Today I was "that tourist." Now, this is hard for me to admit because I like to think I'm usually the one annoyed by these types, but I must be honest here. I was ready with the works: a shoulder pack, jacket tied around the waist, sneakers, layered clothing- enough for a Russian winter or a summer in the Carribean, camera in hand, and ears open to everything the guide was saying. I now realize I that tourist who stood in the way as groups tried to pass, gaping at the decorated ceiling.
Now that I've let that out, I must run because I'm meeting everyone in 10 minutes for our first night on the town. Tomorrow is a free day, so I hope to give full updates on tapas, touring, and teterias (oh, just you wait...).
Ciao!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
GRIIS
GRIIS is the acronym for the one-month Spanish language program in which I am currently enrolled at the Centro De Lenguas Modernas de La Universidad de Granada. That is a long name for one building of La Universidad de Granada for international (mostly American), short-term students. Students of American universities wanting to study abroad in Granada will likely end up here. During the school year about 1000 international students study at the Centro. During the summer, shorter programs like the one I am in keep the place busy. My very first impression of the school, besides being wowed by the traditional Andalucian appearance of the building (a bright courtyard-like opening in the middle which allows for lots of natural light during the day) and the long hours (what in Spain isn't open late?), was that the cafeteria serves wine. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I speak the truth! One of my professors said it wasn't typical of many school cafeterias to do so, but I don't want to believe that. Ours is more like a small coffee shop than a buffet-style, here's-your-slop cafeteria, thankfully. The thought of having a glass of chilled red during my first class at 9:30 AM is both disturbing and reassuring. I respect the trust that the school puts in the students to not abuse the lax drinking policy, but knowing that some students or professors could (and probably do) is slightly unnerving. I thought it humorous, nonetheless.
The first full day of the program consisted of getting to know our host families (Carmen, the Senora I am living with reminds me of an Indian mother in the amount of food she cooks...Mom, can you send me a bigger belt?), having an introductory class, and learning about the school. I live with another girl in the program and Carmen in a nice, centrally-located apartment. We each have our own rooms (luxurious!), and enjoy three large meals a day. Breakfast is at 9, lunch around 3:45 and dinner at, well, it's 10:45 and we haven't eaten yet, so I can't say for sure. The first night we were here, one of the students who lived with Carmen this past semester brought his parents over for dinner to meet her. She prepared a seven-dish feast of meat, meat, meat, and shrimp. Of, I think there were some eggs and potatoes in there, too. We ate at 10:15, finished at 11:45 and ran out the door at midnight to catch the fireworks over the river, which signified the end of the feria in Granada. The feria is a huge festival outside the city celebrating Corpus Christi. The fireworks were the only part of the festivities in which I participated.
I have yet to figure out how the Spanish live on such a time frame. Late lunch, late dinner, early morning, and still a relaxed and unhurried attitude. Dear Americans, take note.
The first full day of the program consisted of getting to know our host families (Carmen, the Senora I am living with reminds me of an Indian mother in the amount of food she cooks...Mom, can you send me a bigger belt?), having an introductory class, and learning about the school. I live with another girl in the program and Carmen in a nice, centrally-located apartment. We each have our own rooms (luxurious!), and enjoy three large meals a day. Breakfast is at 9, lunch around 3:45 and dinner at, well, it's 10:45 and we haven't eaten yet, so I can't say for sure. The first night we were here, one of the students who lived with Carmen this past semester brought his parents over for dinner to meet her. She prepared a seven-dish feast of meat, meat, meat, and shrimp. Of, I think there were some eggs and potatoes in there, too. We ate at 10:15, finished at 11:45 and ran out the door at midnight to catch the fireworks over the river, which signified the end of the feria in Granada. The feria is a huge festival outside the city celebrating Corpus Christi. The fireworks were the only part of the festivities in which I participated.
I have yet to figure out how the Spanish live on such a time frame. Late lunch, late dinner, early morning, and still a relaxed and unhurried attitude. Dear Americans, take note.
