I am headed to Paris bright and early in the morning for a girl's weekend -- my alarm is set for an alarming 4:45 AM! I am packed (almost, just have a few last minute things) and raring to go! Dale and I, along with the other girls, plan on going into the Louvre, climbing the Eiffel Tower, sightseeing around the Arc de Triumph, and eating loads of crepes and croissants, good thing we will be walking a lot! I have a feeling two days will not be enough time to accomplish everything!
I hope everyone has an awesome weekend! I will catch up with you all on Sunday; be prepared for loads of pictures :)
xoxo
Kelcey
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
No Me Gusta el Metro
Today definitely had an interesting start to it. I had read many articles about political protests in Spain and had talked to friends who studied abroad over the summer about protests that occurred while they were here; but, I never expected that 2 weeks into my semester I would walk into the middle of a protest trying to get to class via the metro, and at 8 in the morning (during rush hour I might add). It was definitely an overwhelming experience that early in the morning.
As our small group walked to the metro station, I had noticed 5 or 6 police cars out front, but thought there had been some sort of emergency or injury and the ambulance had already left. We began walking down the stairs and in that instant started to hear chanting. I think they were saying "No Paguemos" or "We won't pay" (loosely translated). They were all wearing some sort of mask and were taping open the gates so people could walk through without scanning their tickets. They had a banner stretched out in front of them, but I couldn't tell you what it said. I was focused on making it to the other side and making sure Hannah and Alex made it through as well.
As we were standing there trying to decide what to do (we had no other choice but to take the metro), or what would happen to us if we tried to cross, all I could think was, 'I am an American student. I clearly look American. How are they going to react when I try to go through?' So I did what I thought was best, avoided eye contact and went through the gates furthest from where they were taping (and ran my ticket through I must add). They were not violent in any way, and the police were not close by (they were standing on the entrance stairs), but I didn't know if they would be violent towards me or my friends. When we finally made it to the metro, my hands were shaking from a combination of fear and adrenaline. By the time I came back through the metro stop this afternoon everything had cleared up (although some of the doors did look to be semi-broken...oops). I was worried about other friends who possibly had to go through the protest alone, so I made sure to warn everyone else about it via the AIFS Facebook page. I wasn't sure how long it would last, but it is better to be safe than sorry!
I'm sure this won't be the last protest I'll go through, but I hope it is the last one that takes place in the cramped quarters of a metro stop. It definitely didn't help with my metro anxiety...
Hope everyone has had a good start to their week!
xoxo
Kelcey
As our small group walked to the metro station, I had noticed 5 or 6 police cars out front, but thought there had been some sort of emergency or injury and the ambulance had already left. We began walking down the stairs and in that instant started to hear chanting. I think they were saying "No Paguemos" or "We won't pay" (loosely translated). They were all wearing some sort of mask and were taping open the gates so people could walk through without scanning their tickets. They had a banner stretched out in front of them, but I couldn't tell you what it said. I was focused on making it to the other side and making sure Hannah and Alex made it through as well.
As we were standing there trying to decide what to do (we had no other choice but to take the metro), or what would happen to us if we tried to cross, all I could think was, 'I am an American student. I clearly look American. How are they going to react when I try to go through?' So I did what I thought was best, avoided eye contact and went through the gates furthest from where they were taping (and ran my ticket through I must add). They were not violent in any way, and the police were not close by (they were standing on the entrance stairs), but I didn't know if they would be violent towards me or my friends. When we finally made it to the metro, my hands were shaking from a combination of fear and adrenaline. By the time I came back through the metro stop this afternoon everything had cleared up (although some of the doors did look to be semi-broken...oops). I was worried about other friends who possibly had to go through the protest alone, so I made sure to warn everyone else about it via the AIFS Facebook page. I wasn't sure how long it would last, but it is better to be safe than sorry!
I'm sure this won't be the last protest I'll go through, but I hope it is the last one that takes place in the cramped quarters of a metro stop. It definitely didn't help with my metro anxiety...
Hope everyone has had a good start to their week!
xoxo
Kelcey
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Maybe, Just Maybe...
