Two Posts in One: Travel Adventures!

Again, I can't remember when I last wrote, so I'll give you a quick summary. I spent seven days and nights in Congleton, England, outside Manchester with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. It was pretty awesome and relaxing. We visited the Lake district over the weekend, which was gorgeous. I biked with my aunt, did yoga, helped cook some, went out for curry and a movie, talked to my cousin about wedding things, read a lot, slept, stretched, and overall improved my mental and physical health, which was great. Not to mention, I love my aunt, uncle, and cousin and it was amazing having so long to spend with them, seeing as they live so far.
I left Wednesday night from Manchester airport and tried very hard not to cry as I left them. I could however look forward to seeing Anna that night and Sarah the next day though, so that pulled me through, just barely. I met two really good British people on the plane, brother and sister, and we exchanged e-mails at the end. Sometimes, you meet really awesome people while traveling, and make good friends. I hope I see them again. I arrived at the airport in Barcelona past midnight, and didn't arrive in the city from the bus ride until about 1:30am. Anna picked me up and we sleepily wandered our way to the beach, where we had decided (perhaps unwisely) to pass the night, since I had no place to stay.
It started out well enough; there were people enough for it not to be too sketchy, and we found a nice patch of sand and cuddled up under my sleeping bag with my backpack as a pillow. I unfortunately had to pee and in the two minutes I was gone, Anna managed to find a really creepy scary dude crouching right behind her, doing nothing. I came back and vehemently encouraged him to "piss off" until he got the hint and left. We settled down and watched the stars and talked, and probably around 4 fell asleep, briefly. Only to awake to someone standing over trying to open my bag. Thank you Anna for being a light sleeper. We scared them off and decided sleeping, even briefly, was a bad idea on the beach, at least if you have anything on you worth stealing.
After watching the sunrise, which was rather pretty, we walked through the city back to Anna's place where we dropped off my bag. We killed some time in a cafe, and Anna returned to her place while I waited to go to the airport to pick up Sarah. I slept on a park bench for an hour or so, on and off, trying to catch up on the night before, before catching a train to the airport to get Sarah. Adventure number 2!
Well, since I didn't have Sarah's flight information, the only thing I was going on was that it arrived at 1:05 pm. I arrived right around then and on the arrivals board there was only one flight listed at that time. From Latvia. Huh. After a couple of hours of waiting, some panicking, several calls to Anna, which led to calls to Max and Erica for specific flight information, I found Sarah. Apparently her flight was just weird, and she'd spent the last hour searching all over for her luggage, which got carried to a different terminal from the one she landed in. Anyway, I was relieved to see her, and super excited as well.
We proceeded to find our hostel, and arrived there around 5pm. We took naps after settling in and around 6:30 or so went out to meet Anna. We had a happy reunion and spent the evening walking around Barcelona. We went to the magic fountain, but realized that it didn't start until 9, so we walked some more and found a place for some food and to sit for a while. We walked a little more and eventually split up, Anna to go meet her friends for one last night and goodbye, and Sarah and I to get showered and rested. We returned to the hostel exhausted, and I was about in tears from exhaustion and homesickness. They usually go together. A hot shower later I was a new person, and fell asleep almost immediately for at least 9 hours.
That was Thursday. Friday, Sarah and I met Anna in the morning by our hostel and we all walked together to Park Guell. It was up some hills and very warm, but we got good views of the city, and the park is pretty cool. From the park we walked down by the Sagrada Familia, which is pretty impressive. We didn't go inside, but rather walked around then took the metro to the Plaza Espanya (I think). We walked Las Ramblas and visited the market to get some fruit types and bread for lunch. We carried our kilo of strawberries and then some through the gothic quarter, which was very pretty. We window shopped and really shopped; Sarah found a great dress for swing dancing, which Anna and I convinced her to buy. We were pretty thrilled.
We sat down by the cathedral to eat and walked some more. We made our way down to the beach since we were all pretty tired of walking by this point, except for Anna, who has no limit when it comes to walking. We sat on the beach for an hour or two and built a sand castle, which we dubbed The Little Shiny Black Rock Piece of Hell Castle, also known as Castle Turtle, to the locals. We walked some more, now slightly rested, and chatted about home and gossip and travel things and people and whatever else came to mind. We commented on Barcelona's modern fish, impractical lifeguard towers, and face. We made our way back to Las Ramblas and stopped to share to gofres. Gofres are like belgian waffles served with nutella or chocolate cream or gelato or whipped cream or all of the above. We took the metro together and Anna showed Sarah and I where the magic fountain was to be found, then she returned home for a last dinner with her host family. Anna and I watched the magic fountain and talked, then listened to the magic fountain, and were duly impressed. The massive fountain overlooks the city of Barcelona and sits on the Palace's doorstep, and can perform nearly as many acrobatics as the Cirque du Soleil. We returned to the hostel a little before 11 pm, showered, packed up, and went to sleep.
Saturday was our travel day, which is to say, we had to wake up before 7 to pack up and catch the metro to the train station to the airport, all with our heavy and unruly bags. The airport was amazingly easy, although I managed to lose Sarah's second bottle of sunscreen going through security... We napped on the flight, which was fairly quick, and reached Milan in a state of great excitement. We were in Italy! And everyone was speaking Italian! Go figure!
We took a bus from the airport which dropped us off at the train station where we lugged our bags around for quite some time before finding the ticket station and enquiring about how to use our Eurorail pass and get to Florence in two days time. It's surprisingly easy, and we needed to pay nothing, so we proceeded to find the metro (with some difficulty) and then walk the five blocks or so to our hotel. In the hot sun and with our heavy bags, it seemed much farther. We collapsed inside, sweaty and cranky, at around 3 pm, having eaten nothing all day. I realized we would have a terrible afternoon and accomplish nothing without some quick food and energy, so we walked down the street and found a pizza place, and ordered three pizzas between us. We wanted enough for dinner too.
We felt slightly better after eating, and returned to our hotel to catch a quick nap (in Anna's case), a quick read (in Sarah's case), and write a quick letter (in my case). By 5 we felt good enough to leave the hotel, so we took the metro, this time burdened by nothing but cameras, into the city center. We were greeted upon our exit from the Metro by the amazing Duermo; the cathedral of Milan. It is fantastically large, imposing, gothic, white, marble, ornate, and in great condition. We took lots of pretty pictures. We got some gelato and walked around for a bit, admiring the well dressed men and ladies, the classy shops, the electric trams, and the fairly grungy and eclectic feel of the city. We explored for a while, sat for a while, explored a little more, then realized we were exhausted and returned to our hotel.
It was only 7:30 or a little later, but we couldn't walk anymore or really focus on anything, and Anna, who hadn't gotten more than 4 hours of sleep in the past four nights, was just about ready to collapse. We planned tomorrow, a good full day in Milan, with some museum trips, castle-seeing, and market browsing. Now we're watching Walker Texas Ranger in Italian, which really requires no translation. Well, I say watching, but Anna is sleeping and Sarah is story-thinking. I have yet to find inspiration for any stories so instead I decided to update my blog, though who knows when I'll manage to post it. For now, Ciao!

