La Reina Sofia, Toledo, and Thanksgiving

Two weeks ago, the entire group headed to Madrid to the Reina Sofia museum. Here we were able to see Picasso's Guernica, which was absolutely breath-taking. I was completely in awe of the sheer size of the masterpiece. We also got to see some of Dali's work, as well as other famous Spanish painters. It was a great trip and I am so glad I got to see it all.

Last week we headed to Toledo for a day trip. Toledo is about an hour away from Madrid and was absolutely beautiful. We started the day off with an unbelievable view of the entire city.

Toledo

We then headed to see many a few churches, a temple, and a monastery. All were equally beautiful and had their own special charm. We got to see beautiful artwork, as well as mixed styles of Christian, Muslim and Jewish architecture.

After lunch we finished the day off visiting the Toledo Cathedral. Maria Jose had emphasized its size and importance, but not until I got my own look did I understand what she meant. The cathedral is truly breath-taking and I basically walked around with my jaw open in awe. The size, detailed art work, and architecture are all unbelievable. I wish I could have taken pictures inside!

Cathedral

Thanksgiving was spent in a not-so-traditional way, but it was still the perfect "holiday" (we still had classes and even an exam!). Our director organized a group dinner in Madrid. We all put on our little black dresses and headed out to the beautiful restaurant. The restaurant was a former theater and was absolutely gorgeous and the food and wine were just as good. I had fried shrimp for appetizers and salmon for my main course, not quite turkey and mashed potatoes but definitely hit the spot! We all stopped to say what we were thankful for and in the end we all agreed we were just incredibly thankful we had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving in Spain with new friends! All and all in was a great night!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Just three weeks left! Can't believe it! Abrazos y Besos!

Tour Guide and Translator

On Thursday, my mom, brother, Geraldine, and her friend all arrived to visit me in Spain! I got to play tour guide and translator for the weekend which turned out to be a lot of fun! Thursday morning my mom and Colin arrived and I showed them around Alcalá, including La Casa de Cervantes and La Catedral. Thursday night we headed to the airport to pick up Geraldine and Simone, which ended up being more difficult than expected and returned to Alcalá for a nice dinner and off to bed for some rest!

Mom, Colin and I at La Casa de Cervantes

Friday we headed to Segovia and I played tour guide for the palace, cathedral and aqueduct. Segovia is a beautiful little city, a little hilly though, and we also got to do some great shopping! While at lunch we got to see another table order Segovia's traditional meal, suckling pig. It served complete and was definitely a sight to see! Friday night we were back in Alcalá and I introduced them to tapas! We went to the Indalo, one of Alcalá's most famous restaurants, and enjoyed a variety of free tapas with drinks!

Segovia from Alcazar

Saturday was spent in Madrid where we first headed to El Prado. This beautiful art museum is one of Madrid's top tourist destinations, so of course being the typical tourists we are we had to stop in! We then headed onto the double-decker red tour bus to explore the entire city. We got to see all the famous spots while listening to the historical background of everything we were seeing. I was glad to have a bit of a break from being the tour guide! We then stopped for a delicious lunch near la Puerta del Sol and finished the day off with some shopping at el Corte Ingles (a eight floor department store!).

Sunday we were up bright and early for El Rastro. We headed back into Madrid to the enormous flee-market! It was a bit rainy, but didn't stop us from enjoying all the vendors! We then headed to el palacio real, the royal palace, which was absolutely incredible. Each room is decorated in elaborte and ornate way which is truly gorgoues. We had another delicious lunch and headed back to Alcalá. Geraldine and Simone unfortunately had to head by to Ireland Sunday night, so we took them to the airport, which was much easier the second time around!

Colin, Mom, Geraldine, and Simone in front of El Palacio Real

I unfortunately had to go to classes on Monday, but my mom and Colin were able to explore Alcalá a bit more on their own. We then had an amazing lunch with my host family. It was all absolutely delicious and I am so glad my second family and my real family got to meet. I had a lot of translating to do, which at times made the lunch quite comical! Monday afternoon we explore the famous University of Alcalá, the Convent of San Diego and did some shopping along Calle Mayor.

