous. Little coves were scattered across the open beach filled with beautiful sand and water, and lots of old people, apparently January is "vacay" time for the elderly.

We spent all day Friday lazing about on the beach, playing cards, swimming, and just hanging out. It was so relaxing. That night we spent sitting on a blanket on the beach drinking wine and relaxing. It was a wonderful way to end finals week.

The next day we split into two groups. One group headed to the beach for another day of lounging, while Katie O., Catie B., Will, and I headed into the mountains. We rented a car, but I was the only one who could drive it because it was manual. So we were off on an adventure.

I hadn't driven a stick in 3 years and the roads were windy and steep. It was rough at first, but I got better as I went. The hardest part was focusing on the road because all I wanted to do was stare at the beautiful scenery. We stopped periodically to grab a snack or take in the views, like this valley in Fataga.

But our main goal was to get to Roque Nublo, the highest point on the island. It was a nice thirty-minute hike to the top and the views were breathtaking. The rock may look tiny, but it was huge (note the size of the people of the second picture).

The volcano is dormant, but the crater is absolutely beautiful.

Ironically, this is where I was sitting looking out over the volcanic crater when I got a hold of my dad, and found out that my grandmother had died the day before. Not to get too philosophical, but I think being in that place with such a grand view of god's creation, helped me understand that my grandmother's passing wasn't necessarily an end, but a beginning of a beautiful eternity with the lord. I think this place will always be special to me because of that moment.

From Roque Nublo we headed to a hill town called Tejeda. As soon as I parked, parallel parked on a hill, I realized that my wallet was gone. It had been inside my camera bag on the hike up to Roque Nublo, but now it was gone. In addition, our daylight was fading, and I really wanted to get out of the mountains before dark. It was action time. We drove 30 minutes back to Roque Nublo. Then Katie O. and I ran back up the mountain. She told me to check where I had made a natural bathroom, but I assured her that I had checked the area before I'd headed back to the path so we continued uphill. At the top when I couldn't find my wallet, I nearly lost it. But we still had to get out of the mountains and we had no idea how long that would take. Almost to the car, Katie O. one more time mentioned that I should check my nature stop area. Needless to say, she was right! I could've saved myself a grueling uphill hike, but we tried to chalk it up to exercise.

With the daylight fading, we drove out of the mountains. But our map wasn't very clear, so we asked for directions from a fruit vendor at Roque Nublo. The road he wanted us to take was so small we didn't see it the first time. But after turning around, not an easy feat, we found it and trusted him. Dark fell and we were still twisting around mountains passes unsure of whether we were headed the right direction or not. By this time we were all hungry and tired and a little cranky. I had managed to become carsick while driving. In the end, we made it out with my wallet, and a great experience.

The next morning, we headed to the beach for the last time after finding a Subway sandwich shop, which was way more exciting than it should've been. I swam in the ocean for the last time that weekend and was perfectly relaxed and rejuvenated. Then came the plane ride from hell.

First there was this baby that would not stop crying for at least a half an hour. She finally wore herself out and I thought all was well. I fell asleep with my headphones in my ears only to wake to being shoved in the arm and vomit flying at my face. A full-grown man, vomited in my hair, face, shoulder, and chest. It was everywhere. He managed to spray at least 5 people. The airplane staff gave us wet wipes and I changed into a friend’s shirt, but the smell would not leave me. What's more, they couldn't move me to another seat. The flight was fully booked. So I sat covered in vomit next to vomit smell for 2 hours. Although they did offer me a complimentary drink and some nuts, I was so nauseous I couldn't eat. Then came to turbulence. Yes there was more. Now I'm covered in vomit, sitting next to vomit, about to vomit form turbulence. It was a rough flight! When I got home my roommates immediately asked me why I smelled so bad!

Ironically I still put this as one of the most fun weekend I've had in Spain. It was crazy and awful and wonderful all at the same time!

i'm dreaming of a WHITE CHRISTMAS!

2010-01-25T19:21:00.000+01:00

So this Christmas I got to head back to the US of A! In some ways, I was a little sad when I heard about my friends' plans to galavant around Europe. A weekend in Malta, a fortnight in Rome. But in the end, I was so excited to see my family, eat black beans burritos, and decorate the christmas tree that I couldn't be more amped. I arrived after a long flight, next to a kind of annoying girl, and saw my parents waiting by baggage claim. I was so excited. I ran to my mom and was giving her a big hug when I heard, "Katie, look here!" I looked over and there was my bff, Adrienne, off course taking a picture of me right as I saw her. Needless to say I was shocked and super excited.

Of course, if you know me well, then you know that my first meal back had to be mexican. So we found a Don Pablos near by and I settled in for some veggie fajitas. Back in the car, my bff and mom had not forgotten our road trip tradition. There were Peanut Butter M&Ms ready and waiting! (We think Peanut Butter M&Ms are better than Reeses Pieces because they have more peanut butter in their peanut butter to chocolate ratio). After about an hour (well to be honest maybe a half an hour) of chatting, Adrienne and I were dead asleep in the back of the car. It was a wonderful way to come home.

The next morning I woke up crazy early at 7am (well early for me). As I drank my coffee, my dad informed me that we needed to unload a trailer of stuff from Evansville that morning. I didn't know that trailer would hold the best present of my Christmas (not really mom, no worries, but it was pretty awesome!) I opened the trailer and saw two bright, shining, red, OLD PEOPLE SCOOTERS! Now some people might find what they continue to read offensive. If so I'm very sorry. I love my grandmother whom the scooters belong to and I'm certainly not trying to make fun of those who use them. I'm just trying to find the silver lining in getting older. And to me using those scooters always seemed like fun. So I dragged Adrienne from the kitchen and her coffee (still in her pajamas) for some racing!

We spent our snowy morning racing the scooters in the driveway! It was so much fun!

A few days later, I imposed an obstacle course with the scooters on my other friend Carly! We found out that Carly is a calculated driver who uses low speed when optimal and faster speed when possible. I, however, bolt forward on full speed at all times knocking over the flower pot obstacles. I'm no expert at scooter racing, but man is it fun!

