City of Love

Wow! Can't believe I'm actually getting to write this blog about this place. This trip was just the icing on the cake of what has been my time abroad. It's one of those things you only hope you will be able to say, “That one time, when I was in Paris...” Now I have this very ability to speak these words and have true honesty behind them. My friend, Samantha, and I booked this trip within our first month in Spain. Clearly we were excited about this opportunity to go to Paris. Our flights were booked to leave in the afternoon of a Friday. Technically our plane landed outside of Paris, about an hour away to be exact. When we arrived it was so foggy it was hard to see anything. We hopped on the bus to Paris and hoped things would clear up on the way.

Moving vehicles always put me to sleep so very soon I was out. When our bus arrived we had no idea where we were except that we were in Paris and had no idea of how to get to our hotel. Yes, I said hotel. When we were looking for where to stay we actually found a hotel that was close to the Eiffel Tower and was fairly cheap considering the location. So not knowing where we were and being afraid to ask because clearly neither of us spoke french and Spanish was no help here we got the courage to try and ask. There was a little coffee stand next to the bus stop so, since it truly was cold, we ordered coffees and asked where we were. The man was very kind and directed us towards the metro.

Once we were walking away and were taking sips of our coffee and talking of how nice that man was, I said, “You know what? This might be the worst cup of coffee I've ever had in my entire life.” We both started laughing so hard cause we both knew it was true! It literally tasted like warm water. But the man was so polite and we really were cold so we chugged it and continued to look for the metro. Eventually we found it and figured out how to work the machine to get us one ticket. Of course we spent a good amount of time looking at the map and looking at the metro map over and over to make sure we were going to the right stop on the right train. While we were on the metro it came above ground for the last part of our time on it and when it did we got our first view of the Eiffel Tower. Just wow.

Luckily our hotel wasn't very hard to find after we were walking and looking for it. It was so nice. We were very proud of ourselves for having gotten such a good hotel for the price. Granted I'm sure there were some things that could have been better but over all we were very happy with what we got. Samantha had a friend from high school who was studying in Madrid and he and his friend were also staying in the same hotel. When we arrived they weren't there and we had no way of contacting them while they were out. We decided not to wait for them and just to meet up with them either later that night or the next day. So we headed out to find the Lourve!

To save time we took the metro again, since clearly we were experts now. We got off at the Lourve stop but had no idea what direction to head and were afraid to ask for directions. So we started walking along side what we thought was the Lourve since we could see statues inside through the windows, but we wanted to find the main entrance with the pyramid. So we figured it would be on the end of the building and figured we'd start at one end. Once we got to the end we discovered we choose the wrong end. So we walked around up the other side. This took forever and day and it was freezing cold outside. Finally we rounded a corner and saw what we thought was the Arch de Triumph, this was just a miniature version of it. It was amazing, then we turned our heads and saw the entrance to the Louvre.

We went picture crazy, the best we could since it was already dark at this point. Since we still had time and we were so cold we decided to get some real coffee and warm up before we went inside the Lourve. If I thought it was stressful being in Spain those first few weeks, and even at this moment, with the language barrier I had no idea. I literally know nothing of french and this made it very stressful to have to try and order something in a language I don't know. We managed and got our coffee and warmed up and headed to the Lourve.

Our friends had told us that international students get for free and we clearly did not want to pay. While we were trying to figure out which line to get in to get our tickets a girl about our age came up to us and asked if we were going in. We replied yes and she gave us her two tickets and told us they don't check and we could just go in. Shocked and grateful we took then and decided it was worth a shot to try it. It worked and we were in the Lourve on our way to see the Mona Lisa in no time! Sadly this was one of the only things we really knew of to be in the Lourve. So afterwards we started aimlessly walking around and trying to admire the different artwork that was there when we stumbled upon the Venus sculpture  Eventually we were tired and had to use the restroom so we found our way out. This took a lot longer then we thought it would because we somehow manage to get trapped in a mall that is below the Lourve.

