This weekend I went to Salamanca with several friends from IES and Jared Grigg (for those of you at home who know him) and we had a blast! We left on Friday morning and took the train from Madrid. It was a 2 1/2 hour ride and we all were sitting togther so it was fun! Jared and I played about 10 games of gin rummy and watched the beautiful scenery. We should have trains in the States because you miss so much when you fly everywhere!
Anyway, we got to Salamanca and headed out to find a hostal to stay in. We ended up staying in the Hostal de Los Angeles which was on the Plaza Mayor and we even had a view of the Plaza Mayor from the room! It was amazing and suprisingly cheap! But we also had to climb three large flights of stairs that, even without my bag, made me out of breath. Then we went down and had lunch in the Plaza Mayor at one of the many cafés there. After a yummy lunch we went out and just started walking around. We walked down a main road with lots of tourist shops, many of which we entered! Then I bought a European type scarf that is hot pink and that I love! We also saw La Casa de las Conchas which is a house covered with large shells on the outside. It is now a public library so we could enter for free and hung out in the small courtyard in the center of the house.
We also went and saw La Catedral Nueva and La Catedral Vieja. The funny thing is that the New Cathedral is actually about 500 years old. The Old Cathedral is almost 1000 years old. They are amazing and absolutely beautiful! There was an amazing organ in the New Cathedral so I took a picture for Ron.
We also took a little trolley that gave us a 20 tour of Salamanca but I didn´t get alot out of it because the woman speaking was so monotone it was painful to listen. After the tour we walked down to El Puente Romano which is this long bridge that goes over the Río Tormes and we watched the sun set from there. We tried to find somewhere to eat on the other side of the river but there wasn´t anything so we went back and were headed to a place in my guidebook when this man gave us flyers for the Don Quixote Restaurant with a cheap deal that gave you lots of food. So we did that and it was really good and we had fun! I forgot my video camera there though so I had to run back a few minutes after we left to get it. It was still exactly where I left it(gulp!) Then we went back to the Plaza Mayor and had a coffee while watching the people there.
The next morning we woke up and found breakfast in this cute little restaurant and then went back to get out bags out of our room. After we checked out of the hostal we went over and saw the Casa Museo de Miguel de Unamuno which is the house of Unamuno who is a famous Spanish writer from the Generation 1898 which was a big literary year. I will be reading some of his stuff this semester in my Generation 1898 class so it was interesting to see where he lived. We also went to the Ieronimus which is the bell tower connected to the Cathedrals and you can climb up it and also walk around the balcony of the Cathedral which is really high and a little frightening but incredible at the same time. It is so high that it amazes me that people could build something so tall without the kind of technology we have today! After that we headed for the train station, bought tickets, had lunch and waited for the train. While waiting, Jared and I played Taco Ball in the arcade which is the most fun game I have ever played to date. It is indescribable but kind of like air hockey but not...that´s not very helpful is it? Oh well... we are currently searching for a Taco Ball game in Madrid but as of yet have been unsuccessful. I´ll let you know how that goes.
We got back to Madrid on Saturday afternoon in time for La Noche en Blanco which will have to wait until my next entry!
Monday, September 25, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Potatoes in Llanes
So after the march we got on the bus and drove to Llanes, which is on the coast. Our hotel had a view of the ocean and the mountains at the same time! AMAZING!! So we got there and a few of us went to the beach with the intention of reading but that didn't happen. The water was really cold though so i didn't go in past my ankles/knees. We had cocktails and appetizers for dinner provided by IES which was really nice!
After we ate, we hung out for a while and found out that the town was having an annual Festivo de Patatas. Yes, folks, that's a Potato Festival. So, we definitely headed over there to get in on the festivities! So, we went and there were some bands and then the Baile de la Patata...that's a Potato Dance...i know! It was amazing! You entered w/ a partner and had to dance with a potato between your foreheads w/o using your hands...so funny and definitely an art! Clint, Chris and I bought neon orange commemorative panuelos from the festival and wore them all night.
Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me at the festival so this is the only picture I have. Thank you Clint for the morning after reenactment!
The next morning we were supposed to have time to go to the beach again but it was raining so we left early and came home!
After we ate, we hung out for a while and found out that the town was having an annual Festivo de Patatas. Yes, folks, that's a Potato Festival. So, we definitely headed over there to get in on the festivities! So, we went and there were some bands and then the Baile de la Patata...that's a Potato Dance...i know! It was amazing! You entered w/ a partner and had to dance with a potato between your foreheads w/o using your hands...so funny and definitely an art! Clint, Chris and I bought neon orange commemorative panuelos from the festival and wore them all night.
Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me at the festival so this is the only picture I have. Thank you Clint for the morning after reenactment!
The next morning we were supposed to have time to go to the beach again but it was raining so we left early and came home!
La Marcha de Muerte
So, while in Asturias, we went on a hike (una marcha) that was 9km long, which is about 6 miles. It was downhill all the way and my legs and rear end are still killing me on Wednesday...sad, I know. But it was unbelievably beautiful because we were in the middle of the mountains and the clouds were really close and the sun was shining and it was amazing. Words can't describe but pictures can show you a little.
So, it was really cool but also a bit rough b/c you think walking downhill is easy...but not for 2 hours straight! believe me! My new friend, Clint (who actually goes to trinity but we had never met) lovingly called it the march of death and so we have thus entitled it. Always a good time!
So, it was really cool but also a bit rough b/c you think walking downhill is easy...but not for 2 hours straight! believe me! My new friend, Clint (who actually goes to trinity but we had never met) lovingly called it the march of death and so we have thus entitled it. Always a good time!
Asturias
So last weekend I went on the IES trip to Asturias, y Leon. Asturias is in the north part of Spain and, let me tell you, it is beautiful!
Unfortunately, we had to be at the IES center at 7:30 AM and it takes me an hour to get to school...you do the math. I almost died b/c I had to get up so early. OK, so I didn't almost DIE but I wasn't super happy. But then I got to sleep on the bus so it was a-ok!
So we stopped first in Leon which started as a Roman camp and saw the cathedral there which is famous for it's stained glass.
The picture is of me and Kali in front of the cathedral.
Also, in the cathedral, there is a section dedicated to San Antonio with a statue of him and so I took a picture. Our guide said that San Antonio is the saint of girlfriends/boyfriends so if you want one, you should ask him. I just liked him b/c I live in San Antonio alot of the time...So here's a shout out to my Trinity friends in San Antonio!
So then we left and headed to the middle of nowhere Asturias to a small town called Posada de Valdeon. When we got there it was freezing and raining but it's in the mountains and it is unbelievably gorgeous. So, we dropped our bags in our hostal room (four to a room, two double beds...so cozy!) and went exploring we walked around for about 2 hours just exploring the town and seeing the big sights of the town...oh wait, there aren't really any. But it was fun!
There were some interesting sights, like the tire flower pot. We also met these people who were traveling through Spain on horseback with their pack mules. This town is actually in a national park, so there are lots of trails and such. I was jealous b/c that would be such a cool thing to do!
Unfortunately, we had to be at the IES center at 7:30 AM and it takes me an hour to get to school...you do the math. I almost died b/c I had to get up so early. OK, so I didn't almost DIE but I wasn't super happy. But then I got to sleep on the bus so it was a-ok!
So we stopped first in Leon which started as a Roman camp and saw the cathedral there which is famous for it's stained glass.
The picture is of me and Kali in front of the cathedral. 
Also, in the cathedral, there is a section dedicated to San Antonio with a statue of him and so I took a picture. Our guide said that San Antonio is the saint of girlfriends/boyfriends so if you want one, you should ask him. I just liked him b/c I live in San Antonio alot of the time...So here's a shout out to my Trinity friends in San Antonio! So then we left and headed to the middle of nowhere Asturias to a small town called Posada de Valdeon. When we got there it was freezing and raining but it's in the mountains and it is unbelievably gorgeous. So, we dropped our bags in our hostal room (four to a room, two double beds...so cozy!) and went exploring we walked around for about 2 hours just exploring the town and seeing the big sights of the town...oh wait, there aren't really any. But it was fun!
