Spent the day in Gibraltar this past weekend. My friend’s parents were visiting and had an extra seat in their car so I tagged along for an unexpected daytrip to Southern Spain. Gibraltar, a 2.5-hour drive from Granada, is technically not Spain territory. It’s a British colony, a nation of its own with 30,000 residents called Gibraltarians. This colony is known for the Rock of Gibraltar and the Strait of Gibraltar. The rock was used for defensive purposes during past wars and for strategic tunnels during World War II.

Crossing the border, the guards barely looked at our passports and were yelling at us in English, which was a change coming from Spain. Parts of Gibraltar were beautiful such as the Queens Quay and Marina, the Rock, Main Street and surrounding coastline but I feel spending one day in Gibraltar is sufficient enough for tourists. The island is also inhabited by monkeys, which are scattered across the city, chilling on garbage cans, roofs, the Rock and just wandering around. If you traveled to the top of the Rock you were able to actually hold one but I stayed in the city center.

On our way back to Granada we stopped at a coastal city to spend some time by the Mediterranean Sea. We parked right next to the beach and chilled on/strolled the coastline. This was right during sunset hour so the ocean and beach was even more beautiful! We skipped rocks (attempted to), wrote in the sand, ran into some fisherman and explored the coastal line. This was my favorite part of the day, simply being next to the ocean with the waves and breeze. It was so refreshing to be in the open scenery since every day of mine is spent in the middle of a busy city.

This week Holly and I leave for Berlin, Germany on Thursday! I’m so excited to travel to Germany! The weather is supposed to be pretty cold (30º F or so) which I’m not looking forward to. So far, we have planned to visit a concentration camp (Buchenwald), the Berlin Wall (what’s left of it), Gardens and lots of museums. Just need to get through these three days of class (we don’t have classes this Thursday or Friday) and we’ll be off to spend the end of the week/weekend in Berlin! 

Entrance into city of Córdaba

Gardens of a Christian palace in Córdaba

Inside La Mezquita

View atop a Christian palace overlooking Córdaba

Be Thankful.

World's 3rd largest cathedral

Inside the 3rd largest cathedral

City of Seville (4th largest city in Spain)

Plaza de España

Roman ruins at Italica

It’s been another busy week here in Granada, Spain. It took some time to wind down from our eventful weekend in Córdaba and Sevilla. With our program, the entire group traveled to these cities of Southern Spain for the three-day weekend. We departed from Granada early Friday morning and spent the day exploring Córdaba. In this city, our tour included a walk through the old jewish quarters as well as a guided tour through the famous Mezquita, Córdaba is best known as it once served as the region’s capital for both the Roman and Moorish empires. The Mezquita is a well-preserved mosque dating back to A.D 784. Inside was magnificent with the arch doorways and columns filling each room. After exploring and learning more of the history inside the Mezquita, we ventured off and explored the city on our own. For a small fee we were able to visit an old Christian palace. From the outside it seemed like just another old, historic building but once we walked inside we were surprised to find its courtyard filled with orange trees, fountains, statues and flowers! The pools with small fountains were beautiful, especially since they came alive with bright colors. After spending a few hours discovering this section of Córdaba it was time to depart for Sevilla. We were to spend the night and next two days exploring the fourth largest city of Spain!

After arriving at our hotel, we had planned to head to a Flamenco show with the entire group. Since our group is that of 30+ students, we ended up splitting up and losing track of each other. As luck would have it, the group I was in didn’t have a clue the name of the flamenco club nor did we have any of the leaders who could guide us. So we asked the hotel manager who directed us to his favorite flamenco bar.  Up for the adventure we set out to find this random flamenco bar. Finally finding it, we walked in and sure enough there was the other half of our group! It was so ironic!

The flamenco bar was an authentic Spanish experience mixed with a lot of energy! Once the flamenco singers and dancer started performing the place quieted down as everyone was in awe by the show. Her dance moves were intriguing as she did quick, jerky movements following the singer’s beat. Traveling to Spain, you have to see at least one flamenco show due to its importance in the culture. The best shows are those done in the homes of Spanish families. For these, an individual has to be specially invited making it hard for tourists to experience an actual flamenco show.

