First of the lasts

When I first came to Spain I was having so many firsts; my first class where the professor didn't understand a lick of English, my first homestay, my first time staying out til 5 AM, my first Spanish friends and my first churros con chocolate. Some firsts were easier to adjust to than others, but I didn't care, I just felt an overwhelming sense of joy at being able to experience all these knew things and I felt like I could take on the world. Now as my time in Spain is drawing to a close and the stress of finals is setting in I've started to experience the first of the lasts: my last weekend in Sevilla, my last week of school and my last day tutoring at Las Esclavas. Realizing that I'm doing some of the things I love most for the last time brings a profound sense of sadness but also a sense of new beginnings because I know I'm leaving Spain with so much more than I came with. I'm looking forward to taking my experiences and confidence that I've gained here in Spain and making the most of my summer and the school year to come.

Last time at Buddha. 

"Buddha told all the extranjeros to go to Buddha, so all the extranjeros went to Buddah".
Last CIEE takeover in Buddha. 

Last time teaching my Infantil class. 

It's really hard to get a good picture of 4 year olds. 

Spring Break Part 2: Dublin

After a very busy weekend in Madrid, Gilana and I caught the 2€ airport shuttle (as the woman at the train station told us "the cheapest in Europe") we arrived at the airport about two and a half hours early for our flight to Dublin. After a long struggle to repack our bags and put on some of our bulkier clothing to ensure that our bags would be up (or down rather) to RyanAir's standards, we got some water and waited for our flight.

At first it was too big....

I was very unhappy about this... 

Put on all my bulky clothes and...

Finally success!

Our flight didn't leave Madrid until like 10 PM so we had a night time plane ride, but they left the lights on in the cabin, which definitely interfered with my sleep during the flight. When we finally arrived in Dublin it was super late and the airport was deserted, but thankfully for our tired minds everyone there spoke English.

The most deserted airport I've ever been in, we didn't see a soul until customs. 

The walk to customs was seriously a marathon walk and it was nearing midnight so we were very tired, but the customs officer was so funny. Gilana had asked me to hold a fold that had her passport in it when he called me up to the customs counter so I quickly tossed it on the ground, not wanting to make the people behind us wait. When I got up there he made fun of me for doing that and upon learning that I was studying abroad in Spain asked me why I didn't just study in Mexico because "it's probably less expensive". When Gilana got up to the front he told her that she needed new friends, which was a funny and happy way to start our time in Ireland. We had further problems finding our hostel because we couldn't remember the name of it, we just knew the cross streets but thankfully it was in the city center and the info desk at the airport was able to tell us what bus to take and it dropped us off right in front of our hostel! We checked in, found Zoe and our room and went right to sleep so that we could get an early start the next day. 

The next morning we woke up around 9 and went down to eat our free hostel breakfast, they had two things that we'd all been missing terribly for the past few months, cereal and most importantly peanut butter toast! After eating our fill we meant to go on a walking tour of Dublin but we missed the first tour time that was supposed to go out at 11 AM so we wandered around Dublin for a little while in the University and waited until the next tour at 1 PM. 

Zoe, Me and Gilana.

Pretty trees everywhere.

One of the old school buildings.

Rain bunnies.  

Our matching Keds before they got dirty :(

After wandering around the town of Dublin and doing some window shopping for a little bit we headed to the town hall where we met up with the walking tour. It was as usual another great free walking tour, I've been so impressed by these I always learn so much about the city I'm in. Dublin was especially interesting because they've just had a very rocky history with England that has been wrought with failure. Our first stop was Dublin castle where the English ruled for hundreds of years, Easter of 1916 the Irish had planned a revolt but the English learned of it so the stocked the castle up with extra troops, however the revolution happened a day later than planned because the gun shipment didn't come in time. By the time Monday rolled around the majority of the British soldiers had gone down to the horse races and the castle was taken by just seventeen people. However, once they had taken over they feared it was a trap and retreated. This was one of the biggest mistakes they could have mad because if they had just raised the Irish flag over the castle they would have inspired a revolution, instead they were slaughtered and suffered many more years of English rule.

