Paris!

La ciudad de amor :)

mi amor

Well, I can officially say I've been to Paris! And I have to say getting so spend Thanksgiving weekend in Paris was right up there with spending Thanksgiving with my Mom's family last year. Two really great back-to-back Thanksgivings!

Kiersten and I left for Paris on Friday. We took a train to Valencia, a subway to the airport, a plane to the outskirts of Paris, an hour bus to the center of the city, and a taxi to our hotel. We left Alicante at 9:30 a.m. and got to our hotel at 6:30 p.m. and met Diane, another girl from our program who joined us in Paris for the weekend. 

And then began our inside joke for the rest of the trip: "Paris Quick and Cheap - No, We're Not Talking about McDonald's"...coming soon to a bookstore near you.

Notre-Dame

This joke came about because we needed to grab dinner quickly before heading to the Louvre before it closed, so we decided to ask the lady at the front desk what our options were. I jokingly said, "she's just gonna say 'McDonald's' guys..." And sure enough she did.  So for the for the rest of the trip our goal was to spend the least amount of money on activities, transportation, and food (and especially avoid McDonald's). So for starters (instead of the suggested McDonald's), we grabbed sandwiches and bottled water at a bakery near the hotel for dinner (5.50 euro for each of us!). Then we headed to the Louvre for a couple hours which is free for students on Friday nights (score). To get ourselves places, we used the metro system which was cheap and super efficient! On Saturday Kiersten and I grabbed breakfast at a store on our way to the Arc de Triomphe to meet Diane (which consisted of a 15 cent banana for me and a box of granola bars to share). We took pictures at the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs-Elysees where we found a little Christmas fair with ice-skating, Santa, food, and booths. After that, we walked down the Seine River, passing the Orsay Museum on our way to our destination: Notre-Dame (also free). Afterwards we headed to the Luxembourg Gardens where we watched a little boy throw rocks at birds for a good half an hour (free as well). At this point we were ready for lunch so we found a cheap little cafe where we were able to get tea, a cold beverage, a toasted baguette sandwich and dessert for 8 euros (Dad, all this talk about food is for you, since you asked :P ). 

The Louvre

For dinner we went to Chipotle--nobody judge me! It's been far too long since I've anything close to Mexican food. There are only two Chipotles in Europe (one in Paris and one in London). The three of us were in heaven to say the least. After dinner, we bought champagne for a euro and took it to the Eiffel Tower to drink while watching the tower all lit up. 

Baby dessert :)

The funky metro

Excited Chipotle burrito-eaters

Champagne in water-bottles at the Eiffel Tower. A classy moment.

Sacre-Coeur

On Sunday breakfast was the same. We all went to see the Moulin Rouge (it's like 200 euros for dinner and a show). Afterwards we climbed up to see the views from the Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart) Basilica. From there we could see gorgeous views of the city and it happened to be sunny which was an added bonus! By then we were hungry for lunch so we grabbed a baguette and some brie. After our chow-down we each bought a delicious warm crepe. At this point Diane had to leave us to go back to Alicante because she had to get back early for a class on Monday. So Kiersten and I then decided to climb the Arc de Triomphe which was also free for students (yay!). After that, we met Kiersten's 

mom's childhood friend who has lived in Paris now for almost 20 years. We had drinks and talked about life and whatnot. After meeting with her, Kiersten and I went souvenir shopping. She and I grabbed dinner at a Kebab place. Kebabs are a type of sandwich typical in Arabic cuisine. They're really popular in Spain, and I guess in France too! They're delicious and cheap! On our way back to the hotel we passed the best looking bakery I've ever seen! So we each bought two different kinds of tarts. Absolutely superb. 

Kebab!

My weekend in Paris was quite an experience! I'm so glad I went! But as always, it's nice to come "home" to Alicante and see my host parents. 

Speaking of which, my host dad has been more chatty and social than usual. He's been asking lots of questions and he's been very concerned that I'm not eating enough. So he's been putting extra food out and has moved things to "a more convenient place in the kitchen in case I get hungry after meals." It's very sweet. He even gave me a heater for my room because I walk around the house bundled up all the time; he's observant, always a good quality to have. But I have to say, talking to my host dad is kind of strange sometimes...

Take Example A:

Host Dad: "Here's a 'persimmon' (he says persimmon in English). I don't know what you guys call it in       America but it's called a 'persimmon' here."