Saturday was spent exploring the city of Seville. We began the day with a walking tour through various parks, which was followed by a tour in Seville’s cathedral- the third largest cathedral in the world! Inside, we saw the statue of where Christopher Columbus’s remains are kept. Only a small amount of his remains are known to be inside the structure since obtaining the remains was apparently difficult for the church due to the number of Christopher Columbus’s in Spain at the time. The best part of the cathedral was the view from its bell towers where we were able to look over the entire city, and see the bull-fighting arena in the distance. Seville is one of the only cities in Spain where bull fighting is still politically correct.

From the towers, we had two hours to explore the city on our own. One of my friends and I decided to find a coffee shop to grab a coffee and people watch. Being such a large city, the people- watching was fascinating! Simply sitting and taking in the scenery and people allowed us to see how diverse Spain is.

With the group, we went to Plaza de España, the location set for part of the Starwars film Attack of the Clones. At this plaza, they filmed a scene with Anakin and Padme on Naboo with the intention of making it seem like “another world”. The actual reason for its construction was for the Ibero-American Exhibition World’s Fair in 1929, held in Seville in order to strengthen the ties between Spain and Portugal during that time. The shape of the building represents the embrace of Spain. The plaza is separated into two parts by four bridges, each bridge representing one of the four ancient kingdoms of Spain (Aragon, Leon, Castile and Navarra). Between these two parts is a waterway, which you could rent a boat to explore. A few of us rented and with so many others having the same idea, it ended up to be bumper boats rather than rowboats, turning out to be more fun!

            To experience the nightlife in Seville, a group of us went out for tapas across the river. Since Seville is another city known for its student population, we knew others students studying here so we all met up for drinks and tapas. Another advantage of being in this city was we were able to walk around on the streets with open beverages- it was the perfect way to end our weekend in Seville!

            For our final day in this city, we explored the ancient roman ruins of Italica. Here we saw the layout of the ancient roman homes as well as the fighting arena (gladiator style). From here we boarded the bus and headed back to Granada. Overall, it was an eventful weekend filled with some interesting adventures in Southern Spain!

It’s been another busy week here in Granada, Spain. It took some time to wind down from our eventful weekend in Córdaba and Sevilla. With our program, the entire group traveled to these cities of Southern Spain for the three-day weekend. We departed from Granada early Friday morning and spent the day exploring Córdaba. In this city, our tour included a walk through the old jewish quarters as well as a guided tour through the famous Mezquita, Córdaba is best known as it once served as the region’s capital for both the Roman and Moorish empires. The Mezquita is a well-preserved mosque dating back to A.D 784. Inside was magnificent with the arch doorways and columns filling each room. After exploring and learning more of the history inside the Mezquita, we ventured off and explored the city on our own. For a small fee we were able to visit an old Christian palace. From the outside it seemed like just another old, historic building but once we walked inside we were surprised to find its courtyard filled with orange trees, fountains, statues and flowers! The pools with small fountains were beautiful, especially since they came alive with bright colors. After spending a few hours discovering this section of Córdaba it was time to depart for Sevilla. We were to spend the night and next two days exploring the fourth largest city of Spain!

After arriving at our hotel, we had planned to head to a Flamenco show with the entire group. Since our group is that of 30+ students, we ended up splitting up and losing track of each other. As luck would have it, the group I was in didn’t have a clue the name of the flamenco club nor did we have any of the leaders who could guide us. So we asked the hotel manager who directed us to his favorite flamenco bar.  Up for the adventure we set out to find this random flamenco bar. Finally finding it, we walked in and sure enough there was the other half of our group! It was so ironic!

The flamenco bar was an authentic Spanish experience mixed with a lot of energy! Once the flamenco singers and dancer started performing the place quieted down as everyone was in awe by the show. Her dance moves were intriguing as she did quick, jerky movements following the singer’s beat. Traveling to Spain, you have to see at least one flamenco show due to its importance in the culture. The best shows are those done in the homes of Spanish families. For these, an individual has to be specially invited making it hard for tourists to experience an actual flamenco show.

Saturday was spent exploring the city of Seville. We began the day with a walking tour through various parks, which was followed by a tour in Seville’s cathedral- the third largest cathedral in the world! Inside, we saw the statue of where Christopher Columbus’s remains are kept. Only a small amount of his remains are known to be inside the structure since obtaining the remains was apparently difficult for the church due to the number of Christopher Columbus’s in Spain at the time. The best part of the cathedral was the view from its bell towers where we were able to look over the entire city, and see the bull-fighting arena in the distance. Seville is one of the only cities in Spain where bull fighting is still politically correct.

