Sara Baras

So last Wednesday night I went to see Sara Baras who is a world-reknown flamenco dancer. I went through my program and only had to pay 20 euros for a 50 euro ticket! I think because we went as a group and I'm sure IES paid for some of it. But anyway, IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!! It was kind of like Ballet Flamenco and I loved it! It was 2 hours of fun! And we had great seats! The show was dedicated to this man who created Flamenco singing and is the father of sung flamenco (or something like that) and he performed in the show as well. Then at the end, they brought up all of his family and Sara Baras' family onto the stage. And let me tell you, those are two family full of flamenco performers. I think every single person up there sang or danced. It was like a jam session but flamenco style...absolutely incredible! It was so fun to watch and you could tell they were having a blast! Here are a few pictures I got of the internet...alas, we couldn't take pictures during the show...que pena!

Leah in Madrid

So this past week, Leah came to see me from England and it was so FUN! It was so good to get to spend an semi-extended amount of time with her and hang out! She got here on Tuesday night and we dropped her stuff at the best hostel in Madrid (she always has the best luck!) and went to eat dinner...we both had burgers...we are so American!

On Wednesday, she met me after class and we went shopping...she bought clothes and I bought a bag...it's pink and I like it alot. Then, we had lunch with Kali at the Max (ever seen Saved By The Bell? this place is kind of like what the Max was to the cool kids..everyone hangs out there and they have good food!) Then we saw the Plaza Mayor, Sol, FNAC, Corte Ingles (Dillard's on steroids) and other Madrid things. Then we came back to my home and Leah got to meet the wonderful Pilar and we watched Mean Girls (it had been so long I was forgetting parts...and that can't happen!) and switched pictures, music and the like. Then Clint met us downstairs and we went for dinner at this little place Clint and I like by my house...it's yummy and cheap. I had mushrooms with garlic and they thought I was wierd...I can't help it that I like mushrooms...alot... Anyway, then we all took the bus back so we could see Madrid at night and it went by all the big spots in Madrid. The Number 74 bus that leaves from right by my house is basically amazing and we had fun.

Then on Thursday, which was a fiesta, Leah and I went to Toledo and it wasn't lame like Clint said it would be. It was fun and we enjoyed puttering around the little town and seeing the sights. Except we didn't get to see the El Greco Museum because it was under construction...that made us sad. And we happened to find this little place where we got bocadillos, drinks, and chips for 6 euros total...That's 3 euros each which is amazing! So, we ate in this little plaza and enjoyed the lovely weather and the sun! When we got back, we went to Retiro Park and went rowing on the pond and had a really fun time! Since it was fiesta there was a ton of people in the park and lots of performers and the like and we had fun watching and listen from the pond in our little rowboat. This is Leah and the Puerta de Alcala. Then we came home and rested for a little bit before we headed out to meet Jared and Clint for dinner. We ate at Hard Rock and we took the bus there for the fun of it (I rode the bus more times in the 3 days Leah was here than the whole rest of the semester). We got there really early so we decided to take a walk and ended up finding this amazing pastry place where Leah bought some coffee and we bought some pastries. They were amazing! Then we went back and met Jared and Clint. We enjoyed the free refills and large glasses that Hard Rock has and Jared enjoyed his real brewed iced tea...oh the small things in life! We had fun taking pictures and missing Heather and Colby and then a funny thing happened. This group of waiters came over with a birthday looking thing and told me to stand on my chair because they were going to sing to me...what the heck? Well, turns out Jared told them it was my birthday (which was over 2 months ago) and they came to sing to me. And Jared had stolen my camera and definitely took pictures and video. I was laughing so hard!
Then we went and got churros and chocolate at Sol before heading home.


On Friday, I met Leah and we went to the Prado and zoomed through it. There's so much to see it's a bit overwhelming and some is slightly repetitive but amazing none the less. After the Prado, we did some souvenier shopping and then headed to Sol to meet Jared and Clint. We bought rations and headed to Retiro for a picnic! There was a huge group of kids from some school all wearing red bandanas running around all over the place and we enjoyed watching them. I also found out how to take pictures in black and white and I had fun trying to be artistic.




