pictures of my piso!

My huuuggee kitchen! We had a deep fryer and everything, not that I would know how to use it?? I don't know if you can tell... but there is actually a layer of water along the tiles... yes, the washing machine broke with all my clothes inside... I was mopping it up for about an hour!

MY BALCONY!! I spend soo much time out here. Mari and I eat lunch and its all afternoon sun. We are now getting to the point where it's too hot, but it's been a blessing all year!

haha my DORM room! kinda looks like one right? But I love all the light it gets, and that I have my own balcony :)

Our family room! And here is Mari doing arts and crafts in front of the tv. There is another rounded balcony behind the couches there. pretty sweet digs huh?

Linares in its final weeks...

Kate and Me in Córdoba at Los Patios

  Oh wow, really? Just like that? 2 and a half weeks left? Where do I begin? I´m excited, but it also puts a pain in my stomach knowing this is all coming to an end. I cannot, CAN NOT, wait to eat a Chipotle burrito, but I know that´s still a long ways away. Reggie and I leave the night of the 31st of May to start a 6 week tour through Europe. I want to be planning for this trip, but still stay in the moment. I want to be here now, without starting the countdown. I need to think about packing a small (small) backpack, pack up my whole room, ditch my bags somewhere and fly to London June 1st. We have such an amazing adventure planned! London, Amsterdam, Belgium (riding bikes and beer touring), to Cologne to stay with a friend, over to Munich, Prague.... shit Kelsey! Be here now! The olive groves have received their fair share of rain this month, and it really smells beautiful around town! (And the allergies are officially in full force.) 

  There are STILL cafes and bars I have not seen or even knew existed that I am discovering every couple days! The sun is out and it´s finally warm... I took out my sandals for the first time this year last week. Didn´t I move to southern Spain for the warmth? Well here it is, from winter to summer over night, 104 degrees this weekend here in Linares! I have met so many people along the way, all over Spain that I need to say my good byes to. That is why I headed to Sevilla this past weekend. To meet back up with the four lovely ladies I fell in love with during my first month in Sevilla. It was a great/sad/ weird weekend. Really, I can’t believe we just said our good byes! We spent the whole weekend doing a lot of “remember whens”. Weeeirrrrdddd…

Reggie with Faya, Franklin and Cartas!!

 I am feeling full-up and good! I have had my fair share of traveling for the moment. In a perfect world I would fly home June 1st. Hug my mom and dad, meet my new baby cousin, and spent a month on the east coast. I know I would have the travel bug again right away. And THAT´s when I would LOVE to do the 6 week tour. Listen to me, what am I talking about? THIS is the perfect world! I am able to go traveling around Europe for 6 weeks?!?!?!! I´m the luckiest girl in the world! Funny how things lose perspective every now and then.

second visit to the Alhambra with my school!

 
   Well I have made a list of things, to help keep me in the moment during my last month in Linares: I want to read another book in Spanish before I take off. I want to go climbing one or two more times in Jaen or Cazorla. I want to discover a new cafe AND bar every week. I want to walk down a street I have not yet walked down (this one will be difficult) every couple days. And I think that´s a good start.

Semana Santa: An Epic Adventure

Reggie and Me with the Mezquita, Códoba

  Oh wow, I am beat. I have covered ten cities in 13 days with Reggie and his parents. I can´t believe all of the things I have seen, by the end I was asking Alex, ¨what´s the name of this city again? ¨ We traveled through Córdoba, so that Reggie’s parents could see the beautiful Mezquita (a Mosque that was taken over by the Christians, where they then decided to place a church directly in the center of the mosque. So bizarre.) And from there headed down to Granada. I haven´t spent any time in Granada since I moved here, and it is supposed to be (and is) one of the most beautiful, interesting cities in Spain. I finally finally made it to the Alhambra!! (An old Moorish palace that takes over the hillside outside of the city.)

part of the Alhambra, Granada in the background!

That was our hotel in the upper left!, Ronda

     We made our way to Ronda, the most famous of Andalucia’s ‘pueblos blancos’. It is perched on top of a 300 meter gorge! And finally, down into Sevilla!! (which really holds my heart here in Spain.) We were able to be in Sevilla for the processions. It was sooooo cool!! I have seen pictures of the penitents (the people all
dressed up with the pointed hats and long cloaks) and I have to be
honest when I say it still totally freaks me out. As an American, I obviously have such a different idea when I look at the penitents,
but being here really helped me see the original side of things. We saw the penitents carrying massive candles and incense in front of the huge floats the first of which carries Jesus on the cross and after a very sad Mary. The bands were playing in the streets before and after the floats and everyone marches in silence. It was unlike anything I could have imagined! A whole procession passing in the street might take a
whole hour and half, but the time flew by since I was so mesmerized by all the details in everything.
 

