Madrid last week

The past couple weeks were pretty stressful, which I didn't expect from my classes abroad. I'm not doing as well as I want, which is more disheartening than anything, and occasionally I have 'what am i doing here' kind of moments. I was really more exhausted than anything; a lot of work and midterms were really packed into just those couple weeks and I was tired from traveling, so I just got pretty burnt out.
Aanyways.. I'm better now.
Last week, after Berlin, Nick and his friend Abby came to Madrid for a couple days for their fall break. This is one of the several issues that I hope to bring up in an evaluation of some sort for this program. I think fall break would have been very beneficial so I could have spent more weekends in Madrid, and spent less money as traveling on weekdays is much cheaper. It would have also helped with the fact that everyone at this point is tired!

But again, aanyways.. Last Sunday afternoon we went to the Retiro; it was really great, there were tons of people hanging out, drum circles, botellón, etc.. We went out Sunday night but Madrid, I have found, is really great thurs-sat nights only. Still it was nice to see a friend from home!
slash
TODAY IS NOVEMBER 4TH. I really wish I was in the states right now, but at least I'm going to an OBAMA victory party tonight with a live cnn feed : ) I am super excited, perhaps over-confident.. All of us over here sent in our ballots, I hope all of you have done the same!

Berlin

Two weekends ago I met up with Nick and his friend Abby in Berlin. They are both studying in Rome, and we were all unprepared for the frigid weather in Germany. Thursday night we met up at the hostel, and we went out to find a club called Weekend. We assumed that even if we didn't want to go in, there would be bars or something in the area. However, we found Alexanderplatz to be totally deserted. Maybe it was just because it was East Berlin, but it felt very "brave new world".. We decided to just call it a night and on our way back, we passed through the Brandenburg Gate and saw the Reichstag.
The next morning we started walking from Potsdamer Platz, and first saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It was a very different memorial; the varying heights and slopes are supposed to be disorienting and create an uneasy atmosphere. It has created controversy, but personally, I really liked the concept.
We then saw the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag; the amount of history these invoke is insane. We passed by some other sights- the Berliner Dom, Museum Island, Alexander Platz and the TV Tower. And of course we ate Bratwurst..

We finally made it to the East Side Gallery; a section of the Berlin Wall that artists were commissioned to work on after the wall fell. This was probably my favorite part of Berlin- again, that overwhelming history.
We crossed the river into Kreuzberg, a less sterile-feeling, busier part of town. We finally got to our final stop before going back to the hostel, Checkpoint Charlie. We didn't go into the museum, but from what we could see, it was the checkpoint to get into the American sector of Berlin.
That night, we were rejected from a couple clubs; we assumed it was because we are American, but we couldn't say for sure.. We did end up at one club, which was fun, but far from crazy..
Saturday we took it pretty easy; we went to the top of the Reichstag and saw a view of Berlin. It was probably just the cloudy weather, but it all seemed sad.. We then just walked around; we almost went into a museum, we almost went into the Berliner Dom.. We saw a small market and watched German kids street dance. They were practicing techtonique and we just sat there for a while laughing at them..
That night we went to a couple bars in Kreuzberg, including a gay kitschy one with fuzzy walls and chandeliers. We then club went to a club; it looked fun from the outside but the inside was filled with awkward people. I think Abby described the dancing as looking like the Sims. It was so true- everyone was dancing strangely on their own; no one looked like they were with anyone. So again, we sat there and laughed.
Our planes to Madrid were early Sunday morning, so we actually had to leave our hostel at 3:30am, which was not the most fun.
I didn't really know what to expect from Berlin, but it pretty much surprised me. The history is fascinating, but I'm not sure how I feel about it otherwise.. It is a huge city, so there is a chance I just didn't get to discover the really great parts. Next time I guess..

Paris

Last weekend I went to Paris; my señora was really sweet and drove me to the Madrid airport at 4am Friday morning. I flew into the Beauvais Airport, which was actually at least an hour outside the city. It was a strange flight; I had never taken Ryanair before, and I was confused when I found out you just kindof chose whatever seat. I took a bus from the airport and finally arrived in Paris..
After dropping my stuff off at the hostel I met up with everyone I was traveling with at the Eiffel Tower. We took 82384761 pictures, then walked up about two thirds of the tower; the view was gorgeous. We then walked to the Arc de Triumphe then through Jardin des Tuileries to get to Museé Louvre. We decided to return to the museum at night when it was free for students.
In the Louvre, I was surprised to find out that you could take pictures. Of course we saw the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, and the countless renaissance sculptures and paintings. There was also a Picasso exhibition, which I later found out was one that is spread out through the Louvre, Grand Palais, and D'Orsay; it was called "Picasso and the Masters." In these museums, especially at the Louvre, Picasso was seemingly out of place; I really loved seeing the original painting he took inspiration from and the many ways he interpreted it. I had never really heard of him doing this so seeing it in a couple exhibitions was really cool.
After the Louvre, we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night..