There were some interesting sights, like the tire flower pot. We also met these people who were traveling through Spain on horseback with their pack mules. This town is actually in a national park, so there are lots of trails and such. I was jealous b/c that would be such a cool thing to do! 
La Corrida de Toros
So, I went to the most Spanish thing you can ever go to...a BULLFIGHT! Lauren and I walked to La Plaza de Toros, 
which is really close to our piso and met up with some other IES people. I was expecting it to be horrible and not something I would want to watch alot of but it was actually kind of cool.
There were three matadores and they each killed two bulls, for a total of 6 (for you people not so mathematically inclined...) The whole process is actually rather intricate. There are three acts and each one has a specific purpose. The first act is these guys with the typical capes who work to tire the bull out and get him all riled up. Then these guys come out on horseback and stab the bull in the back of the neck with a long pole. This is my least favorite part b/c the horses are blindfolded and have padding on b/c the bull charges the horses. Then the picadores come out and they stab 2 sticks in the back of the neck as well. If the picador is good, his stick stay in the bulls neck, if he isn't, they fall out. Then the matador finally comes out for the third act and plays with the bull for a while before stabbing him in the back of the neck with a sword. If the matador is good, he gets really close to the body of the bull while taunting him and then stabs him once and kills him. If his sword comes out, it is bad b/c he has erred.
It was really interesting to watch even though it is so sad for the bull. The neatest part for me was the 3rd bull we saw. It came out into the ring and it was HUGE!!! and it was going bolistic! charging the wall and everything. If a bull does really well and just won't be killed or slowed down, they let it live and breed it b/c it's blood is good. So, this bull was doing really well, so they brought out a herd of other cows and herded the angry bull out! It was so cool and I got the whole thing on video! Hooray!
So, it was a positive experience overall, except it's definitely not something I plan on doing often...a little to violent for me. But so cool!
which is really close to our piso and met up with some other IES people. I was expecting it to be horrible and not something I would want to watch alot of but it was actually kind of cool.There were three matadores and they each killed two bulls, for a total of 6 (for you people not so mathematically inclined...) The whole process is actually rather intricate. There are three acts and each one has a specific purpose. The first act is these guys with the typical capes who work to tire the bull out and get him all riled up. Then these guys come out on horseback and stab the bull in the back of the neck with a long pole. This is my least favorite part b/c the horses are blindfolded and have padding on b/c the bull charges the horses. Then the picadores come out and they stab 2 sticks in the back of the neck as well. If the picador is good, his stick stay in the bulls neck, if he isn't, they fall out. Then the matador finally comes out for the third act and plays with the bull for a while before stabbing him in the back of the neck with a sword. If the matador is good, he gets really close to the body of the bull while taunting him and then stabs him once and kills him. If his sword comes out, it is bad b/c he has erred.
It was really interesting to watch even though it is so sad for the bull. The neatest part for me was the 3rd bull we saw. It came out into the ring and it was HUGE!!! and it was going bolistic! charging the wall and everything. If a bull does really well and just won't be killed or slowed down, they let it live and breed it b/c it's blood is good. So, this bull was doing really well, so they brought out a herd of other cows and herded the angry bull out! It was so cool and I got the whole thing on video! Hooray!
So, it was a positive experience overall, except it's definitely not something I plan on doing often...a little to violent for me. But so cool!
Monday, September 11, 2006
Segovia
And this one is from Friday. Since I don't have internet in my house I just wrote them then and post them when i can! Oh life!
Well, today we went to Segovia, a town about an hour northwest of Madrid that is very famous because it has one of the oldest and the best preserved aqueduct in the world. There are bigger ones in Rome and other places but they aren’t preserved as well. This one is over 2,000 years old and still works. The Segovians don’t use it but it would work if they needed it to. It’s incredible!