Travel Wisdom From Getting Lost in Granada
I made it to Granada, after successfully napping at the Barcelona airport, on the plane, and on the bus into town. I was booked at a hostal called La Oasis for the night because the program didn't start until Sunday. It took me about a half hour to find the place because it's located in the Arabic quarter of Granada known as El Albaycin. The streets in this steep neighborhood (literally steep- it's on the side of a mountain) are so narrow and windy that the area is grayed out on both maps I have. Most of the small streets are made even more narrow by vendors selling pricey tourist junk from China. I shared a laugh with a friend in the program who also took a year off and traveled through Asia. We couldn't help but notice that the miscellaneous low-quality merchandise- bags, clothes, wallets, pillow covers, tapestries, postcards- is the same all over the world. Pushy hawkers outside the Taj Mahal touted the exact purple change purses that someone offered me today. Overly-friendly entrepreneurs in the Dominican Republic displayed the same painted wood animals that some of the others in the group will buy in the coming weeks. You've seen it all before, if not in other countries, then at one of those hippie shops in the mall. Traveling to touristy places doesn't have to mean we can no longer experience authenticity. However, let this be a fair warning to all: Look deeper into a culture and a region than what the attractions show. Conveniently-located gift shops and vendors speaking English often signify familiarity with visitors. I have come to view these types not as annoying or greedy, but simply as one part of the whole experience. I urge all travelers or travelers-to-be to do the same. Your time abroad will be much more pleasant if you keep in mind that the true understanding of a people and a place comes from looking beyond what is easy.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Last Day In Barcelona
Mom hauled her bag down a big shopping street and through the Plaza Catalunya on Saturday morning to catch the airport bus. I had a few more hours, and enjoyed a tour of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona. The building is huge, but only two of the eight or nine floors had expositions. I was in and out in under forty minutes, but walked through two other buildings with art exhibits in the same plaza. One was a Spanish history lesson of the 1950’s and 1960’s displayed through magazines, t.v. news, radio sound bytes, and books. The other was a display of graphic design through creative print advertisements of local businesses. My favorite was the poster above.
I finished my last hour in Barcelona with a wonderful lunch at…you guessed it! Kiosk Universal. Again, I usually emphasize the importance of trying new places. However, when a large variety of fresh seafood and reasonable prices collide in a busy marketplace around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, I can make exceptions. Plus, I had yet to try the colorful roasted vegetable plate and of course, the calamari.
The relatively early mornings to the relatively late nights, plus walking the city all day, made it so that I felt jet lagged when I arrived in Granada even though I was on the same time zone.
The relatively early mornings to the relatively late nights, plus walking the city all day, made it so that I felt jet lagged when I arrived in Granada even though I was on the same time zone.
BCN Dia Tres
We canceled our dinner reservations for our final full day in the city when both Mom and I woke up just as full as when we had gone to bed. Day number three brought a long walk down La Rambla, a wide shopping strip and pedestrian mall lined with street performers and vendors selling everything from flower bouquets to live chickens. The bird vendors were actually our point of reference for the street the hotel was on- they were easy to see, hear, and smell.
We ventured toward the Mediterranean, stopping to gape at the tram in the sky that takes people all the way up a mountain and back down over the sea. The weather could not have been more pleasant for a seaside stroll, so we meandered along the harbor, attempting to count the parked sailboats and enjoying the variety of sculptural art along the wide walkway (the pic of me with the two large people is just one of the pieces). My tendency to get wet when I’m near a body of water thankfully did not play out, so we then headed away from el mar toward El Born district, a shopping neighborhood comparable to SoHo in its up-and-coming days. The narrow, winding streets are packed with independent boutiques selling clothing, accessories, household items, and the like. If I could live anywhere in Barcelona, it would be here, where the neighborhood has true charm and the chain stores have yet to conquer. Hip young people munch on tapas at the outdoor tables lining the small plazas and creative window displays welcome wandering.
