Sorry for no updates this week! It has been a crazy week with birthday celebrations and one of my best friends Karla in town. Karla leaves tomorrow and Caroline and I are off to our spring break!
We will be in London from Sunday to Tuesday and then Tuesday we are heading down to the Canary Islands. We will be staying on Tenerife Tuesday until Saturday and then Gran Canary from Saturday until early early Monday. It is going to be a great trip!
Tons of updates when I return :)
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
ooh heyy 21!
Today is my birthday :)
Caroline and I have big plans! This entire week is birthday week, of course! Actually, today is my birthday, tomorrow is Caroline's birthday and Thrusday is our friend Copeland's birthday.
We have big plans for the week..
Yesterday, Caroline and I went into el centro (oldtown/"downtown") and went birthday shopping. We had to get new outfits to wear for the occasion! After that we came home to a yummy home cooked dinner and then crashed in bed and watched an english movie from itunes. So entertaining and "21" of us!
Today the celebrations begin! This morning we went to school a little bit earlier and had breakfast at the little cafe, chocolate filled croissants and cafe con leche (espresso w/milk)! After one quick class school was over..wohoo! Plans from here are to go home and soak up some sun and relax. Then we have lunch with our spanish family. After lunch we are heading into el centro to the Arabic Bathes aka the spa! We have booked a spa session with a series of different soaks and then a massage..mmmmm. We will head home from here and get ready for the big night! We are going out to dinner tonight. This one night of going out to dinner we are going to celebrate all three birthdays at a yummy Italian restuarant in el centro with homemade pasta. Can't wait! After this, we will behave ourselves don't worry mom and dad!
Wednesday morning, our first class was cancelled, that means no class until 12:15. What luck! Later that day we are going to celebrate Caroline's birthday some more. Also wednesday one of my best best girlfriends, Karla, arrives in town! Wednesday evening we are celebrating our birthday dinner with our spanish family. Can't wait to see what kind of yummy surprise Pacqui has in store. She was so excited when we told her that it was both of our birthdays this week. fiesta times two!
The celebrations continue into Thursday with Copelands bithday! and Karla here!
Friday we have no class because it is the beginning of our "Semana Santa" or Basically spring break/easter break vacation. Caroline and I along with Karla and her friends from Italy are going to go to Cadiz for the day. Cadiz is a beach town about an hour away from Sevilla. It will be a great way to start our Semana Santa vacation.
Saturday is tour day for Karla! I am going to do my best to show her around Sevilla a little bit for the day..by now i have plenty of experience!(we/she will be doing day trips thurs and fri)
And just to put the icing on the cake, Caroline, Kaleigh and I head off to London and the Canary Islands on Sunday. What a birthday :)
Caroline and I have big plans! This entire week is birthday week, of course! Actually, today is my birthday, tomorrow is Caroline's birthday and Thrusday is our friend Copeland's birthday.
We have big plans for the week..
Yesterday, Caroline and I went into el centro (oldtown/"downtown") and went birthday shopping. We had to get new outfits to wear for the occasion! After that we came home to a yummy home cooked dinner and then crashed in bed and watched an english movie from itunes. So entertaining and "21" of us!
Today the celebrations begin! This morning we went to school a little bit earlier and had breakfast at the little cafe, chocolate filled croissants and cafe con leche (espresso w/milk)! After one quick class school was over..wohoo! Plans from here are to go home and soak up some sun and relax. Then we have lunch with our spanish family. After lunch we are heading into el centro to the Arabic Bathes aka the spa! We have booked a spa session with a series of different soaks and then a massage..mmmmm. We will head home from here and get ready for the big night! We are going out to dinner tonight. This one night of going out to dinner we are going to celebrate all three birthdays at a yummy Italian restuarant in el centro with homemade pasta. Can't wait! After this, we will behave ourselves don't worry mom and dad!
Wednesday morning, our first class was cancelled, that means no class until 12:15. What luck! Later that day we are going to celebrate Caroline's birthday some more. Also wednesday one of my best best girlfriends, Karla, arrives in town! Wednesday evening we are celebrating our birthday dinner with our spanish family. Can't wait to see what kind of yummy surprise Pacqui has in store. She was so excited when we told her that it was both of our birthdays this week. fiesta times two!
The celebrations continue into Thursday with Copelands bithday! and Karla here!
Friday we have no class because it is the beginning of our "Semana Santa" or Basically spring break/easter break vacation. Caroline and I along with Karla and her friends from Italy are going to go to Cadiz for the day. Cadiz is a beach town about an hour away from Sevilla. It will be a great way to start our Semana Santa vacation.
Saturday is tour day for Karla! I am going to do my best to show her around Sevilla a little bit for the day..by now i have plenty of experience!(we/she will be doing day trips thurs and fri)
And just to put the icing on the cake, Caroline, Kaleigh and I head off to London and the Canary Islands on Sunday. What a birthday :)
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Another great weekend in Sevilla!
The weather in Sevilla this week has been absolutely beautiful! AHH
Our Senora said earlier this semester that Spring in Sevilla basically does not exist and i totally believe that after this week. We were wearing jackets not to long ago and now its getting so much warmer by the day. Love it!
Caroline and I were just walking around town today and the smell of the orange trees was so strong we could not get over it. Makes me love this city even more!
This coming up week is Caroline, my friend Copeland and My 21st birthdays! Its going to be alot of funnnn! Our birthdays are 3 straight days in a row. need i say more? and in addition to those festivities one of my best friends Karla is going to be in town this week and I cant wait! I am so glad she will be here for some of the celebration. We are planning on going to the beach for the day on friday and other than that we will be spending time throughout Sevilla.