I even got to go sledding with some of my besties! I hadn't flewn down a hill and ran back up completely out of breath in a long time. It was a blast!

Basically I can say that my time at home was characterized by scooter racing and super mario for wii.

No really, I got to see so many wonderful people I can't even name them. I thought that I would be so ready to go back to Madrid, but I was actually pretty sad for the first few days here in Spain. I'm back into the swing of the Spanish life, but I will always remember how grateful I was for my family and friends over the holidays! It really made me appreciate how wonderful they all are!

p.s. - I applied for Teach for America and will be finding out if I get an in-person interview tomorrow AND I'm headed to the Canary Islands this weekend! So there will be another post coming!

Doing the Dubler - Part 2

2009-12-21T15:10:00.001+01:00

So we got up early and headed to Galway on the west coast of Ireland. The bus ride was beautiful but I couldn’t stay awake. We got into the town around 3pm and met Jenny’s friend Brett. He studied for the semester in Galway so he took us on a tour of the town after we dropped our luggage off at the hostel. The first thing we saw was the river running through the middle of the town. It’s the fastest running river in Europe! It was definitely no joke, but the picture doesn’t make it look very impressive. There were no rails, so instead there are “ringboys” all along the edge, which is just what they call lifesavers.

It really only took about a half an hour to walk around, but I really loved the small-town feel. People were all incredibly nice. Then we had delicious fish and chips at a tavern. Cian, my Irish friend, also put on my list of tasks “eat fish and chips with brown sauce.” So after getting my steaming hot plate, I told Brett that I wanted some brown sauce for my chips. He was like “ok, but you need to ask her.” I wasn’t really sure why, but I went with it. It took me at least five attempts to get her attention. At IU my friends say I sound like I’m meowing when I say m’am, so needless to say getting waitresses attention can be challenging for me. I finally get her to come over to the table, and I ask, “May I have some brown sauce please?” She looks at me like I’m an idiot. The only response I get is “ok.” Then Brett informs me that it’s really weird to eat brown sauce with fish and chips. Thanks Cian! Apparently you’re the only one who does that, but you know what, I thought it was good. The brown sauce is basically like worcheshire sauce. Not bad on French fries!

Then we went and met some of Brett’s friends at a coffee shop. We ended up talking to these two girls Katie and Sarah quite a bit and because Brett had to work on papers, they decided to show us the local pubs. They were so picturesque in Galway. There were people playing live traditional Irish music while I sipped a coffee with Bailey’s by the fire! It was so much fun!

The next morning we headed to the coach station with our suitcases to see the Cliffs of Moher. Apparently only Jenny and I had signed up for the tour with our company so they had us join a different tour group. Our guide Peter was witty and so knowledgeable. First he drove us through the Burren and gave us some basic knowledge. The Burren is around 350 square kilometers of exposed limestone hills, but the interesting part is that this area contains 80% of the plant life of Ireland as a result of the high levels of nutrients in the stone, and its ability to hold warmth. It’s absolutely beautiful, raw, and enchanting land.

A part of the tour that we joined was a walking tour through a farm on the Burren. We had to pay another 8 Euros to go, and honestly I was a little skeptical. I’m so glad that I did it. It was lightly raining when we arrived, but John, the attractive, rugged, Irish farmer, took the group to a room full of rain gear and had us suit up. We put pants over our pants, jackets over our jackets, wellies over our shoes, and wollies our hair (wellies= rainboots, wollies = wool sock hats). I thought, “this seems excessive, but ok.” I could not have been more wrong. Once we got to the top of the hill the rain was beating my face and the wind actually knocked me over. But it was still one of the coolest experiences of the trip to get off the bus and experience the terrain. From the bus it looks like it’s just rock but once you’re up there there’s crazy plant life everywhere.

After the walking tour we got back on the bus and headed to a set of small cliffs for a photo stop. I thought they were amazing, but I didn’t even know how much cooler it would get.

Then we got to the Cliffs of Moher. It was such a beautiful, mystical place. It was weird, but there was something almost spiritual about that place. I felt overwhelmed by the nature God created. It was so simple, yet so breathtaking. It just made me think about the intricate artwork, we humans create. Honestly that art will never be adequate in comparison to what God made from the earth. I don’t even know if that makes sense, but that’s how I felt in the moment.

On the tallest cliff there’s a Tower with green grass coming down from it, and I’ve never seen grass look like that. It was long, but blown down by the wind. It looked like velvet and it was so enchanting.

After that overwhelming experience, we went and saw a 5800-year-old dolmen! The wonders of the Burren are never ending! A dolmen is an ancient burial site, in which the people built a hill over the body and then placed stones on top of it. Honestly I had no idea that Art History class at the beginning of my time in Spain would be this useful. But it makes me feel really good whenever I can actually identify and understand things that like.

After the tour we were exhausted so we slept all the way to Dublin and then headed straight to the hostel to go to bed! The next morning was our last day in Dublin so we decided to try and hit the things we had missed before. Our first stop was Merrion Square. You know those Doors of Dublin calendars? Well all those doors from a square around a little park, and that’s Merrion Square.

A ton of literary figures have lived there, like Oscar Wilde and Yeats. There’s even a statue of Oscar in the park so I had to continue my homage to Mr. Wilde and take my picture with his statue (last year I kissed his grave in Paris).

It was another sunny day in Dublin so Jenny couldn’t resist soaking up the sun in the park, and it was the perfect opportunity for a shadow group pic!

That night we continued our Christmas spirit and walked to the other side of the river to see the Christmas lights, and then we went and saw a Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey. It was a nice, relaxing way to end the trip because we had to get up at 4am the next day to head to the airport. Ireland was amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone!

Doing the Dubler - Part 1

2009-12-16T18:05:00.001+01:00

I have SSOOOO many fun thoughts about Ireland that I need to split the trip into two parts: Dublin first two days, and Galway and last day in Dublin! It was so amazing that I don't even know where to start so chronologically will have to do. My friend Jenny and I decided to go to Dublin over a long weekend, and I was so amped.

