Hola,
Sorry I do not have any time to post pictures right now, but I assure you that I will put some up as soon as I have time. This week is midterms here so things are a little crazy. This past weekend was the celebration of Carnival. It was such a good time. In Spain it is not uncommon to stay out until 6 or 7am in the mornings on the weekends. Until this past weekend I was unable to accomplish this. I went out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Thursday night was pretty short because Friday morning I headed off to Madrid to meet with my friend Arantza, who lives here in Spain. I met up with her about 10am Friday morning and we wandered around the city. We walked so much. When we parted we joked that we had walked a marathon. I enjoyed spending time with Arantza and her dad. I really liked talking in Spanish with them the entire time, it gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to communicate in Spanish. I got back to Toledo about 9:30pm and went home to have dinner. Yes, its normal to eat dinner between 8:30 and 10pm here. Watched a little futbol (soccer), and then put on my costume for the night. I was Mickey! I went out in Poligrono, the town that I live in and had some good fun. We hung out in a park, and then wondered over to the town center where music was playing and people were dancing. After that we wondered to a local discoteca (dance club) and danced. I stayed out until 4:30 in the morning. Saturday I didn't get out of bed until 3pm. Got up had breakfast and then got ready for the day. I went to Toledo at about 9:30pm and wandered around. Things didn't really get started untill 11pm or midnight, but wow was it a good time. There were so many people in the plaza, and there were so many cool group costumes. Saturday night I missed the last bus to my house and so we stayed out and kept the party going until 7am when the first bus came. I didn't go to bed until 7:30am. Just so you all know on Saturday night here some of the locals stayed out until 9am when the discotecas closed.
This weekend I am heading to Cadiz, Spain. Round two of Carnival. I am so excited. After round two of Carnival I will put up my pictures so you can get an idea of how great it really was.
Until next time,
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Castle by the Mountains
El Escorial!
What a beautiful place. I went for a day trip with the school. It is a little north of Madrid at the edge of mountains. The building was built in the 16th century and was designed to be a royal palace (both public and private), a convent, a monestary, a school, a library, and a church. Today most of these functions are still in use. Awesume! yeah? I had a bit of a cold when I went, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I have some of the previous places. At least it was sunny! I think that the rain we had for about 2 weeks straight might be all the rain I see while I am here. Some people that studied here last semester were telling me that fall semester it only rained a total of three days. Crazy! It is a much different climate here in Spain. After El Escorial I spent most of the weekend relaxing and resting. I did some homework and went out for a Valentine's Day Dinner that turned out to be a picknick instead. It was a little cold last night for a picnick, but its all good. Today I spent the day doing homework! Still a student, not all vacation here in Spain. Below are some pictures of my adventure at El Escorial.
The Plaza at El Escorial.
The plaza was really big, it wrapped around two sides of this huge building.
This is one of the plaza's inside the building. You are looking at the church.
Opposite view in same plaza.
A view out of the library windows.
Aren't the mountains beautiful?
The beginning of a park walk, with trees on both sides. (Still Winter.)
Part of the HUGH gardens. We didn't have enough time to go walking through them, sad.
A view of the town San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
Some of the peaks, yes there are more, of El Escorial.
Mistletoe!Monday, February 9, 2009
Don Quixote Where?
Los Molinos
This past weekend I stayed in Toledo, but went on a day trip to Los Molinos (The Windmills) in Consuegra, Spain. It was so neat! There was these really neat old wind mills and the drive to and from was really cool. The whole time we were there we were joking that we were different characters in the story Don Quixote. Below are the pictures from my adventure.
Yeah! They have solar energy here in Spain.
Yes that is snow! And they have wind energy, these are the modern wind mills.
Landscape from the bus.
Landscape from the bus that just so happened to catch the ranchers house.
The Town of Consuegra, it was very small and empty.
A park in the town.
The old windmills are what make Consuegra famous.
Castle, under construction, and windmills.
A panorama...
Me in a whole in this really old wall.
It was really windy on top of the hill.
But we had great sun!
The castle.
If you close in the field there are sheep!
A patch-work of farm fields.
The castle wall with windmills in the distance.
The sky is so blue.
Graffiti. 
A view on the way down.
Nicely detailed window.
I think this is left over from Christmas, we should have asked if we could have had the leftovers.
