Lisboa

If anyone is ever looking for a vacation destination on this side of the world, I have a recommendation – Lisboa (Lisbon), Portugal!!!! This has by far been my favorite trip so far this semester and honestly, right now I couldn’t imagine a better trip. This weekend I had the opportunity to visit this beautiful country and city. Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and is located on the Tagus River (which I thought was the ocean for the first day, haha - oops!) It is absolutely gorgeous and full of both history and phenomenal views of the river which include the view of a bridge that was modeled after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and a statue modeled after the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. 

Besides enjoying the view, we spent the weekend getting a tour of the city, enjoying the fabulous weather, learning about its history (seeing statues of famous writers, monuments to kings, and the plaza where the headquarters to the Inquisition was located), shopping at the outdoor market on Saturday, walking along the water, and of course, trying the local cuisine! 

Local cuisine includes lots of seafood and meat. While there, we were able to try Gazpacho, Bacalao (cod), and the absolutely delicious Pastries de Belem! The recipe of the original Pastries de Belem is only known by 3 people in the world. The recipe is so secretive that these three people are never allowed to be in the same place at once. We were lucky enough to visit this bakery and try the pastry – it’s a soft croissant-y outside with delicious custard on the inside. 

Pastry of Belem

Bacalao

One of the last stops on the trip was touring the Castle of St. George. While there, we were able to climb up some of the towers and enjoy the phenomenal view of the city!

Next stop: Spring Break, meaning Italy and the United Kingdom!!!!! I'm so excited for this trip because not only does it mean visiting amazing cities, but being done with my four exams this week :P Hasta luego!

 

Side note: Lisbon has the oldest bookstore in the world!!!! We were able to see it, and the Guinness World Record certificate marking it as older than its competitor in Italy that it beat by only 6 months!

Toledo and Burgos

It's been awhile since my last post, so I'll try to recap what's been happening over here on this side of the world.

Toledo:

After traveling to Salamanca with my school, this weekend was spent with some friends visiting a new city that had everything, history, culture, and a view. We started exploring the city by visiting a museum that had many of the most famous works by the artist El Greco. These paintings were truly incredible and extremely exciting to see since I remember studying them in Spanish classes in middle school and high school. After visiting the museum, we then traveled to La Catedral de Santa Maria de Toledo and then spent the rest of the day exploring the city and admiring all of the synagogues and references to Don Quixote. The best part of the day: admiring the gorgeous view!!!

Burgos:

This weekend was supposed to be dedicated to visiting El Cañon de los Rios Lobos however, due to apparently "bad weather" (You could say I was looking forward to seeing the outdoors) the trip was cancelled at the last minute and we had the opportunity to visit a city we otherwise wouldn't have visited. My friends and I decided to spend our now open Saturday visiting the city of Burgos. After arriving to the city, we quickly realized that there are two train stations that lead to the city and that we had accidently booked the wrong one. Making the best out of this situation, we then proceeded to make the long trek into the city and along the way what did we find? a "bajillion" little playgrounds! And of course, being the person I am, I decided to try out as many teeter-totters as possible! It was a blast! After eventually making it into the city, we then proceeded to explore. Burgos is a city that can be found along the Camino de Santiago and it was exciting to find all of the conch shells along the ground as well as one of the places where many people stay while on the Camino. We then made it to the Cathedral of Burgos and visited the ruins of the Castle. While exploring the castle grounds, we enjoyed hiking, and even found a stone table dating back hundreds of years where we of course decided to eat lunch! We had a very relaxing day and although I didn't get to visit the National Park, I did get to explore some nature :)

My teeter-totter buddy!!!!!

The Cathedral in Burgos

Proxima parada: Lisboa (Lisbon) Portugal

Madrid y Salamanca

Wow, time really does fly when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in Spain for a month and a half and that I have less than 3 months left. These last two weeks, I was able to travel with friends (and classmates) to Madrid and Salamanca.

For those who don’t know, Madrid is the capital of Spain and while there, I was able to visit the Royal Palace (El Palacio Real) as well as two of the most renowned art museums in the world, El Prado y La Reina Sofia.

The Royal Palace

It was amazing to walk through the same building where countless royals have grown-up. Although we weren’t allowed to take pictures, I’ll forever remember walking through the royal halls. Nearly every room had magnificent chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and gorgeous paintings were everywhere. However, I think the best part was seeing the scepter and crown the Spanish kings hold/wear at their coronations.  

La Reina Sofia and El Prado:

El Museo de la Reina Sofia is filled with thousands of works including some by famous Spanish artists including by Miró, Goya, Picasso, and many more. I think my favorite was seeing Guernica by Picasso and his other works that were there. After visiting La Reina Sofia, we then went to El Museo del Prado. I have never seen so many amazing works of art in my life! And they were all at the same place. At the Prado, there are works by Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Rembrandt, and even “the other Mona Lisa” that was probably painted by DaVinci. Wow, they were all so incredible and I can barely draw flowers!

