Things I'm Going To Miss

• The smell of bakeries when I walk to school
• Being the legal drinking age
• Traveling every weekend
• The beautiful weather
• (Free) public transportation
• Pilar
• The spanish language
• Tapas and wine
• The lack of homework
• My teachers and our relationships
• El Tigre
• Free chupitos in Sol
• The feeling of finding another American...anywhere.
• No drama with girls
• Juan's salads and cafe con leche desnatada
• Taking photos
• Detachment from technology
• Outdoor markets
• Trying new foods

Futbol/Thanksgiving

Real Madrid vs. Zurich

Thanksgiving at TGIFridays

Me and Kerry at Thanksgiving

Over the past 3 days I have been asked for directions by three different people AND mistaken for someone who worked in a store I was browsing in...I think its safe to say I fit in. In the last 6 days of my time in Madrid I have FINALLY figured out how to live like a Madrilena in this city and of course, I'll be heading home. Isn't that the way life always works- you finally feel at home somewhere and then you have to pick up and move onto the next adventure. I guess that's what makes life interesting.

This week, I went to a futbol (soccer) game at the Santiago Bernabu stadium. The game was Real Madrid vs. Zurich and OF COURSE Real Madrid was victorious. Our seats were in the nosebleed section, naturally, but with a crew of 30 students, we had a great time. The crowd had so much energy and was so passionate about the game that it made me, the non-sports girl, even excited. One of the highlights was the streets before the game started. They were one big party FULL of people in crazy outfits and futbol fans that couldn't wait to get inside. I'm so glad that I got a chance to experience a huge part of Spanish culture...plus I got to catch a glimpse of Cristina Ronaldo, hot stuff.

Thanksgiving in Madrid was everything I could have asked for. I was sad to be apart from my family but everyone here really bonded together to make our own Madrid-family. For lunch, about 15 of us went to TGIFridays for some American grub. If you can't be in America, at least eat American food. For dinner, Pilar made us a Spanish-style Thanksgiving feast! Complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, baked apples, and chocolate mousse, I couldn't have asked for anything more. After my dinner here, I was able to make an appearance via Skype to my family dinner in America. I sat at the head of the table and talked to everyone, and got a look at everything on the table. I really felt like I was there. Technology is amazing. I'm thankful for so many things in my life: the opportunity to study in Europe and travel, my amazing and supportive family, the best friends in the world, and that everyone is healthy. I'm excited to reunite with everyone back home but Spain will always have a special place in my heart. I don't want to say goodbye to everyone/everything but time is ticking...

Lisbon, Portugal

Sunset

Stained glass

Pastries at Belem

Sintra, Portugal

Sintra, Portugal

Rooster, the symbol of Portugal

Normally an 8 hour bus ride would scare me. But this weekend, I endured not one but TWO 8 hour bus rides to and from Portugal. The trip, run by the school, serves as a sort of reunion with the group of people we went on the pre-trip with. Thankfully, there are JUST enough people on the trip that they have to get 2 buses and everyone gets 2 seats to themselves. I couldn't find a comfortable way to sleep with 2 seats, imagine having just one! The bus ride, full of naps, ipod listening and chatting got us into Portugal at around 6pm on Thursday. Before going to the hotel, we trekked up to a beautiful viewpoint to see the sunset. The view of the ocean was breathtaking. It has been about 3 months since I've stayed in a hotel (hostels have been my go-to source for shelter) and having clean sheets, pillows, and our own bathroom was an incredible luxury. Its funny how the smallest things that I took for granted before are now special.

The next day we went to see a few sights along the ocean. The views there were also amazing and although it was cloudy and REALLY windy, we still had a blast. After, we visited a small town, Belem, famous for their pastries which we of course sampled. It was great to be back with the people who I started this journey with. After almost 4 months in Spain, we have all grown so much and have become even closer.

The following day we visited two small towns right outside of Lison: Sintra and Cascais. When we got to Sintra it was raining and gloomy so we visited the palace there and then hopped back on the bus without much time to explore. The rain had let up a little once we got to Cascais, about 20 minutes away. We explored the oceantown that many say is similar to San Diego. One of the things I noticed about the Portuguese people was their kindness. Many wanted to practice their English and talked...and talked and talked and talked. In the restaurant we ended up eating lunch at, there was a waiter pacing behind our table, waiting for us to need something. The restaurant service in Madrid is horrible to say the least and having someone at our beck and call was strange but very nice. That is something I will definitely NOT miss about Madrid. That night, we had a farewell dinner at a nice restaurant in Lisbon. It is there that I discovered that I love olives. All my life I have refused olives, especially the ones with pits. However, the combination of white wine and olives at this restaurant was delicious. I have been missing out all this time! We also tried the codfish, also famous in Lisbon. And it did not disappoint! After dinner, some of the program leaders came out with us to a discoteca to dance the night away. The Spanish culture is so different in that aspect. From the wine tasting with my teachers earlier in the semester to dancing with teachers in a disco, I love how the relationship between teachers and friends is much more relaxed here.

