Yesterday I took a day trip with my school to Segovia, which is a city about an hour and a half outside of Madrid. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with clear blue skies, but it was still a little chilly, since Segovia is located next to the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains.
The first thing we saw were the Roman aqueducts that the city is famous for. They were built in the 1st century, which absolutely amazes me. I have certainly never seen any structures that old in the US. From there we walked through the city to el Alcazar, which is the castle/palace which was built in the 11th century. I loved the fact that it still had all the original furnishings, just as they were when King Philip II lived there in the 16th century. We climbed an almost never-ending spiral staircase (which was even worse than the one at the catacombs b/c people were coming up and down, so you had to squeeze by) to go on top of el alcazar. It was worth it though, because the view of the city with the countryside and mountain range in the background was beautiful.
After that we went inside el catedral which I thought looked extremely similar to the cathedral in Toledo. I dont have any pictures inside of this one either, but this time because we weren't allowed. It was a huge and very ornate building. After that we had a lunch of tortilla y croquetas that were very good. Then we headed back to the bus to drive us back behind the city to the Iglesia de Vera Cruz. This is a church that was built by the Knights Templar. Inside the church was a circular room made out of stone that you were supposed to stand inside to experience the energy of God. I had never seen anything like that in a church before, but then again, I have not been in many churches. Since the church is outside the city walls there was a great view of the city from there. After that we headed back to Madrid.
There was only one negative aspect to the day, and that was a very obnoxious group of students who were with us. They were from Kalamazoo College and had just arrived in Spain that week. The group appeared to be composed of mostly football players (I say this not b/c of their behavior which I am about to describe, but b/c they were wearing shirts that said Kalamazoo Football.) They had a special guide to give them their tour in a lower level of Spanish, which is fine, but I didn't hear any of them speak Spanish at all the entire time, so it seemed like they weren't really making an effort. And their behavior was very poor. They were just your stereotypically loud, obnoxious Americans. We were walking inside the cathedral and they were talking very loudly, and one of them actually burped really loudly, then the others laughed. By the end of the day, after hearing conversations such as (and I quote) "Dude, gamegear was so sweet, but dreamcast sucked" I was extremely annoyed. I was embarrassed that not only are they Americans, but they are from Michigan. But when I was able to distance myself from this group I enjoyed the city.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
U of R Invasion Part III: Dublin
After a couple of hours of sleep at Katie's apartment on Friday night we got up on Saturday for St Patrick's Day in Dublin! We met up with 3 other U of R students to go watch the parade. By the time we got to the parade route it was pretty packed, and the best we could do was about 8 deep. So we didn't have the best view of the parade. But the atmosphere was enough of a show, with people wearing green as far as you could see. From the parade the 6 of us left to go to a double header of Gaelic football and Hurling. Gaelic football was awesome, it is like soccer, but with football, rugby and basketball all mixed in. Hurling was like lacrosse, but with some baseball in there too. They also had Irish dancing and music during halftime. The games were really interesting, but it was pretty cold out, so we left before the Hurling match was over. From there we just walked around the city center and checked out the celebrations. When we were hungry for dinner we couldn't find anywhere that wasn't packed, so we ended up eating at an Indian restaurant, which was kind of funny. After dinner we checked out a carnival, and some pubs, looking for live music, but everywhere was packed and crazy, so Adam and I called it a night.
Adam left for New York early the next morning. I spent the day with Katie, and her friend from home who had just gotten in for the week. We walked in to the city center again and went into St Stephen's Green, which was beautiful. It was kind of hard to enjoy though, because it was absolutely frigid. After that we walked around Merrion Square and looked at the Georgian Houses and rode the ferris wheel at the carnival. Then it started violently hailing, so we took cover in one of Dublin's free museums, where we checked out the bog bodies (bodies that had been incredibly preserved by the bogs.) At another museum we saw tons of stuffed animals (not the cute kind, the taxidermied kind.) It was such a strange museum, with every animal you could ever think of preserved in there.