Sunday Caroline, Kaleigh and I leave for London for our spring break. We will be in London until Tuesday staying with a friend of Carolines. Then from London we are heading down the the Canary Islands!!!!!!!! Canary Islands is the southern most part of Spain, they are a group of islands off the coast of Africa. Should be warm?! We are staying in a condo on Tenerife for part of the trip and then move to Gran Canary for the last two nights. We are really looking forward to having our own kitchen and fridge and plan on making all the yummy meals that we miss from home.
Alot is coming up in the next few weeks!
Our Senora said earlier this semester that Spring in Sevilla basically does not exist and i totally believe that after this week. We were wearing jackets not to long ago and now its getting so much warmer by the day. Love it!
Caroline and I were just walking around town today and the smell of the orange trees was so strong we could not get over it. Makes me love this city even more!
This coming up week is Caroline, my friend Copeland and My 21st birthdays! Its going to be alot of funnnn! Our birthdays are 3 straight days in a row. need i say more? and in addition to those festivities one of my best friends Karla is going to be in town this week and I cant wait! I am so glad she will be here for some of the celebration. We are planning on going to the beach for the day on friday and other than that we will be spending time throughout Sevilla.
Sunday Caroline, Kaleigh and I leave for London for our spring break. We will be in London until Tuesday staying with a friend of Carolines. Then from London we are heading down the the Canary Islands!!!!!!!! Canary Islands is the southern most part of Spain, they are a group of islands off the coast of Africa. Should be warm?! We are staying in a condo on Tenerife for part of the trip and then move to Gran Canary for the last two nights. We are really looking forward to having our own kitchen and fridge and plan on making all the yummy meals that we miss from home.
Alot is coming up in the next few weeks!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Ronda and the elevator
This past Saturday I went on a day trip with some friends to the town of Ronda. Ronda is a cliff town about an hour and a half from Sevilla. We took a short, cheap bus ride from Sevilla at 9:45am and had a full day to spend in Ronda.
Ronda is known not only because it is a beautiful cliff down but also because it has a large gorge running right through the middle of the town. This gorge separates the new town from the old town. The gorge is huge, it drops some 20 stories and is filled with greenish (fake looking!) water.
We travelled to Ronda with a big group of people from our program. It was not an organized trip but a bunch of us decided to go because the weather was going to be beautiful and most of the activity in Ronda is outdoors. When we first got to Ronda, Caroline and I decided that we were going to go on our own to adventure. We had done some previous research and knew exactly what we wanted to accomplish while we were there. And it’s a little difficult to explore with some 20 people…We ended up with a nice little group of 5 explorers (Myself, Caroline, Cameron, Kaleigh and Elizabeth)
Our first stop was to get a map! After that we made our way to the new bridge. This is one of the main sites in Ronda. It connects the new and old town and straddles the gorge. We got some great pictures here and then moved onto La Casa del Rey Moro. This is a little site down a side street with gardens right on the edge of the gorge and an old mine with steps that take you to the bottom of the gorge. It was not crowded and touristy at all. We walked around in the gardens for a few minutes and then found the mine entrance.
I was a little scared at first. This was a skinny winding stairwell that was barely lit at all. We used our camera flashes the first part of the way to get some light. As we made our way down the stairs there were a bunch of little points to look out over the gorge. The best was yet to come! Finally we made it to the bottom and were able to stand on a little platform right out over the water. It was so neat! We looked straight up the walls of the gorge and around the bends. We sat down there for a little while snapping some pictures and reading our handy “Rick Steves” guide book that told us what to do next. Of course we now had to make it back on the flights of stairs that we came down…
When we made it back up top it was time for lunch. Caroline and I crave Italian food all the time so we convinced the group to go to a little Italian place that we had read about in our Rick Steves. Homemade pasta yumm!!
After lunch the plan was to descend the other side of the bridge and gorge. We found a great little path that took us the entire way down. On the way down we discovered a little trail that we were probably not supposed to go down but offered a great view. Of course we took it! This trail led us right to the edge of a cliff and a patch of beautiful yellow flowers. We found a great spot to hang out for a little while and take some pictures. Off in the distance we had a great view of the bridge, waterfall and the entire town of Ronda.
Later in the day we made our way down the path a little further. We decided not to go the entire way down because that meant that we were going to have to talk the entire way back up. In Ronda there is a saying that goes, “What goes down must come up.”
After a long day of adventuring through Ronda we made our way back to the bus station to head home. Wow was it a curvy ride home! We wound our way through the mountains….not enjoyable.
Of course the day gets more adventurous when we got home that night. We had big plans—siesta, dinner, out for drinks with friends and then dancing! We accomplished it all and made our way home later that night around 3am. I am not a “crazy partier” as it may seem ;) The Spanish have a wild schedule where we eat dinner around 10pm and then meet up with friends around 11pm. Unfortunately that puts us back home around 3am. I prefer the American times but its okay! Even when we go home around 3am it is “early” to them.
Anyways….we made our way home at 3am. Caroline and I hopped right into our little elevator and were ready to get to bed. Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy…the elevator slowly came to a stop…not at our floor. Panicked for a second we thought may be someone had called it on another floor. After we realized that was not the case, we pressed buttons to see if it would move. Nope. We were stuck! We felt bad pressing the bell button due to the hour but did it anyways. No one came. Caroline managed to pull open the elevator door and we saw that we were stuck right in between the second and third floor! This is when we knew it was going to be a longer night...