Colin, Me, Cris, Laura and Mom

Tuesday morning, my mom and Colin headed back to the United States, but not before enjoying a cup of tea and hot chocolate at my favorite tea shop. It is right around the corner from my school and we have become regulars. It is the perfect atmosphere and the two women who work there are absolutely wonderful! Overall, I think everyone can agree we had a wonderful visit! I wish they could have stayed longer!

Just over a month left! I have friends who are studying France visiting this weekend and off to Toledo on Sunday! Hasta Luego!

Back to Ireland!

I am truly in love with Ireland. Each time I head back there, I fall more and more in love with the country and people. I had another fabulous weekend with Geraldine, Dave and the girls! We also had another visitor, my friend, Alexa who is studying abroad in Cork for the year! It was great to see a familiar Loyola face and I think both of us enjoyed the "family" time.

Friday night was spent relaxing, coloring (with the girls), watching movies, and catching up on both of our semesters. It was the perfect evening that I have definitely been missing while in Spain. I have never appreciated a language as much as I do now. Every time I hear English it is a breath of fresh air and being able to watch TV is English is much more relaxing then trying to translate the whole time!

Saturday was a bit rainy, but didn't stop Alexa and I from heading into the big city! After enjoying our fair share of brown bread, tea and a traditional Irish breakfast, we were off on the DART. Both Alexa and I have explored most of Dublin, but neither of us had visited the wax museum so we decided to try it out. It ended up being a lot of fun and slightly educational, since it went through the Irish history all in wax! We then headed off to explore the temple bar area, where we popped into The Temple Bar for a quick pint and just took in the fabulous atmosphere of it all. There was an Irish Rugby game going on so the bar was packed, which definitely added to the experience. We finished our day by walking around the gorgeous Trinity College and headed back to Swords. We had another evening of coloring, English TV and bonding with the girls (who stayed up until 9pm!).

Me and Ireland's Tallest Man (in Wax)

The Temple Bar

Sunday morning was the perfect typical Sunday morning, where we lounged around in our pj's until it was time to take Alexa back to the bus station. Sunday afternoon we headed to the golf club for dinner and once again had another relaxing evening! I had an early flight back Monday morning and as always had to fight back tears when saying goodbye! It was just the type of weekend I needed and I can't wait until I get to return, hopefully it won't be too long!

We have exactly six weeks left here in Spain! I can't believe it! I will be playing tour guide this weekend for my mom, brother, and Geraldine and her friend...it will be nice to see more familiar faces and get to explore Madrid a little more!

Hasta Luego!

Barcelona

La Playa

Barcelona was absolutely amazing, I loved the city. It was a group trip, so we had our director Maria Jose with us. We left early Saturday on the Ave (the high speed train) and ended up in Barcelona just 2 1/2 hours later! After checking into our 4 star hotel!, we had free time to explore the city. We walked down Las Ramblas, a main road where there were small shops, many vendors and street performers, to the Mediterranean.

Las Ramblas

After having some delicious paella for dinner, Saturday night was spent at the world's first ice bar. The entire place is made up of ice and is -10 C inside. We were given spacesuit-like jackets and enjoyed the freezing temperatures for about an hour. Barcelona was filled with other students from Loyola, which made the whole night even more enjoyable.

Becky, Kelly-Ann and I trying to stay warm!

Sunday morning we were up early and began our day with a bus tour around the city. During this tour we stopped to see some of Gaudi's amazing architecture. I was truly in awe of the the colors and shapes. We also went up to the top of a mountain, where we had a breath-taking view of the entire city. Sunday afternoon we were given more free time where we spent some time at the beautiful beach and then took much needed naps to rest up for Halloween night! Sunday night we dressed up at soccer (or football) players and headed out to one of the many Barcelona clubs right by the beach!

Gaudi

Barcelona!

 Monday started off with another 8:30 am wake-up call! We toured the city by foot and explored the Picasso Museum with our tour guide. We also got to see some other amazing places on the side streets of the city, including the oldest Gothic cathedral in Spain. We grabbed lunch, met back up at the hotel and headed to the train station for our ride back. It is nice to be back home, but I think I could have enjoyed spending a little more time in Barcelona (as long as I could get some sleep!).
Back to Dublin for the weekend, I can't stay away while I am so close! Muchos Besos!

Halloween