Budapest is Budaful!

I arrived in Budapest around 11 pm, which was not a great idea. Everything seemed a bit scarier that far east. I couldn’t find an ATM in the bus station and some annoyed ticket lady would only tell me that there was one “upstairs.” Eventually, I went outside and found one but she just told me to ride the metro without a ticket because she didn’t want to break my big bills. I got out of the metro near my hostel but the directions said to go “left.” Of course I had no idea which way that meant so I crossed some big streets with lots of homeless people only to find out that I had gone in the wrong direction. After a big adrenaline rush, I made it to my hostel just fine and carried my luggage up the 100 stairs. The hostel was very cool. It is called “Carpe Noctem” and was basically like living in someone’s home. It only had about 20 beds so you met nearly everyone there. The staff live there too and were all at one point guests there who couldn’t bring themselves to leave. They rarely get dressed – just to take people out on the town every night. Pretty much everyone was out, so they checked me in and I went to bed.

The next morning, one of the staff members sat me down with a map and gave me a full rundown of the city. It was the most personalized introduction to a place that I’ve ever had and they do it for every guest. I went out to breakfast at a typical Hungarian place, but their breakfast menu wasn’t very Hungarian so I had French toast. I was staying on the Pest side so I walked over to Buda across a beautiful bridge. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going but I hiked up a big hill to this massive palace on top. It was absolutely gorgeous and had amazing views of Pest. There was a market on top that led to a castle and church down the road. They were also stunning. I spent a while wandering around there before crossing back over to Pest and heading towards the Parliament building. I had a little rest outside of there and then went to see the huge synagogue. It was closed but very impressive from the outside, like most buildings in Budapest. Unfortunately, there was going to be a public holiday on Monday so the whole city seemed like a ghost town for the weekend. I would love to go back where there is more bustle. I headed back to the hostel for a family style Mexican dinner. It was a good way to meet people, but it was mostly just the staff and semi-permanent guests joking around. That night, we went on a big pub crawl to five bars. They were some of the coolest bars I have ever seen. They were all decorated by someone who was clearly on drugs. I had a good time chatting with the other people and went back around 3 am.

On Sunday, my last day in Europe, I went with some English girls to the Turkish baths. They were so beautiful and relaxing. It was a perfect way to end two weeks of intense walking. The best part was a whirlpool where I literally got thrown around and around. We stayed there for a few hours, but later learned that we had missed a whole indoor section. I was very upset to hear this, but I had a lot more to do that day anyway so it’s okay. I wandered around the park where the baths are and saw a fake castle and Heroes’ Square, a plaza with big statues. I finally tried goulash soup for lunch, which was yummy but way too hot for the weather. I packed up my stuff for a bit at the hostel before heading out again to see the Basilica. It was really pretty both inside and out. I went to the top for the panorama view of the city but it was not the most impressive city from above. I had gotten $5 tickets to see a ballet that night at the opera house, so I ran back to the hostel for a shower before that. I went there with the English girls too, and when we arrived, they said we needed to exchange our tickets. They tried to put me in the front row, but I asked to sit with the girls so we ended up in the 5^th row of an absolutely stunning opera house. Allegedly, the architect of the Vienna opera house killed himself because the Kaiser of Vienna said he liked the Budapest one better. We could not believe our luck. We weren’t sure what to expect of the show but it turned out to be amazing. It was a collection of short ballets, all of which were very good, but the last one was particularly moving. They made it rain on stage and the dancing and choreography was unbelievable. It may have been the best $5 I’ve ever spent and was an amazing way to end my time in Europe. We went back to the hostel, hung out there for a while, and I eventually went to bed in the hopes of getting a few hours of sleep.

This morning, I woke up at 4:30 am to get my cab to the airport. I flew to Rome, had a two hour layover, and am now on my 9 hour flight to Boston! I’m extremely excited to get back to America and see everyone, but I’m also incredibly sad to be leaving Europe and the greatest adventure of my life. These last two weeks were wonderful and full of incredible experiences in fantastic cities. I am already ready to plan my next trip! Who’s coming with?!

Vienna

Vienna was another lovely city. I’m batting 4 for 4 on city choices (and I have no doubt Budapest will be just as good). I made it to my hostel without a problem – this one was also very nice but huge so it wasn’t quite as easy to meet people. I did have two boys from Scotland and Northern Ireland in my room, though, so my ears were quite pleased. After settling in, I walked towards the city center, which was not far from my hostel. The city is so grand and impressive. Around every corner was another huge and ornate building. I looked in some of the stores and wandered around the market in the center. Of course, I had some delicious apple strudel (my main reason for visiting Vienna). There were tons of people dressed like they were from Mozart’s era selling tickets to performances. One kind of awkward guy talked to me for a while but he was unconvincing. As I was walking away, another more chipper guy approached me and took me on a hunt to find cheaper tickets. He found a guy who was willing to give up his commission to get me a cheaper ticket – nice deal for me. They were really sweet and funny and tried to convince me to give them English lessons after the show. Don’t worry, that never happened. I went back to the hostel to change for the show and trekked back into the city to find it. I sat next to some nice Americans and had a great conversation during intermission. The show was good – it featured music by Mozart and Strauss, an opera singer, and two ballet dancers. The music was great, but the opera and dancing were a little corny and not spectacular. It was a nice thing to see in Vienna though. I accidentally walked to the completely wrong side of the center while trying to get home. It turned out to be a blessing, though, because I walked around the outside of the center ring and saw all of the magnificent buildings and fountains lit up at night. Truly gorgeous.

This morning, the UK boys started talking way too early. I would have asked them to be quiet but I couldn’t bring myself to silence such an accent. I had breakfast at the hostel and checked out. I walked to the center again and wandered around a few new parts for a bit. Then I decided to take the metro to a palace and gardens a little outside of the center. As I was about to buy my metro ticket, a guy handed me his day pass and said he didn’t need it anymore. Lucky me! The palace was very pretty from the outside (I didn’t go in), but the gardens were spectacular. I’m afraid to say it but they were much better than the ones at Versailles when I saw them. All of the flowers were in perfect bloom, everything was perfectly trimmed, and the fountains were flowing. I walked up a big hill to a mini palace on top that had an amazing view of Vienna. My day consisted of walking to different parts of the gardens then sitting for a while to people watch. It was quite pleasant. Eventually, I headed back to the hostel to get ready to go. I had some extra time so I walked around Naschmarkt, a giant open-air market with food and some clothes.

Now I’m on a bus to Budapest. I’m so glad this is my last city transfer before flying home. I absolutely love traveling but it can be quite stressful alone and I’m ready for a bit of comfort. I’m pumped for my hostel in Budapest (it’s supposed to be incredibly social) and to explore my Hungarian roots (mostly while sitting in the bathhouses). On Monday, I’ll be on my way back to Boston!!

Prague

Wow! Prague was absolutely fabulous. I’m sad I had such a short amount of time there because it was truly lovely and full of things I wanted to do. I got into my hostel in the afternoon so I just walked around the city for a couple hours. I was totally impressed by all of the ornate buildings. Literally every building was gorgeous. I saw the astronomical clock tower and some other famous sites. That evening, I hung out with people in the lounge of my hostel (they play movies all day long) and went to dinner with a girl from my room. We went to a local place on the corner where I had delicious salmon and apple strudel for about 7 euros. Not bad, Prague.

