Hey!
So I am done with my Junior year of college. I'm a SENIOR!
So what am I going to do now you ask? Your thinking: the semesters over, yes it is. Your thinking: you've seen a lot of Spain, yes I have. Your thinking: what could he possibly do now? Well I'll tell you. I am heading out on what I am calling my European Adventure.
I am starting by visiting my friend Arantza in Vitoria, Spain. Then I am going to do part of the Camino de Santiago. Its a religious pilgrimage with paths that go all over Europe with the same common end point of Santiago, Spain. I am starting just on the other side of the France-Spain border in France. I'm planning on walking through part of the Pyrenees, through the cities of Pamplona, Spain, Logrono, Spain, and hopefully Burgos, Spain. The Camino will pass through many small towns and that will be exciting to see. I'm not planning on going all of the way to Santiago, because that would take about a month.
After the Camino I really get going on my adventure. I head to Frankfurt, Germany where I meet up with my friend Isabel and spend about a week with her. I'm not sure what the plan is yet, but I know that she has a car and that we will be driving a bit. I'm excited to ride on the Autobahn. After Frankfurt I head to Berlin, Germany, then to Stockholm, Sweden, then to Helsinki, Finland (well hopefully, I have to take a ferry and won't buy my ticket until I arrive), then to Bratislava, Slovakia, then to Budapest Hungary (hopefully as well, depends on trains), then to Graz, Austria where I will visit with my friend Leeshy. After Graz I head to Prague, Czech Republic, then to Paris, France where I will meet up with my parents for a little over a week, and then I head to Madrid, Spain.
I'm not sure where I will go afterwords or what my final plans will be. This trip looks like it will be quite an adventure! I'm really excited about the prospect of seeing so much of Europe. I will probably not upload photos again for a while. I will hopefully check in once and a while if I am able to find cheap or free internet. Well that is all for now.
Until Next Time,
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Spring Break + Time With Dad
Hey everyone!
Hope you are all doing well. This is the first chance I've had to write an entry since the last one and it will be a short one. Spring Break was amazing! I rented a car and visited so much of Spain and in such a short period of time. I wish that I had more time to see all of the places. I flew from Madrid to Valencia where I was able to find the best rental car price. There I met two friends and we started one heck of an adventure. First we went to Teruel a city of towers, and then traveled onward to Zaragotha a city with a neat castle and a beautiful church. Next on to Llogrono and Santander. We got lost inbetween the last two pretty bad, we got lost a lot to be honest, but this was the worst it was night and we were in mountains. Well I think we were, its hard to tell when theres no lighting. From Santander we drove towards the region of Galicia. We drove through Los Picos de Europa (the peaks of Europe). This was one of my favorite parts. The mountains were really beautiful, I saw many Ibex, and I got to drive like I was in a zoom zoom commercial. We arrived at the town of Ribadeo where we stopped for a cafe and some free electricity. We headed south and drove through more mountains, yeah more zoom zoom time. We drove for about 6 hours straight without stopping, through Zamora, Salamanca, arriving for a short break in Caceres. Just enough time for gas and some food. We then went to Merida to see the best Roman ruins in Spain and the first of our Semana Santa processions. A Semana Santa (Holly Week) procession is people dressed up in elaborate clothing. Some cary candles, others crosses, and the best part is the floats that are made of silver and gold with very elaborate details that weigh thousands of pounds. The best were in Merida in my opinion. We then went to Cordoba and then on to Granada. I really enjoyed Cordoba and the Mezquita. It was one of the most beautiful cathedrals that I have ever seen. I highly recommend it. We got lost in Granada and we some how ended up in the old part of town where the streets were smaller. At one point I had the mirrors in on both sides and about an inch or less between the walls and the mirrors, luckly I had quite the great direction giver, Thanks Leeshy! After Granada we went to Tarifa, the southernmost point of Spain and I decided to take a day trip to Morocco. Yes I've been to Africa! It was so cool to go. I had such a great meal, and the architecture and lifestyle was different compared to Spain. After Tarifa we headed to Sevilla where we saw some more processions and enjoyed the sun. I really liked Sevilla it is one of my favorite cities so far. It was like a coastal town that was located an hour and a half from the coast. It was beautiful. After Sevilla we headed to Toledo. I showed my friends my school and the town that I live in. We saw some more processions and then called it an early night because we were cold and tired. We got up early the next morning and went to Madrid. I said goodbye to my friends as they headed to Italy and said hello to my Dad who had just arrived. I took him to Toledo, but just to unpack a little and then wisked him to Valencia. He slept most of the car ride, missed some beautiful countryside. Valencia was great! I enjoyed showing him around. We came back to Toledo for a day and then we spent two days in Madrid. I think Dad liked Madrid more than anywhere because the pace of life was more comparable to the United States than anywhere else we had visited. Well this turned out longer than I thought. I had a great Spring Break! I was so glad to spend time with my Dad. I'm sad that hes gone already, but really glad that he was able to come and visit for a bit. Miss you all.