With a belly full of sautéed mixed mushrooms (my mouth waters at the thought!), a nicoise-style salad, sardines, tuna, flan, and freshly-squeezed orange juice (an interesting and delicious dessert option) at Kiosk Universal, we were back in El Born in search of perfect gelato. I don’t often like to eat at the same place twice, but there were some things at Universal that we just could not leave without trying. After some deliberation, we chose a gelato location (it just had to be perfect!) and settled on banana, picante chocolate, and pistachio. Frozen deliciousness.
A short siesta later, we did a bit more shopping before heading toward a different area in search of dinner. We found it in the form of a rustic-chic restaurant serving fairly interesting, fusion dishes. The Galician octopus with liquid potato puree was divine, as was a pumpkin soup with cream and truffle oil. Mom’s salad was loaded with candied fruits and topped with a passion fruit vinaigrette. The dessert menu had us giggling at the awkward English spellings. “Baquet apple” was a baked apple, “panqueque” was a pancake (crepe), and “swpinch” panna cotta was spinach panna cotta (neither of us ordered it, but the table behind us seemed to like it). Mom enjoyed the apple panqueque with deep caramel sauce and I had strawberries with cream and chocolate. For the first time since I arrived in Spain, I read the map wrong and took us the long route home, with some guidance from two cops on motorcycles.
We ventured toward the Mediterranean, stopping to gape at the tram in the sky that takes people all the way up a mountain and back down over the sea. The weather could not have been more pleasant for a seaside stroll, so we meandered along the harbor, attempting to count the parked sailboats and enjoying the variety of sculptural art along the wide walkway (the pic of me with the two large people is just one of the pieces). My tendency to get wet when I’m near a body of water thankfully did not play out, so we then headed away from el mar toward El Born district, a shopping neighborhood comparable to SoHo in its up-and-coming days. The narrow, winding streets are packed with independent boutiques selling clothing, accessories, household items, and the like. If I could live anywhere in Barcelona, it would be here, where the neighborhood has true charm and the chain stores have yet to conquer. Hip young people munch on tapas at the outdoor tables lining the small plazas and creative window displays welcome wandering.
With a belly full of sautéed mixed mushrooms (my mouth waters at the thought!), a nicoise-style salad, sardines, tuna, flan, and freshly-squeezed orange juice (an interesting and delicious dessert option) at Kiosk Universal, we were back in El Born in search of perfect gelato. I don’t often like to eat at the same place twice, but there were some things at Universal that we just could not leave without trying. After some deliberation, we chose a gelato location (it just had to be perfect!) and settled on banana, picante chocolate, and pistachio. Frozen deliciousness.
A short siesta later, we did a bit more shopping before heading toward a different area in search of dinner. We found it in the form of a rustic-chic restaurant serving fairly interesting, fusion dishes. The Galician octopus with liquid potato puree was divine, as was a pumpkin soup with cream and truffle oil. Mom’s salad was loaded with candied fruits and topped with a passion fruit vinaigrette. The dessert menu had us giggling at the awkward English spellings. “Baquet apple” was a baked apple, “panqueque” was a pancake (crepe), and “swpinch” panna cotta was spinach panna cotta (neither of us ordered it, but the table behind us seemed to like it). Mom enjoyed the apple panqueque with deep caramel sauce and I had strawberries with cream and chocolate. For the first time since I arrived in Spain, I read the map wrong and took us the long route home, with some guidance from two cops on motorcycles.
BCN Dia Dos
We welcomed our first day in Barcelona with a long walk to some of the city’s famous Gaudi architecture. Antoni Gaudi was the most well-known architect of the Modernisme movement, which Lonely Planet calls the Catalan version of Art Noveau. Casa Batllo was our first stop. To think that this intricately-designed five or six story house on the posh Passeig De Gracia, a street equivalent to New York’s Fifth Avenue, was once a family’s home, is incredible. Now, the legendary building holds a few residences, but is mainly a tourist destination. Though living in one of Gaudi’s pieces of architectural art at one of Barcelona’s most prominent addresses would be an unmatched experience, hauling bags of groceries up flights of stairs crowded with tourists could be a downside. Pictures of the Casa Batllo rooftop are below.
