Helllooooooo!
I've had some coffee and I'm a little hyper, so bear with me! haha
Alrighty, CHOCOLATE MUSEUM TIME! Helena and I met up Tuesday for our excursion to God's gift to earth and it was awesome. Here's a list of all the awesomeness that went down that day.
1. I had no cash so I had to pay with a card, but to do that, I had to spend more than 10 euro. Which meant I HAD to buy chocolate so I could get into the museum. It was necessary. Sigh, poor me :-)
2. Our ticket was a chocolate bar. Enough said.
3. They had Don Quijote made out of chocolate.
4. They had the Pieta made of chocolate.
5. Most impressive and best of all? UP made of chocolate. Yep. It was fantastic.
We spent about an hour meandering the little museum and took lots of crazy pictures with things made out of chocolate. All in all, a success I should say. Then we grabbed some falafal and called it a trip :-)
Yesterday (Thursday) we went to see a concert at the Palau de la Musica. The ensemble performed pieces by Mozart and Hayden and it was a really beautiful concert. The only problem was that the people WOULDN'T STOP CLAPPING! I mean it. It was insane, we were all looking at each other like "why is everyone still clapping? It's over..." But it wasn't. They did about 3 encores (which were beautiful, but long) and I'm pretty sure we all wanted to yell "STOP CLAPPING!" by the end haha. But I digress, it was a really nice night and we had a lovely cultural experience that was definitely worth the incessant applause haha.
Today, we went to Montjuic (or sort of went to Montjuic...). Essentially, we got there, realized we had all already been to the castle, and decided to meander our way down the mountain instead of spending more money to see it again haha. We ended up walking through this trippy cactus garden that lead us down the mountain and out on to the main street. From there, we headed to La Rambla and went to buy some snacks at La Boqueria which is always so much fun to visit :-) After some delicious chocolates and fruit, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art which was very strange, but pretty cool. I'm still undecided as to whether or not I actually LIKE modern art. I can definitely appreciate it and take it in cordially, but to me, drawing a line on a piece of paper and putting it an frame doesn't realllllly count as art. Just sayin.
Anyways, we started to head back to the Metro when we stumbled across the most fantastic bakery ever. We shared an encimada (a pastry that was this time, but isn't always, filled with pumpkin and covered in powdered sugar, aka HEAVEN) and gushed over the fantastic find we just encountered. Great times had by all. After that, I hopped on the metro and made it home for dinner :-) A very long but productive and fun day!
Well now I'm FINALLY caught up on my life! I hope you guys enjoyed! :-) Miss everyone, hope you're reading haha
Love y'all!
~Amanda
Friday, October 15, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Catch-up Time! FIJAROS - es muy dificil para entender.
Hey guys!
Sorry it's been a while! After Madrid, I needed a few days to recover, and then once I did school started getting crazy and I just completely forgot to write! So bear with me, I'm going to do a few posts a little late haha...
This one shall be about Toledo and our final day in Madrid....enjoy yourselves :-)
Alrighty soooo Friday night we went to an AMAZING flamenco show at this little bar a little ways from our hotel. They served fantastic food and we got to sit right in front of this little stage where all throughout dinner dancers and singers performed for us. The dancing was INCREDIBLE, kind of like tap dancing but with more arm work. Those ladies were jacked man. It made me feel pretty terrible about my flabby chicken arms. Anywho...
That night we went out to a club near the hotel which was pretty fun. The dance floor was packed and every now and then a huge cold blast of fog would come down from the ceiling. It was pretty crazy but a really good time!
The next morning we got up for another wonderful breakfast at the hotel (I'm telling you guys, it was spectacular haha) and got on a train to Toledo. Unfortunately for us, it was pouring rain. Helena and I made a mad dash to Corte Ingles (Spanish Macy's essentially) so I could get a sweater and an umbrella. After a nice half-hour train ride, we arrived in Toledo to more rain. We made our way to the old part of the city, which was spectacular despite the lousy weather, and went toooooo (you guessed it) A RESTAURANT. Seems like that's all we do, huh? But really, we don't...ok we kind of do, but whatever, we like being fatty fatty fat kids, ok? (no really, that's just me :-) haha) Had another fantastic meal full of way too much food and the best desserts I've had in Spain. So great.
