Portugal!!

Road trip to Portugal in a manual car? Yes please!! It's a 5.5 hour drive from Granada, Spain to Lagos, Portugal. We made one stop for 3 minutes and made the trip in 5. We left Granada around 10:30 PM Wednesday night and arrived in Lagos around 3:30 AM Thursday morning.

Thursday, after we went to bed and then woke up again, :) we explored the old city of Lagos. It has an old fort and huge stone walls that were used to protect the city from invasion by sea. We relaxed at the beach for a few hours and then we walked around the streets and explored all of the parts of town. We saw a lot of unique architecture in the old buildings and homes. We got to go to the grocery store and I got to cook in a kitchen for the first time in 5 months! It was an amazing feeling. We had pasta with a homemade tomato cream sauce, that I made minus a couple ingredients, but it wasn't bad at all, steamed vegetable, and a huge fruit salad. It was nothing that gourmet, but it was great to be able to cook again. We enjoyed a nice bottle of red Portuguese wine as well.

Friday, we cooked a real American breakfast that consisted of cheesy scrambled eggs, real American bacon, and toast. It was yummy. Then we headed out in route to Lisbon. The route we chose was in the middle of a National Park and Forest and along the coast. Needless to say, it was an incredible drive. We decided to stop along the way in coastal towns that were just incredible! They were breathtaking and no photos can do them justice. We found an old rusty, shipwrecked boat on a practically hidden beach-it was an incredible sight to stumble upon. We stopped at four towns along the way and we are calling them the "Quatro Terre's" like Italy's Cinque Terre. :) While driving to Lisbon, we started to get hungry and look for places to eat. That was just after the last town and all the sudden it was just grass everyone and land, nothing else. Finally we came to a town and we were probably the only tourists that had been there in the last 10 years, but we stopped at the first and only restaurant in town. It was a hamburger, fry, and pizza place. We were in heaven!! Our food was delicious and we were so happy! Then we continued our journey and arrived in Lisbon late Friday night and went to bed.

Saturday we woke up and explored all of the many neighborhoods in Lisbon. I realized that Lisbon seemed very familiar and that's because it is...it's EXACTLY like San Francisco. There are hilly streets, trolleys, and even a red Golden Gate Bridge! It was so similar it's incredible! We visited St. George's Castle, which is in the center of the city on a hill and we had a great overlook of the entire city. We went to the most enormous outdoor flea market (even bigger than the one I've been to in SF) and bought some hand made Portuguese Pottery (which I'm going to love, because it's going to by my carry on partner on the flight back to the US and I'm determined I WILL LOVE IT-I have to, because it's heavy and we might as well just be friends now). Then we saw the Monastery, which is an incredible piece of artwork in itself. The outside of the building is phenomenal. Went back to the hostel and took a siesta and woke up for dinner. We had an absolute seafood feast: a whole crab, complete with Portuguese stuffing, the Portuguese specialty of whole sardines, and Portuguese cooked shrimp. It was all delicious. I actually loathe sardines, but I decided that since they were a specialty of the country that I was visiting, then I must try them. I always try to sample toe local food and drink. I'm glad I did, because they weren't half bad with olive oil and lemon juice. :)

Sunday we woke up and started our 7.5 hour journey home. We made stops along the way in small towns. We saw an old Posada that was inside of a castle and had a tower. We climbed to the top and got a gorgeous overview of the city. We continued on our way and got back home around midnight.

It was really fun to be able to do a European Road Trip. I really enjoyed it and being able to see all the countryside. It was gorgeous and well worth it.

Morocco: Meknes, Fez, and Tangier

Morocco was a whirlwind adventure! We went to Meknes, Fez, and Tangier. It was a great experience, but ladies let me warn you in advance, take a man with you! Women are treated more like objects here and man expect you to "bow down for them." It just makes me soo grateful that I live in America, where everyone is treated equally. There are many things that are different or unique here: they use currency called Durhams and about 11 Durhams= 1 Euro and 1 Euro= 1.45 USD, just to give you an idea. We weren't allowed to drink the water and we even had to use bottled water to brush our teeth. The entire country appears to be very religious and stop to pray 5x a day, in addition they don't drink any alcohol. They are very conservative and most women cover their bodies entirely except for either their faces or just their eyes and their hands. Anyway, on to the trip!