First, though we saw La Iglesia Vera Cruz which is a church that is unique for two reasons. First, it is not the usual shape of a cross that Catholic churches are usually laid out in. Instead it is an octagon. There are only 4 churches in the world like this and two of them are in Spain. It is very small but very old. It is on the periphery of Segovia and was built by the monks of war that fought for Christianity. The other reason it is famous is because Vera Cruz means “true cross”. It is called this because when the monks made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, they fought for a piece of the cross Jesus was crucified on, won and brought a piece of it back to the church. So, it is called the church of the true/real cross. There is a part of the church in which there is a box on the wall that contains the bit of cross but you can’t see it. There were lots of interesting places in the church but you wouldn’t find them interesting unless you could see them.
Next, we climbed up this huge mountain/cliff thing to Al Caza (pronounced: Catha), which is a gorgeous castle. I thought my legs were going to die and fall off but luckily they didn’t and I made it! This castle was the home of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel, the monarchs who joined most of Spain together and who sent Christopher Columbus to the Americas. There were of course other kings that lived there before and after them but they are the most famous. Also, it was the home of King Felipe, another famous king, and Queen Juana la Loca (crazy). It is one of those places that was built over hundreds of years because each king kept adding on things that he liked or wanted. Also the roof burned up in a fire so a lot of what is there now are exact reconstructions of what was there before. They could make exact replications because there are pictures and drawings of how it was before. Anyway, the ceilings are amazing and the view is fantastic b/c of course it was built on a high place for protection and close to water. There are 2 rivers that run around it. I will put some pictures below.
Next we walked down to La Plaza Mayor which is the main plaza in Segovia. We saw the Cathedral that is beautiful and then we walked down the Calle Principal (Main Street) which has all the shops and important buildings on it. We saw the mountain that is called La Mujer Muerta (the Dead Woman) with which go 2 legends, one of a mother’s love for her sons and the other of love and jealousy. They are a bit extraño (silly or exaggerated) but cultural. We kept walking and saw the amazing aqueduct! It is small in some places and huge, with two tiers in others. It is 2,000 years old and still standing and has never fallen or broken into ruins! The coolest thing about it though is that there is nothing in between the rocks, no cement or paste or nothing! They only set the rocks on top of each other! It’s incredible to think that the Romans were so smart without all this technology that we have! It’s absolutely amazing! There is a legend though that says that the Romans didn’t build it but the devil did because a girl had to carry water from the mountains by hand every day and she was so tired that she sold her soul to the devil so he would build her something to carry the water for her. But after she realized what she did, she cried and cried and prayed to the Virgin to help her. Then the devil built the aqueduct but he forgot one rock and so it wasn’t complete and the girl didn’t have to sell her soul to him. How lucky for her!
Everything I know about all of this was told to our small group but our guide, Carmen. She works for IES taking us on trips and doing things like that for them. She is so petite and cute and talks very rapidly but I never have a problem understanding her and she knows so much about everything. She tells of these little details that most people don’t know and things that I would definitely never know unless she told me. For example, there is a house (I wish I had taken a picture) but it has on the outside walls large points all over it. They aren’t sharp but they stick out a bit. She said they are there because during the time when Jews were persecuted a lot, a Jew lived there and it was called the House of the Jew. Of course, the Jew didn’t like people referring to his house like that b/c it was dangerous so he put these points on it so people started to call it La Casa de los Picos (House of Points). Little things like that, Carmen told us. I love knowing random facts like that.
We also saw several churches that were built in the roman style and were pretty. Then we ate in this amazing restaurant that was so good!!! But they fed us so much food, I was stuffed! Lunch is the big meal here and so they always eat a lot and have a small dinner. So, then we came back and rested at the house with Pilar! It was an amazing day!
Well, today we went to Segovia, a town about an hour northwest of Madrid that is very famous because it has one of the oldest and the best preserved aqueduct in the world. There are bigger ones in Rome and other places but they aren’t preserved as well. This one is over 2,000 years old and still works. The Segovians don’t use it but it would work if they needed it to. It’s incredible!