The elevator in our building is a 2 person elevator, about the size of a refrigerator or a little more. There is a door that you open like a normal door and then the elevator door slides open. When the elevator is not on a floor the door on that floor is locked for safety. Of course being stuck in between two floors means that both the doors are going to be locked. There was about ¾ of the second floor door at the bottom and then 3 feet of wall and then a few feet of the 3rd floor door. We pushed and pushed and nothing budged. We tried to call the little phone in the elevator and no one answered. After a few tried someone finally answered but our Spanish skills along with a beeping noise made it difficult to hear what he was saying. Caroline gave him my phone number (I had luckily managed to charge my phone battery and recharge my minutes right before tonight!) and he gave us a call on my phone. We told him the building we were in and he hung up. Great…he thinks we are joking. Next step, call Pacqui. It was about 4am at this point and Pacqui came down to try and help (if you know the little fashionista that Pacqui is that would really help to picture her in her robe trying to open the door). She called the elevator company as well as her ex husband to try and get us out! Her ex husband came and couldn’t get the door as well. Next stop, firefighters. Finally around 4:45am Caroline and I were free from the elevator! They opened the third floor door. I was not tall enough to make it out on my own so one of the men had to pull me out, oh lord. Caroline’s skills got her out on her own. Oh what a night it was! It took us a few days to warm back up to the elevator but we REALLY don’t like walking up eight stories to our apartment so it was bound to happen. At least we know to always bring a phone now.
This week has been busy, busy, busy with school! We have had several tests and papers this week. This week has been gorgeous weather as well! Caroline and I learned that we can go up on top of our building and catch some sun :) We are getting ready to head off to the canary islands in two weeks!
Ronda is known not only because it is a beautiful cliff down but also because it has a large gorge running right through the middle of the town. This gorge separates the new town from the old town. The gorge is huge, it drops some 20 stories and is filled with greenish (fake looking!) water.
We travelled to Ronda with a big group of people from our program. It was not an organized trip but a bunch of us decided to go because the weather was going to be beautiful and most of the activity in Ronda is outdoors. When we first got to Ronda, Caroline and I decided that we were going to go on our own to adventure. We had done some previous research and knew exactly what we wanted to accomplish while we were there. And it’s a little difficult to explore with some 20 people…We ended up with a nice little group of 5 explorers (Myself, Caroline, Cameron, Kaleigh and Elizabeth)
Our first stop was to get a map! After that we made our way to the new bridge. This is one of the main sites in Ronda. It connects the new and old town and straddles the gorge. We got some great pictures here and then moved onto La Casa del Rey Moro. This is a little site down a side street with gardens right on the edge of the gorge and an old mine with steps that take you to the bottom of the gorge. It was not crowded and touristy at all. We walked around in the gardens for a few minutes and then found the mine entrance.
I was a little scared at first. This was a skinny winding stairwell that was barely lit at all. We used our camera flashes the first part of the way to get some light. As we made our way down the stairs there were a bunch of little points to look out over the gorge. The best was yet to come! Finally we made it to the bottom and were able to stand on a little platform right out over the water. It was so neat! We looked straight up the walls of the gorge and around the bends. We sat down there for a little while snapping some pictures and reading our handy “Rick Steves” guide book that told us what to do next. Of course we now had to make it back on the flights of stairs that we came down…
When we made it back up top it was time for lunch. Caroline and I crave Italian food all the time so we convinced the group to go to a little Italian place that we had read about in our Rick Steves. Homemade pasta yumm!!
After lunch the plan was to descend the other side of the bridge and gorge. We found a great little path that took us the entire way down. On the way down we discovered a little trail that we were probably not supposed to go down but offered a great view. Of course we took it! This trail led us right to the edge of a cliff and a patch of beautiful yellow flowers. We found a great spot to hang out for a little while and take some pictures. Off in the distance we had a great view of the bridge, waterfall and the entire town of Ronda.
Later in the day we made our way down the path a little further. We decided not to go the entire way down because that meant that we were going to have to talk the entire way back up. In Ronda there is a saying that goes, “What goes down must come up.”
After a long day of adventuring through Ronda we made our way back to the bus station to head home. Wow was it a curvy ride home! We wound our way through the mountains….not enjoyable.
Of course the day gets more adventurous when we got home that night. We had big plans—siesta, dinner, out for drinks with friends and then dancing! We accomplished it all and made our way home later that night around 3am. I am not a “crazy partier” as it may seem ;) The Spanish have a wild schedule where we eat dinner around 10pm and then meet up with friends around 11pm. Unfortunately that puts us back home around 3am. I prefer the American times but its okay! Even when we go home around 3am it is “early” to them.
Anyways….we made our way home at 3am. Caroline and I hopped right into our little elevator and were ready to get to bed. Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy…the elevator slowly came to a stop…not at our floor. Panicked for a second we thought may be someone had called it on another floor. After we realized that was not the case, we pressed buttons to see if it would move. Nope. We were stuck! We felt bad pressing the bell button due to the hour but did it anyways. No one came. Caroline managed to pull open the elevator door and we saw that we were stuck right in between the second and third floor! This is when we knew it was going to be a longer night...
The elevator in our building is a 2 person elevator, about the size of a refrigerator or a little more. There is a door that you open like a normal door and then the elevator door slides open. When the elevator is not on a floor the door on that floor is locked for safety. Of course being stuck in between two floors means that both the doors are going to be locked. There was about ¾ of the second floor door at the bottom and then 3 feet of wall and then a few feet of the 3rd floor door. We pushed and pushed and nothing budged. We tried to call the little phone in the elevator and no one answered. After a few tried someone finally answered but our Spanish skills along with a beeping noise made it difficult to hear what he was saying. Caroline gave him my phone number (I had luckily managed to charge my phone battery and recharge my minutes right before tonight!) and he gave us a call on my phone. We told him the building we were in and he hung up. Great…he thinks we are joking. Next step, call Pacqui. It was about 4am at this point and Pacqui came down to try and help (if you know the little fashionista that Pacqui is that would really help to picture her in her robe trying to open the door). She called the elevator company as well as her ex husband to try and get us out! Her ex husband came and couldn’t get the door as well. Next stop, firefighters. Finally around 4:45am Caroline and I were free from the elevator! They opened the third floor door. I was not tall enough to make it out on my own so one of the men had to pull me out, oh lord. Caroline’s skills got her out on her own. Oh what a night it was! It took us a few days to warm back up to the elevator but we REALLY don’t like walking up eight stories to our apartment so it was bound to happen. At least we know to always bring a phone now.