From the towers, we had two hours to explore the city on our own. One of my friends and I decided to find a coffee shop to grab a coffee and people watch. Being such a large city, the people- watching was fascinating! Simply sitting and taking in the scenery and people allowed us to see how diverse Spain is.

With the group, we went to Plaza de España, the location set for part of the Starwars film Attack of the Clones. At this plaza, they filmed a scene with Anakin and Padme on Naboo with the intention of making it seem like “another world”. The actual reason for its construction was for the Ibero-American Exhibition World’s Fair in 1929, held in Seville in order to strengthen the ties between Spain and Portugal during that time. The shape of the building represents the embrace of Spain. The plaza is separated into two parts by four bridges, each bridge representing one of the four ancient kingdoms of Spain (Aragon, Leon, Castile and Navarra). Between these two parts is a waterway, which you could rent a boat to explore. A few of us rented and with so many others having the same idea, it ended up to be bumper boats rather than rowboats, turning out to be more fun!

            To experience the nightlife in Seville, a group of us went out for tapas across the river. Since Seville is another city known for its student population, we knew others students studying here so we all met up for drinks and tapas. Another advantage of being in this city was we were able to walk around on the streets with open beverages- it was the perfect way to end our weekend in Seville!

            For our final day in this city, we explored the ancient roman ruins of Italica. Here we saw the layout of the ancient roman homes as well as the fighting arena (gladiator style). From here we boarded the bus and headed back to Granada. Overall, it was an eventful weekend filled with some interesting adventures in Southern Spain!

It’s been another busy week here in Granada, Spain. It took some time to wind down from our eventful weekend in Córdaba and Sevilla. With our program, the entire group traveled to these cities of Southern Spain for the three-day weekend. We departed from Granada early Friday morning and spent the day exploring Córdaba. In this city, our tour included a walk through the old jewish quarters as well as a guided tour through the famous Mezquita, Córdaba is best known as it once served as the region’s capital for both the Roman and Moorish empires. The Mezquita is a well-preserved mosque dating back to A.D 784. Inside was magnificent with the arch doorways and columns filling each room. After exploring and learning more of the history inside the Mezquita, we ventured off and explored the city on our own. For a small fee we were able to visit an old Christian palace. From the outside it seemed like just another old, historic building but once we walked inside we were surprised to find its courtyard filled with orange trees, fountains, statues and flowers! The pools with small fountains were beautiful, especially since they came alive with bright colors. After spending a few hours discovering this section of Córdaba it was time to depart for Sevilla. We were to spend the night and next two days exploring the fourth largest city of Spain!

After arriving at our hotel, we had planned to head to a Flamenco show with the entire group. Since our group is that of 30+ students, we ended up splitting up and losing track of each other. As luck would have it, the group I was in didn’t have a clue the name of the flamenco club nor did we have any of the leaders who could guide us. So we asked the hotel manager who directed us to his favorite flamenco bar.  Up for the adventure we set out to find this random flamenco bar. Finally finding it, we walked in and sure enough there was the other half of our group! It was so ironic!

The flamenco bar was an authentic Spanish experience mixed with a lot of energy! Once the flamenco singers and dancer started performing the place quieted down as everyone was in awe by the show. Her dance moves were intriguing as she did quick, jerky movements following the singer’s beat. Traveling to Spain, you have to see at least one flamenco show due to its importance in the culture. The best shows are those done in the homes of Spanish families. For these, an individual has to be specially invited making it hard for tourists to experience an actual flamenco show.

Saturday was spent exploring the city of Seville. We began the day with a walking tour through various parks, which was followed by a tour in Seville’s cathedral- the third largest cathedral in the world! Inside, we saw the statue of where Christopher Columbus’s remains are kept. Only a small amount of his remains are known to be inside the structure since obtaining the remains was apparently difficult for the church due to the number of Christopher Columbus’s in Spain at the time. The best part of the cathedral was the view from its bell towers where we were able to look over the entire city, and see the bull-fighting arena in the distance. Seville is one of the only cities in Spain where bull fighting is still politically correct.

From the towers, we had two hours to explore the city on our own. One of my friends and I decided to find a coffee shop to grab a coffee and people watch. Being such a large city, the people- watching was fascinating! Simply sitting and taking in the scenery and people allowed us to see how diverse Spain is.