We left early Friday morning, drove down to the Spanish port and took a ferry, with our bus too, across the water to Africa! We arrived, went through customs, got back on the bus, and continued to Meknes. We stopped along the way and rode camels next to the ocean! It was an interesting experience. Then we continued and stopped an an ancient cave that has a gorgeous view out to the ocean. We arrived at an absolutely gorgeous hotel (which was a fantastic change from our hostels). We had a "traditional" dinner of chicken and veggie stir-fry, salad with many different ingredients, lamb, and spaghetti :)

The following day, now Saturday, we headed out to do a small city tour of Meknes. We saw the royal palace and ancient grain storage, the Mausoleum, and the Bab Mansour Gates. Then we headed to Fez. We arrived here and had a lovely time. We saw an overlook of the city, went to a traditional clothing store and tried on many costumes. Then we went to a traditional dinner that night with dancing and singing. We ended with the national drink, which is fresh mint tea. Absolutely delicious!

Sunday we had a walking tour of the entire city. The Medina is the oldest "neighborhood" of Fez. It is made up of 12,000 labyrinth streets to protect from invaders. It reminded me a lot of the Albycin in Granada, which is a Moorish district and neighborhood. We got to walk to the raw markets with food just hanging everywhere, through the dirty streets, and the real places that the actual inhabitants of the city visit. This was probably my favorite day. It was a bit dangerous in Fez, more so than Meknes and Tangier, so we had several body guards traveling with our group. In Morocco there is NO set price on anything, except in restaurants and hotels. They expect you to barter for everything - food, clothes, toys, etc... My friend was offered 2,000 camels in order to trade for me by a shop keeper. I said, "Sorry, I'm not for sale." We got to go to a hand made silk factory, where they made scarves, table cloths, and blankets by hand, in front of us. It is an incredible style of handiwork. Then we went to a Moroccan Rug store and I found the most beautiful, colorful rug I have ever seen. A few problems: it was huge!, it cost 4000 USD with shipping included to the US, but the salesman said he would give it to me for free if I would stay with him at his house for a week. He was very open about that statement, to which I responded with an awkward laugh and said, "Sorry, I'm worth more than that." Then we went to a leather tannery, where we saw the men in the dye tanks, with the leather, dying everything by hand. Then we did a bit of shopping and headed to Tangier for the night.

Monday we toured Tangier. It is a big, modernized, port city that seems to be a bit for convenient for foreigners. Today I received a marriage proposal from our guide, Nebil, who said he wanted to make me his 4th wife, got a snake wrapped around my neck, and Henna painted on my hands. We saw a gorgeous view of the ocean, with Spain in the distance. We walked through the oldest neighborhood, saw the outside of the symbolic Mosque of Morocco, since non-Muslims aren't allowed inside any mosques, and ate our final traditional Moroccan meal. It was complete with lamb kebabs and mint tea. We began to make the long journey back home and arrived around 1:30 AM Tuesday Morning...with class at 10 AM that day.

Overall it was an amazing experience, but I am sooo glad that I live in America or even in Spain. Anywhere seems better than Morocco, due to the way women are treated and the dangerousness of the area. Thank GOD for freedom!

Bungee Jumping

I went Bungee Jumping today off of Tablete Bridge near Granada! It was amazing. Chelsie and our friend Clay joined me, as well as our personal photographer, Meghan. We had so much fun. In a way it is a lot different than skydiving, but in a way it is somewhat similar. It is different in the fact that you actually have to jump off the bridge yourself and you are just free falling until the bungee cord grabs you. The wind pulls you out of the airplane when Skydiving, but you actually have to jump off the bridge yourself. It was an amazing experience. I actually decided to take my camera on the jump with me...and it survived! Yay! I filmed it all the way down.

Well, unfortunately the video wouldn't upload, so you'll have to wait until I get home...

Here are some photos though...

SKYDIVING!!