First, though we saw La Iglesia Vera Cruz which is a church that is unique for two reasons. First, it is not the usual shape of a cross that Catholic churches are usually laid out in. Instead it is an octagon. There are only 4 churches in the world like this and two of them are in Spain. It is very small but very old. It is on the periphery of Segovia and was built by the monks of war that fought for Christianity. The other reason it is famous is because Vera Cruz means “true cross”. It is called this because when the monks made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, they fought for a piece of the cross Jesus was crucified on, won and brought a piece of it back to the church. So, it is called the church of the true/real cross. There is a part of the church in which there is a box on the wall that contains the bit of cross but you can’t see it. There were lots of interesting places in the church but you wouldn’t find them interesting unless you could see them.
Next, we climbed up this huge mountain/cliff thing to Al Caza (pronounced: Catha), which is a gorgeous castle. I thought my legs were going to die and fall off but luckily they didn’t and I made it! This castle was the home of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel, the monarchs who joined most of Spain together and who sent Christopher Columbus to the Americas. There were of course other kings that lived there before and after them but they are the most famous. Also, it was the home of King Felipe, another famous king, and Queen Juana la Loca (crazy). It is one of those places that was built over hundreds of years because each king kept adding on things that he liked or wanted. Also the roof burned up in a fire so a lot of what is there now are exact reconstructions of what was there before. They could make exact replications because there are pictures and drawings of how it was before. Anyway, the ceilings are amazing and the view is fantastic b/c of course it was built on a high place for protection and close to water. There are 2 rivers that run around it. I will put some pictures below.
Next we walked down to La Plaza Mayor which is the main plaza in Segovia. We saw the Cathedral that is beautiful and then we walked down the Calle Principal (Main Street) which has all the shops and important buildings on it. We saw the mountain that is called La Mujer Muerta (the Dead Woman) with which go 2 legends, one of a mother’s love for her sons and the other of love and jealousy. They are a bit extraño (silly or exaggerated) but cultural. We kept walking and saw the amazing aqueduct! It is small in some places and huge, with two tiers in others. It is 2,000 years old and still standing and has never fallen or broken into ruins! The coolest thing about it though is that there is nothing in between the rocks, no cement or paste or nothing! They only set the rocks on top of each other! It’s incredible to think that the Romans were so smart without all this technology that we have! It’s absolutely amazing! There is a legend though that says that the Romans didn’t build it but the devil did because a girl had to carry water from the mountains by hand every day and she was so tired that she sold her soul to the devil so he would build her something to carry the water for her. But after she realized what she did, she cried and cried and prayed to the Virgin to help her. Then the devil built the aqueduct but he forgot one rock and so it wasn’t complete and the girl didn’t have to sell her soul to him. How lucky for her!
Everything I know about all of this was told to our small group but our guide, Carmen. She works for IES taking us on trips and doing things like that for them. She is so petite and cute and talks very rapidly but I never have a problem understanding her and she knows so much about everything. She tells of these little details that most people don’t know and things that I would definitely never know unless she told me. For example, there is a house (I wish I had taken a picture) but it has on the outside walls large points all over it. They aren’t sharp but they stick out a bit. She said they are there because during the time when Jews were persecuted a lot, a Jew lived there and it was called the House of the Jew. Of course, the Jew didn’t like people referring to his house like that b/c it was dangerous so he put these points on it so people started to call it La Casa de los Picos (House of Points). Little things like that, Carmen told us. I love knowing random facts like that.
We also saw several churches that were built in the roman style and were pretty. Then we ate in this amazing restaurant that was so good!!! But they fed us so much food, I was stuffed! Lunch is the big meal here and so they always eat a lot and have a small dinner. So, then we came back and rested at the house with Pilar! It was an amazing day!
En La Casa
So, I'm posting this today but I actually wrote it on Thursday Sept 7.