After that we had a really good dinner at a pub called The Duke, then went to hang out at a pub called The Bleeding Horse. We met some locals in there, and Katie ended up singing a rousing (and Irish-accented) rendition of Piano Man with them, which was really strange.
The next day I caught a bus to the airport and was very glad to finally get back to mild-weathered Madrid. Overall an excellent trip that I will not soon forget.
Adam left for New York early the next morning. I spent the day with Katie, and her friend from home who had just gotten in for the week. We walked in to the city center again and went into St Stephen's Green, which was beautiful. It was kind of hard to enjoy though, because it was absolutely frigid. After that we walked around Merrion Square and looked at the Georgian Houses and rode the ferris wheel at the carnival. Then it started violently hailing, so we took cover in one of Dublin's free museums, where we checked out the bog bodies (bodies that had been incredibly preserved by the bogs.) At another museum we saw tons of stuffed animals (not the cute kind, the taxidermied kind.) It was such a strange museum, with every animal you could ever think of preserved in there.
After that we had a really good dinner at a pub called The Duke, then went to hang out at a pub called The Bleeding Horse. We met some locals in there, and Katie ended up singing a rousing (and Irish-accented) rendition of Piano Man with them, which was really strange.
The next day I caught a bus to the airport and was very glad to finally get back to mild-weathered Madrid. Overall an excellent trip that I will not soon forget.
U of R Invasion Part II: Paris
Adam and I finally arrived in Paris at 8:00am on Thursday morning, and by the time we took the bus in to the city and the metro to our hotel it was around noon. So we dropped our bags, grabbed some lunch and got started on the sight-seeing. Our first stop was Montparnasse Tower because it has great views of the city. From there we walked to the catacombs, which I thought would be really cool. You enter by descending the tightest spiral staircase I have ever been on for what seems like forever. Once you are 86 feet below the streets of Paris you enter an old limestone quarry. After walking under the low ceiling (Adam hit his head) in very little light for a very long time you enter a room where the bones begin. At this point I was pretty creeped out because on both sides of you for as far as you can see are rows of skulls and bones stacked neatly against the walls. It was interesting to see, but I was not interested in lingering too long, so we finished the walk and climbed back up into the daylight.
We then decided to walk from the catacombs to Notre Dame. On the way there we stopped at the Luxembourg Gardens and the Pantheon to look around and take pictures. I thought that the Luxembourg Gardens looked a lot like El Parque de Buen Retiro in Madrid. Adam thought the Pantheon looked like Rush Rhees Library on Meliora Weekend because of the yellow banners hanging on it. It was being decorated for a special event for Marie Curie, who is buried inside. We went inside Notre Dame and looked around and also sat outside and studied the facade for a little bit. We then tried to go into Sainte-Chapelle, which is nearby, but it had just closed. Same goes for the Deportation Memorial which is behind Notre Dame. That was a bummer, but at least we got to see them from the outside. After that we were hungry for dinner, so we went off in search of a restaurant. We turned down a little street and ran in to two other U of R students who were in Paris for spring break, how crazy! We then had dinner at a Parisian restaurant with a bunch of Scottish men in kilts sitting behind us.
After that we followed the Seine from Notre Dame back to our hotel which was by the Eiffel Tower and Ecole Militaire. It was kind of a long walk, but very beautiful. Then we put on some warmer clothes and went to see the Eiffel Tower lit up and sparkling at night and took a cruise down the Seine River.
The next morning we were in line at the Eiffel Tower when it opened. This was a good idea because the line was short and it wasn´t crowded once we ascended, but a bad idea because it was so foggy out in the morning that we couldn´t even see the top of the tower. So we rode the elevator up to the first level, then walked up to the second level. It was a nice view and there was interesting information, but I don´t think either of us enjoyed it very much because it was freezing.
