Hi all! The last few weeks have been kind of crazy with friends visiting and a bunch of midterms and presentations and thing for school. Sorry I've been bad at updating the last week or two!
I'm literally about to walk out the door to go on my fall break for 10 days. I'm traveling with my roomie Elizabeth and we're taking the train around Italy and to Amsterdam! We're going to Milan (1 day), Florence (3 days), Rome (2 days), Venice (1 day), and then off to Amsterdam for Halloween for 2 or 3 days, and I'm meeting up with some of my best friends there.
I'm sooooo excited! And I'll take tons of pictures and be sure to update when I get back!
Ciao!
Love,
Mary
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Traveling Spain!
Hello all,
Since I've last written, I spent one weekend in Madrid and another with my study abroad program traveling to Costa Brava! Both were really fun and I saw a LOT!
In Madrid I met up with two of my friends from high school who are also studying in Spain. Sierra is studying in Toledo, and Kat is in Granada. But we all randomly were going to be in Madrid at the same time (honestly...how weird?) and so I hung out with Sierra for a good portion of the weekend, and got to see Kat for dinner and drinks on Saturday. Madrid itself was pretty cool...not my favorite city, to be honest (it feels way smaller than Barcelona, so there's a lot less to see), but the people there were wonderfully nice and I had a great time with my friends and visiting two incredible art museums! I saw the Reina Sofia, which has a lot of contemporary art, like Picasso, Miro, and Dali (I got to see Picasso's Guernica and nearly fell over. INCREDIBLE!) with Sierra, and then went to the oh-so-famous Museo del Prado, which has more classical works (ie: Goya, Raphael, Titian, Velazquez's Las Meninas, Bosch, etc.). So, to say the least, Madrid was a success!
Plaza Mayor in Madrid
A pizza-fied version of Las Meninas. Only in Madrid....
I honestly don't know what this building is, but it's gorgeous!
Me and Yoda....just chillin in Madrid.
Kat, Me, and Sierra reunited in Madrid!
Then, this past weekend, I went to Costa Brava with my study abroad program. For those of you who don't know, Costa Brava is the northern coast of Spain, north of Barcelona, which extends a bit into France. We saw so much in 3 days, and the entire time I was lead around by my art history professor who is quite seriously the George Clooney of Spain (goooorgeous!), so that didn't hurt. Friday, we went to Girona and saw a beautiful cathedral and the jewish quarter, where we learned about the Spanish ghettos. Then went to Palamos, hung out on the beach there for a bit, and went to the fish museum (as riveting as it sounds...) and saw a fish market, which was pretty cool. We got to see the actual bidding of restaurant owners and everything, which looked like a mini stock market, pretty much.
Saturday was incredible!! We started out by going to Empuries to see the Greek and Roman ruins located there. We then went to the Dali museum in Figueres, which was honestly one of the most incredible museums I have ever been to. All of these European museums are putting the American ones to shame! So many pieces and all so intense and different...definitely a bit overwhelming. We then went to Cadaques, which is where I've decided I will retire to someday. It's the town that Dali grew up in, actually, but is absolutely beautiful. White buildings and houses with bright blue shutters right on the coast, plus extremely friendly people and a laid back atmosphere made for a great beer with my study abroad friends on the water :)
Sunday, we went to the South of France and visited the exile museum (dedicated to all of the Spaniards forced to flee the country during the spanish civil war in the 1930s...a very moving place to visit. no pun intended.). We then spent the rest of the day in Colliure, where we visited the grave of Antonia Machado, a famous Spanish poet who fled the country as well, and died in France. Colliure was another beautiful town on the water, and I had quite an interesting time trying to speak broken French and whatever Spanish I knew to order food and speak with people.
Girona
The fish market in Palamos
The greek and roman ruins in Empuries...how obvious is it that I was trying to get a picture of my art history professor?
The Dali museum!
A few friends I made on the trip in Cadaques (the middle one is my roomie, Elizabeth)
Cadaques...where I'm retiring to.
Elizabeth and I in Cadaques
Colliure, France
My spanish is actually getting much much better! I feel very comfortable walking around and can carry a fairly decent conversation at this point. Considering that I came here not having taken spanish in 2 years and with very little review, I'm pretty proud of how far I've come!