This week has been busy, busy, busy with school! We have had several tests and papers this week. This week has been gorgeous weather as well! Caroline and I learned that we can go up on top of our building and catch some sun :) We are getting ready to head off to the canary islands in two weeks!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Dublin with Mom
^^^"hiking" with Jake and Clara
^^^Miss Clara playing peek-a-boo
^^^Irish traveller horse market in Dublin
^^Like father like daughter..
Monday, March 15, 2010
Mom comes to Spain!
My mom came to visit me this past week in Spain! It was so great to have her here and we accomplished a lot over the few days that she was here.
She arrived on Wed March 3 and we had plans to stay in Sevilla until Friday when we would head up to Dublin, Ireland to visit family. After spending some time in Dublin we headed back to Sevilla on Monday evening to spend the rest of her time here (until thurs am).
Mom got here Wed afternoon; of course the sunshine was yet to pop through the clouds! I went after class to meet her at the airport and then we came back into Sevilla to check into the hotel. I stayed with her in the hotel for the time period that she was here. It was so great to have a nice big shower for a week :) Unfortunately my mom’s luggage decided not to make the entire trip with her.…
The first day that mom was here was a little bit rainy...of course! So after we got all checked into the hotel we made our way to grab a quick little bite to eat. Sevilla has a lot to do outside and not as much to do inside. Therefore we decided to head to an indoor shopping centre to kill some time. She also needed some clothes since her luggage was yet to arrive. Later that day it cleared up a little bit and we walked around old Sevilla. This day was fairly uneventful due to the weather and jetlag!
The next morning we were ready to do a little more exploring. The weather decided to work out okay for us; it was sunny the entire morning and afternoon! Mom came to class with me and hung out in the little café and internet while I went to class for a little bit. After this we went to some touristy places in Sevilla- Plaza de Espana, the Cathedral and Reales Alcazares. Good thing the weather held out and we could fit all this into one sunny day! Later in the day we were off to my home stay to meet my Spanish family and see my apartment and neighbourhood. My mom was so surprised to see the size of the little elevator that Caroline and I use on a daily basis. We hung out with the Spanish fam for a little bit. Pacqui was chatting it up and showing my mom tons of pictures. My brain was getting a little tired trying to translate back and forth but I think I made it work! Mom had brought some things from home to give to the girls and Pacqui but unfortunately without her luggage we didn’t have anything for them at this point. After some time there and packing my bag for Ireland we made it back to the hotel. Mom’s luggage had yet to arrive! Since it had now been over 24hrs the airline was beginning to give her money to spend on clothes. We were off to shop for about an hour so that she had clean clothes for the weekend in Ireland. Loosing your luggage is not fun but it definitely has some benefits! The airline offers 100euro after the first 24hours that your luggage is lost and then 50euro per day after that. We definitely took advantage of that offer. After running through the stores and rounding up some clothes for the weekend we went to meet my roommate Caroline for dinner at one of our favorite little Italian places. After dinner mom and I had to get packed for Ireland!
The next morning we were off to Ireland! This was my first trip without any delays (so far)! We made it into Dublin around 2pm and my cousin Jake and his little baby Clara picked us up at the airport. From there we went back to their house. Jake and Luise live just in Dublin in a little row house. It is small but very cozy! We hung around here for a little and had a real good lunch! It was so fun to just hang out at “home” and play with baby Clara. The last time we had seen her was in Atlanta for thanksgiving. She has gown up so much over the past few months and has such a personality! We managed to get here out of the house for a little and all went for a little walk through the neighbourhood to grab something for dinner. When we returned home Luise was back from work and we were all about ready for dinner. We sat around the table for a few hours and caught up over dinner. It was great! Later that night my mom and I headed to the little bed and breakfast that we were staying in. It was just under a mile from Jake and Luise’s house. I made it to the bed and breakfast just in time to skype my cheerleaders at their banquet! I was passes along on the computer and had the chance to see a bunch of the girls. It was so great! Mom and I just layed in bed until the end of the night. It was so nice to watch English TV! American idol was on??
Saturday morning we met Jake and Luise and home and headed to the Dublin Zoo (in walking distance from their house). Clara was so excited she slept! We spent the morning walking around the zoo and people watching. I am not sure Clara has the whole zoo thing figured out just yet. But she is one lucky little girl going to the zoo all the time! After the zoo we headed to a favorite local pub called “Ryan’s.” Great food!—good ole cheeseburger and fries! After lunch it was time for Clara’s nap. Luise and Clara headed home and Jake, my mom and I headed to walk around in town. Dublin was hopping! There were SO many people out walking around in the streets. Apparently it had just been pay day the previous week and everyone was out blowing their pay checks shopping. Way to go! After a little while of wandering around we went to a local pub to grab a drink. The atmosphere was great; there was a group of people playing some traditional Irish music. My mom and I went out separate way for dinner and went to the grocery store to try anything that sounded good! After this we went back to the bed and breakfast and watched English tv! Ah what a luxury.
Sunday we had big plans! One Sunday every month there is a horse market in a square in Dublin. This is not highly advertised to tourists….more of a local thing. Irish travellers from all over Ireland come to Dublin this weekend to casually trade horses (and meet wives?!) It is quite a big deal! We were thinking okay maybe there will be a few horses and people casually walking around and what not. NO, it was HUGE. There were people and horses ALL over the place…and horse poop! It was quite interesting to see a little bit of this culture. The people were not what I was expecting. They were more “ghetto fabulous” than what I would expect an Irish traveller to look like. Ghetto fabulous girls, boys in track suits and crisp white tennis shoes and horses? Interesting mix… Later that afternoon we went for a little road trip outside of Dublin. Unfortunately the traffic was a little heavy and we never actually made it to our destination but we still got to see some great views from the car. When we made it home there was a special on Irish traveller weddings on TV. Of course we watched it to further our culture experience of the day.