The only remaining original architecture of the castle because of a fire. 

Statue at one of the entrances, meant to represent England as a warrior taming a lion to prove they are stronger than anything. 

Lady Justice without a blind fold and with uneven scales to show that justice wasn't blind under English rule. 

Our next stop was the tower where the British held a fifteen year old Irish boy who was from a prominent Irish family to keep them from starting another revolution. This in itself isn't so shocking, however, the way that he got caught. At the time it wasn't allowed to sell liquor in Dublin so to get around it they would sell it from boats in the river, this boy saw an English man with wine and followed him back to his boat where he got him super drunk, hit him on the head and then imprisoned him in a tower for five years. 

The tower is six feet wide at its thinnest.

The good news is he eventually managed to tunnel his was out with the help of friends and escape to the north of Ireland. He knew it wasn't safe from him there though so he fled to the south of Spain, where he met an Englishman in a bar, accepted a drink from him and died, because it was poisoned.

This wall was built for when the King of England visited Ireland to hide all of the poverty. It was called the carriage house but really it was just a giant wall with nothing behind it, which is really a genius idea if you think about it because what king is going to want to visit a carriage house. 

The infamous "carriage house".

Our next stop was the new city government buildings where a viking settlement used to stand. When the construction workers started excavating they found one of the largest and best preserved viking settlements that have ever been discovered. Unfortunately archeologists never got the chance to excavate more than a quarter of it because the government not wanting to lose money gave them just a year to excavate it all and when a year was up they flattened they rest. 

Plaque to commemorate the viking settlement.

We walked along the River Liffey, it was a nice view but no where as beautiful or as clean (and that isn't saying much) as my Guadalquivir. Another one of the failures that the Irish goverment committed was for the new milenium they had the idea to put a count-down clock in the bottom of the river which would light up when a coin was put into the slot, however they didn't account for how dirty the river was. No one could see the clock light up so it had to be removed. 

Drinking coffee and trying to stay warm by the river. 

The bridge where they tried to put in the millenium clock. 

View down the river Liffey. 

One of our last stops was the Temple Bar area, which used to be home to several famous artists and the site of many famous performances. Our guide told us that one night after playing in a battle of the bands and winning Bono tried to go to the Clarence hotel to celebrate but the doorman wouldn't let him in, he told the doorman that he would be famous someday and that he would own the hotel. Wouldn't you know it he is now the proud owner of the Clarence hotel.

The walking tour was wonderful but it ended WAY later than we expected and we really wanted to get to the Guinness factory that day, so Gilana, Zoe, an Australian girl we met on the walking tour who was traveling alone and I booked it to the Guinness factory. We got there at 4:58 PM and the last tour went out at 5 PM, so we made it just in the nick of time. The factory was really cool, they walked you through the process of how they make the beer starting from the ingredients, teach you how to pull a pint correctly and finally it ends with a tasting in their sky bar.

Learning how to pour a Guinness. 

In the skybar. 

They made a four-leaf clover in the foam!

So fancy.

View of the countryside from the skybar. 

Where they actually brew the Guinness. 

We hadn't eaten since breakfast so after the Guinness factory we went to the Brazen Head Pub for dinner. It was supposably the oldest pub in Dublin but I doubt that. Regardless it had a really fun atmosphere and the food was amazing. I had Atlantic Seafood Chowder that was amazing, and Zoe and Gilana both had a lamb and vegetable stew that was delicious as well. It was nice to eat something warm as it had been cold and rainy for most of our tour and we were chilled to the bone.

They had money from all around the world on the walls. 

After dinner we went back to the hostel and they were serving ice cream and biscuits, which are really just cookies. We spent awhile talking to our Australian friend who was studying abroad in Milan but had a month long break so was traveling around Europe. What was even more amazing was that she was just twenty years old but due to the configuration of the Australian school system would be graduating law school next year! Around 10 PM we went out to a traditional Irish pub in the famous temple bar area, where they had live music playing. We had an awesome time there talking to people, hearing Irish accents and watching them dance, we were disappointed when the pub shut down at 1 AM much earlier than what we are used to in Sevilla.

