Our Plane!!!
Unfortunately we didnt get to do do much there =/ because the weather was so horrible. But my amiga and i did the most we can!
Brown penises guided our way to Happy Times =]
The lovely place we called home for the 1st 2 nights o.O
After the perfect wake&bake.. came the perfect breakfast! pancakes with fruit and cheese! scrumdiddeliumcious!!
Sex Museum? Sounds very appropriate!
Topping the nights off with absenthe ;]
This city was truly captivating with its historic look. Toledo was the original capital of Spain and it hasn’t changed its appearance since those times. it also has a lot of arabic influences in its architecture and street names as it was once under arabic rule. Here are some pictures of its awesomeness!
(Puente de Alcantara)
(El Greco)
(Puerta Del Sol)
(Alcazar)
(Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes)
(Tagus River)
This is the Museo del Prado, where we the coordinators took us for our first adventure. Here we got to see the works of Goya, Velazquez, and some others. This was our first dive into the Spanish culture as we learned about the history and the different stages of art and interpretation. it was very interesting to see the different view points of artist expressing their feelings towards events that took place in Spain. i wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside, but you can see the works of these artists at www.museodelprado.es under coleccion and galeria online.
Our next point of interest was the Royal Palace of Madrid. This huge castle doesn’t literally house any king or queen but it is the official site for state ceremonies and where the King would meet his guests. in here we saw a ton of rooms each with a different purpose and theme! yes! all the rooms varied by color, material of wallpaper and furniture (porcelain, gold, bronze, silver), decor (vegetation, flowers, people), and even inspired by different countries. Since it was still cold the windows weren’t open leaving everything pretty dim. Large tapestries covered the walls and windows to help keep the heat in and the cold out. Some of the original versions of these tapestries were in the Museo del Prado and in the spring they all come down bringing in more light and exposing the artworks behind the tapestries. its was a marvel to walk through and the scenery was quite epic. Unfortunately don’t have pictures for this one either.
arriving to this completely new place full of curiosity and wonder, and seeing this futuristic looking airport, i thought this was a sure sign that new and crazy things were sure to come. i rode this little conveyor belt thing and just looked around in amazement. “i made it” were the words that kept coming up in my head. it was so hard to believe that after all the stress, investments, and doubts, i had finally landed in Madrid for the 3 month study abroad program in Sevilla, Spain.
So tired and hungry from the long trip we (Arleen and i) made our way down to the lobby where we were suppose to meet up with everyone and waited the 3-4 hours it took to finally get picked up by the Isa coordinators. And could you believe the told us not to sleep! didn’t feed us! and scheduled a tour about an hour after arriving at our hotel! without a doubt my roommate and i tried to sneak in a little nap as it was crucial in order for us to survive that panoramic tour of Madrid.
EPiC FAiL!!!!
My roommate who was in charge of the alarm clock totally failed us both in her sleep! This little lady shut off her alarm and failed to fulfill her duties in waking us up in time for the tour. Needless to say we missed it, but were too damn tired to care. i dont even remember what i did about food that day. i think i waited it out until the free breakfast we were offered the next morning. Definitely a tough first day!
i know the main reason i started this blog was to record all my travels, adventures, experiences, feelings, and just about everything that went down during my visit to Europe. Now I’m back hope and unfortunately I’ve strait up neglecting this whole blogging thing. i was too busy having an amazing time. lol. But now that i don’t have anything to do, I’ll get right to the storytelling! I’ll do my best to clue you in on every detail about the greatest adventure in this life of mine THUS FAR from beginning to end! Hope you all enjoy!
After a week of hearing stories from our house mother, Arleen and I were definitely excited to go to carnaval and live it up in one night. i was expecting to see the same performers i saw on the TV, the Carnaval Queen, and everything else that brings meaning to this magical event. boarding the bus i was totally AMP´D for the event and felt in character in my catty costume. The bus ride was nuthing less than AWESOME thanks to the lovely “Euro-explorers” i have had the pleasure in meeting during my time here. Getting off the bus I wasted no time in marking my territory in an alleyway. Yes there are nearly 0 public bathrooms open and everyone proceeds to go on the streets. Had a blast dancing to the live band and roaming around in this warpped world where everyone jus wasnt themselves for the night. I´m not complaining about seeing people being or me being out of character. I believe that is the best part of these types of customes and why not escape your life every once in a while. Live as if your someone else for a day and create some memories that last you a lifetime.
Costumes, Alcohol, Music, Good Friends, and beach? At one point in trying to “sniff out” some good stuff to further highten our moods, we got so lost we ended up at the shore. Amazing view and made a great rest stop before we proceeded to getting further lost. The cold was not a problem until our bus arrived super late. No bueno ! took the best nap ever on the bus ride home and relieved all the memories the morning after when every motion i made hurt.
VIVA LA CARNAVAL!!!
A place of wonder and intrigue supressed by seasonal weather. I would have absolutely loved being in Amsterdam had it not been for the cold rainy weather. Aside from that, it was definitely cool exploring what the Center of town had to offer. Red Light District, Coffee Shops, Sex shops….. Things i got to experience while i was there. I must say that i have to return to Amsterdam when it is much warmer. I was so excited to see the Artis Zoo and Anne Franks house but it just couldnt happen due to the rain. Next time i´ll also make sure i sign up for one of those awesome tours of just about everything you need to know abut Amsterdam. LOVE the people, LOVE the ambiance indoors, i hope to LOVE everything else thats there for me in the summer too! Yay Amsterdam!
Amsterdam: The Land of No Sun
never thought i would feeel so depressed solely because of lack of sunlight. only times i was happy were when i was under the influence. what do you think?
OKAY!!! its time i actually start using this blog.
I´m so upset that the skies are turning gray here in good ol´ Sevilla. Spent the first 3 weeks enjoying the sun and falling inlove with this country. Now the rain keeps bringing me down an i honestly think feeling this way in Spain should be illegal. RAIN GO AWAY PLEASE!!!! I escaped the poor weather in New Jersey to enjoy all of what this beautiful place has to offer and if it continues to rain then your stopping me from doing just that. Que te pasa? do you not want me to have a blast ?? just saying.
i don’t know why things are so much better here. Can it be because i was fed up of the way things were going at home? or could it be that this country truely is enchanting? i may be considered a tourist and gaze in amazement at the parks and monuments, but strengely enough i see locals admire their surroundings as well and just enjoy every minute of their lives here with the ones they love. i am so glad i get to live here for 3 month, but i dont believe i’ll absorb everything in that amount of time. Maybe i’ll get the chance after graduation? We’ll see! Can’t wait to take this Eurotrip and let you all in on my experiences too of course. ;]
