Barcelona!

Day 1:

A big group of the kids from the fundacion (my school) took an ovenight bus to Barcelona on Thursday. Friday morning we find our hostel, which is located right next to the Ramblas, which is a big walkway surrounded by trees on either side. After getting there we decided to maybe see what the stores had to offer since it was still pretty early for the beach. After walking a little ways we noticed ALL of the stores were closed...even though it was well after the time they are supposed to be open according to their signs. So I asked a spanish couple por que and they told me that it was The Festival of Barcelona this weekend and all the stores would be closed all day. We just happened to come to Barcelona during the biggest weekend out of the whole year...who knew? Giving up, we went back to our hostel and changed into our swimsuits and headed out to the mar. We had a fabulous afternoon swimming in the Mediterranean Sea and laying on the beach. Here are some pics from day uno:

La Playa

Las Ramblas

Their snazzy drinking fountains



Day 2:

We woke up and decided to be tourists today. So what does a tourist do in Barcelona? See Gaudi, Claro!!! After grabbing a delicious brunch at a gyro type place we headed onto the metro...where happened to be a grocery vending machine to buy some delicious water. We got off at the stop for Parque Guell....a park that Gaudi built for his friend Guell that was supposed to be a whole community...but I guess that didnt work out. So after getting off of the metro we expected the park to be only a little bit away...little did we know that we had to climb a mountain to get there! That is not an exaggeration either. After losing a good 5 lbs we were finally at the park...and it was worth it. It honestly looked like candy land...it was full of amazing statues and the buildings were from a fairytale. The artwork was unbelievable. Pictures are posted below :) . After spending quite a bit of time at the park we were off to yet another Gaudi masterpiece. We went to the Cathedral called Sangra Familia. It is an unbelievable...like seriously indescribable Cathedral that began construction in 1898....its still under construction and wont be finished for another 100 years. By still under construction...i mean they are actually actively working on it too. It is that ornate and amazing. I cant really describe it because it is so detailed...but pictures are definitly below. After looking at the cathedral we had a Cafe con leche break....they gave me cutest little to go cup...seriously tiny. We then made the trek back home after a successful Gaudi day :)

View from Top of Parque Guell

What was supposed to be the marketplace of Parque Guell

La Sangre Familia

My Small Coffee

Guy Painting Sangre Familia

Day Tres:
We woke up and had a great breakfast at Starbucks...which i personally had been missing dearly and then checked out of our hostel. We took the metro to the area around the museo del picasso and had a nice nap a small patch of grass. Then we got lunch at a supermarket and headed to the Museo del Picasso. Its an entire museum dedicated to guess who....Picasso! It was really interesting seeing his work before he found his "style". He has a ton of amazing works that don't have that "Picasso Look" to them. After the museum we went to a wonderful mexican restaurant and called Pleasure. Then we went to the Bus station to make our way back to Madrid...on the way we went through the Arc de Triumf.

Museo de Picasso

The Placemat at Pleasure (its in english...que raro)

Anxiously awaiting our food

Arc de Triumf

Day 4:
I got back to Toledo at 8 am and instead of going back to my host family's house I decided to just stay at the school since I have class at 11:30. Well, if we stay with a family we arent supposed to eat breakfast in the residence halls but I figured one time would be ok. As soon as I walked in this lady stormed up to me and yelled at me and I pretended I didnt understand her. So I sat down and started eating. She left to go get her boss and then came back. I was like this is ridiculous so I just started leaving....she booked after me running. I ended up having to pay 2.50 for the breakfast and be given the evil eye the whole morning. But i guess it was one of the most hilarious moments any of the people who were down for breakfast have ever seen....they were cracking up.

Mujeres de los Jugadores de Baloncesto

Today I had a pretty normal day. I woke up super early cause I have class at 8:40 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Went to my one class, did homework, and then came home for lunch. I had an interesting conversation with my mom about the economy both in Spain and world wide. We then talked about immigration in Spain, which was a very informative and interesting conversation as she is from Paraguay. We talked about how she would like to go back to Paraguay someday as it is very expensive to visit her family and she misses them a lot, but cannot visit that often. However she wants to remain in Spain for now as it is better for Matias to grow up here. The comida was delicious as usual.  I then took a much needed Siesta and when I woke up it was time for me to return to Toledo to meet my intercambio. This is where my day got interesting!