Wednesday morning, I went on a walking tour of the city. I got a lot of history of the city but they didn’t show me much more than I had already seen. It was still nice though. They took us to the Jewish quarter but everything was closed because it was a Jewish holiday. It’s too bad because I was really looking forward to exploring the awesome cemetery there. After the tour, I hiked up a giant hill and got a little lost on purpose. I ended up in a cute part of the city with small houses and winding roads. I eventually made my way back down to Prague Castle. I wandered around there for a while and went into a few of the buildings, but I wasn’t super impressed. The outside of the church and the facades were better than the insides. Luckily, though, I ran into two girls I had met in my hostel in Berlin. We ended up spending the whole rest of the afternoon and evening together, which was great for not being lonely. We walked to see the world’s largest metronome – kind of a letdown. Then we walked to the complete opposite end of the city to see Frank Gehry’s Dancing House. It was cool but we were so exhausted by that point. Then we went on a hunt for dinner and eventually collapsed into a pizzeria. After dinner, we parted ways and I went back to the hostel. I relaxed and hung out there and met some really cool people before going to bed.

Now I’m on a cramped bus to Vienna. Prague is up there on my list of favorite cities, so Vienna has a lot to compete with. I definitely want to return there soon and stay for a lot longer. 

Berlin

I arrived at my hostel in Berlin on Friday without a problem. It was really nice! I didn’t plan on doing much that evening so I settled in and wandered around the neighborhood a bit. I met some Canadian girls on the patio and that ended up leading to an amazing night out. We reconvened in the bar downstairs, met a bunch of other people, and decided to try to get into a club that my brother had recommended (Week End). We went two metro stops away to a high-rise building with scary bouncers outside. They looked us up and down but finally let us in. We went up to the 15^th floor where they were blasting house music. I usually only like dancing to Top 40s, but this was an incredible club experience. I just went with the music and felt like a true German, although they were dressed a lot cooler than us. A few floors up there was a huge rooftop terrace with lots of seating and blankets. I never did get a blanket, but everyone else looked nice and cozy. The sun rose ridiculously early there so it was already getting light out when we went to the roof before 4 am. It was such a wonderful night out and a great start to my stay in Berlin.

The next morning, we all slept in pretty late and had breakfast together. Then I went on a walking tour of the city for 4 hours. It was a great way to get a feel of the city and see most of the important sites. The sun was beating down on us so it was pretty exhausting but still interesting. After the tour, I went with some girls to see another site and then we had a long adventure getting back to the hostel. I met up with a friend from the night before and we had dinner at this Mexican/Indian restaurant across the street. My chicken tikka was yummy. Saturday night was Karaoke night in the bar downstairs, so we spent the night belting out popular songs.

I went off on my own on Sunday to see some new parts of the city. I hit a lot of street markets along the way. When I got to Potsdamer Platz, I was tired and boiling in the sun so I took a break to see Hangover 2. It was a great decision and very funny. I continued on to Topography of Terror, an open-air museum about persecution. It was a lot of reading but very cool. I eventually made it back to the hostel, got a Doner Kebab, and hung out with some new friends for the rest of the evening. I had a lovely chat over ice cream in a park with two great Australians until it was time for bed.

On Monday, I went on an “alternative” walking tour that showed the street art culture of Berlin. It was a great tour to go on because it pointed out places and things that I would never know to look for on my own. We saw cool alleyways with incredible street art and an artist community filled with metal sculptures. We ended at a beach bar near the East Side Gallery, a long stretch of the Berlin Wall covered in amazing murals. That was a very cool walk. Then I went to the Jewish Museum, which was huge but had some incredible and moving sections. I could have stayed there forever given enough Red Bull, but I was really tired and hungry. I made my way back to the hostel, had dinner, and took care of some travel plans. That evening, I spent the night chatting with lots of people in the bar downstairs. I hadn’t expected such a social night but it ended up being a blast. I didn’t stay out super late because it died down and I had my train to Prague this morning.

Berlin was one of the coolest cities I have ever seen. I can totally understand why people stay there for a long time. It has such a unique culture, unbelievable nightlife, and is really cheap. Yay! Now I’m off to Prague, which I’m sure will be equally as amazing.

Amsterdam

After a turbulent flight from Sevilla, I had a lovely few days in Amsterdam. It is such a unique and picturesque city. I got a little lost going to meet Nite from the airport, as I took the train in the wrong direction. Several people told me it was correct, but I was very doubtful, and it turned out that I was right. Eventually, I got on the correct train and met Nite in the train station. We had a nice time catching up and making plans for the next few days in her apartment. We were both super tired from the past few days in Sevilla so we made some dinner, watched The Kite Runner, and went to bed early.

On Wednesday, we had a leisurely morning and began with a stroll through a park. We ended at a concert hall where she works that has free lunchtime concerts. Unfortunately, this week’s concert was a very strange experimental orchestra that was far from pleasant to the ears. We continued walking towards the center and visited this adorable residential area surrounding a courtyard. I could definitely live there one day…if I make a ton of money. We had a soda overlooking one of the many beautiful canals. Nite left me in Dam Square and I walked around that area for a few hours. It was full of cute shops, chain stores, restaurants, and, of course, the infamous coffee shops. Don’t worry, I didn’t go in there although I found them fascinating. I found this really cute square where I sat for a while and watched everyone go by, mostly on bikes. It was really refreshing to see lots of blonde people after being in Spain for a while. I think Dutch people are adorable. Eventually, I made the very long walk back to Nite’s apartment where she was making me dinner. She treated me to a very Dutch dish of mashed potatoes with greens and meat and sausage on the side. Yum yum. It was very hearty. After dinner, we went back to the center to catch a canal cruise. It was very relaxing and I got to hear about and see all of the city. My new dream is to own a private boat and ride it around the canals. The boat tour was great, but the people in private boats seem to be having a grand time. The city is just lovely, especially all lit up at night.

We woke up earlier on Thursday to try to avoid a long line at the Anne Frank House. The line wasn’t bad at all, so we lucked out. The museum throughout the house was really well done and, of course, very sad. Although my living conditions in Spain weren’t incredible, I’m very grateful for my big room and the fact that I could move around during the day without fear of someone finding me. With the decibel at which Rebecca and I sang songs from Glee, we would have been captured immediately. As always, there were too many tourists in the house with us, but it was still very powerful. After that, we went to eat something I have been craving for a long time….bagels! What a delight! I was so glad the Dutch were on the same page with me about how good bagels are. After indulging, we walked for a while to the science museum that has an incredible sloped roof with a nice view of the city. It was heaven for children, with a waterfall along the steps and various life-size board games. Nite and I just enjoyed the sun and laughed at the adorable bleach blonde children. Then Nite went off to a meeting and I went to Museum Square, which is a big open field surrounded by great museums. It has the famous I amsterdam sign so I took a picture there and watched people climb all over the giant letters. It was pretty entertaining for a while, and then I went to the Van Gogh Museum. He was quite a talented guy, eh? It was a really good museum, mostly featuring his works. After getting cultured, I walked home again and spent a few hours planning some things for the rest of my trip. It was amazing having working fast internet again. I picked up some dinner at the grocery store and was quite productive. Nite came home later and we hung out for a bit before heading to the infamous Red Light District late at night. She biked there while I took the tram, but she left before we found out that my tram was not coming because a bridge was broken. Eventually, we met up and it was fine, and I got to use my Spanish while communicating with a Portuguese woman about the problem. I have distinct memories of visiting “curtain street” on my last trip to Amsterdam, but it seemed very different this time around. It was one of the saddest things and by far the most degrading thing I’ve ever seen. I feel terrible for these women who just stand behind windows “hoping” for customers. It made me nauseous and we were some of the few girls there, so we didn’t stay too long.

This morning, I packed up my stuff to move on to my next city – Berlin. I’m now on the plane and very excited to see this city. My family and everyone who goes there loves it, so I hope it has the same effect on me. Thanks to Nite for being such an amazing host and Amsterdam tour guide. I absolutely loved my trip there!

Adiós, Sevilla!

