Salamanca

On Friday morning our program loaded onto 3 buses and headed to Salamanca. Salamanca is a small university town about 2 hours west of Madrid. When we arrived we checked into our hotel and then met in the Plaza Mayor to go on a walk through a part of the city. The Plaza Mayor was beautiful and when the sun was out it seemed to be glowing. From there we walked to the public library, Casa de las Conchas and past the cathedral and the university. After our walk we were given a few hours of free time to go eat lunch. I went with a few girls to get some delicious paninis. After lunch, we met back with our tour guides and went inside Catedral Nueva. The cathedral was beautiful and so peaceful. We got to go up in the cathedral's tower, Torre Jeronimus, and get a view of the entire city. Although it was an unnerving walk up and down a very narrow and steep staircase (Dad you would've hated it!), the views at the top were well worth it. Salamanca is often called the "Golden City" because a majority of the buildings are made out of a stone that glows in the sunlight. 

For dinner, IES treated us to a formal dinner at the hotel. It was delicious and just what we all needed after a long day of walking around. We had grilled vegetables in a warm cheese sauce, meatballs in the same sauce, ham stuffed with brie and potatoes, and a dessert that I never wanted to end. After dinner, we did some hotel partying and then set out to experience Salamanca's night life. Salamanca is known for being a young, university town so there were tons of bars and clubs everywhere. We spent the majority of our night out at a bar called Gatsby's. 

On Saturday morning we were treated to a delicious breakfast. Unfortunately Leah and I discovered the chocolate muffins too late and didn't get to have some of our own. After breakfast we got a tour of the Universidad de Salamanca. This university is the oldest in Spain and the fifth oldest Western university. Just like everything else in Salamanca, it was beautiful! We also went on a walk to the river. After our walk we had about four hours of free time until our buses left. I went with Leah and three other girls to a cafe for coffee and croissants. We stayed there for two and half hours but we had the best time just chatting and sitting in the cozy cafe. After we felt like we had overstayed our welcome, we went shopping and I bought a belt that must have been made just for me! 

I was interested in going to Salamanca last weekend because I almost chose to live there instead of Madrid. Salamanca was beautiful and has a fun, young atmosphere, but I'm very glad I chose Madrid. I think Salamanca would've felt too small (ironic since I couldn't be happier at tiny Wofford!) and my heart belongs to Madrid! 

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

So I'm kind of slack with this blog, but I figure if I can manage to get something on here once a week that's good enough! Well, last Wednesday night Elena's family invited me over for dinner. I was so excited to finally meet her parents after hearing so many good things from the Prices and Molly. They couldn't have been sweeter! They made me feel so welcome and I had so much fun with them. Elena also invited her friend Gaby who I really enjoyed meeting too! Elena's mom made a delicious meal for me which consisted of a salad with smoked salmon, brie, and walnuts, croquetas, chicken stuffed with cheese and mushrooms, and a lemon and pineapple mousse for dessert. This dessert looked and sounded questionable to me, but I think we all ended up having thirds! Elena's dad kept telling me that if I ever need anything while I'm here that I should never hesitate to ask and that they would always be there for me. I am so lucky to know such generous, nice people from Madrid! 

On Friday afternoon, Molly, Sarah, Mimi, Grace Perry, and Paul came to Madrid! I picked them up from the airport and then we went to find their hostel. Their hostel was quite different from the one we stayed in in Barcelona which was definitely a good thing! It had much more of a "homestay" atmosphere than "nightclub." After they got settled we went to a little bar Sarah's Spanish teacher had recommended, called La Tosta. We had the best sangria here and open faced toasted sandwiches for dinner. I definitely hope to go back there soon! After La Tosta we wandered around the streets off of Puerta del Sol and went into a few Irish pubs. Of course Molly and I managed to make some more international friends at one of the pubs. Our favorites were a guy from Italy and a girl from Iceland. The girl is the guy's little brother's nanny and has been living with his family all year. Well, they've been dating for 5 months but if the guy's parents find out she will be fired. So, his parents thought she was meeting some friends and he was studying. Molly and I eventually decided we didn't like the drink prices at O'Connell St. Pub and wandered off from the group to a local hole in the wall, El Secreto. This bar had a cozy atmosphere and we made friends with the bartenders who made us some good deals. We eventually met back up with the rest of our group and went to a bar called The Bourbon Cafe. Ladies (and man) dressed in crazy outfits got on stage here and danced to great oldies. We were missing our first night back at the Row and were feeling nostalgic so we showed those Spaniards how to shag and enjoyed all of the great American music! 

On Saturday morning we all met up and walked down Gran Via and towards the Royal Palace. On the way, we ran into the Chinese New Parade. We honestly felt like we were in China. The line of people in the parade went back as far as we could see and we were going against all of them to try to get to the palace. We felt so in the way! A bunch of people had signs that said "Welcome to Shanghai." Not really sure why.

After finally reaching the Royal Palace and walking through a bit of historic Madrid, we made our way to the Plaza Mayor to have lunch on the terrace. It was pretty cold but it was beautiful and our lunch of Tortilla Espanola and croquetas hit the spot. After lunch, we all went to Parque del Retiro. This is definitely one of my favorite places in Madrid and Leah and I were excited that everyone got to see it. I think this is a place I'm going to have a hard time tearing myself away from when it gets warm. 