After lunch, we went over to the Reina Sofia and had a long look around at the cool modern art. Then after about 2 1/2 hours of that we decided to have a coffee in the cafe at the Reina Sofia. Let me tell you...it is a swanky place with red lights and cool modern furniture! We sat there for about 2 hours and had fun taking pictures and hanging out. I don't even know what we talked about for 2 hours but we had fun!




Then we got McDonald's for dinner/snack (jared language) and decided to ride the metro line 6 all the way around because it is a circle. So, we definitely rode the 6 all the way around...so silly! I also got a happy meal at McDonald's and got the scariest/coolest toy ever...I'll post a picture later...


Then we went home and went to bed. The next morning I woke up and took Leah to the airport and she flew away back to Brighton...tear. But I loved having her here but now I miss her even more! :( Oh friends...

Lisboa

So, last weekend, I went to Lisboa (Lisbon), Portugal with IES, my study abroad program. There were about 50 of us total and we flew on 2 separate flights…luckily, my last name starts with M and so I got to go in the 2nd group and we didn’t have to be at the airport until 12pm…HOORAY for sleeping in! But anyway, the two staff people that were supposed to be flying to Lisboa with us missed the plane because one of them fainted. So, we flew by ourselves (what big kids we are!) and the staff person in charge of everything met us at the airport in Lisboa and took us to the hotel. We stayed in a super nice hotel and I stayed in a triple with Lauren and Kali. We had a ridiculously good time…and stayed up waaaay too late!

But, the day we got there, we went to the hotel and then met up with the rest of the group at the metro station outside our hotel. So convenient! And we met out Portugese guide, Sofia, who speaks Portugese (obviously), Spanish, English, and French...can you say whoa! She is amazing! Anyway, she led us through the metro and out in another area of town. From there we proceeded to practically run up a mountain to get to the castle at the top before it closed. Let me tell you, it was hotter in Lisboa and we practically ran up a mountain...we were all OUT OF BREATH!!! But the view from the top was incredible and totally worth the exhaustion! We only had about 15 minutes to look around before it closed but the view of Lisboa and the river was amazing it didn't even matter! Anyway, after that we took a short walking tour of Lisboa, passing by a beautiful cathedral, the oldest neighborhood of Lisboa, and the huge Puerta de something that stands on the river at the edge of part of town. And I don't know the names of any of those places because it was all so rushed and partially in the dark as the sun set on us. So, there you go.
After that we were set free to find dinner and do whatever we wanted for the night. I went with several girls and found a lovely little place for dinner and we had a great time.

Note about Portugal: they like to put appetizers like bread and olives and other things on the table without you having to ask and then they like to charge you ridiculous prices for what you eat...for example, 1 little slab of butter = 80 centimos! What the heck?!?! Fortunately, we had a nice man who told us that before we dug in and cost ourselves (or our parents) a whole lot of money. Also, we noticed they just had 2 or 3 plates of something that they put on every table because no one ever eats it. So they just move the same plate around to the different tables all night...so disgusting! But our food was good and afterwards, we went to McDonald's to satisfy Lauren's perpetual need for ice cream.

So, the next day we left and went to Sintra which is a small town outside of Lisboa known for two different yummy pastries...which of course we tried! But we saw the Palacio de Pena which was on the top of a huge mountain and was surrounded in mist/fog and you could hardly see anything in front of you. The fog was really cool but didn't make for amazing pictures...as you can see. The Palace has been left in the exact way it was when they king and queen were there because while they were living there, they had to go into exile and left the place running...so they didn't have time to pack up all their amazing stuff...too bad! So, after the Palacio, we rode the bus back down the mountain and were set free for lunch. Lauren, Kali and I ended up at this swanky restaurant that wasn't too expensive and I had yummy tomato soup (I'd been craving it!) and a pineapple, mango, papaya pizza...Now, I'm not usually a huge fan of fruit on pizza but this was SO GOOD!!! I thoroughly enjoyed every bite!

