Posts tagged Spain
Spain, Italy and France!
Literally, I cannot believe how much sightseeing, culture immersion, and fun I have had in the past two weeks. The last we spoke, I was rambling about Las Ramblas in Barcelona. If you’re looking for a mini-world tour walk up and down the street several times. You’re bound to run into something you’ve never even heard of.
Then we took a quick jaunt over to the south of France. Hysterical moment: I’m walking down this seemingly quiet street in Avignon at a typical French market. I stop to look at a booth and buy a present for
a friend back home when all of a sudden, this woman runs up to me from her booth holding purses and screaming in the “sacre bleu” French. No lie, I almost wet my pants. Luckily, I was with a fluent French-Canadian (Thank God For Canadians) who informed me that all she said was “I have these bags in black and silver!” Really great.
Another highlight of the tour was my trip to the Monte Carlo Casino where I won 30 euro! I was happier than those people on Deal or No Deal when they find out that the models were only faking them out. But legit, the casino is beautiful. It’s covered in ornate and decorative paintings that give it this billion dollar shine. Not to mention the Benzes, Porsches, and Jaguars parked out front. Unfortunately, my winnings can’t buy me a Rolls Royce, but it was still pretty sick.
Then, we on down to Cinque Terre and Florence (in Italian, it’s Firenze). I loved it. Once we crossed the border into Italy, I was totally stoked. Seriously, I must have eaten enough food in my days here to last an entire mountain village four days. No, make it five. But it’s just so good – the pesto is fresh, the tomatoes are ripe, and the pizza – move over Domino’s – the best in the world.
Other things to note: our tour guide was amazing. If, and when, you head over to Europe as for Emma. She is just the most fiesty Scottish woman who will greet you every morning with an “Okey guys”
and a “Wakey, wakey, wakey”. With our Italian gigalo bus driver (he identifies himself as this), the whole experience was a hoot from start to finish. Gotta love it. Peace out guys!
Hola Madrid!
I know, I know, it’s been a while. Well, so much to cue you all in on.
First and foremost, Madrid is wonderful.
I’ve been taking Spanish for about five years now and we learn all these silly little tools called modismos and these quirky little customs. Basically, all of these little tricks have come in handy during my Spanish jaunt. In case you were unaware, everyone in Spain is on the college schedule: they have breakfast around 10 a.m., lunch around 3 p.m., a quick siesta or nap, dinner around 10 p.m., and then they party all night. While we were walking on the streets, people scoffed at the clubs that closed before 6 a.m. Gives a whole new meaning to “the city that never sleeps”, eh?
After a little relaxation, my new family headed off to the Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen). It’s this huge church carved into the side of a mountain – move over Frank Lloyd Wright – that houses the fallen soldiers of the Spanish Civil War. What’s unbelievable about experiences like these is that you start to realize how everything you’ve learned about history is actually true. As surreal as it may seem, these people of the past really did have all these fantastic stories that we learn about in class. (That is if you are awake and not sleeping on your textbook.)
After a quick jaunt around the city, I actually did something quite unusual in my hotel room. My high school graduation was actually happening at 2 p.m. that day, so I was able to make a live webcast valedictorian speech into the graduation tent via satellite. (It really felt cool – like being one of those people who wins an Academy Award but delivers their little speech from another country). I used my eKit phone to coordinate this event (seriously, crystal clear calls across the Atlantic). Basically, a crazy awesome travel experience. Congrats HHS grads! Alright guys, I’m off like a bull after a red cape.