It has been over a week since I've written, but it feels longer. We have passed through Milan, Florence, Venice, and are currently in Rothenthurn, Austria. In a castle. A real castle. It has it's own chapel and everything. But we'll get to that later...
We spent a fairly busy couple of days in Milan, mostly walking and window shopping and eating gelato. We also visited a castle, which was pretty neat, although my favorite part was hanging around a fountain outside and watching a little french girl (probably about 2 years old) waddle around in the water in her diaper with her dad following. Adorable. Milan was alright as far as cities go; it was busy and loud and people were very fashionable.
Next stop, Florence. We took the train, which we decided we liked very much, and was a sight better means or transportation than the airplane. We struggled slightly finding our hostel, but it was a pretty nice place despite its lack of internet access (guys, Europe hates the internet), except for when the other guests accidentally didn't give the key back and we were locked out. It was ok though because there was a ladder in the courtyard and all we had to do was climb it through the bathroom window to get in. Except that we were also locked in, and climbing down proved slightly more arduous.
Florence was great. I really loved it; there was lots of art, and lots of tourists, and great outdoor markets where you could find just about anything, especially anything made out of leather. We spent two of our days there just walking and wandering and also checking out Dante's house, the river, and the markets. Our last full day we took a day trip to Cortona, a small Tuscan town, which was pretty cool. Except for the wind, which didn't cooperate with the dress very well, but my Marilyn Monroe moment was saved only for Sarah and Anna. The town was up a hill, so we got great views of the Tuscan countryside, saw a pretty nice Basilica, checked out more shops, ate some pastries, watched a bride and groom take pictures, and then took the train back to Florence, only to pack up and head out the next day, on our way to Venice.
Venice was an interesting city. There was, as expected, lots of water. I loved it for several reasons, primarily that it lacked the two things I hate most about cities--construction and cars. We decided Venice is in some ways not unlike a corpse, as morbid as that sounds. It's a dead city, compared to what it once was, alive only for the tourists that crawl around like insects. On the other hand, it has a regal and charming feel to it in the old buildings still standing majestically over the water, the dilapidated roofs and worn stone bridges. At night, the tourists disappear, the lights shimmer magically over the water, and little cafes spill their warm glow onto the streets; you could almost be witnessing the city hundreds of years ago. Obviously, I liked it best at night.
We spent our five nights in Venice camping on the mainland about a half hour bus ride away in a nice cozy place. The campsite was great, despite the slightly cramped conditions, mosquitoes, and chilly mornings. We spent the first two days exploring the islands around Venice, Murano, famous for its glass, and Burano, famous for its lace and colorful houses. We also checked out San Michele, the cemetery island, which was by far the prettiest, calmest, and quietest. It had lots of pretty flowers and old graves with character (I especially liked all of those with cracked or askew gravestones, or those with figures half fallen).
We spent a lot of time shopping, but not buying, and eating more gelato than I care to dwell on. The buses (boats) were awesome, although the rocking did tend to make me want to nap. The basilica of San Marco and its piazzale, the centerpiece of Venice, were pretty alright, and the palace next door pretty excellent, especially if one could imagine renting it out for a swing dancing venue. Most of the cathedrals we found would be excellent swing dancing venues; they have great floors, and big open spaces. We took our time in Venice, spending a couple of days catching up just at the camp site, reading and cooking and eating and talking and writing. We had fairly excellent weather, much cooler than Florence and Milan, and one excellently cloudy day that yielded amazing skies and water with great character. Sarah agreed.
We left Venice in a bus destined for Villach, Austria. The ride might have been my favorite thing so far, passing through mountains and more mountains and valleys and rivers and waterfalls of northern Italy and southern Austria. The views were fantastic, and I was captivated for the entire four hours. We arrived in Villach and had an hour to kill before our train ride to Rothenthurn, so I was interviewed on TV about the bus service, and then finally conceded to paying money for a public restroom (yes, you have to PAY for them here. Go figure). The train dropped us off, backpacks and bags in tow, in a tiny town that can not even boast of having its own grocery store. Luckily, the castle that was our destination was in view, halfway up the mountain in front of us, so we set off doggedly. At least it wasn't raining.
After some slight confusion (I concede, Anna was right on the directions this time, but only because she wasn't 99% sure) and a great deal of walking uphill with very heavy packs, we made it. It was just like the pictures. There was a white castle, with a pond in front, and pretty trees, and a tower pointing up just a little. We walked up the dirt drive, not knowing exactly what to expect, when the most stereotypical Austrian man comes out and greets us. He must be about six foot three, and wore a button up shirt, leather shorts with buttons in the front, knee socks, and brown leather loafers. "Gutentag!" Luckily, he also speaks some English, and he knew who we were, as I knew him (through my mom and my aunt at least). After lamenting our lack of a car, and informing us that he would gladly have picked us up at the station (whoops), Georg, as he is called, gave us a great tour of the castle, enlightening us to a small part of its 1000 year history.
We spent that first evening we arrived cuddled up in a giant bed watching MTV, the only American channel, then exploring. We scaled the hill facing the castle to get better views of the valley, took lots of pictures, and Anna rolled down. We whispered as we walked through the halls and up and down the stone staircase of the lower floor, because for some reason being in a castle promotes quiet voices. Maria, Georg's wife, was kind enough to provide us with pasta and tomato sauce and the kitchen downstairs (they have two) for our pleasure and use. We made great use of it and feasted for the first time in a while on real plates using proper cutlery. It was ten before we knew it and we headed upstairs to our magnificent wood-decorated room to read before sleep.
Today, our only full day at the castle, we slept in and breakfasted in the large dining room. Two other people were there, also guests, who after overhearing our conversation about train times with Georg, offered to drive us into Spittal, 8 km away, so we could do some grocery shopping for today and tomorrow. We gladly accepted, and after sending quick messages home on Georg's one and only computer, we grabbed our bags and were off.
Our new Austrian friends were exceedingly polite and adorable, on a weeks vacation not far from home in order to hike and explore. They were a young and cute couple, and we were really glad for the ride to town, since 8 km is slightly more than we could really stomach walking just then. We got to Spittal and walked around some, having escaped the rain at the castle, and found a grocery store within minutes. We got more food than we will probably eat, and scanned the shops, then caught the train back to Rothenthurn and walked back up the hill again to the castle, easier this time not burdened with our bags.
We arrived and made ourselves a picnic lunch on the porch of peanut butter sandwiches and fruit. Man, I've missed peanut butter. Who would've known? We hung out while the rain persisted (we had gotten slightly damp on our walk up the hill), but it soon cleared up and by 2 pm Anna and I were ready for a hike. Sarah decided to stay behind and relax in the castle, which is by no means boring in its own sake, and Anna and I set out on bikes we borrowed from Georg.
After several minutes we were very glad we were on bikes because the road was steep and long, and even riding it took us forty five minutes to reach the lake, Milstatter See. The lake, surrounded by mountains, is gorgeous. There is no other word for it, although amazing, spectacular, and fantastic also come to mind. We arrived on the shore and immediately noticed some paddle boats, so after some inquiries (guess what guys? Everyone speaks English here! What the hell?) we found the owners of said paddle boats and communicated our desire to rent one.
Five minutes later we were on our way out to the middle of the lake, paddling happily and laughing in delight at the deep blue water, the snow-capped mountains, the castle across from us, the brightly colored houses, and the windsurfers sharing our turf. Out in the middle of the lake we needed little urging to strip down and jump in, though I won't lie we came out very quickly from the chilly water and huddled, drifting, until the cool breeze dried us enough to get dressed and warm up. It was totally worth it, even riding home with wet underwear later.
We hung around the lake for a little while waiting for a paddle boat friends to come back since we still owed them five euro. Paddle boat man accepted my knots and mooring skills, yelling "Perfecto!" to us as we walked our bikes away. I was very proud of those bowlines, I won't lie. We walked our bikes up the first steep stretch back up the mountain before mounting up and setting off back for the castle. The ride back was better than the way there, since the hills were less steep, and we were mostly in the shade. We got back by 5:30 pm or so and caught up with Sarah.
We cooked a second delicious meal downstairs and then retired to our room early, where we have all retreated to our cozy corners to read, or in my case, write. Oh, but only after Anna and I had a great sliding-across-the-wood-floor-in-socks contest which led to a fairly amusing video and thankfully no concussions or broken bones. Time to get some of my own reading in... Until next time, Aufwieterzeiz, however you spell that.

