Saturday, December 19, 2009
last days
So...finished exams and all were successful! Spent all of today in Sol and Parque de Retiro it was so beautiful got a yummy pastry from a Pasteleria and an italian cappaccino. Visited plaza mayor and went shopping with Alba, trying to soak in all of Madrid in one day. Finished packing today and our room is still a tornado...lol last night of dinner was good. Going out with the roomies tonite and flying home tomorrow :) fell in love with Madrid...
Monday, December 14, 2009
Last week in Spain...
So, this weekend was pretty low key. I stayed in Madrid bc this week is Finals, which I have a pretty easy schedule: presentation of photostory on Wed, religion exam on Friday and Psychopharmacology exam on Saturday. I can't believe this semester has flown by so quickly! Anywho, this weekend Melissa, Alba and I went to the famous nightclub "Kapital" which is a discoteca that is a bit expensive but a must for people who visit Madrid. Honestly, it was not that great, I went and I'm glad I did just to know that I have experienced it, but it really wasn't that great. It is a discoteca with 7 floors and different types of music on each level, but they are just balcony's, there is only on big dance floor and that's the first floor with techno music. This weekend we also saw all the Christmas lights around Madrid, they will be uploaded shortly...but it is beautiful and so different from home. Alba and I went souvenior shopping and visited the christmas market, which is in plaza mayor. The way they celebrate christmas here is a bit different than our traditional thoughts of christmas, it is like a mix of halloween and christmas here, there are tons of wigs and hats to wear around, and it is VERY common to see people wearing them. Also, instead of Santa Claus they have the three magis (wise kings) with different beards. Alba and I went to the Rastro one last time and bought our leather jackets, so we are officially spanish :) The rest of the weekend was ful of studying and writing papers. O and i bought a spanish dress :) This morning the tempature dropped 30 degrees and there was a frost, slight dusting on roofs and cars along with tons of salt on sidewalks and streets. I'm getting anxious about going home...I love it in Madrid, but know i will be happy at home too...less than a week and ill be home!
ciao!
ciao!
Monday, December 7, 2009
falling in love with Paris...
Bonjour!!
My last trip through Europe was amazing!! I loved Paris!! Contrary to belief, the french people are EXTREMELY nice and helpful!! The weather was a bit crappy with rain and very cold! But, it was still very amazing!!
Day 1:
We started walking toward the Eiffel Tower and passed Parc de Monceau, which looked pretty. Next we saw Arc de Triomphe which was cool, it was an arc dedicated to soliders i think...really cool, but not as big as I thought it would be. By the way, the French are notorious for building underground tunnels to get to things situated in the center of the street, just fyi. From there we found the Eiffel tower, which was extremely tall and magnificent! The eiffel tower was about a 4 hr ordeal with waiting in many lines for buying ticket, actually entering the tower, taking elevator to 2nd floor, to the top, back down to the second and finally out of the eiffel tower. It was worth it, but deft a one time thing. I would like to say, for anyone that knows me this is a big ordeal that I went to the top, because I am TERRIFIED of heights!! But all went well and im glad i did it! From there we got some hot cocoa at a local restraunt because we were FROZEN! It was definately the coldest place I had been. We left there and stumbled upon the Christmas market, which was my favorite place!! It consisted of numerous shops on two streets set up in booths consisting of different foods and vendors. In the middle of the street was a huge ferris wheel and there were christmas lights everywhere soo beautiful!! I tried the christmas wine which is hot wine...not that great but part of the culture :) I also tried a crepe with nutella it was pretty good. Lol and had strawberries with white chocolate yum!
Day 2:
We woke up early and ate breakfast...just fyi french milk is gross!! Then we went to the Notre Dame it was beautiful, but started powering and sidewalks flooded a bit, shoes wet=bad! Went inside and id say it was the second most beautiful church I'd ever seen, right behind San Marco's Basilica in Venice. From there we went to the Louvre, which was really cool and huge! After gazing at the Mona Lisa and other beautiful art and statues we went to a italian/french restraunt, with some cute waitors :) Tried french wine and it was good!! From there we shopped and went back to the hostel. Later that night we went to Bar San Michel and danced away to American Music and listened to the french attempt to sing different American Songs..which was hilarious and i tried french beer which is okay, belgium was still the best! Then we saw a panoramic view of paris at night it was beautiful from Rue Azais, a church. Then we got some hot cocoa at a cafe and met some more nice french people who spoke english :)
Day 3:
On our last day there, we woke up early and went to see Moulin Rouge, which was a lot smaller than I imagined. We also saw the church Rue Azais again. It was beautiful! I also tried creme brulee!