Otherwise, Barcelona has been treating me very well! I'm planning on staying here for the next two weekends, since I feel like I've been traveling so much since I got here! I'm sure I'll write again soon!
Take care!!
Love,
Mary
ps~ If you want to see bigger pictures, I'm pretty sure that if you just click on the image, a large picture will load for you. Just fyi!
Since I've last written, I spent one weekend in Madrid and another with my study abroad program traveling to Costa Brava! Both were really fun and I saw a LOT!
In Madrid I met up with two of my friends from high school who are also studying in Spain. Sierra is studying in Toledo, and Kat is in Granada. But we all randomly were going to be in Madrid at the same time (honestly...how weird?) and so I hung out with Sierra for a good portion of the weekend, and got to see Kat for dinner and drinks on Saturday. Madrid itself was pretty cool...not my favorite city, to be honest (it feels way smaller than Barcelona, so there's a lot less to see), but the people there were wonderfully nice and I had a great time with my friends and visiting two incredible art museums! I saw the Reina Sofia, which has a lot of contemporary art, like Picasso, Miro, and Dali (I got to see Picasso's Guernica and nearly fell over. INCREDIBLE!) with Sierra, and then went to the oh-so-famous Museo del Prado, which has more classical works (ie: Goya, Raphael, Titian, Velazquez's Las Meninas, Bosch, etc.). So, to say the least, Madrid was a success!
Plaza Mayor in Madrid
A pizza-fied version of Las Meninas. Only in Madrid....
I honestly don't know what this building is, but it's gorgeous!
Me and Yoda....just chillin in Madrid.
Kat, Me, and Sierra reunited in Madrid!
Then, this past weekend, I went to Costa Brava with my study abroad program. For those of you who don't know, Costa Brava is the northern coast of Spain, north of Barcelona, which extends a bit into France. We saw so much in 3 days, and the entire time I was lead around by my art history professor who is quite seriously the George Clooney of Spain (goooorgeous!), so that didn't hurt. Friday, we went to Girona and saw a beautiful cathedral and the jewish quarter, where we learned about the Spanish ghettos. Then went to Palamos, hung out on the beach there for a bit, and went to the fish museum (as riveting as it sounds...) and saw a fish market, which was pretty cool. We got to see the actual bidding of restaurant owners and everything, which looked like a mini stock market, pretty much.
Saturday was incredible!! We started out by going to Empuries to see the Greek and Roman ruins located there. We then went to the Dali museum in Figueres, which was honestly one of the most incredible museums I have ever been to. All of these European museums are putting the American ones to shame! So many pieces and all so intense and different...definitely a bit overwhelming. We then went to Cadaques, which is where I've decided I will retire to someday. It's the town that Dali grew up in, actually, but is absolutely beautiful. White buildings and houses with bright blue shutters right on the coast, plus extremely friendly people and a laid back atmosphere made for a great beer with my study abroad friends on the water :)
Sunday, we went to the South of France and visited the exile museum (dedicated to all of the Spaniards forced to flee the country during the spanish civil war in the 1930s...a very moving place to visit. no pun intended.). We then spent the rest of the day in Colliure, where we visited the grave of Antonia Machado, a famous Spanish poet who fled the country as well, and died in France. Colliure was another beautiful town on the water, and I had quite an interesting time trying to speak broken French and whatever Spanish I knew to order food and speak with people.
Girona
The fish market in Palamos
The greek and roman ruins in Empuries...how obvious is it that I was trying to get a picture of my art history professor?
The Dali museum!
A few friends I made on the trip in Cadaques (the middle one is my roomie, Elizabeth)
Cadaques...where I'm retiring to.
Elizabeth and I in Cadaques
Colliure, France
My spanish is actually getting much much better! I feel very comfortable walking around and can carry a fairly decent conversation at this point. Considering that I came here not having taken spanish in 2 years and with very little review, I'm pretty proud of how far I've come!
Otherwise, Barcelona has been treating me very well! I'm planning on staying here for the next two weekends, since I feel like I've been traveling so much since I got here! I'm sure I'll write again soon!
Take care!!
Love,
Mary
ps~ If you want to see bigger pictures, I'm pretty sure that if you just click on the image, a large picture will load for you. Just fyi!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Some more of Barcelona...