Me with my youngest class

I had a wonderful and bittersweet last week and particularly weekend in Sevilla. I had my last week of school where the kids bid me very nice farewells, and I took pictures with the classes. I will miss their enthusiasm to practice English and them giving me high fives while walking through the halls.

Yery with some snails

Night out!

On Friday night, I went to a very local tapas place with my gay Spanish friends. I tried caracoles (snails) for the first time. They were a little hard to get down at first because you can see the whole snail when you eat them, but they were really yummy. Later, I met up with my European friends to hang out by the river and go to a club. We tried to get into the opening of an open-air club but it was way too crowded so we ended up at the nearly empty Bandalai. As always, it was fun dancing, but the music was not amazing and I was exhausted after a week of work. Nevertheless, it was great catching up with my friends.

Paddleboating!

Saturday was lovely. Julie invited me to go paddleboating on the river, something I had been meaning to do all year. It was absolutely gorgeous and perfect weather. Then we shared a meal at a Chinese restaurant and got full off of only 3 euros. I’m going to miss the low food prices when I get back to America. I said goodbye to her, which was very sad, and went home to do some errands and start packing. That evening, I went over to my German friend Nora’s house for a girls’ night. It was very nice, but it stopped being a girls’ night when we got invited to a pool party in a pueblo. I was tired from the night before but decided to be adventurous, seeing as it was my last weekend in Spain. The party was okay in the beginning, and I got to speak a lot of Spanish, but then I had a terrible allergy attack and was stuck to tissues for the rest of the night and not feeling very social. Since we were far from Sevilla, I couldn’t get back on my own so I had to wait until 5 am for our ride.  It wasn’t quite the night I was hoping for when I decided to be spontaneous.

I slept pretty late on Sunday and did loads of packing. I had shipped a big suitcase home earlier in the week, so now I am traveling for two weeks with only a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. This is a big step for me, a notorious overpacker. In the evening, I went for a lovely stroll through the Alcázar for one last time. It was a beautiful as ever and made me really sad to be leaving Spain. Boston just doesn’t have anything like it. At night, I met up with some friends for the prettiest of evenings on the terrace of Hotel Doña Maria. It looks over the Cathedral, which is all lit up at night. We finally tried Agua de Sevilla, a delicious cocktail that I had somehow avoided this entire year but that was incredibly fitting for one of our last nights there. After nursing our drinks for a few hours, Rebecca and I strolled through Santa Cruz. This made me even more unsure as to why I was leaving.

View from the top of Las Cetas

On Monday, I packed some more before having my last tapas at Los Coloniales. We feasted on some of my favorite foods, including a lot of patatas bravas. Then I went over to the house where my European friends live and knocked on every door to say goodbye. It was hug after hug after hug, and I have no idea when I will see these people next. They have truly made my experience here a great one since I have met amazing people from all over the continent. After that depressing rendezvous, we got our final gelato in Sevilla and made our way back towards our apartment. We decided to go up Las Cetas, those weird structures near my house. It was beautiful from up there but very surreal. I’m shocked I wasn’t abducted by aliens or at least didn’t fall through the many holes. We eventually got home, at which point I was bombarded by calls from people coming to take my extra stuff. I’m very glad that almost everything I couldn’t take home found a good home in Sevilla. The chaos calmed down and we chilled on our terrace for a while before it was actually necessary to finish packing. At about midnight, my friend Paige called to say some American friends were in the Alameda, so I strolled over in my packing clothes to bid everyone goodbye. I hadn’t expected to get a chance to say bye to most of them, so I’m so glad I got the opportunity. It was wonderful catching up with some people and hearing their plans. Almost everyone was leaving Sevilla today, like me. When they kicked us out, I went home to get a few hours of sleep while the mosquitoes in my room ate me alive. Spain really needs window screens.

This morning, I said goodbye to Rebecca before her early flight to Barcelona. At least I know I will see her in a few weeks. I finished packing, took care of some errands, and lugged my stuff to the bus stop. Now I’m sitting in the airport, waiting for my flight to Amsterdam, where I will stay with my friend Nite who was studying in Sevilla last semester. I can’t wait to revisit this city of which I only have a vague memory. I’m not sure I’m mentally prepared for two weeks of intense traveling, but I’m super excited for the cities I’m visiting and will obviously enjoy my last days in Europe.

I love you, Sevilla! I can’t wait to come back and visit soon! This was one of the best years of my life and certainly the most exciting!

Lagos

This weekend was the perfect culmination to an incredible year. I took a trip with a group of 10 Americanos to Lagos, Portugal to celebrate the birthdays of two of my friends, Julie and Reegis. We all piled into a bus at 7:30 am on Friday morning and took the long trip to Lagos. When we got there, we wandered through the adorable and hilly town until we found our hostel. Our room wasn't ready so we went and got some lunch before heading to the beach. I had no idea what to expect from the beaches there except what I had seen in some pictures, but they were some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my life. They are surrounded by gorgeous rock formations and even have them sticking out of the water.  It literally looked other-worldly. We laid on the beach for a few hours and had the most wonderful time in the ocean. A group of 5 of us girls bonded instantly even though the only person I knew before the trip was Julie. We splashed around in the water laughing and being silly like I do with my friends from home. It was so refreshing. After the sun began to set, we stopped for pizza on the way home. We moved into our tiny room together, took a late siesta, and got ready for the night. Unfortunately, the night never materialized because we heard there was not much going on, but we found out the next day that we were just too early for the party. It ended up being good though because we actually had some energy to enjoy the next day.

We woke up for a yummy, family-style breakfast at the hostel on Saturday. We headed to a different beach for another incredible day. This beach was even better than the previous one and was what I consider to be the textbook definition of paradise. We laid out and swam a lot then took a little break for lunch overlooking the ocean. After lunch, we went out on a small motorboat for a grotto tour with a guy who spoke no English. Every time we turned a corner the views were more breathtaking than before. The girls were hilarious and we took countless pictures. The best part of the tour was when he let us jump off the boat and we swam in the middle of the water surrounded by rock formations. We could have been on another planet. Getting back into the boat was not as fun, as the only help you got was a little noose for your foot to hoist yourself up. It was a struggle. I have never laughed as much as I did while watching Nicole get into the boat - she is a tiny little girl but could not get in and was planked on the side of the boat with her legs flailing and the Portuguese man grabbing her butt to try to pull her in while she screamed. If only we had caught it on video... We were greeted upon our return by a hefty Portuguese man rocking a red speedo who chatted with us for a while. Later, he performed a balancing act on his boat. We swam and relaxed for a few more hours. On our way out, we met two guys from Spain. It made me realize how much I absolutely love Spain and practicing Spanish. Just one day away and I missed it...I'm not sure what going home will do to me. We had a nice dinner after the beach and then went back to get ready for the evening. We ended up going out to a few bars, and it was a lot of fun, but I didn't find the dancing atmosphere I was craving. Too bad. It was still a great night out!

After about 3 hours of sleep, we got up for breakfast again, packed up our stuff, and took everything to the beach. I had an amazing solo swim in perfectly calm and clear water. I seriously could have stayed there forever, if it wasn't for the bus home to Sevilla. The girls had a continuous debate on the way to the bus station as to whether we should stay another night, but we decided to go home in the end. The bus ride back was filled with a lot of necessary sleep. It was such a perfect weekend and Lagos is such a paradise. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Now I have one more week in Sevilla, three more days of school, and countless goodbyes. Oh, and packing. I'm sure it will be a great last hoorah!