After lunch, we went and saw another palace, I think it was the Palacio Real which was super old and cool. Portugal is where the azolejos began which are the painted tiles that make up a picture...no not a mozaic...but usually they are painted blue and white or red and white. Anyway, this palace was covered in that on all the walls in every room and it was cool. There was one room that was added after the inital building of the palace and the ceiling was covered in all the seals of all the noble families. But there is one empty space because one family tried to kill the king and take over Portugal and, obviously, the king didn't like that so he took their nobility away and took their seal off the ceiling...too bad so sad!

Next we went to Al Cabo de Roca which is the most occidental point in Europe. Yeah, that means western...I'm so smart! So, it was beautiful and a full on photo shoot occurred when we got there because every one took about 30 pictures. The weather cleared up just in time also, so we could see the beautiful sea. Amazing! The pictures don't even do it justice...





After that, we headed home and had the afternoon free. Lauren, Kali and I immediately went to sleep for a couple of hours and then we got up and went out to dinner and walked around the Barrio Alto which is literally a neighborhood full of bars and people just hang out in the streets...there were literally just gobs of people on every street hanging out. We even saw one group with their own boom box...They were playing Spice Girls...that's right. So, after a while, we headed home and went to bed.

The next morning we woke up and went to the Monasterio and Catedral of Lisboa. They are both really gothic and cool and Vasco de Gama (the man who sailed around the tip of Africa) is buried in the Cathedral so that's kind of fun. Then during the little bit of free time we had (because we were in the 2nd flight group) we went over to the Discoverer's monument that is really tall and you can take an elevator (or the stairs...yeah right) up to the top and see the view. It was such a nice day and there were lots of sail boats out and I got jealous...I love sailboats. So, that was another great photo opportunity! Then we went back down and went over to this fleamarket-ish shindig where I proceeded to buy a few mementos from Portugal. So fun! Then we headed back to the hotel, collected our bags and headed to the airport.






Another note about Portugal: the Lisboa airport is AMAZING if you depart from the right gates. There were so many stores and restaurants...it was almost as cool as the mall! And there is just something so fun about shopping in an airport...I think it's because you know you could just be sitting around waiting and being bored...but don't worry, Dad, I didn't buy anything...

Then it was home sweet home!

Londres...por fin!

So a few weekends ago I went to London/Brighton with Lauren, Kali and Crescendo. We left Madrid at 9:45 at night and didn’t get in until 11:05pm into the Luton Airport. Then we had to catch a bus into London at 12:20 am and got to our hostel about 2pm after catching a night bus and hailing a cab…what a night. In bed by three, we had to wake up at 8:30am to get ready and eat breakfast before heading out for the day. And guess where we went?!?! To meet two of my sorority sisters, Kara and Madison, at WESTMINSTER ABBEY! You know you are living when you have Westminster Abbey as a meeting spot…oh my gosh! So, I got to see them and was reminded how much I love them and how they are two of the funniest people I know! Then I left them at the Abbey to go to the train station to pick up LEAH, yes, my best friend that I haven’t seen in 6 months and IT WAS SO EXCITING!!!! She is studying in Brighton and caught a bus into London for the day. We also waited for Jackie, another pledge sister…not me, and then we headed to the London Eye/London Aquarium in order to meet up with the girls again. We waited with Liz, another Trinity friend, for Saffers and Muffin (lovingly bestowed nicknames…) to come out of the Aquarium. Then we went and ate lunch at this Japanese (I think) restaurant called Wagamama which was amazing and we had so much fun! Then Saffers, Muffin and Liz took a ride on the Eye while Leah, Tweedy (another nickname) took a walk on the Thames, found a used book market (had to buy a Noel Streatfield book…you know…she wrote the shoe books…watch You’ve Got Mail if you don’t know what I’m talking about.), watch some boys graffiti over other graffiti on this really cool wall by this skate park, went to see St. Paul’s Cathedral and then met back up with the girls. We headed to Buckingham Palace and had a debaucle trying to get our picture taken b/c we were looking for someone reliable who wouldn’t steal our camera but the first man didn’t hold down the button long enough and it didn’t take so we had to find another person. We ended up asking this girl who only spoke Spanish so guess who got to do the honors? Me! Who knew Spanish could be so useful in London.
Then we took a walk through Green Park and made a stop at Starbucks in honor of home and then Leah and I split off from the pack. We went to my hostel, got my bags out of the luggage room, and then went to catch a bus back to Brighton.
Once in Brighton, I got to see where Leah lives and I got to see Maddie and Lindsay who are both Trinity students (and I went to high school with Maddie) and whom I love! We hung out and then Leah and I went to bed. Since it was daylight savings, we got an extra hour but we didn’t realize it until the next morning. When we woke up we got ready and Leah made me French toast which was yummy (who knew she could cook?). Then we headed out to Brighton with Maddie and Lindsay. Their school is actually about 20 min. outside of Brighton by bus so we caught a bus in and had lots of fun at the Pound Store (kind of like the dollar store but since the pound is double the dollar it was really the 2 dollar store…tragic) and at Oxfam (a charity store where everything you pay goes to charity) and then we ate at this amazing Italian restaurant where we all got the same thing, a margherita pizza and a soda…it was so yummy! Then we walked through this market and headed for the ocean! Brighton is on the coast and so we went to the beach and walked on the pier. It was a beautiful sunny day although a bit cold for my Madrilenian self (yes…I just called myself Madrilenian…) Then it was time to head back to get my things from Leah’s room and catch the bus back to Brighton to catch the bus back to London…so much traveling… Also, while I was in Brighton, Leah gave me my birthday present which was a pair of VENETIAN GLASS EARRINGS!!!! They are turquoise and beautiful and I love them a lot! We also went to Claire’s and I bought some earrings for a pound.
Then I got back to London and ate dinner with Kali, Crescendo and Lauren. Or really, I ate and they hung out and waited for me to eat… And then we headed back to the hostel because we had to wake up at 3:30 am to catch the night bus in order to catch the train in order to catch our flight back to Madrid. We got back on Monday about 12pm and missed class…que pena…but I did make it back in time to go teach my English class which was a little bit wild b/c the kids were a bit excited about not having school on Wednesday b/c it was fiesta!!! HOORAY! We love fiesta!!!