Me: "Yeah, that's actually what it's called in English."

Host Dad: "Yeah, I don't know what it's called in English."

Me: "It's called a persimmon..."

Host Dad: "Yeah, but I don't know what it's called in English. But it's from the peach family."

Me: "..."

Example B:

Host Dad: "Where are you going this weekend?"

Me: "Paris."

Host Dad: "Now I'm going to tell you something really important."

Me: "Yes?"

Host Dad: "In Paris there are a lot of French people."

Me: I laugh at what I think is a joke

Host Dad: *gives me a serious look*

Me: I stop laughing and am instantly confused...does my host dad not like French people?

Example C:

Host Dad: "Do you like paté?"

Me: "I have no idea."

Host Dad: "Okay, I'll buy you some today."

...later at dinner 4 jars of paté are on the table

Host Dad: "I didn't know which kind you would like so I bought you a bunch. Try them all."

Me: I try them all... "I like them."

Host Dad: "Good, I'll start making you paté sandwiches instead of ham all the time."

Me: "Um, thanks."

Host Dad: "I moved the crackers to the snack cabinet so that you can have easy access to crackers and paté whenever you want. Feel free to have some after breakfast if you're hungry."

Me: "Thanks..."

Today I look inside the fridge and there are a bazillion jars of paté in there...

Good times with my host Dad. 

That is all for now. Now I hibernate and study for finals and write 10 page Spanish essays. Ciao! <3 

P.S. My students are starting to ask me about English swear-words. I knew this day would come...

Madrid/ Día de Acción de Gracias

Madrid

Royal Palace

This weekend’s trip was Madrid! I can now say that in my opinion, Madrid is a way cooler city than Barcelona. Which is exactly what the Spaniards have been telling me. Originally I didn’t even think I wanted to go to Madrid that badly and really wanted to go to Barcelona. Well, I was very very wrong. Madrid is fantastic. It’s one of my favorite big cities that I’ve ever visited.

El martes 13

Tuesday the 13^th is like our Friday the 13^th: it’s bad luck. Luckily (haha), nothing bad happened to me but I’m pleased to know they have a day just like us. Couldn’t tell you why it’s a Tuesday, though!

La huelga general

On Wednesday last week, there was a nation-wide strike all over Spain, as well as all over a lot of Europe. People were protesting against the government, the economic crises occurring over Europe and how the crises are affecting schools and businesses. This meant that I got the day off because my program director decided that we shouldn’t try to enter the university because people would most likely be blocking the entry and the bus system would be all over the place. Plus, many professors decided to participate in the strike as well, and not show up for class.

It was a good thing that I got the day off. I was able to write a good chunk of an essay for the coming week and go for my first official run in Spain (embarrassing, but the good news is that all the walking I’ve been doing has kept me in shape because my 5k time isn’t a minute slower than it was at my peak this summer!).

La casa de Pepa

Later in the evening on Wednesday, my grandma and I went over to Pepa’s  house (my program director) for a merienda (late afternoon tea and snack) because Pepa graciously invited us over, eager to meet my grandma. I actually gave English lessons to Candela (Pepa’s niece) and Clara (her daughter) while my grandma showed Pepa a thing or two about painting and sketching  (Pepa has just started taking an oil painting class). My grandma even sketched both of Pepa’s kids which they loved. Later we had our merienda, chatted, and took lots of pictures together. I love Pepa and her family. It’s nice to feel part of so many warm new families: my host family, the colegio, Pepa’s family, and Candela’s family. I’m very lucky to know so many amazing people.

Madrid

Finally got Kiersten a gofre! (waffle)

El Prado

La Reina Sofia

by Dalí

My grandma, Kiersten, and I headed to Madrid for the weekend. Our train got in around 2 p.m. on Friday, which allowed us to grab some lunch, explore the famous Plaza de la Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor, and tour the incredible Royal Palace. We were able to see several rooms of the palace (the palace is huge, something like 3000 rooms!). We were able to see the throne room, the dining room, and some dressing rooms. Man I wish I could live in a palace. For dinner on Friday, we stumbled upon a local restaurant miraculously and ordered sangria and pinchos (small dishes on pieces of bread), which were fabulous.