From there we met for a bike tour of the city. It was basically a group of 30 Americans trying to fight Paris traffic on bikes, which a recent college grad from Texas as our guide. It was an excellent way to see a lot of the city quickly, since we didn´t have very much time left. We stopped at Napolean's Tomb, Ecole Militaire, Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides, Assembly Nationale, among other things, had crepes at a cafe in the Tuileries Gardens then saw the Louvre and then headed back. That took about 4.5 hours because there were so many people and everyone had to have to guide take their picture at every single stop. We only had time to do one more thing really, so we took the Metro up to Montmarte to climb the stairs and see Sacre-Couer. The inside of the church, as well as the view were beautiful. We sat down on the steps to listen to some guys singing and playing guitar and rest for a little bit. Then we bought some souvenirs and headed back to our hotel to pick up our bags. We realized that one of the things we hadn´t seen, the Arc de Triomphe, was a few blocks away from where we needed to catch the bus to the airport. The metro ended up taking longer than we had planned though, so when we got out at the Arc we had about 30 seconds to snap a picture before we had to take off Amazing Race style for the bus. We ended up making it on time to the bus and got to the airport only to have to wait in line for 2 hours to get through security at Beauvais airport (which has only 2 gates.) Our flight was delayed, so we didn´t get in to Dublin until around 2:00am and were definitely exhausted at that point.
We then decided to walk from the catacombs to Notre Dame. On the way there we stopped at the Luxembourg Gardens and the Pantheon to look around and take pictures. I thought that the Luxembourg Gardens looked a lot like El Parque de Buen Retiro in Madrid. Adam thought the Pantheon looked like Rush Rhees Library on Meliora Weekend because of the yellow banners hanging on it. It was being decorated for a special event for Marie Curie, who is buried inside. We went inside Notre Dame and looked around and also sat outside and studied the facade for a little bit. We then tried to go into Sainte-Chapelle, which is nearby, but it had just closed. Same goes for the Deportation Memorial which is behind Notre Dame. That was a bummer, but at least we got to see them from the outside. After that we were hungry for dinner, so we went off in search of a restaurant. We turned down a little street and ran in to two other U of R students who were in Paris for spring break, how crazy! We then had dinner at a Parisian restaurant with a bunch of Scottish men in kilts sitting behind us.
After that we followed the Seine from Notre Dame back to our hotel which was by the Eiffel Tower and Ecole Militaire. It was kind of a long walk, but very beautiful. Then we put on some warmer clothes and went to see the Eiffel Tower lit up and sparkling at night and took a cruise down the Seine River.
The next morning we were in line at the Eiffel Tower when it opened. This was a good idea because the line was short and it wasn´t crowded once we ascended, but a bad idea because it was so foggy out in the morning that we couldn´t even see the top of the tower. So we rode the elevator up to the first level, then walked up to the second level. It was a nice view and there was interesting information, but I don´t think either of us enjoyed it very much because it was freezing.
From there we met for a bike tour of the city. It was basically a group of 30 Americans trying to fight Paris traffic on bikes, which a recent college grad from Texas as our guide. It was an excellent way to see a lot of the city quickly, since we didn´t have very much time left. We stopped at Napolean's Tomb, Ecole Militaire, Place de la Concorde, Les Invalides, Assembly Nationale, among other things, had crepes at a cafe in the Tuileries Gardens then saw the Louvre and then headed back. That took about 4.5 hours because there were so many people and everyone had to have to guide take their picture at every single stop. We only had time to do one more thing really, so we took the Metro up to Montmarte to climb the stairs and see Sacre-Couer. The inside of the church, as well as the view were beautiful. We sat down on the steps to listen to some guys singing and playing guitar and rest for a little bit. Then we bought some souvenirs and headed back to our hotel to pick up our bags. We realized that one of the things we hadn´t seen, the Arc de Triomphe, was a few blocks away from where we needed to catch the bus to the airport. The metro ended up taking longer than we had planned though, so when we got out at the Arc we had about 30 seconds to snap a picture before we had to take off Amazing Race style for the bus. We ended up making it on time to the bus and got to the airport only to have to wait in line for 2 hours to get through security at Beauvais airport (which has only 2 gates.) Our flight was delayed, so we didn´t get in to Dublin until around 2:00am and were definitely exhausted at that point.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
U of R Invasion Part I: Madrid
I'm right in the middle of Adam's visit here, but I have a few minutes to update b/c of a slight scheduling problem, that I will get to later.