After a lovely lunch, we met up with our tour guide who's name escapes me but who we'll call FIJAROS because that's ALL he said all day. No joke, every other word was FIJAROS (concentrate, look at this, etc.). Also, I think he thought we were stupid because he kept saying "Es muy dificil para entender" ("it's very difficult to understand") that these buildings could be thousands of years old....uh, no FIJAROS, it's not that difficult, pretty sure we can wrap our heads around that one. Haha anyways, we made our way through the city which is very old and full of history. The streets look like something out of a movie, it's really gorgeous. We got to see the Cathedral which was really breathtaking (I took some pictures even though we weren't supposed to ;-) haha) and had a ton of paintings from famous artists like Velazquez, El Greco, etc. which amazed me because although Toledo is famous, it's a pretty small town that you wouldn't expect to be harboring such famous works.
After the Cathedral, we made our way to the Synagogue (it was a very religiously diverse weekend) which had once been a Mosque. All throughout the city there are stores selling swords and figures of Don Quijote (who has become my best and most present friend these past couple of weeks) because Toledo is what was known as La Mancha (aka, Don Quijote de La Mancha?...yeah). So that was cool to sort of relate everything back to what I'm learning in class and all haha.
After the Synagogue, it really started coming down on us. We walked around a little more, exploring and getting to see beautiful views of the city, but it got to the point where our shoes became sinking boats and we had to call it quits. After a cold and wet ride home, we made it back to the Hotel for a nice hot shower and a much needed nap.
Helena and I decided to find the creperia that we went to our first night in Madrid so that we could get some delicious crepes for dinner. We went to Placa del Sol (one of the main plazas) where we (mostly I) thought we knew where we were going. Lets just say I was wrong. So wrong. Sorry again Helena. But anyways, after walking around in the rain for about an hour or so, we FINALLY found it! YAY! Hahah we had Nutella and walnut crepes (yes, for dinner, that's right, you're jealous) and had a fantastic time taking pictures of our glorious victory.
The next day (after a bit of a long night...) we got up groggily and decided to explore the city before our train left at 3. We walked around Plaza del Sol, got lost and somehow found our way back to a main street, and ended up grabbing tapas at this really cute place near our hotel. All in all, a beautiful relaxing day in Madrid. After that lovely stroll, none of us wanted to leave Madrid (although Barcelona rocks ahaha) because we felt like we had so much more to see! But alas, our train was calling and we had to be on it. So away we went, back to BCN our lovely home for a nice Sunday evening en casa.
Stay tuned, tomorrow: Chocolate Museum and Palau de Musica!
Love you all :-) adios chicos!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Artsy Fartsy Time
Hey Y'all!
Greetings from Madrid, the center of Spain and cultural mecca of all things art! We arrived yesterday via train around 6 o'clock and went "bar hopping" for tapas in a bunch of cool restaruants around Madrid. Had some chill time and called it a relatively "early" night so that we could get up for breakfast this morning.
Holy. Crap. I missed Continental Breakfast. I mean don't get me wrong, I love me my cereal,but sometimes a girl just needs some GD EGGS in the morning. Which is exactly what I had, along with an assortment of other goodies :-) Magic in breakfast form.
Anyways, after a wonderful start to the day, we went to the Museo del Prado which is THE art museum in Spain. We walked around for a good 3 hours, seeing famous works by Goya, Miró, and, my personal favorite, Diego Velazquez. I saw Las Meninas and was amazed. I remember learning about it with Señora Rogers in junior year and ever since I´ve wanted to go see it in person. His technique is a lot stranger than I remember, but the detail in the faces and the subtle meanings and messages hidden in the painting were so amazing to see in person. Needless to say, it was a truly amazing experience.