When we got off the plane I immediately realized I wasn't in "Kansas" (aka Madrid) anymore. I kept speaking Spanish to everyone. Saying "perdon" when I was trying to get past someone and "gracias" to shopkeepers. I even asked this guy in Spanish if there was anyone in the bathroom. What's even funnier is that I clearly do not resemble a Spanish person. I look vaguely Irish. So some short, auburn-haired, green-eyed, freckled girl walks up to you in Dublin and starts speaking badly accented Spanish! He looked at me like I was a crazy! Understandably. But I apologized and explained that I've been living in Madrid. Although he didn't really stop looking at me like I was really strange.

That first day, we just tried to get our bearings and battle the culture shock. I was so confused as to why people were eating at 6pm and in bars at 8pm. In Madrid we eat at 10pm and bars don't even open until midnight. To top it off the sun set at 4:30pm. I didn't realize how much I'd adjusted to Spanish life until this moment. I realized that the much more American customs were confusing the heck out of me! So after a long, strange day of traveling, we hit the hay fairly early.

The next morning we got up bright and early, ready to conquer the day! Our first stop was Dublin castle, but it was closed (and not that impressive). So we moved on the Trinity College. The university is surrounded by a wall and there's only one door to enter and exit. It was like the door to Narnia.

The campus is so magical and absolutely gorgeous! I hadn't seen so much green grass in months! We also got lucky with blue skies in Dublin!

In the library at Trinity College, there is an exhibit about the Book of Kells, which is a latin book of the four gospels dating back to the 800's. There was a sweet exhibit with large displays of the beautifully decorated pages and lots of interesting information. Plus in the back room, you could actually view the books. It was really cool to see some of the religious symbols I learned earlier in the semester in Art History in a real life setting.

Then after the exhibit there are stairs that you're led up to leave and a sign for the "Long Room." I honestly had no idea what that meant but I went with it. At the top of the stairs you turn right and laid out before you is the most beautiful library I've ever seen. I gasped and Jenny's jaw fell open. It was unbelievable. It's the library of my dreams (yes I'm that much of an English major that I dream of having a library of my own!). You aren't allowed to take pictures so I've found one so that you can get an idea, but man I've never seen anything like it. It as cool as the Book of Kells.

After the exhibit, we decided to put together a little picnic. My Irish friend Cian, sent me to Ireland with a couple of tasks. One of them involved purchasing the ingrediants for and eating his favorite sandwich. So we thought it was the perfect time to grab some groceries and head to St. Stephen's Green. Cian's sandwich constituted: Brennan's bread (yellow wrapper), Kilmeeden's cheese (mature red cheddar), Irish butter (dairygold preferably), and King crisps (cheese & onion are essential). It sounds a little strange, but we thought why not try it.

It was the best picnic ever! We had Cian's sandwiches (which are fantastic by the way), potato salad, muffins and diet coke. But it was so cold we had to eat with our gloves on!

After the picnic,we headed to Christ's Church Cathedral to hear an evensong service. It was such an amazing experience. A full choir came out and sang songs in both English and Latin. It was a really great way to see the cathedral!

After a little R&R in the hostel we headed out to look at the Christmas lights. Dublin is absolutely all about Christmas. Every shop plays Christmas music and every street is decorated. In Madrid they are just now starting to get into the Christmas spirit but in Dublin it was in full force a few weeks ago. Oh yeah and "Nollaig Shona Ouit" means Merry Christmas in Irish! It was everywhere!

After being filled with the joy of Christmas we headed back to the hostel so that we could catch the early bus to Galway.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Cordoba!

2009-12-11T00:05:00.000+01:00

A few weekends ago, we had our WIP Fall Excursion so all 24 of us piled into a coach and headed south to Cordoba. We had a guided tour of the city and I thought it was really interesting. So if you're interested in a nerdy entry keep on reading!

Cordoba is in Andalucia and as such was occupied by the Arabs for a much longer time than regions in the north. As a result, Cordoba has some really cool muslim architecture like the Mezquita, which is just mosque in Spanish. The Mezquita is absolutely huge! First there's a tower where originally the call to prayer would ring out, but after the Christians conquered Cordoba they converted it into a bell tower.

Inside the mosque is full of double arches made up of alternating red and white stones and a million columns. This structure is supposed to represent the palm trees of paradise after a muslim dies. It was amazing to see how many there were!

After the Christians conquered Cordoba, they took the middle of the mosque and made a Gothic cathedral. It's so weird to see the "mash-up" of not only styles but major religions.

There's also a castle in Cordoba but it was closed when we got there so we only got to see the outside.

On Sunday, we headed to Madinat al-Zahra, which is an archeological site outside of Cordoba. Madinat al-Zahra was the governmental capital of muslim Andalucia in the 10th century. The ruins were really cool, but it was steadily raining and I had no umbrella so to be honest my attention level was fairly low!

I think that the mixing of faiths was the most impressive thing about Cordoba for me. The intermingling of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity can be seen everywhere. There's a jewish quarter that has one of only two remaining synagogues in Spain, as well as the cathedral/mosque. I was just really fascinated by the interactions.

Well that's a very brief tour of Cordoba. I hope you embraced the nerdy blog!

Turkey Day . . . In Spain?

2009-11-30T00:17:00.004+01:00

One might ask how Katie Clayton, an American living in Spain, would spend such a classic holiday? Well it actually became a two day celebration. On Thursday, my program had a fancy dinner at a Spanish restaurant called Casa Adolfo. We had croquetas (deep fried cheese and alfredo sauce balls), pisto (veggie ratatouille), ensalada mixta (salad but with strange Spanish things in it like corn and white asparagus), grilled veggies (my fav), and berenjena frita (thinlly sliced, deep fried eggplant). It was delicious and all vegetarian friendly!

