Monday, December 10, 2007
Last Week in Sevilla
Today is the start of my last week in Spain. Unfortunately I can't fully enjoy it because I have finals all week long. I had my cine one today. I think it went fine. I had to write about the image of women in Spanish film. Tomorrow is flamenco which I'm really nervous about, lit on Wednesday should be fine, and I've got my fingers crossed for my art history one on Thursday. This weekend I walked around Sevilla a lot. I checked out the area up the river, it's mostly sketchy. I saw a park where a bunch of gypsies were living. They had their laundry hung out and everything, I felt like I'd completely invaded their privacy. Oops. Last week we went to a club we'd never been to before. It was pretty fun, they kept on putting the fog machine on though and it was kind of hard to breathe. Oh well. I did some Christmas shopping as well. The shops here are getting crazy. They are packed and people can barely move. It's ridiculous, the Spanish really like their shopping. This week I'm going to try to get out for some tapas, I will miss the cheese here a lot. The girls at the other apartment are throwing a Christmas party this weekend too so that should be fun. A little taste of the holidays before I head home. They've turned on the Christmas lights here now so all the streets are lit up at night. It's really beautiful. It's been getting so foggy at night though. The other day we couldn't even see across the river. It was ridiculous. The humidity is crazy. Anyhow, I'm just going to try to enjoy this last week here and not waste too much of it studying or looking forward to seeing everyone at home! Miss you all! XOXO
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Protest March
So, a week ago today, when Mama was still here, I tried to go to my afternoon class. I had left between classes to print off a boarding pass for Ireland. The API office is just around the corner so I knew I could make it back in time for my only class in which attendance is taken. As my roommate Sanja and I were walking back to school we noticed several police trucks and a crowd outside the main gates to the university. The school is very different from American universities in that it is only in one building and due to the fact that it used to be the royal tobacco factory it has enormous gates at every entrance as well as the remnants of a moat. Well, when we got closer we realized the gates were locked. Turns out there was a protest or march of sorts coming down the street. I'm still not sure what it was for, but it passed and we waited for them to open the gates. We were still only a few minutes late for class, but they didn't open them. After 20 minutes, the protesters came back down the street and sat down in front of the gates blocking the rail tracks. They showed no signs of leaving in the near future. Best reason to skip class: The school locked me out!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Ireland
Ireland:
To continue my exploration of the world, my roommate Zoe and I went on one final trip. We spent this past weekend enjoying all the wonder that is Ireland. I now have visited six countries in three months, something of which I’m quite proud. Ireland was one of my favorites. It really is amazingly green, with fields stretching between rolling hills. I saw sheep and cows and realized I haven’t seen animals in quite a while. We arrived in Dublin Friday afternoon and hopped on a bus to Casteblayney, where Great-Grandpa McDonnell was from. Unsure of where to get off we asked a young guy if he knew which stop it was. He told us and politely inquired, “Why the hell would anyone go to Castleblayney?” What a gentleman! After arriving in the essentially one-street town the roots of his question became more evident. We checked in to the Rockville House B&B and Joan showed us to our very violet room. After layering on more clothes (turns out Ireland is colder than Sevilla, who would have thought?) we set out to explore the town. The main street was lined with pubs and cafes and we stopped in at Café Cuisine for a delicious, hot latte. Zoe taught me how to play backgammon which is actually a fun game. After a few games we left in search of fish and chips. We ended up at Corrigan’s Kitchen a gothic themed bar. It was cozy inside and we got a table right by the roaring fire. Dinner was great, potato-leek soup, garlic-tomato-cheese bread and an order of fish and chips. It ended up being way to much for just the two of us, but it was great to have food with flavor after so much Spanish food. As the group at the table across from us was leaving they told us they were all in a play that night and said they would put two tickets in our name if we wanted to go. After another game of backgammon and a rough tutorial in chess for Zoe, we went off in search of the theater. We barely made it in time, but the show was great. It was about the Americanization of Ireland in the 1970s. Granted, we didn’t understand a lot of it, but it was still entertaining and just something unique to have done. After the show we ended up at Ballymacmanus, a local pub where we met the stairbuilders of Castleblayney and spent the evening learning about Ireland through some locals. Apparently it’s not often that two young American girls stumble into Castleblayney.