Until Next Time,
Hope you are all doing well. This is the first chance I've had to write an entry since the last one and it will be a short one. Spring Break was amazing! I rented a car and visited so much of Spain and in such a short period of time. I wish that I had more time to see all of the places. I flew from Madrid to Valencia where I was able to find the best rental car price. There I met two friends and we started one heck of an adventure. First we went to Teruel a city of towers, and then traveled onward to Zaragotha a city with a neat castle and a beautiful church. Next on to Llogrono and Santander. We got lost inbetween the last two pretty bad, we got lost a lot to be honest, but this was the worst it was night and we were in mountains. Well I think we were, its hard to tell when theres no lighting. From Santander we drove towards the region of Galicia. We drove through Los Picos de Europa (the peaks of Europe). This was one of my favorite parts. The mountains were really beautiful, I saw many Ibex, and I got to drive like I was in a zoom zoom commercial. We arrived at the town of Ribadeo where we stopped for a cafe and some free electricity. We headed south and drove through more mountains, yeah more zoom zoom time. We drove for about 6 hours straight without stopping, through Zamora, Salamanca, arriving for a short break in Caceres. Just enough time for gas and some food. We then went to Merida to see the best Roman ruins in Spain and the first of our Semana Santa processions. A Semana Santa (Holly Week) procession is people dressed up in elaborate clothing. Some cary candles, others crosses, and the best part is the floats that are made of silver and gold with very elaborate details that weigh thousands of pounds. The best were in Merida in my opinion. We then went to Cordoba and then on to Granada. I really enjoyed Cordoba and the Mezquita. It was one of the most beautiful cathedrals that I have ever seen. I highly recommend it. We got lost in Granada and we some how ended up in the old part of town where the streets were smaller. At one point I had the mirrors in on both sides and about an inch or less between the walls and the mirrors, luckly I had quite the great direction giver, Thanks Leeshy! After Granada we went to Tarifa, the southernmost point of Spain and I decided to take a day trip to Morocco. Yes I've been to Africa! It was so cool to go. I had such a great meal, and the architecture and lifestyle was different compared to Spain. After Tarifa we headed to Sevilla where we saw some more processions and enjoyed the sun. I really liked Sevilla it is one of my favorite cities so far. It was like a coastal town that was located an hour and a half from the coast. It was beautiful. After Sevilla we headed to Toledo. I showed my friends my school and the town that I live in. We saw some more processions and then called it an early night because we were cold and tired. We got up early the next morning and went to Madrid. I said goodbye to my friends as they headed to Italy and said hello to my Dad who had just arrived. I took him to Toledo, but just to unpack a little and then wisked him to Valencia. He slept most of the car ride, missed some beautiful countryside. Valencia was great! I enjoyed showing him around. We came back to Toledo for a day and then we spent two days in Madrid. I think Dad liked Madrid more than anywhere because the pace of life was more comparable to the United States than anywhere else we had visited. Well this turned out longer than I thought. I had a great Spring Break! I was so glad to spend time with my Dad. I'm sad that hes gone already, but really glad that he was able to come and visit for a bit. Miss you all.
Until Next Time,
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Babie Animals, Green Grass, and Fish and Chips!
Hey!
Do you see the city buses? They were all double decker buses.
Jamie and a statue. She poses so well.
Fair Trade Stores. There were a lot of them in Dublin.
An Environmental information store!
Trinity College! One of the oldest colleges in the world.
One of the parks we went to. It was spring there and the flowers were in bloom. There aren't flowers like this in Spain nor is there nearly this much grass.
This little bird flew under my chair and wouldn't leave, so I took a picture.
Another shot of the park. It was so green!
This was the first picture I took of our adventrue that we took on Saturday. We went clear across the country, to the west coast of Ireland to the city of Galway.
This picture is a little bit fuzzy, but I just wanted you to see all of the babie animals. There were sheep everywhere. The little babies were so cute! I wanted to take one home with me.
Were here! The tide was out and thats why the boats are sitting in the dirt.
A view of what most of the countryside looked like. There were these stone walls all over the place. You can also see the bay in the distance. We took a tour that took us to the Cliffs of Moher. The tour guides were great and very funny to listen to.