Granada

Me in Front of La Alhambra

I had a wonderful weekend in Granada! Rebecca and I headed to the bus station early on Saturday morning and had a restful 3 hour ride to Granada. We checked into our great hostel (Oasis Backpackers) and went off to explore the city. Our hostel was located in the heart of the Moorish part of the city, so it was like stepping out into a mini and much calmer Morocco. We walked past the Cathedral and wandered around some plazas. Then it was time for the famous tapas of Granada where you get a free tapa with each drink you order. We went to Babel and hit some bad luck with our first tapa - it was an ice cream scoop of paté. I ate it, but not happily. We found out throughout the weekend that while getting free tapas is delightful, it is probably easier just to order what you actually want to eat. Also, when I first arrived, I was nervous because I didn't know how it worked, but we consistently got tapas with our drinks throughout the weekend. We went back to the hostel for a street art and caves tour, but they cancelled it. Luckily, there was a big group of people wanting to go so a few people took the lead and took us on an uninformed adventure to the caves. I thought the caves were normal caves that we could walk through, but they turned out to be caves where people live. Who knew? We ended up basically climbing a big hill and trying not to scare the cave people. I slipped and slid back down but survived with the help of a sweet Venezuelan man. We all enjoyed some sangria overlooking rolling hills and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Then it was back to the hostel. I went off to explore the Albayzín and find the Moroccan part of town, but after being lost, confused, and deceived, I found out that the main section is the one right outside our hostel. Whoops. Rebecca and I went out for a more edible tapa (a yummy little sandwich) before chilling on the roof terrace and meeting tons of people. We went out as a huge group to the part of town with all the bars, but we spent most of the time standing outside with a smaller group of people we met. Instead of hitting the clubs, we hit the kebab stands and just hung out for a while. It still turned out to be a very late night and I only got a few hours of sleep.

La Alhambra

Inside La Alhambra

On Sunday morning, I had a nice breakfast with tons of people from the hostel. Then I went on a walking tour with most of them. It was led in English and Spanish by a guy from England. It was fun to have it in both languages. He walked us all around the Albayzín and into some beautiful gardens. We had some tapas after the tour and I went to meet up with Rebecca. We continued our own food tour with gelato and another tapa (they're small!). Then we made our way up a very steep hill to the famous Alhambra! It was absolutely magnificent. The Nazari Palace blew my mind and was probably the coolest building I've ever seen. We ended up walking through it about 3 times, but I'm sure I still missed tons of the infinite intricacies in the walls and ceilings. My new life goal is to marry a Spanish prince just so I can have my wedding there. After the palace, we wandered through the beautiful gardens and into the other buildings on the grounds. It was a lovely afternoon. We headed back towards our hostel to chill around there before taking a train home around 9:00. After saying goodbye to all of our new and fleeting friends, we walked out the door only to run into a friend from Tufts, Duncan. My mind was very confused when I saw him standing there because my worlds were colliding. He convinced us to stay another night and luckily the hostel had just enough beds for us. What a crazy coincidence! We hung around the hostel then sat on a ledge overlooking the Alhambra lit up at night while we caught up on life. We had wonderful tapas and sangria at a bar near our hostel. At about midnight, a huge group of English teachers from Madrid showed up at the bar to party before their night bus home. They had a football with them so we started throwing it around in the streets. A bunch of Spanish guys walked by and wanted to play, so they started playing rugby with the ball. I explained to them that it was an American football but they didn't seem to mind the difference. It was hilarious and totally random. Eventually, the other Americans went on their way, and Duncan, Rebecca, and I went to a tetería. We were the only people in the entire place, but it was quite fun, despite the growing tiredness. Once they kicked us out at 2 am, I was more than ready for bed.

Rebecca in Generalife, the Gardens of La Alhambra

We had a lazy and very tired morning lounging around the hostel. As we were heading out to walk around, we ran into Duncan again in the same spot. We wandered around with him and another girl we'd met named Stephan. It was nice just relaxing around the city and chatting with friends. When it came time to leave for real, I had deja vu when I said goodbye to the exact same people while walking out the door. We bid Duncan farewell and wished him luck in Tunisia, his final destination. It is always so nice to see a familiar face when you are so far from home. Rebecca, Stephanie, and I all went to the bus station and tried to sleep on the way home. It was great to return to Sevilla, and it is reassuring to know that it is still my favorite city in Spain.

Me, Duncan, and Rebecca

I only have two more weeks here, which is horribly sad. And next weekend, I am off to Lagos, Portugal for some birthday celebrations with a big group of Americans!

Ronda

On Monday, Rebecca and I took a daytrip to Ronda. It is a white hill town in the province of Malaga and one of my favorite places in Andalucía. The town is adorable with lots of winding, steep roads and cute craft shops. Its most famous site is the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) over a gorge. It’s scary to look down through the grates on the bridge to the abyss very far below.

We enjoyed a coffee overlooking the gorge. We sat with a view the rolling hills while listening to Spanish guitar. We wandered through the old Arab Baths and watched a video in Spanish about how they worked, which I actually understood. After lunch of paella and Iberian pork, we hiked down to a viewpoint to look at the bridge. The views were just spectacular. Well done, constructors of Ronda!

Feria de Sevilla

Me dancing Sevillanas

This week in Sevilla was the Feria de Abril, but it actually happened in May this year. It is basically a week-long party in the seemingly endless fairgrounds in Los Remedios. It is quite spectacular. Along the fairgrounds are hundreds of "casetas," which are basically elaborate tents with kitchens, bathrooms, and dancing and seating space. Most of the casetas are private and you cannot go in them unless the owner invites you. Some are public for people like me and my friends who don't know the elite of Sevilla. There is also an amusement park on the far end of the fairgrounds with tons of overpriced attractions and rides.

Las Casetas

Trajes de Flamenca

The most impressive part of Feria are the outfits. Most of the women dress in
"trajes de flamenca," incredibly beautiful and evidently flattering dresses. I didn't fork up the euros for one of these dresses, so I was very jealous of how amazing everyone else looked. Rebecca and I did stop in a store on the way for flowers for our hair though, so we were not completely un-Sevillana. The men dress in nice suits, which is always a treat for the eyes. On the streets, there are tons of horses and carriages, which add to the antique feel of the fair. The official music of Feria is "Sevillanas" and people do the dance of the same name. I got to use the moves I had learned in my Sevillanas class at my gym, but they were nothing compared to the passion and grace that the true Sevillanos exude while dancing. My favorite part of the whole fair was watching people dance. Overall, it is definitely the most interesting and beautiful festivals I've ever attended.

Horses

El Alumbrado

On Monday night, Julie, Leah, and I went to see the "alumbrado"where they light up the enormous entrance gate at midnight to signify the start of Feria. It was really pretty and everyone cheered. We ended up meeting some guys who invited us into a caseta. Score! We tried the official drink of Feria, "rebujito," a yummy combination of white wine and Sprite. We danced for a bit at what seemed like a wedding party or the 1920s. It was a good start to the most talked about week in Sevilla.

Spanish Girls in Front of the Gate

On Tuesday evening, I went to see the spectacle during the day. The horses were out and about and I had to dodge them while walking through the fair. The dresses on the girls were each so unique and beautiful. I met up with Leah whose Spanish intercambio partner helped us get into a private caseta. I chatted with the people there, ate some desserts, and danced Sevillanas. Unfortunately, I suffered from terrible allergies caused by the dust they use on the ground, the horses, and the smoke. I was a sniffling mess among the endless beauty. It was a lot of fun but it's too bad I'm allergic to Feria.

The Amazing Dancers

I stocked up on allergy medicine and headed back on Friday night with my European friends. We hung around a public caseta, listening to the music and attempting to dance. I was lucky enough to see two incredible dancers do some improvised Sevillanas while an entire crowd watched in amazement. It was the sexiest and most passionate thing I've seen in a long time. That made my night and was the epitome of Feria for me. If you ever get the chance to come to Sevilla during Feria, do it! It is such and unique and sensational experience. Just remember to bring your Zyrtec!