With the group, we went to Plaza de España, the location set for part of the Starwars film Attack of the Clones. At this plaza, they filmed a scene with Anakin and Padme on Naboo with the intention of making it seem like “another world”. The actual reason for its construction was for the Ibero-American Exhibition World’s Fair in 1929, held in Seville in order to strengthen the ties between Spain and Portugal during that time. The shape of the building represents the embrace of Spain. The plaza is separated into two parts by four bridges, each bridge representing one of the four ancient kingdoms of Spain (Aragon, Leon, Castile and Navarra). Between these two parts is a waterway, which you could rent a boat to explore. A few of us rented and with so many others having the same idea, it ended up to be bumper boats rather than rowboats, turning out to be more fun!

            To experience the nightlife in Seville, a group of us went out for tapas across the river. Since Seville is another city known for its student population, we knew others students studying here so we all met up for drinks and tapas. Another advantage of being in this city was we were able to walk around on the streets with open beverages- it was the perfect way to end our weekend in Seville!

            For our final day in this city, we explored the ancient roman ruins of Italica. Here we saw the layout of the ancient roman homes as well as the fighting arena (gladiator style). From here we boarded the bus and headed back to Granada. Overall, it was an eventful weekend filled with some interesting adventures in Southern Spain!

It’s been another busy week here in Granada, Spain. It took some time to wind down from our eventful weekend in Córdaba and Sevilla. With our program, the entire group traveled to these cities of Southern Spain for the three-day weekend. We departed from Granada early Friday morning and spent the day exploring Córdaba. In this city, our tour included a walk through the old jewish quarters as well as a guided tour through the famous Mezquita, Córdaba is best known as it once served as the region’s capital for both the Roman and Moorish empires. The Mezquita is a well-preserved mosque dating back to A.D 784. Inside was magnificent with the arch doorways and columns filling each room. After exploring and learning more of the history inside the Mezquita, we ventured off and explored the city on our own. For a small fee we were able to visit an old Christian palace. From the outside it seemed like just another old, historic building but once we walked inside we were surprised to find its courtyard filled with orange trees, fountains, statues and flowers! The pools with small fountains were beautiful, especially since they came alive with bright colors. After spending a few hours discovering this section of Córdaba it was time to depart for Sevilla. We were to spend the night and next two days exploring the fourth largest city of Spain!

After arriving at our hotel, we had planned to head to a Flamenco show with the entire group. Since our group is that of 30+ students, we ended up splitting up and losing track of each other. As luck would have it, the group I was in didn’t have a clue the name of the flamenco club nor did we have any of the leaders who could guide us. So we asked the hotel manager who directed us to his favorite flamenco bar.  Up for the adventure we set out to find this random flamenco bar. Finally finding it, we walked in and sure enough there was the other half of our group! It was so ironic!

The flamenco bar was an authentic Spanish experience mixed with a lot of energy! Once the flamenco singers and dancer started performing the place quieted down as everyone was in awe by the show. Her dance moves were intriguing as she did quick, jerky movements following the singer’s beat. Traveling to Spain, you have to see at least one flamenco show due to its importance in the culture. The best shows are those done in the homes of Spanish families. For these, an individual has to be specially invited making it hard for tourists to experience an actual flamenco show.

Saturday was spent exploring the city of Seville. We began the day with a walking tour through various parks, which was followed by a tour in Seville’s cathedral- the third largest cathedral in the world! Inside, we saw the statue of where Christopher Columbus’s remains are kept. Only a small amount of his remains are known to be inside the structure since obtaining the remains was apparently difficult for the church due to the number of Christopher Columbus’s in Spain at the time. The best part of the cathedral was the view from its bell towers where we were able to look over the entire city, and see the bull-fighting arena in the distance. Seville is one of the only cities in Spain where bull fighting is still politically correct.

From the towers, we had two hours to explore the city on our own. One of my friends and I decided to find a coffee shop to grab a coffee and people watch. Being such a large city, the people- watching was fascinating! Simply sitting and taking in the scenery and people allowed us to see how diverse Spain is.