Well, after 4 days in Madrid, I am loving it! We have been having many “charlas” or presentations for Orientation. We got a tour of the campus of the University Complutense in Madrid from some Spanish students which was really fun because we got to talk to them. I also have moved into my home stay! HOORAY! We moved in on the 6th so we have been here 2 days. I am living with a “senora” (an older lady) named Pilar, and her “hija” (daughter) whose name I haven’t actually caught yet and feel stupid asking again…but I’ll get it. She is actually about 35 years old. It is very normal in Spain for children to live with their parents until they have kids of their own or until they are much older, which works out nicely because it is much more expensive to live here than in the States. Also, parents are much less strict here and allow their kids to go out and do things without asking who, what, when, where, why, with whom, how long…etc.. So, anyway, there is a son that lives here also named Alvaro and Pilar’s sister and granddaughters come over almost every day. So there are always lots of people here and I love it. There is also another girl living with me named Lauren and I like her a lot! She likes to learn the language like me and is really sweet! We live in a “piso” which is kind of like a flat, I think. It’s bigger than an apartment b/c it has 5 bedrooms, I think (I haven’t seen the whole thing b/c homes are very private and I’ve only seen the rooms I go in), a kitchen, a living room, a den, a bathroom that Lauren and I share, and we each have our own rooms. I think there is at least 1 bathroom and three rooms in the back but I haven’t been back there.
Anyway, they don’t really have air conditioning in homes here very often so my window is always open and it is always a little warm. But it’s not too bad. I always have to wear shoes or socks in the piso because they don’t walk around barefoot. Sad… but I also have to keep my door shut much of the time. Another cultural thing…but I try to leave it somewhat open b/c it makes it cooler. I don’t have internet access in my room yet (or for that matter in the piso at all) but hopefully soon.
I’m finding as I write this that I’m am having difficulty because I keep trying to write words in Spanish or write things in the order or way you would say them in Spanish. It’s a good thing because it means that I have begun to think in Spanish some. That means progress is being made…HOORAY! I am constantly being corrected (in a nice way) when I am in the piso by la familia and so I am learning a lot!
I also signed up to go on two trips with IES so I will be going to Asturias in the north of Spain and to Lisboa (or Lisbon in English), Portugal. We will also be going as an entire group to Segovia and Toledo.
Well, I am going to try to attach some pictures of my hotel room in El Hotel Husa Moncloa that we stayed in the first night (and for me the first 2 nights) so we’ll see if that’s successful! I will write more later!
If you want to send me mail, you can send it to:
Jaclyn Metcalf
Avda. Bruselas, 76 6º dcha.
28028 Madrid
Spain
Or email me! More later! Hasta luego!
Well, after 4 days in Madrid, I am loving it! We have been having many “charlas” or presentations for Orientation. We got a tour of the campus of the University Complutense in Madrid from some Spanish students which was really fun because we got to talk to them. I also have moved into my home stay! HOORAY! We moved in on the 6th so we have been here 2 days. I am living with a “senora” (an older lady) named Pilar, and her “hija” (daughter) whose name I haven’t actually caught yet and feel stupid asking again…but I’ll get it. She is actually about 35 years old. It is very normal in Spain for children to live with their parents until they have kids of their own or until they are much older, which works out nicely because it is much more expensive to live here than in the States. Also, parents are much less strict here and allow their kids to go out and do things without asking who, what, when, where, why, with whom, how long…etc.. So, anyway, there is a son that lives here also named Alvaro and Pilar’s sister and granddaughters come over almost every day. So there are always lots of people here and I love it. There is also another girl living with me named Lauren and I like her a lot! She likes to learn the language like me and is really sweet! We live in a “piso” which is kind of like a flat, I think. It’s bigger than an apartment b/c it has 5 bedrooms, I think (I haven’t seen the whole thing b/c homes are very private and I’ve only seen the rooms I go in), a kitchen, a living room, a den, a bathroom that Lauren and I share, and we each have our own rooms. I think there is at least 1 bathroom and three rooms in the back but I haven’t been back there.