On Saturday we toured the Prado Museum, which was overwhelmingly huge but phenomenal. We saw many famous painters such as: El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Goya and many more. We also toured the Botanical Gardens behind the museum, which was really nice because we were able to see Fall colors finally  (Fall doesn’t really exist in Alicante). We took a tour bus and saw the rest of the city and once again had a fabulous dinner of paella J

On Sunday we went to the Reina Sofia museum (contemporary art). I loved this museum…but I also love Salvador Dalí and this museum was full of his works, so that’s probably why. We also saw Picasso’s “Guernica” which is incredible in person. Afterwards we went to El Rastro, a famous and HUGE flea market in Madrid. I bought myself a little bracelet with Spain’s colors (red and yellow) as I am trying to collect bracelets from every city I visit. For lunch we had fried calamari sandwiches, which we were told we had to try. Afterwards we bought churros and chocolate and sat at tea place chatting until with was time to head back. This trip was fabulous! I definitely want to go back!!

Esta semana

This week I finished up another class. I had a final, a final paper, and a final presentation. So it’s amazing that I was able to do all of that with all the traveling that’s been going on.

On Tuesday, my grandma went back to the States. But I’m so glad she came, it was fun showing her my new life and it was super fun traveling together! Plus she’s an expert on art, so she was able to tell me lots in the museums. Thank you so much for coming, Nana! I miss you!

Today is Thanksgiving…so ¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias! Happy Thanksgiving! First day in history that I ever went to school on Thanksgiving. Weird. But I was able to teach my students a little bit about the holiday and I brought them some apple crisp that I made with Kiersten last night. I also went to a Thanksgiving Dinner/Lunch put on by my program at a restaurant on campus. First day in history that I’ve ever gone to school where I then had my Thanksgiving meal. Also weird. But it was fun nevertheless. The meal started out with tapas and then later we had the “traditional” turkey and the works. Their attempt was good, but I think I liked the tapas more ;)

Such enthusiasm to learn English!

My older kids :)

All  in all, a very good last couple of weeks. And now I’m off to Paris ! Au revoir!

Strange British English Words & Phrases That My Students Are Learning (and I guess me too!)…

•       Trousers
•       Taking out the rubbish
•         The rubbish bin
•        Lay the table (set the table)
•        Have you got a… (instead of ‘do you have’)
•        Cooker (stove)
•        Trainers (sneakers)

Real hard not to laugh at these in class, though...

Barcelona

Love from home

This was a quick week since I got back from Morocco on Tuesday and then left again for Barcelona on Thursday afternoon! Only 2 days of classes this last week! But I did have 3 nice surprises: an awesome care package from my best friend Sarah (she got me all my favorite goodies from the States), my grandmother arrived in Alicante (she’ll be visiting for 2 weeks) and she brought me goldfish that my mom sent me. All good things to have from home.

¡Obama ha ganado!

Obama won! It was great news to wake up to on Wednesday. All of my students and teachers told me he won and were also excited which cracked me up. I guess Romney said something bad about Spain's economy and now all the Spaniards hate him. 

Llega mi abuela

My grandmother (dad’s mom) arrived on Wednesday all by herself to visit me in Spain! My host family actually invited her to stay and eat with us which is huge and not part of the deal. So I feel very special that my host family likes me enough to let one of my family members stay with us. My host family could not be sweeter. It’s quite the job though translating everything back and forth since my grandma doesn’t speak any Spanish and my host family speaks no English.  It’s good practice but boy does my brain get confused.  Everyone is very impressed that my grandma traveled to Spain by herself and wants to meet her. Even my program director Pepa, has now invited both of us over for tea and a snack next week.

Oficialmente vivo en España

On Thursday I picked up my official foreign exchange student card that permits me to be here for a year (an extension of my student visa that only lasts 90 days). The card says I’m registered as part of my host family and I officially live here! Pretty exciting!

Barcelona

Fountain at Plaza Cataluña

Like I said, my grandmother and I left for Barcelona on Thursday by train (takes approximately 5 hours). We got in around 10:00 p.m. and went out for tapas and sangria. On Friday we walked down La Rambla, a very famous street in Barcelona that links the main part of town (Plaza Cataluña—where we stayed) to the sea. La Rambla is full of shops, street performers, and restaurants. About half way down is a market on the right side called La Boqueria which has fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, sweets, bars, and restaurants. We ate at a restaurant behind the market for lunch that was phenomenal. We also went to the Pablo Picasso museum which was interesting because I hadn’t really seen much of his early stuff which is much different from what we think when we hear “Picasso.” For dinner we went to an excellent Catalán restaurant and ate delicious food once again. Catalán is the “dialect” they speak in Barcelona because Barcelona pertains to the province of Cataluña. Catalán is a mix between French and Spanish and I can understand it for the most part but reading it is a whole other story. Catalán food is similar to traditional Spanish food but has certain recipes and sauces that pertain to the region.