France!

I arrived at Beauvais Airport outside Paris Saturday afternoon after a night and half day in the airport. Luckily with other students there I managed to sleep some, and got to know Terminal 1 very well. I slept on the flight, which went quickly, and I arrived early and caught the first shuttle into Paris, which dropped me off at Porte Maillot. There, I unloaded my traveler's backpack, my small backpack, and my rolling suitcase (at 20.5 kg) and walked the couple of blocks to the metro station. I have very few complaints about the Paris metro system, which I find one of the best organized, efficient, and quick of all metros I've ever been in. On the other hand, they could do with a few less stairs.
I made it without too much difficulty to the Gare Montparnasse, although by then I was beginning to feel the 36 hours or so without a shower or change of clothes. I bought my train ticket after going up and down the same escalator several times (still with all my luggage in tow) until I found the ticket booth I needed. I had a few minutes respite, then boarded my train, a TGV, which is amazingly comfortable, and I promptly fell asleep.
Three hours later, Catherine, my "aunt", picked me up in Vannes, and we went back to her place. We had some tea and cookies and talked until about midnight, when I crawled into bed and slept as soundly as I can ever remember. I took a shower sitting down in the bathtub in the morning, had a breakfast of toasted baguette with butter or honey dipped in hot chocolate, then packed up. Catherine and I visited the cemetery where my grandparents are buried, and walked for a while. It was beautiful and peaceful, and I had never visited before. We drove a little around the town of Vannes, which I remembered vaguely from four years ago when I visited with my parents, then went back to Catherine's for a minute.
We drove to Pen Castel, about a half hour away, and stopped by the market where my "uncle" Jean-Francois, Catherine's brother, sells his wine. He recognized me from my visit four years ago, when I stayed with him and his family for two weeks, and gave me a big hug hello. It was nice seeing him again; he hasn't changed at all, he still wears the straw hat that says Muscadet and the same large apron behind the same stall with the same bottles of wine in front of him. We tasted one, then Catherine and I went for a walk by the water, looking out over the ocean towards home. We joined Jean-Francois, his wife Muriel, and two of their daughters Amandine and Segolene at their summer house in Pen Castel for lunch. It's currently under serious reconstruction, since they're remodeling the whole thing, and there are only two habitable rooms. I'm sorry I won't be back in a couple of months to see the finished thing. I caught up with Amandine over lunch and chatted with my family; it was great seeing them again and I felt very much at home.
We hung around until about 5:30, when I said goodbye to Catherine and we all drove back to La Fecuniere, their vineyard outside Valet, an hour and a half inland from the coast. We arrived and helped set up the table, and soon later were enjoying a good dinner and a movie. I called my mom on Skype later that evening to wish her a Happy Mother's Day, then went to bed not too late after updating my journal. I again slept soundly until past 9:30, enjoyed a long hot shower, then ventured downstairs for breakfast. I spent the rest of the morning reading, taking pictures of the house, writing in my journal, and cuddling under a blanket.
We had lunch all together downstairs, then I took the dogs out for a walk around the vineyard. We explored a bit and I took more pictures, then came back and relaxed for a bit. I wrote some, chatted online, and at 5 left with Amandine for Valet, which is just five minutes away. Amandine had a dentist appointment so I took the opportunity to walk around the town, which really took about five minutes. I walked around the church, the cemetery (which are amazingly relaxing and peaceful places), walked into the few shops that are open on Mondays, got a croissant and sat on a bench watching the people. It was pretty nice out, not too chilly but with a breeze. We came home and I helped set the table for dinner, which was again delicious.
We left soon after dinner for a movie, Coco Avant Chanel, the story of Gabrielle Chanel, the woman who built the Chanel enterprise singlehandedly. It was pretty interesting actually, and well played. I just got back and decided to finish writing before going to bed soon. Another day hanging out tomorrow before leaving for Manchester for the next week.

Last Week in Valencia

So I forgot I had one of these again.
My last week and some in Valencia hasn't been too excited. I spent a fair amount of time studying or napping at the beach, hung out with some new people and some old people, watched the Barcelona-Chelsea soccer game, said goodbye to people, and did some last minute shopping. I also spent some time panicking about traveling, and excited to see my family, and also feeling ill, for unknown reasons.
I also found out, to my great dismay, on my last day in Valencia, that there's a swing dancing club right next to my friend's place here. A SWING DANCING CLUB. I cried from the irony of it all.
Besides that, I packed, and everything fits, just barely, and tonight I leave on a bus for Madrid, where I will spend an uncomfortable night in the airport, catch a plane tomorrow afternoon for Paris, then a shuttle into the city, then two metros to the train station, then a train to Vannes, where my aunt will pick me and I will spend the night at her place. I'm very much looking forward to not sleeping for the next 36 hours or so.
This week I also: visited the Botanic Gardens, bought souvenirs, walked through the park one last time, and saw a Flamenco performance.
I would update more but nothing else is fantastically new. I haven't been feeling very well lately, but I think it might be nervousness for leaving. I'm also very sad to be leaving my host family, but excited to see my real family in France and England, then Anna and Sarah so soon. And after that, back home!

