Sunday, April 3, 2011
Auburn reunion in Amsterdam!
This past weekend Chris, Eric, LP, and I met up in Amsterdam with four Auburn girls that are studying outside of Rome! It was soooo much fun! And so good to see some familiar faces! We arrived Thursday night and found our awesome apartment that we rented for the weekend. It was four stories with the fourth being an outdoor terrace which overlooked the city! It was incredible. The apartment was very typical Europe with small floors and very steep, skinny, and high staircases.. Those were definitely challenging (and a workout). Friday we ventured off to find Anne Frank's house, which was so interesting and cool to see. I always loved reading and learning about the Holocaust and to see the tiny space she lived in for 2 years was really cool, but also very sad. After the house we found an awesome pancake place... They were sooo good. Not your typical pancake, it was more like a really thin pizza, but still very good! Then we walked around some more and picked up some food to cook in. Saturday we met up with the girls at the Van Gogh museum, which was a good 45 minute walk away. It was really cool though, I didn't think art interested me that much but I was really intrigued by his work. It was all so pretty! Then we walked to Dam Square, which is a famous square in Amsterdam, but the main building was being renovated so it was all covered by tarp.. not that cute. But the big statue was super cool and there was some weird protest/pillow fight going on next to it.. Interesting to witness.. Then Chris, Eric, and I decided to enjoy our terrace on such a pretty day and grabbed some snacks and beverages on the way home! We sat out there for like 2 hours just talking and laughing and enjoying the weather! It was fun. We cooked at home again and then went on a tour cruise of all the canals that went through most of the city! We walked through the red light district.. which was... interesting, to say the least. Won't go into much detail about that buttt guess there's a first for everything? We grabbed some famous fries with a mysterious white sauce smothered all over them on the way home and then we went back to the appt! Overall such a fun weekend, another city that was so different than anywhere I've been!
don't look down..
our street!
one of my good friends thats studying in rome!
auburn girls + maitri!
view from the terrace!
Skiing in Suiza!
Sorry I haven't updated in a while... I've been really busy and kinda lazy haha but here's the recap of the past month. About a month ago two of my best friends from home came to visit me for a week. They stayed with me and my family which was very nice of my family to allow and we had a great time all week. We stayed in Alcala and Madrid and I showed them all around! Two weeks ago me and my dad went to Switzerland. We stayed in Geneva one night and then stayed in Interlaken for four nights. The bed and breakfast we stayed at in Interlaken was the cutest little place I've ever stayed. It was run by a Swiss father and son and they were both so friendly and welcoming. We skied two days in the Alps, which was like a 45 minute train up the mountain. It was absolutely beautiful... the view of the Alps as the backdrop was unreal. We tried a bunch of local food and overall had some awesome food in Switzerland like Schnitzel, Chicken Cordon Bleu, etc. Very good.. but they eat a lot of horse there... ew/sad :( We had an awesome week together it was so good to see my daddy and show him around my little town!
Keri and Reagan!
Walking around Madrid!
Interlaken!
Day trip to Bern
fun irish pub sampling some swiss beers!
the alps :)
so much fun!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Girls Weekend in Barca!
So last week was midterm week.... and boy was it brutal. My teacher wasn't lying when she told me she was gonna be my worst nightmare (side note: I have her for 3 of my 4 classes.. talk about some good luck). One of my exams I noticed I forgot a page at the one minute warning and started crying. A little dramatic but I was so stressed and cracked. I tend to overstress a lot when it comes to school work... Oh well, I sure hope it pays off because last week literally killed me.
