Something BARCELONA!!!!

Hey ya'll, I just got back from my SUPERB journey to Barcelona and Tarragona.  It was super fun.  We started out by driving through the rain to Tarragona where we got out and look at a cathedral....from the outside.  Then we journeyed on foot to some roman theater ruins and then up and down the street.  Because it was absolutely freezing, and wet outside we decided to stop in a pastry shop and have some hot chocolate and chocolate-filled pastries!! :)  YUMMY.  We then got on the bus, watched Avatar in Spanish and finaly arrived in Barcelona around 5pm where we took a quick visit to Parque Guell.  A gorgeous place crafted by an artist named Gaudi.  The next day we visited the house where Gaudi lived, called Casa Mila or La Pedrera.  It was sweet, and the roof had funky spiral things on it.  From there we went to the Sagrada Familia, which is another of Gaudi's works of art.  Look it up because my pictures don't do it justice!  It was absolutely beautiful, with huge pillars and crazy designs and it was ginormous!!!!  Then we had some free time so some of us went to the Palau de Musica Catalunya...Look that one up too, we couldn't take pictures but it was fantastic!  We walked around after that on the Ramblas and went up the Christopher Columbus statue.  (Barcelona is the city that Christopher returned to after his trip to America.)  On Saturday we woke up early and started with a tour of the Villa Olimpico from the 1992 summer Olimpics.  It was pretty sweet and amazing!  We then continued with some Cathedrals and churches which were very nice and beautiful.  The next part of my day was the best though.  With nine other people in our group we took the metro to Camp Nou.  The FC Barcelona Stadium.  We toured the museum and then we actually got to go into the stadium!  It was super cool!!!  We got to be in the stands and then on the field where the players get to sit and then finally up in the box where the announcers sit!!  :)  Although the museum was kinda like a shrine...it was super sweet with touch screen clips and information and all!!   It was probably the best part of that day!!!  Saturday night some of us went out and walked the Ramblas at night...which happens to be kinda risky.  Ok well we only had about 15 guys try to talk/confront us and a ba-gillion more try to sell us things.  It was fun though!  Lots of light and people and fun places to go!  Sunday we drove home early but stopped in a place called Codorniu.  It is a winery but they mostly make champagne, or cava as it is known here.  It was really cool to see the process.  We got to go down in to these caves that were from 1551 when the place first began to produce the champagne.  It was super cool!!  Yip, so in a nutshell that was my adventure in Barcelona!  I had a great time!!!  It was fun and interesting and I learned a lot about the history of the city! 

Something Tough....

 Calpe!!!  This is the mountain/big rock we climbed!!!


Calpe, Beautiful, long, tall, dangerous but sooooo much fun!!!!!  Today, with 7 others from our group, I took the train from Denia to Calpe.  Calpe is a larger town about 50min down the coast from Denia.  It is beautiful and filled with interesting things.  What were were most interested in today though, was the mountain. (Actually it's more like a huge rock that God picked up and set kinda randomly on the edge of the Sea.)  It was super fun!!  We spent forever walking around the mountain trying to discover where the actual path was...(which included some off-pathing-only slightly dangerous.)  Once we finally found the real path up the mountain we began to climb...and climb...and climb.  To be honest the path was more of a rock covered hillside and there was only a "real" path every once in a while.  Needless to say it was not the most safe thing I have ever done....no railings or handholds...only when it got really dangerous was there a rope.  So we walked and climbed and finally reached the top!!  Absolutely beautiful!!  It was a stunning view of the mountains and towns far below and beyond! and tomorrow...I am going to need a wheelchair to get around town.

 This happens to be the path that we had to climb...It was really just a bunch of rocks!


The successful group at the summit!  :)

Something Yummy....