The brotherhood carrying Mary in front of the Cathedral, Sevilla

Penitentes!

The four of us on top of the mushroom viewing the city, Sevilla

flamenco!

   I was so happy to take Reggie’s parents around in Sevilla. The crowds and the processions created absolute chaos in the streets, blocking the narrow side streets in every direction. Getting through the masses was impossible, but I took them out to dinner at my favorite Asian restaurant and to an underground flamenco performance after. It was a lovely date night!
 

   From Sevilla, we made our way into Portugal. I was so excited to get to there! Excited to be down on the beach and sleep in the sun for a few days. Lucky for us it was pretty cold and a little rainy everyday... noooooooooooo! We made the best of it, and Reggie and I walked along the cliffs for sunset and down into the grottos to watch
the FULL moon rise over the ocean. Something I don´t think I´ll ever forget.
   It´s so interesting to see the different kinds of personalities that are in each of us. For example, in English: I´m loud, I have an opinion, I´m excited
and on the move. In Spanish: everyday I´m a little louder, but
definitely more laid back than in English. In Portuguese: I´m really
quite boring.
   It´s a little frustrating to be so immersed in the Spanish
culture, drive two hours, and be found without a voice. Portugal was
soooo beautiful, but I had a hard time communicating. Most people
spoke English, but I felt so strange just saying, ¨Hey can you tell me
how to get to ____¨.

Would have been nice to take advantage of these beautiful beaches...

but we were in scarves and warm coats!!

the most beautiful/colorful castle! Sintra, Portugal

  After Lagos we drove a few hours north to Lisbon. I LOVE LISBON! What does one even say about Lisbon.... well, I should start by saying that I don´t like seafood, but I do like seafood in Lisbon. Also, I
wouldn´t call myself a port drinker, but I am certainly a port drinker in Lisbon! This port city has an identical Golden Gate bridge and colorful buildings in every direction. From here we were able to drive
15 min. outside of the city to see Sintra and the old, colorful castle there. Everyone in Spain will tell you the Disney castle has been created after this castle, or this castle over here, or that castle over there, but in reality, the Disney castle WAS made after this castle in Sintra. It was like an amusement park for adults!!
  In Lisbon, Reggie and I went to Easter mass with his Mom. I would have never gone on my own, but I´m happy I did. First of all it was in Portuguese, making it slightly more interesting, but the church was stunning. (and on its way through a ton of reparations, like all of Lisbon.) It shows that repairing homes is a new and welcomed thing
in Portugal, I think when they joined the European Union it changed things in a
big way for the country!

statue along the river, with the Golden Gate bridge in the background! Lisbon, Portugal

yes... it is exactly what you think.. all bones

  With only a few days left in our trip we stopped into Évora to see the old bone chapel, (a chapel that has been created solely of the bones of over 5,000 people). CREEPY. I guess within the city walls they were running out of space and two monks decided to dig up all the bones of
the cemeteries and create this bone chapel. Above the door into the chapel it says (in Portuguese): “We, the bones that are here, await yours." I think this was the most excited I saw Reggie in this 2 week adventure we went on! The first thing I did when I got out was wash my
hands..... I guess I just couldn´t believe what I was looking at.

nice little added decoration along the ceiling

  Our last stop before Madrid was to Mérida. Mérida is one of the first stops back into Spain. Every other stop had been a look into the Spanish/ Moorish culture, and how closely the architecture, castles, palaces etc. tie into one another. Mérida was really cool because it
was an old Roman city that still has its aqueduct, its coliseum, its amphitheater and its theatre. I couldn´t believe I was in Spain. I have never been to Rome, so for me, Mérida was something that really blew me away. Not to mention because less that 7 blocks away from the
old Roman theatre stands their Plaza de Toros (bullring). That to me is really interesting, watching how the two cultures now overlap with one another.

My first Roman theatre! Mérida, Spain!

  After Mérida we finally made it back to Madrid. 13 days later, too
many towns to remember, little experiences I am sure I have forgotten
but will remember at the most perfect moments. It was really something
traveling with my boyfriend and his parents for that length of time. I
can´t believe how generous they were every step of the way. I know
Reggie and I tried to be the best guides, and even that can be hard
sometimes. When we finally got on the train last night to make our way
back to Linares we were spent. Now that I´m back in Linares I can´t
believe it´s ended! It felt soooooo good to sleep in my bed last
night, but geez, how fast that Spanish can fade away! Last
night when I got home all I wanted to do was pass out, thank God for
my Spanish roommate keeping me on my toes and speaking with me in
Spanish for over an hour before bedtime. It got me thinking right
again :) 

Extra Pictures.....