We left early Friday morning to start our adventure to Barcelona. This time it was only me and lp and it was definitely good to get away just us girls (contrary to popular belief, boys can be very high maintenance haha). It started snowing on our walk to the train station, we definitely weren't expecting that! And apparently it stuck and they ended up getting a couple inches. Good thing we were off to Barca where it was in the 60s because I am so over this cold weather! It's such a gorgeous city though, it felt really good to go back. We found our way from the bus station to Las Ramblas (the main street/strip in barca) and walked into a couple hostals before settling on a cute little one off a side street (which we figured out was a lottt cheaper). Ofcourse it was some holiday weekend or something and prices were higher than usual, just my luck. Needless to say, my bank account officially hates me. But we dropped our stuff off and walked down Las Ramblas, admiring all the strange street entertainers along the way, and after taking a few pics we decided that starbucks was calling our name. It was SO good, literally felt amazing to hold a cup thats not meant for a toddler. We walked along the harbor where all the gorgeous sailboats sit and took some more pics, and then we went home to change and decided to go for a little run to the beach so that I could show lp the coast! It was so pretty, and the ocean smelt so good! We walked to the huge outdoor market on the way home to stock up on some very fresh and cheap veggies to make a huge, hearty salad for dinner! It was the first legit salad I've had since I've been here.. sadly.. but it was amazing. We even topped it with some fresh goat cheese :) We got ready and got a couple drinks at a random bar off Las Ramblas, where the bartender told us our Spanish was really good. It's probably only because we look like two doofus blondes and they wouldn't expect it haha but then we met up with my friend Julia from Charlotte who is studying abroad there and went to this really different bar called La Oveja Negra (the black sheep) and it was really fun! We made it an early night though because we were so drained from such a busy day and week!
Saturday we ventured to this famous gaudy park that took about 2 hours just to get to! We had to take the metro and then walk 2 miles uphill to this awesome park, that honestly didn't even look like a park. It was more a mix between a huge gingerbread house and tree fort, or something, I don't really know. But it was pretty awesome and really unique, it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. We brought sandwiches and some fruit and had a little picnic, it was cute. Exploring the park took up most of the day and we took advantage of the market and made another salad for dinner. We went and got a couple drinks at a different bar, tried some random tapas, and then decided to go home for some much needed sleep!
entrance to el parque guell!
We left early Friday morning to start our adventure to Barcelona. This time it was only me and lp and it was definitely good to get away just us girls (contrary to popular belief, boys can be very high maintenance haha). It started snowing on our walk to the train station, we definitely weren't expecting that! And apparently it stuck and they ended up getting a couple inches. Good thing we were off to Barca where it was in the 60s because I am so over this cold weather! It's such a gorgeous city though, it felt really good to go back. We found our way from the bus station to Las Ramblas (the main street/strip in barca) and walked into a couple hostals before settling on a cute little one off a side street (which we figured out was a lottt cheaper). Ofcourse it was some holiday weekend or something and prices were higher than usual, just my luck. Needless to say, my bank account officially hates me. But we dropped our stuff off and walked down Las Ramblas, admiring all the strange street entertainers along the way, and after taking a few pics we decided that starbucks was calling our name. It was SO good, literally felt amazing to hold a cup thats not meant for a toddler. We walked along the harbor where all the gorgeous sailboats sit and took some more pics, and then we went home to change and decided to go for a little run to the beach so that I could show lp the coast! It was so pretty, and the ocean smelt so good! We walked to the huge outdoor market on the way home to stock up on some very fresh and cheap veggies to make a huge, hearty salad for dinner! It was the first legit salad I've had since I've been here.. sadly.. but it was amazing. We even topped it with some fresh goat cheese :) We got ready and got a couple drinks at a random bar off Las Ramblas, where the bartender told us our Spanish was really good. It's probably only because we look like two doofus blondes and they wouldn't expect it haha but then we met up with my friend Julia from Charlotte who is studying abroad there and went to this really different bar called La Oveja Negra (the black sheep) and it was really fun! We made it an early night though because we were so drained from such a busy day and week!
Saturday we ventured to this famous gaudy park that took about 2 hours just to get to! We had to take the metro and then walk 2 miles uphill to this awesome park, that honestly didn't even look like a park. It was more a mix between a huge gingerbread house and tree fort, or something, I don't really know. But it was pretty awesome and really unique, it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. We brought sandwiches and some fruit and had a little picnic, it was cute. Exploring the park took up most of the day and we took advantage of the market and made another salad for dinner. We went and got a couple drinks at a different bar, tried some random tapas, and then decided to go home for some much needed sleep!
harbor :)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Porto, Portugal!