Whoops, I forgot I had one of these

So, after all the exciting vacation times with my parents, and before that seeing Anna, and before that going to Mallorca with Max and Isaac and Fallas happening and seeing my brother and all, this past week has been pretty tame.
On my way back from the train station, I ran into a guy who started talking to me, and we decided to meet up sometime to chill. I got back home and spent the evening with my host family, then went out with Dotty for the triple purpose of getting out of the house, determining when and where we should meet to do the rest of our project, and seeing some Flamenco. We met at a little bar called La Claca, which hosts Flamenco dancing and music live every Sunday night. Dotty and I arrived a little late to get good seats, but we could see standing by the bar, and sat down and caught up, which was nice.
Monday, which was actually a holiday thanks to another saint (one good thing about a Catholic country is all the random holidays), so Dotty and I met up in mid-morning to get some work done. We accomplished little, distracted as we were by the good weather, and consequently spent the afternoon at the beach instead. We returned to her place to finish up some work and divide up the remaining work.
Tuesday classes started again, and passed as usual. My culture class visited IVAM, the modern art museum in Valencia, which was actually pretty awesome and enjoyable. I spent the afternoon working on my paper and presentation, then went out for a walk with Alex. I caught up on my TV show that night, and spent some time online to catch up with friends back home.
Wednesday my second class was cancelled, so I did some shopping on the way home and finally found a couple of needed gifts. I did more work, then went out with my host family. It was Italo's birthday, and we were meeting all of Alba's family in the area and going out to a restaurant where we would eat and talk and Italo's band would play some music. I was pretty excited to be invited along. We drove about fifteen minutes to another part of the city and took over the little bar/restaurant. Italo, his son Alberto, and two other guys set up their music things and started playing as the rest of us sat down and we ate traditional Columbian food. It was delicious, and the music was good, and I got to film and take lots of pictures. Everyone brought gifts for Italo, who accepted them graciously, and more music ensued. I talked mostly with Noelia, Alba and Italo's daughter-in-law, who is really cool and chill. She's the only Spaniard in the family (that is, actually from Valencia), and I have a much harder time understanding her accent, but oh well. It was only slightly awkward since everyone there was a couple and they were all really close, but still lots of fun. We didn't get home until about six, at which point I had to run to get online and figure out travel things for the summer, which was also, in its way, pretty exciting.
Thursday I spent most of the day after class in the ISA office, Skyping and working on my grammar class presentation. I fortunately remembered that I needed to write an article for the Retriever, and hastily did that, although I was a little embarrassed to submit it. I had dinner at home but went back out for a little to finish some conversations and e-mail pictures and my article. (Apparently things like jobs don't wait for you to get back from study abroad, so I also had to take care of some paperwork things).
Friday morning was pretty relaxing, since I have no class. I got some work in, then walked to the stadium to meet my ISA group for our trip to the Albufera. The Albufera is both a huge lake and a national park, protected for its importance to migratory birds between Africa and Europe. I was imagining more of a park than a lake, but the lake pretty much is the park, so you don't really walk much. We took a ride in some flat-bottomed boats and saw lots of herons and other birds. It was gorgeous out and it was nice just to be on the water, and also see everyone I hadn't seen in ages, thanks to two weeks of spring break. It was a little weird seeing them all too though, since everyone is already preoccupied with going home and taking care of last-minute things here, saying goodbye to people and places, cramming some last late-nights in before going home.
That night was fairly boring; Dotty and I planned to go find some dancing but I wasn't up to it so we decided to pass on that, so I stayed in, worked, chatted with some friends back home, and read. Saturday morning I worked some more (I really haven't been working as much as it sounds, I only ever did about an hour at a time, and at a fairly lazy pace at that). I cooked Mexican tacos with Alba, which were perhaps the most delicious things I've ever consumed. I am very excited about cooking them on my own when I get back home. I don't remember the afternoon really, which is good because it was fairly dull. I know at some point to left the house to recharge my phone, but didn't go running since it was cold and gross outside. Dotty and I tried to make up our dancing-date, but unfortunately Saturday night she wasn't up for it, and Ken was still hungover from the night before and not up for a night out.
I went to bed not too late, which was actually fortunate because Sunday morning I got up fairly early and got a lot done. I worked a little, then went out to the center of down, did some more gift-shopping, then caught the bus to the beach. I had my picnic lunch there and napped and read and enjoyed the sun and the sound of the waves. I joined Dotty for a last-minute revision of our ten-page paper and presentation. We decided to celebrate the termination of our project with frozen yogurt (which here actually IS yogurt, not ice cream) and mojitos at Dotty's favorite bar (which is perhaps now MY favorite bar as well, with an Irish bartender with an adorable accent and an Italian bartender who looks exactly like Johnny Depp, but with a more attractive accent and younger). We hung out and talked, and Johnny Depp bartender bought us keychains from a guy coming in to sell things, which was cute. I had to get home for dinner eventually, so we left, and I caught the bus home, where I ate and then read, and then slept.
Monday we turned in our papers and listened to lots of presentations in class. I walked home with Dotty, stopping at the futbol store for her to get a gift. I had lunch at home, then helped Alba cook Arroz al Horno. Now that I only have two weeks left I'm catching up on all the recipes I wanted to learn before leaving. I also learned Alba used to go to cooking school for five years back in Columbia, which explains how she knows things about cooking, and makes so many delicious foods. I did more homework things that afternoon, or tried, but ended up napping instead for a good hour and a half. I met up with Alex again and we walked up to the train station and back. It's interesting getting to know other peoples opinions from such different backgrounds and lives (he's from Africa, and has been living in Spain for some 8 years or so). Anyway, I came home, chilled, had some dinner, and went to the locutorio for a little before going to bed.
Today, Tuesday, I had class, did my presentation (the one all that work supposedly was on) which went alright, and we finally finished talking about Don Quixote in my literature class. Not that I don't like Don Quixote, but Cervantes was a little long-winded. Afterwards I had lunch at home, did my homework, (it's so easy to be a good student when it takes about an hour a day or less, and you only have twelve hours of class a week), then talked with Max for a while. I came back home to cook Spaghetti a la Carbonara with Alba, which is also surprisingly easy and delicious. It was past 6 by the time we finished, and I got some studying done, and finally some writing.
So my last week wasn't all full of adventures, but still pretty nice to chill in Spain. I have yet to revisit and say goodbye to all my favorite places in Spain, and go back to my favorite bar at least once, and go salsa dancing (I know it's not a Spanish dance, but still fun). Oh! And one last visit to the park for some bouldering, and hopefully seeing my climbing friends there. I can't believe I'm leaving so soon, or how the time still manages to go really slowly and quickly at the same time.
Hasta luego!

