As promised in my last blog, I will tell you about the bliss that was my time in Lisbon, Portugal! I went for four days over Halloween weekend with my good friends, Marly, Eli (short for Elizabeth), and Rachel (everyone calls her Raquel Nueva or “New Rachel” because everyone met her after they met me; so that means that they call me Raquel Vieja or “Old Rachel” lol). From the beginning of my time here I knew that I wanted to visit Portugal because it is next to Spain, and I wanted to see the city of Porto (or Oporto in Portuguese). Porto is closer to Salamanca, and I figured it would be easier to get there. But as we started planning the trip, we realized that there is no train to Porto and that the bus ride was quite long as well, so the girls persuaded me to go to the capital, Lisbon, instead.
We departed from Salamanca at 4:30am on Friday morning and took a seven hour train ride to Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese). When we arrived in the city, we were welcomed by what looked like a hurricane!!! We had read that it would be raining during our time there, but we literally didn’t even want to walk out of the train station because everything was so crazy outside. We braced ourselves and found a taxi to our hostel, and although we were using our umbrellas, we still got drenched in the process. We could barely see anything out the window, only fog and rain, and after a few minutes, we all noticed that the taxi was literally driving through a flood. The water had risen way too high to be comfortable, and for a moment, I had this horrible feeling that we were in a very unsafe situation. As my friends and I started getting pretty worried, the taxi driver stopped the car. He didn’t speak English or Spanish and we had only just learned a few words of Portuguese, so when he tried to explain something to us, we just assumed that he was dropping us off near our hostel but that we would need to walk further to find it. Unfortunately, we had a general city map, but not one with all the streets on it, so as we walked through a good foot of rapidly flowing water, we tried to find our hostel (which was located in the touristy Baixa neighborhood). It was nearly impossible to walk, and Eli even took off her shoes! We couldn’t see a thing and had no idea where we were going, so we tried to enter a restaurant to wait out the storm, but they told us that they were closed because the water had started to flood the restaurant. A few doors down, a waiter ushered us in to another empty restaurant and sat us at a table, where we sat soaking wet and laughing at our pathetic selves. As we ate a delicious lunch of rice and seafood, the restaurant started to flood and the water just kept rising around us. The waiters even had mops and small pans that they were trying to get the water up with; it was ridiculous, and what was so funny is that everyone always raves about how amazing the weather is in Lisbon! Definitely not so for us!!! But in order to travel well, we have learned to simply take everything in stride, even when it means that the clothes in our bags were soaked too! Finally, the rain stopped, the flood ended, and we were able to leave to find our hostel. Ironically, it was only ten feet away from the restaurant, and we had quite a laugh over how stressed we had been trying to find it.
Although it did rain a lot during the rest of our stay in Portugal, we still managed to have a wonderful time. Even if we were soaked for a good part of the trip, broke a few umbrellas, had to take quite a few coffee breaks, constantly had to put on wet clothing, and my hair was a mess, we didn’t let that stop us from fully enjoying ourselves and the beautiful sights we visited! The city of Lisbon was so much more than I had ever expected, and I thought it was such a lovely city. We toured the Monastery of San Jeronimo and the Torre de Belem (tower), where I was extremely impressed by the stunning, fanciful architecture that literally looked like something out of the game, “Candyland.” We saw the Monument to the Discoveries and several other statues of famous explorers like Vasco da Gama and Magellan; all this brought back what we had learned in grade school of Portugal’s glory days of exploration, discovery, and of course, looting from the New World. The four of us ate the famous pastel de Belem pastries, which were spectacular. My mouth is watering just thinking about them! In the old Alfama neighborhood, we went to the Lisbon Cathedral and the Castel de Sao Jorge, which sits on a hill overlooking Lisbon and the ocean. Although it was raining and misty, the views of the city were still stunning, and I loved seeing the ocean again! Lisbon is a bright and colorful city, and feels so fresh and invigorating with the ocean running right through the port. I also loved all the pretty pastel colors of the city, as well as the adorable little antique shops that I haven’t been able to find in Salamanca! The girls and I had a great time drinking real Portuguese port wine, listening to live Fado music at dinner, meeting some nice Portuguese guys (they even took us out with them!), and going to a few clubs in the Barrio Alto neighborhood for Halloween. A highlight of the trip was taking a daytrip to Sintra, a city with unbelievably beautiful castles and palaces only 45 min. away from Lisbon. We met a very sweet French girl traveling alone, and together, we visited the lovely Palacio Nacional da Pena (circa 1840), the Castelo dos Mouros (circa 8th century!), and the Palacio e Quinta da Regaleira (circa 1900)(the incredible pics are on Facebook, so check them out!). Basically, we decided that we were all Portuguese princesses for the day, what with all the splendor around us, anyone would feel that way! The views from the castles and palaces atop these mountains were the best I have ever seen: truly, ridiculously, mind-blowing!