After that, we had a wonderful lunch in this little place called La Comunista which is apparently really really popular here. The food was fantastic and I was once again a very happy camper :-)Then we made our way back to the hotel for a quick nap before La Reina Sofía at 4 o'clock.
Let me preface my experience at the Reina Sofía by saying that I'm not a big fan of cubist art. I know it's impressive and a different style and paved the way for other artists and all, but to me, I just don't really see the appeal. But I must say, Guernica is one of the most stunning works I have ever seen in my life. This mural is ENORMOUS and really really powerful to behold. It depicts the bombing of Guernica by the German Lufftwaffe that was APPROVED by Franco which ended up killing hundreds of innocent people. Pablo Picasso, through strange images and metaphoric symbols, shows the horror of the event in pure black and white, and the effect is stunning. I have pictures that I'll post when I get back to Barcelona. Really amazing.
We also got to see some more Dalí and some other very famous pieces that are all jumbled in my head right now because I´m exhausted. But anyways
I have like 2 minutes left on the internet, so I must say adeiu, but I'll try to post more tomorrow!
Love you all! MWAH!
Greetings from Madrid, the center of Spain and cultural mecca of all things art! We arrived yesterday via train around 6 o'clock and went "bar hopping" for tapas in a bunch of cool restaruants around Madrid. Had some chill time and called it a relatively "early" night so that we could get up for breakfast this morning.
Holy. Crap. I missed Continental Breakfast. I mean don't get me wrong, I love me my cereal,but sometimes a girl just needs some GD EGGS in the morning. Which is exactly what I had, along with an assortment of other goodies :-) Magic in breakfast form.
Anyways, after a wonderful start to the day, we went to the Museo del Prado which is THE art museum in Spain. We walked around for a good 3 hours, seeing famous works by Goya, Miró, and, my personal favorite, Diego Velazquez. I saw Las Meninas and was amazed. I remember learning about it with Señora Rogers in junior year and ever since I´ve wanted to go see it in person. His technique is a lot stranger than I remember, but the detail in the faces and the subtle meanings and messages hidden in the painting were so amazing to see in person. Needless to say, it was a truly amazing experience.
After that, we had a wonderful lunch in this little place called La Comunista which is apparently really really popular here. The food was fantastic and I was once again a very happy camper :-)Then we made our way back to the hotel for a quick nap before La Reina Sofía at 4 o'clock.
Let me preface my experience at the Reina Sofía by saying that I'm not a big fan of cubist art. I know it's impressive and a different style and paved the way for other artists and all, but to me, I just don't really see the appeal. But I must say, Guernica is one of the most stunning works I have ever seen in my life. This mural is ENORMOUS and really really powerful to behold. It depicts the bombing of Guernica by the German Lufftwaffe that was APPROVED by Franco which ended up killing hundreds of innocent people. Pablo Picasso, through strange images and metaphoric symbols, shows the horror of the event in pure black and white, and the effect is stunning. I have pictures that I'll post when I get back to Barcelona. Really amazing.
We also got to see some more Dalí and some other very famous pieces that are all jumbled in my head right now because I´m exhausted. But anyways
I have like 2 minutes left on the internet, so I must say adeiu, but I'll try to post more tomorrow!
Love you all! MWAH!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Breath in and Breath Out
Wow, didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted! haha. Everything here has started to quick in to full gear, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to write, but expect updates this weekend, I'll be in Madrid!!