So, this week I went to the Police Station to get my fingerprint made for my residential card and only had two days of class b/c of fiesta! Next time, I’ll tell you the story of my almost heart attack…that’s a good one…and now it rains again…always rain, never sun…hugs to all!

Granada y Cordoba

So, this weekend I went with Lauren (my roommate)to Granada and Cordoba. It was a great weekend and we got to leave rainy Madrid for a couple days. It has been raining here for almost a week...so fun! All the legs of my pants are sopping wet. Anyway, Granada was AMAZING!!! We first went to the Capilla Real (in which you can't take pictures...que pena)which was the first or second building constructed in Granada by Queen Isabel's army when they were trying to beat the Moors by sieging them out of the Alhambra. I can't remember if her house was built first or the Capilla Real but anyway... The altar was really intricate and amazing but we couldn't take pictures...ahhhh! There was also a museum of lots of pictures and lots of Ferdinand and Isabel's things like swords, crowns, robes etc... So cool! Then we went to the Catedral of Granada which was HUMONGOUS!!! It is right next to the Capilla Real and about 500 times bigger. There was wonderful music playing which made the whole place very peaceful and serene. There were orignal music books with the songs they sang all in Latin of course. I found these so interesting because you can actually see the notes in primative form but the pages all have borders of handpainted pictures and decorations around the music. The books are about half my height and we surmised what the need for such large music books could be. We decided it was because they had no other means of mass distribution and everyone had to be able to see the music and words somehow. Why they didn't just stick up a screen and flash the words on it is beyond me...:) We did make out one word: alleluia. Too bad I never had Latin so I could have read all the words. But they were so interesting. Also, the organ was incredible. I love all the huge organs in all these old cathedrals because they are so beautiful! Every time I see one I wish someone would play it so I could listen but alas, no one ever does. I wonder how they size up to the organ at First Church in Tulsa just to compare. If only I could bring Ron (First Pres organist/music director and kind of the best organist I've ever met) with me all over Europe to all the cathedrals and he could play the beautiful instruments...that would make my life happy! The actual cathedral was so expansive with huge columns that it looked as though it went on forever. I thought it was pretty cool.