From here, we wandered along the Passeig De Gracia, past high-end designer boutiques, toward another Gaudi building called La Pedrera. We ooed and awed at the outside, but didn’t stop to wait in the long line to go inside. Instead, we found our way to a super stylish chocolate boutique called Bubo that also served coca, a crisp puff pastry dough covered with savory toppings. The sardine and roasted vegetable slice was just enough to keep us through our hike to the Sagrada Familia, the third and final stop on our Gaudi tour. The Sagrada Familia, a privately-funded cathedral under construction since 1882 (set to be completed by 2020), is Barcelona’s most famous building. Symbolic towers stand 100 to 170 meters tall and elaborate carvings on the building’s façade display Biblical scenes complete with various animals, baby Jesus, and others present at the turn of the last millennium. Inside is a display of the type and origin of each stone used in the construction. Despite the sign predicting a 45-minute wait and Mom’s fear of heights, we decided to take the speedy elevator to the top of one of the towers for possibly the best view of the city. I took the photos of the skyline below from the extremely narrow walkway between two of the high towers. Though a sign at the elevator warns of steep stairs, Mom was gripping both sides of the wall (which were only about two feet apart) all the way down the dark, winding staircase. Yes, the elevator ride only takes visitors up. Going down requires great balance, night vision, and anti-nausea medication. Somehow, we were ill-prepared.
After a long walk back to the Boqueria (the bustling market in the city center), we parked at Kiosk Universal, a highly recommended breakfast and lunch spot for its fun setting (on the edge of vendor madness) and uber-fresh seafood. We had our fill of razor clams, paella, sea bass (an entire fish cut down the middle and seared), and flan before our much-needed siesta back at the hotel.
The afternoon held more walking, this time around the shopping neighborhoods. We stumbled upon a strip of independent artists selling clothing and accessories on one of the pedestrian malls and vowed to return the next day. Suddenly, it was time to head toward our 9:00 (the earliest time!) dinner reservation on the other side of town. On the map it looked rather close, but each intersection has a roundabout, so pedestrians cannot walk straight down the sidewalk. The urban planners were smart in cutting the corners off the intersections to make more room for parking and to allow for more storefronts, but walking through the streets does feel a bit windy. Walk straight, then walk a half circle, walk straight, then walk a half-circle. We showed up almost 15 minutes late, which didn’t seem to be a big deal because we were only the second group of people in the place. I felt kind of like my Grandparents arriving at 4:30 for the early bird special. Except it was 9:15 and the interior of Sauc restaurant was approximately 15 million times more chic than the 70’s floral upholstery (that highly flammable, plastic stuff) on the booths of the Diner 99 (need I mention the exterior is entirely covered in chrome? Sorry for making you cringe).
Sauc means elderberry, as we learned during the cheese course (between the meat and dessert) when our waitress explained that the deep purple square on our plates was the jellied juice of the delicate fruit. The meal at Sauc was equally creative and funky as was the food the night before. Highlights included a chilled apple soup over briny raw oysters with green apple slices and a savory cake, sweetbreads with morel mushrooms and langoustines, and a dark chocolate sauce poured like broth over a coffee granita and caramel cream base, sprinkled with sour white candies. The final course was creamy mascarpone cheese and diced peaches topped with refreshing red wine foam, mini madelines and nut cookies, and chocolate ganache lollipops with candied orange pieces. By the time we left around 11:30, the place was almost full and a table of six 50-somethings were only on dessert number 1. Did you catch that, Dad? 50-somethings out past 9 and enjoying themselves! I didn’t know it was possible either.