Bologna

My train rides from Cinque Terre to Bologna were quite stressful. Each one of them was late, forcing me to run from one to the next. There was a massive crowd trying to get on the train from Parma to Bologna, and I literally pushed myself onto it seconds before the doors shut and many people were left waiting. I ended up having to stand awkwardly in the aisle for about 20 minutes before people got off at the next stop. I hadn’t printed my ticket because on my train from Milan, someone had shown their electronic ticket on their iPhone and it was fine, but apparently that doesn’t fly on the less classy trains. The ticket collector told me it wasn’t okay and I got very scared that he would fine me a ton, but he got distracted with some craziness right behind me so I thought I might have gotten out of it. Unfortunately, he came back to me later and said I would have to pay the ticket price, but then he only made me pay him an arbitrary 5 euros. I’m pretty sure he just pocketed it, but I was glad to not have to pay a 50+ euro fine. I think it was 20% negative karma for having kept the 20 euros that the machine spit out at me at the Florence train station.

In Bologna, I stayed with a woman who was renting a bed. There were absolutely no hostels in the city center and I didn’t want to pay a lot for a single room in a bed and breakfast, so this seemed like a good option. It turned out to be quite nice, as the lady I was staying with was very sweet and helpful. I basically had a double bed that was surrounded by a bamboo fence in the corner of the living room. It was in a very good location and pretty cheap, so it was a fine accommodation for two nights.

On Tuesday, I went exploring around the city. It is quite small and extremely walkable, and I mostly just walked around all day looking at the various monuments and piazzas. I started in Piazza Maggiore, which is the main square. Almost all of the sidewalks are covered by porticos, and it is said that you don’t need an umbrella in Bologna. The city is really pretty and charming and infinitely less touristy than the other places I visited. It is called “Bologna the Red” because most of the buildings are painted some tint of red. Some parts of it reminded me a little bit of Cambridge, MA, because it is very much a university city, as it houses the oldest university in Europe. I went to the Museum of European Students, where I read about and saw artifacts of student life. It definitely made me miss college. For lunch, I had a yummy lasagna Bolognese. Bologna is famous for its good food, and it satisfied my non-picky palate. I basically just walked all over the city and into some churches (I have decided that I am on the church tour of Europe) and watched children shooting pigeons with a fake machine gun. I went to dinner with my host, where I learned about her life and enjoyed a delicious crostini covered with cheese, honey, and walnuts. Naturally, I finished off my last night in Italy with a serving of gelato. They certainly do their food right.

I got up at about 3:30 am this morning, nervous that my taxi wouldn’t come for me at 5:00. It did come, and I attempted to sleep on my entire flight home. Now I am back in Sevilla, catching up with Rebecca and laundry. It is nice to be home, but I had an amazing adventure over the past few days and am proud that I did an entire trip “ridin’ solo.”

Cinque Terre!

Cinque Terre is pretty much paradise! I arrived in Manarola, one of the five towns, on Saturday evening. My hostel was located on the top of a very steep hill, so people laughed at me as I struggled up it with my rolling suitcase trying to pull me back down. I eventually made it to what was a very nice hostel but by far the strictest one I have ever stayed in. They had an extensive list of rules and a very strict lockout time and curfew, but besides that, it was quite friendly and homey. It was definitely not a youth hostel, as there were people of all ages staying there. After dropping off my stuff, I went for what the receptionist said would be a nice walk through the vineyards above our hostel. I’m not sure where I went wrong but it ended up being a very difficult climb with no clear path and no one around. Eventually, I gave up and found some way down, going through fences and climbing down ladders. After a brief stop at the hostel, I went out to explore the town I was staying in. It was very cute with tons of different colored houses on different levels. I walked to the other end of the tiny town to see the ocean crashing against the rocks. It was fun watching some boys jumping off these dangerous looking rocks while everyone screamed until we knew they were safe. I ate a solo dinner of focaccia pizza, but as I was walking back to my hostel, I ran into two ladies from New Zealand who invited me out for a drink with them. We went to a restaurant and I tried the famous white dessert wine from Cinque Terre. It was quite yummy and served with biscotti so I wasn’t complaining. The ladies had been in the hostel for a few days so they informed me of the various hostel rules and the church bells that would chime loudly at 7 am. Oh, great! We went back to the hostel and went to sleep fairly early because I had a big day of hiking ahead of me.

Luckily, my handy earplugs helped me sleep through the church bells and I got up around 8:00 am. It was Easter and I was afraid things would be closed, so I had breakfast at the hostel. I spotted two girls and asked if I could join them, which turned out to be a great decision because it meant I wouldn’t be alone for the next two whole days. They were two sisters, Mia and Georgia, from Australia who were traveling around Italy with their mom for six weeks. We had a nice breakfast together and I asked if I could join them for the steep part of the hike from our town to the next. I ended up never really separating from them and we had a lovely two days together. The normal path between Manarola and Corniglia was closed, so we had to take an alternate route, which apparently was the difficult hiking path but I didn’t know this when I agreed to do it. We went pretty much straight up a mountain for a few kilometers, and it was quite a workout. I was so glad I was not alone for this hike, especially going downhill. I’m not sure what I was thinking about hiking alone. I’m sure I would have freaked out because there was almost no one else on this path because it was the difficult one. We passed some gorgeous views of the water and our town, but I spent most of the hike looking at my feet and trying to not fall to my death, which was a real possibility. After about two hours of hiking and luckily finding a perfectly sized walking stick out of the mud, we arrived in Corniglia. It was another cute town, the only one of the five that is on a hill and not along the coast. We walked around the shops and got some food for a picnic overlooking the water. We definitely deserved a rest.

After the requisite gelato serving (I’m convinced it is part of the food pyramid in Italy), we continued on to the next town, Vernazza. This hike was not as difficult as the first one, but it was no walk in the park. This path was much more crowded but had equally amazing views. My left leg got quite tired by the end because my right knee is too weak to step down on uneven surfaces. It seemed like forever, but we eventually got to a bar overlooking the water where I had a much needed Coca-Cola Light. It was only a short walk after that to the town. Unfortunately, I lost my beloved walking stick as it fell to its demise after I rested it against a fence. It is slightly ironic that it fell because it prevented me from doing so many times. We walked around the town, which is probably my favorite, for a bit and sat on a concrete pier overlooking the water. It was time for a shower, so we took the train back to our town. I frantically scrubbed my mud-covered limbs in my allotted 5-minute shower. Then I relaxed for a bit and figured out my plans for heading to Bologna the next day. I decided to take a later train than planned because I loved Cinque Terre so much. I met up with the Australian family for an incredible “Easter dinner” in the town. We feasted on local cuisine. We started off with bruschetta with anchovies and fresh anchovies in lemon juice. Both were amazing and very much unlike canned anchovies. For my main dish, I had spaghetti with seafood. And for dessert, we shared a lemon meringue pie and a delicious pudding. I was so grateful to be sharing a meal with these girls and the food was incredible.