Saturday morning we woke early to eat the full Irish breakfast Joan prepared for us. Sausage, ham, fried egg, toast, potato cake thing, and black and white pudding…it was so refreshing to have a real breakfast again after the toast and cereal we’ve been eating for the past three months. We then caught the bus back into Dublin and checked into the shady Litton Lane Hostel, supposedly a former recording studio that housed the likes of U2 and the Cranberries. We were in and out again as fast as possible and wandered down the streets of Dublin. We found a bead shop which had me completely captivated with bins upon bins of sparkling beads sorted in a rainbow of color. We then found the Temple Bar neighborhood complete with an Urban Outfitters. After admiring all the overpriced clothes we left in search of food. A quaint Italian restaurant served us well with spring rolls, fried brie with cranberry sauce, and a shared chicken/pepper pizza. So good!!! After wandering some more we ended up back in the Temple Bar district for the night. We met a gang of middle-aged Scotsmen who insisted we join them in their search for a karaoke bar. The search was fruitless, but we spent a good few hours with them chatting and laughing about how they were all old enough to be our fathers. When we returned to the hostel I discovered that someone had hijacked my blanket and I was left to pile on all my clothes and hope I’d be warm enough for the night.
Sunday morning we took the DART, the public transit system, south to a small town called Dun Leary. It was the perfect combination of Dublin and Castleblayney. It was right on the ocean and the salty air was quite refreshing after our night in Dublin. Marina House hostel was much better than Litton Lane. We were given an upgraded room because Zoe’s last name is Kosovic due to her Croatian heritage while the hostelkeeper was Serbian. We walked all through the town which was completely decorated with twinkling multi-colored Christmas lights. At the far end was People’s Park which was hosting an organic market. There we had a great lunch and some fantastic people watching. We then walked along the boardwalk and out to the end of what seemed like the longest pier in the world. It was so beautiful. The day was overcast and it felt almost as though there was a melancholy mist hanging over the whole town. It was very peaceful and relaxing. We stopped in at a small bookstore on our way back. Zoe nearly bought the place out while I just indulged in a little romance novel. Haha. After relaxing in the hostel with our new books we went to Purty Kitchen for dinner. We split the seafood chowder and the fish and chips. They were great, but still a little fancy for our taste. We called it an early night due to the fact that we had to be up at 7 to catch the bus back to the airport.
All in all, Ireland was amazing. It felt so good to be in an English speaking country again and it was very cool to see where my family had once lived. The people of Ireland were very friendly and the land itself was stunning. I would love to go back one day and be able to better explore the area. Oh, and we met a guy who works in recruitment who said he’d be able to help us find jobs if we ever decided to move there. That could be fun for a year or so, yeah?
Sorry I've written a novel.
To continue my exploration of the world, my roommate Zoe and I went on one final trip. We spent this past weekend enjoying all the wonder that is Ireland. I now have visited six countries in three months, something of which I’m quite proud. Ireland was one of my favorites. It really is amazingly green, with fields stretching between rolling hills. I saw sheep and cows and realized I haven’t seen animals in quite a while. We arrived in Dublin Friday afternoon and hopped on a bus to Casteblayney, where Great-Grandpa McDonnell was from. Unsure of where to get off we asked a young guy if he knew which stop it was. He told us and politely inquired, “Why the hell would anyone go to Castleblayney?” What a gentleman! After arriving in the essentially one-street town the roots of his question became more evident. We checked in to the Rockville House B&B and Joan showed us to our very violet room. After layering on more clothes (turns out Ireland is colder than Sevilla, who would have thought?) we set out to explore the town. The main street was lined with pubs and cafes and we stopped in at Café Cuisine for a delicious, hot latte. Zoe taught me how to play backgammon which is actually a fun game. After a few games we left in search of fish and chips. We ended up at Corrigan’s Kitchen a gothic themed bar. It was cozy inside and we got a table right by the roaring fire. Dinner was great, potato-leek soup, garlic-tomato-cheese bread and an order of fish and chips. It ended up being way to much for just the two of us, but it was great to have food with flavor after so much Spanish food. As the group at the table across from us was leaving they told us they were all in a play that night and said they would put two tickets in our name if we wanted to go. After another game of backgammon and a rough tutorial in chess for Zoe, we went off in search of the theater. We barely made it in time, but the show was great. It was about the Americanization of Ireland in the 1970s. Granted, we didn’t understand a lot of it, but it was still entertaining and just something unique to have done. After the show we ended up at Ballymacmanus, a local pub where we met the stairbuilders of Castleblayney and spent the evening learning about Ireland through some locals. Apparently it’s not often that two young American girls stumble into Castleblayney.