Hola! So, I JUST went Skydiving in Empuriabrava!! It was amazing!! I had to fly from Granada to Girona this morning, rent a manual transmission car, drive an hour, with a few stops at beaches and the Salvidor Dali museum on the way, and then arrived in Empuriabrava! I received my training in Spanish, but my "jumper" spoke English and Spanish, which was nice. It was soo amazing! I was the second one out of the place to jump and we had a camera man who was video taping the jump as well. I felt like I was in a dream, just floating. I was skydiving off the coast of Spain, overlooking Costa Brava, the Pyrenees Mountains, France, and of course Spain! It was so much fun. I even talked the instructor into doing some barrell rolls on the way down. Awesome Time!

Spring Break 2010 - Italy!

I realize that it has been a while since I have made a post. I apologize to all my followers...just kidding :)

I will have to do some catch up on our day trip to Ronda and our weekend trip to Barcelona and upload photos when I get back, but right now I am going to update you on Italy, since that's where I am!!

We began Thursday, March 25th with a flight to Girona, Barcelona (the cheap airport where Ryan Air flies through) and we stayed the night in a hostel there. We had a 9 AM flight out to ROME! We checked into our hostel, which was very central, only about 5 minutes walking from the Colosseum for 13 Euros a night. Not bad at all. That first day we went to see the Trevi Foutain and the Pantheon and just walked around the city, as well as had some delicious pasta and gelato! The second day we woke up and we toured the Colosseum and the Forum. We walked around the city and did a bit of shopping, but no buying. Then, Sunday was Palm Sunday, so we went to mass with the Pope in St. Peter's Basilica. Somehow we got amazing seats, only about 20 rows back. It was awesome. Then we hung out and explored things a bit more. Monday morning we went to the Vatican, saw the Sistine Chapel, then headed for Florence. We LOVED our hostel in Florence. It was central and really homey feeling, almost like Grandmas house. That night we had dinner at a restaurant on the water and it was phenominal. The next day, we saw the Duomo and the David and of course, did some leather shopping. We walked around and saw Gold Bridge as well. The following morning, we headed for Cinque Terre, which was phenominal. On our way to Cinque Terre, we stopped in Pisa and saw the Leaning Tower. Other than that tower, Pisa does not really have much to offer. We were there for a whole hour and a half and then got back on the train and continued to Cinque Terre. We had a cute little guest house in the town of Vernazzo for the night. Cinque Terre is five small towns and we stayed in one and then hiked to and from all the others. The views were indescribable. They were picturesque!! Amazing! The following day we headed back to La Spezia, where we were set to take a night train to Naples. Unfortunately the tickets were all sold out and we had to buy non-guaranteed tickets, which meant that we had to sit on pull down chairs, in the aisle, all night. Needess to say, we didn't sleep much and what we did, it wasn't good. We arrived in Naples, dropped our bags off at our hostel, changed clothes, washed our faces and then headed to Capri for the day!! Capri was gorgeous and the sun was great! We took a boat all the way around the island and then took a row boat into the Blue Caves, which are unique because of a natural blue light that they have inside of the caves. We went back to Capri and then took the ferry back to Naples, where we are staying for the night...in beds....not on the floor or in a pull down seat on a train. Thanks God!! Tonight we are going to get dinner and then head to bed early, since we had very little sleep last night. We are heading to Pompeii tomorrow and then continuing to Rome, where we will catch our flight to Girona, Barcelona. We will spend about 6 hours in the airport and then fly back to Granada early Sunday morning, to see what Easter festivities we can find to participate in.

Overall this has been the trip of a lifetime. Chelsie and Kayla have been amazing people to travel with and we have had a great time every step of the way. Many memories have been made, that will never be forgotten. We still have one and a half days left, but I have already taken over 1500 photos! I LOVE my photos! :) I am so thankful to have done this trip! Wouldn't have traded it for anything. It almost doesn't seem like life is real right now...I feel like I'm in a dream...In Italy right now, Spain for a couple weeks, then off to Africa, the weekend after that, Portugal, then Greece! It is crazy!! I may not ever want to come back to the U.S. (just kidding, mom and dad) :) Really though, this has been the semester of a lifetime and I will never forget it, nor would I trade it for the world. So many experiences and new friends have come into my life and I enjoy every minute of it! God has truly blessed me and made this possible, along with the help of my parents! Thanks!

Week Past Week in Granada

Well this week has been a good one overall.