But first; On Friday Tali (Gail's friend from HS) arrived and she, Evelyn and I went on a tour of Santiago Bernabeu, where Real Madrid plays. I thought it was pretty sweet. The best part was sitting on the bench then going down the tunnel to the locker rooms. I was all excited b/c I thought we would get to see Real's locker room, with all of their names up and stuff, but we just got to see the visitor side. It was awesome anyway though, definitely a treat for a former futbol player to see inside the home of the most successful club in the world.
On Saturday evening Gail arrived, and after getting to the hostel and getting dinner I met her and Tali at a cueva for some sangria. Cueva literally means cave, but they are just underground bars. This one had a pretty cool atmosphere, with quotes painted on the walls which they wanted me to translate. It was incredibly loud though, with all of the Spaniards there, some were even chanting, not sure why. And then there was the obnoxious American girl who came us to us and announced herself as a fellow American when she heard us speaking English. What a great ambassador for our country, haha. A guy was trying to play piano above it all too, but it wasn't really working out. We then went out for churros, which tasted exceptionally good at 3 in the morning!
The next day I met Adam at the airport and we spent the afternoon in El Parque de Buen Retiro. We sat in a quiet place in the shade for a while, and then went over to the busy middle section were there were lots of street performers. That night Gail and Tali came over to my apartment to experience some of my awesome cooking (past of course, haha.)
On Monday I had class in the morning, then Adam and I had planned to go to a museum, but we found out that they are all closed on Mondays. So we ended up going to the Palacio Real and taking a tour, then walking around Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor and had some churros. We had our six month anniversary dinner in Plaza Mayor, which was very nice.
On Tuesday we went to the Thyssen museum and saw the permanent collection there, as well as a temporary exhibit called El Retrato, which chronicles the history of portraits. There were a lot of self-portraits in it, which I thought were very interesting. We then went to a little local place for lunch, which was really good. We got the menu del dia for only 8.50 which includes 2 courses, bread, drinks and dessert and it was all very good and authentic. I will definitely be going back there. We then came back to rest and plan out our itineraries for our next two trips. That night we had tapas for dinner, then went to a flamenco show.
This morning Adam came to class with me at Nebrija. He was jealous at how easy and fun classes are. We basically just talk about the cultures in our own countries and compare it to Spanish culture. Then we came back to my apartment to eat lunch and pack in preparation for what we thought was our 5:45 flight to Paris. When we got to the airport we couldn't find our flight on the screens, which was the first sign that there was a problem. We ended up finding out that the flight had actually been at 5:45am this morning and we had missed it. So we went running around the airport in search of another cheap flight to Paris. I felt like we were in the Amazing Race, toting our backpacks around the airport and checking flights (although we were looking for the cheapest and not the shortest.) We ended just booking with RyanAir for the same flight, only tomorrow morning. So we came back to eat dinner and try to get some sleep, then we will head back to airport. The only problem is that the metro stops at 1:30am, and a taxi is about 30 euros, so we are just going to leave at 1:00 to take the metro to the airport and hang out there for a little bit in the middle of the night. Fortunately we won't have to drop anything from our itinerary (except a good night's sleep.) Adam has wisely been sleeping for the past 2 hours, but I just couldn't make myself go to sleep at 9pm. I guess I should try now though so that I won't be tired in Paris!
But first; On Friday Tali (Gail's friend from HS) arrived and she, Evelyn and I went on a tour of Santiago Bernabeu, where Real Madrid plays. I thought it was pretty sweet. The best part was sitting on the bench then going down the tunnel to the locker rooms. I was all excited b/c I thought we would get to see Real's locker room, with all of their names up and stuff, but we just got to see the visitor side. It was awesome anyway though, definitely a treat for a former futbol player to see inside the home of the most successful club in the world.