Monday my mom and I were heading home in the afternoon. In the morning, Jake and Clara picked us up from the bed and breakfast and we made it out to the little spot that we never made it to on Sunday. It was a little Harbour town called Howth. So cute! It was right on the beach and we had great views of Dublin and the Irish coast line. We drove the car around a little and then hiked some as well. We were very lucky to have bright sunny weather all weekend in Dublin. After hiking around we walked around the harbour a little and saw the seals! So cute! We grabbed lunch from here and the headed to the airport. It was so great to spend the weekend with Jake, Luise and Clara. They were GREAT hosts and tour guides.
Our flight was a little delayed in Madrid when we were on our way back...there was snow in Barcelona?!? So random…The flight from Madrid to Sevilla was not so good, we had a ton of turbulence! When we made it back to Sevilla it was still raining, of course-it’s the new Ireland I swear. One good thing was that Moms luggage was finally there! (5 days later) We grabbed some late dinner and then crashed after a long weekend!
Tuesday was a great day. The weather was finally beautiful! I went to class and then met mom back at the hotel late morning. We had big plans since we finally had nice weather. We made it out to the river and walked around the river a little bit. From there we went to Plaza de Toros- the bull ring, and went inside and took a tour. It was really interesting to see the history behind bull fighting; I think it will be a little bit easier to watch a fight now that I know what goes on (bull fights start in April). We ate lunch along a busy street in Sevilla. It was so nice because everyone was walking around outside and we really got to people watch. After this we walked around through some shops and through the Flamenco boutique area. They really take flamenco seriously here! Tuesday night we had dinner at a yummy Italian place and then headed to La Carboneria for some casual flamenco. Mom was cracking up over the guy singing!
Wed was moms last day here. It was nice to take it easy that done because we had done most of what we wanted to go. Mom met me at school after class. This afternoon we went to the flamenco museum. It was neat but not as cool as we expected. Along with a ticket to the museum came a show later that night. So later that evening we returned in time for the show. It was much more authentic and formal than La Carboneria! Along the course of this day we managed to make it back to my home stay one more time to give the girls the little gifts that my mom had brought for them. They loved all the American candy, especially the Reeses and poprocks!
Thursday morning I saw my mom off at the airport bus! It couldn’t believe that time had flown that fast and she had already come and gone. It seemed like just yesterday she was booking a ticket to Sevilla and now she was gone! We had such a great time and I loved showing her around this city that I love so much. I can’t wait til she returns in May with dad :)
She arrived on Wed March 3 and we had plans to stay in Sevilla until Friday when we would head up to Dublin, Ireland to visit family. After spending some time in Dublin we headed back to Sevilla on Monday evening to spend the rest of her time here (until thurs am).
Mom got here Wed afternoon; of course the sunshine was yet to pop through the clouds! I went after class to meet her at the airport and then we came back into Sevilla to check into the hotel. I stayed with her in the hotel for the time period that she was here. It was so great to have a nice big shower for a week :) Unfortunately my mom’s luggage decided not to make the entire trip with her.…
The first day that mom was here was a little bit rainy...of course! So after we got all checked into the hotel we made our way to grab a quick little bite to eat. Sevilla has a lot to do outside and not as much to do inside. Therefore we decided to head to an indoor shopping centre to kill some time. She also needed some clothes since her luggage was yet to arrive. Later that day it cleared up a little bit and we walked around old Sevilla. This day was fairly uneventful due to the weather and jetlag!
The next morning we were ready to do a little more exploring. The weather decided to work out okay for us; it was sunny the entire morning and afternoon! Mom came to class with me and hung out in the little café and internet while I went to class for a little bit. After this we went to some touristy places in Sevilla- Plaza de Espana, the Cathedral and Reales Alcazares. Good thing the weather held out and we could fit all this into one sunny day! Later in the day we were off to my home stay to meet my Spanish family and see my apartment and neighbourhood. My mom was so surprised to see the size of the little elevator that Caroline and I use on a daily basis. We hung out with the Spanish fam for a little bit. Pacqui was chatting it up and showing my mom tons of pictures. My brain was getting a little tired trying to translate back and forth but I think I made it work! Mom had brought some things from home to give to the girls and Pacqui but unfortunately without her luggage we didn’t have anything for them at this point. After some time there and packing my bag for Ireland we made it back to the hotel. Mom’s luggage had yet to arrive! Since it had now been over 24hrs the airline was beginning to give her money to spend on clothes. We were off to shop for about an hour so that she had clean clothes for the weekend in Ireland. Loosing your luggage is not fun but it definitely has some benefits! The airline offers 100euro after the first 24hours that your luggage is lost and then 50euro per day after that. We definitely took advantage of that offer. After running through the stores and rounding up some clothes for the weekend we went to meet my roommate Caroline for dinner at one of our favorite little Italian places. After dinner mom and I had to get packed for Ireland!
The next morning we were off to Ireland! This was my first trip without any delays (so far)! We made it into Dublin around 2pm and my cousin Jake and his little baby Clara picked us up at the airport. From there we went back to their house. Jake and Luise live just in Dublin in a little row house. It is small but very cozy! We hung around here for a little and had a real good lunch! It was so fun to just hang out at “home” and play with baby Clara. The last time we had seen her was in Atlanta for thanksgiving. She has gown up so much over the past few months and has such a personality! We managed to get here out of the house for a little and all went for a little walk through the neighbourhood to grab something for dinner. When we returned home Luise was back from work and we were all about ready for dinner. We sat around the table for a few hours and caught up over dinner. It was great! Later that night my mom and I headed to the little bed and breakfast that we were staying in. It was just under a mile from Jake and Luise’s house. I made it to the bed and breakfast just in time to skype my cheerleaders at their banquet! I was passes along on the computer and had the chance to see a bunch of the girls. It was so great! Mom and I just layed in bed until the end of the night. It was so nice to watch English TV! American idol was on??
