Ireland, Germany, & Amsterdam

Hello! So much has happened since my last blog post, I've been too busy to post!


Irlanda

Mom and I said goodbye to the boys on the 5th and headed to Ireland, which is one of my new favorite places in the world. We stayed at this old-fashioned yet super classy hotel called The Gresham in the heart of Dublin. It was lovely - I kept telling Mom that I thought we were on the Titanic ;) Our first night in, we didn't do a whole lot except get Mom a coat so she could stop freezing her butt off. We went out for sushi (the first time for me in a long time) and had some wine in the bar downstairs when we got back.

Cooking class in Howth

Zuppe di pesce 

The next morning we got up and took the Dart out to Howth (a little town on the coast) for our cooking class in a castle!! Our class was Italian themed so we made Zuppe di pesce, lemon roasted potatoes, stuffed and baked aubergine (the fancy european word for 'eggplant'), panzanella stuffed chicken breasts, and a raspberry and chocolate semi-freddo. Yum! And we met some cool people from Ireland who were all super sweet and gave us advice on places to go in Dublin.

Howth

The castle!  

Dublin

St. Patrick's Cathedral

High Tea

I found Dublin as a sort of smaller, quaint little London. I loved it. Unfortunately, Mom and I had some issues with the museums; a lot of the ones we wanted to visit were closed and/or being renovated. We did go to part of the Modern Art Museum (the part that wasn't closed), and the National Museum which had tons of cool stuff (Viking ships, medieval artifacts, and creepy bog bodies, to name a few). We also saw a bit of Trinity College, toured around a bit in Temple Bar (the hipper part of town), and ate at Queen of Tarts which had scrumptious food. We went inside St. Patrick's Cathedral, saw a movie in theaters (another thing I hadn't done in forever), went on a tour in Kilmainham Prison, and went to a pub! One of my favorite parts of the trip was Afternoon Tea with champagne (Mom went all out and spoiled me).

Powercourt Estate

Pet Cemetery 

To get away from the city, we went out to Enniskerry one day to see Powerscourt Estate. Today the mansion that remains has been renovated into a nice cafeteria and cute, but over-priced shops. But the gardens were the reason we went. We didn't quite hit it at the right time, but the Japenese gardens were still pretty and we saw some things starting to come into bloom. My personal favorite was the Pet Cemetery where, literally, the family had burried all of their pets (dogs, horses, cows, you name it...).




Alemania

After Ireland, Mom and I headed to Germany. We stayed just outside Munich's city center in a cute little apartment. Munich wasn't all we'd hoped for but that's okay, because the real reason for the trip was so that Mom could go to her favorite yarn store for the first, and maybe only, time in her life.

Munich

Let me first just say that Munich's transportation system was a pain in the a**. I think we spent more time figuring out the transportation system then doing much of anything else. I've done London and Paris' transportation systems, but man, something about Munich's was just not super straightforward.

Anywho, when were weren't trying to read subway maps in German, Mom and I explored a couple of Museums and the streets of Munich. We went to the Deutsch Museum which honestly was kind of lame. It said it was an interactive science and technology museum, but all the exhibits that I tried to play with were broken. I felt like a sad little kid. But it had a couple of cool exhibits like the Gutenberg printing presses and a super neat "photography through the years" exhibit. We also went to a Modern Art museum which was supposed to have a bunch of impressionist works. Instead it was mostly dark and creepy German paintings with a few impressionist paintings, that clearly weren't good enough for bigger art museums. That was a bit disappointing. We also went to the Royal palace which was cool, yet somewhat overwhelming that Mom and I finally had to just run for the exit. We decided we didn't want to go to the overly touristy Hofbrauhaus for a beer so we went to Augustinier Brew house instead which was phenomenal and the beer was fantastic!

The Palace

Crown Jewels!

Pfaffenhofen

Mom in buying her yarn.