On Saturday, we went to Montmarte, and saw Sacre Coeur, as well as a great view. There was also a small Dalí museum, which I loved. It had a lot of his etchings and sculptures; I could have sat there all day and contemplated this stuff..
We hit another couple important sights- Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, the Pantheon.. We had a picnic lunch in Jardin du Luxembourg, which is lovely; the flowers and scenery are really gorgeous.
We went one more time to the Eiffel Tower, meaning to catch the sunset, but not realizing how early it would be. When we did get there though, we were just in time for the hourly light show.
We went out for a little bit at night near Bastille, but I am pretty convinced that in order to do nightlife in Paris, you need mucho dinero.
On Sunday, I went to Museé D'Orsay and Museé Rodin. D'Orsay was really great; they had a Picasso/Masters exhibit as well. What I loved most I think is realizing how just about every painting in my house has its original in the D'Orsay. My parents have said how they love Paris; they spent their honeymoon there and even gave me a French name because of it.
The Rodin Museum was really great; I usually don't appreciate sculptures that much, but works like The Thinker and The Cathedral really struck me..
Before leaving Paris in the Afternoon, I had coffee with my friend Evelyn, who is currently studying there; meeting up with people in a totally different context is always cool, it was a nice send off for my trip
: )
All in all, I feel like a lot of Paris has really been fetishisized- the Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa, etc.. It has all the big names in museums and sights; however, I found the the things that impressed me the most were the small surprises.. I was at first a little disenchanted by the city and worried that I wouldn't love it all that much, but I think there's a lot more to discover..

Barcelona

Last Thursday several people from the program and I took the overnight bus to Barcelona. When we got there in the morning and couldn't check into the hostel, we started our tour of the city. We walked through Parc De La Ciutadella and went to the Olympic village on the beach. We also made it to the Picasso Museum; they had a lot of his early work, which is not my favorite, but it was quite interesting. We walked up and down Las Ramblas and went to the Market La Boqueria, which had amazing fruit.
Our hostel was in Placa Reial, on La Rambla; it was fine except for a couple really unpleasant British girls in our room.. The best part of the hostel was definitely the location. They had free breakfast and first come first serve free dinner, but it consisted of "meat and potatoes. don't ask us what the meat is because we don't know. watch out for bones." No thank you.
We had lunch in the Placa and I finally ate paella here, but I was pretty underwhelmed. We did more walking, around the Barri Gotic area. Btw they speak Catalán here which is muy bonita pero no lo entiendo.
That night we went to the Magic Fountain, which, just around sunset, has a fountain/light/music show. It was really lovely; I highly recommend it : ) Later, we went around to find nightlife, and we just ended up at this one big club that was supposed to be quite touristy. We go there around 1, which of course by Spanish standards was much too early, so it was quite empty. Soon it was packed though, and we were elatedly surprised by the arrival of Grandmaster Flash! I had seen posters for his tour in Madrid, and I was bummed that I would be missing him there, but I had no idea he was in Barcelona in the same weekend.. que suerte! His set was fantastic; it was one of the most fun nights I've had in Spain so far.
Even though we got just about no sleep, we got up early for more sight seeing. We saw the major Gaudi edifices- Casa Batllón, Casa Mila La Pedreda, and La Grada Familia. His architecture is fascinating, and definitely what I think of when I think of Barcelona.
My favorite sight by far was Parc Guell. Designed by Gaudi, it was so fantastical and had the most amazing details. Someone was playing the trumpet in the park, and we just sat there for almost an hour; the whole place was just unreal.
The next morning before we left, we took the gondola up MontJuic. It was the perfect way to end the trip; we had a great view of the city from the top. One thing that I would have like to do was rent a bike while I was there; for that reason and for Parc Guell, I would love to return.

Marbella

Last a few people from my program and I went on our first self-organized trip : ) We decided we had to go to Costa del Sol while it was still warm enough to go to the beach. The bus ride there, which we took overnight on a Thursday, was a little hectic. A man had a seizure on the bus; there was some kind of doctor on the bus, and when we pulled over to meet an ambulance, he refused care so everything was fine, but still a shaky start to our vacation, haha.. The rest of the night was like a deathride; no one could sleep because our driver was going so fast. We got there ahead of schedule, as the sun was rising.

After finding our Hostal we went to the Mediterranean; the water was cold, but the scene was gorgeous. We spent a lazy day at the beach, and honestly, there is not much else to see in Marbella, so I was just fine with that.

That night some British guys in the hostal took us to a nightlife area in Marbella. And oh, by the way, EVERYONE here was from Great Britain. We even went into a bar and started speaking Spanish, until the bartender informed us that she didn't know a word. Most people seemed to be older than us, but everywhere at least gave us free drinks; they give out cheap champagne like water to a group of girls. Except it was free, unlike water. eh.