Saturday morning we met Jake and Luise and home and headed to the Dublin Zoo (in walking distance from their house). Clara was so excited she slept! We spent the morning walking around the zoo and people watching. I am not sure Clara has the whole zoo thing figured out just yet. But she is one lucky little girl going to the zoo all the time! After the zoo we headed to a favorite local pub called “Ryan’s.” Great food!—good ole cheeseburger and fries! After lunch it was time for Clara’s nap. Luise and Clara headed home and Jake, my mom and I headed to walk around in town. Dublin was hopping! There were SO many people out walking around in the streets. Apparently it had just been pay day the previous week and everyone was out blowing their pay checks shopping. Way to go! After a little while of wandering around we went to a local pub to grab a drink. The atmosphere was great; there was a group of people playing some traditional Irish music. My mom and I went out separate way for dinner and went to the grocery store to try anything that sounded good! After this we went back to the bed and breakfast and watched English tv! Ah what a luxury.
Sunday we had big plans! One Sunday every month there is a horse market in a square in Dublin. This is not highly advertised to tourists….more of a local thing. Irish travellers from all over Ireland come to Dublin this weekend to casually trade horses (and meet wives?!) It is quite a big deal! We were thinking okay maybe there will be a few horses and people casually walking around and what not. NO, it was HUGE. There were people and horses ALL over the place…and horse poop! It was quite interesting to see a little bit of this culture. The people were not what I was expecting. They were more “ghetto fabulous” than what I would expect an Irish traveller to look like. Ghetto fabulous girls, boys in track suits and crisp white tennis shoes and horses? Interesting mix… Later that afternoon we went for a little road trip outside of Dublin. Unfortunately the traffic was a little heavy and we never actually made it to our destination but we still got to see some great views from the car. When we made it home there was a special on Irish traveller weddings on TV. Of course we watched it to further our culture experience of the day.
Monday my mom and I were heading home in the afternoon. In the morning, Jake and Clara picked us up from the bed and breakfast and we made it out to the little spot that we never made it to on Sunday. It was a little Harbour town called Howth. So cute! It was right on the beach and we had great views of Dublin and the Irish coast line. We drove the car around a little and then hiked some as well. We were very lucky to have bright sunny weather all weekend in Dublin. After hiking around we walked around the harbour a little and saw the seals! So cute! We grabbed lunch from here and the headed to the airport. It was so great to spend the weekend with Jake, Luise and Clara. They were GREAT hosts and tour guides.
Our flight was a little delayed in Madrid when we were on our way back...there was snow in Barcelona?!? So random…The flight from Madrid to Sevilla was not so good, we had a ton of turbulence! When we made it back to Sevilla it was still raining, of course-it’s the new Ireland I swear. One good thing was that Moms luggage was finally there! (5 days later) We grabbed some late dinner and then crashed after a long weekend!
Tuesday was a great day. The weather was finally beautiful! I went to class and then met mom back at the hotel late morning. We had big plans since we finally had nice weather. We made it out to the river and walked around the river a little bit. From there we went to Plaza de Toros- the bull ring, and went inside and took a tour. It was really interesting to see the history behind bull fighting; I think it will be a little bit easier to watch a fight now that I know what goes on (bull fights start in April). We ate lunch along a busy street in Sevilla. It was so nice because everyone was walking around outside and we really got to people watch. After this we walked around through some shops and through the Flamenco boutique area. They really take flamenco seriously here! Tuesday night we had dinner at a yummy Italian place and then headed to La Carboneria for some casual flamenco. Mom was cracking up over the guy singing!
Wed was moms last day here. It was nice to take it easy that done because we had done most of what we wanted to go. Mom met me at school after class. This afternoon we went to the flamenco museum. It was neat but not as cool as we expected. Along with a ticket to the museum came a show later that night. So later that evening we returned in time for the show. It was much more authentic and formal than La Carboneria! Along the course of this day we managed to make it back to my home stay one more time to give the girls the little gifts that my mom had brought for them. They loved all the American candy, especially the Reeses and poprocks!
Thursday morning I saw my mom off at the airport bus! It couldn’t believe that time had flown that fast and she had already come and gone. It seemed like just yesterday she was booking a ticket to Sevilla and now she was gone! We had such a great time and I loved showing her around this city that I love so much. I can’t wait til she returns in May with dad :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
video- Tunnel up the mountain in Switzerland
This is the ride up the mountain to go night sledding in Switzerland. We basically spiraled up the center of this mountain on a one lane road. Cars go in both directions and it was night time...a little scary!
Switzerland!
^^Big lift we were NOT supposed to go on...
^^^Up on the mountain where we were not supposed to be. oops! maybe the yellow and black checkered flags were a sign?
^^Ready to go skiing!
^^^This is early in the morning before we went skiing. The view from our little balcony was awesome! There are more mountains but the white kind of blends into the sky.
^^Night sledding!Interlaken and Geneva
Oh what a weekend! I guess I will just start way back at the beginning when we tried to leave Sevilla...
Thursday afternoon was our big departure for Geneva/Interlaken, Switzerland! We were to fly out of Sevilla through Barcelona and onto Geneva. In Geneva we had arranged a trip with the company Bus2Alps (they pick students up at the airport and bring them to a great hostel in Interlaken, they also assist in signing up for different excursions in Interlaken, great deal!). They would pick us up at the airport and bring us right to our hostel in Interlaken, about a 2 hr drive.
After I finished class on Thurs I headed back to my house to wait for my friends Cameron and Kerry Anne to finish class. As soon as they were ready the plan was to head to the airport bus station and make our way to the airport. Well of course things were not going to go as planned...