Things got better when we left the city for a day to go out to Pfaffenhofen for Mom's yarn shopping spree. We took a train out and got to see the beautiful Bavarian countryside. And Pfaffenhofen is a just a little gem of a city. It was tiny but so cute, and the people couldn't have been friendlier. Mom bought loads of yarn and we chatted it up with the yarn shop's owner's friend, Dani, who spoke such perfect English, I couldn't believe it. She gave us a recommedation for lunch so we ended up having wiener shnitzel, a very typical Bavarian dish (which I have to say is quite delicious). 

Wiener Schnitzel 

Vuelto a Alicante

After about 3 and a half days in Munich, we had to return to Alicante because I had to go back to school (and because Mom's rusty German and my absolute inability to speak German just wasn't working out). I showed Mom around the town a bit more, we went to a super cool art museum, and she did some touring around on her own as well when I was in class. She stayed with my host family and I, and even despite language differences both of my "moms" adored each other. My host mom went all out with meals and even made paella so my mom could try it. Mom even met Pepa and the other ladies who work for my program and I showed her around the University of Alicante a bit. It was fun showing my mom my new world.

Amsterdam

The day after Mom left, Kiersten, Tonada, and I  jetted off to Amsterdam (as my host mom says, "I never stop moving"). I think Amsterdam may have moved to the top of my list of my favorite cities in Europe (London is close though!). And we hit it on such a beautiful weekend, it was so sunny and beautiful (still cold, but the sun was brilliant). We had looked on Airbnb for an apartment and ended up staying in this guys second half of an apartment. He was so chill and great to have around to answer all of our questions and give us tips. He even invited us out to a music gig and offered us some of his dinner one night.

We got in on Friday and after settling in, we headed straight to Anne Frank's house which was of course sad but very interesting. Afterwards, we went back to the apartment and made a nice dinner with wine. On Saturday we went the Hermitage museum which is temporarily hosting the Van Gogh museum because the actual one is being renovated. From there we walked to this area with all sorts of Asian cuisines because we had all been craving Thai food. Lunch was fabulous and we got our fix. Were were near the Red Light District so we took a stroll through there...yeah. We went to the NEMO which is a science museum (aimed at kids but we enjoyed it!). And we of course passed many a "coffee shop" when walking through town. And we totally had to stop and get fries which are everywhere in Amsterdam and come with delicious sauces. Yum.

Fries!!!

Tonada and I at the NEMO working on genetics

Thai food! 

Botanical Gardens

Tulip Museum

On Sunday, we tried to find the Purse and Bag museum but ended up stumbling upon a bunch of street artists so we all bought some art. We decided then to just head to the Botanical Gardens which were really pretty. We had lunch at a bagel place (another food item we'd been craving). Afterwards, we went over to this cute and hip little neighborhood called the Jordaan. We walked around. We went to the Tulip Museum and the Cheese Museum in the Jordaan (two of our best decisions). Then we headed to Leidseplein where lots of bars and restaurants are but that's also where we got tickets for a canal boat tour of the city. While we waited for our tour, we walked over to the Rijksmuseum just to see it (we all decided we'd have to come back to fully enjoy it because it would've eaten up our whole day to go inside). We took pictures in front of the 'I Amsterdam' sign and grabbed a Heineken before getting on the boat. Our tour was at sunset, so it was absolutely stunning passing through the canals. After the tour, we made friends with a Greek guy who talked us into eating at his restaurant and even gave us free alcohol as part of our meal. It was a good day. But the end of the trip came all too soon and we went back to Alicante on Monday.