Monday, we didn't have school because it was the Day of Andalucia (which is our province) on Sunday, so everything was closed and cancelled Monday. Meghan and I slept in and relaxed. We did a bit of walking around along the river. It was a nice, refreshing walk. Then I got to skype with Clay and that was fun to catch up. Then we had dinner and I met some friends for tapas after.

Tuesday, I went to school and after I had my first day of volunteering at a kids school. It was so much fun. I am helping a teacher named Carmen and we have a classroom of 10, 1 and 2 year old kids. They are so precious!! When I got there I woke them up from their naps and then we got them all situated in high chairs. Carmen and I fed each child ground fish soup and yogurt, courtesy of the school and then they ate fish nuggets on their own. This school is a public school, but it is similar to a private school in the US. It is very nice, well kept, clean, and small classrooms. The kids have breakfast and lunch provided for them at school. Each student has to wear a type of full apron/dress over their clothes. This is their type of uniform and it helps keep their clothes underneath clean. After we fed the kids lunch, we had play time. The got to run all around and play with different instruments, animals, and toys. It was a lot of fun playing with them. Then, their parents come to pick them up and take them home around 2. If the parents want to keep their children at the school after 2 PM, they have to pay for this extra childcare. Carmen is a really sweet lady. We get along really well. She is 42 years old, not married, and has no children, but she does have a "special" male friend. She has been a teacher at this school for 10 years and before that she taught for 10 years at another school near the beach. She lives about a minutes walk away, so it is very convenient for her to get to work. After that I headed home for lunch. That afternoon I made plans for my parents to come at visit at the end of May. Then just hung at home with Meg.

Wednesday, another day of school and then home for lunch. Mama has been sick, so I stopped and picked up her some flowers on my way home. After lunch I went to the gym for a bit and then swam in the pool.I went home and did a few things and then went to a play with my class after dinner. The play was a romantic comedy by Federico Garcia Lorca, of course, all in Spanish. If we attended this play our teacher gives us credit for one extra day of class, that we won't get penalized if we miss and we also get another point added to our midterm (which is a lot in Spain). Then just went home and went to bed.

Thursday, the last day of school for the week. After school I went to the Gym and went to the pool after working out. I asked a girl where she got her bathing suit and she responded with, "I bought it in the US." I looked and her and said, "You speak English?" She laughed and said, "You speak English?" We laughed and started talking and her name is Jamie. Come to find out that she and her husband have lived here for 6 years and they work at a Baptist church that is fairly near to my house. She invited me to go on Sunday and I think I might go and check it out. Finally, a Christian church! So, that was neat. Then I went home for lunch . After lunch I met Chelsie and Kayla and we planned our Spring Break Trip to Italy! Yay! I'm looking forward to it. We are going to Rome for a few nights and Florence for a few nights and then some cute towns that Chelsie's friend told her about. We are really looking forward to it. Then, we headed home for dinner. After dinner we all met up at the Bautallon and then went to a club called El Camborio, which is in the caves. It was my first time going there and it was a lot of fun. I didn't get home until about 6:15AM, only after making sure everyone made it home or very near home, safely.

Friday, was a nice day. I slept in until about 1 and then woke up and headed to intramurals. I am playing on the volleyball team with some other kids from my program. There are only 2 of us have have played before. It was our first practice and we have a game on Monday! Yikes! It will be fun though. Then I watched our intramural futbol (aka American soccer) teams practice a little. Lauren and I went to meet Lindsay and Emily at Lindsays apartment. We went for tapas after and then met Chelsie and Kayla for a little shopping. After, we all headed home for showers and siestas. The plan was to meet around 10:30 that night to go have tapas with Nico Borrachos friends, who were visiting. I didn't end up going because I was tired and had a bit of a headache. I just went to bed instead.

Saturday (today), I woke up with a bit of a headache and a really sore back. I think I tossed and turned the whole night. Meghan and I both had bad nights of sleep. My back hurts so bad that it hurts to move. Luckily, after called 10 places I found one that had an appointment for today to get a massage. Hopefully that will help. The plan is to go to a disco tonight and entertain Nico Borrachos friends...we'll see what transpires.

xoxo

Canary Islands!!

