Pictures from this weekend

In the Plaza Mayor
Beth, Hillary, and Jackie
Jon
Bethie and me
El Palacio Real


Throne room

A Stradivarius

El Retiro

Visitors!

This weekend my friends Beth and Jon came to Madrid, along with Hillary and Jackie, whom I didn't know before, but it's always good to make new friends. All four go to GW and are studying in London right now. We did a lot of tourist-y stuff that I hadn't done yet (saw more of the Reina Sofia Museum, the royal palace, etc) and ate a lot of good menu's and tapas.
Yesterday evening Jon and I went to an Irish pub to watch the Ireland-England rugby match, which was a blast (especially the final score). It was a nice break from Spanish immersion, not to mention that a pint of Guinness cost no more than the local beer on tap.
I had to switch my London trip due to a class-scheduling issue, so I'll be going a month from now instead. I can't wait!

Carnaval

For some reason this didn't make it up before....Kay and I ready to party.

Barcelona Pics

Fountain near Paseo de Gracias
El Parque Güell, designed in part by Antoni Gaudí


La Iglesia de la Sagrada Familia

Ready for the bike tour, but with sunglasses of a guiri (foriegner).
Erin, Michelle, and Kay
Kay and I
Akbar, finished just a couple of years ago.
The old royal palace.

The National Museum of Art
A model of La Pedrera, where the Gaudí museum is.

Kay and I on the terrace.
The terrace.

Carnaval! (Kay and Donna)
Madness in the streets of Sitge
The Pamplona contingent

Barcelona

We had a wonderful time in Barcelona this past weekend. On Friday, we left at the crack of dawn and arrived at about 9:30, after which we took about a two and a half hour bus tour of the city, stopping to look at some of the sights, among other things La Catedral Sagrada Familia, El Parque Güell, and the complex where they had the Olympics. We dropped our stuff off at our hotel and went to a really nice lunch at a restaurant near the beach, where we all stuffed ourselves with incredible food. The only drawback was that immediately after, we had a three and a half hour bike tour of Barcelona, mostly the old Gothic city. It was a lot of fun, though a little bit tough with fifteen people staying together in the city.

Saturday we saw the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, which had a lot of good examples of medieval art and a lot of reconstructed wall paintings from medieval churches. A few of us went later to La Pedrera, which is one of Gaudí´s buidings, very cool, very weird. Saturday night was also a huge Carnival celebration in Sitges, a port city about 30 minutes away. I went with a friend here and we partied on the beach and in the streets with probably over a million people in costume. It definitely was a crazy time.

I´ll try to have some pictures up in a few days...

TKD

Yesterday night I finally made it to a Taekwon-Do class in Madrid. ITF (the style we do) is tough to find here, but there's one about a 45 minute commute away on the other side of the city, but to me it's worth it. Not having worked out in a month, I was feeling kind of useless, and the first class back was definitely challenging (i.e. I'm hurtin today) but I'm glad I've found a class.

Today's a busy day. I have Spanish History, Spanish Lit, and then my Art History class at the Prado, and then we're off to the theater. My other classes are International Economics and Flamenco. Dancing's never been my thing but there are six others (including two other guys) who are doing it to, so atleast we're all at the same level more or less.

We're off to Barcelona at the crack of dawn on Friday. Then next weekend, Beth and Jon come to visit from London, and then I go to London the weekend after (just how it worked out schedule-wise). Should be fun.

Italy!

Our trip to Italy is all booked! I'm meeting Kara in Milan and we'll be going to Venice, Florence, Perugia, Rome, Pompeii, and Amalfi from March 30 through April 9. We'll be busy sprinting through the country and it'll be jam-packed for Easter week, but I'm really excited. Here's our basic itinerary.

3/30 - Venice
3/31 - Florence
4/1 - Florence
4/2 - Perugia
4/3 - Rome
4/4 - Rome
4/5 - Pompeii
4/6 - Amalfi
4/7 - Amalfi
4/8 - Rome
4/9 - Fly back

In addition to all the sights, I'm look forward to great food, wine, and company.

Segovia

Yesterday we spent all day in Segovia, a city about an hour's bus ride to the northwest of Madrid. Segovia is most famous for it's almost 2000 year-old Roman aqueduct and being the city where Isabel de Castilla was crowned queen (later to be married to Fernando de Aragon in what united the two kingdoms in 1474). We visited la Iglesia de la Vera Cruz, and old Templar church, the cathedral, and the Alcazar (fortress) and walked around the city a bit. Enjoy the pics.

Segovia Pics

The Alcazar (above)

The Church of La Vera Cruz

I don't know how I look in this pic, but it was freezing!

The aqueduct, built without any cement or mortar of any kind.

The Church of San Martín

The Cathedral

Closer view of the Alcazar
View of the Templar church we were in earlier
The Alcazar's moat, (albeit somewhat empty)



Ferdinand and Isabella's thrones
The armory (we guys liked this part best)
No, no, no, I want you to stay here, and make sure he, doesn't leave the room.

Kay and her Caballero
Knocked out from exertion and dizziness after climbing the spiral staircase to the tower.
The view

Comida

Of course, being who I am, food has always been very important, and the culinary aspects of this experience will have lasting effects, I´m sure. I eat so many things now regularly that I never did before, and never thought I would, and when I get home I´ll probably eat just about anything that´s put in front of me. Not only the pescado, which I never liked when I was younger (but am getting more used to now) but also things like champiñones, (and setas in general) aceitunas, remolachas (yes Mom, your favorite!) And lots of other stuff. I only like a few mariscos before coming here, but on this trip we´ve had lots of calamares and I can even choke down a chopito or two. We´ll see. I´m kind of sick of all the jamón they eat here, but I´ll survive. So far my favorites are paella and tortilla española. In Segovia yesterday a couple guys were going to try cochinillo (some of you, i.e. Kathryn, are better off not looking that one up) but I abstained.

Filler Words

You never realize just how many filler words you use until you speak mostly in a foreign language. Not just "uuuhhh" or "ummm" but words and phrases like "like," "well," "I mean," and "you know." They stick out like sore thumbs, especially when you listen to someone else. I imagine this will be an aspect of fluency that will take time to master, having the instinct to use the Spanish filler words.