The only negative thing about france except for the weather was the airport was hugely disorganized! Other than that I loved it! I got around with my 3 french phrases: "como tale vou" how are you; bonjour and merci boucoup! Everyone was really nice, the city was beautiful and the lights were amazing! I would recommend it to anyone! :) Less than 2 weeks in Madrid left, with finals rapidly approaching! Cant wait to go home, yet dont want to leave Madrid...
Au revoir!
My last trip through Europe was amazing!! I loved Paris!! Contrary to belief, the french people are EXTREMELY nice and helpful!! The weather was a bit crappy with rain and very cold! But, it was still very amazing!!
Day 1:
We started walking toward the Eiffel Tower and passed Parc de Monceau, which looked pretty. Next we saw Arc de Triomphe which was cool, it was an arc dedicated to soliders i think...really cool, but not as big as I thought it would be. By the way, the French are notorious for building underground tunnels to get to things situated in the center of the street, just fyi. From there we found the Eiffel tower, which was extremely tall and magnificent! The eiffel tower was about a 4 hr ordeal with waiting in many lines for buying ticket, actually entering the tower, taking elevator to 2nd floor, to the top, back down to the second and finally out of the eiffel tower. It was worth it, but deft a one time thing. I would like to say, for anyone that knows me this is a big ordeal that I went to the top, because I am TERRIFIED of heights!! But all went well and im glad i did it! From there we got some hot cocoa at a local restraunt because we were FROZEN! It was definately the coldest place I had been. We left there and stumbled upon the Christmas market, which was my favorite place!! It consisted of numerous shops on two streets set up in booths consisting of different foods and vendors. In the middle of the street was a huge ferris wheel and there were christmas lights everywhere soo beautiful!! I tried the christmas wine which is hot wine...not that great but part of the culture :) I also tried a crepe with nutella it was pretty good. Lol and had strawberries with white chocolate yum!
Day 2:
We woke up early and ate breakfast...just fyi french milk is gross!! Then we went to the Notre Dame it was beautiful, but started powering and sidewalks flooded a bit, shoes wet=bad! Went inside and id say it was the second most beautiful church I'd ever seen, right behind San Marco's Basilica in Venice. From there we went to the Louvre, which was really cool and huge! After gazing at the Mona Lisa and other beautiful art and statues we went to a italian/french restraunt, with some cute waitors :) Tried french wine and it was good!! From there we shopped and went back to the hostel. Later that night we went to Bar San Michel and danced away to American Music and listened to the french attempt to sing different American Songs..which was hilarious and i tried french beer which is okay, belgium was still the best! Then we saw a panoramic view of paris at night it was beautiful from Rue Azais, a church. Then we got some hot cocoa at a cafe and met some more nice french people who spoke english :)
Day 3:
On our last day there, we woke up early and went to see Moulin Rouge, which was a lot smaller than I imagined. We also saw the church Rue Azais again. It was beautiful! I also tried creme brulee!
The only negative thing about france except for the weather was the airport was hugely disorganized! Other than that I loved it! I got around with my 3 french phrases: "como tale vou" how are you; bonjour and merci boucoup! Everyone was really nice, the city was beautiful and the lights were amazing! I would recommend it to anyone! :) Less than 2 weeks in Madrid left, with finals rapidly approaching! Cant wait to go home, yet dont want to leave Madrid...
Au revoir!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Gelato, Pizza, Pasta, Tiramisu,Cappaccinos...
ciao everyone! I just got back from Roma and I loved it!! The city was full of so much history and life...and WONDERFUL food! I'm not going to lie, I really indulged, but hey when in Rome, do as the Romans do! :) The Gelato was some of the best ice cream I have ever had! The pizza and pasta definately did not disappoint! I tried tiramisu which is pretty good...still prefer my gelato tho. I had the best cappaccino ever! It was a regular cappachino with Roma written with chocolate syrup on top...so yummy! Okay, now that I have went on and on about the delicious food, I will begin to tell you about my trip...
Day 1
We arrived on thanksgiving night and Rosanna's boyfriend picked us up at the airport and after checking into the hostel, Alba, Josie and I all went to find our thanksgiving dinner. Just to let you know there is absolutely no turkey in rome...we checked! So, we settled on pasta and pizza. Then we went hunting for the trevi fountain, because rosanna told us how magnificent it looked at night, and we had our first gelato! The trevi fountain looked cool, but my personal favorite time of day to see the trevi fountain is at dusk, it is perfect! From there we went to bed.