The girls and I were so sad to leave Lisbon, especially right as the weather started improving. Our last day was totally clear, and we took advantage of it to walk along the boardwalk and admire the lovely scenery. We said goodbye to the city and our new friends and hesitantly got on the train back home. I hoped that I would enjoy Portugal, but my expectations were completely surpassed. It is an exciting place, full of vitality, good wine, and amazing people, and I can’t wait to go back someday : )
I will probably be posting my next blog sometime next week and tell you about my API daytrip to Segovia, as well as about my upcoming trip this weekend to Barcelona, where I will celebrate my 21st birthday with my friends there! It should be awesome, and I hope to have many good things to tell in my next update. But for now, adeus and boa noite (goodbye and goodnight in Portuguese)!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Paris Je t'aime
Oh, how time flies when you’re having fun!!! Never were truer words spoken. It’s been nearly a month since I’ve posted a blog, so I feel that an update is way past due. And so much has happened! As I drink my green tea and listen to the Nutcracker soundtrack (it gets me so excited for Christmas that I don’t even let myself listen to it before November), I will recount some highlights for you…
In mid-October, API took us on a day-excursion to the Sierra de Francia Mountains, located in the Salamanca region, for a day of hiking and beautiful scenery. Although I was still a little under the weather from the cold/cough that I had gotten after I returned from my trip to Florence, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. We hiked up to a peak on a mountain overlooking the colorful terrain, and it was so pretty. The city of Salamanca looks very much like the middle of California: it’s very dry and there is barely any greenery so we all agreed that it was lovely to actually be in nature! We even ate berries and figs from the plants along the way (people really don’t wash their fruit here, so it didn’t bother us too much lol). Many of us had recently come back from traveling all across Europe, so we had a great time getting caught up on everyone’s adventures. Inclusive of the whole group, we have traveled as far north as Copenhagen, Denmark, as far south as Marrakesh, Morocco, west as Dublin, Ireland, east as Vienna, Austria, and everywhere else in between! And the next weekend was our impending API trip to Paris!
Throughout that whole week, everyone was getting more and more excited to take our flight to Paris, especially because I was one of about only four of us that had been there before. Given the recent terrorist alert warnings for Europe (and particularly France), my parents were extremely apprehensive to even have me go. I started worrying about it as well, but in the end, we decided that I couldn’t live in fear of something like that. I am only here for four months, the trip was included in the cost of the program, and I just needed to go, keep my wits about me, and stay as safe as possible.
And I am oh so glad that I went! Our few days in Paris were completely unforgettable, and in many ways, a very different experience than the one I had had prior. When Joseph and I arrived in Paris in late June, it was after a 15 HOUR BUS RIDE FROM VENICE (if you recall, our train had been cancelled due to strikes in France, and the train company had arranged an overnight bus for us). But with no bathroom on the bus, uncomfortable clothes, and simply a seat to sleep in, we arrived in Paris quite dazed and confused. Also, after the quaint, small feel of Italian cities, it took me a day or two to warm up to beautiful, but very large and metropolitan, Paris. Once I got accustomed to the city, I loved it, and so I was excited to experience it again, in a different way and in a different season. When I had gone before, Paris was very warm, and my brother and I really couldn’t enjoy being outside very much. But Paris in the fall was absolutely perfect – some felt that it was too cold and rained too much, but I thought the temperature was invigorating and the rain made everything glow with a certain brilliance…the changing colors of the leaves in shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown were incredible to see, and I saw Paris in a whole new light…as a place not as overwhelming, but quite charming and feminine. During our stay in Paris, we had some amazing, authentic French food (including duck, crepes, croissants, and special cheeses) and also enjoyed some wonderful sweets (I would be embarrassed to admit how many hot chocolates and macaroons I had).