That night, I had multiple pre-sleep dreams about slipping off mountains. At one point, I had actually slipped and these were very similar to that feeling. I woke up around 8:00 again and got ready to check out. I had breakfast at the hostel again and, although I didn’t think I had met too many people there, I was chatting with everyone and saying goodbye to a bunch of people. Hostels really are my social niche. I met up with my “adoptive family” and we headed out on the train to Monterosso, the least adorable but most beachy of the five towns. We found a spot on the sand and relaxed for a few hours. I took a dip in the freezing cold ocean water, but I didn’t last very long. The hostel wouldn’t let me keep my towel for the day so I dried off with a little hand towel and the sun. After we’d had enough sun, we went to Riomaggiore, the remaining town. It was very quaint and had nice shops and a lovely marina. The mom loved shopping so we went into just about every store. We ate some focaccia pizza on a bench and wandered around for a while. Then we did the famous Via dell’Amore back to Manarola. This is the easiest of the walks, all on paved ground. It winds around the mountainside and overlooks the beautiful water. It was incredibly calm and relaxing with many great views and picture spots. We were joking about how we needed to find an Italian guy to walk along it with us, but that dream did not come true. Luckily, though, I did not have to do it alone. We arrived back at our town after the short stroll and enjoyed some of the best gelato I have had so far in Italy. I said a sad goodbye to the incredible family that had taken me in over the past two days and got some sustenance for the train ride. I retrieved my stuff from the hostel, said goodbye to the ocean, and headed to the train station. I am now on my way to Bologna, which I will explore tomorrow. I think I could have stayed a few more days…or years…in Cinque Terre and been quite content. I only have one day left in Italy, which is sad, but I am realizing how much I love Sevilla and all my friends there. I am excited to share stories from this vacation week and enjoy one last month in the city of sunshine.

That Leaning Tower

I stopped off at Pisa Centrale station to spend a couple of hours wandering around that famous tower with a tilt. I walked through the city, which is really nothing special, but it had a good crafts market along the way. As I turned the corner and was approaching the Leaning Tower and the Duomo, I thought, “Wow, that really is quite a lean.” Most of my pictures don’t depict how much the tower is leaning, but it’s certainly true to its name. The area around it is beautiful with lots of green grass that you’re not supposed to walk on and a pretty church and baptistry. I walked through the endless souvenir markets but didn’t get anything. When someone saw me attempting to take a picture of myself holding up the tower, they offered to take a picture of me. I gladly accepted. It is not a good place to visit alone if you actually want a well-crafted picture of yourself supporting the tower. There was not a whole lot to do there unless you wanted to go in the various buildings and museums, but I just chilled on the grass for a while and headed back to the train station. Now I’m on my way to Cinque Terre, the part of my trip that I am most excited about!

Florence and Siena

I had a wonderful time in Florence. It is a very approachable and walkable city with incredible sites. Unfortunately, it was very crowded this week before Easter so I think it lost some of its charm. I got into my hostel on Tuesday night and met some really nice people in my room. The hostel itself was very big and quite nice. I ended up spending almost no time in it over the next few days, but it had a pool, sauna, and terrace that I missed out on.

I went out exploring the city on Wednesday. I went in search of the Duomo but found San Lorenzo first. When I was standing outside of San Lorenzo, I thought, “This just can’t be it.” When I turned the corner to the Duomo, I literally said out loud, “Oh.” The Duomo has perhaps the best façade of a church that I have ever seen. It is breathtaking and so intricate. I don’t understand how they constructed that so many years ago when I couldn’t do it with a forklift today. I went to a secret ticket booth, and after a huge internal conflict about whether or not I wanted to spend 14 euros to see a museum, I bought a ticket to the Uffizi. I literally avoided over 2.5 hours of lines by reading about this secret hole-in-the-wall ticket booth online. I walked around Ponte Vecchio by the river and sat on the sloping ground outside of Pitti Palace. I loved looking at the hills over the river – the river area is usually my favorite part of cities and it was beautiful here. After several scoops of gelato and bouts of people watching, I went to the Uffizi Museum. It was filled with great Renaissance art, including Birth of Venus. I enjoyed walking around it, but almost all of the exhibitions on the first floor were closed, which was disappointing. Afterwards, I headed back to the hostel and met up with an English girl, Maria, whom I had met and two other people she had met in her hostel. We ran up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sun set over the city. It was definitely worth the climb. The view was incredible. I think Florence is even more beautiful from above than on street level. Then we went out to a delicious dinner at a place someone had recommended to me called The Cat and the Wolf in Italian. We shared some pasta and pizza and each other’s company, as we were all solo travelers. We got a bit lost on the way back but I eventually made it home and passed out after a very long day.

On Thursday, I took a day trip to Siena, a hill town about an hour outside of Florence. Siena has a beautiful main square called Il Campo that is a sloping semi-circle surrounded by various cafes and gelato shops. It also has a gorgeous Duomo whose outside is kind of like a miniature version of the Florence Duomo. It was very cute and intricately decorated. The inside, however, was incredible! It was one of the coolest insides of a church I have ever seen. It reminded me a little bit of Candy Land. It was very colorful and the ceiling was gorgeous. There was just so much to look at. As I was sitting outside the church after walking through it, my friend Andrea from Sevilla spotted me. I knew she was in Florence at the same time but we randomly found each other in Siena. After a few hours of reading and people watching on Il Campo, we met up again for some relaxation and pastry eating. Andrea and her friend had found this adorable pastry shop, which we went to…twice. As we were leaving the second time, the adorable girl who worked there said, “See you later.” Siena was very nice to walk around and a nice contrast to Florence because all of the buildings are made of brick. After we took the bus back to Florence, I met up with Maria again for a light dinner and to catch up on the day.

On Friday, I had a few more sites in Florence to hit up. I waited in line to see the inside of the Duomo. I’m sad to say it was very underwhelming. It was huge but very barren, really nothing special, especially compared to its outside. Then I went to the inside of San Lorenzo which was nice and free because it was Good Friday. As I went to get in line for the Medici Chapel, I spotted Maria so we walked through it together. It was pretty good – it had one very grand and unique room. Before she had to leave for her train, we got lunch at a place called Za-Za which had pictures of all the famous people who had eaten there lining the walls so it might have been something special. The food was certainly good. I had the classic fetuccini alfredo. No complaints here. After saying goodbye, I headed to Santa Croce, yet another church. I just saw the outside of it which was beautiful. I spent about half an hour wandering around trying to find this famous gelato place called Vivoli. I had been there before with friends of Wednesday but could not for the life of me find it again without asking about four different people. Eventually, I followed the scent of delicious gelato to the store and got three great flavors – egg nog, hazelnut, and rice. Rice was amazing – it was basically like a rice pudding flavor. After a bit more wandering the streets, I spent a while sitting on the steps of the Duomo and people watching. Randomly, two girls in my hostel room sat next to me and I ended up spending the next 20 hours with them. They were twins who were traveling with two other girls. We wandered around the city for a while and through San Lorenzo market, where many guys tried to sell us leather products. I resisted buying a beautiful purse but got a few watercolor prints of Florence to hang on my wall. We chilled at the hostel for a little while before heading back up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sun set again. It was still gorgeous the second time, but it was cloudier so there wasn’t really a sunset. We had a lot of fun there, though, and I was so glad to have company all evening. On my way to dinner with the twins, we strolled through Florence at night. It was infinitely better in the evening with fewer people. I think if the feeling and ambiance at night penetrated to during the day, I would have fell in love with the city. It was just gorgeous walking around the Duomo at night and the city felt more alive even though there were much fewer people. We ate dinner at a friendly restaurant and I had ravioli in walnut sauce. It was delicious and the sauce had a unique nutty aftertaste. We packed up at the hostel and hung out before bed.

The next morning, we got all ready to leave and the five of us went out for bagels at an adorable café. It was not an authentic bagel, but it did the trick for my bagel craving. I said goodbye to all the girls and headed to the train station. I had the best thing happen to me there. When I put my 10 euro bill in the ticket machine, it rejected it and also spit out a 20 euro note! I was so excited – my lucky day! I ran to catch the train and had trouble figuring out how to activate my ticket but made it just in time. Now I’m on my way to Pisa, pretty much just to see the Leaning Tower.

Milano

I am officially in Italia! This morning, I woke up several hours before the Spanish sun and took a Ryanair flight to Milan. Luckily, I slept for most of the flight so it wasn’t too bad. Then I took a shuttle to the train station in Milan and got a bit lost there because the signs were confusing but eventually checked my luggage and got a map of the city.