Last Days of Vacation...

I left you on Tuesday night. So lets see, Wednesday wasn't very eventful. I went to the beach in the morning and read after a breakfast of hot chocolate and croissants. It hasn't actually been warm enough to sunbathe, but the beach is nice nonetheless, watching the waves and the surfers. Actually, I'm tempted to pick up the sport; it doesn't look too hard, and it certainly seems like fun.
I rode into town with my aunt and uncle and mom, since my mom and aunt wanted to shop and Stephen and I were going to find some internet to do e-mail things. We did find some internet, and hung out for a few minutes, and not too long later walked back home. It was only about a half hour between the town and our little campsite, and it was gorgeous and sunny outside, which was nice.
We had lunch around 1, and soon after decided to take a trip to see some nearby caves. We all drove in Stephen's, my uncle's, car, along the windy roads until I was just about ready to puke out the window, and then we were there. The Grottes de Sare (Caves of Sare), are magnificent huge caves deep into the mountainside under the Pyrenees. We took a tour, and it reminded me of Lurray Caverns, except with no stalagmites or stalactites. The water runs too quickly to leave large calcium deposits; the water still runs and the rock is worn in fascinating shapes. Early cavemen lived here as proven by remains found, which is pretty neat. There are seashells embedded in the rock, or at least fossilized shells, from when this area was underwater some 30 million years ago, give or take. Bats still live in the caves, and we could see their little furry bodies all wrapped up like cocoons hanging from the roofs of the cave.
After the tour we drove into town to do some shopping, in the case of my aunt, my mom, and I, and for a beer at the bar in the case of my dad and uncle. I got some gift shopping done, which was nice, and my mom got me a cute top/dress thing and some leggings. We joined my dad and uncle at the bar for a drink then headed back home for dinner. We cooked dinner in our little cabin and all ate together, as we have every night here. We went out to the beach afterwards to catch the sunset. There are benches above the beach and you can watch the waves and the surfers and put your feet up on the little stone ledge.
Thursday, our last full day, we hung around the campsite and beach. I read a lot, got some sun, at least on my face, and watched the surfers. We had a picnic lunch on the beach, and my uncle went for a bike ride since it was nice weather. I walked along the beach for quite some time, listening to music and then to the waves, and picking up rocks and then dropping them again. It was very nice.
Dinner was good, and was again followed by one last relaxing evening watching the beach and the ever-persistent surfers. Tomorrow we're leaving early (around 7:30 or so) so I spent some time packing this afternoon, as did my parents. It's only 9:45 now but I'm exhausted, probably from not doing anything today. Goodnight!

Friday morning we woke up super early (around 6:30 or so) to shower and take the sheets off our beds to give back to my aunt and uncle, who had kindly brought them for us. Since they were driving all the way to the north of France that day, they were leaving early around 7. We ended up leaving around 8 or so since we had already packed up, and we had a fair amount of driving to do the next couple of days.
We arrived in Pau, a French town just north of the Pyrenees about an hour from the Atlantic coast, around 9:30. My aunt used to live here for six months or so, and almost bought a house here, so my mom really wanted to see it, as did I. We walked around a little in the rain and saw the Pyrenees and found a castle. We took the tour of the castle, which proved to be pretty fascinating. It's the castle where Henry IV was born, one of the better French kings, as far as they go. Apparently he was the last king to be a proper soldier and fight with his soldiers, and made it his mission to make sure everyone in his kingdom had meat to eat once a week. Perhaps he cared about his subjects? Anyway, I think he's more famous for having only taken one bath his entire life, which he only took in order to consummate his first marriage, since his wife refused to sleep with him if he didn't clean himself first. He was sadly assassinated, supposedly at the order of his last wife, who wasn't the same as his first, which is kind of a shame. The castle itself had some pretty great treasures, including a wooden table 18 meters long, a giant turtle shell where little King Henry IV was first deposited at his birth, and more tapestries than you can shake a stick at.
After the castle tour and some sandwiches, we continued on our way; next stop Carcassonne. Carcassonne is another town not unlike Pau, but further down the Pyrenees close to the Mediterranean coast. We arrived and parked, and confusedly searched for the tourist office for some time, and more importantly, the castle. One would think a castle wouldn't be hard to find, especially since we'd already found the walls, and were inside them. Well, go figure, there are actually two towns surrounded by medieval walls in the area, and once we found a map, realized we were some fifteen minutes from the actual castle we were looking for, and we set off.
The REAL Carcassonne castle might be the epitome of all castles everywhere. It is the only medieval city to have the entire wall surrounding the town intact, as well as the castle still standing in excellent condition. We arrived late and didn't get a guided tour and instead walked around, so I know nothing of the history of Carcassonne. I do know the book Labyrinth partially takes place there, if you're into reading. The castle itself is pretty fantastic, with lots of turrets, walls, arrow slots or whatever those skinny windows are called, portcullises, and more. Since one wall was apparently not enough they actually built a second one, so part of the city has a double defense, not counting at all the fact that the whole thing was built up on a hill.
Though I didn't learn very much history of the castle, we did learn why we had trouble finding it. Apparently when some faction (perhaps the Moors, but I don't remember) were kicked out of the fort and it was conquered, they were peeved and stubborn enough to build a neighboring city about 200 meters away from which they could launch more attacks. There, they built another wall from which to defend their position, the wall we originally and mistakenly believed surrounded the castle and its town. Talk about a feud.
Anyway, we found a hotel and stayed the night in Carcassonne, but only after meandering along the medieval town's streets (no cars allowed), and peering into yet another cathedral, not unlike the last fifteen or eighteen I've seen. We went out to dinner and then to bed, and woke the next morning in time to visit several markets. We got some lunch materials and also some gift types, then after breakfast headed off again. It was Saturday, and we needed to make it to Barcelona by that night.
We drove first south, and soon hit the Mediterranean coast, which is both gorgeous and markedly different from the Atlantic coast. Rather than being green and forested, it is mostly scrubland, though with still imposing mountains. There are lots of palms, the water is much bluer, if possible, and the coast is rocky and cliffy rather than too beachy. We followed a windy road along the coast, since the coastline, unlike in many places, is not a straight line but a rather cliff and cove-ridden place. The Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean with a vengeance, and with no room to maneuver.
We passed a myriad of adorable small towns, first in France, then in Spain when we crossed the border. We stopped along the road for a picnic lunch on a bench overlooking the water and one of the towns with yet another castle. We didn't visit, but enjoyed the view, and tried to finish our groceries leftover from the week, since otherwise they would have to be thrown out. I dipped my toes in the water after clambering down the hill and rocks to the sea, but the water is still too frigid to swim in, at least for me.
Soon after crossing into Spain we found yet another monastery, which we decided to visit, I think to my mother's chagrin. She was driving, and the road up to the monastery was not the kindest (cliff down on one side, cliff up on the other side, and with the occasional speeding cyclist coming down the other direction). We made it up eventually and I tried unsuccessfully to cure mom of her fear of heights. I guess walking on top of the stone barrier over the cliff edge is not the best cure.
The monastery was partly in ruins, since it had been plundered in the 20th century sometime, but was still neat. It has apparently been around since at least the 10th century (over a thousand years ago), which is also pretty cool. There are no more monks, but there is a pretty nice tour and the most amazing view of the Mediterranean, pretty rocks, cliffs, and mountains all around.
We set off again and eventually hit a motorway, which made our way a little easier. We had already booked a hotel near the airport in Barcelona, and we managed to not get lost at all on the way there. We settled in, repacked everything, toured the Corte Ingles nearby and had a quick dinner before getting back to bed. I was very sad to be leaving my parents, and wanted to get on the plane back with them to the US when they left, but I only have two months left in Europe, and only three weeks more of class. Not even really, thanks to random holidays and early exams.
My TO DO list for my last two weeks in Valencia: Learn how to cook Tortilla Española and Arroz al Horno from my host mom, get some last minute gifts (OH MY GOODNESS SOME OF YOU ARE SO HARD TO SHOP FOR), spend a night on the beach, or at least several days, climb a mountain, swim in the Mediterranean, and say goodbye to all my favorite places in the city (the cathedral, the Torres de Serrano, the rio/park). Anything I'm forgetting?
Up next: Last Weeks in Valencia, then, Adventures With Family in France and England.
PS: You guys need to learn how to comment on these friggin blogs. It's not that hard guys. Have I been forgotten in Spain?!