On Saturday evening Gail arrived, and after getting to the hostel and getting dinner I met her and Tali at a cueva for some sangria. Cueva literally means cave, but they are just underground bars. This one had a pretty cool atmosphere, with quotes painted on the walls which they wanted me to translate. It was incredibly loud though, with all of the Spaniards there, some were even chanting, not sure why. And then there was the obnoxious American girl who came us to us and announced herself as a fellow American when she heard us speaking English. What a great ambassador for our country, haha. A guy was trying to play piano above it all too, but it wasn't really working out. We then went out for churros, which tasted exceptionally good at 3 in the morning!
The next day I met Adam at the airport and we spent the afternoon in El Parque de Buen Retiro. We sat in a quiet place in the shade for a while, and then went over to the busy middle section were there were lots of street performers. That night Gail and Tali came over to my apartment to experience some of my awesome cooking (past of course, haha.)
On Monday I had class in the morning, then Adam and I had planned to go to a museum, but we found out that they are all closed on Mondays. So we ended up going to the Palacio Real and taking a tour, then walking around Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor and had some churros. We had our six month anniversary dinner in Plaza Mayor, which was very nice.
On Tuesday we went to the Thyssen museum and saw the permanent collection there, as well as a temporary exhibit called El Retrato, which chronicles the history of portraits. There were a lot of self-portraits in it, which I thought were very interesting. We then went to a little local place for lunch, which was really good. We got the menu del dia for only 8.50 which includes 2 courses, bread, drinks and dessert and it was all very good and authentic. I will definitely be going back there. We then came back to rest and plan out our itineraries for our next two trips. That night we had tapas for dinner, then went to a flamenco show.
This morning Adam came to class with me at Nebrija. He was jealous at how easy and fun classes are. We basically just talk about the cultures in our own countries and compare it to Spanish culture. Then we came back to my apartment to eat lunch and pack in preparation for what we thought was our 5:45 flight to Paris. When we got to the airport we couldn't find our flight on the screens, which was the first sign that there was a problem. We ended up finding out that the flight had actually been at 5:45am this morning and we had missed it. So we went running around the airport in search of another cheap flight to Paris. I felt like we were in the Amazing Race, toting our backpacks around the airport and checking flights (although we were looking for the cheapest and not the shortest.) We ended just booking with RyanAir for the same flight, only tomorrow morning. So we came back to eat dinner and try to get some sleep, then we will head back to airport. The only problem is that the metro stops at 1:30am, and a taxi is about 30 euros, so we are just going to leave at 1:00 to take the metro to the airport and hang out there for a little bit in the middle of the night. Fortunately we won't have to drop anything from our itinerary (except a good night's sleep.) Adam has wisely been sleeping for the past 2 hours, but I just couldn't make myself go to sleep at 9pm. I guess I should try now though so that I won't be tired in Paris!
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Mas palabras nuevas
Here are some more new words that I have learned recently (see if you can guess where.)
bienestar=well-being
hipoteca=mortgage
asequible=affordable
bajo ingreso=low income
bebenducir=drunk-driving
bienestar=well-being
hipoteca=mortgage
asequible=affordable
bajo ingreso=low income
bebenducir=drunk-driving
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Ahora soy una madrileña
Today was so full and fun that it deserves a post all to itself. This morning Evelyn and I went to El Rastro, which is a humongous flea market that is held here every Sunday morning. We arrived around noon and the fact that we were squished like sardines into the metro was a pretty good indication of what was to come. The place was absolutely packed! It extends for blocks down the main street, then lots of other streets with more specific items intersect. There where such random things for sale, including lots of stands that were selling underwear, lots of t-shirts with "interesting" designs on them, and I even saw a stand with camo pants and gas masks. The only thing I bought was a Real Madrid scarf in anticipation for the game, but I definitely want to go back later and buy souvenirs. Next time I will go earlier in hopes of avoiding the crowds (and the heat.)