In case I haven't told you yet, I became an official vegetarian in Spain. It really hasn't changed my daily eating habits all that much, but whenever I've eaten meat here I just didn't feel good afterword and frankly I don't really like the taste although at first I intended to still eat fish. I even jokingly told my parents that I was the only vegetarian who stopped eating meat because I hated farm animals so much. When I was little my cousins used to throw chickens at me, and I think it caused a general fear and annoyance with farm animals in general. Anyway I was bored one day and wanted to know how not eating meat helped the environment, so somehow I ended up on the PIDA website. Big mistake. I now no longer eat any meat including fish. After 10 minutes of those disgusting videos I was done. So the point of that long tirade was that I'm now a vegetarian so I really appreciated the delicious veggie based appetizers.

Then I had an entree of spinach with raisins and pine nuts, and rice. I mean I like spinach as much as the next girl, but a whole entree of spinach was a bit much. But it was so fun to get to hang out with my fellow students.

I was a little sad though to not be with my family. It felt so weird to not each sweet potato souffle and pumpkin pie. I was a little homesick (honestly that was the first time). I love you guys, but I've been having so much fun here it really hasn't hit me, especially since I'm coming home fore Christmas. Well I decided the solution to my funk was pumpkin pie. I decided to cook an American Thanksgiving meal for my friends. I researched recipes and met with my friend Jenny to go shopping. About 10 minutes into the shopping trip, my dreams were crushed. Not only was pumpkin no where to be found in the swankiest supermarket in Spain (Corte Ingles) but brown sugar, cream of mushroom soup, vanilla abstract, and turkey were also absent. So my pumpkin pie, sweet potato souffle, green bean casserole, and oven baked turkey were all out the window. We were down to canned green beans and mashed potatoes.

In this moment of despair my friend Jenny stepped up and had a genius idea. Why not a Mexican Thanksgiving? At first I was skeptical but then I remembered my love of spicy food. So we had tacos complete with rice, beans, beef, guacamole, chips and salsa. O yeah and potatoes. My friend Cian is Irish and he had already washed potatoes so he insisted on cooking them. And guess what? It was just as delicious and fun as a traditional meal.

Cian has a house, which is pretty rare here in Madrid, so we were all able to sit down, which means 7 Americans and 4 of Cian's Spanish roommates all around the table. Although I think the Spaniards thought we were a little crazy when Cian put on "Proud to be an American" and came running through the house using an American flag as a cape.

After dinner we went around the circle and said what we were thankful for. It was a really great experience, and so much fun. When I was sad about the traditional meal failure in the beginning, Cian reminded me that the fun part is hanging out together, and he was completely right. It was a great way to celebrate even though I missed my family and friends back in the States!

Lisboa = Love

2009-11-18T18:58:00.000+01:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to write about this trip! It has been a busy couple of weeks as I've gotten into my regular routine. I teach english, volunteer with homeless people, have intercambios, occasionally study!! The weeks are great but long.

BUT a few weekends ago I headed to Lisbon for the weekend with a couple of friends. We had a Monday off so we thought we'd explore. We got there at 8am on Saturday morning after a really early plane, and hit the city. As soon as we started walking around I knew I loved the vibe. It's right on the water and there's a really relaxed, beachy feel (complete with palm trees).

In Madrid everyone is so posh and all the streets are so pristine and manicured. In Lisbon, there was peeling paint and cracked tile but there was such a beauty in the brokenness. It is an older city than Madrid, and all the sidewalks are made of cobblestones in black and white patterns.

They even use trolleys!

We headed up to the castle on the highest point in the city. The views were breathtaking even though the actual castle was slightly boring!

Then we headed to the water. You know I can't be near the ocean for more than 2 hours without seeing the water! There were birds everywhere and I hopped over a stone ledge and went out on the rocks to scare them all. I got some cool photographs of them all flying around.

So my friend Izzy (the blonde girl in the picture above) had heard about surfing near Lisbon, so we made a few phone calls and . . . I went SURFING! We took a train for about 30 minutes to this beach town near Lisbon called Cascais. The surf instructor, Alex, told me to call from a pay phone when we got there and he would come pick us up. So I got off the train and I had to go the bathroom really badly. I couldn't find a restroom so I asked the man at the ticket counter who inevitably only spoke Portuguese. With a little bit of luck and my Spanish, I got vague directions to a bathroom. Well I couldn't find said bathroom so I just decided to hold it. We tried to use 2 different pay phones to no avail. A guy from California told us they were designed to steal tourists' money, but somehow I just didn't believe that. I decided to go ask the same man at the ticket counter for a phone. After a few minutes of "telefono no funciona . . . hay un otro?," the man closed the ticket counter and motioned for me to follow him. After a few minutes of waiting and walking he led us to a handicapped bathroom. Not a great day for my communication skills! Somehow I asked for a phone and got a bathroom! We finally got to go to the bathroom and figured out a phone. Next thing I knew I was pulling on a wet suit.

Alex told us in the car that this wasn't the best day for learning because the waves were a little big and unpredictable, but we were determined! So after a few minutes of confusion over my height and width ratio in terms of what wetsuit to wear I was stumbling down the beach with a humungous surfboard. Needless to say, Alex was not lying about the difficulties of the day. I struggled. I had more salt water up my nose and in my lungs than I ever have before. I would get knocked over 3 or 4 times in a row. At one point I got taken under and the lead from my foot to the surfboard got around my neck. I had to take a couple of breaks and never actually got up, but it was such a great experience! I will definitely try surfing again on a calmer day.

The next morning we got up and tried to take a taxi to the botanical gardens before our airplane, but somehow ended up on the highway outside of the city unexpectedly. I made it safely home and with plenty of stories. It was a suprisingly relaxing weekend, and I think that is mostly due to the vibe of Lisbon. It was a great change of pace and I can back refreshed and ready to take on Madrid and my midterms!

Maldichos

2009-11-05T20:13:00.000+01:00

I thought it was about time to share some of the embarrassing things I've said on accident in Spanish. We call those maldichos. They usually happen when the English word sounds really similar to a Spanish word that doesn't mean the same thing. For example, real in Spanish isn't real. Real means royal. So if i said, "Son estos pendientes plata real?" I would be saying are these earrings royal silver, not real silver. That would be a maldicho, although not a very humiliating one. So on with the embarrassing stories!