Well, this weekend I am in the Canary Islands with Mateo, Meghan, and Dillard, a friend from school. We are on the island of Las Palmas. The weather is absolutely fantastic. We could not have asked for better. It has been sunny and shining the entire time. The first day we went to the beach and I slathered on the tanning oil, while Meghan and Dillard slathered on the sun tan lotion. They have very pale skin and try to ward off the sun. They did a great job at putting it on, but later that night and the rest of the trip they have been paying a terrible price. They are so red and burnt that they can barely move. I feel terrible for them. The second day we rented a convertible and drove all around the island. We drove to the big town and Meghan had her first experience with Sushi--she didn´t like it, unfortunately. I loved it and have been missing Sushi. Then, I drove us back in the direction of our hotel. We peeled off into a little town and headed towards the mountains. Dillard has never driven a manual, so we decided, ´What better time than now, in Spain, in a convertible?´ and we were right. He did a great job. We saw a cute little city called Santa Lucia and had the best sweets from a Panadaria. They were having a carnival and we got to see everyones costumes. Then we drove back and had a delicious steak dinner and yummy Mojitos. Then went to bed. Today we layed by the pool and relaxed. Walked along the beach a little and ate smoe good seafood pasta. We relaxed some more and then the girls went for a walk and the boys went for some beers. Now, we are headed out for the night. Who knows what the night may hold....it´s our last night here, so we need to live it up! Unfortunately there is talk of the Tsunami hitting the islands tomorrow, so hopefully our flight will leave before. If not, it will definitely be an interesting end to this wonderful vacation!

xoxo

Gibraltar, Sevilla, and Cordoba

Well, since we went to Gibraltar, Sevilla, and Cordoba last weekend, this post is a bit delayed. Better late than never, right?

Well Gibraltar was absolutely amazing! It may have been the fact that it was the first sun that we had all seen in weeks, thus we were gloriously happy. It was such a beautiful, sunny day. We walked across the Spanish border into the UK and in order to do so, we walked across the only air strip that has a stop light. When a plane is coming in, the red light goes on and the cars and people stop and once the plane lands, it turns green and everyone continues on their way. We got to see the coast of Africa at the straight of Gibraltar. It was really inmteresting. Then, we went into Saint Michael´s Cave, where they have stalagtites and stalagmites. They hold concerts that play inside the cave. After that we got to play with the monkeys. We had a fun time and I definitely found my favorite. He had the most adorable little mowhawk. I will post photos soon. After, we headed to Sevilla for the night. We went out and I got 2 hours of sleep prior to waking up to our tour of Sevilla.

Sevilla was beautiful as well. It is a lovely city full of beautiful architecture and great things to see. We walked up 36 flights in a tower inside of the Cathedral and we had a 360 degree view of the whole city for miles. The weather was glorious as well. We layed out next to the river and took naps in the amazing sun. We spent as much time as possible outside in the SUN! That night we met up with one of Chelsie´s friends from Point Loma and all of his friends. We had a great time and all got along well. We went to a 3 story club in a mall. That was a new experience, but it was a really fun place to be. That night Chelsie, Simone, Kayla, and I all walked around with Chelsie´s friends for 45 minutes in the wind and the rain looking for a cab. It was miserable. None the less, we made it home in one piece. This night I got only 2 hours of sleep as well. On to Cordoba.

Cordoba is known for its world famous Muslim Mezquita (Mosque). It was fabulous in fact. It has now been converted into a Cathedral. The weather was absoluetly miserable and pouring rain probably harder than I have ever seen before. The walking tour was fun, but slightly paining considering the rain. Then, we drove home to Granada and all caught up on our internet and went to bed.

Overall it was a fabulous trip and I love Gibraltar!

xoxo

The Joke Is On Us...

So, during lunch today Meghan and I found out that ALL of our brothers speak English!! One of them (Victor) said excuse me during lunch and then I looked at him and said, "You speak English, don't you?" and he got a little red and smiled and said, "Maybe" and then I replied with, "Aha, another English word!" Then, I looked at the other twin brother and said, "You speak English too, don't you?" and he replied with, "Un poco" and then I replied with, "A little!" So, apparently Mateo isn't the only one!!! They all understand English and claim that they have been pretending not to speak English, so that we would learn more. This of course is a good idea, but now it makes Meghan and I think of all the times when we sounded like idiots and they knew exactly what we were saying and could have helped us! It is pretty fun though.

xoxo

Mom and Grandma Visit Granada!!

