Oh how time has flown....

Well we´re down to the last few weeks in Madrid. I really can´t believe how quickly time has gone by. As we´re starting to reminisce about how amazing these past 4 months have been it was only appropriate that we were visited by 2 former study abroad students. Two weeks ago Heather rubia (blonde), and Heather morena (brunette) came to Madrid. They were former USC students who had stayed in our house 20 years ago! 1992!! They still keep in touch with my family and they came back to do the Madrid marathon and 10k. We met Heather la morena when she came over to visit Lidia and Alberto. Lidia had told us all about her and talked so highly of her, and she lived up to all of it. She was one of the nicest people I´ve met, but also fun, down to earth, and entertaining. Since I was going to run the 10k as well I told her that we could all go to Casa de Campo together the next day to pick up our race packets. The next day when we went to go pick up our stuff we met Heather rubia and her friend Kathi who had come with her. Heather rubia was crazy just as everyone had told us.... she was full of energy and always talking, I guess just like she was when she lived here! We ended up spending most of the day with them sharing stories of our times studying abroad. Even though it was 20 years ago we had many similar stories but it was also really interesting to see how things had changed. That afternoon we brought the Heathers back to our house to see the rest of the family. The whole family was there to see them! Lidia, Alberto, our host brothers Cristian and Francisco, and Francisco´s wife, Sonya, and son, Albertito. They were so happy to see the Heathers. It´s funny to think that when the Heather´s were here the boys were all teenagers and Crisitan was only 10! So for them the Heathers were like older sisters when they lived here. They had a totally different living experience than us.

our brothers, Cristian and Francisco, and yes usually when we´re with them we´re cracking up laughing

That night Madrid played Barcelona so we went over to Cristians apartment to watch the game. Even though they are older than us they always try to include us in their plans and their friends are always try to make us feel included. It´s fun going over there because we are forced to speak Spanish (even though I found out most of the speak excellent English!!)

Sunday morning was the marathon and 10k. Heather rubia, her friend Kathi, and I were all running the 10k while Heather morena was running the full marathon. The weather was perfect and the course was really nice. I´ve decided I would like to come back and run the full marathon sometime because the course takes you all over the city and through all the major sites. But I guess the 10k was good enough this year :)

running around Real Madrid stadium

Cibeles at the start

one of the better race bags i´ve gotten! i sweet shirt and a coffee mug!

After the race we met up with the Heathers again and went out for dinner and churros!! Alexis and I loved spending the weekend with them and talking with them. They are all extremely successful and independent women and it was awesome to get to spend a weekend with them.

Heather rubia, Kathi, Alexis, me, and Heather morena celebrating after the marathon

I have less than 2 weeks left in Madrid and I really can´t even tell you where the time has gone. My friends and I are desperately trying to fit in everything that we´ve wanted to do but have put off one time or another while still trying to finish final papers and ¨study¨ for finals. We´re going to museums, parks, exhibitions, everything.Last night I went to an Atletico game, today we´re going to a few museums, and this weekend I´m going to the Tennis ATP open in Madrid. We are trying to make the most of our last week here, spending as much time with the people we´ve become such good friends with.  We´re all sad to leave but a little happy to come home. But at least for now we´re going to make this last week together count.

Vamanos a Portugal!

The week after we came back from spring break our program went on a trip to Lisbon, Portugal. We left Thursday morning and made our way to Extramadura, a region in the west of Spain. We stopped at Trucillo for lunch and then at Marvao to see a castle that resided on the border of Spain and Portugal and to spend the night.

Friday morning we made our way into Portugal and stopped at Sintra, a town an hour outside of Portugal. We did a walking tour of the city before we made our way to Lisbon. Friday night in Lisbon we were free to do as we pleased but it was pouring so we didn't get to explore much of the city.

Sintra, Portugal

Saturday morning we had a tour of the city where we walked the old city and drove to Belem. In Belem we visited a monastery which held the body of Vasco de Gama! Belem is also known for its pastries and the pastry shop, Pasteis de Belem. The pastries are like little cheesecake things in a pastry dish. Its very hard to explain but they are famous for it. I talked to the security guard in there and he told me that they made over 9 million a year! They also have a shop in Queens.

nom, nom, pastries!

paino!!

Saturday afternoon we had free to do as we want and while a lot of people went back to the hotel to take a nap, my friend Rachel and I ventured across the city to the modern part of the city and took a cable car ride along the river. There was also a park that had giant outdoor musical instruments that we had fun playing with while it was pouring out. Unfortunately the whole weekend the weather kind of sucked with all the rain and wind, but we tried to make the best of it.

SUNY Albany Spring 2012

Food Blackout.... I left my heart in San Sebastian

So after our trip to Finland we came back to Madrid for a day before we were off again. This time we were off to Pais Vasco (north of Spain) and San Sebastian with our friend Rachel. We had three days in San Sebastian and might I say this may have been my favorite 3 days of all.