Finally we were out and decided to walk back to the hotel so we could pass the Eiffel Tower. At this point we could see it and thus it gave the illusion of being close. It wasn't. We walked the river and kept getting wonderful views of the tower and would stop to take pictures or just admire it. At one point we saw it, and this is the only was I can describe it, sparkle. It did not seem real that we were actually there at that moment. Then we were right upon the tower and it was breath taking. We walked along were the friendship bears were but decided to take pictures of them later when it was daylight. Hunger started to find us at this point so we tried to find a place to cheaply satisfy it. This turned out to be no easy task. Eventually we found a nice crepe restaurant and after some language confusion I had ordered and tried my first crepe! It was really good too, with ham, cheese and egg. We called it a night because we wanted to get up early the next day to get a start on the day.

That night we were so excited sleep did not come easily to us. Therefore, in the morning wake up did not come easily either. When we were finally up and ready Sam knocked on her friends door and that's when I first met Dave. Him and his friend, Tom, had gone out the night before and were still sleeping so we all decide to meet at the Arch de Triumphe around lunch time. Sam and I walked to the Eiffel tower but it was so foggy that sadly we could not see the top of it. But we walked the line of friendship bears and took pictures with Spain and the USA. To save time we decide to take the metro next because we wanted to go back to the Lourve to get pictures of the outside during the day time. Since we wanted to get a day pass we decided to ask the man behind the counter instead of using the machine. He was very helpful and even told us about the youth day pass for the weekends that was even cheaper.

After we got off the metro this time we knew where we were going and went and took our pictures, which of course took forever. Then we hopped back on the tram and got off at the Champs de Elyssion and walked the street to look at all the shops. Finally we made it to the Arch but had no idea how to get to it, it's in the middle of a roundabout  Once we figured out there was no cross walk we assumed there must be an underground tunnel somewhere. Which finding this was easier said than done with all the metro stops, but it turned out to be right were had walked up the street. Above ground and below the arch we tired to find Dave and his friend Tom. It seemed impossible and then he came out of no where.

Pictures were taken and then we were off to go get lunch. We found a little restaurant that didn't seem too terribly expensive and all ordered keishes. It wasn't the best things I've ever had in my life but it was food. The birds that were everywhere were very distracting however. Our next goal was to find Notre Dame. After Dave tripped and almost face planted in the street and got laughed at by french girls, we were all on the metro and off to the Notre Dame stop. Surprisingly once we were above ground again we had no ideal which direction to head. We knew we were on an island and therefore found the river and started following it and assumed we would find it soon. Notre Dame was there when we rounded the corner.

Outside pictures were taken and then we went inside the cathedral. It was gorgeous. Then we began to wonder how we got to the tower and started to ask around. We had to go back outside and wait in line. We managed to be one of the last people in line before they closed it. None of us wanted to pay the fee but it was only free for European students so when we went to get our tickets we just said that we studied in Spain and showed our school I.D.s. There were soooo many stairs and they were of course in a spiral staircase. The view however was amazing and we were able to see the bell. Next we headed out to find the Moulin Rouge district.

Our lives at this point seemed to revolve around the metro cause once again that's where we were. Instead of going directly there we went to a hill top where a church was because a lot of our friends had told us to go there for the view. Honestly the view was pretty but you couldn't see the Eiffel Tower so.... yeah. But in the process of finding it Tom realized he had been pick pocketed and had his camera stolen. We assume it occurred when we were leaving the metro and there was a huge crowd of people by the entrance/exit. Somehow we managed to find out where we were and where we were going. Then we kept trying to find the Moulin Rouge and seemed to be going in circles at this point and hunger was setting in.