When I was waiting for her I passed by a camera filming 4 or 5 very beautiful and obviously american ladies. I didnt really think anything about it as I was in a hurry, but then a lady stopped me and said that they were filming a Reality Show and that I had walked right into their shot. She asked me if I would sign a release form to have my face shown. Well of course I said "Claro!!!!!!" and signed on the dotted line. I asked her what reality show it was so I could tell my parents to watch and she said "Basketball Wives" on Vh1. She said it will begin airing in December...so you know what I'll be doing when I get back to the States....watching every single episode of Basketball Wives until I see the episode where they go to Toledo...I hope Im in it! Ill try to find them tomorrow too just in case they dont use that shot ;)

Madrid

I spent the entire last weekend in Madrid! It was really fun! On Friday I went to the Royal Palace. It is not the palace that the Royal Family of Spain currently lives in but they still use it for special ceremonies and events. It was so beautiful! The details in every single piece of furniture and decoration was so amazing I cant even describe it. Unfortunately, they don't let you take pictures inside the palace...so I cant show you any. But I took some pictures outside of the palace in this gigantic plaza type area that was between the Church of Spain and the Royal Palace. I guess high schoolers have their proms here...how amazing would that be to have your prom right outside of the royal palace. Here are some pics of that:



Being Princesses in Front of The Church



Being Princesses in Front of the Royal Palace





 




The arcs outside of the Palace (I'm the 4th pillar on the left side)







The View from the Royal Palace



On Saturday I went to the Centro de Arte de Reina Sofia. It is an art museum with a ton of Picassos more modern art. It is free on Saturdays after 2:30 which is awesome. The art was so beautiful! I saw the Guernico but was unable to take a picture of it. I got pictures of a lot of other Picassos thought. There were these sculptures there that kind of looked like candy land...I was taking a picture and I guess they must be special so a  lady came up and told me no cameras were allowed....fortunately she told me this after I had already taken the picture. Idea for next years halloween costume??? I think so :)Here are pictures from the museum:







Outside of the Museum





The candyland statues (shhh...I didnt take this picture :) )





A Picasso



Sunday I went to El Rastro in the morning after checking out of our hostel. El Rastro is a huge open-air market that is held in Madrid every Sunday.  I didnt buy anything but it was very fun to look. Then on the way to buy my train ticket for later that night I ran into the Tour de Espana which I guess is a very famous bike race! Lucky me! Pictures are below! Later that evening I went to a bullfight! The bullfights are held every Sunday in Madrid. The Plaza de Toros was huge! It was very gory and bloody but I am glad I went because I feel like I know so much more about Spanish life and it was very interesting. The whole thing is a huge process. First the banderillos (about 3 of them) come out and try to get the bull all riled up by a waving pink cape at the bull. Next the Picadores who ride on horses put a lance in the bull. Then the banderillos jump up and thrust sticks into the bulls back. Then the matador uses a red cape to get the bull more riled up and eventually stabs the bull with a long sword and kills it. I couldnt get the videos to post so I am going to try to find a way to link them on here....more to come!

Martes, Intercambios Y Mezquitas

On Tuesday I only have one class in the morning...so afterward my mom took me out for a mid morning meal :). It was sooo delicious...we went to a little tapas bar and had a potatoe dish that was very rich and was topped with salsa! Afterwards we went to Martes, the big mercadillo (open air market) held every Tuesday in Toledo. It was amazing...all of the prices were soo cheap. One of the new fashions here in Europe is like a romper except the bottoms are pants...I am definitely going to find a cute one to bring back to the states...i just gotta find the right one :). I bought a ton of bufandas from the mercadillo...but that was it. I didnt want to go too wild since I do have every tuesday for the rest of the semester to go there!