Miró statue

On Saturday we purchased tickets to ride the “hop on, hop off” tourist bus to be able to see the whole city since we were only there for the weekend. There are two routes (east part of the city and the west part of the city). We started with the west route that took us up by Montjuic (“Jew Mountain”) and to the Joan Miró museum, which I thought was fantastic. A lot of it was abstract art, which confuses the heck out of me…jumping through a piece of paper is museum-worthy art? I’m not kidding, that was an exhibit.  I could do that.  Anyways, the rest of the museum was mostly Miró’s work, which was phenomenal. He used so many mediums and textures and his work was so lively. I loved it, and highly recommend the museum.  Later we saw the Batlló house, a famous landmark in Barcelona. Then we got off the bus and had lunch at another quaint Catalán restaurant before getting on the east route. On the east route we saw La Sagrada Familia, Antonio Gaudí’s famous unfinished church, which was such an amazing sight. We also got off at Gaudí Park where we saw his house, with handmade furniture by the artist and various sculptures throughout the park like the famous dragon.  For dinner we had a wonderful three-course paella dinner. Pretty sure the food was my favorite part of Barcelona and I probably gained 3 pounds this weekend from all the eating. I also started drinking champagne at lunch...I could get used to that. ;) You only live once/visit Barcelona so many times in your life so I guess I can justify it all…

Casa de Batlló

Today (Sunday) we didn’t do very much since we had to head back to Alicante. We saw a smaller but charming cathedral, watched a protest pass by, wandered around some of the little streets, and my grandma bought some presents.

La Sagrada Familia

View from Gaudí Park

It was a good weekend, but as always, I love going back to my host family and bed in Alicante :) 

Next up, Madrid!

Paella!

¡Las adventuras han empezado!

The adventures have begun!

Once again, I was traveling this weekend so my blog post is late (as will be the next three--traveling all weekends this month!) But I've got some pretty cool stuff to share with y'all!

Tapas!

Patatas bravas

At the beginning of last week, my cooking class and I went to a local restaurant and learned how to make tapas. Tapas are traditional small Spanish plates of food (similar to appetizers) and are meant to be enjoyed in the company of others. Spanish culture and cuisine, for that matter, is very social. So going out for tapas and drinks is very common all over Spain. In some places, like Granada, if you order a drink you get a "free" tapa (basically so you don't get overly drunk every time you order a new drink--why haven't we thought of this?). Each tapa usually ranges in price between 1,50 and 4 euros. But we got to make and eat a bunch for free!

Making the Ensalada rusa

Kiersten and I were in charge of making ensalada rusa which is delicious (it's kind of like tuna salad, but better because I actually like it). But other tapas such as croquetes which are fried balls of potato and meat essentially, patatas bravas--hand made potato chips with a spicy tomato sauce spread on top, roasted vegetables, and fried calamari were made by my fellow classmates as well. And of course all was served with fresh bread. It was delicious. The cook offered Kiersten and I a "job" at his restaurant because we apparently make ensalada rusa better than some of his employees.

Calamari

Halloween

Obviously last week was Halloween, but not so much here in Spain. It was my job at the colegio to make a presentation about Halloween (where it came from/what we do) and present it to my students. I was also in charge of a Halloween party for my older students from bachiller (university bound students) and students from my American program. The party was hosted in a classroom at the colegio after school last Tuesday. People from my program and I dressed up, I presented my presentation, we carved a pumpkin, listened to Halloween songs, played games, and ate treats. It was a blast but unfortunately I spent all my energy on the party and ended up sick the following day on Halloween...

Estaba pachucha

On Halloween I woke up with a sore throat, no voice, chills, the ugliest cough and a fever. So I spent it napping and watching Parenthood on Netflix. My host mom always takes good care of me, though. She went out and bought me a pack of some sort of medication that was super intense (cold/cough/flu combined). It's also illegal in the U.S. which is probably why it worked so well. And she made me lots of tea and soup. She's da bomb.