Well my Mom and Grandma decided to come for an impromptu visit to Granada. We got their tickets online and 2 1/2 weeks later, they were in Granada. I was so excited to have them visit. They arrived on Thursday, February 11th and I met them at the airport. Unfortunately Grandma's bag did not make it, so we had to file a claim and I was worried it wouldn't make it, since she was only here for such a short time. Then, we took the bus into town and went to Corte Ingles, which is our Spanish version of an American department store. We got a few things for Grandma and then went to our hotel. We were able to get an extra bed for me to stay with them. We had Paella at the hotel restaurant and it was delicious, then we went to bed.

The next morning, Friday, we woke up and went to have Churros con Chocolat and a real American breakfast with eggs and bacon. Then it actually started snowing...in Granada, Spain! Can you believe it!?!? So, due to the weather we took a taxi around town and I showed them my school and my classrooms and some of the places I go to, then we saw a few of the sights of Granada such as the Cartujas Monastery and an overlook of the whole city. Then, we went to my familia's house for lunch and the whole family was there, minus my brother Jose who was in Barcelona for work. Mama set a beautiful table and we had a huge lunch! It was delicious. Then, Mateo and Victor played the guitar for a bit of entertainment and that was great. Then we went back to our hotel and took a siesta. I always say, when in Spain, do as the Spaniards do! Then, we met my friends at the Mirador de Morayma Restaurante which was a really nice restaurant, located in the Albacin (the oldest neighborhood in Granada) that overlooked the Alhambra at night. There were 18 of us total and it was a big, fun group. We had a delicious meal and mom and grandma got to meet all of the friends that Chelsie and I traveled with on our mini-European Excursion. Chelsie's mom, grandma, Auntie Anna, and Auntie Michelle joined us for dinner too. Then, we went back to the hotel for bed.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to the train station with the Slegers clan. We were headed for Sevilla! We had great time and got to meet up with Rhonda's (Chelsie's mom) friends friend. She is a program director for Trinity College Study Abroad Program in Sevilla and she was our tour guide for the day. We took the train back to Granada, parted ways for dinner, and then re-joined for a Flameco Show in the Sacramonte Caves. That was very interesting and enjoyable and then afterwards we went on a mini walking tour of the Albacin and saw the Miradaor de Saint Nicoli, which is the viewpoint of all of Granada and the Alhambra. Everything was beautiful all light up on a clear night. Then, we went back to the hotel and headed to bed.

Sunday, Valentines Day! We did a private tour of Granda with a woman named Anne. She was very knowledgeable and willing to answer all of our questions. We walked around the Albacin, then went to a delicious place for lunch that was across from the Alhambra, and then Meghan joined us for our portion of the Alhambra tour. We saw the Palaces and the beautiful gardens. We had a great time and luckily the day was beautiful! We stopped for a coffee and hot chocolate break and then continued on our tour. We went to the Capilla Real and the Catedral, which are the main Chapel and Cathedral of Granada. Mom and Grandma bought a few souvenirs for loved ones back home and then we met my mama, papa, Lourdes, Mateo, and Meghan for Cafe. We had a really lovely time. Papa actually reminded me of Grandaddy. I didn't actually see it, until right then, but I think it's very sweet. My familia loves my mom and Grandma and the love goes the other way too. Then, Mom, Grandma, and I ate some dinner and headed to bed. We turned out the lights around 12:30 AM.

Monday morning...4:15 AM came all too quickly....we were out the door by 4:45 and in a cab. Mom and Grandma insisted that they didn't want me going to the airport with them, since it was a 35 minute ride one way. I talked to the driver and told him where to go and then they dropped me off at my house on the way. One minute we are saying our tearful goodbyes and then then next I am waving goodbye from the other side of the street. I went home and went to bed, since I had class a few hours later.

Mom and Grandma are en route home now, so I am praying that they have a safe return, as well as the Slegers clan. I am so grateful that God has blessed us in such a way that they were able to visit me in Granada and meet my familia. Have a safe trip Mom and Grandma and thanks for visiting! Love you!

xoxo