One night I was out with a group of people from all over the world, French, Spanish, Mexican, American, etc., and this guy named Pedro who lives with one of my friends came up and asked "Que tal?" Essentially that's like what's up in English. So I said, "Estoy buena," which directly translates as "I'm good." BUT this phrase means in Spanish "I'm good looking" or "I have a nice body." I meant to say, "Estoy bien." Needless to say, for the rest of the night anytime Pedro saw me he yelled "Estas buena" (You have a nice body) and laughed. I'm pretty sure my face was permanently red the entire night.

Do you remember the lady I hitchhiked with Feli? Well Feli took us to the cathedral in her town and there was this statue, a pieta, which is a scene of Mary holding Jesus' dead body in her arms. I asked in Spanish if it was a pieta and she didn't understand me so I tried to explain what a pieta was in Spanish. I said it was where Mary was holding Jesus' body in her armas. Well unfortunately las armas means weapons not arms. Los brazos are arms!! I had asked if that was a statue of Mary holding Jesus in her weapons. Feli's face was priceless. She looked appalled as though I had insulted the Virgin Mary. Then I emphatically insisted that I had meant brazos. She never really laughed, but I think she was less offended.

Finally earlier on the same trip, I was trying to explain what a scarecrow was. In Spanish, I said, you know it's a thing that looks like a human and stands in a field to prevent los aviones from landing in the farmer's fields. Well aviones are airplanes not birds. Once again the woman's face was utterly confused. Not offended, but certainly confounded. Then I had to flap my arms about and say los pajaros to clarify.

I always tell my roommates that every day in Spain is a little bit of shame, but I always learn from it. Well I'm heading to Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday so I'm sure I will have more to share soon!

70 km and over 15 hours of walking . . . I'm exhausted!

2009-10-19T00:09:00.000+02:00

WARNING: This entry is not for the casual reader. It is crazy long. I'm sorry but there was just too much to share. I won't be offended if it's just too much for you.

I had a puente last weekend, which is what they call a long weekend (it also means bridge as a side note). Since I had Monday off, I thought it would be cool to do something. Maybe get out of the city. My friend Stephanie had mentioned that she was hoping to walk part of the Camino del Santiago on the puente. I had no idea what that was so I googled it. The Camino del Santiago is a pilgrimage trail that leads from the French border of Spain all the way to Santiago del Compostela near the Atlantic Ocean. The pilgrimage dates back to the Middle Ages. Los peregrinos, pilgrims, would walk for over 6 weeks and be housed by monasteries along the way. Well the pilgrimage has become popular in recent years for people who simply want to hike or those with a spiritual mission. I thought it sounded really interesting so at 1am on Friday morning we made plans to leave the same afternoon at 6pm.

We made decisions a little last minute to say the least. We chose a portion we thought we could cover in 3 days of walking, and booked bus and train tickets. Well I realized that night as I was going to bed that I didn't in fact own a backpack here. So I got up early the next morning and headed to the department store to buy a back pack. I didn't want to spend a lot of money so I just got a little pink Nike backpack. I figured I could make everything fit. I got out of class at 4:30pm and the train left at 6pm. So I had to run. Literally. My metro to the train station had problems so it ran late. So I sprinted through the train station, screamed at Stephanie, and jumped on the train as the doors closed behind me. I couldn't believe I made it, red faced and sweaty, but I was on the train to Leon.

We got to Leon a couple of hours later. Stephanie had spent a summer in Leon in high school so she knew the city pretty well. We decided to walk to see the cathedral lit up at night and I'm so glad we did. It was gorgeous. I love gothic architecture and this church is known to rival Notre Dame in Paris. The stained glass was insane.

The next morning we went to a monastery to get our credenciales. It looks just like a passport for pilgrims and at every church or monastery or refugio you stop at along the way you get it stamped. Los refugios are hostels designed specifically for pilgrims so they're really cheap. As in 4-6 euros for the night. They tend to be basic but it's cool to meet your fellow pilgrims.

With our credencial in hand, we set off. We planned to walk 22km the first day and follow an alternate route that was more tranquil and further away from highways but it added 5km to the next day. We were still green so we though that was no big deal. The only markers on the path are yellow arrows or conch shell signs or symbols. We started jokingly calling them affirmations because we would get so amped when we saw one. We knew were going to the right way.

El Virgen del Camino was the first city we got to and I thought it was just a monastery on the south side of Leon that it took us an 1 and a half to walk to. I thought we were never going to make it if we were still in Leon. Then Steph clarified that this was our first pueblo. There are a ton of little villages along the way and this was our first one. We visited the monastery and I got a ring with the Virgen del Camino on it to bring us good luck on our journey.

On the first day the path was mostly asphalt with some flat dirt roads. But the landscape kept changing. One second I would feel like I was in Kansas and the next second the clouds would part and I could see huge mountains in the distance. I think Stephanie said that "the land in Spain is on acid." It did make for an interesting walk. It was great to breathe in the fresh air and enjoy being outside. I love the bustle and opportunities Madrid offers but it's nice to get away every once in awhile. We found the refugio in our stopping point for the night and passed out early, sunburned and exhausted.

The next morning we knew we had a big day ahead of us: 28km. I was a little nervous about it but we set off. Every hour we got closer and closer to the mountains. We started going up and down the hills and it was such a feeling of accomplishment to know that I was in the foothills of the mountains I had seen yesterday that seemed so far away. But the path was a lot rougher and my knees could tell that I was not wearing proper footwear. We called ourselves the idiot pilgrims because we had tiny schoolbags and were wearing running shoes. Needless to say, we were not properly equipped. The other pilgrims had metal frame backpacks, walking sticks, insta-dry pants, and hiking boots. I had my pink backpack, pink running shoes, and perfectly matched outfits. We looked a little absurd.