I headed to the Duomo, which is right in the center. It was really impressive; both the inside and outside were incredibly detailed. The inside was filled with very intricate stained glass windows and massive arches. The piazza around the Duomo is a great place for people watching…and pigeon watching. I’m convinced that there is a 1 to 1 ratio of humans to pigeons there. It reminded me a lot of St. Mark’s Square in Venice, minus the water so not a good. I wandered the expensive gallery near the square but was too timid to go into the fancy stores carrying my backpack and wearing a t-shirt. I walked around the surrounding shopping streets, mostly looking for a place to eat. I ended up in a cute café and got focaccia pizza. It was pretty good but not amazing because you had to heat it up yourself in a microwave. I’ll splurge on a pre-heated pizza soon. Of course, lunch would not be complete with gelato, so I got a cone of pistachio and hazelnut. I was surprised by how many people were eating gelato, including the Italian businessmen in suits. I can’t say I blame them.

I people watched in the square for a while but got a little bored and went in search of a park. I found a giant castle full of museums that I didn’t go in with a massive park behind it. The park was filled with people sprawled out on the gorgeous grass so I joined them. For a long time. I think I might have even fallen asleep at one point because it was very relaxing soaking up the sun and watching people play very amateur volleyball.

I headed back towards the square a bit later and explored this really cool art exhibition that is in big white dome tents. They were all very modern or post-modern, including spray on fabrics and a 3D sound room. My favorite thing by far was these sculptures of people printed on a 3D printer. My brother had told me about this invention before but I had no idea how cool it is.

I people watched for a while longer because I had nothing else I really wanted to do. I watched some scams go down and saw women screaming as the pigeons flocked all over them. I was a bit lonely today because the entire extent of my personal interactions was talking about lack of toilet paper with a girl in the bathroom of McDonalds. She asked where I was from and I told her “New York” and she said, “New York, America? I’m from New Jersey.” Is there another New York that I don’t know about? I’m hoping once I settle in at my hostel and feel like I have a home base, I’ll meet people and feel less alone. I’m also more excited for Florence so hopefully it will keep me entertained for longer than Milan did.

I’m on the train to Florence now. I’ll get to the hostel quite late so I doubt I’ll do much more than go to sleep. Tuscany, here I come!

Semana Santa!

Just a few people at Encarnación

I'm going to attempt to describe my experience watching the Semana Santa processions on Domingo de Ramos, the first day of Semana Santa, but it is something that you really need to see, hear, and smell (there is a lot of incense) in order to understand. I had quite low expectations of Semana Santa because 1) it would be super crowded and 2) it's very religious and I'm not. As I left my apartment on Sunday to meet up with my friends, I encountered what might be the most densely packed crowd of my life. Of course, there was a paso going straight through my path, so I had to walk through crowds of very well dressed Spaniards and not so well dressed tourists to get around the procession. I wondered why I had even dared to leave my apartment. Eventually, with many detours, I arrived to my friends at Torre de Oro. My German friend Tina arranged for two of her Spanish friends to show us around. That turned out to be the best thing ever, because I would have had no idea where or how to watch the pasos without them.

Paso of Virgin Mary

Nazarenos

First, we watched some Virgin Marys pass us by coming over the bridge from Triana. The music was really great and powerful but I think I missed the point of worshipping the figures of Mary and Jesus. I think the cooler parts are the nazarenos who wear the KKK-esque hats (capirotes) and carry huge candles and the penitentes who carry big crosses behind the paso. They look quite scary but are not meant to be. But if you saw one of them walking around at night out of context, you would run the other way. The Spanish guys took us all over the city and taught us about what we were seeing as we watched more processions. The pasos are all put on by different brotherhoods. Both of the guys we were with are in brotherhoods but are not very involved. Semana Santa is not for the claustrophobic. At one point, I was literally sandwiched between two people with no hope of escape while a paso turned the corner right in front of us. It is amazing how well coordinated the procession is. There are about 30 bulky men (costaleros) under the pasos who carry the huge float on their necks. After some tapas and torrijas (basically French toast covered in honey), we watched pasos in the dark and were less than a foot away from the people and the floats. At one point, the costaleros switched in and out from under the float right where we were standing. I have never had so much sweaty, fatty, and hairy Spanish man meat pressing me into a garbage can. But after that, they did an amazing thing where they all jump up at the same time and raise the float. I feared for my life with the heavy float full of burning candles being thrust into the air one foot from my head. No big deal. Just kidding...it was truly incredible. Towards the end, I got tired and my feet got very tired so it was not as exciting anymore, but the first 6 hours were really cool. Semana Santa seriously exceeded my expectations. Now I'll go outside and see some more nazarenos...and babies dressed as nazarenos (by far the cutest outfit in the world)!

Penitentes

Costaleros Under the Paso

Tomorrow, I leave for 9 days in ITALY!! My trajectory: Milan--Florence--Pisa?--Cinque Terre--Bologna :)

Springtime in Sevilla

Me by the River

Sevilla is more beautiful than ever. The weather is perfect (maybe even a little too hot) so people are constantly out and about. It reminds me of when I came in September and fell in love with the city. Strolling by the river and sipping gazpacho is making my approaching return to the USA very bittersweet. For those of you who are wondering when I'll be back in America, my flight to Boston is on June 13th! I'm very excited to be working at Tufts again this summer as the Lead Residence Counselor for ESL students from China and Taiwan. I'm also super pumped to see all my friends and family...it has been way too long.

Ignacio, Tina, and Me at Boss

My past few weekends have been very relaxing and also productive. I've gone out a couple times with my lovely European friends, went to the beach and had a great time jumping in (and getting tossed around by) the waves, and did a fun photo shoot around Sevilla with Rebecca. I have also spent some afternoons at a cafe planning my upcoming trips. I will be going to Italy in a week and will be doing a bigger trip around Europe in early June. Because there are few things I love more than meeting people and hotels, I'm obsessed with hostels and have been perusing hostelworld.com like it's my job. Hostels are basically hotels where you can't get a good night's sleep but it's totally acceptable to talk to the other people there. Unfortunately, some cities seem to have countless great hostels (and I want to stay in them all but can't) while other cities barely have any or none. If only they dispersed the incredible ones more evenly, I could travel the world in my hostel heaven. Anyway, I am very excited for my upcoming trips and am loving being my own personal travel agent. I am traveling alone on these trips, so I get to do whatever I want. I am also a bit nervous about being alone for so long, but that's what good, social hostels are for.

Sevilla has a recently finished structural addition that I can see from my amazing roof terrace. In Plaza de la Encarnación, which is right near my house, they have built a very modern structure that people are calling "Las Cetas" (mushrooms). To me, it looks like the mothership in Men in Black. Every morning when I walk by the blue lit enormous thing, I hope to not be abducted by aliens. So far so good. There is a food market below it, which is great, and eventually I'll be able to walk up the structure for a view of Sevilla and go to a cafe there. I think everyone in Sevilla is glad they finally finished this project that has been going on for many years, even though I'm not sure it fits in at all with the old nature of the rest of Sevilla.

Plaza de la Encarnación

I'm excited and scared for the upcoming weekend which marks the start of Semana Santa. Sevilla is the hub of this holy week and is sure to be absolutely packed with people. More on that, if I don't get trampled...

Practice Procession of Jesus Outside My Window

Paris

Eiffel Tower

I had a whirlwind vacation in Paris this weekend! It was a fun-packed five days in the city of lights. My friend Kevin from Tufts met me there to explore this city that I hadn't been to since I was in a stroller. I think my experience was slightly different this time around, although my bad knee made me wish I was in a stroller again.