The second city: Salamanca. Home to beautiful cathedrals, one of the oldest Universities in Europe, a gorgeous Plaza Mayor, a bridge that dates back to the Romans, and places/things important in Spanish literature.  

The first stops were the Cathedrals and the Plaza Mayor. After listening to the bells ring at the monastery, then we went to the two conjoined cathedrals in Salamanca. These cathedrals are both completely different but are actually connected and share a wall. After exploring these cathedrals, we visited the Plaza Mayor, which was absolutely gorgeous, and saw one of the University buildings (the most famous one). Within the architecture of the building, there is a hidden frog and if you are able to find it, it’s said that you will have good luck with your academics and will be able to pass your exams. Hopefully that means I did well on my Geography and Literature quizzes this week! After these buildings, we went to explore the Garden of Melibea (from the story la Celestina which we read in Literature Class), and found the statue from the book Lanzarillo de Tormes (another book read in class).

In general, it was just an excellent day to explore the beautiful sun in such a fantastic city! I even got a little sun-burned! And although seeing all of the architecture was amazing, I think my favorite part was finding a park and going on a teeter-totter with some friends! All-in-all, a fabulous day!

Próxima parada: Toledo

La semana de mi cumpleaños!

Qué increíble que yo celebrara mi cumpleaños en España!



 

 Este miércoles, he celebrado mi cumple en el país más bonito del mundo y he tenido un día perfecta!

Ayer, mi familia de España me cocinó una tarta con fresas y kiwi y me canto una canción que nunca he oido! Además, caminé por la ciudad con unas amigas y celebré con tapas y helado :) Finalmente, yo recibí muchas mensajes fantásticas de mis amigas y familia!

 

It's incredible that I could celebrate my birthday in Spain!

This Wednesday, I celebrated by birthday in the most beautiful country in the world and had a perfect day! Yesterday, my Spanish family made me a birthday tart with strawberries and kiwi and they sang me a song I'd never heard before! I also celebrated with having Tapas and ice cream with friends who truly made my day special :) Finally, I received lots of wonderful messages from all of my family and friends!

This is the amazing dessert that I my host family made me! I wasn't expecting anything for them so I was extremely excited when they pulled this out of the fridge :) It even had candles!!!!!

It was truly a wonderful day and I am so grateful to all who wished me a Happy Birthday and helped to make my day special.

 

Next post: Madrid (last weekend) and Salamanca (this weekend)

 



Prague and Vienna

 

 

Wow, this week has been a whirlwind! This week (Monday and Tuesday) was the celebration of Carnival over here in Spain (and other parts of the world as well). For those who don’t know, Carnival is basically the same as Marti Gras, and takes place the days leading up to Ash Wednesday. Because of this holiday, classes on Monday and Tuesday were canceled and all of us students took this opportunity to travel around Europe. For me that means, Prague and Vienna!

First stop: Prague

After traveling for most of the day on Friday, and finding free coffee machines in the airport in Germany (one of the best parts of the day, free hot chocolate for me!), we made it to Prague that afternoon. During our stay in Prague, we walked up to the Castle where we had the most amazing view of the city, we took pictures down by the river, we walked along Charles Bridge, saw the astronomical clock, and had a walking tour of the city. Prague was absolutely beautiful! There were hardly any modern buildings so stepping out of the metro station felt like being transported to a different time! It was absolutely amazing to stay in a city that takes so much pride in their history and that dates back hundreds of years. After exploring ourselves, my friends and I went on a walking tour with someone who was born and raised in Prague. She was extremely sweet and acted like a mother to all of us, making sure we were warm and understanding everything while on the walk! On the tour, we learned about the Jewish Quarter, the Astronomical Clock, the various cathedrals, and much more! It was really fun exploring the city with someone who had lived there their entire life.

Second stop: Vienna

The hills are alive, with the sound of …. Us singing … haha, the first thing we did after arriving at our hostel in Vienna was listen to the Sound of Music soundtrack. Although most of the scenes from the movie weren’t filmed in Vienna, they weren’t far away, so we decided (or at least I did), we needed to embrace our inner Von Trapps and sing while we were there. While in Vienna, we visited an art/history museum, went to some amazing palaces, took our own self-guided walking tour, and, the best part, went to the ballet at the Vienna State Opera House!!!!!! Although it was a little difficult coming from Prague, where everything is clean and all the buildings are well-kept, to Vienna where there were a lot of more modern and less well-kept areas, the old part of Vienna was incredible! Our walking tour took us to places such as Castle Park, the Anti-War and Fascism Monument, the Capuchin Imperial Crypt, St. Stephen’s Church, and Michael’s square. These parts of the city were absolutely fantastic and, although we didn’t get a chance to see the National Library, we had a great time exploring! After our tour, we went back to the Opera House where we saw the ballet, Onegin, which was an unforgettable experience! I never thought I would have the opportunity to be able to go to the ballet at the Vienna State Opera House! It’s something I will never forget.