On the way to the pub we found a fountain that someone had poured bubbles into, so of course we played in it. 

The next morning we woke up around 9 AM had breakfast, and packed PB&J sandwiches for the road and made our way to the airport where we would be catching a plane to London, the last stop on our great spring break adventure. My time in Dublin was all to short, I had no idea I would love it so much. It was so beautiful and drastically different from Spain in the best way possible, it was amazing and I would love to go back!

See you in London!!

Whats a Madrileña?

Two weeks ago, gosh I'm behind, I kicked off my marathon (second) spring break journey with a weekend in Madrid with my cultural expression interest group. We had to be at the train station to catch the Ave to Madrid at 7:20 AM, which meant leaving my house at 6:30 AM, and as per usual when I told my Señora this she refused to believe me and told me that she highly doubted any trains left that early. Contrary to popular belief, my train did indeed leave by 7:45 AM and I was on my way to Madrid. Before I go any further I need to take a moment to rave about the Ave, it is a non-stop high speed train, our trip to Madrid which would take roughly six hours by car took just two and a half on the Ave, and it was much more comfortable than a bus or an airplane, plus they played a movie!

It was a rough morning on the Ave. 

We got to Madrid around 11 AM, took a quick break for churros and café, then checked in to our hostel. It was the biggest hostel I've ever stayed in, I actually got lost trying to get from my room on the second floor back to the lobby. I stayed in a five person room with Kate, Allison and two other really nice girls from my group. After a little time to freshen up we met back downstairs for a walking tour of the city center of Madrid, it was a little rainy and cold but Madrid is a very interesting city.

Me and the Oso y Madroño (bear and strawberry tree) which is the symbol of Madrid. Not quite sure why, I saw neither bears nor strawberry trees. 

Kilometer zero, the center point of all maps of Spain. 

Madrid even has a ham museum!

We also visited Plaza Mayor, the biggest plaza in Madrid. It is where they used to hold bull fights and all important cultural events. Now it is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Madrid. We went into the Catedral de Madrid which, although I wasn't a fan of the outside, really enjoyed. The inside was very contemporary and modern, much less stuffy and wasn't as full of icons as some of the other cathedrals. The other place that we were supposed to go to on this tour was the Palacio Real, or royal palace. We got to see the outside but we weren't able to go inside because some dignitary, I'm pretending it was the King, was visiting. Fun fact, although it is the biggest and grandest of all the palaces the King doesn't actually live there, he lives in a smaller palace outside of the city.

Hard to see but that entire wall has different frescos on it. 

Trying to capture all of Plaza Mayor!

Catedral de Madrid, much newer than most of the cathedrals in Spain.

Funky stained glass and ceilings. 

I really liked this ceiling.

The impressive Palacio Real. 

I'm obsessed with all the extravagant light posts in Spain.

Our tour lasted a few hours, then it was back to the hostel where we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a Kebob place, Madrid has an abundance of pizza and kebob restaurants not sure why. Then we had to get ready to go the the theatre. We took the metro there which at this point in my travels I was still disproportionately excited about, my group which was mostly made up of East coasters didn't understand my enthusiasm. The play we saw was actually more of a musical, Albert Boadella's Amadeu. It was a musical that told life story of famous Catalan composer Amadeo Vives, through a mash up of zarzuelas, which Amadeo is most known for and rock music to showcase the qualities that Amadeo most prized in his musical arrangements. I really enjoyed the musical, the singing and performances were amazing, there wasn't a lot of talking and it was an opera so I wouldn't have understood the words even if the were speaking English, so I didn't feel like I missed out on the story line. That night as soon as the play was over Allison, Kate and I made our way back to the hostel and got a full nights sleep because we knew we would have a very busy day on Saturday. 

Drinking some café before the play.