With the API group, we took a private tour around the city to see the highlights, and once again I loved visiting the Eiffel Tower and my favorite cathedral, Notre Dame. While the rest of the kids saw some of the really major sights that I did in June, I ventured off by myself once or twice to visit some lesser-known museums that I wanted to see. I went to the Musee Jacquemart-Andre, which is a beautiful old mansion that has been converted into a small museum featuring period furniture and numerous paintings. But by far, my favorite new thing that I did in Paris during this trip was going to the Musee Rodin! The sculptures by Auguste Rodin were unbelievable, and as is usual for me in art museums, I explored it by myself and was in complete bliss. To add to my repertoire of favorite art works that I have seen in person, I finally saw the famous sculptures, “The Kiss” and “The Thinker” (look up my pics on facebook!). “The Kiss” was beautiful to behold, and the embrace depicted in the sculpture is so loving and tender…it’s incredible to me that you can feel the passion of the man and woman through that piece of marble. “The Thinker” was amazing as well and called to mind the bookends of the sculpture that I convinced my mom to buy my brother for his 8th grade graduation; it was fitting because Joseph has endless curiosity and really takes the time to contemplate what he encounters. It made me miss him even more than I already do : (
Now comes the embarrassing part of my time in Paris and real evidence of my occasional stupidity….The night before I went to the Rodin Museum, I went out with some of my friends to a few bars/clubs and we stayed out very, very late. If I had never been to Paris before and my main concern was making full use of the day to see the sights, I wouldn’t have gone out late. But given that I didn’t need to have as much energy for the few big sights I was seeing, I thought it was okay to enjoy a taste of Paris’ nightlife. Let’s just say that I had barely slept, and I was pretty sleepy that day. After my somewhat delusional bliss at the Rodin, I left and started walking in the direction of the Luxembourg Gardens, where I had intended to meet up with some of my friends. As I started my walk, I had heard a kind of siren-like sound that wouldn’t stop, and I assumed it was just a broken siren on a police or ambulance car. With map in hand, I disregarded the noise because I was having such an enjoyable walk, admiring the buildings, the trees and flowers, and lovely Paris itself. After about 25 minutes of walking (through a light rain, I might add), I decided to take a break from walking and sit down to have a nice cup of hot chocolate. I walked into a quaint little café, sat down at a table, and quickly ordered my drink. The couple sitting next to me started giving me strange looks, which I just dismissed as Parisian haughtiness. After a moment, the man said, “you are making a noise,” and I responded, “what?”…I was so confused and had no idea what he was talking about until he pointed to my chest, and I realized that I had left the museum without returning their audio guide! It was my audio guide that had been making the siren-like noise once it left the perimeters of the museum, and I had been too tired and distracted to notice during my long walk. Tragically, the siren noise was actually kind of loud and there was no way whatsoever to turn it off; I couldn’t even remove the battery! I had no idea what to do because I was causing attention to myself now, it was beginning to rain hard, and I had just walked all that way and was exhausted. I asked them to stop making my drink and hurried outside. My first thought was to call my parents and ask their advice, but considering it was the middle of the night for them in California, I resisted the urge and instead called my program director, Maria. Quite flustered, I explained the situation to her, and she told me I could do one of two things: either I could be a good Samaritan and bring it back, or I could just get rid of it fast. So, as tempting as it was to simply toss it in the trash and run, I decided to do my good deed for the day and took a 6 euro taxi ride back to the museum to return the damn thing. No longer guilt ridden, but feeling quite sheepish, I quietly handed the audio guide to the security guy at the entrance and got out of there! That one will definitely go down in the book as another of my unending blonde moments haha…..
Except for that little mishap, Paris was ridiculously beautiful, and my friends and I had a great time together there. Once we arrived back in Salamanca, we were utterly exhausted, but nevertheless, three of my friends and I got back to planning our trip for the next weekend.......to Lisbon, Portugal! More on that later………
In mid-October, API took us on a day-excursion to the Sierra de Francia Mountains, located in the Salamanca region, for a day of hiking and beautiful scenery. Although I was still a little under the weather from the cold/cough that I had gotten after I returned from my trip to Florence, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. We hiked up to a peak on a mountain overlooking the colorful terrain, and it was so pretty. The city of Salamanca looks very much like the middle of California: it’s very dry and there is barely any greenery so we all agreed that it was lovely to actually be in nature! We even ate berries and figs from the plants along the way (people really don’t wash their fruit here, so it didn’t bother us too much lol). Many of us had recently come back from traveling all across Europe, so we had a great time getting caught up on everyone’s adventures. Inclusive of the whole group, we have traveled as far north as Copenhagen, Denmark, as far south as Marrakesh, Morocco, west as Dublin, Ireland, east as Vienna, Austria, and everywhere else in between! And the next weekend was our impending API trip to Paris!
Throughout that whole week, everyone was getting more and more excited to take our flight to Paris, especially because I was one of about only four of us that had been there before. Given the recent terrorist alert warnings for Europe (and particularly France), my parents were extremely apprehensive to even have me go. I started worrying about it as well, but in the end, we decided that I couldn’t live in fear of something like that. I am only here for four months, the trip was included in the cost of the program, and I just needed to go, keep my wits about me, and stay as safe as possible.