From here, we wandered along the Passeig De Gracia, past high-end designer boutiques, toward another Gaudi building called La Pedrera. We ooed and awed at the outside, but didn’t stop to wait in the long line to go inside. Instead, we found our way to a super stylish chocolate boutique called Bubo that also served coca, a crisp puff pastry dough covered with savory toppings. The sardine and roasted vegetable slice was just enough to keep us through our hike to the Sagrada Familia, the third and final stop on our Gaudi tour. The Sagrada Familia, a privately-funded cathedral under construction since 1882 (set to be completed by 2020), is Barcelona’s most famous building. Symbolic towers stand 100 to 170 meters tall and elaborate carvings on the building’s façade display Biblical scenes complete with various animals, baby Jesus, and others present at the turn of the last millennium. Inside is a display of the type and origin of each stone used in the construction. Despite the sign predicting a 45-minute wait and Mom’s fear of heights, we decided to take the speedy elevator to the top of one of the towers for possibly the best view of the city. I took the photos of the skyline below from the extremely narrow walkway between two of the high towers. Though a sign at the elevator warns of steep stairs, Mom was gripping both sides of the wall (which were only about two feet apart) all the way down the dark, winding staircase. Yes, the elevator ride only takes visitors up. Going down requires great balance, night vision, and anti-nausea medication. Somehow, we were ill-prepared.
After a long walk back to the Boqueria (the bustling market in the city center), we parked at Kiosk Universal, a highly recommended breakfast and lunch spot for its fun setting (on the edge of vendor madness) and uber-fresh seafood. We had our fill of razor clams, paella, sea bass (an entire fish cut down the middle and seared), and flan before our much-needed siesta back at the hotel.
The afternoon held more walking, this time around the shopping neighborhoods. We stumbled upon a strip of independent artists selling clothing and accessories on one of the pedestrian malls and vowed to return the next day. Suddenly, it was time to head toward our 9:00 (the earliest time!) dinner reservation on the other side of town. On the map it looked rather close, but each intersection has a roundabout, so pedestrians cannot walk straight down the sidewalk. The urban planners were smart in cutting the corners off the intersections to make more room for parking and to allow for more storefronts, but walking through the streets does feel a bit windy. Walk straight, then walk a half circle, walk straight, then walk a half-circle. We showed up almost 15 minutes late, which didn’t seem to be a big deal because we were only the second group of people in the place. I felt kind of like my Grandparents arriving at 4:30 for the early bird special. Except it was 9:15 and the interior of Sauc restaurant was approximately 15 million times more chic than the 70’s floral upholstery (that highly flammable, plastic stuff) on the booths of the Diner 99 (need I mention the exterior is entirely covered in chrome? Sorry for making you cringe).
Sauc means elderberry, as we learned during the cheese course (between the meat and dessert) when our waitress explained that the deep purple square on our plates was the jellied juice of the delicate fruit. The meal at Sauc was equally creative and funky as was the food the night before. Highlights included a chilled apple soup over briny raw oysters with green apple slices and a savory cake, sweetbreads with morel mushrooms and langoustines, and a dark chocolate sauce poured like broth over a coffee granita and caramel cream base, sprinkled with sour white candies. The final course was creamy mascarpone cheese and diced peaches topped with refreshing red wine foam, mini madelines and nut cookies, and chocolate ganache lollipops with candied orange pieces. By the time we left around 11:30, the place was almost full and a table of six 50-somethings were only on dessert number 1. Did you catch that, Dad? 50-somethings out past 9 and enjoying themselves! I didn’t know it was possible either.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
SEE Barcelona
Anyone else think this is funny?
Outdoor dining near the Contemporary Art Museum- love the bright red tablecloths
Alfresco dining near the Mediterranean...seafood, anyone?