Since it was such a gorgeous day out (70 degrees and sunny) we decided to go to El Parque de Buen Retiro, which is like the Central Park of Madrid. We stopped first at a place outside the park to pick up some bocadillos (sandwiches) then went and found a shady bench to eat them on. It was a great place to people watch, as the park is very popular on Sunday afternoons. I was surprised by how dressed up people were just to walk in the park. Maybe they were coming from church, but I have learned in my culture class that not many Spaniards attend church any more. The park was beautiful and we didnt make it very far inside, so I definitely want to go back and see the lake and the sculptures inside.
After that we were invited to a barbeque that some people from the University of Florida (who also go to Nebrija) were having on the terrace in their apartment. So we went there to hang out for a little while. Then from there we headed to El Estadio de Santiago Bernabeu for the Real Madrid Game! We had quite the time actually getting there and inside though. Once again it was a jam-packed metro ride, and once we squeezed out of the metro it was basically a scene of chaos. Just massive crowds going in all directions. We managed to find a ticket office and tried to pick up the tickets that I had tried to order by phone (a long story, but basically a very difficult task when it is all automated in Spanish.) They told us we had to go to a machine and insert the card to get the tickets out, but when we did that it said that we had no reservations. So we tried to go back and buy tickets. They had some available for 40 euros, but neither of us had that much cash, and they didnt accept cards. So we went down the street in search of an atm (by this time the game had started.) We found one, but it was out of cash! So we went on and found another that had only 50 euros left in it. So we took all of that out, and went back to the ticket window. But this time they said all they had were 65 euros seats, and we didn't have that much cash, nor were we really interested in paying that much. Feeling pretty disappointed at this point we asked at one more ticket window as a last ditch effort, and they had 40 euro tickets! (who knows what was going on with the other window.) So we finally got our tickets, climbed the stairs all the way up to the top of the stadium and found our seats. It was about 20 minutes into the game, but tons of people were still looking for their seats.
The rest of the game was really exciting. The stadium was huge, but even though we were in the 2nd highest section we could still see really well. David Beckham played, although not very well I must say. Real Madrid had lots of scoring opportunities, including a couple off the posts, but couldn't put anything in. They scored on a PK and the game ended 1-1. I guess the actual play wasn't all that amazing, but the atmosphere in the stadium was awesome. They offer tours of the stadium in which you get to go in the locker rooms and on the field, so we definitely want to go back and do that.
Overall it was a very excellent, very Spanish day.
Since it was such a gorgeous day out (70 degrees and sunny) we decided to go to El Parque de Buen Retiro, which is like the Central Park of Madrid. We stopped first at a place outside the park to pick up some bocadillos (sandwiches) then went and found a shady bench to eat them on. It was a great place to people watch, as the park is very popular on Sunday afternoons. I was surprised by how dressed up people were just to walk in the park. Maybe they were coming from church, but I have learned in my culture class that not many Spaniards attend church any more. The park was beautiful and we didnt make it very far inside, so I definitely want to go back and see the lake and the sculptures inside.
After that we were invited to a barbeque that some people from the University of Florida (who also go to Nebrija) were having on the terrace in their apartment. So we went there to hang out for a little while. Then from there we headed to El Estadio de Santiago Bernabeu for the Real Madrid Game! We had quite the time actually getting there and inside though. Once again it was a jam-packed metro ride, and once we squeezed out of the metro it was basically a scene of chaos. Just massive crowds going in all directions. We managed to find a ticket office and tried to pick up the tickets that I had tried to order by phone (a long story, but basically a very difficult task when it is all automated in Spanish.) They told us we had to go to a machine and insert the card to get the tickets out, but when we did that it said that we had no reservations. So we tried to go back and buy tickets. They had some available for 40 euros, but neither of us had that much cash, and they didnt accept cards. So we went down the street in search of an atm (by this time the game had started.) We found one, but it was out of cash! So we went on and found another that had only 50 euros left in it. So we took all of that out, and went back to the ticket window. But this time they said all they had were 65 euros seats, and we didn't have that much cash, nor were we really interested in paying that much. Feeling pretty disappointed at this point we asked at one more ticket window as a last ditch effort, and they had 40 euro tickets! (who knows what was going on with the other window.) So we finally got our tickets, climbed the stairs all the way up to the top of the stadium and found our seats. It was about 20 minutes into the game, but tons of people were still looking for their seats.