Leidseplein

Our Greek Friend

Visitas, Portugal, Córdoba y Toledo

 La visita de Vicente

Two days after I got back from London, my friend Vincent (the same one who met me in London), came to visit me in Alicante (he's currently studying art in Barcelona this semester). He stayed with my host family and I, and my host parents adored him. I’m assuming part of the reason they loved him was because he ate more than I typically do, so that thrilled them, naturally. He got in on a Friday night so we couldn’t do much. But on Saturday I took him out to Villa Joyosa where the Valor Chocolate Factory is situated.  We actually ended up meeting with my speaking exchange partner, Virginia, who lives there so she showed us around her little town a bit and then we all toured the factory together, had samples, and bought some treats.  Afterwards, we went back to my place and my host mom made paella for lunch. We took a siesta and then met up with Kiersten and her boyfriend Tyler, who had also come to visit on his spring break. The four of us climbed the castle in Alicante and Vincent took lots of silly pictures of us on his fancy camera (I'll try to remember to add them later when he gets around to sending them to me). Then we all went back home, had dinner, met back up, and we went out to some bars and clubs with some of my other friends.

On Sunday, we had a more relaxing day and stayed around the house. We took a walk in the late afternoon and saw some Easter related parades and climbed the other smaller castle in Alicante, which also has great views at sunset. 

On Monday and Tuesday, Vincent accompanied me to the colegio where we did presentations about our trip in London together. It was fun having him along and sharing the experience with him. He told me he thought it was interesting and a neat experience. The kids really liked him too, and asked him a bazillion questions just like they asked me at the beginning. Everyone thought he looked like Real Madrid's soccer team player, Angel Di' Maria (which he does). So that was the laughable, running joke while he was here...and apparently everywhere else in Spain for him too. On Monday night he came to tutoring with me, we went to Kiersten's house for a bagel party (Tyler brought bagels all the way from the US!), and then we went out for beers later that night. It was a fun weekend, I'm glad he came out :)

La llegada de mi familia

And just a few days later my parents and brother rolled into town after they spent the first week of their vacation in Paris and Madrid. I met them at their hotel on Friday and then they came over to meet my host family which was quite entertaining. My host sister was home and speaks some English so she and I were doing lots of translating and both of us were dying of laughter when my host dad kept wanting me to translate bad or inappropriate spanish words to my family. After we left my host family, I showed my real family (weird that I have to distinguish them as my "real" family) around Alicante and introduced them to a Kebap which is a Middle Eastern food most similar to a Greek gyro (or for me the closest thing to a burrito, sadly). They're delicious and I got them hooked! After dinner, we went out for dessert and then Sean and I headed back to my house, where we both stayed, while my parents went back to their hotel. The next morning both families and I went out for a traditional Spanish breakfast which was actually really fun. I really wish all members could truly communicate because I really think everyone would get along super well. I feel like we meshed well as families. When we finished, I showed my parents around a bit more and then we headed off to Granada!

Granada

We got to Granada on Saturday and it basically poured the entire time we were there. We had tickets for the palaces in the famous Alhambra at night which was spectacular. I had been there in October with my program during the day, but seeing it at night was a totally different experience. The next day (Easter) we toured the rest of the Alhambra and decided to head towards Lagos, Portugal because nothing was really open and we wanted to get to Lagos at a reasonable hour. 

Portugal

The view of Dona Ana Beach

Portugal was a lovely country with wonderful people. I can't exactly say that of our apartment that we stayed in, however. That part of the trip was an adventure in itself. We arrived to the advertised "lovely family apartment by the sea" that we rented but found it less than what was described online. The furniture was old and falling apart, the heater was broken (it was cold and rainy the first night, so this was a let-down), the dishwasher was full of dishes covered in one inch thick mold, the washing machine was full of water that spilled out all over the floor, and my parent's bed literally broke on day two. The plus side of this was that we made a Canadian friend: the woman who was renting the apartment upstairs came down and helped us

 figure things out (get in touch with the owner and caretakers). She was kind enough to invite us in at 1 a.m. and let us sit by the fire. Things improved on Monday (i.e. the sun came out and we left the apartment). We explored the little town, walked along our beach, went out to Sagres which used to be considered "the end of the world" before Columbus discovered the Americas, and had a lovely dinner in a small fishing town called Salema. Mom and I ordered the Cataplana which is traditional seafood stew in Portugal, and it was scrumptious. The restaurant was clearly run by a bunch of cousins or something and we had a blast joking around with them, as they playfully made fun of the fact that we're foreigners. On Tuesday, the morning the bed collapsed, we lied out on the beach and got some sun while they brought us a new bed, then we headed back out to Sagres to tour the Fort/Museum at the end of world which had closed by the time we had gotten there on Monday. We had a super good dinner at a beachfront restaurant near our place. Mom and Dad got grilled tuna while Sean and I had grilled swordfish. Portugal is also known for having superb grilled fresh fish, and I concur.

