I apologize for being so negligent with my blog posts lately! Midterms brought an avalanche of papers to be written so I didn't have quite as much time as I would have liked for blogging. But here's a quick review of the last few weeks in general.
Life with my family has gotten much less awkward as my spanish keeps improving. My host mom and I talk for hours some nights...I especially like hearing all the crazy stories about her 40 past students she's had...the good and the bad. My dad has come to the conclusion that giving my shots of rum at dinner makes me talk more so we have taken to having those for desert (luckily he's only home for dinner about one night a week). He cracks me up and likes to make fun of the other members of the family when they're arguing and then I feel bad when I laugh hysterically because everyone else is fighting. Belen's (my host mom) mom is coming to live with us on the first of december so I will be getting a new abuela soon! As adorable as my host mom is she informed me today that she hates christmas. As a christmas lover I hope to change this a little bit and maybe get her into the christmas spirit.
School has definitely picked up...midterms were definitely a stressful time with a midterm and a paper due in each class, but they went well and I'm glad they're over! I've become addicted to a Spanish television show called "El Internado" which now takes up most of my free time. It's a beautiful thing because I don't feel guilty watching tv because i'm still learning and practicing my Spanish!
My next trip after Barcelona was Alicante, which is a city on the Southeast coast of Spain. We spent the first day lying on the beautiful beach and enjoying the rooftop terrace at our hostel. The second day we took a ferry to an island about an hour boat ride off the coast of Alicante called La Isla Tabarca. Tabarca was absolutely gorgeous and we found our own private swimming cove. We snorkeled and swam through caves including "the swim of death" (named by us) where you had to swim through and underwater cave! We had some great paella and spent the whole day on the island. It was nice to take a trip that wasn't quite so touristy for once and just relax and enjoy the beach.
My latest trip was of course Italy! After midterms we had a week off for fall break so it was very nice to be able to go somewhere for more than just a long weekend. The first stop on our trip was Barcelona...it was great to get to go back to one of my favorite cities I'd visited. Unfortunately this time it wasn't warm enough for the beach this time but we were able to see lots of the sights! Getting to Rome was quite the difficult process however...we were told our suitcases were to large and that we would have to pay 35 euros to have them checked unless we could make them fit in their tiny cardboard tester. As i was NOT going to give 35 more of my euros to ryanair (worst airline on the planet...but oh so cheap) we proceeded to layer on half the clothes in our suitcases to make our suitcases fit. The security guards and people surrounding us of course found this hysterical...but we made it through, 7 layers later!
But we finally made it to Rome! Our first day in Rome we spent a lot of time exploring the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, which is basically just what is left of the original Rome, the first city of the world! There was plenty of ruins to explore and it was unbelievable thinking about how old everything was and the history behind it all.
Next we had our tour of the Colosseum which was also amazing. It's incredible to think about what went on there and how much history is in that building. After the Colosseum we got what would be the first of many, but probably the best gelato we had in Italy. Next we went to the Panthenon which was very cool but unfortunately half of it was under construction, so not as impressive as it could have been. After we headed to the Trevvi Fountain and of course threw coins in in hopes of returning to Rome someday!
Our second day in Rome we spent touring the Vatican City! First we had our guided tour of the Vatican, which was enormous and absolutely beautiful. Our tour guide was great and I learned so much about the history and art of the building. After walking through the Vatican we went into the Sistine Chapel...and even snuck an illegal picture! Our guide had explained to us the meanings of all the paintings and Michelangelo's process in painting the ceiling, which made it all that more breathtaking. Next was St. Peter's Basilica which I have to say was one of the most beautiful buildings we saw on the trip. Walking around Saint Peter's square and seeing where the Pope speaks was awesome. After a long day at the Vatican we went out for some amazing pasta and a random restaurant we found and headed to the train station to make our way to Florence!
We ended up arriving in Florence a little later than expected so we decided to go out for Chinese (terrible i know...but some of the best Chinese food I've ever had) and call it an early night. The next day we woke up early and went to the Mercato Centrale which was a huge indoor market full of fruit, vegetables, meat, baked goods, and other random stuff. Our tour book told us to go a stand called Nerbone to get a roast beef sandwich, but it didn't tell us how to say "roast beef sandwich" in Italian so after struggling to order we finally got some amazing sandwiches and a pitcher of homemade wine (at 11 am). Next we went to go see Michelangelo's David, expecting to wait in line for hours, but ended up getting in line right away. David really is one of those things you have to see in person to fully experience it's greatness. We practically risked our lives to sneak an illegal picture...so you better enjoy it! Next we went to the Duomo of Florence which was a very large, very interesting looking cathedral.
Up next was our wine tour! We took a coach bus through the Tuscan countryside to a small town called Santa Brigida, a tiny town in Chianti with only one street. The views there were beautiful so we were able to stop and take lots of pictures. Then we headed to the site of our wine tasting which was a castle in the hills of Tuscany where they run a winery and make extra virgin olive oil. We were given a tour of the castle and winery and learned about the history of the castle and the family that runs the business. Then we had a wine tasting where we tried three different wines that were made there paired with various foods. The whole thing was an amazing experience and it was definitely the best wine I've ever had. We bought two bottles to drink during the rest of our trip!
Next up was Venice! We were welcomed to Venice by the pouring rain and the realization that there are two calles de porucatie in Venice and our hotel was of course on the OTHER one, but we eventually found it. We fought the rain and took the water bus down the grand canal and all the way to the main plaza in Venice. We found a restaurant where we got probably the biggest meal I've ever eaten, consisting of a gigantic plate of spicy penne pasta and then pork roast and potatoes...delish! We went and explored the plaza a bit but since it was late and rainy it was pretty dead so we made the long walk back to our hotel for the night. The next day we walked around and explored a bit but it was once again., raining. So we didn't get to experience quite as much of Venice as we could have but it was definitely worth being able to see the city. It's amazing that literally all the streets are water and how the city even exists blows my mind. But we escaped the rain and hopped the train to Milan!
We arrived in Milan and it was once again...raining. But we made the best of it and headed to the Duomo, which is the second largest cathedral in the world, and one of the most famous buildings in Europe. The building was very impressive, and the inside was beautiful. The were having a special ceremony that day where you could light a candle for a loved one you had lost, so we were both able to light a candle. They had a mens choir singing and the atmosphere of the whole place was amazing. Next we went out for pizza and of course went shopping since Milan is known for it's fashion. Of course being a broke college student I only bought one shirt...but hey at least it's from Milan. The next morning we headed to the airport to fly back to Madrid. I was sad to leave but it was definitely a trip to remember and I hope to be able to return to Italia one day! But I'm definitely excited for Morocco with Katherine and her host mom this Friday and ESPECIALLY for my Mom and Grandma to get here in two weeks!!
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