The phone rang from Cameron and i grabbed my bags to head out the door as I answered. Well what a little surprise it was, our flight from Barcelona to Geneva had been cancelled. We planned to quickly head to school and get on the computers to look for more options. In a matter of 15 miuntes we had booked new flights from Barcelona to Geneva and headed to the airport. (if we had not made it to geneva we would have lost a lot of money in the trips we had booked through this company!-nonrefundable!). We were made it to Barcelona and had to run from one flight to the next. Cameron was the first of the flight and waited for Kerry Anne and I too get off. First thing she did was head to check what gate our flight was. When Kerry Anne and I made it to Cameron she had a worried look on her face and yelled in the most southern accent- "yall our flight is cancelled." AGAIN.....
This time we had booked through swiss air as opposed to easy jet. We ran to the swiss air desk to see if there were any other options for tonight. We had to make it to Geneva by 11pm in order to catch our Bus2Alps trip. We made it to swiss air along with every other person that was on our flight. While we waited in line to reach the desk i noticed 3 boys with university hats on from the united states. I went to ask them if they happened to be going to Bus2Alps in Geneva and they were! Not only that but one of them happened to be the Bus2Alps guide trying to make it to Geneva as well. We told him that whatever he was doing we were going to do as well because we knew that he had to make it to Interlaken and he knew the way to do it. We made it to the desk and were put on a flight for the next morning. Big bummer. Joey assured us it was not going to be a problem because he was on that flight as well and would make sure that we made it to Interlaken. (We were so glad that we bought the swiss air flight because all of the easy jet flights the next day were cancelled as well, so we would not have made it if we stuck with easy jet!)
We found out at the desk as well that the reason for all the cancellations was that the French air traffic control had gone on strike. We would not be able to fly into Geneva because Geneva is basically entirely surrounded by France. Of course.
On the bright side-Swiss air was great! They scheduled us on the first flight in the morning and put us up in a great 4 star hotel! We also had vouchers for a dinner and breakfast at the hotel. We were so excited to get to this hotel (which reminded me of space mountain at Disney) and just lay in bed and watch the Olympics. When we went down for dinner there was an HUGE buffet dinner just for swiss air, it was great! The following morning we got up and also had an AWESOME breafast with crepes and much more.
Our next adventure began Friday morning, that was making it from Barcelona to Interlaken. Our flight from Barcelona to Geneva was great and on time. When we made it into Geneva we then had to purchase a train ticket because we had missed the Bus2Alps transportation. Joey lead us in the direction of the train station and got us all squared away. The train ride was absolutely beautiful!!! We cruised through the swiss alps and dozens of blue lakes all the way there. Great opportunity for some pictures!
When we made it into Interlaken, Joey helped us to our hostel and gave us a quick tour. He showed us some places to eat and also got things worked our for us at the outdoor company we had booked our excursions through. All though we had made it there half a day late they were wonderful in allowing us to rework our schedule and still manage to do everything that we had planned on. First thing we did was rent all our ski equipment because we were going night sledding that night and then skiing the following morning!
We headed back to our hostel to get ready to night sled and grab some hot chocolate. After this we went to happy hour at our hostel and had a little drink to celebrate that we had finally made it! 6:30 rolled around and it was time to night sled!
There were around 30 of us total on the night sledding trip. We wound our way up the mountain to the course that we would be sledding at. On the drive up we were through a little tunnel that basically spiraled up the inside of the mountain. It was a single lane but had cars coming in both directions! Of course our driver was used to this and sped his way right on through. Meanwhile the van full of girls is continually reminding him to honk his horn because someone may be coming around the curve. At one point we were surprised to see a car coming in the opposite direction- we all screamed!
When we made it up the mountain, our next trip was a little gondola ride to the very top. Once at the top we had incredible views of the town below. Unfortunately a picture could not do this justice because it was too dark to show up. Ready to go sledding the instructor was going to tell us what to do. Of course we were thinking this was going to be a super safe course because they there has got to be a ton of liability in taking people sledding at night. NOPE. There were not lights what so ever. We did wear little red flashlights on our backs to see where eachother was but thats it! The only instruction we had was to stay on the white and stay away from the black--people, trees and cliffs. Very comforting. And if we couldnt stop to fall off the sled. I was ready to go! I am not going to lie though..it was a little scary at first because it was super steep and there were times we had to round some pretty sharp corners. If we didnt stay on the track it was probably a sure thing that we were going WAY off the mountain. My sledding skills might remind you of my driving skills...fast and a little out of control! We flew down the mountain and it was SO much fun. Such an adrenaline rush. We had a few stops along the way to make sure that everyone was accounted for. One of the stops was at a huge frozen waterfall. It was so pretty but once again, couldnt see it in a picture! After about an hour or so of sledding we finally made it to the bottom. Here we indulged in a yummy fondue dinner! When we finally made it back later that night we were exhausted! It was time to head to bed because we had an early morning and big day of skiing ahead of us.
We woke up Saturday moring around 7am to try and hit the slopes early. We had a little balcony off of our room that offered a beautiful view of the sunrise over the alps. Cameron and I were going to head to the mountain on our own because we had both skiied before and felt as though we did not need a lesson. Kerry Anne had not skiied before so she opted for the lesson (probably a smart idea...). We went our separate ways and were to meet up around 5pm after a day of skiing.