La Panadería

A friend showed me the most adorable little Panadería (bread and pastry shop) in town. I mean there's tons of them all over but the lady who owns this one couldn't be sweeter. Her cookies and pastries are to die for and crazy cheap! I love going there just to say hi to her. She knows which ones I like now too. She told me my favorite cookies there have wine in them...no wonder I like them! I can get like 8 of them for a euro. When I come back fat...you know why.

Sevilla, España

Kiersten and I booked our trip to Morocco through an organized excursion group called Discover Sevilla. Naturally they are located in Sevilla (southern Spain in the region of Andalusia, a.k.a. super lispy--ville). So we had to get ourselves to Sevilla in order to go on the trip. The trip was scheduled from Friday to late Sunday night. So we struggled with good transportation prices and ultimately decided to take an overnight bus on Thursday night at midnight from Alicante to Sevilla and take one back on Monday night. This left us with 6 hours in Sevilla on Friday, and a night in a hostel Sunday night and the entire day in Sevilla Monday. Sevilla is a fantastic city. Another city full of history. We wandered our way around the big city and magically got ourselves to every place we intended to with minimal looks at maps. (Because of this, we have now decided to do the Amazing Race together). We saw the infamous Cathedral (largest gothic cathedral in the world, the 3rd largest church in the world, and the home to Christopher Columbus' tomb), Plaza de España (where part of the last Star Wars movie and The Dictator were filmed apparently--little brother are you reading this?), various gardens, and several other famous landmarks that we happened to stumble upon. Sevilla is a must-see city in Spain.

Christopher Columbus' tomb 

Plaza de España

Plaza de España

Marruecos

Atlantic Ocean

Alright, now for the big news. I've been to Africa! My trip to Morocco was incredible, far too short but so worth every moment.

Morocco is an Arabic country governed by a King and Prime minister and it's official languages are Arabic, French, and Spanish (mostly in the north). Obviously Morocco is a developing country, evident from occasionally having to pee in holes for toilets, seeing men taking craps along the side of the road, immense poverty, and watching children dangerously hold on to the back of our tour bus to catch a ride to the next town. But aside from that, Morocco is beautiful. I was only in the north, in the towns of Tanger, Assilah, Tetuan, and Chefchaouen and in the countryside between these cities. When you think Morocco, you might think desert. But in the north, it's very mountainous and green. I did get some glimpses of how I've pictured the continent of Africa as a whole (types of trees, landscape, various lakes), but the desert is further south in Morocco.

Caves of Hercules

To get to Morocco, the group (who mostly consisted of Americans and our tour guides) took a tour bus from Sevilla to the southern tip of Spain called Tarifa (about 3 hours). From there we took an hour long ferry across the Mediterranean Sea to Morocco and within 20 minutes we were in Tanger, the biggest northern city of Morocco and also the place we stayed both nights in Morocco. While in Tanger I rode a camel, saw the Caves of Hercules, and saw the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.

 The trip included food so all the meals were amazing. I could eat couscous for days. The trip did not include water, however, so I had to buy my own which was imperative as you can get very sick from drinking the water. Even still, my stomach is a little uneasy now that I'm back (although weirdly was fine while I was there).

Chicken, vegetables, and couscous!

In Tetuan, we saw one of the King's palaces (he has one in every city in Morocco). Our tour guides told us that Morocco is one of the world's largest leaders in producing hash/marijuana but it's technically not allowed to be sold unless directed by the King. Hmm, I don't think that's working too well...as I'm pretty sure lots of it makes it's way around the world (and makes the King rich).

King's Palace

In Assilah and Chefchaouen we were let loose to explore the cities and practice bargaining. I can't say I'm the best bargainer but I'm pretty good at holding my ground. I bought a scarf, some bracelets, and pottery. I also treated myself to some henna by the sweetest and fastest henna-doer I've ever seen. I also bought mint tea, which is quite possibly the best tea I've had in my life. It's to die for.

Where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean

Delicious mint tea!

Henna

It was a very cool trip that I will never forget. I'm so happy that I went, I almost can't even believe it happened.

Home sweet home

I loved Morocco and Sevilla but it certainly is nice to be back "home." I actually really missed my host parents and Alicante. And my host mom bought me all sorts of treats that I came home to. I love her :)

But I'm off to Barcelona this upcoming weekend with my Grandma who arrives tomorrow to visit me! I'm pretty stoked!