When we reached the top of a particularly tough hill, we just laid down in the shade under a tree and felt the breeze for at least a half an hour. It was so relaxing. That sense of accomplishment at the top of every big hill is really what kept me going. And the cool villages helped too. We walked through this town with a Roman bridge too! I feel like Roman structures are just no big deal here. It's so weird to me.

We made it to Astorga that night, and it is the cutest town in the world. In the main plaza there is a clock with wooden figurines that smack it on the hour.

The town is also known for their pastries which officially makes it my favorite place I've been too! That night we grabbed a bite with some fellow pilgrims from Germany and Spain. It was really great to get to talk about our experiences and just connect across cultures. My favorite was a German man in his 60s walking the camino alone. He only spoke German and some broken English but there was a German who spoke Spanish so there were three languages flying across the table. I really liked Astorga and wished I could've had a little more time there but we had 22km to walk the next day and we had to be in Rabanal del Camino by 4pm. So we left Astorga at 7:30am and stopped at a bakery just opening for napolitana chocolate which is my favorite Spanish pastry. It's basically a chocolate croissant, but the one in Astorga was the best I've ever had.

Our final day was pretty easy in terms of walking, but we did have a time crunch. We managed to leave early so we had a delightful lunch in Rabanal del Camino. We were supposed to take a bus from this town to Ponferrada where we would take a train to Madrid. So I asked that waiter where the bus stop was at which point he told me that no bus comes to this town on Mondays. PANIC TIME!!!! Ponferrada is 30km from Rabanal del Camino and I didn't have it in me to try to walk that far. A taxi ride was going to cost more than we could afford and of course this town had no ATM so Stephanie came up with the idea to hitchhike. This couple in their 40s from the Canary Islands thought it was a great idea. The husband just said that if we thought the people seemed weird to say no. So we headed to the side of the road. The third car stopped.

I debated not putting this in the blog because I knew it would worry my friends and family. So I'd like to put a disclaimer on this: IT WAS A BAD IDEA BUT WE WERE STUCK! I never intend to hitchhike again. Have no fear I realize it was terribly irresponsible and dumb.

So the car stopped and we ran up to see a couple in their 50's. They asked where we were going and the destinations matched so we got in. I was a nervous wreck. I thought for sure I'd made the worst decision of my life. Even as Feli, the wife, talked about how they were worried bad people would pick us up, I was freaking out. To end the suspense they were incredibly nice. They stopped at key points for us to take pictures, took us for sodas in their home town, and gave us a tour of Ponferrada. Feli has such a huge personality. She couldn't get enough of us. When they left us at the bus station, she gave us her phone number and asked her to call us if we were ever in the area. I was just so relieved that we made it to the bus station!

But we had to wait 5 hours for the bus which left at 1:30am. So we decided to try and sleep, but I kept waking up to this homeless man staring at me. Obviously that made me a little nervous so I ended up listening to the Pride & Prejudice book on tape Adrienne gave me until the bus left. I got back to Madrid at 6:30 with sore knees, a sunburn, and a sinus infection but it was an adventure to say the least! I'm really thinking about trying to do the whole 6 weeks in June. I just loved the communal aspect of the camino. All the pilgrims just want to hang out and share their stories. I'm so glad I got to be a part of that even if it was only for 3 days!

epic weekend

2009-10-04T23:35:00.000+02:00

I finished my exams on Wednesday (I think they went pretty well) and I didn't have class until Monday. I figured this would be the perfect time for a few day trips from Madrid. It has been a really busy break, but it's been so fun.

First on Thursday I relaxed a little bit and then went dancing that night. It was so fun and we stayed until the place closed at 5:30am. BUT I had to get up at 9am to go to Toledo. That was a little rough, but I'm so glad I sucked it up and went.

Toledo is a beautiful, quaint town about 30 minutes south of Madrid by train. It has a city wall and a ton of history.

I ended up going with 5 guys from the program. They spent part of the day trying to say as many gross things as possible since I was the only girl. Ridiculous.

First we grabbed lunch at an amazing Syrian restaurant. Then we went and visited the Catedral de Toledo.

It has a beautiful exterior in the romanico style. Sorry I know a ton of architecture vocab now but it's all in Spanish so try and go with me on this one. The arched, massive door, or la portada, was absolutely stunning.

Inside the cathedral there was a tiny museum. I didn't really expect much because it's a church not an art museum, but I underestimated. Almost every painting in the place was from a major artist. I don't know that much about art, but I recognized almost every painter. el Greco, Goya, Velazques, Rubens, Titian, Van Dyck. WOW!

As a side note, Toledo was also the home of Cervantes, the famous author of Don Quixote. So there are statues of him everywhere.

Then we headed to El Museo de Santo Cruz. There were supposed to be 18 paintings by El Greco there, but unfortunately there were in Mexico, but the architecture of the building was a really interesting mix of Renaissance and Muslim. So it was still kind of cool.

After the museum, we went to the la Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz. It was built in 1000. CRAZY old! I just can't believe that a building that old still exists. It was really cool to see the mixing of cultures in the structure. There were columns that date back to the visigoths, roman corinthian columns, and lobulado muslim arches. It was a grab bag of ancient architecture. I mean even the name reveals the cultural mixing.

We ended the day in a bar hearing the announcement that Madrid didn't get the olympic games. That was a little sad, but the bartender was quite a character so it was still fun. On the way to the train station I got a great image of the bridge and river surrounding Toledo. It was a wonderful day.

Then I went dancing until 4:30am again. I told you this weekend was epic. Then that morning on Saturday, I went to el Escorial. It is a military fort, monastery, and royal residence all in one. It dates back to the end of the 16th century, and was built during the time of the Inquisition. It is supposed to reveal the power of Spain. It is dedicated to San Lorenzo who was burned to death on a grill. So the symbol of the grill is all over the structure and it is shaped like a grill. But my camera died about 5 minutes into this trip so I only have a few pictures of the outside.

It took us over three hours to tour the place. whew. But the library and the royal palace were two really cool highlights. In the library they had some of the books on display and they were so beautiful. Book-making has certainly changed since then.