Anyway, they don’t really have air conditioning in homes here very often so my window is always open and it is always a little warm. But it’s not too bad. I always have to wear shoes or socks in the piso because they don’t walk around barefoot. Sad… but I also have to keep my door shut much of the time. Another cultural thing…but I try to leave it somewhat open b/c it makes it cooler. I don’t have internet access in my room yet (or for that matter in the piso at all) but hopefully soon.
I’m finding as I write this that I’m am having difficulty because I keep trying to write words in Spanish or write things in the order or way you would say them in Spanish. It’s a good thing because it means that I have begun to think in Spanish some. That means progress is being made…HOORAY! I am constantly being corrected (in a nice way) when I am in the piso by la familia and so I am learning a lot!
I also signed up to go on two trips with IES so I will be going to Asturias in the north of Spain and to Lisboa (or Lisbon in English), Portugal. We will also be going as an entire group to Segovia and Toledo.
Well, I am going to try to attach some pictures of my hotel room in El Hotel Husa Moncloa that we stayed in the first night (and for me the first 2 nights) so we’ll see if that’s successful! I will write more later!
If you want to send me mail, you can send it to:
Jaclyn Metcalf
Avda. Bruselas, 76 6º dcha.
28028 Madrid
Spain
Or email me! More later! Hasta luego!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Finally Here!
Well, this is it! I'm finally in Madrid! My trip over was relatively uneventful though I did spend 9 hours sitting next to an Asian gentlemen who never said one word...that was fun. When I got to London, you had to go through customs and basically exit the airport and then go all the way through security again. And of course, since I have such great luck, my carry-on was too big and I had to check it. Fortunately, Mom had thought to have me pack my backpack in my carry-on so I could put my electronics and papers and things in it. So I checked my bag and went through the entire security line. The whole time I was burning up b/c I was wearing a jacket and didn't want to have to carry it so I was sweating and gross...yummy. But I got out of there all right and sat and waited for about 6 hours b/c my flight got delayed. Finally we left and I slept a lot of the time. But on my flight from London to Madrid, we flew just close enough so I could see the French coast and the ocean, which was beautiful! And then we flew over the Pyrennees Mountains, which was amazing! They were astounding and beautiful and it blew my mind that I was actually here!
Once I arrived, after an interminably long wait at the baggage claim belt, I got my things (all 4 bags...I know...I tried) I trollied my things out and met Jared outside! It was so nice to have someone there that I knew! He helped me carry my luggage and we caught a bus to another terminal, where we got on the metro (after buying a pass of course) and rode the metro for a while. We got off at the stop Moncloa b/c that's the name of the hotel I'm staying in. But of course, the hotel was nowhere near the stop so we took a nice tour of a nice part of Madrid. Jared refered to it at what Utica Square dreams of being...whatever that means. So then, we finally found the hotel, which is actually connected to a five star hotel of the same company, while mine is only four star...my life is hard I know. :) So we dropped my stuff and went in search of dinner. We ate at a little place called VIPS which had some American type things as well as some other yummy stuff. It was really good and not too expensive so that was nice. Now, it 12:39 am and I am tired...I'm going to sleep and getting ready for Orientation that begins tomorrow!
Once I arrived, after an interminably long wait at the baggage claim belt, I got my things (all 4 bags...I know...I tried) I trollied my things out and met Jared outside! It was so nice to have someone there that I knew! He helped me carry my luggage and we caught a bus to another terminal, where we got on the metro (after buying a pass of course) and rode the metro for a while. We got off at the stop Moncloa b/c that's the name of the hotel I'm staying in. But of course, the hotel was nowhere near the stop so we took a nice tour of a nice part of Madrid. Jared refered to it at what Utica Square dreams of being...whatever that means. So then, we finally found the hotel, which is actually connected to a five star hotel of the same company, while mine is only four star...my life is hard I know. :) So we dropped my stuff and went in search of dinner. We ate at a little place called VIPS which had some American type things as well as some other yummy stuff. It was really good and not too expensive so that was nice. Now, it 12:39 am and I am tired...I'm going to sleep and getting ready for Orientation that begins tomorrow!
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