The rest of the game was really exciting. The stadium was huge, but even though we were in the 2nd highest section we could still see really well. David Beckham played, although not very well I must say. Real Madrid had lots of scoring opportunities, including a couple off the posts, but couldn't put anything in. They scored on a PK and the game ended 1-1. I guess the actual play wasn't all that amazing, but the atmosphere in the stadium was awesome. They offer tours of the stadium in which you get to go in the locker rooms and on the field, so we definitely want to go back and do that.
Overall it was a very excellent, very Spanish day.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Living the life
As I walked to work yesterday the sun was shining, and I looked around me and realized what a beautiful city this is. You could not find anything like this in the US. Every building is just so ornate and lovely and there are plazas and fountains everywhere. I love that where I live does not have a tourist in sight. When I was in London I actually missed Madrid, it was weird. I missed being able to speak Spanish and walking down my little residential street to the tienda. We will see if I feel this way during the rest of my travels.
I am really excited for the upcoming weeks. On Sunday Evelyn and I are going to see a Real Madrid game!!! Apparently a lot of the stars are injured, or will be resting up before their Champions League match against Bayern Munich, and our seats are up in the nose-bleeds, but that doesn't matter to me. I just want to soak up the atmosphere that I hear is crazy.
Then on Thursday morning I am going to recruit for UR admissions at The American School of Madrid. I will be sure not to mention the recent blizzards in Rochester...
On Friday afternoon, my friend Gail's friend from from HS who is studying in Florence this semester will be here. She is staying with me that night until Gail arrives all the way from NYC on Saturday! I get to hang out with them on Sat, and then the next morning Adam arrives all the way from Rochacha! We are staying here in Madrid until Wed afternoon so that I can go to class on Mon and Wed. Then on Wednesday, Adam and I are going to Paris! We will spend all day Thursday and Friday sightseeing there, then we fly to Dublin on Friday night. On Saturday we will attempt to sightsee amidst the craziness of St Patrick's Day in Dublin. There are supposed to be a lot of UR people there that day, so I hope to see some of them. Then on Sunday morning Adam goes back to Rochester and I am staying with Katie until Monday afternoon. Then I come back here to Madrid and catch my breath before I leave for Italy in less than 2 weeks!
It makes me tired just writing all of that, but I am so excited!
I am really excited for the upcoming weeks. On Sunday Evelyn and I are going to see a Real Madrid game!!! Apparently a lot of the stars are injured, or will be resting up before their Champions League match against Bayern Munich, and our seats are up in the nose-bleeds, but that doesn't matter to me. I just want to soak up the atmosphere that I hear is crazy.
Then on Thursday morning I am going to recruit for UR admissions at The American School of Madrid. I will be sure not to mention the recent blizzards in Rochester...
On Friday afternoon, my friend Gail's friend from from HS who is studying in Florence this semester will be here. She is staying with me that night until Gail arrives all the way from NYC on Saturday! I get to hang out with them on Sat, and then the next morning Adam arrives all the way from Rochacha! We are staying here in Madrid until Wed afternoon so that I can go to class on Mon and Wed. Then on Wednesday, Adam and I are going to Paris! We will spend all day Thursday and Friday sightseeing there, then we fly to Dublin on Friday night. On Saturday we will attempt to sightsee amidst the craziness of St Patrick's Day in Dublin. There are supposed to be a lot of UR people there that day, so I hope to see some of them. Then on Sunday morning Adam goes back to Rochester and I am staying with Katie until Monday afternoon. Then I come back here to Madrid and catch my breath before I leave for Italy in less than 2 weeks!
It makes me tired just writing all of that, but I am so excited!
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