Thursday, we left for the airport straight after class at noon and finally arrived in portugal around dinner time. The flight was really easy, only about 45 minutes and $50 US dollars, so those were two big bonuses of this trip. We were blessed with awesome weather the whole weekend, during the day it was in the mid 60s and sunny, it was perfect! Thursday night we walked about halfway down to the river and watched the sun set, and it was absolutely gorgeous! Then we got a couple drinks at an outside bar and went back to the hostal to get some rest.
The hostal we stayed in was the first real hostal we've stayed at so far! We were in a 6 person room, had a community bathroom, and two random room mates. The first night was two german girls, who were nice but a little strange. The next two nights were two italian men. We didn't really socialize with them too much, they all pretty much kept to themselves. Friday we walked down to the river, which was quite the hike, and veryyy steep. We sat outside and ate lunch (second salad I've had in europe YET.. ugh) and tried some Portuguese beers at a cute little cafe right on the river. It was a beautiful day and hard not to enjoy. We got some yummy gelato afterwards and walked around some more before going home and taking a much needed nap! We took advantage of the kitchen the hostal provided for us and cooked spicy chicken pasta for dinner! It was so good and so much cheaper than eating out.
Saturday we walked to the center of the city to shop around. I found some really unique jewelry from a local vender for a couple euros, which was cool. We saw these random carts selling what looked like some sort of sea creature to me, but turns out they were huge smoked walnuts. They didn't look that appealing but they were SO good. We tried a couple wines and then went home to cook our 2 euro pizzas that we found at the grocery store for dinner. We were lucky enough to have a huge group of Irish kids around our age also staying in the same hostal, they were in porto to study architecture for the week. They were wild, and so much fun! Friday and Saturday night we all hung out and had singalongs because like all of them could sing or play the guitar. It was so fun, they definitely made our trip that much better! Overall, we had an awesome experience. I've been so blessed with everything I've done so far and really have appreciated every moment on this trip. It's safe to say I'm having the time of my life! I can't wait to see what else is in store...
pretty church accented with blue tile!
such a pretty sunset!
reminded me of carolina..
the river!
when did i become such a good photographer?
overlooking the water!
some of my new irish friends!!
The hostal we stayed in was the first real hostal we've stayed at so far! We were in a 6 person room, had a community bathroom, and two random room mates. The first night was two german girls, who were nice but a little strange. The next two nights were two italian men. We didn't really socialize with them too much, they all pretty much kept to themselves. Friday we walked down to the river, which was quite the hike, and veryyy steep. We sat outside and ate lunch (second salad I've had in europe YET.. ugh) and tried some Portuguese beers at a cute little cafe right on the river. It was a beautiful day and hard not to enjoy. We got some yummy gelato afterwards and walked around some more before going home and taking a much needed nap! We took advantage of the kitchen the hostal provided for us and cooked spicy chicken pasta for dinner! It was so good and so much cheaper than eating out.
Saturday we walked to the center of the city to shop around. I found some really unique jewelry from a local vender for a couple euros, which was cool. We saw these random carts selling what looked like some sort of sea creature to me, but turns out they were huge smoked walnuts. They didn't look that appealing but they were SO good. We tried a couple wines and then went home to cook our 2 euro pizzas that we found at the grocery store for dinner. We were lucky enough to have a huge group of Irish kids around our age also staying in the same hostal, they were in porto to study architecture for the week. They were wild, and so much fun! Friday and Saturday night we all hung out and had singalongs because like all of them could sing or play the guitar. It was so fun, they definitely made our trip that much better! Overall, we had an awesome experience. I've been so blessed with everything I've done so far and really have appreciated every moment on this trip. It's safe to say I'm having the time of my life! I can't wait to see what else is in store...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Spontaneous trip to Salamanca!
Last weekend we pretty much just hung out in Madrid all weekend... tried to find a sushi place for dinner but the one that we had heard of was closed so we just settled for some tapas. It was my friend Chris' 21st birthday so we all went out Saturday night as a group and had so much fun! I met up with a couple girls from Charlotte who are studying in Barcelona and were in Madrid for the weekend.. It was definitely good to see a familiar face!