Musée du Louvre

On Friday, I flew to the budget airline airport outside of Paris and made the trek to our hostel, St. Christopher's Paris. It is a really big and very nice and social hostel. After meeting some Scottish girls in my room and settling in for a minute, I rushed off to meet Kevin at the Louvre. We eventually found each other outside the enormous pyramid and sat on the gorgeous patio to make some plans and catch up. We continued catching up with our stroll through the Louvre. It is so ginormous that I have no idea what parts we actually covered but we saw the tiny Mona Lisa and had a great time traipsing through the museum. Then we went in search of food, and after finding that the falafel place we were seeking was closed, we settled on crepes in a nice cafe. I had a lovely ham, cheese, and egg crepe. This was my introduction to Parisian food and I approved. We headed back to the hostel and made some interesting friends. There was a huge group of students from the American south and I learned that their culture and views are even more different than mine are from many European cultures. I don't think I've had my jaw drop so much during a conversation in a long time. Luckily, the Scottish girl had a lot of interesting questions and such an interesting accent, so it was quite fun despite the shock.

Arc d'Triumph

Luxembourg Gardens

Pierre Hermé

We got up early on Saturday morning to hit the city. Our first stop was the Arc d'Triumph, which we climbed. It was beautiful from the outside but a bit hazy that morning at the top so the view wasn't spectacular. A man outside tried to scam us by pretending that we dropped a ring, but I saw it coming, gave him a firm "No," and we shared a smile because he knew that I knew. We walked down the huge shopping street, the Champs-Élysées, where I pretended that I could afford to shop there. It ends at the Tuileries Gardens where we had a nice baguette picnic and watched the ducks frolic in the fountain. We pressed onwards along the Seine to the Musée d'Orsay, which I found much more approachable than the Louvre. We had a long talk with an information guide because Van Gogh's "Starry Night" was displayed but it was not the painting we expected. Apparently there are two different paintings with the same title...who knew? After the museum, we walked around Saint Michael and collected food for a picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens. All we needed was a baguette, brie, goat cheese, and the gorgeous setting and we were good to go. We devoured way too much cheese and walked it off with a stroll around the gardens. As we were leaving, it started to rain so we headed off to get more food - macaroons at Pierre Hermé. We waiting in the pouring rain for the "best macaroons in all of France." They were also the most expensive cookies I've ever bought at 1.95 euros for a tiny cookie. But they were incredible and had wonderfully interesting flavors. It seems like all we did was eat, which is true, so we continued the trend but this time bought salads at a supermarket to take to the hostel. We made some more friends there by giving away our leftovers. It had been a long day so I was super tired and not looking forward to taking on the dreaded "spring forward" time change that night.

Palais of Versailles

Rowing on the Canal

Marie Antoinette's Hamlet

Sacre Coeur

Sunday was a day of royalty at the Palais of Versailles. The normal route to get there was closed, but we ended up meeting an awesome couple from England (Nick and Ria) while waiting for a different train so it was worth the slight delay. We ended up spending the train ride and the whole time there with them. Versailles was massive and very pretty, but the statues in the gardens were all covered and the fountains were off so we didn't get to see it in its true glory. We wandered through Louis' casa for a while and I pretended that all of his things were my own. Then we went out to the gardens and rented a row boat on the canal. We miraculously didn't capsize and I didn't crash us into anyone. We walked down a long road to Marie Antoinette's house, which wasn't too special, but her hamlet was incredible. It was a cute little village that reminded me of Hogsmeade. That was by far my favorite part of Versailles, even though it was just a tiny part off the beaten path. Eventually, we took the train back to Paris and made plans with our English friends to meet up for dinner at a French restaurant. Kevin and I went off to Sacre Coeur, an impressive white church on top of a hill. It had an amazing view of Paris, cool street performers, and adorable shops around the neighborhood. It was the most bustling part of Paris that I saw, although it was mainly filled with tourists. We met up with Nick and Ria at Chartier, a decently priced place with real French cuisine. I had amazing escargot right in their shell...yum yum. I also ordered a steak which was verrrrry fatty and tough and cooked rare even though I ordered medium well. Our waiter was also quite rude and rushed, but apparently that's the character of the place. He wrote our order on the paper tablecloth and tallied up our bill there. We were all afraid of him by the time we left but we had a good time during the meal. Kevin had a dessert that was a cake doused in rum. He enjoyed it but we all took bites and made ugly faces. Ria and I opted for a banana, Nutella, and whipped cream crepe off the street. Mine was massive and difficult to eat but all I had dreamed it would be! We went with our friends to the Eiffel Tower and sprinted out of the metro when we saw that it was sparkling. It was truly incredible. I wasn't sure what to expect because I had only seen it from far away but it was all it's cracked up to be. We said goodbye to Nick and Ria, and Kevin and I sprinted to catch a bus that went on a scenic route through the city. Then it was bed time once again.

Crepe!

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower

Monday was another busy day that began at the Notre Dame. The outside was really impressive and I sat outside for a while, people watching and looking at the building. The inside was good too, but a lot of cathedrals are starting to look similar inside. Kevin and I strolled around the area for a while and got crepes that we ate by the river. What more could we ask for? Well, a walking tour. We met a free walking tour that was full of people staying in all the hostels in Paris. It was led by a very dramatic and friendly Australian girl who was full of entertaining pop culture references and side comments. It was a great tour of 3.5 hours where I found out exactly what I had been seeing for the past few days and met a bunch of nice people. Paris is known as the "city of lights" but she called it the "city of stairs." This is a truth. After the tour, Kevin and I went to have dinner on the left bank. I had a delicious quiche and salad with creme brulée for dessert. I love to cook creme brulée and I think this one faired well to my creations. So good, so French. Then we headed off to our reservations to go up the Eiffel Tower. I was very excited! As we got off the metro, Kevin said, "This is us." A very interesting man sitting across from me who had been speaking in French the whole time looked me in the eye, and, in perfect English, quietly said, "This is us...this is us, indeed." It was hilarious and very unexpected. We took the requisite 500 pictures walking down to the Tower and got in line to take the elevator up. We ended up amongst two groups of American high school students on school trips, and we had fun chatting with them. It was certainly not a very romantic excursion, though, as I had imagined it would be. It was more like waiting in line for a Disney World attraction and being stuck on a crowded elevator. The views from the 2nd floor and top were truly amazing at night, and everything seemed so tiny. It was nice to go at the end of the trip so we could point out all the sites we had been to over the days. I went proposal hunting at the top but only saw the post-celebration of one proposal - they were crying, of course. I even used the bathroom at the top, a little bit because I had to go, but mostly to be able to say I used the bathroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Jealous? I know you are. After we were too cold at the top, it was time to go home and pack up for our last night in the hostel.

Gardens in Le Marais

On Tuesday morning, Kevin and I had our last breakfast and finished off the delicious macaroons. I'm sure I ate enough carbs on this trip to sustain someone on the Atkins' diet for a year. I wish I was kidding. Kevin's flight was earlier than mine so we took the metro together until we had to part ways. It was great having him on the trip and sad to say goodbye. Then I went to meet up with my dad's friend who lives for 3 months every year in the neighborhood of Le Marais. She made me lunch and took me on a very detailed tour of the neighborhood. It is a beautiful part of the city with amazing little shops. After the tour, I walked around by myself for a bit, avoiding the rain, and mostly popping in and out of the pastry shops. I indulged in a pistachio crumble that I had spotted our first night there. Heavenly. Inevitably, it was eventually time to say "au revoir" to Paris and take my flight back to Sevilla. I chatted with a Spanish couple for a bit on the plane, easing my transition from the land of incomprehensible yet sexy French back to good old Español. I arrived home after midnight and got a solid 5 hours of sleep before work the next morning. Paris was worth it!