Day 2
We awoke early and headed to the Vatican. I took the Vatican tour which took me on a 3.5 hour tour through the vatican museum, sistine chapel and St. Peter's basilica. It was nothing like what I had expected! My tourguide Rachel, from ireland, was really informative and funny and pointed out all the little things I would not have appreciated. I'm really glad that I took the tour bc I would have been too overwhelmed to understand or really appreciate everything. the vatican museum consists of a lot of sculptures and paintings each installed by a different pope. We heard all about the crazy popes that lived way back when! I saw the works of Rafael...really beautiful! Then we went to the sistine chapel and it is even more spectacular than i ever imagined! It is huge and almost 3D...hearing all the drama that went behind it made it even cooler. St. Peters Basilica was a bit of a let down, it was huge, but compared to some of the other churches I have seen...not too great. From there we had our first cappaccino...yummy! and continued walking past the castle, through little towns, saw the pantheon and the spanish steps! From there we had dinner and went to Campo de Fiori with some hostel mates and I tried the italian beer, pretty good and just mingled...just fyi...italian men are not that cute.
Day 3
We got up early and headed to the Colosseum, altho it was a little bit pricey, it was well worth it to see a bit of history! It was beautiful, but on the inside totally different from what I had imagined when I had learned about it in history class. There was like a maze on the bottom with lots of obstacles. From there, Rosanna, alba and I went and saw a big white building..something with the government i think...but it was beautiful! and got cappaccinos! Then, we headed to the trevi fountain and got pictures. Trevi fountain was by far my favorite it is beautiful all day and you see so many people making wishes. From there we went to see the spanish steps which were a lot prettier during the day. From there we went and saw Centre of Popolo...something like that...which was really pretty. We got more gelato and shopped a bit, we found a christmas tree which was amazing and felt like home! The city was glowing with lights. From there we got ready to celebrate Rosanna's birthday, which was the next day, we got lost...but we eventually got there and the food was scrumchious, we tried limoncello (nasty!) and rang in her 20th birthday!
Overall, it was a wonderful trip! I was sad to miss Thanksgiving though...o well one more trip, Paris this weekend! and i will be home in less than 3 weeks! Pictures from the dance and a video should be posted soon.
Ciao!
Day 1
We arrived on thanksgiving night and Rosanna's boyfriend picked us up at the airport and after checking into the hostel, Alba, Josie and I all went to find our thanksgiving dinner. Just to let you know there is absolutely no turkey in rome...we checked! So, we settled on pasta and pizza. Then we went hunting for the trevi fountain, because rosanna told us how magnificent it looked at night, and we had our first gelato! The trevi fountain looked cool, but my personal favorite time of day to see the trevi fountain is at dusk, it is perfect! From there we went to bed.
Day 2
We awoke early and headed to the Vatican. I took the Vatican tour which took me on a 3.5 hour tour through the vatican museum, sistine chapel and St. Peter's basilica. It was nothing like what I had expected! My tourguide Rachel, from ireland, was really informative and funny and pointed out all the little things I would not have appreciated. I'm really glad that I took the tour bc I would have been too overwhelmed to understand or really appreciate everything. the vatican museum consists of a lot of sculptures and paintings each installed by a different pope. We heard all about the crazy popes that lived way back when! I saw the works of Rafael...really beautiful! Then we went to the sistine chapel and it is even more spectacular than i ever imagined! It is huge and almost 3D...hearing all the drama that went behind it made it even cooler. St. Peters Basilica was a bit of a let down, it was huge, but compared to some of the other churches I have seen...not too great. From there we had our first cappaccino...yummy! and continued walking past the castle, through little towns, saw the pantheon and the spanish steps! From there we had dinner and went to Campo de Fiori with some hostel mates and I tried the italian beer, pretty good and just mingled...just fyi...italian men are not that cute.
Day 3
We got up early and headed to the Colosseum, altho it was a little bit pricey, it was well worth it to see a bit of history! It was beautiful, but on the inside totally different from what I had imagined when I had learned about it in history class. There was like a maze on the bottom with lots of obstacles. From there, Rosanna, alba and I went and saw a big white building..something with the government i think...but it was beautiful! and got cappaccinos! Then, we headed to the trevi fountain and got pictures. Trevi fountain was by far my favorite it is beautiful all day and you see so many people making wishes. From there we went to see the spanish steps which were a lot prettier during the day. From there we went and saw Centre of Popolo...something like that...which was really pretty. We got more gelato and shopped a bit, we found a christmas tree which was amazing and felt like home! The city was glowing with lights. From there we got ready to celebrate Rosanna's birthday, which was the next day, we got lost...but we eventually got there and the food was scrumchious, we tried limoncello (nasty!) and rang in her 20th birthday!
Overall, it was a wonderful trip! I was sad to miss Thanksgiving though...o well one more trip, Paris this weekend! and i will be home in less than 3 weeks! Pictures from the dance and a video should be posted soon.
Ciao!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