And Saturday night I went dancing. Basically my weekend consisted of dancing and tourism. It was great, but I'm exhausted. I start classes tomorrow so wish me luck!

RANDOMS!

2009-09-26T12:35:00.000+02:00

So first I thought I would show you what my street looks like. My momma's been asking me about it so I decided to suck it up and look like a tourist on my own street for 5 minutes. A little embarrassing but hey I got my picture. There are a lot of cute little shops and cafes in the neighborhood. I see a lot of families, students, and elderly people. I really love the mix. But walking past all the shoe stores and bakeries everyday is not good for my wallet or waist size!

And since you guys already know about my weird fascination with the clothing line outside my window . . . . here it is with my clothes on it!

For some reason that makes me feel very European. Well this week my program visited the Congress house and it was pretty neat. But on the way home, a couple of us decided to check out the inside of the Atocha train station. There's a pond/garden inside that kind of reminds me of a really small Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN. There were a ton of turtles in it that were really cute!

Well at least I warned you this would be a weird one! I have exams on Tuesday and Wednesday so I will be working hard (with planned shopping breaks of course) but I'm going to hit the books!

la noche en crazy!

2009-09-24T16:28:00.000+02:00

So I promised a post about the city-wide party, La Noche en Blanco, which literally means to stay up all night, complete with pictures. Well I will post a few but my camera couldn't really capture how crazy it was. Basically the idea is that all over the city there will be cultural opportunities. All the museums are free and open all night long, in every plaza there is a concert or a free dance workshop, and there are free theater performances all around the city. It was really cool to see the mix of people. Everyone from 4 yrs old to 70 was out, and the crowds were insane.

Well I decided to hang out with my friend Courtney, Melody, and Melody's roommates from Brazil, Mexico, and France. (From back, left to right, Sophie from France, Melody from Wisconsin, me, and Courtney from Indiana)

First we headed to a party at this guy's house that Melody and I had met at the university. When we walked in (7 girls) there were like 15 guys and no other girls. They jumped up to greet us and we all started laughing. It was like a middle school dance for the first bit. Hilarious! It was a really great chance to practice my Spanish though. Then we all headed downtown to check out the museums.

We went to Bellas Artes, a smaller museum with a lot of pieces by Goya. It was cool to go there because it's a museum I probably wouldn't usually seek out. Then we headed to one of the major plazas, Plaza de Espana. There were so many people! They turned the square into a disco complete with a light show, hired dancers, and busting bass. It was really fun to dance in the middle of the street with a 1000 other people. When Michael Jackson's "Thriller" came on people went nuts! I've never seen so many people try to do the choreography without really knowing it (yes I was one of them).

There were also pieces of art set up in the streets. For example, there was a huge foam board set up of the word for sustainability and people were signing it. Speaking of which, Madrid is the greenest city I've ever seen. There are places to recycle for free in every block of the city, and the buses are all being changed to run on alternative energies. Also the city is starting an initiative about the use of olive pits as water purifiers in people's homes. My professor said today that Madrid has more green space than any other capital in Europe!

There was also this wall where people were putting post-it notes with their random comments about life. It was pretty interesting. They ranged from political to just plain silly, but it was a way for people to express themselves. I couldn't tell if this was intended by the organizers or just impromptu, but it was cool.

Melody, Courtney, and I ended the evening by dancing our hearts out at a salsa bar. It was so fun! I don't know why it never occurred to me, but they have group dances here like the cha cha slide. So we were running from one side of the dance floor to the other yelling "Arriba arriba!" I realized as I was preparing to go home at 6:30am that I had left my keys in my room. So after waiting for the subway to reopen, I got home around 7am and had to ring the buzzer a million times and wake my roommate up so that I could get in. She was so nice about it, but I felt really bad! It was an unforgettable night as cheesy as that is!

mi casa, su casa

2009-09-19T16:58:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone! So I moved into my apartment this week, and I'm not going to lie, it was a little stressful. Living with complete strangers would be awkward if they spoke English, NOW imagine that they only speak Spanish and your ability to communicate with them is limited, VERY limited. I've only met two of my roommates, Cris and Ana, because the other 2 are on vacation until school starts but they are really sweet. We usually make food around the same time and sit and eat together and watch TV. There's this reality show about dancing called Fama that I've been watching a lot with them. It's pretty ridiculous, but I learn some vocab. For example, there's this dessert called churros con chocolate that is basically fried dough that you dip in thick hot chocolate pudding. It's delicious especially at 5 am after a long night of dancing (not that I would know from experience, haha). But on Fama I learned that you can call your sweetie, mi churro. Too cute. Well I actually intended to show my apartment so here it goes . . .

First here's the kitchen. . . That's actually the washing machine next to the oven. Every apartment I looked at had the washing machine as part of the kitchen. A little weird but it works. And dryer are nonexistent here so we line dry everything.

The living room is small but we have a TV with cable and the whole right wall is covered in mirrors. I think they were trying to make the room look bigger. It's not really fooling anyone.

Now my room is right off the kitchen and I'm pretty it used to be a butler's pantry. Mostly because there's a boarded up pass through on the wall and my door has daisy glass in it that has also been boarded up. It is so narrow that I can touch both walls at the same time, but I got a really good price and I live with 4 Spanish girls so try not to judge. Hey it works for me!

The others end of my room was covered in these white closets that I thought looked really boring so . . .

I got these stickers at IKEA. I think they make it a little more festive. Now did you see the window in the earlier window. One funny thing about Spain is that every window has blinds on the outside that block out all the light and no screens. My grammar professor said it's related to Catholicism, but I don't really get it. Anyway my blind is really jank so you have to open the window, pull on the bungy cord, and attach it to a hook all the way across the room to have it open and get light. WEIRD! It actually became detached from the nail and the blind fell with a crash when I first started writing this. But on the outside of the window I have a clothes line that I'm about to use when I get done writing!