Just thought I'd post a few more pictures of Barcelona before I head off to Madrid so you get a better idea of where I am! Sort of a mix of art, architecture, and scenery. The first two pictures are of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, a HUGE church that has been under construction for over 100 years (and probably will never be finished). Then there's a Miro sculpture, a few scenic shots of the port and Las Ramblas (a very interesting/touristy part of town near my school), and finally Gaudi's Casa Mila, which I am dying to visit. Enjoy!
Monday, September 22, 2008
OKTOBERFEST!!!!
Munich has quickly become one of my favorite cities in the world. This past weekend, I met up with a bunch of my friends from SCU in Munich, Germany for the lovely holiday known as Oktoberfest. For those of you who don't know, Oktoberfest is the largest fair in the world and a huge part of Bavarian culture....and a fantastic excuse to celebrate beer in general.I met up with a few of my best friends, Liz and Kelly, on Friday, and we immediately celebrated our arrival and reunion in Munich with a long lunch, consisting of beer and falafels. Seeing as the Oktoberfest festivities didn't begin until Saturday morning, Liz, Kelly, and I decided to go to the Dachau concentration camp on Friday, which was a dusturbing, moving, and eye opening experience to say the least. It took a few hours to walk around the concentration camp, visit the museum, and listen to the audio tour along the way. We saw everything from the "roll call" area, to the barracks, to the gas showers and the crematorium. I have always had a great interest in WWII and the Holocaust, but walking through the gates marked with a German, mocking phrase meaning "Hard work brings freedom" and standing on the very ground where such atrocities occurred left indescribable feelings in the pit of my stomach.
After having some interesting conversation and kit-kat McFlurries to cheer us up a bit, we met up with the rest of our friends at our hotel, and had a traditional bavarian meal with lots of meat and something that could be classified as either potatos or rice. We went to bed early to prepare for the events ahead.
Quite honestly, I have never seen ANYTHING like Oktoberfest before in my life. What appears to be a carnival of sorts upon first arrival becomes so much more as you entered one of the dozens of beer tents. Liters of beer, giant pretzels, people in traditional German garb, live traditional German music, men carrying cases of beer in stacks on their shoulders while blowing whistles to get the crowds to move apart, rollercoasters, ferris wheels, sausages......quite the sensory overload, if you can imagine. and SO. MUCH. FUN. Here are a few more pictures just to give you an idea of how the weekend went:
way too much fun, to say the least! I'm off to Madrid this weekend to meet up with some more friends and go to a few art museums, so I'll try to post again shortly after that!
Love,
Mary
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Barcelona: la ciudad de jamon.
Hi everyone!
It's been a crazy first two weeks, and I finally feel like I'm getting settled in my apartment and at school. Classes start next Monday, but we've been having Spanish cultural classes for the past few days that are trying to get us a bit more familiar with Catalan customs (like eating times, Spanish food, public displays of affection, the metro, etc etc).
My roommates in my apartment are really fun! There's a great group dynamic and we all get along really well (what else could you ask for, really?). We're already looking to plan a few travel plans, such as Italy/Greece for our 10 day fall break, and a few other trips of a shorter distance for 3 day weekends.
Barcelona beach
Walkway near Barceloneta (the closest beach)
Elizabeth, me, Ali
For the orientation trip, we all took a bus to Peniscola and Valencia, which are absolutely beautiful!!
My roommate Amy and I in front of the aquarium in Valencia
El Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias (The city of arts and sciences) in Valencia
Me, standing fearfully next to the shark tank in the Aquarium
view from a castle in Peniscola
Orientation was great, and I got to see some gorgeous sights and meet some cool new people. Not to mention, it's fun to go out and explore the bar scene in different cities.
I hope everything's going well for everyone back home, and feel free to send me an email anytime with updates!!
Love,
Mary
It's been a crazy first two weeks, and I finally feel like I'm getting settled in my apartment and at school. Classes start next Monday, but we've been having Spanish cultural classes for the past few days that are trying to get us a bit more familiar with Catalan customs (like eating times, Spanish food, public displays of affection, the metro, etc etc).
My roommates in my apartment are really fun! There's a great group dynamic and we all get along really well (what else could you ask for, really?). We're already looking to plan a few travel plans, such as Italy/Greece for our 10 day fall break, and a few other trips of a shorter distance for 3 day weekends.