Travel Adventures 1

It's been a while since I've written, so I'll try to fill you in as best as possible. After my weekend with Anna, I had a fairly productive week: I worked on my paper for my culture class, I went climbing, I got my climbing shoes repaired, and organized summer travel plans with Anna and Sarah. Besides that, I went to class, ate, slept, and finished The Three Musketeers (which I highly recommend).
Friday morning I picked my parents up at the airport, and only panicked a little as they were the last ones off the plane. It was great to see them though, and I was excited for a couple of weeks of traveling and relaxing and seeing more of Spain! I settled them in their hostel, and we spent the afternoon getting lunch and then walking around Valencia. I had dinner with my dad later, then went to bed.
Saturday we visited the market, La Lonja, the park, and saw the Torres de Serrano. I made Paella with my host mom for my parents and we all ate together at my host family's place, and I was busy translating and explaining things. That afternoon we visited the Ceramic Museum/Palace and the Roman ruins museum, then went to a local wine tasting in the park before walking home.
Sunday we climbed the Torres de Quart, went to the Archeological museum, had a picnic lunch by the Cathedral, then went to the beach for a nap. We walked through the port, saw a little exposition on the America's Cup (at the end of which we still didn't know who won), then got lost walking back by the CAC. We made it back eventually, and went out for tapas later.
Monday, our last day in Valencia, we went to pick up our rental car at the airport, got lunch, visited the Cathedral, and perhaps did some shopping and packing. Tuesday it rained, which was fine since we spent a lot of time driving. We drove up to Tarragona, which is about two and a half hours away, and stopped at Peñiscola on the way. There we visited a big castle/fortress right on the sea, which was pretty cool, although the rain was a little depressing. In Tarragona (a town on the Mediterranean about 2/3 of the way from Valencia to Barcelona) we hung around the hotel since it was cold and getting late.
Wednesday we visited the old Roman Forum, or what remains of it, as well as the amphitheater, the Archeological museum, and Palace of Tarragona. We had a picnic lunch by the aqueduct, then drove to Poblet, a monastery about 30 km away. The monastery was pretty fantastic, an amazing and huge building that is actually still a monastery. We bought some wine made by the monks after the tour, then on our way back to Tarragona for the night, stopped in Montblanc. That town also had a fortress wall so we walked along that and the little cobblestone roads.
Thursday we left Tarragona, only to find the engine light on in the car, and worried, drove back and asked about it. Luckily it was only a reminder to service the car, which pops up automatically every so many miles, so we set off again, heading inland north west parallel to the Pyrenees. We stopped in a small town called Alcázar, which was fantastic. It was sunny and hot again, and the countryside we drove through was gorgeous. Alcázar stood on a hill and had a fantastic fortress/church thing on the top, which was beautiful. Far below a river ran through a deep gorge, really a canyon, which we walked down to visit a medieval bridge and have a late picnic. The town itself was adorable and there were so many pretty cliffs and rocks I wanted to climb them all. We drove on to Huesca, where we walked around and finally found a hotel. After settling in we went to visit the town's cathedral and have dinner. The town was pretty nice, and there were lots of people around getting ready for Good Friday and Easter celebrations. Huesca used to be the capital of Aragon, the region of Spain we'd been driving through since leaving Catalunya (home to Tarragona and Barcelona).
Friday we had breakfast in the hotel, and it was pouring rain again, which was fine since we had to drive all the way to France, which really isn't all that far. On the way we stopped at the Castillo de Loarre, which was awesome, perhaps my favorite place so far. It was foggy and windy and eerie, and the castle stood on this huge cliff, and was very large. It's actually the best preserved Romanesque castle in Europe, and was built as a fortress in the 11th century as the Christians came down into "Spain" to kick out the Moors. We lost our umbrella there, but I got lots of postcards and sweet views of gorgeous green rolling hills before us and mountains, the beginning foothills of the Pyrenees, behind us.
We continued on our way, and I slept in the car and finished a box of cookies as we made our way up windy roads into the mountains to see the monastery of San Juan de la Peña. The monastery is deep in green forests on a mountainside, carved out underneath a huge alcove. It's not very huge, and very remote, but for some reason all the kings of Aragon wanted to be buried here, so there are some tombs, and some sweet carvings of the life of Jesus, and more great views. We were high enough up that we could see our breath, and the clouds drifted below us like a river in the valleys below. Aragon might be my favorite province of Spain, although I haven't seen very many of them. It's green and mountainous and not too populated, has some fantastic castles, and lots of camping and climbing.
After visiting the monastery we drove some more, and I slept some more, and after driving around Pamplona and San Sebastian we made it to the border and crossed into France for a mere 1.50 euros. Less than 20 km farther we found Saint Jean de Luz, the town near our "campsite" and after getting a little lost in the town, found our place. The reception place had closed an hour earlier, so we stood outside our car in confusion for several minutes, until my aunt and uncle conveniently pulled up. They had a camper nearby and had gotten the key to our place and were on their way to make up our beds and whatnot. We joined them and settled in our little cabin that will be home for the next week, then went back to theirs for dinner, since they had cooked for us.
Saturday, today, we got up and went for a good long walk along the coast (the Atlantic Coast, since we are currently right close to the border of France and Spain on the north westerly side). It wasn't raining, though it was cloudy and chilly for the most part. The seaside is gorgeous though, and the mountains are clearly visible behind. The beaches are sandy and rocky and lie at the bottom of green hills covered in bushes and flowers. We walked to Saint Jean de Luz and looked around for a while, then got lunch. I was surprised to understand everyone around me, since they speak French here, now we're in France, although half the tourists here are from Spain, so I heard a lot of Spanish as well. It's fantastic speaking languages.
After lunch we meandered back, and decided to take a siesta. My parents went out for groceries, I wrote a zillion postcards, and it's now almost six and I should probably work on my paper since I finally have time, but instead I will probably read. It doesn't get dark until 8:30 or 9 at least here, so perhaps I will brave the wind and go explore the beach, although really it's pretty obvious. Since there is no internet here (obviously) I will keep writing each day I guess and then post this back in Valencia, or at the end of the week.