Saturday morning after a quick hostel breakfast of cereal, which I hadn't had in months, we hopped on a bus to the Museo del Traje, or dress museum. It is a museum that displays Spanish garments, both men and womens from the 16th century until present. This was hands down the part of the trip I was most excited for, ever since I was little I've loved the "olden days" dresses, with the corsets, hoop skirts and big bustles. I was in heaven getting to see them in person, and of course the modern day dresses were gorgeous as well, I fell in love with a sparkly Versace number, and was on the verge of stealing a flawless 18th century ring. Despite the fact that we weren't supposed to take pictures I was hell bent on getting a few, this museum was what I had been waiting for after all, so if you promise not to tell I'll share a few with you.

These are adult clothes, people used to be so tiny!

Cute heels, no? They're mens.

Pretty little 18th century dress.

Check out that bustle, the name for this style in Spanish translates to horse, I think it's appropriate. 

Tiny, tiny waist.

I think this was my favorite modern dress. 

This one was so unbelievably sparkly in person.

After the Museo del Traje we had a yummy group lunch at a pizza place where I had the best cucumber, tomato and goat cheese salad with balsamic, it was so good to have salad that wasn't drenched in creamy dressing. Then we went to La Reina Sofía, which is home to all of Spain's best 20th century art. We saw a ton of paintings by Picasso and Dalí, including Picasso's famous Guernica, which is a depiction of the horrific bombings that happened to that town during the Spanish Civil War, it is a very gruesome, haunting piece. Picasso's work is great but I'm actually a much bigger fan of Dalí's work, even though he was one messed up, hateful man he sure knew how to paint an interesting picture, I could stare at them for hours and still manage to find something new. Going to the museum was great because we had a guided tour and that way we got to learn something about the artists, paintings and the motivations behind them, it made the time in the museum much more enjoyable and worthwhile than just wandering aimlessly and not really getting anything out of the experience. 

Guernica, interesting fact is that Picasso wouldn't let this painting stay in Spain until the Franco Regime had ended. 

I think it's interesting that the same person painted these two.

We finished at La Reina Sofía around 5:30 PM and while most people just went back to the hostel, Allison and I stayed with one of our group leaders, Javi who offered to take anyone who wanted to go to the Prado. I knew I had to go, even if I was tired, because the Prado is arguably the most famous art museum in Spain. My Señora loves Madrid and looked at me as if I had killed Pantera when I told her I didn't know if we were going to the Prado, so I knew just for that reason that I couldn't go back to Sevilla without seeing it. The Prado had much older works of art, we mostly saw works by Goya and Velazquez. 

Second of May 1808.

La Maja Vestida, She was originally naked but there were objects so Goya painted a second version with clothes.  

Las Meninas. (Velazquez)

That night, exhausted Allison and I took a nap and then Kate, Allison and I spent about an hour trying to find a mexican restaurant that was supposed to be "almost as good as chipotle" and "super close to our hostel" turns out it was we were just making a big circle around it. We finally found it and it didn't disappoint, it was the spiciest thing I'd had in months and it was scrumptious. 

Before I knew it Sunday morning rolled around and after a quick hostel breakfast our group headed off to El Rostro, kind of an outdoor flea/crafts market. We spent a couple hours there and then my group had to leave to go to the train station and take the Ave back to Sevilla. I however was spending a few extra hours in Madrid while I waited for my friend Gilana to get in from Valencia s o that we could take a plane to Dublin and start leg two of our spring break adventure in Dublin. While I waited for her I decided to visit the Jardines Botanicos Reales or Royal Botanic Gardens. They were gorgeous, a complete oasis in the middle of the city, I happily spent three hours wandering around in there and taking pictures while I waited for Gilana. 

Really big tulips.  

I thought these were fun. 

Apparently I really like pink flowers.

Ginormous tree!

 Gilana arrived at about 3 PM and we didn't have to leave for the airport until 6:30 PM so we had a couple hours to kill and I took her on a small tour of Madrid! Since I was such an expert after three days. :)

Posing by the 0 KM mark.

Streets of Madrid. 

Fountain in the middle of a huge intersection.

We also found a creepy baby statue by the train station. 

Well that's all for my Madrid adventure, next post we'll be off to Ireland, I hope you're enjoying your free tour of Europe!