We also went to the Alhambra which was a huge fortress/palace/town of the Moors when they ruled in Spain and then it was taken over by Ferdinand and Isabel the King and Queen of Spain. It's pretty much my favorite place in Spain now! I have watched videos on the Alhambra in Spanish class and to actually see so many of the things I've seen on video was awesome! It is huge and beautiful! In it's time, it was painted tons of bright colors too which would have made it that much more impressive! We saw the baths which were dark and kind of scary because you just kept walking in the dark hoping you'd end up outside eventually, the Palacio of Carlos V who was a moron because he built his palace in the middle of the Alhambra after Ferdinand and Isabel worked so hard to restore it...moron... and we saw the famous Palacios and they was amazing!! We paid for audio guides and it told us lots of fun facts like this window is of the oratorio or oratory room because in the Islamic faith declaring your faith publicly is a big deal so this room looks out onto the city so you can yell your beliefs at them...or something like that. My favorite thing that I saw and have seen in Spain is the Patio de los Leones, which I learned about in Spainish class. There is a huge fountain held up by stone 12 stone lions in the middle of this patio. I think the fountain used to be painted in lots of different colors but since it is so old, they have long since worn off...pity. But, in the middle there are rocks around the fountain and all the way to the walkway all around the edges. Not one bit of green grass or shrubbery in the whole place and yet it is beautiful with detailed columns and windows looking out over the patio.Four streams of water go out of the fountain because it represents the four parts of heaven and water is very important in the Arabic home. Come to think of it, almost every single room we entered had some sort of water feature in it. Everything functioned around water. It also has over 100 columns around the outside of the patio making a walkway all the way around but you can't walk through the middle. I wonder what it would have been like to live there and be able to walk wherever you wanted and to see it in all it's glory...I can only imagine!
It is pretty much amazing!

Unfortunately, Lauren and I missed the memo (why do I always miss the memos??) that we could enter the Alhambra at 2pm and our entrance time to the Palacios was 6:30-7:00 pm. We thought our entrance time to the Alhambra was 6:30-7:00 and as the whole thing closes at 8pm, we only had time to see the palacios and look for a second at the Palacio de Carlos V. So that was sad. It means I'm going to have to go back next semester to see the whole of it.

Cordoba was also really neat and quaint on a river but we were only actually there for a total of about 6 hours. We saw La Mesquita, another place I've seen in videos which was a mosque before the Catholics turned it into a cathedral. It has an incredible mix of arabic and cristian decoration and influence and is pretty incredible. You look across this huge room and it is just column after column after column and it kind of looks like a forest of columns...if that makes sense. So cool. We also saw El Alcazar de los Reyes Cristanos which was a fort of the Christian kings which was neat. The building itself wasn't super interesting but the towers had a great view. You could see the tower of La Mesquita in the distance. The two buildings are only about a 5 minute walk from each other but we it took us a good hour and a half to get from one to the other because we stuck a yummy lunch at a cute cafe in between.
The gardens were also extremely extensive and beautiful. Lots of flowers and bushes decorated the many paths and made the whole place smell wonderful! The colors were amazing and we enjoyed ambling through the gardens all the way to the end and back. There were wonderful fountains in all the pools that came on while we were there and made soothing sounds. I recorded it on my video camera so I can have the sound... We thoroughly enjoyed the gardens and spent quite a while debating whether the fruit on the trees were oranges or limes. They were green but too big to be limes...turns out they were oranges that hadn't ripened yet. How did we find out? I picked one and smelled it...it was definitely an orange...oh how fun! I'm not sure if I was allowed to pick the orange but I did and no one escorted me out so that's good. This last picture is of the tower of La Mesquite through a random window in a wall...I was trying to be artistic...I'm not sure how well that worked out but do I get credit for trying? I liked how blue the sky is against the stone of the wall and tower. As you can see, the weather in Cordoba was amazing! Warm, sunny, and just the right amount of breeze to keep me cool in the turtleneck and vest I was wearing b/c that was all I brought...typical... But the sun was a welcome change from the clouds and rain we'd been having in Madrid!

So it was a fantastic and successful trip with just the two of us! Good bonding time and so relaxing!