Rounding the corner we found the Moulin Rouge! This seems to be a common occurrence as well, looking for something and finding it as you round the corner. I was so happy at this point. I love the movie Moulin Rouge and have always wanted to be able to see that area in real life. By now we had put off eating so long that we were extremely hungry. There were a lot of Chinese restaurants in the area and Tom decided to order some food from one of these restaurants. The rest of us thought that maybe there would be something cheaper if we held out, so Sam and I went to look while Dave sat with Tom. We came back with nothing but more hunger so we decided to eat there too. Best. Decision. Ever. It was maybe the best Chinese food I've had ever. This is when one of the most memorable dialogs of the night occurred:

Dave talking to me: “I like that ring. What is it?”

Me: “A ring.”

Honestly, the funniest thing all day.

Then we took the tram to the Eiffel Tower cause Dave hadn't seen it at night yet. It sparkled for us again and it was breath taking. That night we were going to go to a club that is under a famous bridge but after we met up with Dave's friend who was studying in Paris and were at her apartment we decided we were too tired and had to get up early the next day. This is were Sam and I left the guys to go back to sleep. Our hopes were to wake up early and go see the tower hopefully fog free. But it was raining and we just love sleep way to much for that. So our last glimpsy of the tower was from the metro like it was when we first saw it. On the bus to the airport we slept once again and then next thing you know it we were back in Sevilla. Our wonderful weekend in Paris was over and I wouldn't have changed it for anything, minus the fog and rain ;)

To Visit with Friends

After being in Spain for about two months I was ready to see some friendly faces from home as I planned my trip to Granada. My friends from Georgetown College, Rachel and David, were studying abroad in Granada this semester too. Aside from getting to see people from back home going to Granda would present the opportunity to visit another very popular city in the south of Spain. So I booked my trip through another travel company, the same one I used to go to Morocco to be exact. Once again I had no idea if anyone I knew from my program in Sevilla were going but I knew I couldn't let that hold me back. As it turns out a small group of girls from my program ended up going and we even ended up in the same room as each other.

We had to get up early to make the bus because it was about a four hour bus ride to Granada. After we arrived we had about an hour to get in our hotel, which was really a hostel but they kept calling it a hotel, and get lunch. I had had my senora make me a bocadillo, small sandwich, so I just ate that to save on money. Then we all met and walked up to the Alhambra, a Muslim building that survived the reconquest. This was no easy walk either. Granada is in the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range in the south of Spain. So this walk was all up hill, reminding me painstakingly how out of shape I am right now.

At the top of the hill rest the Alcazar over looking the entire city. We went on an unguided tour of the buildings and gardens. The view was spectacular. Everything was so detail and beautiful. It reminded me very much of the Alhambra in Sevilla that I visited earlier in the semester. Nonetheless it still had it's own individual beauties. It was actually a very nice day and not too cold. For the past two weeks it seemed like it rained every day. When it rains in Sevilla, it rains. Since I didn't have new boots I was glad for this nice day finally.

Next we went on a sort walking tour of the city. There honestly didn't seem like there was very much to see. Granted I was very tired at this point and didn't want to walk up and down hill any more. My knee had been acting up with all the movement. Our group went back to the hotel and we were given free time to explore the city and eat dinner before the program took us to a bar and a famous discotecha that is in a cave. During my free time I met up with Rachel and David for dinner. It was so great to see them!

The three of us went to an Italian restaurant that they had not even been to themselves. It was a very classy restaurant and I felt very under dressed for the occasion. The food was amazing as expected, I just ordered a spaghetti with meat sauce. I love Italian food so I was completely ok with this choice. Afterwards we went to a bar that they normally go to themselves for tapas. Tapas are very famous in Spain and essentially are small meals, you eat about three or more to make a meal. In Granada tapas are served differently than any other place that I know of. There you pay for a tapa and a drink is included in the price, so they say its a free drink with tapas. In actuality though they are paying for it since in Sevilla when you order tapas you have to order drinks separately but the tapas are cheaper for this reason. I like the way Sevilla does it better because that means that I can eat more and drink less. David had me try a beer I had never had before, which isn't very hard to do since I don't drink much, that was from Germany. I liked it a lot.