With the group, we went to Plaza de España, the location set for part of the Starwars film Attack of the Clones. At this plaza, they filmed a scene with Anakin and Padme on Naboo with the intention of making it seem like “another world”. The actual reason for its construction was for the Ibero-American Exhibition World’s Fair in 1929, held in Seville in order to strengthen the ties between Spain and Portugal during that time. The shape of the building represents the embrace of Spain. The plaza is separated into two parts by four bridges, each bridge representing one of the four ancient kingdoms of Spain (Aragon, Leon, Castile and Navarra). Between these two parts is a waterway, which you could rent a boat to explore. A few of us rented and with so many others having the same idea, it ended up to be bumper boats rather than rowboats, turning out to be more fun!

            To experience the nightlife in Seville, a group of us went out for tapas across the river. Since Seville is another city known for its student population, we knew others students studying here so we all met up for drinks and tapas. Another advantage of being in this city was we were able to walk around on the streets with open beverages- it was the perfect way to end our weekend in Seville!

            For our final day in this city, we explored the ancient roman ruins of Italica. Here we saw the layout of the ancient roman homes as well as the fighting arena (gladiator style). From here we boarded the bus and headed back to Granada. Overall, it was an eventful weekend filled with some interesting adventures in Southern Spain!

It’s been another busy week here in Granada, Spain. It took some time to wind down from our eventful weekend in Córdaba and Sevilla. With our program, the entire group traveled to these cities of Southern Spain for the three-day weekend. We departed from Granada early Friday morning and spent the day exploring Córdaba. In this city, our tour included a walk through the old jewish quarters as well as a guided tour through the famous Mezquita, Córdaba is best known as it once served as the region’s capital for both the Roman and Moorish empires. The Mezquita is a well-preserved mosque dating back to A.D 784. Inside was magnificent with the arch doorways and columns filling each room. After exploring and learning more of the history inside the Mezquita, we ventured off and explored the city on our own. For a small fee we were able to visit an old Christian palace. From the outside it seemed like just another old, historic building but once we walked inside we were surprised to find its courtyard filled with orange trees, fountains, statues and flowers! The pools with small fountains were beautiful, especially since they came alive with bright colors. After spending a few hours discovering this section of Córdaba it was time to depart for Sevilla. We were to spend the night and next two days exploring the fourth largest city of Spain!

After arriving at our hotel, we had planned to head to a Flamenco show with the entire group. Since our group is that of 30+ students, we ended up splitting up and losing track of each other. As luck would have it, the group I was in didn’t have a clue the name of the flamenco club nor did we have any of the leaders who could guide us. So we asked the hotel manager who directed us to his favorite flamenco bar.  Up for the adventure we set out to find this random flamenco bar. Finally finding it, we walked in and sure enough there was the other half of our group! It was so ironic!

The flamenco bar was an authentic Spanish experience mixed with a lot of energy! Once the flamenco singers and dancer started performing the place quieted down as everyone was in awe by the show. Her dance moves were intriguing as she did quick, jerky movements following the singer’s beat. Traveling to Spain, you have to see at least one flamenco show due to its importance in the culture. The best shows are those done in the homes of Spanish families. For these, an individual has to be specially invited making it hard for tourists to experience an actual flamenco show.

Saturday was spent exploring the city of Seville. We began the day with a walking tour through various parks, which was followed by a tour in Seville’s cathedral- the third largest cathedral in the world! Inside, we saw the statue of where Christopher Columbus’s remains are kept. Only a small amount of his remains are known to be inside the structure since obtaining the remains was apparently difficult for the church due to the number of Christopher Columbus’s in Spain at the time. The best part of the cathedral was the view from its bell towers where we were able to look over the entire city, and see the bull-fighting arena in the distance. Seville is one of the only cities in Spain where bull fighting is still politically correct.

From the towers, we had two hours to explore the city on our own. One of my friends and I decided to find a coffee shop to grab a coffee and people watch. Being such a large city, the people- watching was fascinating! Simply sitting and taking in the scenery and people allowed us to see how diverse Spain is.

With the group, we went to Plaza de España, the location set for part of the Starwars film Attack of the Clones. At this plaza, they filmed a scene with Anakin and Padme on Naboo with the intention of making it seem like “another world”. The actual reason for its construction was for the Ibero-American Exhibition World’s Fair in 1929, held in Seville in order to strengthen the ties between Spain and Portugal during that time. The shape of the building represents the embrace of Spain. The plaza is separated into two parts by four bridges, each bridge representing one of the four ancient kingdoms of Spain (Aragon, Leon, Castile and Navarra). Between these two parts is a waterway, which you could rent a boat to explore. A few of us rented and with so many others having the same idea, it ended up to be bumper boats rather than rowboats, turning out to be more fun!