The rain kept the processions out of the streets our first night in Sevilla

Reggie and his Mom in Plaza España

yes.... we were those people

these men are BAREFOOT

all the sad Marys

procession, Granada

one of the floats/thrones, Granada

trollys up the steep streets in Lisbon, Portugal

the writing that is found EVERYWHERE on EVERYTHING in the Alhambra, Granada

starting the little babies young carrying those tronos!

El Norte

The castle wall around Ávila

I say left, Reggie says right. I say south, Reggie says north.
Well.... I lost that battle. It had been a cold winter; I was ready
for some Moroccan sun. Reg argued the good point that we are here to
live in and learn about Spain. So off we went to the North for 9 days!
Everyone said, oh how great the North, a completely different country
from the south. And this is true! Green, mountainous landscapes snowy mountaintops, and CIDER!    

    We were short on funds during this part of the month so we decided
to use couch surfing for our sleeping arrangements. I didn´t have a
couch surfing account at the time, but Reggie did, so we got in touch
with people all over the north and set it up so we could stay with a
couple or someone every night of our trip!
  

me! in the Picos de Europa :)

   We rented a car and made our way to Avila and Segovia outside of Madrid to see the old aqueducts and castles in this area. It was just
like all the postcards :) We stayed with a couple, Cesar and Virginia.
They fed us Chinese food and it was so good to talk with people from outside the Andalucía area. Virginia is a general practitioner. Talking with her was so informative, we discussed the differences
between Spanish and American health care. The pros and cons of both, I loved it.
 

drinking cider with out homeboy Chus!

Drive down into Oviedo, beautiful!

   We drove through the mountains in the north into Asturias. It looks
sooo similar to the Rocky Mountains. Snow covered peaks, ski resorts, etc. Reggie and I were like kids in a candy store! It was so good to finally see snow! We stayed the night in Oviedo with our new friend Chus. He showed us around the city (town), drinking cider, eating blue cheese, sweet wines. We worked our way through the entire day hopping
from one place to another trying all the good local drinks and food from Oviedo! Probably one of my favorite days of the whole trip!
 

Picos de Europa!

outside the Guggenheim

The drive to Bilbao is out of this world, through the Picos de Europa, along the coastline east over into the Basque Country. We drove into Bilbao at night. It seriously looked like something out of the future. All of the signs were written in Euskera, the official language of the Basque county. The language has a lot of Zs, Xs, Qs... We couldn´t believe we were still in Spain! Also, all of the factories
were burning off their work from the day, so these smoke stacks were shooting fire out along the hill side, and to top it all off, we drive over the Guggenheim bridge with the Guggenheim museum on the right. It all looked so futuristic, all I wanted to do was discuss an Ayn Rand book with someone, but I was fresh out of interested audience! Passing the next day in Bilbao was great. The city is clean and beautiful, with a river running right through it. We spent some time at the
Guggenheim and walked all around the city. We were staying with an older woman, Annabel, who works as a yoga teacher and relaxation therapist. What an EXPERIENCE! Speaking with her was my favorites of the trip, she told us the problems in the Basque Country with Euskera
as a language that she can´t even speak since it was banned during Franco´s rule. Also we discussed the problems with the Basque country wanting to separate from Spain, and what that would do to the Basque country in general. I learned SO much from talking with this woman.
And THIS is why I love couch surfing!
 

not too cold for this guy

 Our last stop before heading home was to San Sebastian. We ate
Pinxtos (pinchos: small tapas) and walked along the beach. The
weather was beautiful, but still not warm. Reggie and I were trying to
see about surfboards, because the surf looked awesome, but it was just
waaaaaaay too cold for that business. It was such a nice relaxing stop
before our long, eight-hour drive back to Linares!

ETA: the terrorist org in the Basque country...

    

 I am happy Reggie fought for us to go to the north during our break from school. It’s so easy to widen your eyes so much, wanting to see ALL of Europe while living over seas. I think there is something to be said for deeply knowing the country in which you are living. There is still so much to see, but now I feel like I know Spain that much more.

Madrid New Years!!

Palace in Madrid

 After walking all around Paris, Reggie and I were so excited to get back to Madrid! Yayyyy! We can finally understand the people, and ask for things without hand gestures and cherades! We met up with our friends and spent New Years in the Plaza del Sol (kind of their version of Times Square). The tradition in Spain is to eat a grape for every 12 rings of the bell at midnight. We had so much fun in the square waiting for midnight, meeting people from Chile, Serbia, Colombia, England, Brasil, from everywhere (minus people from Spain)! It must be a big touristy thing :)

BRUCE LEE!!