Saturday morning we woke early to eat the full Irish breakfast Joan prepared for us. Sausage, ham, fried egg, toast, potato cake thing, and black and white pudding…it was so refreshing to have a real breakfast again after the toast and cereal we’ve been eating for the past three months. We then caught the bus back into Dublin and checked into the shady Litton Lane Hostel, supposedly a former recording studio that housed the likes of U2 and the Cranberries. We were in and out again as fast as possible and wandered down the streets of Dublin. We found a bead shop which had me completely captivated with bins upon bins of sparkling beads sorted in a rainbow of color. We then found the Temple Bar neighborhood complete with an Urban Outfitters. After admiring all the overpriced clothes we left in search of food. A quaint Italian restaurant served us well with spring rolls, fried brie with cranberry sauce, and a shared chicken/pepper pizza. So good!!! After wandering some more we ended up back in the Temple Bar district for the night. We met a gang of middle-aged Scotsmen who insisted we join them in their search for a karaoke bar. The search was fruitless, but we spent a good few hours with them chatting and laughing about how they were all old enough to be our fathers. When we returned to the hostel I discovered that someone had hijacked my blanket and I was left to pile on all my clothes and hope I’d be warm enough for the night.
Sunday morning we took the DART, the public transit system, south to a small town called Dun Leary. It was the perfect combination of Dublin and Castleblayney. It was right on the ocean and the salty air was quite refreshing after our night in Dublin. Marina House hostel was much better than Litton Lane. We were given an upgraded room because Zoe’s last name is Kosovic due to her Croatian heritage while the hostelkeeper was Serbian. We walked all through the town which was completely decorated with twinkling multi-colored Christmas lights. At the far end was People’s Park which was hosting an organic market. There we had a great lunch and some fantastic people watching. We then walked along the boardwalk and out to the end of what seemed like the longest pier in the world. It was so beautiful. The day was overcast and it felt almost as though there was a melancholy mist hanging over the whole town. It was very peaceful and relaxing. We stopped in at a small bookstore on our way back. Zoe nearly bought the place out while I just indulged in a little romance novel. Haha. After relaxing in the hostel with our new books we went to Purty Kitchen for dinner. We split the seafood chowder and the fish and chips. They were great, but still a little fancy for our taste. We called it an early night due to the fact that we had to be up at 7 to catch the bus back to the airport.
All in all, Ireland was amazing. It felt so good to be in an English speaking country again and it was very cool to see where my family had once lived. The people of Ireland were very friendly and the land itself was stunning. I would love to go back one day and be able to better explore the area. Oh, and we met a guy who works in recruitment who said he’d be able to help us find jobs if we ever decided to move there. That could be fun for a year or so, yeah?
Sorry I've written a novel.