And I am oh so glad that I went! Our few days in Paris were completely unforgettable, and in many ways, a very different experience than the one I had had prior. When Joseph and I arrived in Paris in late June, it was after a 15 HOUR BUS RIDE FROM VENICE (if you recall, our train had been cancelled due to strikes in France, and the train company had arranged an overnight bus for us). But with no bathroom on the bus, uncomfortable clothes, and simply a seat to sleep in, we arrived in Paris quite dazed and confused. Also, after the quaint, small feel of Italian cities, it took me a day or two to warm up to beautiful, but very large and metropolitan, Paris. Once I got accustomed to the city, I loved it, and so I was excited to experience it again, in a different way and in a different season. When I had gone before, Paris was very warm, and my brother and I really couldn’t enjoy being outside very much. But Paris in the fall was absolutely perfect – some felt that it was too cold and rained too much, but I thought the temperature was invigorating and the rain made everything glow with a certain brilliance…the changing colors of the leaves in shades of yellow, orange, red, and brown were incredible to see, and I saw Paris in a whole new light…as a place not as overwhelming, but quite charming and feminine. During our stay in Paris, we had some amazing, authentic French food (including duck, crepes, croissants, and special cheeses) and also enjoyed some wonderful sweets (I would be embarrassed to admit how many hot chocolates and macaroons I had).
With the API group, we took a private tour around the city to see the highlights, and once again I loved visiting the Eiffel Tower and my favorite cathedral, Notre Dame. While the rest of the kids saw some of the really major sights that I did in June, I ventured off by myself once or twice to visit some lesser-known museums that I wanted to see. I went to the Musee Jacquemart-Andre, which is a beautiful old mansion that has been converted into a small museum featuring period furniture and numerous paintings. But by far, my favorite new thing that I did in Paris during this trip was going to the Musee Rodin! The sculptures by Auguste Rodin were unbelievable, and as is usual for me in art museums, I explored it by myself and was in complete bliss. To add to my repertoire of favorite art works that I have seen in person, I finally saw the famous sculptures, “The Kiss” and “The Thinker” (look up my pics on facebook!). “The Kiss” was beautiful to behold, and the embrace depicted in the sculpture is so loving and tender…it’s incredible to me that you can feel the passion of the man and woman through that piece of marble. “The Thinker” was amazing as well and called to mind the bookends of the sculpture that I convinced my mom to buy my brother for his 8th grade graduation; it was fitting because Joseph has endless curiosity and really takes the time to contemplate what he encounters. It made me miss him even more than I already do : (
Now comes the embarrassing part of my time in Paris and real evidence of my occasional stupidity….The night before I went to the Rodin Museum, I went out with some of my friends to a few bars/clubs and we stayed out very, very late. If I had never been to Paris before and my main concern was making full use of the day to see the sights, I wouldn’t have gone out late. But given that I didn’t need to have as much energy for the few big sights I was seeing, I thought it was okay to enjoy a taste of Paris’ nightlife. Let’s just say that I had barely slept, and I was pretty sleepy that day. After my somewhat delusional bliss at the Rodin, I left and started walking in the direction of the Luxembourg Gardens, where I had intended to meet up with some of my friends. As I started my walk, I had heard a kind of siren-like sound that wouldn’t stop, and I assumed it was just a broken siren on a police or ambulance car. With map in hand, I disregarded the noise because I was having such an enjoyable walk, admiring the buildings, the trees and flowers, and lovely Paris itself. After about 25 minutes of walking (through a light rain, I might add), I decided to take a break from walking and sit down to have a nice cup of hot chocolate. I walked into a quaint little café, sat down at a table, and quickly ordered my drink. The couple sitting next to me started giving me strange looks, which I just dismissed as Parisian haughtiness. After a moment, the man said, “you are making a noise,” and I responded, “what?”…I was so confused and had no idea what he was talking about until he pointed to my chest, and I realized that I had left the museum without returning their audio guide! It was my audio guide that had been making the siren-like noise once it left the perimeters of the museum, and I had been too tired and distracted to notice during my long walk. Tragically, the siren noise was actually kind of loud and there was no way whatsoever to turn it off; I couldn’t even remove the battery! I had no idea what to do because I was causing attention to myself now, it was beginning to rain hard, and I had just walked all that way and was exhausted. I asked them to stop making my drink and hurried outside. My first thought was to call my parents and ask their advice, but considering it was the middle of the night for them in California, I resisted the urge and instead called my program director, Maria. Quite flustered, I explained the situation to her, and she told me I could do one of two things: either I could be a good Samaritan and bring it back, or I could just get rid of it fast. So, as tempting as it was to simply toss it in the trash and run, I decided to do my good deed for the day and took a 6 euro taxi ride back to the museum to return the damn thing. No longer guilt ridden, but feeling quite sheepish, I quietly handed the audio guide to the security guy at the entrance and got out of there! That one will definitely go down in the book as another of my unending blonde moments haha…..
Except for that little mishap, Paris was ridiculously beautiful, and my friends and I had a great time together there. Once we arrived back in Salamanca, we were utterly exhausted, but nevertheless, three of my friends and I got back to planning our trip for the next weekend.......to Lisbon, Portugal! More on that later………
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