Well that's my house. It's very Spanish and definitely different from home, but I love that I'm getting a real cultural experience. Tonight is La Noche en Blanco which is a citywide festival. All the museums are open all night and there are free dance lessons and concerts! It should be amazing. I'm going to bring my camera and hopefully share it with you guys.

the best way to spend an afternoon

2009-09-13T19:32:00.000+02:00

So I've found the best way to spend an afternoon in Madrid . . . Retiro Park. It is the most relaxing place I've ever been. There are beautiful fountains, green spaces, and benches everywhere. Walking through the park with my friends eating a McFlurry was a great way to wile away the evening. (Yes I did say a McFlurry. They are so much better here. Peanut M&M's and Hot Fudge sauce make the Spanish version AMAZING!)

One of my favorite fountains was called the Fountain of the Fallen Angel. The image of Lucifer is really striking and lets be honest: gargoyles are just cool.

In Retiro there's a lake where you can rent boats and paddle around. The water is a little gross but it's still nice. It was really endearing to see all the families spending time together. I love that family is such a large part of Spanish culture.

It was really great to spend time with other people from the group.

It was also super ironic because in the monument next to the lake there was African drum circles going on. Seeing my experiences of the summer collide was enlightening. It really is a global world!

wait . . . is that an ancient roman aqueduct?

2009-09-06T22:10:00.000+02:00

So today our group took a tour of Segovia, which is a small town about an hour and half from Madrid. We get off the bus and I look over and there it is! An ancient Roman aqueduct dating from the 1st or 2nd century is just right there with cars parked underneath it. So weird! Only in Europe are beautiful ancient ruins a part of everyday life. The aqueduct was still functioning until the 19th century. Crazy!

Our tour's focus was art. I am taking an intensive course for the next three weeks to help prepare me for the semester, and art history of Spain is part of the course so our professor led the way all day. For example, we learned that the patterned walls that are featured throughout the city are evidence of the influence of the influence of the Arabs who constructed most of the city under the direction of the Christian nobles (as seen below). The pattern was made by first applying one layer of sandstone, and then another which was stamped while wet.

We also got to see the cathedral in Segovia. It is in the gothic flamboyent style, and it was beautiful.

Finally we ended up at the Alcanzer, which is castle in Arabic. It has so many layers of construction it's crazy. It seemed like almost every century it was remodeled or retooled for a different purpose from royal residence to royal artillery school. This is the view from the top of Alcanzar, and a classic group pic.

Seeing the city was amazing and I loved getting to learn about the city from an art perspective. Well that's Katie's short tour of Segovia!

In other news, I have found a piso. In Spain most students rent a room in an apartment or a piso. I will be living with 5 other Spanish girls. It's a really small place, but I met two of the girls and they seemed really nice. WOOHOO!!!!!! My neighborhood is really cute and my apartment is only two blocks from a metro stop. I'll get pictures up when I move there on the 15th.

That's all for now!

PAELLA! PAELLA! PAELLA!

2009-09-02T21:28:00.000+02:00

So I arrive at 8am, exhausted. I get my room key and go to sleep until lunch at 2pm (Spaniards have a completely different eating schedule). I wake up at 2 and head down to the cafeteria for lunch. I knew I had come to the right country when I saw it. PAELLA! For those of you that don´t know about my love of paella, I have a short story from Bloomington.

I went out to eat at with a couple of my friends, Clauck and Crichy Crich (these are their nicknames). We decided to go to this Morrocan restaurant called Casablanca. The young waitress, probably around my age, comes to our table and begins to tell us the specials. When she utters the word ¨paella,¨ I gasped in excitement so loud that she stopped listing them and laughed. I then apologized for frightening her and she continued. When she came back to ask for our order and it came to me, she said ¨Let me guess, paella?¨ That´s how excited I got. I was overjoyed with the prospect of seafood, rice, and saffron. Then as I´m eating my delicious meal, my lovely friend Crich gently asks me if I realize how much my meal is going to cost. Despite mentioning that the saffron I love in the dish is more expensive than gold per pound, the price had never occured to me! $35 later I had a to-go-box full of joy, and I was ok with it. Until I left the to-go-box on the table and the waitress had to run after me. O yeah and then I tripped and spilled half the left overs on the ground. Anyway, the point of that long story is that I love PAELLA!

I am continually shocked at the quality of every meal we eat here. Dorm food doesn´t mean the same thing here as it does in the States. The greasy, sometimes cold pizza has been replaced with gazpacho, baguette, baked chicken, etc. It is delicious! In Spain they also eat on a very different schedule with breakfast around 9:30, lunch at 2, and dinner at 9:30. I really like it, but it is taking some getting used to.

Well, I´m constantly sitting in meetings, and trying to learn everything I can before my intensive class starts on Friday. And I have to get an apartment by Sept. 16 so let the adventures continue! I´ll keep you posted, but I´m here safely and pretty sure that this is the country for me solely as a result of the food!

2009-08-29T21:28:00.001+02:00

Need I say more! Unforgettable!

The Trial Pack

2009-08-29T21:26:00.000+02:00

So I'm about to leave for Spain . . . for 10 months! I really can't believe it. I'm so excited and so terrified all at the same time. Why terrified you might ask? Well I coerced my father into helping me do a trial pack. For those of you who know him, just imagine Carl sitting on my bed calmly and rationally discussing the needed amount of tank tops and accessories. I wanted to make sure my 50 pairs of shoes would make it in my allotted luggage space. Needless to say, they do not fit. After many groans and cries of frustration I resigned myself to 10 pairs and only half of my clothes. It was a rough start, but hey that means more shopping in Spain. Right? Getting my booty home? I'm not thinking about that yet. That's almost a year away.

Here I'll be recording my adventures from time to time. I can't promise that I'll be faithful or interesting, but I will try my best. Next time I write I will be in SPAIN! Woohoo! May the tapas, bullfighting, and espanol begin!

p.s. - As for the title of the blog . . . yes it's from My Fair Lady! I could never forget Audrey Hepburn's hat in that movie. A classic. Although for the record, it was Adrienne Chaudoin's idea. Brilliant!