Boy-shaped buoy in the Mediterranean
Huge flock of sailboats at the Barceloneta port
Hamming it up with some of the amazing art pieces on the wide walkway along the sea
The Contemporary Art Museum in Barcelona
This is the outdoor display of an interesting visual art exhibit of strange print advertisements
The first of these four is of one part of the Casa Batllo roof (more on Casa Batllo to come)
The second image is a cucumber-shaped building which sticks out in the Barcelona skyline...think what you will
The third is Barcelona from above- I shot this one from about 30 or 40 stories up in a high tower of the Sagrada Familia (info on that to come, too)
The fourth is another portion of the roof of Casa Batllo supposedly meant to resemble the back of a fish or reptile
Barcelona Begins
Hola a todos! Three days in Barcelona was simply not enough to experience everything the lively city has to offer. I met my Mom, who stopped in BCN on her way to Ireland, at our funky hotel called Chic and Basic. The name aptly describes the concept of the very basic (sliding door to cover either the toilet or the shower, sink in the corner of the room), yet mildly chic (blue neon lighting behind the beds, stark white walls and floors everywhere) hotel smack in the center of the city. The one-person reception/concierge continually restocked the electric orange fridge and common area with snacks, breakfast food, and other goodies to munch on whenever. Each morning began with a yogurt and coffee at the tall white table in this cutely-named “Chill & Basic lounge.” One wall of the lounge is a mirror with big silver writing across it describing the mission of the hotel. Tacky? Not quite. Chic? Almost.
I arrived Wednesday evening, just in time for a stroll before dinner. Mom’s flight arrived in the morning, so she had walked much of the city already. She led me (in an odd role reversal) in the general direction of the restaurant, stopping along the way to look at the huge Cathedral, window displays of every pasteleria (pastry shop) we passed, and funky clothes on various mannequins in store windows. Dinner on our first night was at Espai Sucre, a small, stylish place serving mainly desserts. The food was weird and delicious (my fav. combo!) with dishes like roast lamb with a peppery milk custard and rosemary cookie crumbles and jellied cucumber rolls with pineapple-tarragon sorbet on chopped pineapple and cucumber with bacon pieces. The garlic soup with poached duck egg and saffron cake was divine, as was the final presentation of bite-sized sweets (think yogurt-pepper marshmallows, peanut curry cookies, and passion fruit ginger jellies). We had an amazing multi-course meal of food too complex to adequately describe, but too delicious to not mention at all! Out of the ordinary, creative cuisine is definitely my calling, so prepare to read some intimate details of the types of food I love (which is all types, really). P.S.- Though you probably already know this if you’re reading this blog right now, but I am a foodie!
I arrived Wednesday evening, just in time for a stroll before dinner. Mom’s flight arrived in the morning, so she had walked much of the city already. She led me (in an odd role reversal) in the general direction of the restaurant, stopping along the way to look at the huge Cathedral, window displays of every pasteleria (pastry shop) we passed, and funky clothes on various mannequins in store windows. Dinner on our first night was at Espai Sucre, a small, stylish place serving mainly desserts. The food was weird and delicious (my fav. combo!) with dishes like roast lamb with a peppery milk custard and rosemary cookie crumbles and jellied cucumber rolls with pineapple-tarragon sorbet on chopped pineapple and cucumber with bacon pieces. The garlic soup with poached duck egg and saffron cake was divine, as was the final presentation of bite-sized sweets (think yogurt-pepper marshmallows, peanut curry cookies, and passion fruit ginger jellies). We had an amazing multi-course meal of food too complex to adequately describe, but too delicious to not mention at all! Out of the ordinary, creative cuisine is definitely my calling, so prepare to read some intimate details of the types of food I love (which is all types, really). P.S.- Though you probably already know this if you’re reading this blog right now, but I am a foodie!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The Virginia Week In Brief
My last final was two Mondays ago at 6pm. After having three hours of statistics fully blow my mind, I preceded to get an equal amount of sleep due to a late-night phone chat (thanks, Wong!) and early-morning wake up (thanks, 9am flight!). I arrived in Richmond early afternoon only to have a camp friend swoop me up and take me off to visit another friend in Newport News. The next four days of simply chilling out, lounging on the beach, getting caught up, and driving around vibrant Newport News/Yorktown were much-needed after the crazy whirlwind of finals/the end of the school year. Highlights of the mini camp reunion were: eating Ben and Jerry's at Yorktown beach, seeing Lauren's new house, experiencing predictably warm weather for the first time in months, watching Cruel Intentions for the first time, and greatest of all, being with my best friends. Come Friday, we were off again. Though I passed up the opportunity for some of the best sheet cake of all time from Ukrop's in favor of being at the Greyhound station with a few extra minutes, I caught my bus to Charlottesville and slept the whole way. Dad picked me up in UVA-ville (aka my favorite small city) and our first stop was Arch's, or course. Arch's is my favorite frozen yogurt shop in C-ville. Their famous topping is partially-baked brownies, which they slab on the yogurt with intensity. I dream about the stuff regularly.
