Paris..is this a joke?

Hello, I Just got back for France three days ago and it was awesome. There were so many things that went wrong, but the trip was awesome. First of all, it rained for two of the three days we were there, but that didn´t stop us from seeing anything. My friend Molly from high school is studying in Barcelona and she met us in Paris, but we both didn´t realize that there are two airports in Paris, so we flew into different airports, which wouldn´t have been a big deal if I hadn´t lost her phone number, so we left the airport to head for the hotel and we ran into Molly on some random street in Paris, so that was pretty fun.

Then we went to the Louvre Museum, which is free for people under 26 with an ID, but of course I didn´t have mine...but she let me in anyway. Then we went to dinner and spent about 20 € each, which is a lot, but what can you do? Then we saw the Eiffel tower, which we went in the line and we were in the wrong line. We wanted to be in the line for the elevator, but we were in the line to climb the stairs, but we weren´t going to wait in another line in the rain. Also, it was so cloudy and foggy that when we got to the top, it was like we were stuck in the middle of this huge raincloud, and we couldn´t see the view of all of Paris, but that stuff happens.

Then Sunday, we woke up at 9:30 and were heading for Versailles, and we noticed the clock in the lobby of the hotel and it said 10:30...who knew that they had daylight savings time in Europe??? What the heck?? Oh well, we made it to Versailles where we spent two hours and half an hour of that time was in line. So, we didn´t get to see everything there. But...we are leaving for Italy tomorrow and we are going to be more organized. I will keep trying to post blogs and pictures, but just remember, I will have all these pictures plus mucho más (much more). Thanks for reading!!

Extremadura

Hello again, I just got back from Extremadura, a province in Spain next to Madrid. We stayed in a monestary and toured it, that was pretty cool. It seems like every trip we go on, there is a cathedral or something holy we have to visit, which I don´t mind, but I know some people in my program always complain. Haha, oh well. We also climbed this moutain thing. Yes, a mountain. We started at one side of the mountain, walked up for five miles, made it to the top, walked down five miles and made it to the town. It was such a small town that when our program arrived with 40 students, we probably doubled the size of the town, it was so small. But it was an awesome experience nonetheless.

I hope I can put up some more pictures, it is so hard to keep up on this, my journal, emails, facebook....there are so many things to do and so many people want to know about them...which I love, but it´s really hard. Plus, anyone who reads this will probably see the millions of pictures I have taken when I get home. I can´t wait for that day! ´Til next time...

Segovia

Segovia was a fun little city, it was so different being in a smaller city in Spain, because I live in Sevilla and have been to Madrid and Barcelona, and also Málaga, Córdoba, Granada and Cádiz, so Segovia was so simple and relaxing. First, we came from the train station, and we made our way to the aquaduct. That was so awesome. I first saw it between some buildings and I got so excited. I took a lot of pictures. Then after that, I think we made our way through the Plaza Mayor and the calle real...I think??, then we went to the Alcázar. That was so much fun. We went to the top of the tower and I was such a beautiful sight from up there. We also passed by the cathedral there, that was a pretty big cathedral, I really wasn´t expecting to see that big of one. We also walked down this one street, I don´t remember what it was called, I would have to look at my map, but then we took the road up leading to the university. We took pictures there, so there are some with the university in the background. We spent about eight hours there.
The traveling part sucked. We took a bus at 01:00 in the morning on Friday, slept like an hour until we got to Madrid at 08:00, then another two hour train ride to Segovia. Then, we left Segovia at 6, another two hour train ride to Madrid, then our bus left at 00:00 (midnight) and we got back to Sevilla around 06:30. then I went to bed from 07:00 to 15:00. So, it was a tiring trip, but totally worth it. I think I took about 100 pictures, so I can´t wait to come home and show you.

Barcelona

Hello. This past weekend our prgram brought us to Barcelona. It was the best weekend I think I have had so far. Barcelona is filled with so much history and things to see and do. When we arrived on Friday, we went around the city on a bus tour that showed us the most popular things to see in Barcelona. Then Saturday and Sunday morning, we had free time to go around the city and look at the things we wanted. It was a good thing my friend Molly from high school is studying in Barcelona because she helped me so much with the metro...and it was good to see a familiar face.

I spent the whole weekend with Molly and I got to see all the things I wanted to when I was iin Barcelona. First, we saw the parque Güell, a park designed by Gaudí, a famous architect born in Barcelona. We also saw la sagrada familia, which is this huge cathedral designed again by Gaudí, but he died before the construction was finished, so they have held construction because I think there is a slight arguement about whether it should be finished by another, or left alone by what was done by Gaudí. I could be making all this up, but I think that is what is going on. Also, I saw the plaza de España, which has this amazing founatin that changes patterns and colors at night and is set to music and is a huge performance. It was breath-taking, I can´t explain it. I also went down to Port Olympic and to the Olympic Stadium. I definetely recommend to anyone to visit Barcelona at least once in their life, you won´t be disappointed.

Travel

So, things have been pretty busy here...but that´s a good thing. Yesterday, I went to Málaga, which is on the southern coast of Spain, and spent seven hours on the beach. It was so amazing, people were so impressed with me that that wasz the first time I had seen the ocean, so I guess it was a big deal. I certainly enjoyed myself though. We had a day off from school because it was Day of Andalucía, so everything in Sevilla was closed for the day. Also, I am going to Barcelona tomorrow for the weekend. This trip is put on by our program, so the flight and the hotel was included in our initial tuition cost. We are going to see the most famous sites in Barcelona, and, lucky for me, I have a friend from high school studying there, so we are going to hang out for the weekend. It will be so nice to see a familiar face, so I am very excited. And, I officially have three trips planned for my own. March 23, 24, 25, I am going to Paris, France for the weekend. I am going with three girls and that should be pretty fun. Then the following weekend, the same three girls and I are going to Italy. We are flying from Sevilla to Florence and are going to spend one or two days there, take a train to Pompei, I guess there is an interesting story about that city so that should be fun to visit, then taking another train to Rome and leaving from Rome to Valencia, Spain then spending a couple days there. That trip should cover about 7 or 8 days, I can´t count right now. Then, April 12, 22, 23 and 24 I am going with a group of five to Prague, Czech Repubilc. I am super excited because 1, I am traveling with a fun group of students, 2. it is my birthday, so I am very excited for that weekend. And last, Lagos/Lisbon, Portugal where I will meet my friend from Barcelona there and spend six days there. OOohhhhh, that should all be a blast. My family is working out great and my classes are awesome, I am really enjoying myself. Thanks again for reading!