Sunday, Easter, we decided it would be a good idea to go visit a nice hike over a sweet gorge with some swinging bridges, so adventures ensued. It was cold and rainy, so we decided to visit a town nearby first, so we did. We got some hot chocolate and walked around a little, then it stopped raining and we decided to at least do part of the hike. We made it quite a ways into the Pyrenees before the windy roads on the side of the cliff got to my mom's nerves and the snow became deep enough to worry us about getting stuck. We had a mini snowball fight on the mountaintop where we stopped to turn around and check the map, which mostly consisted of my uncle throwing snow at the rest of us.
So we turned around and went back to the village we'd come from, and Easter mass over, managed to see the church, as well as the Citadel, which we'd missed on the way in since none of us knew what a citadel was (apparently, it's kind of like a fortress/castle, but I don't know why it isn't just called a fortress...). We took a walk along a river and had a picnic lunch, then made friends with some horses in a field. We fed them apples and they let us pet them and followed us along the fence.
On the way back towards our campsite place, we stopped in another town, which is supposedly one of the prettiest towns in France. It was pretty cute, and had another nice church, which had two rows of balconies like a theater, which I've never seen in a church before. I got some postcards, and my mom got some duck sausage, and we were on our way. That night back at the cabin I made a paella for everyone, which was a fairly large success, though I'd never tried it with fish, and it needed a little salt. We had easter chocolate for dessert.
Today, Monday, it was gorgeous and sunny out, so my aunt and uncle headed out for a bike ride in the Pyrenees in preparation for this summer (they are biking for one week from one side of the Pyrenees to the other with five or six others). My parents did some laundry and I read on the beach. Around noon we headed up to a hike we'd heard was nice, and climbed a giant mountain. It was gorgeous, but it was also 730 meters of elevation change in a mere two hours, so very steep. The views were amazing, and the mountains were thickly populated with wild horses, most with adorable fuzzy foals and none of which were scared of people in the slightest. The views from the top were stunning, and we realized upon arrival that we must have crossed the French/Spanish border, and were back in Spain, since all the signs were in Spanish. We decided to take the train down since it was getting a little late and our legs were tired, but it felt like cheating.
Tonight we ate at my aunt and uncle's little cabin place, then went out to the beach with a bottle of wine to catch the sunset. It was beautiful, and the sounds of the waves was a perfect soundtrack. Right now I am back in our cabin on my bed with my feet up, and an empty bowl that had hot chocolate in it some minutes ago beside me, and a pile of postcards on the other empty bed to fill in. Bed time in an hour or so... Good night!
Tuesday was the day in Biarritz. My aunt Anne had scheduled a trip to the hairdresser for herself, my mom, and me, so we headed out around 10 or so just after breakfast. Though we had nothing but the address (no map) we found it fairly quickly and were treated like royalty. My mom and I finished before my aunt so we walked around and shopped a little. My dad and uncle joined us for lunch, and we got sandwiches and sat on a bench overlooking the beach and watched the surfers. The waves were much bigger than in St. Jean de Luz, the town by our campsite, which is a little bizarre since it's only 15 km down the coast.
After lunch we walked some more, checking out the beach and the little port and eventually stopped for tea in a nice tea house. My mom decided her next business venture would be to open a tea house back home, since there's bound to be a market and little competition in the States (survey: how many of you would like to see a tea house in DC, and if so, would you go?). My mom got me some sandals, which I badly needed, and we split up, my aunt and uncle to go find biking gear and me to find an internet cafe. I did, and my parents gave me a whole hour before we were to head back to get my tickets and do my mail. I didn't get a chance to post the blog, so sorry guys, that's why it's going to be so long.
We came back, my parents cooked, I read, we all ate way too much, drank a few bottles of wine, shared stories, and now it's just about time for bed. Looking forward to another vacation day tomorrow. Au revoir mes amis!

Spain: Tarragona and the week that preceded it

So last week packed fairly quickly, and was pretty entertaining overall. Monday I had lunch at home, then went climbing in the park, finally met some girl climbers, and exhausted myself. I walked home, and did some things. Tuesday I brought a lunch with me to class and immediately afterwards went to the beach with Ken and Andrew, a flashback to one of my first weeks here, although much warmer. We chilled, and I read for a bit, and we were visually accosted by the following:
-A mostly naked girl (no top, VERY small bathingsuit bottom) doing something kind of like a cross between tai-chi and kick boxing on the beach. Sometimes she dove into the water and then came back out and resumed her half dance/half exercise routine thing. She was very topless.
-A chubby and bearded guy who did something that seemed kind of like Aikido. He repeatedly threw himself on the sand into a roll, which sometimes didn't really work, and sometimes did. He continued in this vein for quite some time.
-A VERY bizarre cross-dressing guy. Andrew's comment was priceless, something along the lines of, "Is that?... That IS a guy. Oh my god." He was wearing a skirt and a shirt, and flat shoes and a straight brown wig, and was probably in his forties or fifties. He just walked along the beach and then off it.
We took the bus back and then I walked the rest of the way home. I think that afternoon I spent some time online trying to organize schedule things, but I'm not positive. Anyway, Wednesday was sort of a repeat of Monday, except after lunch I registered for classes, and got into everything I wanted. I also finally got one professor to agree to let me take a class without the prerequisite, which was nice. After climbing I found out about a place that would repair my shoes, so I went and got that done, and got a replacement pair in the meantime.
Thursday I went back to the park, met up with slack-line guy, who encouraged me to try the bouldering under the other bridge with the sketchy looking handholds. In Spanish they have a different word for this kind of bouldering, called la trecha. Instead of going sideways (traversing) you go upside down essentially, and it's much harder. I, needless to say, did not do very well, and went home kind of early. I think I did some homework, but I'm not positive.
Friday I didn't have class, but I got up early anyway to go to the train station and get tickets for Tarragona that evening. I met up with Dotty afterwards and we went back to her place and worked on our project. I made an outline and got a bunch of information on Spanish music, thanks mostly to wikipedia, then headed back home. I ate some food, packed up, and headed to the train station to head to Tarragona.