We arrived in San Sebastian late Thursday afternoon and found our quaint little hostel. The weather was kinda bad (rainy and cool) so we figured we would just walk around a little instead of going to the beach. We walked up this mountain where there was a giant Jesus figure (like the one in Brazil). I guess we found Jesus hahaha :) After that we went back to the hostel where we met these 3 boys from the UK, a boy from Florida, and 2 Turkish girls and decided to all get dinner together. San Sebastian is famous for their pintxos. These are small plates (more elaborate than the usual Spanish tapa) that you order at a bar and eat standing up. Luckily for us, the kid from Florida was actually living in San Sebastian and working as a chef so he knew exactly where to take us and what to order. That night we only made it to one bar but we ate plenty there with Sean telling us how each one was made. I'll put up pictures in a moment.

The next day we walked through the city and el paseo de la playa. San Sebastian has 3 beaches right in a row. A popular thing to do is to walk along the beaches from one end to another. At one end they have huge iron structures jutting out into the water which are pretty awesome. They also have a cable car which takes you up to the top of the mountain overlooking the city. The weather still sucked that day but we really didn't care at that point because we just absolutely loved the city. The city has a French influence in the architecture and is completely unique in Spain. Just everything about the city was gorgeous. I couldn't get enough of it. I really think it's one of Europe's secret treasures.

 in <3 with San Sebastian

That night we had pintxos again. As well as Saturday. Actually all we did Saturday was walk around and eat. We couldn't get enough of the pintxos. I think that was some of the best food I have ever eaten in my life and I barely spent 20euros a day! I would go back here in a heartbeat especially once the weather gets nicer.


and now for only a sampling of what we ate:
on the left is squid fried in it's own ink and battered
the middle is a kobe burger on a ketchup infused bun (i ate 4 of these in 3 days, they were incredible)
on the far right is rabbit
and the dessert is some caramel chocolate and licorice thing (i don't remember really)

other stuff we had was pig's ear, cow cheek, goat cheese and plum sauce, duck, chicken's hearts, risotto, cod, and more that I can't even remember, we ate so much (food blackout). It was all incredible.

Spring Break and Snow?!

Oh yes it's been a while, I know. My apologizes.

Last time I wrote I was in Helsinki and just leaving for Tallin. Well our trip to Tallin was a success (except me forgetting my camera and Alexis forgetting her camera charger- luckily Rik came fully prepared!). The old medieval town is so cute and for us was really interesting because it's so different that southern Europe which we're used to. We ate some interesting Russian food as well, pickles and honey! It was good! 

We were back in Helsinki for a couple more days. We spent most of the weekend walking around getting to know the city and eating. Eating food we cooked, that Laura cooked, that we bought, we really didn't care. That was the first time we had a kitchen readily available to us and we were really excited. We brought kraft mac and cheese from Madrid and made it there! 

Sunday we went to Porvoo, which is a town outside of Helsinki. Because it was Sunday a lot of stuff was closed but it was still nice to walk around and do a little shopping. On Monday we went to an outdoor museum where they had recreated an old Finnish village. No one was really there because it had just started to snow and the museum is pretty dead in off seasons. But it was still fun to walk around and play in the snow! I made a snow angel and Alexis decided to clean the trees of snow, for some odd reason. 

With the snow the village looked really picturesque. It actually was a perfect time to visit because it was really pretty in the snow.

Even though the weather wasn't the greatest we had a great time in Helsinki. Rik and Laura were amazing hosts and great cooks! We really couldn't have asked for me. It may have been an odd spring break but definitely worth it!

Update

So I don't know how many of you noticed (i know aunt Kathy did) but yesterday was la huegla general in Spain, or general strike, where the whole country was supposed to go on strike. This is not the best situation to be on when you're an American student studying in a country that's going on strike but luckily we are all traveling and out of Madrid. So no worries. But we have been reading the papers and watching the news and it looked like yesterday everyone started a protest in la Sol but according to our friends fom Madrid it wasn't as bad as last year and it wasn't really a big deal. So there, nothing to worry about. Besides that I'm in Helsinki right now and we just got back from Tallinn today. Northern/eastern Europe is very different from the Europe we've been traveling around but it's very interesting. We have plenty more to explore too. To get here we took Lufthansa airlines. At first we had some issues with that because we happened to fly on the German strike day and as Lufthansa is a German airline there were a lot of cancellations and delays. So after we couldn't get a hold of anyone Monday night and had a stressful night back and forth on the phone we finally got a new flight Tuesday morning. Trying to do all that becomes much harder when you don't have a reliable phone and you're constantly getting recordings in Spanish. But alas we were off and can I say the Germans really outdo themselves with their airlines and airports. On the flight we got free food, an entire meal! And free drinks ( free food on both flights!) and in the airport they had free coffee! Just overall it was an amazing flying experience. On our flight from Munich to Helsinki we sat next to this girl about our age. Towards the end of the flight Alexis asked her about her bag and they started talking. She said she was from Madrid and was going to visit her brother who is studying in Helsinki. When we told her we are from new York she immediately said I love new york! Me, assuming she meant new York city like everyone else, kind of drifted from the conversation because I didn't really care, but then she said "yeah I studied in buffalo last summer I loved it!" that got my attention really fast. Turns out she studied at canisius college! This isn't the first time wwe've run into someone who has connections to home or knows someone we know. As far away as we are from home I feel like we're constantly meeting people who know people we know or are from the town over or some weird connection everywhere we go. Turns out its just a small world after all.