Yay for food!!!!!  I love the food we have here in Spain!!  So far I have had normal things like french fries (patatas fritas), and hambugers; things that are basic Spanish food like tortilla espanola, paella, tortilla francesa and patatas and meat; and also some things that are not so normal...well, for me at least.  For example today we had fideua con pulpo (see below something like what I had) which is basically a special type of noodle with octopus....and it was actually quite delicious!!!  :)  I have learned to just try everything, even the things like cucumbers cut in half and meat and cheese stacked on top.  Interesting for sure, and not all that terrible.  I think the main thing in another country is to just to try it and try to keep a very, very open mind about all the food that you encounter.  It will be different, no matter how much you try.  (There is a store that sells Ben and Jerry's ice cream if I ever get very desperate for a taste of home though!)

Something Dangerous...

Crossing the street is the most dangerous thing you could ever think of.  There are not very many stop signs, so what you do is just start walking...and hope nothing runs into you.  Most cars are quick to slow down and stop, but i have had some that just keep coming and coming until BAM, they stop right before they hit you.  :P  Let me tell you, it is a terrifying experience; and I have to repeat it every single day!!!  Not my idea of a fun walk to school!  (I guess the good news is that they ususally stop!)  There are some other interesting rules of the street, including don't look at anybody.  Especially the girls because in this culture if a girl makes eye contact with a man on the streets that means that she likes him....aparently.  (I'm really bad at this and have to remind myself frequently!)  Everybody walks in their own bubbles and nobody interrupts anyone else.  Another cultural thing that I have to remind myself of is kisses.  When you meet someone for the first time (and every other time after that, unless it's your family)  you have to give two kisses one on each cheek, the boys and girls do this.  I also forget this too...thankfully I haven't gone for the wrong cheek yet though! (left side first always!!)

Something Tall!

Torre de Gerro!!

So yesterday (Saturday) we walked to the Torre de Gerro that is close to Denia.  We started at 11:30 and arrived around 1.  Most of us were expecting this to be a fun walk to the Torre on the beach, unbeknownst to us it was actually on a mountain!!!  Yeah, that's right, we walked for a long time and then climbed a mountain (a very steep mountain) in order to reach this tower.  Once we got there...and spent 10 minutes getting our breath back...we were able to look out and see Denia and the Mediteranian!  It was absolutely beautiful, and worth the climb!  Then some of the more crazy ones decided to climb to the top of this ancient building (I am not included in that group thank you....I only climbed the easy part :P )  After that we sat down and ate our lunches looking out over the sea and the town of Denia.  Then we got to walk the mile back down the hill, and back to town.  Needless to say, this adventure took most of the day, and the next several days I will be able to feel it in my legs!!  :)  It was totally worth it!!

Something called Mi Casa en Espana

I know that this may be small, but for all you wonderful, lovely people out there who are "following" my blog here is a rough diagram of my apartment with some dialogue....if you can read it.  :P  That's all for today!
 PS....sorry for the very lame title!!

something Spain

Well, here I am in my house ready to begin the semester!  We had a great plane ride...well, except for the fact that I have gotten 2 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours.....that is not a lot, I would never recommend it! The airports were very interesting....Madrid is HUGE!!! (we got lost a couple times and people laughed at us a lot!  I really love my family.  I have two little sisters, on is 15 (Noelia) and the other is 11(Meri).  They are both a lot of fun and willing to talk to me...and laugh at me because of my horrible grammar!!  (It is nice, Noelia(15) knows some English so if I am having a really hard time she can help me out.  Which she has done several times already!!  My parents also seem very nice and prepared....maybe that is because they have done this for years and years!!  I also am going to have to get used to the fact that we have meals at like 9pm at night.  (in case you haven't realized, your tummy gets really hungry around 7!!!)  I love the Spanish!!  Although I am really bad, and have to ask people to repeat themselves over and over and over and over again, but so far they have been good.  Hopefully I get better soon  because I can see how this could get really annoying for me and the others!  (or I will just get really good at finding different ways of saying..."WHAT???????")  :)  Yip, I'm going to see if I can a. get something to eat or b. cuddle up in a warm blanket...because even though it was in the upper 50's today it is now freezing!!!!  Thanks for reading.