Cameron and I took the bus to a great mountain to ski along with some other people that were heading there from our hostel. Once we got to the bottom of the mountain we boarded a train that would take us way up top. It was about a 40 minute train ride just to the top of the mountain! The other boys that we were heading up with were an interesting crowd. One of the boys had never skiied because and was going to try and learn in the alps (really bad idea) as we commented on how high we were going in the train he kept saying "the higher we go the more i regret this decision." The other two had both skiied before and we were all giving him a quick little lesson on the way up the mountain. Once we go off up top we headed to the beginners park to warm up. HAHA beginners park......I wish. This was not Virginia!!! Bunny hills, beginngers areas, warm up--dont exist in the alps. At this point i realized i probably should have just stuck with Kerry Anne and taken the lesson so that i would not have to stress about killing myself all day. Too late now! We were so excited when we had made it to the bottom of the couse. Slowly but surely we did it. Poor Zack (this is the one that had never skiied before), he made it to the bottom alright, after running into some trees and tumbling down the mountain on several occasions. He was great at skiing but could not stop. In order to stop he would just wipe out and tumble down the mountain. I was scared watching him, i thought for sure he was going to get hurt or something! It was horrible but hilarious at the same time. We went after his skis in the trees on many occasions. There were times i had to sit and get control of myself because i was laughing so hard at his tumbles. I guess I can't say that i was much better myself... I definitely took some wild tumbles down the mountain. After this run we were so excited and hopped right on the lift to head back up to the top and go again (it took us over an hour to reach the bottom).
BIG MISTAKE. BIG MISTAKE. Did i mention we hopped right on the lift without looking to see where it was going????? It was such a scenic ride! As we headed up the mountain we noticed that where we wanted to be was quickly fading in the distance..way DOWN the mountain. As we looked forward we realized we were headed to the highest run. OOPS. I cannot even describe the fear that was running through me. We were headed up the mountain to the highest point and i had just wiped out in the beginners park. We had not clue what color runs were going to be awaiting us at the top...When we jumped off the lift we noticed all three BLACK runs and one RED (all of which are far from beginner level, the colors here are different from home). I was terrified. and so was poor Zach. But hey atleast we had the opportunity to take some great pictures! We took a ton because we knew that we were not going to be up nearly that high again. We actually had the opportunity to hop on the train from that point to head up to the tallest point in all of Europe, we were to nervous for our own good at this point and competely forgot how close we were to that train...i regret not going! It was time to head down the mountain! Of course I wiped out on the first try....and this point I had twisted and fallen on my knees so many times that i decided my safest choice for making it down this mountain was to slide on my butt. I proceeded to do so skis in hand! I know i looked ridiculas but at this point i didnt even care! I had so many people stop and ask me things in german and french. I am assuming it was an are you okay but i just laughed and kept sledding. It was actually kinda fun! I got going pretty fast at points! When i made it down further Cameron and the rest of the crew were laughing so hard and my means of transportation. Oh well atleast i made it!
Finally at the bottom it was time for lunch. We went and ate burgers at the little teepee on top of the mountain. As my knee grew larger and larger i decided i needed to rest for a bit after lunch as the rest of the group went to do some more runs. I didnt mind sitting out one bit. I had the opportunity to people watch and look out over probably one of the most beautiful scenic views i have ever seen. I took SO many pictures. My camera actually ended up breaking by the end of the day---maybe the falls had something to do with it. As the day came to a close we headed back down the mountain on the little train that brought us up. After making it back into Interlaken, Cameron and I met Kerry Anne in a little restuarant and grabbed a drink. We shared stories about our days and laughed until we cried over the events that had happened. Although it was a little scary at some points it was SOOO much fun and absolutely beautiful.
After our day filled with skiing we were excited for our fondue dinner that night. The three of us headed to a cute local fondue restuarant and ate ate ate. After a huge dinner we went into a local chocolate shop and filled up on swiss chocolate. By this point we were absolutely exhausted and ready for bed!
The following morning we were going to explore interlaken. We took off early once again. We strolled though town and walked around the river. Interlaken sits between two beautifully blue lakes. They have such a strong color because they are glacier water. Actually, they have had instances in Switzerland where the water is too clean for fish to survive in. There are little natural water fountains all over the towns and you can drink any of the water because it is so clean. After walking around the river we walked in and out of shops and made our way to the Metro Pole Hotel. This is the tallest building in Interlaken. There is a restuarant up top that you can eat at and overlook all of interlaken and the get great views of the alps. We went up for some hot chocolate and to simply enjoy the view. After this it was time to head back to our hostel and get ready to go. We took the 2 hour bus ride back into Geneva where we would spend the next 24 hours.
We intentionally scheduled our flight for Monday afternoon so that we would have the opportunity to explore a little bit of Geneva. We made it there Sunday night and headed into town for dinner. We didnt walk around too much at night because we were exhausted! We stopped at a local brewery for a drink and then headed to a yummy italian restuarant for pizza. We each had our own pizza and they were excellent. After dinner we wandered around a little bit in the expensive shopping area of Geneva. Definitely my taste, definitely not my price range! But it is always fun to window shop. We headed back to our hotel shortly after this to watch some of the USA v Canada hockey game.
The following morning we were going to explore a little bit of Geneva. The first place we headed was to the UN. Kerry Anne had visited Geneva previously and was a great little tour guide getting us through the city quickly. We simply got a look and a picture at the UN and were on to our next stop. Next we ended up near the harbor. Geneva is right on Lake Geneva and has some stunning views of the lake with the Alps in the background. It was nice to just walk around part of the harbor and enjoy the sparkling water and snowy mountains. We also got a great view of the Jet d' Eau or Jet in Geneva. The jet is a large "fountain" in the lake and a landmark in Geneva. We continued on our little journey to also see the clock made of flowers. After this we kind of wandered through the streets and touristy shops and eventually made our way back to the hotel to depart for the airport. We gave ourselves plenty of time in case we needed to rearrange flights for any reason!
My trip to Switzerland was unbelievable! The swiss alps were more than I could have ever imagined and the chocolate was great :) I would definitely go back to Interlaken again! unfortunately i dont have the time to do so again in this trip...It was great to be able to get out of the hustle and bustle of Geneva and see the sites of a little swiss town. I am sure that this will end up being one of my favorite trips!
I am so excited for my mom to get here tomorrow!!!!!!!! It is a little overcast now so I am crossing my fingers that the weather will shape up in time for her arrival.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