Holidays!

Hello!

I just thought I'd write a short little post because I probably won't be able to write anything again until Easter. We have our spring/Easter break this week and next week, yes that is a full TWO weeks!! plus if you count Thursday- Sunday of the previous week its 18 days of no class. This is the time we are all traveling a ton. My friends are going to Rome, Greece, Budapest, Switzerland, Prague, France, I don't even know. We all seem to be crossing Europe over the next three weeks each on our own adventure. My roommate and I will be going to Helsinki, Tallin, and San Sebastian. Really random, I know. We will be visiting my uncle in Helsinki, Finland for a week where we'll take a ferry to Tallin, Estonia for 2 days (I know, who goes there? totally awesome!). When we get back we are going to Pais Vasco, which is in the north of Spain, to San Sebastian where we have a hostel right on the beach. A nice, relaxing vacation.

For the past couple days we've just been chilling in Madrid as everyone starts to leave on their vacations. Actually right now there are only 4 of us left in Madrid, and after tomorrow only 3. I'm taking this time to go back and do some of the touristy things again, like go to the Prado and walk through the city. We've also been spending a lot of time at the park because it's been soooo nice finally. Even though it's been so warm Spain is a funny country. People don't wear shorts, and they like to wear their winter jackets when its 70F outside. I'm definitely getting used to all the stares I get when I walk outside in shorts and a tshirt from Spaniards who probably think I'm crazy (but really they are and they are going to overheat and pass out, so ha). Never ceases to entertain me.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and I will update you all about my fabulous break when we return. Besos!!

¿Por qué no, Dúblin?

Top o the mornin´ to ya! As you may guess this weekend I went to grand ole Ireland. Part of the reason I went was obviously for St. Patrbrick´s day but I also got to visit my friend Callan from UB, who´s studying in Dublin (free place to stay, yay!)

My roommate Alexis and I arrived in Dublin early Thursday afternoon. We were met at the bus stop by Callan and our other friend Katie who was visiting Callan on her spring in the states. After dropping our stuff off we immediately set off to the Guiness factory. The Guiness factory was really interesting and you get a free pint with each ticket! What a great way to start our trip off in Ireland!

Friday Callan and Katie went on a trip so it was just me and Alexis left to explore Dublin. We started the morning off with an American breakfast. This may have been the most exciting part of my day because I got to have waffles!!! You need to understand that in Spain all we have for breakfast is cafe and toast. That´s it. So when I had waffles I was in heaven. The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around the city of Dublin. Dublin is such a small city that I knew my way around by the first day. (As a side note, if I get anything out of this trip it´s that I am an all star navigator and can basically get you anywhere with a map and my superb internal sense of direction, just sayin).

Saturday was the day, St. Patrick´s day!! We got up early (well early for us Madrid people who never see the sun before 10am) and decked ourselves out in our St. Patrick´s day apparel and set off for the parade. We got there around 10:45am and it was packed even though it didn´t start until 10:30. We walked around until we found a decent spot behind some old people who happened to be really short/ leprechauns so we could see over them. I managed to weasel my way towards the front however by the start of the parade which was awesome because I actually knew people in the parade! What a random coincidence that my cousin´s dance team from Texas and my friend in the Notre Dame marching band were both in the parade the year I went to Dublin for St. Patrick´s day. Even though I didn´t get a chance to catch up with them it was really exciting to see them in the parade! The theme of the parade was science. It was kind of odd, actually really odd. Callan and I both agreed that we think the Buffalo parade is more ¨Irish themed¨ but this parade was still awesome, the costumes and floats were incredible.

Sunday Alexis and I went on a New Europe free walking tour. Now if anyone is traveling abroad I highly recommend these tours. I went on them in Sevilla and Granada as well. They are free walking tours, usually promoted by the hostels, that usually last about 2 or 3 hours and take you all over the city.

For me the best part of the trip was Monday when we went out of the city to Kilkenny and Glenalough in the Wicklow Mountains. Seriously everything in Ireland is GREEN!! It´s just like you imagined, and there´s cows and sheep grazing in the fields! We loved every minute outside of the city and wished we had done more but overall our trip to Ireland was grand! And I would love to go back.