Once we finished our tapas and drinks I had to head back to the hotel to get ready for going out. They decided they would meet me at the discotecha. In hind sight I wish I had stayed with them some more since the bar that the program went to before wasn't very much fun for me. But I found them at the discotecha that night eventually. I even ran into my friend that I met in Ireland, Carly! It was so great to see people I knew in a strange city. Since I had a lot of free time the next day before I left we decided to meet up for lunch the next as well.

The next morning I slept in a little, as much as was possible before checkout. Then I roamed around with some friends from my program before I had to meet up with Rachel and David. Ironically enough we ended up at another Italian restaurant and all ordered pizzas for ourselves. No before you go thinking I'm a fatty these are very thin crusted pizzas so they hardly count as one whole pizza. I had not had churros con chocolate, not Mexican churros guys, in Spain yet despite the fact that all my friends talked about how they loved them. I just hadn't had the opportunity to. To correct this error the three of us went to a different restaurant afterward to order some. They were soooo good! There was so much chocolate though, and I'm just not a huge chocolate fan; I just can't eat that much of it is all. Once we finished we walked around and got some pictures together and then it was time for me to leave. I really enjoyed to break from Sevilla and the chance to see friends from home.

The Land of My People

When I decided to go to Ireland I was unable to find anyone else in my program in Spain who was frees at the same time as me and wanted to go to Ireland as well. At first I was afraid this would mean that I wouldn't be able to go at all. As luck would have it a travel insurance company based out of Italy that also has a basis in Spain was having a sale on different trips one weekend. Since all direct flights from Sevilla, Spain to Dublin, Ireland were extraordinarily expensive, I decided that if I was going to go to Ireland at this would be the best way for me to do it. Not only would it be cheaper but it would also be safer traveling with a group of people. The trip that went to Ireland through this program was a coast to coast trip. As I explain the trip this will become apparent why.

Since there were no direct flights that were cheaper I had to take two separate flights there and two separate flights back. On the way there I flew to Santander, a city on the northern coast of Spain, and caught a connecting flight to Dublin, Ireland. When I landed in Dublin it was already dark but wasn't actually that late since it was the weekend after the European time change. When I was taking the bus to the area where my hostel was I could hardly believe that I was actually finally in Ireland. I've ALWAYS wanted to travel to Ireland. I was also terrified since I was alone and had to manage to find my hostel, though the program gave very accurate directions.

After not knowing what street to turn on only once I found my hostel! It was an extremely nice hostel, especially considering the one I had stayed at in London. Downstairs I met one of the program directors and checked in with him. By the time I got upstairs I had completely forgotten which room number he had said I was in and the card did not have a number on it. At this point I thought I was in trouble since I didn't want to go back downstairs and ask I decided I would just try every door until it worked on one of them. Somehow it worked on the very first door that I tried.

In the room there were two other people already laying down on their own beds. We introduced ourselves, the girl was Carly and the guy was Dave aka “Old Man”. Ironically enough once I started talking to Carly I discovered she was also studying in Spain but in Granada. I told her I had friends who were studying there and told her their names and, small world, she knew them! That night the program didn't have anything planed but was going to walk over as a group to were the main street with food and pubs were for the people that wanted to. I tried to run to market and grab something to eat before then because that was a couple of hours away and I was so hungry. Before I left Spain I didn't with draw any cash from the ATM and I tried to find one that first night and was unable to find one that was functioning. Thus began the theme of this trip.

When it came time to meet to go find food the three of us went downstairs and were not able to find anyone in the program. Dave thought he knew where the area was that they were going so we headed out in search of food. We stopped in a pub and sat down and ordered some drinks, I tried my first Irish coffee and it was sooo good. Then we asked for food menus and they told us the kitchen was already closed for the night. Since they didn't separate our bill I paid for all of our drinks and Carly and Dave gave me cash for theirs. Next we walked and found food district that's open all night. We went to the first one we saw that was open and we all ordered some form of fried chicken. There we met and talked to and English woman from Australia who was in Dublin on Holiday. Since we had to get up early the next day we headed back and went to sleep.