For dinner, we all met up with Elena for dinner at where else? VIPS. VIPS is like the Spanish version of TGIFridays and the past 3 times Elena and I have gotten dinner together we've gone here. I'm not complaining though, it's very good! I think the Barcelona girls left wishing they had the chain in Barcelona too. Molly hadn't seen Elena in 5 years so it was great for them to reunite! Elena certainly held her own at dinner, speaking very good English for everyone. She had a hard time understanding Sarah and Mimi though because of their stronger accents.

(Missing Brent!)

After dinner we went back to El Secreto and had a relaxing, laid back rest of the night. So laid back in fact that I got home before Cristina did. She couldn't believe it the next morning when I told her she stayed out later than me. On Sunday, Grace Perry and I went with Molly to reunite with her Spanish host sisters Cristina and Camino. She had not seen them in 5 years either! We went to Museo del Jamon, a "typical" Spanish restaurant where you can grab a quick sandwich at the counter. After lunch, Molly and I took a walk and I showed her a few places before she left like the national post office and the Bank of Spain. 

I had so much fun with everyone this weekend! Thanks for coming :)

Barcelona!

 This weekend a big group of us Wofford girls met in Barcelona for Mimi's 21st birthday. It was so much fun and I think I had a permanent smile on my face all weekend (with the exception of some of the time I spent in my first hostel). Leah and I flew to Barcelona on Friday morning and waited on Amy to arrive shortly after us. When we finally met up in baggage claim I couldn't believe she was actually standing right in front of me. I didn't get over this feeling all weekend as I kept looking at  my friends thinking, "We're really together right now!" The three of us took a bus to the Plaza Catalunya, close to the Barcelona girls' school. We checked into our hostel and then went back to the Plaza to wait for the girls to get out of class. I was starting to think we might be in the wrong place when all of the sudden we see Mimi and Molly walking through the plaza. Shortly after we saw them Grace Perry and Sarah showed up too and our reunion weekend was off to a good start! We all went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant, Rose Negra, and had a great lunch that even though it was Mexican, tasted just like America. After lunch we met up with Barrett, Mollie, and Kensley. We later went to the Triumphal Arch and a beautiful park near the zoo. That night for Mimi's big celebration we went to a bar called Ryan's and Molly and I met lots of new friends. A nice boy named Marc, a lovely woman (?) from Finland, and the happiest woman in the world from Barcelona. 

                

           

   

On Saturday morning we woke up to meet for lunch and then walked to the port. It felt so good to be on the water!! We had beautiful weather and enjoyed walking around without our coats, taking in the sights, and listening to lots of live music. We then made our way to the beach where we were completely content to spend a few hours. We pretended it was July and got gelato and sat in the sand. Later in the day we went to Parc Guell, the beautiful park that Gaudi designed. It was quite a hike to get there but it was definitely worth it! You can see all of Barcelona from the top and it is a great retreat from the city. 

On Saturday night Molly, Mimi, Leah, Amy, and I went to dinner at a little restaurant where we got pizza that tasted like Lunchables but some how hit the spot, and watched the FC Barcelona game. After dinner we met up with everyone else at the Dow Jones Bar. This bar is a play off the stock market and the drinks are priced in relation to how popular they are that night. When the bar fills up and more people are ordering drinks the "stock market" periodically crashes and you run to the bar to get a drink at its lowest price. We had so much fun here! It was so great to see so many friends this weekend. We were so lucky to have been able to coordinate such a big group visit! 

First Days of School

Yesterday and today I had my first classes here in Madrid! Yesterday at 9 a.m. I had Contemporary Spanish History. My professor looked a little intimidating at first. He was a big man and was wearing a cardigan. However, he seemed very nice and put lots of notes on the board. I'm not used to my professors doing that anymore but it was helpful as he was speaking a mile a minute in Spanish. I had general background knowledge of many of the things he covered in class which was reassuring! At 10:25 I had my Spanish Grammar & Usage class. I will have this class everyday, Monday through Thursday. I think this class is going to be extremely useful as we will go back over all of the grammar we have already learned and learn a lot of new vocab and slang. At 11:50 I have History of Spanish Painting. I had heard of other people in the program being in two other art history classes that actually have class in a museum and was starting to think maybe I'd picked the wrong class as I had not heard that about mine. However, I was excited to find out that every Monday my class will be at IES and every Wednesday we will go to a museum. We will have 4 units and will study in 4 different museums in Madrid. 

Today I had Spanish Models of Management & Organization at 9:00. When our professor handed us the syllabus we noticed it listed about thirteen books under class materials. We were all glancing at each other and I'm sure a lot of people were thinking the same thing as I was, "How am I going to get out of this class?!" Luckily though, our professor clarified that we did not in fact have to buy these books, but that he would be giving us photocopies of articles to read from them. Phew. Finally, at 1:15 I had History of Women in Spain. I think this class will be my least favorite as the professor was a bit long winded and was definitely losing our attention when she was still talking about ten minutes after class was supposed to be over. Maybe she was just excited because it was the first day. Here's hoping! 

Tonight I got to meet Cristina's granddaughter, Celia. She is 3 and is precious! After she met me and Jessica she kept asking her mom if she could "go talk to Abuela's girls." So Celia would periodically come into my room and wave to me, sing out "Holaaa", get a new toy from her stash that's kept in here, and then go back into the hall to chase Greta around.

Off to Barcelona this weekend to see my girls!!