Paris
I'm way behind in keeping this updated, I know, and I'm really sorry. I've been wildly busy the past few weeks though. I'll start with Paris. We spent November 15th through 18th exploring Paris. I wasn't even that excited to go because I've been there already and didn't want to experience it without Khaia and Jillian. Turns out I enjoyed it just as much, if not even more this time. There was a public transportation strike so the Metro wasn't running as much as it should have been. My friend Martin and I didn't realize any of the lines were running and thus spent about 9 hours walking through Paris on Friday. It was great, but our sore legs were happy to learn that some lines were working on Saturday. Friday we just wandered the city. We went under the Eiffel Tower and walked all along the river. We went to this little cafe where French existentialists used to hang out and drink coffee and write about...life. It made Martin really happy to be there and I liked it in spite of the 4 euro coffees and mice running around under the booths. After the cafe and much deliberation we decided it was necessary to go to the Louvre. I was torn because it's said to take 6 months to view every piece of art in the museum. I hated the idea of going in just to see the big name pieces, like Da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' and ignoring all the other works that probably get ignored all the time. I felt bad for them. In the end I decided I had to go. We saw the Mona Lisa and then concentrated ourselves in the wing of the Spanish and Italian painters. It was really neat to see works of the Spanish artists I've been studying. We tried to see Rubens' work as well, but that wing was closed. All in all, I'm glad I went. Later we tried to go to this bar where Khaia, Jilly and I hung out, but it was too packed so we went across the street to O'Neil's, a little Irish pub where they brew their own beer. It was great. Exhausted from walking and drowsy from the beer we strolled home and stopped for pizza a great little Italian restaurant near our hotel. Saturday we set off in search of the Marche des Luces, an enormous flea market across the city from our hotel. We found it and it was everything I'd hoped for. Stands around the perimeter offered an eclectic blend of ghetto fabulous clothing, hookah and other smoking supplies, vintage records and cd collections, army clothes and beautiful jewelry. Once you pressed through to the inner part of the market you could find gorgeous antiques and vintage clothing as well as a variety of paintings. It was huge and just really cool to wander through. We had crepes there for lunch. They were fantastic and so so cheap! Saturday afternoon we wandered through Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, two high end department stores. They had the 360 euro Swarovski crystal necklace I've been coveting and great wool pea coats that Martin would have bought were it not for the 800 euro price tags. Exhausted and overwhelmed by the crowds we found a grocery store to buy our feast of cheese, baguette, ham and blush wine, hopped back on the Metro to the hotel, stopping along the way to pick up a small strawberry tart and a walnut one as well. We spread our feast out and Zoe joined us to watch "Hook" in German. Luckily I have the movie practically memorized so we all knew what was going on. The plan was to find a jazz bar after the movie, but we all fell asleep before it ended and were too wiped out to go out at all. Sunday Martin, Matt, Sam and I went to Musee D'Orsay, a beautiful museum which houses the works of many of the impressionists. They were amazing! Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas, all under one roof. The colors were incredible and it was great to see such famous works in person. After the museum we grabbed some more crepes and ran to catch the bus at the hotel. Paris was so great. It was freezing cold, but it was a nice change from the heat of Sevilla. The Parisians were unbelievably friendly and so forgiving of my lack of knowledge of the French language. I would love to go there sometime in the spring or summer and visit Versailles and the gardens when everything is in bloom.
Monday, November 12, 2007
When in Rome...
The title's for you, NY, so I hope you're reading this. I spent the last three days in beautiful Rome. It was a short trip, seeing as how I didn't arrive in the city until around 3 on Friday and left for the airport at 11 on Sunday, but it was a great one. Fears of a public transportation strike on Friday turned out to be unwarranted. I found Sarah and her handsome boyfriend, Silvio at the train station mostly as planned. They took me to their apartment and my culinary enjoyment of Italy began. Fresh tortellini with fresh tomato/onion/garlic sauce and fresh mozzarella. It was delicious! Sarah then took me out for a nighttime stroll past the major monuments, Colosseum, Roman Ruins, a building the Romans refer to as "The Wedding Cake." The city was stunning all lit up and I kept having "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm in Rome" moments.
The next morning we got up early-ish to explore the city by the light of day. We started at the Vatican where we found the square to be full of people. It wasn't just crowded with typical tourists though, there were several groups of people proudly wearing capes and carrying banners declaring their specific Catholic sect. There was a blocked off pathway weaving its way around the square and on the steps of St. Peters was a full orchestra and choir next to a sort of stage. Obviously something was going on so Sarah and I decided to stay and see what happened. Sure enough, about 45 minutes later the Pope himself came out on a little Jeep type thing and cruised around the pathway waving. It was pretty incredible. He was only about ten feet away from me! It was surreal. What are the chances?