The next day we had our walking tour of Dublin. Our tour guide was a very interesting young Irish woman. I loved hearing the history of Ireland and the struggle she has fought with England for the right to rule themselves. At one point it started raining and it was miserable  I had stupidly decided to leave my umbrella in my room thinking I wouldn't need it. You always need an umbrella in Ireland. At this point I also truly discovered how non-waterproof my boots were. My feet were constantly cold and wet when I was there. I finally found an ATM that worked but I forgot my pin. So I couldn't use my card and since my Spanish phone didn't work in Ireland I had no way to ask back home what it was I had no way to withdraw money. We had lunch at a pub called O'Neils, which is ironic because there is an Irish pub by the same name in Sevilla that I walk by everyday. Luckily they accepted cards here and I could still use my card as a debit. Lunch was amazing. I had Irish stew with potatoes and carrots, and there was so much food.

After lunch we went finished the walking tour off and then went to the Guinness factory. The night before I had tried Dave's Guinness so I knew that I liked it. We opted to do the self guided tour of the factory. I enjoyed finding out about the product, how it's made, and the history behind it all. The factory always talked about the fifth ingredient being belief in the product and Arthur Guinness showed that belief by signing a 9000 year lease on the building. Things have turned out well for the Guinness family because of this bold step. At the end of the tour you arrive at the very top of the factory and as part of the entrance fee you receive a free pint of Guinness. Since I ate so much at lunch I was unable to finish mine before we were ready to leave. Then we had free time before the pub crawl that night. Since I was tired and cold I used my time unwisely and took a nap instead of going out into the city.

That night I decided to do the pub crawl because I had never been on one and thought it would be a good way to see another part of the city. It was a lot of fun, Carly went with me and we stuck together throughout the crawl. We didn't go to get food before we went on the crawl so we were both so hungry. So instead of going to one of the pubs we decided to go to a restaurant that was near it. We ordered breakfast plates and it was amazing. Breakfast in Spain is just toast and coffee and they don't eat 'breakfast foods' during other times of day like we do in the US. The pub craw ended at a dance club but neither of us really wanted to stay so we left pretty quickly after arriving.

The next day we got up early and got on a bus for three hours to go to the Cliffs of Moher. It was completely beautiful. Freezing. But beautiful. It was also very very windy at the cliffs. At times it was difficult to even walk straight because it was so windy. The waves crashed up so high up the cliffs at points that they constantly sprayed the walkway. We walked up one side towards the castle/tower and where about halfway up the other way when I could see what looked like rain coming in off the ocean and I really didn't want to get caught in it. As we approached the door to the building, which was built into a hill btw, it started to hail. Straight up hail. Luckily we headed back when we did and made it inside before the worst of it. Cold and wet again we all ordered some soup to warm up and fill up our stomachs.

After the cliffs we went to Galway. This is the city that is famous for making the Love, Friendship, Loyalty rings. I bought one at the Cliffs of Moher store because at that time I didn't know this. Still I am very happy with my purchase. When we arrived it was raining and we had the option to go on a walking tour of the city or to go on our own. I choose to do the tour. Big mistake. It was raining so much and my umbrella was broken at this point so I was getting drenched. The three of us decided to bail and find a pub and order something small just to get out of the rain. Then when the rain let up we walked around the city and looked at shops a bit. That night we arrived back in Dublin and had a little time to rest before we went out to find food again. We managed to make it to a pub before the kitchen closed and had another wonderful meal. The next day I had to get up sort of early to go to the airport. Going back I flew to Palma, an Spanish island of the coast of Spain, and have to spend around 5 hours at this airport before flying to Sevilla. All in all, I loved Ireland and would love to be able to return one day.