I met Anna at the train station in Tarragona around 7:45 pm that evening. The town is about two thirds of the way to Barcelona from Valencia and is right on the coast. It was once a major Roman city, and still boasts parts of the original Roman wall, an aqueduct, the amphitheater, the circus, and lots of sculptures and ruins. Anyway, Anna and I spent the evening walking around and talking and seeing things. It was fairly nice out, and we only had our backpacks, so it was pretty chill. We eventually went back to our hotel to drop our stuff off, then headed back out for dinner.
Cheap and hungry as we were, we decided to get kebaps and gelato, the second part of which we failed at, but made up for the next day. Back at the hotel sometime after 11pm or so, we decided to take advantage of the free wifi and call people back home. So we proceeded to try and call Mike, who didn't answer, and Jon, who did, and didn't realize it was us for a while. We also got ahold of Meaghan and convinced her, Max, and Erica to get on Skype so we could call them.
They didn't really like Skype so we eventually got the ivideo thing to work, but not very well, and had a little three-way chat going with Andrew in London as well. Technology never ceases to amaze me. Soon Max and Meaghan and Erica had to go do fun things, so they left and Andrew called us back on Skype, which worked much better, since we could actually see him. Some time later Anna and I realized we should probably figure out what we were going to do the next day, so we spent some time looking at a map and things.
Sunday we got up not too late, took insanely long and wonderfully hot showers, packed up, dropped our bags off at the front desk, and set out. First stop: archeological museum, or one of them. Well, that was only after we stopped at a patisserie and got delicious chocolate pastries for breakfast, as well as a bag of cookies for later, which we did indeed consume throughout the day. We only got a little lost on the way to the museum, which was pretty small and under reconstruction. It was still kind of cool though, and we got a student discount.
Second stop: the aqueduct. It's a little ways outside the city, but we read in Anna's guidebook that you could take a bus from a particular stop, so we went there. The bus number we were looking for didn't stop there, so we went inside a store to ask, but the lady there didn't know. She did point us in the direction of an information center though, so we walked there next. Unfortunately the information center was locked and closed, and no one was there, so we were decided to go to the bus station next door. The bus station, however, proved equally useless, since the buses were long distance, not city buses, and there were no maps anywhere.
At this point we decided we might as well walk, so we set off, not deterred by the slight drizzle. On the road there, we fortunately passed a kindly old man waiting at a bus stop, and he told us the bus was coming and would take us to the aqueduct. I say fortunately because we realized in the bus ride that our walk would have been fairly unpleasant on the side of a highway with no sidewalk, and pretty darn far.
We took a walk in the woods around the aqueduct, and it was awesome. The aqueduct itself was pretty huge, and perfectly maintained, and we could cross over it in the little trench at the very top the water used to flow through. It had stopped drizzling, which was nice, and we had a good walk on an easy trail through the woods, passing several monuments apparently dedicated to the Day of the Tree. I think this day should be reinstated, unless it is already a day and I just didn't know about it.
Anyway, later we caught the bus back into town, which fortunately dropped us off right in front of the market, which is where we were headed. We got bread, chorizo, strawberries, and kiwis, which has become a custom I am very fond of, and headed back out again to find a place to chill for a bit. We were a little tired, so back in the old part of town, a stop at a cafe was in order.
We found one and proceeded to plan our summer travel on the back of a receipt and a napkin. We both got very excited about where we're visiting, and I even managed to get excited for next year, when I will be back to real work, and applying to places, and whatnot. I think I spent quite some time recommending books to Anna as well (The Alchemist, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance).
Anyway, afterwards we set back out to see the cathedral. IT WAS AWESOME. I have seen my fair of cathedrals, and I guess this one was much like the others, but it had the added benefit of having an absolutely gorgeous and large courtyard with a fountain in the middle, sweet architecture, and a fairly expansive museum with lots of gold things and old things, which we touched.
I think after the museum we decided to hit some more museums after eating lunch. We finally found a dry place to sit, since everything was still damp from the drizzle which periodically punctuated our day, and ate. It was good times. The next two museums were right next to each other and displayed mostly old roman things, like statues, and artifacts, and mosaics, and rocks. We climbed something that was very tall and gave a good view of the city and the Mediterranean. We explored the old circus, where they once had chariot races (and the occasional public execution apparently), and saw lots of pillars and arches.
Afterwards we walked some more to the old Roman wall. On the way we stopped in this tiny little place that was home to a miniature of the Roman city, aqueduct and all. It was really cute, and conveniently located next to the wall we then proceeded to climb. It had some canons, trees, good views, lots of old rock, and a pretty sweet path. We took some peoples' pictures, and they took ours. We exited not really knowing where we were, but managed to walk until we did know.
We stopped by the amphitheater next, but rather than paying to go in, walked around and outside it and above it, getting a pretty good view of the whole thing. By this time it was around 6:30 or so, and I only had a couple of hours before my train back home, so we headed back towards our hotel to pick our bags up. We sat for a minute there then went to the train station to sit and wait, since we were exhausted and seen just about everything we could.
We ate our kiwis using Isaac's knife, which was still in my backpack, and they incidentally didn't confiscate (I was grateful for that, since I'd forgotten it was in my bag), and then said goodbye as my train pulled up. The train ride was pretty quick. They played Nim's Island in Spanish on the TV, which was actually an excellent film and I understood the whole thing even in Spanish. It helped having the subtitles as well in Spanish.
Anyway, today, Sunday, has passed fairly uneventfully. I spent the morning working on my project, and discovering that writing in Spanish is not that hard, so long as you don't care about silly things like grammar, or spelling. I abandoned my plan to go running since it's gross and cold outside, and rainy, and instead read a lot of my book, had like four meals already, and skyped home. I have only about a half hour until dinner, then I can kill some more time online, then bed, and another week starts tomorrow.

Thanks Anna for an awesome weekend in Tarragona, and for making me super excited about summer travel, and working at NIH, and other things! :)