We spent a quiet weekend at the farm in Bath County. It was colder than expected for mid May, but delightful when we hiked to the clear stream and picked watercress. Yes, it was as idyllic as it sounds. Visiting with family was just the kind of peacefulness I wanted before heading off to Espana on Tuesday. Dad and I drove to D.C. on a day in which the weather couldn't make up its mind, therefore the clouds (here comes my tree-hugger side) formed fascinating shapes of many colors. We enjoyed a great Vietnamese dinner and I was off! Dad dropped me at Dulles and it would be at least9 weeks until I see American soil again.
We spent a quiet weekend at the farm in Bath County. It was colder than expected for mid May, but delightful when we hiked to the clear stream and picked watercress. Yes, it was as idyllic as it sounds. Visiting with family was just the kind of peacefulness I wanted before heading off to Espana on Tuesday. Dad and I drove to D.C. on a day in which the weather couldn't make up its mind, therefore the clouds (here comes my tree-hugger side) formed fascinating shapes of many colors. We enjoyed a great Vietnamese dinner and I was off! Dad dropped me at Dulles and it would be at least9 weeks until I see American soil again.
Welcome
Ladies and Gentlemen! The last time I blogged while sitting on the tile floor of a backpacker’s hostel off a windy side street of a small city, I was in a part of the world seemingly more foreign to me than my current location. In Asia I had immense culture shock when I arrived. In Europe, however, I don’t feel like such an outsider, especially when the person sitting behind me on the bus speaks English with a Southern accent. Perhaps because my ancestors came from this part of the world, or because it is still the West, Spain thus far (even with the language barrier) simply does not feel so foreign. Seven months in India and Southeast Asia brought adventures I never expected (riding a camel and elephant in the same night, after watching children dance on 20-foot poles and eating an exotic Rajasthani meal sitting on the floor of a large mud hut). Then again, for that trip, I had no idea of what to expect. Now, as I blog my 2008 summer vacation, including travels through Europe, I hope to report new adventures and stories of equal excitement. Please note, dear reader, that this blog reflects my stream of consciousness. I strive to spend as much time actually doing, exploring, learning, and seeing while spending as little time in front of a computer as possible. Though I love using correct grammar (daughter of a magazine editor), I also enjoy releasing my thoughts almost as quickly as they come to my mind. My spelling and punctuation won’t be perfect, but such informality is fun! To give an overview of my summer plans: I headed straight to Virginia from school, spending a relaxing week visiting great friends and family. I took a power flight from D.C. to London, then a shorter one to Barcelona where I spent almost four days eating, walking, eating, and enjoying the Mediterranean climate with my Mom. I write now from Granada where I will spend the next month in a Spanish language program. After the program ends, I have a few weeks to see as many sights as I can around this vast continent. Though I likely won’t be leaving the Western part of Europe for the sake of time, I cannot wait to visit some beautiful, if well-trodden places! If I block out the value of the U.S. dollar from my mind (1.57 Euro?!?!!), this trip has some serious potential. Here’s to loving travel for all the good it brings! Enjoy…
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