Salema, Portugal

Cataplana

The end of the world!

The good news at the end of the story here is that we got a full refund for our stay! Yipee! I guess the experience really "paid" off.  ;)

Córdoba y Toledo

Museo de Santa Cruz

Typical flan from Córdoba, or so we were told.

Yesterday we made a four hour drive back into Spain and stayed in Córdoba which is in Andalusia and isn't too far from Sevilla. We walked around the old medieval city a bit and went out for tapas at really fun and traditional Spanish restaurant. Our waiter liked us so much that he gave us two glasses of after dinner liquor. The folks and I walked away full and buzzed. Always good in Spain. Today we got up and drove another three hours to Toledo where we stopped for a few hours. Toledo is an hour outside of Madrid and is also an old medieval city held within what used to be castle walls. Toledo was so picturesque, I swear we were in a fairytale. We went the the Santa Cruz museum which had lots of art and really old artifacts.

We walked around and saw the town's Cathedral but couldn't spend much more time there because we wanted to get settled in Madrid at a reasonable hour. Mom and  I fly to Ireland tomorrow morning and Dad and Sean fly home to Sacramento.

It was really fun having my family here, I feel really fortunate that they came to visit me, and it felt really special to show them my life here in Spain. Thank you guys so much for coming :)

Toledo, Spain

Londres (London!)

El tiempo vuela

I can't believe how fast this semester is moving. It's terrifying. But I'm having such a blast. Last weekend Kiersten and I jetted off to London (!!!) for 6 days. We had Monday and Tuesday off from school so we were able to make it a long weekend. Which was good because London is huge and there's so much to do! I also got to meet up with my friend from high school, Vincent, who is studying in Barcelona this semester, and my future roommate and good friend, Alli, who is studying in London this semester.

To organize this for you all as well as myself, I'm going to break down the trip by days:

El viernes

Tower Bridge

Riding the London Eye with Vincent

Kiersten and I left Alicante at 7:10 Friday morning, got into London at 9:00, bused ourselves to the center of London, took the underground to the place we were staying. We stayed with Louise, my dad's friend from college, and her family which was super fantastic. She and her family were so nice and generous, and it was so comfortable and wonderful being able to stay with a family so close to my own culture.

View from the London Eye

After we dropped our bags, we headed to meet Vincent. Together we took the bus to Big Ben and walked across the River Thames to the London Eye. We bought tickets to ride the Eye which had spectacular views of the city. And of course we took about a thousand ridiculous pictures on the Eye. Afterwards we walked along the river and took more pictures. We crossed the Tower Bridge and then decided to head to Chipotle (we were dying for "Mexican food" and Europe only has Chipotle in two cities: Paris and London). Friday was awesome, we had such a good time. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much in one day.

Chipotle!

London Eye from afar

El sábado

On some bridge...possibly the London Bridge

Hard apple cider at Borough Market

Bagels! I finally had a bagel for breakfast and it was glorious. After breakfast, we headed to Buckingham Palace first, then we went to the Tate Modern. From there we walked to the Borough Market which is known for having incredible food. We all had a Vietnamese curry and hard apple cider. We then walked along the river some more and chilled in a cafe that had nutella mochas because we were all pooped and accustomed to siestas at that hour ;) . We went to Kings Cross where lies the infamous Harry Potter location of Platform 9 3/4. I'm not actually a Harry Potter fan (*gasp*) but I went for my best friend, Sarah, who is a die hard fan. Then we headed to Picadilly Square which has tons of shopping along Oxford Street. Vincent bought some green shoes just in time for St. Patty's Day. Then we went back to Louise's and had dinner with her and her family. She made a lovely chicken and we even skyped my dad which was fun!