Barcelona beach
Walkway near Barceloneta (the closest beach)
Elizabeth, me, Ali
For the orientation trip, we all took a bus to Peniscola and Valencia, which are absolutely beautiful!!
My roommate Amy and I in front of the aquarium in Valencia
El Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias (The city of arts and sciences) in Valencia
Me, standing fearfully next to the shark tank in the Aquarium
view from a castle in Peniscola
Orientation was great, and I got to see some gorgeous sights and meet some cool new people. Not to mention, it's fun to go out and explore the bar scene in different cities.
I hope everything's going well for everyone back home, and feel free to send me an email anytime with updates!!
Love,
Mary
Monday, September 1, 2008
GO!!!!
So after 12 hours of flying time, a 2 hour layover in Philly, and a few airplane meals later, I'm here!!
I arrived this morning around 8am Barcelona time (midnight Denver time), and was the first to arrive at my apartment. After unpacking and taking a much needed shower, 2 of my roomies arrived, Megan from Villanova and Elizabeth from UC Santa Barbara, and we spent some time getting unpacked, grocery shopping, and of COURSE taking a nap. The time difference is definitely taking its toll!
Already, some of the Barcelona customs are sinking in. For example, no one eats dinner here until around 10 or 11 pm. Luckily, my internal clock is messed up enough from the flight and time change, that I could have had dinner at 11pm or 8am and wouldn't have known the difference.
My apartment is GORGEOUS. I have my own room (yay!) and there are 2 other singles and a double. So far my 2 roomies are really great and grounded. I've met about 10 other girls who are living in my building, so it's got somewhat of a sorority house feel to it, and everyone is just as excited to be here as I am. I still can't believe I'm really here!
Well I'll try to get some good pictures in the next few days and post them, but until then, I'm safe and sound, and already having a good time!
Hasta luego!!
Love,
Mary
I arrived this morning around 8am Barcelona time (midnight Denver time), and was the first to arrive at my apartment. After unpacking and taking a much needed shower, 2 of my roomies arrived, Megan from Villanova and Elizabeth from UC Santa Barbara, and we spent some time getting unpacked, grocery shopping, and of COURSE taking a nap. The time difference is definitely taking its toll!
Already, some of the Barcelona customs are sinking in. For example, no one eats dinner here until around 10 or 11 pm. Luckily, my internal clock is messed up enough from the flight and time change, that I could have had dinner at 11pm or 8am and wouldn't have known the difference.
My apartment is GORGEOUS. I have my own room (yay!) and there are 2 other singles and a double. So far my 2 roomies are really great and grounded. I've met about 10 other girls who are living in my building, so it's got somewhat of a sorority house feel to it, and everyone is just as excited to be here as I am. I still can't believe I'm really here!
Well I'll try to get some good pictures in the next few days and post them, but until then, I'm safe and sound, and already having a good time!
Hasta luego!!
Love,
Mary
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Get Ready, Get Set......
Hi everyone!
I thought I'd try to keep up a blog while I'm studying abroad in Barcelona so people can see where I am and what's been going on (and hopefully a bunch of pictures, too!). I'm hoping to travel around Spain, of course, and also to Italy, Munich, Paris, Amsterdam, Morocco, and a few other places, so this will be a good resource to see what I'm up to and what I actually get to accomplish while I'm there :)
I leave in about a week, August 31st, on a red eye flight to Barcelona!! I found out that I'm living in an apartment with 4 other girls who go to Villanova (3) and UC Santa Barbara (1), and I'm excited to meet them already! We've been chatting a bit through facebook, and they seem nice.
I have a few friends studying around Spain (and Europe) as well, including Granada, Toledo, and Salamanca. I thought I'd include a map so you could see where I am (on the northern coast) and where I'll probably be visiting. My roommate, Liz, is in Paris, and another good friend Meri is in London. Then there are a whole bunch of people scattered around from Vienna to Florence! Seeing as I'm getting a Eurail pass for my birthday (a very very VERY nice birthday present), I'm sure there won't be a dull moment.
I hope everyone's doing well, and I'll try to post as much as I can while I'm overseas!
Hasta luego! Miss you all!
Love,
Mary
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
