Mis Viajes

Hey! my past two weekends have been awesome! As I said last time, I was in Barcelona two weekends ago.  I have a couple of pictures to share from the trip:

Here was the sweeeeet bike tour (note the jacket... it's definitely a lot hotter now then it was that weekend!)

Last time I talked about La Sagrada Familia.  This is the part that's finished.  In the future, they want towers matching these existing ones on all four sides (AKA 12 more towers), THEN a giant tower in the center of the building surrounded by its own additional mini-towers.  By 2025? We'll see...

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Last weekend, I went with a friend to Granada and Córdoba.  Granada was awesome!  Probably the first indicator of its awesome-ness was the sweet hostel that we stayed in. I was a little scared to see it, since it was only 13 Euros/night (trust me, most hostels of this price cost this much for a really gross reasons).  When I got there, though, I was pleasantly surprised!  The room was nice, as well as the location of the building (just up the block from the city center, as well as the Alhambra, Granada's main attraction).  The best part, though, was by far the rooftop pool and lounge area.  Check out this view: 

 "Oh, you know, just chillin' at my new crib, no big deal!"

After spending some time at the pool and being in the hot HOT Spanish sun (with lots of sunscreen, of course), we picked up our Alhambra tickets for 5:30 that evening.  A giant palace built in the 1300s, the Alhambra had a ton of giant rooms with beautiful details and architecture.  

 (say hello to the Alhambra!)

That night, we enjoyed exploring the city center, which was a perfect mix of old houses and new, modern buildings.  One of the things I've enjoyed about Spain so far each city's love of their history mixed with modern life.  

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The next day, we ventured to Cordoba, described in guidebooks as "a great day-trip place".  Lemme tell you--they were right.  I was happy to spend one day there... but let's just say that I'm glad I'm not studying there for the full summer!  

I think it wouldn't have been so bad if the entire city didn't shut down for siesta at 3:00! I know that it's a typical schedule in Spain, but at least in Madrid, some places stay open during the afternoon hours.  It's ok though; to pass the time,we did find one place that old churros con chocolate.  Which were monstrous....

...but pretty yummy.  

We also visited the Mezquita there... I'll be back to update about that though, because for now, I have to go!

Running around like a crazy person..

...pretty much sums up my time on the weekends (and certain days in Madrid, too).  Since my group tries to take advantage of the short time we have each weekend to travel, we really like to book it!

I don't have much time to write (I 'm leaving in about 10 minutes), but I'll give a quick update about Barcelona. SO AWESOME.  I went on a bike tour of the city, where we got to see different monuments, important buildings, and La Sagrada Familia, designed/partially built by Antonio Gaudi.  This dude was CRAZY.  He dedicated the last 20 years of his life to this church, and when he died, it wasn't even close to being done.  It STILL isn't but the plan is that it will hopefully be done by the 2020's (weird thought, huh?), around the 100-year anniversary of his death.  It's that huge.

Our final stop included lunch (and sangria, of course!) at the beach.  Which was awesome, except that it was cold enough that I was still wearing a jacket.  Wait, what?? I thought I was in Spain!

It's definitely starting to heat up this week, though.  I predict a veeeeery hot summer ahead of me.

I'll update more later, but for now, I have to run off to Club Metropolitan in my faaaaancy new polo to work.

#feelingofficial

I'm going to Barcelona! Woooooo!

Tonight, I'm leaving for Barcelona for the weekend. I'll be sure to write a lot about that when I get back =)

For the remainder of my stay in Spain, I have some pretty sweet trips/activities planned.

For a couple of the weekends, I'm torn between Valencia, Granada, and Sevilla.  I'll figure those out soon!

In two weeks, I'm going to Paris for the weekend!

The first week of July, I get to see one of my favorite bands of all time for the third time, right here in Madrid!

Gotta love the FOO FIGHTERS: 

(awww Dave, you so cute!)

(Also, my roommate here is going to the concert with me.  She's met a lot of random famous people, like Jada Pinkett Smith and several TV/movie producers.  So basically, I'm forcing her to show me her ways so I can stalk meet Dave Grohl!)

Following that, I'll be taking a trip to Pamplona to go running with the bulls! And by running with the bulls, I mean sitting very far off in the distance and watching other crazy people run with the bulls!

My final weekend before returning to Kansas, I will be in Rome! 

Basically, I think I've found a good balance of wanting to see different places in Europe while still getting to know Spain a little better.  With Paris and Rome, I can say that I've been to multiple countries in Europe this summer, but with my other trips, I can say I've been all over SPAIN, specifically! 

I've gotta go so I can start packing for Barcelona.  Until then, steer clear  of my Pamplona friend!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Quick Update!

This last weekend was buuuusy, but pretty awesome. =)

My Thursday and Saturday nights consisted of some pretty sweet (well, tiring, actually) nights out in a couple of the discotecas in Madrid.  Since I consider every moment here an opportunity to practice Spanish, I was proud that I could understand my Spanish friends, despite the blasting music!