This past weekend we decided super last minute to book a one night trip to Salamanca, Spain! It's a little college town about 2 hours east of Madrid. We took a bus and booked the cheapest one which of course had 29236492 stops on the way there, so the way there took almost 4 hours, but I lucked out with the seat with the most leg room so I tried not to complain. We walked around for a good hour before finding our hostal, which was actually really nice! We had our own shower.. which was a good square foot in size but hey I'll take it. People are such midgets over here so I guess it makes sense. Eric's like 6'2" and when we're walking down the street, he looks like he could be casted on TLC's World's Tallest Man. Even I'm taller than most Spaniards, it's pretty funny. So we checked in and put our bags in our rooms so that we could go explore! We found a tapas bar for food and had probably some of the best tapas I've had in Spain yet. I got one that was a piece of bread toasted with cheese, tomato, and ham on it! It was so yummy, kinda tasted like a Spanish version of bruschetta! And then I also had 2 cafe con leches. Man, those things keep me going over here. I'm not sure what I would do without them! We went back to the hostal later on, got ready, and then back out for the night! Eric got in a dance off at the club "cubic" we went to and it was hilarious. He's standing there getting spun around and showed up by this other guy and then out of nowhere Eric does a backhandspring... in the bar. It was hilarious and really unexpected, I didn't know he was such a gymnast! But yeah, needless to say, I think he won the competition.
Sunday we explored some more.. visited the Cathedral, plaza mayor.. and the building with the "frog" on it. It's like a town legend that says if you can find the sculpted frog on this building of intricate detail and design then you will have good luck! I was the last one to find it, of course... and had a couple hints so maybe I won't be so lucky, but I guess better than nothing. It was pretty cool though, that is one of the things that Salamanca is most known for throughout Spain! The bus ride back was only 2.5 hours so that was nice! We came home, showered, ate, and passed out. We leave for Porto, Portugal this thursday after class so just gotta make it through the next 3 days and then we're off on another adventure! :)
charlotte girls!
driving into Salamanca!
Plaza Mayor in Salamanca
beautiful at night!
my favorite picture!
the cathedral!
This past weekend we decided super last minute to book a one night trip to Salamanca, Spain! It's a little college town about 2 hours east of Madrid. We took a bus and booked the cheapest one which of course had 29236492 stops on the way there, so the way there took almost 4 hours, but I lucked out with the seat with the most leg room so I tried not to complain. We walked around for a good hour before finding our hostal, which was actually really nice! We had our own shower.. which was a good square foot in size but hey I'll take it. People are such midgets over here so I guess it makes sense. Eric's like 6'2" and when we're walking down the street, he looks like he could be casted on TLC's World's Tallest Man. Even I'm taller than most Spaniards, it's pretty funny. So we checked in and put our bags in our rooms so that we could go explore! We found a tapas bar for food and had probably some of the best tapas I've had in Spain yet. I got one that was a piece of bread toasted with cheese, tomato, and ham on it! It was so yummy, kinda tasted like a Spanish version of bruschetta! And then I also had 2 cafe con leches. Man, those things keep me going over here. I'm not sure what I would do without them! We went back to the hostal later on, got ready, and then back out for the night! Eric got in a dance off at the club "cubic" we went to and it was hilarious. He's standing there getting spun around and showed up by this other guy and then out of nowhere Eric does a backhandspring... in the bar. It was hilarious and really unexpected, I didn't know he was such a gymnast! But yeah, needless to say, I think he won the competition.
Sunday we explored some more.. visited the Cathedral, plaza mayor.. and the building with the "frog" on it. It's like a town legend that says if you can find the sculpted frog on this building of intricate detail and design then you will have good luck! I was the last one to find it, of course... and had a couple hints so maybe I won't be so lucky, but I guess better than nothing. It was pretty cool though, that is one of the things that Salamanca is most known for throughout Spain! The bus ride back was only 2.5 hours so that was nice! We came home, showered, ate, and passed out. We leave for Porto, Portugal this thursday after class so just gotta make it through the next 3 days and then we're off on another adventure! :)
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