 

 

Here are 2 pictures of Prague at night. The first is of Charles Bridge which was named for King Charles who was also the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire for a time. The second picture was taken when standing by the Castle in Prague. It doesn't fully capture how beautiful the city was at night.  

 



Here is the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. The pictures don't do it justice because this palace is enormous! If you look at the smaller buildings on the sides, most of them connect and also form an even bigger perimeter around the palace.

 Final info:

Although traveling throughout these cities was extremely fun, it aws also really exciting to return back home to Spain. While away for the weekend, it was really difficult to be in places where we did not speak the language. Although we were able to get around using English, the main languages in Prague and Vienna are Czech and German. It was extremely strange not using Spanish when we had a question for someone, and we had no idea how to pronounce what the signs said, but we managed!     

 Also, because Prague is in the Czech Republic and not a part of the Euro Zone, we had to figure out how to use their currency. The conversion rate is extremely difficult to get used to because 1 dollar is equal to 23 Czech crowns. Paying about 100 for a dessert was extremely difficult to grasp, but I think we figured it out!

 

That is all for today, I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip and that you maybe learned a little. I'll be sticking to Spain for awhile now.  

Next stop on the list: Madrid!

Conquering Barcelona

"Harry, I've reached the top" (Home Alone quote) Here is the view from the top of the peak in Parc Guell. From this viewpoint, it is possible to see almost all of the city including both the Sagrada Familia and the Caribbean Sea. After walking up and down (literally) the streets of Barcelona, we finally reached this beautiful spot where we could enjoy the beautiful sunshine and gorgeous city we were in.

Here is a picture of some of the beautiful buildings designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi. It felt like being in a fairytale or walking in a town made of gingerbread houses. It was absolutely beautiful and it's incredible that it was build one hundred years ago.

 

And here is a part of Gaudi's most incredible masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia. This is just the western side of the magnificent basilica designed by the architect. It is truly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. The amount of detail put into every single square inch of the building is amazing. One side of the basilica depicts the nativity, the opposite depicts the crucifixion, and the final, front side will be dedicated to the ascension. The inside also reflects this idea as each side represents the beginning and ending of life and is a reflection of nature. The Sagrada Familia has had three main architects, the leading one, Gaudi died June 1926. Currently, there are plans to finish construction June 2026, 100 years after the death of Gaudi.

I cannot believe that I had the opportunity to see the magnificence that is this building. It was truly amazing to see the what people are capable of when they use the gifts God gave to them and put them towards glorifying Him.

And here is a close-up picture of the opposite side. The detail is incredible.

 

In addition to La Sagrada Familia, I also had the opportunity to visit the Picasso Museum and see hundreds of works done by such an amazing artist. We also passed by the beautiful Catedral de Barcelona and the Barcelona Football Stadium (soccer for us) where a game was played and won against Madrid on Saturday night.

Overall, the trip was absolutely incredible and it's hard to believe that all of that beauty can be found in one city. This trip is something I will never be able to forget and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to see all of these things that I had only dreamed about seeing.

That is all for today, as this week is full of quizzes and exams, because yes I still do have classes while here. However, this upcoming week is Carnival which means two days off of school and traveling to places farther away. The next stop on the agenda: Prague and Vienna.

Hasta Luego....

 

Segovia

On Saturday I was able to go on my first excursion outside of the city. We went to Segovia, famous for El Acueducto, El Alcazar, y El Catedral de Segovia. The city was absolutely amazing and one of my favorite days so far since being here. Even the bus rides to and from the city were fun as we looked for la mujer muerte, a famous part of the mountain range, and watched a beautiful sunset on our way back home.  Here are some pictures from my trip!

Here are some pictures of El Acueducto. This enormous structure was created by the Romans to bring water into the city of Segovia. Although there it is not known exactly when it was created, the story of why it was built is extremely interesting. If you'd like to here it later, let me know, but as most people know, I'm bad at telling stories, so I won't be writing it on here. :)

Here is a picture of the cathedral of Segovia. This cathedral was absolutely amazing! The architecture is in the gothic style and extremely different than the Christian style that is common in the other churches in the city. It was absolutely incredible and so tall!!!!! This church is one of the best things (if not the best) I have seen so far and I am so lucky to have been able to visit it!

Finally, this is a picture of El Alcazar, the beautiful castle that is also in the city of Segovia. I didn't take this picture, but I wanted to show how beautiful it is from the front. This is the first castle I have ever seen (with the exception of the one in Disney World) and it truly seemed unreal. While inside, we were able to see the throne room, the courtyard, the Catholic altar, and so much more. It was truly unbelievable! and fyi, I called dibbs on the room in the front tower for my future bedroom :)

As I said before, the city was just incredible and I can't believe that such beautiful places exist! I can't wait to keep exploring and see what else this beautiful country has to offer.