We walked over tons of the city and saw all the main attractions in the daylight. It's all so impressive and it's hard to believe there can be so much history in one place. Sarah said they keep trying to build a Metro system, but every time they dig they find some new ruins and have to stop construction. We tried to go out Saturday night, but could not find anywhere to park. Finally after a few hours of driving around, Silvio parked illegally and we ran into a cafe for cappuccinos and cornettos, which are chocolate filled croissants. Delicious!
All in all, it was a great weekend with great people. I threw my coin into the Trevi Fountain so hopefully I'll be returning one day!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Rome!
Well, I'm done with midterms. I think they went well, maybe, hopefully. I had three, novel, film and art history and they were all essay exams which I feel like I'm pretty decent at. My roommates and I studied our buns off for the art history one. We wanted to prove to the butthead professor that Americans aren't worthless. We'll see how that goes. I'm completely wiped out from the effort though. I think I'm just going to curl up with a movie tonight, and maybe some popcorn too!
I'm sitting in the Java Cafe which is around the corner from my flat. It's this stylish little cafe/bar that has free wireless Mondays-Thursdays as long as it's not a holiday. I like it here better than the internet place, plus I get coffee or Coke here. I've just finished with my painting class. I think I'm done with my pomegranate painting. It was pretty awful at the beginning but I think it's turned out alright. I would maybe considering showing it to people. The other students in my class are so talented. They're mostly middle aged women, so maybe it's just that they've had more time to practice. There's also a younger guy, maybe high school-ish and sometimes he just comes and stands behind me and watches me paint. I really don't like it at all. Oh well. I was dreading going to class today because I was so tired, but I'm really glad I went and I feel a lot better now that I've accomplished something.
Tomorrow I'm off to Rome. Sometimes I can't believe this is actually my life. I'll be staying with Sarah (who went to Sweden with me) and her Italian boyfriend for the weekend. I'm hoping to get a basic tour of the city and to eat some delicious food! It will be nice to have a little break from Sevilla so I can appreciate it more when I come home. Two of my roommates are doing a huge pilgrimage this weekend. El camino de Santiago. They just walk for 20 km a day and stay in these little, I don't even know what, boarding houses I guess. I'm really excited for them and wish I could have gone too. I'll let you know what they think of it though.
Can't wait for this weekend and next weekend in Paris and then to have my family here!!!! It's going to be amazing! Hope all is well back in the States!
XOXO
I'm sitting in the Java Cafe which is around the corner from my flat. It's this stylish little cafe/bar that has free wireless Mondays-Thursdays as long as it's not a holiday. I like it here better than the internet place, plus I get coffee or Coke here. I've just finished with my painting class. I think I'm done with my pomegranate painting. It was pretty awful at the beginning but I think it's turned out alright. I would maybe considering showing it to people. The other students in my class are so talented. They're mostly middle aged women, so maybe it's just that they've had more time to practice. There's also a younger guy, maybe high school-ish and sometimes he just comes and stands behind me and watches me paint. I really don't like it at all. Oh well. I was dreading going to class today because I was so tired, but I'm really glad I went and I feel a lot better now that I've accomplished something.
Tomorrow I'm off to Rome. Sometimes I can't believe this is actually my life. I'll be staying with Sarah (who went to Sweden with me) and her Italian boyfriend for the weekend. I'm hoping to get a basic tour of the city and to eat some delicious food! It will be nice to have a little break from Sevilla so I can appreciate it more when I come home. Two of my roommates are doing a huge pilgrimage this weekend. El camino de Santiago. They just walk for 20 km a day and stay in these little, I don't even know what, boarding houses I guess. I'm really excited for them and wish I could have gone too. I'll let you know what they think of it though.
Can't wait for this weekend and next weekend in Paris and then to have my family here!!!! It's going to be amazing! Hope all is well back in the States!
XOXO
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