            To experience the nightlife in Seville, a group of us went out for tapas across the river. Since Seville is another city known for its student population, we knew others students studying here so we all met up for drinks and tapas. Another advantage of being in this city was we were able to walk around on the streets with open beverages- it was the perfect way to end our weekend in Seville!

            For our final day in this city, we explored the ancient roman ruins of Italica. Here we saw the layout of the ancient roman homes as well as the fighting arena (gladiator style). From here we boarded the bus and headed back to Granada. Overall, it was an eventful weekend filled with some interesting adventures in Southern Spain!

Wow! To state it simply: this week has been amazing! I began my work/volunteering at the elementary school Tuesday afternoon. After my first class in the morning (Spanish literature), I spent the next two hours working with second graders on their English, spelling and grammar. Arriving, I had to have a 4^th grader direct me to the right teacher and classroom but after that it was smooth sailing! My first task was to lead the class upstairs to their assigned room, which was a little more difficult than it sounds.  The children kept wanting to hold my hands and guide me to the classroom. Both classes on Tuesday and today on Thursday began with the students asking me questions about myself. They were only allowed to speak in English so at times, they found it extremely difficult to form the question. One student today asked what my favorite type of music is, I wanted to respond with Indie but knowing they wouldn’t know what this was, I said “Christmas music”- they loved this! The children then started to serenade me with the song “Last Christmas”. It was probably one of the most adorable things I’ve seen and heard in a long time!

            Both days I have left the school with a huge smile on my face. There’s just something amazing with teaching and working with children- especially when you see them learning from you! To top it off, as I was walking out, the children wouldn’t stop hugging me and holding my hand. Then as I left, a boy ran by and yelled “bye teacher!”- it was just too adorable.  Every week until the end of the semester (May), I will teach English to these students on Tuesdays and Thursdays- I’m so excited and thrilled for this opportunity!

            On Wednesday, I participated in a psychology study of memory at the University of Granada. I was paid £8 to participate in a 40 min session that examined my memory skills. I had to read sentences aloud in English and then state the last word of the sentences when asked. It was actually difficult at times to remember solely the last word of all of the sentences I was given and asked to read. However, it was all worth it since I got paid! Though I had to walk all the way up to the campus, which was a 40 min walk and all uphill- the view of Granada was spectacular at the University! I was able to see all across the city of Granada as well as the mountains- so beautiful!

            Though today was Valentine’s Day, I feel as though every day is Valentine’s Day in Spain. There are just so many couples displaying their love and affection for each other every day and all over! To celebrate Valentine’s Day (or as in Spain, El Día de San Valentino), a group of girls and I went to a pizzeria and ordered to pizzas in the shape of a heart. Plus, I stopped by a local candy shop and bought myself some chocolate and cherry gummy hearts.

            Tomorrow our entire study abroad group is heading to Seville and Cordaba for the weekend! Should be a fun experience since we’ll be taking a bus from here (Granada) to these cities and then back on Sunday night! Ready for another weekend of traveling and exploring Spain!

Sunset over the Atlantic Ocean

Main cathedral in Cadiz... center of the festival

This past weekend a group of us traveled to Southern Spain, Cadiz, to celebrate the largest carnival celebrations in all of Spain. If I had to describe it, I would say it was a mixture of Oktoberfest, Mardi Gras and Freak Fest (Halloween at UW-Madison). People dress in ridiculous costumes and stay up all night partying, dancing, drinking and singing. Our bus departed from Granada at noon on Saturday and returned the next day at 10a (it was a 4 hour bus trip)- this way you don’t have to pay for a hotel since you just stay up all night partying until your bus departs.

            

       Since a group of us decided late in the week to travel here, we bought tickets for a bus filled with only Spaniards. The ride to Cadiz consisted of them singing to Spanish songs and throwing balloons around. I sat next to this Spanish guy who started a conversation with me but unfortunately spoke extremely fast. Fortunately, living in Spain for a little over a month now, it’s become easier to understand the native speakers here! In all, the bus ride was a memorable way to start this weekend trip. We arrived in Cadiz later in the afternoon so we were just in time to watch the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean. This was probably my favorite part of the entire festival, being able to just sit and relax while looking over the ocean- it was so beautiful and blue! After the sun had set, the partying began as people crowded around the cathedral (main center of the city) to dance and blast music. Thousands of people gathered in this area making everything more entertaining. Overall the night was filled with much drinking, dancing, singing and meeting/talking to Spaniards! They definitely know how to have a good time!