El domingo

One of my few pics with Alli! 

Louise made us blueberry pancakes and I just about died (not a typical breakfast in Spain). So good. Finally we met up with Alli and headed to the St. Patty's Day parade in Trafalgar Square. Afterwards we were starving so we headed to Brick Lane in which lies the Indian food capital of London. The Indian food was so good and was possibly the cheapest meal I had in London. Kiersten and Vincent had never tried it before and came out impressed. We then walked around a market, ate brownies, took the underground to Covent Garden, walked around there, and then ended up in Leicester Square (pronounced "Lester Square" of course, because British English makes so much more sense than American English...). We went to a pub and then said goodbye to Vincent, who had to go back to Spain that night. Then Kiersten and I headed back to Louise's and we went out to a pub with her and her family for dinner. There's something truly perfect about scampi and chips (fried prawns and french fries), peas, and a beer. Delish.

St. Patty's Day Parade, Trafalgar Square

El lunes

British Museum

On Monday Kiersten and I got up and headed to the British Museum which is an overwhelming yet fantastic museum. You could spend days there. The Egyptian exhibit was fab, just like everyone said it was. But then the mummies started to freak me out, so we had to head to the Persian exhibit. After the British Museum we accidentally ended up in China Town so we had some of the spiciest chinese food of my life. It was really good but my mouth was on fire. I attribute this to losing all of my spice tolerance in Spain, where spicy food doesn't exist. After lunch we went to Camden Lock Market in Camden Town where we looked around and bought some art, jewelry, and gifts. And THEN...drum roll please...we went to see Wicked which was such an amazing show and such a fun thing to do in London! Afterwards, we went to Alli's flat and hung out with her and her flatmates.

After eating spicy chinese food

Treats for the show!

El martes

On Tuesday Louise drove us out to Richmond which was nice, because we got to get out of the city. We walked along the River Thames sort of out in the country side. We passed an old, large house that reminded me of Pride and Prejudice, and then we went into the little town to have lunch. Afterwards, we went to Portobello market and bought more gifts and souvenirs. I was determined to have afternoon tea with scones, clotted cream, and strawberry jam so we found a place near Louise's house. It was scrumptious. We went back to Louise's house, showered, packed up, watched Friends on the "tele," had a pizza dinner with Louise and her oldest son Augustin and went to bed because we had to get up at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday to fly back to Alicante.



London was such an amazing city. It broke my bank account, but was totally worth it and I hope to go back someday (preferably when I'm rich). It was definitely one of my favorite trips that I've made while here in Europe.



Mi vida en Alicante

Nachos
(Me, Anya, Maraya, Kiersten)

When I'm not traveling the world and I'm actually in Alicante, I'm a busy bee teaching English in the mornings, and going to class in the evenings. And on the weekends my friends and I have been getting together to make meals such as Nachos and hang out. This weekend we're going to hit up the beach because it's supposed to be a lovely weekend. My friend Vincent is also coming to Alicante to visit for the weekend so I'll be showing him around. And then my parents come next weekend!! So much going on!

As for my host family, they're still great. They crack me up. Last night my host dad stole everybody's bread (instead of cutting himself his own piece) and all I could do was think "man it's good to be back in Alicante."

My host mom continues to point out the fact that I'm a lightweight at any possible moment. Which at first was a tad bit annoying but now I think it's just an overall joke.

Typical quotes from her:

"I would give you a beer with lunch, but you'd probably pass out."
"Take this bottle of sangria to your friend's house but don't drink too much because you'll pass out"
"Oh Zoe can't have more than two drinks, or she'd be on the floor."

But she taught me how to make paella so I think I can forgive her.