The next day we had a lazy lunch and more lazy beach time. We didn't do much at night except have a huge dinner that took foreever. The meals here take so long, and I'm all for being tranquila, but sometimes it is just ridiculous how inefficient they are.

Which I guess brings me to another point- being abroad is amazing, but I kind of love America. ha. Whenever I find myself having to explain myself because of where I'm from, whether it's Jersey or America in general, I realize how much I totally dig where I grew up. I don't want to siesta, I want to work, I want racial integration and spicy food!

..Anyways, the bus ride back on Sunday was much more pleasant, and I was glad to return to Madrid. This week has been pretty stressful with work, which I did not expect.. I'm looking forward to Barcelona this weekend though!

La semana pasada

Last Tuesday I went to Palacio Real in Madrid; it was nice, and the view was fantastic, but there was not that much to see. The part you could tour inside was much other palaces I've seen- ornate, gaudy, and rooms upon rooms that seemed to be used for nothing.. very gorgeous though.
Palacio Real

On Wednesday I saw the Kiev Modern Ballet troupe perform to Bizet's opera, Carmen. It was amazing; engaging and interpretive and totally beautiful.
On Thursday I went out with some people from another program; they stay in an apartment without a host family. It was so nice, and I was a little jealous, but I'm sure they barely use their Spanish.. We went to Malasaña for a couple drinks at the bar Ocean and a quasi-dance bar called Nasti, heh. They actually played really fantastic music, so that was fun. We did call it an early night, though, because on Friday, we had a day trip with the program to Toledo, Spain's old capitol city.
Toledo was adorable; it is full of narrow streets and beautiful buildings. They have amazing Mazapan.. soo good. We went to the High Gothic Cathedral; a super gaudy Catholic church, as well as the Synagogue of El Tránsito and Santa María la Blanca, which was originally a Jewish temple, and was converted to a church because Spain is like that.. This building was gorgeous; I couldn't take pictures inside, but there were wonderful white arches throughout..
Toledo

Friday night was another botellón night; we had fun "callejar"-ing.. apparently this is what you call drinking and walking around streets in Madrid.
Saturday night we watched a taping of the Presidential debates at Casa America.. it was nice to be in a room full of people who cared about the same political situation (most of whom were very pro-Obama). Later, we went out in Malasaña, and walked in and out of a couple funky bars, Tupperware and the MaderFacker.. We mostly just stood around and talked, per usual..
Sunday we went to El Rastro, a huge open market in Madrid where you can buy antiques, clothes, old cameras, books, etc etc.. I didn't end up buying anything, but there was much to see. I definitely want a pair of parachute pants.El Rastro

Classes this week were a little stressful.. I had a grammar test Monday that totally kicked my culo; I think I have forgotten that I am actually in school and not extended summer..
Last night we went to an international night at Café Madrid.. I was a little skeptical of what people would be there, but we decided to check it out. It was pretty lame.. I think the median age was about 30 haha. Some Italian and Dutch people talked to us for a little, but we left pretty quickly. We then went to a few bars in the Sol area, which were surprisingly very empty. Even though it was Wednesday, I was under the impression that everyone partied constantly here.. We even went to one bar where ladies drank free.. not just one free drink, like you got a cup, and could drink as long as you stayed.. Even here, there was barely anyone. Getting up this morning was quite difficult, but I only had one class today, and then I got an empanada and some amazing helado, so all is well : )
Tonight I leave for Marbella, a town on the southern coast of Spain, on the Mediterranean.. soo excited to go to the beach!

Madrid nights

Thursday night, we went to Club Kapital, multi-level discotheque. A few levels are lounges or karaoke bars, and the main level plays club music while another plays American hip-hop. People were dancing, but still, it seems that us Americans were the most enthusiastic about it, hah. Living up to expectations, the guys here are pretty forward; all the sudden I would look around, and just about all the girls I came with had been accosted by some Spaniard, haha.
Me, Laura, Emily, Katherine, Samantha at Kapital

On Friday, we went bar hopping around Sol, just walking around, tons of promoters will ask you to come into their bar/club. We only went into the ones that offered us a free shot, hah. Of course the shots were almost all sugar water, but it was still fun to go in, get our chupito, and leave. By the end of the night, when places were filling up, we did have to pay for a couple drinks, but still, a nice cheap night..
Saturday, we purchased a bottle of Smirnoff and some Fanta, and participated in botellón. The youth of Madrid gather in various plazas and sit in circles to drink and talk. We met some Madrileños who taught us some rude colloquial terms, heh.
botellón

As a result of staying out until 6 or 7, I definitely slept much of Friday and Saturday. Honestly, it seems like the norm here though, and I do not even feel guilty about it, haha.