           

       This week is my second full week of classes. So far, they have gone well! The material can be difficult at times to learn but in all I think this semester will be very interesting and educational with the courses I’m enrolled in. To categorize the students, they place us in levels depending on our ability to understand and speak the language. Out of 8 levels, I am in level 6 hence my grammar and oral/writing courses are more intense than most. Often when an individual is learning a foreign language, they will have strengths in certain parts of the language and weaknesses in other parts. For example, they are 3 main parts to learning Spanish, or any foreign language: writing, reading and speaking. To order from strength to weakness (for myself) it’s: reading, writing and speaking. I hope, by the end of this semester, to become more fluent and stronger in my speaking skills. Hence, I have been having intercambios, basically meeting exchanges, with a Spaniard every week to achieve this goal of speaking with more ease.

     This week I start volunteering at the elementary school here in Granada, 4 hours every other day. I plan to work with the infantil (students ages 1-3) and possibly the older children. My priorities will be to help them with writing letters, snack time, Basic English and more. Every other day, for specific courses (sciences and art) the teachers have asked us to help them teach the material in english to the students. I feel it will definitely help my speaking skills, as I’ll constantly be practicing even the most basic Spanish concepts. I’m very excited to start working with them and hope my first day goes well!

Bookstore next to Notre Dame... the most perfect bookstore to exist.  Upstairs had a pianist with french girl singing along in addition to a book reading from the author...

Bridge of Locks

Last night in Paris.... grabbed drinks at a piano bar

Catacombs

Tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte

Oldest church in Paris/France

Moulin Rouge with my roommate

Stained-glass windows tell the stories of the bible

Metro station by our hotel

Café in Paris 

My first French nutella Crepe

Saw this couple riding the bike but didn't plan to take this picture since they flew by us so fast but by luck I captured them in the perfect moment and it turned out to be one of my fav pics of the trip...

Procession from the blessing of the bells ceremony at Notre Dame...

Notre Dame glowing in the night

Arc de Triomph

Signing the book of memories in Notre Dame

Shot of Paris and the eiffel tower from a top the Arc de Triomph

Shot of the eiffel tower halfway up on our way to the top

What a week it has been- explored and learned so much within this past week! Last week Wednesday until this past Sunday, I traveled to Paris with three other girls in my program. Since our early- start courses finished Tuesday and our semester classes started this past Monday, we had four days to kill- so we decided to spend them in Paris! Leaving early Wednesday morning (or late Tuesday night- bus left at 2a from Granada), our bus arrived in Madrid at 7am and our flight out of Madrid to Paris departed at 9am. We arrived in Paris around 10am and I’m happy to report we had zero issues with travel, a first for me!

Arriving in Paris, we bought a metro pass, which let us travel via subway and buses for 5 days at a fixed cost. Our first experience on the subway went well! Right away an accordionist came on the subway and began serenating us with the typical French music- it couldn’t have been more perfect! Finally reaching our hotel, we dropped our bags off and left to explore the city. Our first stop was the Louvre, where we saw the Mona Lisa and other famous works of art. The museum was filled with such beautiful artistic pieces I wanted to spend all day there just analyzing and observing them but of course there was just so much more to see in the city. Walking out of the Louvre, the sun finally showed its face! The majority of the days in Paris are known to be rainy so we felt very fortunate to see an actual sunset. It made the monuments and buildings so much more beautiful. Unfortunately, we visited during the winter so it wasn’t as beautiful as I expected but I can only imagine what the city must look like in the summer and fall months.

After the Louvre we grabbed dinner at a café located off the main street by the Louvre. Ordered my first wine in France- Boudreaux Sauvignon and for dinner I had a Croquet Madame- toasted ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg over the top- both the wine and dinner was delicious! From dinner we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower, which was amazing lit up at night, especially when it began to sparkle. The pictures definitely don’t do justice to describing how gorgeous the view was of this monument. Taking the elevator up, we went to the top of the tower where we were able to look over Paris at night! In my opinion, it’s more beautiful to see Paris from above at night then during the daytime- everything becomes more breathtaking. It was the perfect way to end our first day in the city of love.