Not too much to say in this blog, but I figured while I waited for my coffee to brew and the latest episode of GLEE to load (I miss american TV like WOAH), I'd share a few of my thoughts :-)
It's been a pretty low key week in terms of trips and stuff, so not much to report on that front. However, this week as definitely been a lesson in cultural adaptation, one that I never really thought would be a problem. Barcelona is a relatively large city. Everyone's used to making use of its resources and getting what they need relatively easily. However, for a neurotic and overstressed girl from the boonies, it's been a bit trying for me to say the least haha. My main problem: books. If you've talked to me recently, you know this is a sore subject for me (don't worry mom and dad, it's FINALLY all figured out.) Hokay so. At Trinity, as university of approximately 2,400 students, we have a relatively large book store. Everything is labeled by class with exactly what books you need for each one, and the information concerning books is made aware to the students before classes even start. While I'm LOVING (and I mean really loving, it's fantastic) UPF, there book store is the size of a broom closet, and for me, that's just a tragedy, especially when there are about 10,000 students that attend the university. You don't know what books you need for class until you're officially registered (which for me and for most exchange students meant 2 days ago...meanwhile classes started the 27th...) and when you finally do find out, they're usually aren't any left in the book store to buy. This, to me, is amazing. The university students in Barcelona are so much more independent and resourceful than we are - hell, we're practically handed the books when we walk in the door. So anyways, needless to say it's been a trying few days, walking to different book stores to find that they don't have what I need, blah blah wah wah poor me. haha
Luckily, after looking for a good 2 hours, I finally found what I needed online and it should be being shipped as we speak. (as I type? haha weird.) I was talking to my host mom, Almudena, about this the other day, telling her about my "little box" that I like to live in where everything goes right and everything has it's place and where I HAVE ALL OF MY GODDAMN BOOKS. She laughed at me. Haha, no not maliciously, because she too says she likes her life in a little box that she can manage. But she did say something that made a lot of sense. "Amanda. First, calm down. Everything will work out. Second, get rid of your little box. (Me: BUT I LIKE MY LITTLE BOX) This is an opportunity to get out side of that square and, maybe you'll actually learn something on the way."
So with those pearls of wisdom, I leave you, only to add that she was right, my little box needs a little break and I'm trying (really...I am...sort of) to follow her advice.
Love you all :-)
Not too much to say in this blog, but I figured while I waited for my coffee to brew and the latest episode of GLEE to load (I miss american TV like WOAH), I'd share a few of my thoughts :-)
It's been a pretty low key week in terms of trips and stuff, so not much to report on that front. However, this week as definitely been a lesson in cultural adaptation, one that I never really thought would be a problem. Barcelona is a relatively large city. Everyone's used to making use of its resources and getting what they need relatively easily. However, for a neurotic and overstressed girl from the boonies, it's been a bit trying for me to say the least haha. My main problem: books. If you've talked to me recently, you know this is a sore subject for me (don't worry mom and dad, it's FINALLY all figured out.) Hokay so. At Trinity, as university of approximately 2,400 students, we have a relatively large book store. Everything is labeled by class with exactly what books you need for each one, and the information concerning books is made aware to the students before classes even start. While I'm LOVING (and I mean really loving, it's fantastic) UPF, there book store is the size of a broom closet, and for me, that's just a tragedy, especially when there are about 10,000 students that attend the university. You don't know what books you need for class until you're officially registered (which for me and for most exchange students meant 2 days ago...meanwhile classes started the 27th...) and when you finally do find out, they're usually aren't any left in the book store to buy. This, to me, is amazing. The university students in Barcelona are so much more independent and resourceful than we are - hell, we're practically handed the books when we walk in the door. So anyways, needless to say it's been a trying few days, walking to different book stores to find that they don't have what I need, blah blah wah wah poor me. haha
Luckily, after looking for a good 2 hours, I finally found what I needed online and it should be being shipped as we speak. (as I type? haha weird.) I was talking to my host mom, Almudena, about this the other day, telling her about my "little box" that I like to live in where everything goes right and everything has it's place and where I HAVE ALL OF MY GODDAMN BOOKS. She laughed at me. Haha, no not maliciously, because she too says she likes her life in a little box that she can manage. But she did say something that made a lot of sense. "Amanda. First, calm down. Everything will work out. Second, get rid of your little box. (Me: BUT I LIKE MY LITTLE BOX) This is an opportunity to get out side of that square and, maybe you'll actually learn something on the way."
So with those pearls of wisdom, I leave you, only to add that she was right, my little box needs a little break and I'm trying (really...I am...sort of) to follow her advice.
Love you all :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)