Yeah were here! The cliffs of Moher were awe inspiring.
Jamie and a Castle. Why aren't you smiling? Haha.
The sign says: "Please do not go beyond this point." As you can see that this wasn't followed. Beyond the sign is private property, but people still walk along the edge for the view.
Its along way down!
We went by so many ruins. This used to be a church and there is a cemetary in front of it. We saw so many ruins along the way.
A light house along the coast. There was a lot of rocks similar to the ones you see in this picture.
Here is a castle that we were able to get really close to. We were able to walk around the entire thing. Jamie was a good model. You can't really see it, but she has a huge smile.
Of course I had to try the fish and chips. Doesn't it look good? Well, it was! I had forgotten how much I had missed it. This is one of the first things I will have when I get home. A good Fish Fry!
This is a picture of our hostel and again Jamie is just as happy as can be!
So I'm sitting under my palm tree, isn't it supposed to be warm? Guess not. It was so cold at a comfortable high of 50 degrees F. But, I was used to average highs in the upper 70's. I felt like it was such a cold weekend the whole time I was there.
Another view of a park, and the spring flowers all over Dublin.
The castle of Dublin.
Jamie, you pose so well. You look just like that statue!
How did I do? Do I look like the statue?
And this is the courtyard of the castle. It was much different from the Plaza's of Spain.
This was my favorite part of the castle. I really wasn't expecting it. So colorful!
This is the St. Patric's Cathedral.
This past weekend I went to Dublin, Ireland with my friend Jamie who is studying in England. It was so nice to visit with her for the weekend. I had such a good time exploring Dublin and the countryside with her. I really liked the day trip that we took on Saturday. Overall it was a great trip. Our adventure follows:
The Liffey (the river) in Dublin. The buildings are a lot different compared to Spain.
The Liffey (the river) in Dublin. The buildings are a lot different compared to Spain.
Do you see the city buses? They were all double decker buses.
Jamie and a statue. She poses so well.
Fair Trade Stores. There were a lot of them in Dublin.
An Environmental information store!
Trinity College! One of the oldest colleges in the world.
One of the parks we went to. It was spring there and the flowers were in bloom. There aren't flowers like this in Spain nor is there nearly this much grass.
This little bird flew under my chair and wouldn't leave, so I took a picture.
Another shot of the park. It was so green!
This was the first picture I took of our adventrue that we took on Saturday. We went clear across the country, to the west coast of Ireland to the city of Galway.
This picture is a little bit fuzzy, but I just wanted you to see all of the babie animals. There were sheep everywhere. The little babies were so cute! I wanted to take one home with me.
Were here! The tide was out and thats why the boats are sitting in the dirt.
A view of what most of the countryside looked like. There were these stone walls all over the place. You can also see the bay in the distance. We took a tour that took us to the Cliffs of Moher. The tour guides were great and very funny to listen to.
Yeah were here! The cliffs of Moher were awe inspiring.
Jamie and a Castle. Why aren't you smiling? Haha.
The sign says: "Please do not go beyond this point." As you can see that this wasn't followed. Beyond the sign is private property, but people still walk along the edge for the view.
Its along way down!
We went by so many ruins. This used to be a church and there is a cemetary in front of it. We saw so many ruins along the way.
A light house along the coast. There was a lot of rocks similar to the ones you see in this picture.
Here is a castle that we were able to get really close to. We were able to walk around the entire thing. Jamie was a good model. You can't really see it, but she has a huge smile.
Of course I had to try the fish and chips. Doesn't it look good? Well, it was! I had forgotten how much I had missed it. This is one of the first things I will have when I get home. A good Fish Fry!
This is a picture of our hostel and again Jamie is just as happy as can be!
So I'm sitting under my palm tree, isn't it supposed to be warm? Guess not. It was so cold at a comfortable high of 50 degrees F. But, I was used to average highs in the upper 70's. I felt like it was such a cold weekend the whole time I was there.
Another view of a park, and the spring flowers all over Dublin.
The castle of Dublin.
Jamie, you pose so well. You look just like that statue!
How did I do? Do I look like the statue?
And this is the courtyard of the castle. It was much different from the Plaza's of Spain.
This was my favorite part of the castle. I really wasn't expecting it. So colorful!
This is the St. Patric's Cathedral.Overall, I loved spending time in Ireland. Mostly because I was with Jamie and was very comfortable around her. The food was very similar to the states, the daily schedule was the same, and the people were nice and spoke english. This coming week is my spring break. This should be quite an adventure. I'll keep you posted.
Until Next Time,
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