The clock tower. These were some of the only people we saw.
This is the raging river of Consuegra. It has been raining a lot here, so it is probably dry most of the year.
The exercise park that we played in while we waited for the bus.
This past weekend I stayed in Toledo, but went on a day trip to Los Molinos (The Windmills) in Consuegra, Spain. It was so neat! There was these really neat old wind mills and the drive to and from was really cool. The whole time we were there we were joking that we were different characters in the story Don Quixote. Below are the pictures from my adventure.
Yeah! They have solar energy here in Spain.
Yes that is snow! And they have wind energy, these are the modern wind mills.
Landscape from the bus.
Landscape from the bus that just so happened to catch the ranchers house.
The Town of Consuegra, it was very small and empty.
A park in the town.
The old windmills are what make Consuegra famous.
Castle, under construction, and windmills.
A panorama...
Me in a whole in this really old wall.
It was really windy on top of the hill.
But we had great sun!
The castle.
If you close in the field there are sheep!
A patch-work of farm fields.
The castle wall with windmills in the distance.
The sky is so blue.
Graffiti. 
A view on the way down.
Nicely detailed window.
I think this is left over from Christmas, we should have asked if we could have had the leftovers.
The clock tower. These were some of the only people we saw.
This is the raging river of Consuegra. It has been raining a lot here, so it is probably dry most of the year.
The exercise park that we played in while we waited for the bus.Overall I had a great time. Saw some really old windmills, and got a good work out on the toys above and from the hill we climbed up. Something I won't forget.
Until Next Time,
Friday, February 6, 2009
SNOW!
Hola
I'm spending this weekend, and actually the next three weekends in Toledo. Today a very rare occurance took place. It SNOWED! I was talking with locals and they said it hasn't done that in 6 or 7 years, so this made it a colder than normal winter for sure. Just my luck hey. Oh well, at least the sun is out now. I havn't seen the sun for over a weak, also very unusual here. School is kicking into gear. I cannot believe that I have midterms in three weeks. Its going so fast.
Until Next Time,
I'm spending this weekend, and actually the next three weekends in Toledo. Today a very rare occurance took place. It SNOWED! I was talking with locals and they said it hasn't done that in 6 or 7 years, so this made it a colder than normal winter for sure. Just my luck hey. Oh well, at least the sun is out now. I havn't seen the sun for over a weak, also very unusual here. School is kicking into gear. I cannot believe that I have midterms in three weeks. Its going so fast.
Until Next Time,
Monday, February 2, 2009
21 in Malaga
Hola I am now 21!
I chose to travel to Malaga, Spain and it is on the Costa del Sol (Sun Coast). I went alone, probably the best choice I have made so far. I was a little nervous about going alone, but afterwards I was really glad that I decided to do it. I met really great people from all over the world: Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, the Phillipines, Canada, Spain, France, and more. I learned so much about the European culture from these people, an experience I don't think that I would have gotten if I had gone with other people. I also got some great insider tips about places to go in the future.
As you know I turned 21 on Friday in Malaga. I spent the day sleeping on the beach. It was a beautiful clear sunny day with highs above 65 degrees F. Afterwards I went back to the hostel for a light dinner and then socialized with the other guests over a bottle of wine. After the wine was all gone most of the other people went to bed, but I stayed up with a Irish-Canadian and he offered me some vodka. He made really strong screw drivers. Regardless, I think that I had one of the most chill 21st birthdays and still had a really good time.
The train station in Toledo where I took the super fast train the AVE. It takes 15 to 30 minutes less than traffic.
Yeah! I am in Malaga, Spain. The bus stop signs were neat.
This is the view from my hostel!
Isn't it great? But wait!
It has a view of the mediteranian.
A close up of some of the flowers on the patio.
More flowers near the patio.
The stairs that I climbed to get to my hostel it was built into the hills.
The gate to my hostel.
There were so many stairs! A good work out everytime that I came "home."
A view from the gate. Look the beach! It was really close and nice.
A view of the beach and the street. It was under construction, completely man-made.
Malaga is also a port city.
A view of the hills across from the beach.
Beach Construction and a big barge.
A view of the dorm room that I stayed in. 6 beds total.
A store that sold statues.
The castle is at the top of this hill. I think it is the highest light that you can see.
The main street of Malaga.
If you look close there is a McDonalds on the left.