Last night we had the Cena de Rompehielos en the Fundacion (my school). It was a dinner to meet people we would like to be intercambios with. An intercambio is a person from Toledo that wants to learn english...so we get together and will talk spanish for an hour and they will correct me and then we speak english for an hour and I correct them. It honestly felt like speed dating and you didnt want to the be only person on the speed dating card not to be picked. I really like my intercambio that I found! She is super cute and peppy...she is an english teacher who lives a little outside of Toledo. She hasnt spoken english with me yet...so im curious to see how good she is. We only spoke spanish last night....I emailed her today to set up a time to meet. So I am officially a speed date card winner :) (thanks for introducing us Oscar).

One of the classes I am taking here is an art of Toledo class. Every Thursday we go on a field trip in the morning to a place in Toledo and in the afternoon class we learn about what we saw. This was our first week. We went to a local Mosque that was converted into a church after the Reconquista. It was soo beautiful and small. It was built in 909 by a rich guy. What was really entertaining was the cute baby kitten and its mom that were hiding in the bushes outside of the mosque and the group of like 12 snails that were roaming around. Me gusta! Below are some pictures of the trip to the mosque.

The CeilingPainted on the Ceiling of the part the Christians addedKitten y Mom :)

Snails :)

Fountain Con Gato

a hole in the ground inside the mosque

From the Mosque Garden Wall...This is wear I                                live btw ;)

Baila!!!

Yesterday I went shopping in Toledo and I found a beautiful white dress in a tienda pequena that is just beautiful...i will post pictures of it when i wear it. This morning I listened to Spanish music and danced in the kitchen with my host parents and little brother. They discovered just how bad at dancing I am lol. I believe I have a new favorite song: Lo que paso paso. Listen to it! Also I believe that this is one of the most awesome things ever and I am incredibly sad and disappointed that I was not a part of it: I got a feeling flashmob ...my host mom showed me! I showed them the stanky legg and soulja boy and cupid shuffle in return. It was very fun! I think my new goal is to learn how to dance like the spaniards...then implement it in a discoteca!

Hola!


Today we went on a guided tour of Toledo. We went up to the top of one of the huge hills that surrounds Toledo. Looking down at the city, it looked so beautiful, like a city lost in time. The architecture is so beautiful and is inspired by Muslim architecture...even a lot of buildings built by the Romans or Jews or Christians. The city is surrounded by a huge river, like a moat, and it made for a beautiful bus ride. We went by foot through the actual city, passing through the passage in the wall that the Christians went though to take over the city. It was amazing to think that people actually guarded this city from the top of those towers with their lives. So many people gave their lives in that very spot for this one city on a hill.  We stopped in the Plaza de Ayuntamientos, where the town hall and the Cathedral are located and we stopped at the convent where El Greco is buried. Our final stop was the main plaza. I cant even believe how much history Toledo has: Romans, Muslims, Christians, and Jews all ruled this city at one point or another.

Yesterday I walked to my house after class in order to see the city more. It was about a 20 minute walk and the view of the Casco Historico (the old part of the city that is actually on the hill) was so beautiful. I still cant believe that I actually live here. Its amazing. My host family is so nice and so patient with me when I am trying to communicate. They will repeat themselves as much as I ask them to and don't get frustrated with me, which I'm sure is not an easy thing to do. They make such delicious food too! I may just be in love with Spain!

Here are some pictures from the tour:

Un guido es un tipo de joven de New Jersey....

Hola!

I decided to start a blog to remember this time in Spain! So here goes. Toledo is sooo gorgeous. The buildings are so old and beautiful. All of the people from Toledo are so nice and helpful when I have to ask for directions because the streets are really confusing.  The views from the city are indescribable and a picture seriously cannot do it justice. I moved in with my host family yesterday! Exciting!!!!!!!! My little 2 year old brother Matias is seriously a little ball of energy...he is absolutely adorable! We went to the park tonight and played together. We played soccer and made a huge mountain in the sand. I also spent some time tonight trying to explain a guido to my host mom...she didnt get it. ha. My mom is from Paraguay and my dad is from Ecuador...so my mom made a dish from Paraguay for me today. It was a pasta dish and was absolutely delicious.

hasta luego!

Kelsey