   The next couple days we walked around Madrid, checking out the parks, the palace, and the old business district. The city was incredible and beautiful, but advice for anyone traveling, I recommend Paris as your last stop. Compared to Paris everything looks so normal! And this is not good, because I am certainly NOT jaded to beautiful old buildings and PALACES! But it's hard to get excited about a palace tour after Versailles :) Spain was so much warmer and a nice change, to just hang out in the parks and pass the days hanging out with friends.

So nice to get back to cheap beers, coffee, and olives

  We had every intention to meet up with other friends on our last night in Madrid. We wanted to come back to the hotel room, rest for a bit, and then head back out. When we got back to the hotel neither of our keys worked in the hotel door. We both thought, hey whats going on here? On our way down to the front desk we both realized we were supposed to check out that morning!! Oh no!! When we arrived at the front desk we verified, yep, we had forgotten to check out, and had about a half hour to catch our train back to Linares! We made our train, but unfortunately left without seeing my dear friend Susie! Oh well, we'll save it for the next visit to Madrid....

Joyeux Noel! Christmas in Paris!

We found this tower

   I don't even know where to begin. This has been the best vacation of my life! Reggie and I started our adventure sleeping 6 hours in the Madrid airport, but finally made it to Paris to spend 8 days in the most beautiful city I have ever been to. We walked the center of the city up and down, right to left. Thanks to my amazing father, we spent the week staying at the Marriott hotel on the Champs- Elysess. From our balcony we had a view of the Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and The Notre Dame in the distance. It was out of this world!

Our mission everyday was to see and do as much as we could without spending any money. In a city like Paris, it is absolutely impossible. But I think we did pretty well. Instead of going out for drinks on Christmas night, we bought a few bottles of wine and sat under the Eiffel Tower with two friends until all the wine was finished. It was a beautiful night, followed by a nice long sleep in and more walking around the city. We had a chance to see where both Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde have been buried and spent time in the parks on the outside of the city.
  One of the days we made our way to Versailles. Little did we know, Tuesdays are the WORST days to go to Versailles. The palace is closed on Mondays, and Le Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, making it so all the tourists go to Versailles on Tuesdays. woops! The line was made up of a couple thousand people and it would take over two hours to get in to the palace!

Enjoying the Complimentary hotel items :)

Thank goodness for Reggie's stealth-like ninja skills. He had a plan.... He began to snap a few photos of me in front of the palace gates (which is also where the entrance was) and slowly, looking at the camera at the pictures we took, slid into a large group of Asians! Nobody said anything and we were in the palace within 45 seconds! I felt so guilty after the fact, I was ready to go back out and wait in the line. But as we spent more time in the palace, I was getting cut off and cut in line by everyone. By families, young children, old women, everyone. With every person that cut in front of me I felt better and better.
 
We also had every intention to walk up the stairs into the Eiffel Tower, but we had no idea what to think when we showed up one of our last mornings in Paris to find the entire area was formed into a long long line of people waiting to walk up the stairs of the tower. The other kiosks were not working, so all the people had formed a line that was about a mile long, curling up and down the paved area under the tower. We immediately nixed our plan and decided to check out a few museums instead. We saw the Thinker statue and much more famous works.
  

In front of Napolean's Les Invalides

Its funny when you're a child reading books about art and sculptures, there are always a handful of paintings that are in every single book. One of them being the Mona Lisa. Now if anyone wants to see a beautiful photo of the Mona Lisa, it's easy enough to go online, look for a photo of this painting, no problems. So why in the world would anyone want to take a picture of a picture? I was more interested in taking a picture in the absolute craziness that surrounded the Mona Lisa. When I tried to get close to snap a photo, I was pretty much taken out by a small Asian grandfather! The crowd surrounding the painting was unreal! I am so thankful for the time i was able to spend in Le Louvre. It is such an overwhelming museum of art. I think we could have sent all our days in Paris in that museum!
  

Notre Dame on Christmas!

We were lucky enough to make it into the Notre Dame on Christmas Day for a typical mass, with a lot of singing. (In French!) We also took a boat ride down the Seine to view all the sites from the river. It was a coooold night, but so beautiful with all the Christmas lights lighting up the city.
    Paris was the best, but it was so difficult not being able to communicate with everyone. Granted, most of the people in Paris can speak enough English for us to get by, but I would still love to go back to France and at least know how to say, "you're welcome, or what time is it?" For this reason, I was pretty excited to get back to Madrid for New Years!

extra pictures from Paris!

Our balcony view!

Créme Brulee, my favorite, on Christmas!

view from our balcony

My nervous smile knowing we're about to cut into line at Versailles!

Yeah Fat Tire! Fort Collins Represent!

Playing at the Royal Palace