Waking up early the following day, we took the metro to Versailles- home of King Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette and other royal figures. The architecture of this palace was exquisite as it was mostly composed of gold and marble. Inside, the interior was even more amazing, as there was the room of mirrors, bedroom of the King (where hundreds of people would watch him wake in the morning), the bedroom of Marie Antoinette and the secret door she used to escape the rebels as they stormed the palace. After exploring the palace, we visited the summer home of Marie Antoinette, gifted to her by the King. From there, we walked through the village Marie had built for her guests.

After spending half of our day exploring Versailles, we took the metro back towards the heart of Paris where we went to the Arc of Triomph- another well-known monument of Paris. Not wanting to risk crossing the circle around the Arc, we took the under passage in order to explore inside the monument- luckily with our student visas we were able to go to the top of the Arc for free- which I would recommend to anyone traveling around Europe that has a student visa- you have free entry into places as long as you are a student and under the age of 26. Up top was another beautiful view of the city at night, especially the view of the Eiffel Tower at night as it sparkled. Before dinner, we made a stop at Moulin Rouge and the Red Light District, which was definitely an interesting part of Paris. We took a few pictures and then left- a little too creepy for us.

Day three we spent exploring the inner parts and museums of Paris. Starting the day at the Notre Dame, we walked through the church and went to the top for another view of the city from above. We were hoping to go inside one of the towers to see “the hunch back’s” home but it was closed since it was the changing of the bells, as it was 850-year anniversary of the Notre Dame. The rest of the day was filled with visits to different churches and museums. We finished the day at Sacre- Coeur, which towers on a hill overlooking the city. Walking through, the pews were filled with individuals praying giving the church a very calm, relaxing environment. While waiting outside, a Parisian begins describing the city to me- unfortunately, I had no idea what he was saying and could only stare at him and smile. Once he realized I spoke no French, he immediately switched to English. I’m still surprised by how many Europeans know English as well as their native tongue. In America, it’s not very common for an individual to be bilingual but in Europe I feel more individuals have a desire to learn another language more than Americans do (just my personal opinion). Rather than spending money on a night out (since everything was so expensive in Paris) we bought a few baguettes, cheese squares, dark chocolate and a couple bottles of wine to have in our hotel room while we played French music- a very relaxing evening in.

For our last full day, we began by exploring St. Chappelle, which holds the tomb of Voltaire, Victor Hugo and others. After observing these tombs, we went to the catacombs, which hold the bones of Parisians from the 18^th century. The walls and pillars were composed of bones and skulls… it was a little eerie walking through this in the dim light and cold passages.  To escape the depressing scene, we visited the Opera, which was then followed by Notre Dame again. This time we visited the church during the blessing of the bells ceremony. Hundreds of people crowded inside the church and outside to watch the ceremony.

Finally though, one of my favorite parts of the trip was during this night. After watching the ceremony, Holly and I explored the shops around Notre Dame and we came across a small bookstore. Walking in, I instantly felt at peace with the 40’s music being played, the old-books smell and the stacks of novels filling the walls. Walking upstairs, I first thought it was just the children’s section but I was wrong: I walked into a smaller room to find a man playing the piano with a French girl singing along beautifully. Walking down the hall, I came across a mini-group discussion with the author of the book reading passages from her novel. It was the perfect “Paris bookstore” scene- just what I imagined it to be!

After this amazing bookstore experience, we headed to a piano bar for drinks and were lucky enough to be placed right next to the piano and singer. The pianist played a mixture of French and American songs (Adele, Elton John and more). It was the perfect way to wrap up our time in Paris! Though Paris was an amazing experience, it’s a relief to be back in a country where we can communicate with the people through our words and not through charades. Overall, Paris was a blast; unfortunately, the pictures just don’t do justice to these four days! In all we managed to visit the following: Arc de Triomph, Catacombs, Museé Rodin (with “the Thinker” statue), the Louvre (Has the Mona Lisa), St. Chapelle, Les Invalides (has the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte, Notre Dame, Bridge of Locks, Versailles (Home of Marie Antoinette), Sacre- Coeur, Basilica, the Opera, Moulin Rouge, St. Germain de Pres (the oldest church in Paris or France), the Panthéon and of course the Eiffel Tower.