For all of the problems Dale and I have had cooking the last few days, we may finally be getting our act together! Last night after getting back from our journey to Montserrat and Sitges, I decided pasta would be good for dinner. We had a little bit of tomato sauce left, so I just added a bit of salt and pepper to it and warmed it up while cooking the pasta. Tonight, I decided to be a bit more creative and made a white wine pasta sauce. It is hard cooking on Sunday's because everything, literally almost everything, is closed. The majority of shops and cafes are closed, and the market behind the Residencia is closed as well. Whatever we had for dinner had to be done with ingredients we already had. So, thank goodness for Google, I did a search for white wine pasta sauce and found one that would work. I did have to borrow some garlic powder, but other than that we had everything. Our dinner tonight consisted of macaroni (dinosaur shaped, we ran out of normal pasta), 6 tablespoons of butter, 3/4 cups of white wine, garlic powder, asparagus, and some ground pepper. It was delicious!
My Sunday consisted of me doing absolutely nothing. I did go out with a group for lunch at our normal cafe, but after that I came back to the room and got back in bed, and it was glorious! I was able to finish catching up on TV shows and I watched two movies. I know I probably should have been out exploring the city, but some days I need me time. This was the first day that I had nothing planned and I needed to recuperate for the week coming up.
This week includes four days of class and a flight to Paris early Friday morning for a girl's weekend! The hostel we are staying at includes a walking tour of the city; I can't wait to take pictures!
So, maybe, just maybe, we are starting to get the hang of things. Hopefully we will continue to have good food and time to just hang out, because as fun as it is to go out, I love being able to just sit and talk and get to know everyone a little bit deeper. These girls are awesome! They offer great advice and I know I can count on them to listen.
Hope everyone has a good week! Looking at the forecast for Paris, it is possible that we might see some snow while we are there!
xoxo
Kelcey
My Sunday consisted of me doing absolutely nothing. I did go out with a group for lunch at our normal cafe, but after that I came back to the room and got back in bed, and it was glorious! I was able to finish catching up on TV shows and I watched two movies. I know I probably should have been out exploring the city, but some days I need me time. This was the first day that I had nothing planned and I needed to recuperate for the week coming up.
This week includes four days of class and a flight to Paris early Friday morning for a girl's weekend! The hostel we are staying at includes a walking tour of the city; I can't wait to take pictures!
So, maybe, just maybe, we are starting to get the hang of things. Hopefully we will continue to have good food and time to just hang out, because as fun as it is to go out, I love being able to just sit and talk and get to know everyone a little bit deeper. These girls are awesome! They offer great advice and I know I can count on them to listen.
Hope everyone has a good week! Looking at the forecast for Paris, it is possible that we might see some snow while we are there!
xoxo
Kelcey
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Rain Rain Go Away...
We had the worst touring weather today. It is cold, rainy, and foggy. Montserrat is a mountain range containing a monastery and several other beautiful things located about an hour outside of Barcelona. As we climbed up the mountain in our bus the fog continued to grow thicker and thicker. They say on a clear day from the monastery it is possible to see to the Balearic Islands, roughly 211 miles away. The monastery was beautiful! I would love to go back when it is possible to see into the canyons and further up the mountain. The inside of the church was breathtaking. There are so many details that it was impossible to catch them all, and catch them well.
Here are a few pictures from the monastery:
Here are a few pictures from the monastery:
La Madonna
Sea creatures in the marble outside of the church.
After eating lunch in the cafeteria at the monastery we drove to Sitges which is an oceanfront town, home to the founder of Bacardi, or at this point, home to a dedicated statue for the Bacardi founder. Even in the cold rain this city was stunning. I can't wait to go back when the sun is shining. The beach will probably be packed, but it will still be gorgeous! The buildings were all tropically inspired and some were very colorful. I got my first smoothie from a cafe today in Sitges. Is was called Tropical Breeze and was mango, strawberry, and peach. It was delicious, definitely what I needed!
Here are a few pictures from Sitges:
Tomorrow I am off to buy my Spanish book since I have homework due Monday from it. Other than that I plan on it being a rather lazy day.
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
xoxo
Kelcey
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