On Saturday and Sunday, I took a couple of day trips to nearby cities.  The first was to Salamanca, which is a college town.  It kind of reminded me of my college town... well, besides the fact that half of the buildings were from the 1200s-1500s. The vibe, however, was very similar.  

I was trying to figure out why there were so many frog souvenirs around the town.  Seriously: keychains, postcards, figurines, ect.  Why a frog? 

I realized that it's because at the University of Salamanca, built in the 1200s (making it the oldest Spanish university), has a little "game" for tourists: SPOT THE FROG. Seriously, find the frog on the building:

...not so easy, is it? How about a close-up:

: 

....ahh! There it is. On top of the skull, of course!  Because that's normal!

For this reason, all the tourist-y gifts there featured the frog (and usually the skull, too).  

Besides touring the university, and scoping out the cathedral, we ate the menú del día at the Don Quixote Cafe.  

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On Sunday, I took a trip to Toledo, which is a little less than an hour away.  And let me tell you, it was old school: I'm talking walls-around-the-whole-city-to-protect-citizens-(from invaders on horseback with swords)-old school!  

It was also on top of a hill, so looking off into the distance was a little like this:

And I chilled with my main man, Don Quixote de la Mancha:

I also went to the art museum there, as well as a recreation of El Greco's house:

A refresher on El Greco's art:

Between the traveling, sight-seeing, eating good food, and enjoying the night life (hehe), I can officially say that I had a busy and successful weekend!

My abono, my abono, no one can stop me, I have an abono!

What's an abono, you ask?

My friends, it is an unlimited Metro pass for the month of June.

Now I can go wherever I went, whenever I want, without ever having to think about recharging my card!

Is this really blog-worthy?  I didn't really think so at first, but I gotta tell ya, I felt so liberated when I finally got it, I kinda felt like my future celebrity boyfriend Joseph Gordon-Levitt:
You Make-a My Dreeeeeams Come True, Abono!

(Just to clarify, I did not feel like Hall and Oats. I do not like them. Ask my mother.)

The only think I don't like is that the picture that I used for it was an extra official passport-type photo... and I look very angry in it.  It's cool, though, because it's probably the same face I have when random beer-can vendors (I'm not kidding, people here try to sell you random cans of beer at night when you're walking down the street) bombard me/mygroup.

Gotta go, I need to hop on the Metro with my new abono and head off to work!

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JUST KIDDING. I actually decided to come back and edit this post because I HAD to include this song, sung by my same future celeb bfrand Joey G-L: "Puppycat"
Ok, NOW I am leaving.

Adios!

Hely? Ay-ley? Gele? Ohhhhhh... Hede!

...apparently my name is the HARDEST name for Spanish speakers to pronounce.  A few days ago, when I ordered food and pronounced my name (a couple of times), the name that the girl wrote on the receipt said "Gele"..... ehh, close enough.

The past couple of days, I've made a couple of museum stops.  On both Sunday and yesterday, I went to Museo del Prado, one of the premier art museums in Madrid.  Got to visit my good buddies from humanities class, Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, and so much more! (I feel like I'm advertising right now haha).  My favorite section contained drawings from different artists, some large and framed, others in their original sketchbooks.

An example of one of Goya's drawings:

I still haven't been to the Reina Sofia yet to see my beloved Guernica, but I'll definitely make that a priority very soon!

On another note, I officially started at Club Metropolitan.  The interview went well, though I was left slightly confused about what they wanted me to do, since they told me to arrive in athletic clothes the next day and be ready to work out.  "Wait, what??"  As it turns out, they wanted me to use all the equipment and attend a couple of classes this first week so I can know exactly how every part of the gym functions.  This way, I can actually efficiently help the people who come in while I work.  So basically, I've been asked to work out as part of my job, and I think that I am totally ok with that! =P

The machines there are all by Technogym, and what I really like about is that they use a program called Wellness System.  Each machine has a slot for a "key" that records your workout.  Each person who chooses to do this system can get personalized workouts from one of the trainers, and they simply follow the workout using their own data key.  They then upload the data into the Wellness System computer and BAM! You've got a recording of what your workout plan was, what you actually did (as this may vary), and how you've progressed.  Pretty cool, if you're the kind of person who forgets things over time (like me). To give an idea of what the key looks like:
http://www.technogym.com/gb/products/software-hardware/systems-line/ws-key/696 .

Finally, the Spanish part of my Spain trip.  Well.  It has been interesting because I think my brain sometimes decides to go into "off" mode when it comes to foreign language.  Some days, I can say everything, and other days I can't seem to say a thing (though luckily, that hasn't happened as much)!  Luckily, I've at least been able to understand basically everything.  Also, working at the gym has also helped me quickly learn a ton of exercise/anatomy/health vocabulary that's very applicable to my major!

For now, I'm going to bed so I can get up early and buy an unlimited Metro pass for June before work.  Which, weirdly enough, is not available at the Metro station itself, but at one of the gazillions of estancos (tobacco shops).

¡Hasta luego!