This was a social gathering of teenagers. I think 13 to 16 or so, maybe younger. Skater style was big compared to central Spain. I thought that this was interesting.
A view of the square.
I was told that this was a Picasso sculpture. Malaga, Spain is the bithplace of Picasso.
They have Cheers here too (a bar).
The cathedral here in Malaga.
The tower part of the cathedral. It was so beautiful.
This is the "arena" for bull fights here in Malaga.
A really old boat in the harbor.
The old boat was right next to the new ones.
Some of the plants that I found in the park.
This was the wierdest.
The open shopping mall in Malaga.
A street performer.
A neat tree near the Picasso Museum.
The Picasso Museum.
The "River" that goes through Malaga, its really only for when it rains really hard and flooding happens. I think it may have got used on Sunday the day that I left.
Malaga is known for flowers.
Ruins of the castle with a neat garden in front of it.
I think he's talking on a cell phone.
Neat trees on my walk back to my hostel.
A neat store with a name similar to mine.
Another street view.
I'm loving it, me on the terrace overlooking the mediteranean.
Another view from the terrace.
There were a lot of orange trees in Malaga.
There was a surfer at the beach the day there was waves.
Sunset on the beach.
A view of the coast at sunset.
I chose to travel to Malaga, Spain and it is on the Costa del Sol (Sun Coast). I went alone, probably the best choice I have made so far. I was a little nervous about going alone, but afterwards I was really glad that I decided to do it. I met really great people from all over the world: Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, the Phillipines, Canada, Spain, France, and more. I learned so much about the European culture from these people, an experience I don't think that I would have gotten if I had gone with other people. I also got some great insider tips about places to go in the future.
As you know I turned 21 on Friday in Malaga. I spent the day sleeping on the beach. It was a beautiful clear sunny day with highs above 65 degrees F. Afterwards I went back to the hostel for a light dinner and then socialized with the other guests over a bottle of wine. After the wine was all gone most of the other people went to bed, but I stayed up with a Irish-Canadian and he offered me some vodka. He made really strong screw drivers. Regardless, I think that I had one of the most chill 21st birthdays and still had a really good time.
Below you will find some beautiful pictures with description.
The train station in Toledo where I took the super fast train the AVE. It takes 15 to 30 minutes less than traffic.
Yeah! I am in Malaga, Spain. The bus stop signs were neat.
This is the view from my hostel!
Isn't it great? But wait!
It has a view of the mediteranian.
A close up of some of the flowers on the patio.
More flowers near the patio.
The stairs that I climbed to get to my hostel it was built into the hills.
The gate to my hostel.
There were so many stairs! A good work out everytime that I came "home."
A view from the gate. Look the beach! It was really close and nice.
A view of the beach and the street. It was under construction, completely man-made.
Malaga is also a port city.
A view of the hills across from the beach.
Beach Construction and a big barge.
A view of the dorm room that I stayed in. 6 beds total.
A store that sold statues.
The castle is at the top of this hill. I think it is the highest light that you can see.
The main street of Malaga.
If you look close there is a McDonalds on the left.
This was a social gathering of teenagers. I think 13 to 16 or so, maybe younger. Skater style was big compared to central Spain. I thought that this was interesting.
A view of the square.
I was told that this was a Picasso sculpture. Malaga, Spain is the bithplace of Picasso.
They have Cheers here too (a bar).
The cathedral here in Malaga.
The tower part of the cathedral. It was so beautiful.
This is the "arena" for bull fights here in Malaga.
A really old boat in the harbor.
The old boat was right next to the new ones.
Some of the plants that I found in the park.
This was the wierdest.
The open shopping mall in Malaga.
A street performer.
A neat tree near the Picasso Museum.
The Picasso Museum.
The "River" that goes through Malaga, its really only for when it rains really hard and flooding happens. I think it may have got used on Sunday the day that I left.
Malaga is known for flowers.
Ruins of the castle with a neat garden in front of it.
I think he's talking on a cell phone.
Neat trees on my walk back to my hostel.
A neat store with a name similar to mine.
Another street view.
I'm loving it, me on the terrace overlooking the mediteranean.
Another view from the terrace.
There were a lot of orange trees in Malaga.
There was a surfer at the beach the day there was waves.
Sunset on the beach.
A view of the coast at sunset.
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