I am now in my final week and a half in Europe! I can't believe how fast the time as gone. And as the day of my flight home gets nearer, I have even more mixed emotions about going back to America. I miss everyone so much but I know that I will miss this place with all my heart.

Ciao Bella

Roman Forum

Roman Forum

Us and a REAL GLADIATOR!

Cat in the Colosseum

Colosseum

Colosseum

SWAT team?

Vatican Museum

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

Break dancers

Inside the Pantheon

The Three Amigas invade Italia...

Italy is by far the most amazing place I have ever been. The combination of food, people, architecture, history, and culture is unreal. I flew in on Thursday morning with about 50 other Syracuse students to Rome. They were all taking the school organized tours of Rome but me and my two best friends decided to make our own schedule and explore Rome on our own. Our hostel was a borderline hotel room, the nicest one that we have stayed in so far. After checking in, we stumbled upon a great little restaurant around the corner from the hostel where I had the best pizza EVER. Our hostel was close to the bus station but far from the main hub of the city so we decided to walk from our hostel and see some sights. After getting lost, as usual, we saw the Pantheon, the Spanish steps, and the Piazza de Popolo. Along the way we had to ask for directions and despite the language barrier, the Italian people were extremely friendly and willing to help us. After walking for about 5 hours non-stop we ventured to a plaza with a few friends to hang out for the night. The next morning we woke up and took the Metro to the Vatican which was breathtaking. First we started at St. Peter's Basilica, the huge church in the Vatican. The photos I took do not do this place justice but the comparison of the church services going on, the people praying while we were in there and the interior gave me goosebumps. Before heading to the Sistine Chapel we stopped to have lunch at an outdoor cafe. I got spaghetti with pesto and salad...and although we got scammed by them (they charged us for the bread that they GAVE us and 15 percent on top of that for "service") it was good to sit down. After we went to the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside of the Chapel but not taking photos made me appreciate it more in the moment. The work that Michelangelo did was unbelievable. That night before dinner we were in the plaza outside of the Pantheon and we saw an opera singer performing on the street, which made me feel like I was really in Italy. I had delicious vegetable lasagna at an outdoor restaurant on the street and then headed to a pub crawl that took us around to different bars/dance clubs in Rome. The next day we woke up and found a place with a sign that read: "Homesick? Hungry? Hungover?" and we had to look at the menu. They had OMELETS! I haven't had an omelet since I left America and my first omelet with homefries was heavenly. Not Italian but definitely noteworthy. We were then on our way over to the Colosseum when we saw smoke in the distance and about a hundred policemen. We weren't sure what was going on but we walked towards it. The SWAT teams and helicopters were intimidating but we made it through and asked the first man on the street what was going on. He said something about a protest because of the police and the soccer stadium?? We still aren't sure but it was quite the experience. We took a tour of the Colosseum and also the Roman Forum, the ruins. It was incredible to be in a place that was so old and has so much history. After we went to the Trevi Fountain and threw money into the fountain which is supposed to mean that we will be coming back...something I would love to do. After we had a leisurely 3 hour dinner where me and my friends reflected on the trip and the other trips we've gone on and our time in Europe. Only 18 days until I'm back in America...

Signs and Halloween

One of my favorite parts of Spain is the store fronts and signs. Every sign gives the store character and history. In the US, the signs on stores are usually very modern and don't have much style but the signs in Spain look like they were made years and years ago and have lasted through everything. I took some shots of the signs I see every day on my walks to school, the gym, etc.

ALSO Halloween this year was nothing like last year. Usually, Halloween consists of stores covered in orange and black decorations, parties full of people dressed up in the craziest clothes and marathons of horror movies on TV. This year, if I didn't know October 31st was Halloween, I might have forgotten altogether. That's not to say that Madrilenos don't celebrate Halloween BUT it is much bigger of a celebration in the States. People in Spain don't go the cute or sexy route when it comes to Halloween costumes. Instead, they go the horror route. Every person I saw in the metro was a zombie or dead person or vampire. In Spain, people dress up wild and crazy for Carnival, in February. My friends, who are also American students, dressed up of course but it was not the same. C'est la vie.

DUBLIN

Dublin, Ireland

Reflection at Trinity College

Balloon Animals

Dublin, Ireland

Street performer and his dance crew

Dublin, Ireland

Guiness Factory

Guiness Factory

Guiness Factory

Guiness Factory

Wicklow, Ireland (SO WINDY!)

Wicklow, Ireland

Glendalough, Ireland

Glendalough, Ireland

Glendalough, Ireland

Glendalough, Ireland

Glendalough, Ireland

Glendalough, Ireland

Avoca Handweaving

Avoca, Ireland

Rainbow

Doors

I am in love with Ireland. I went to Dublin this weekend with two of my friends and stayed with one of our other friends at her dorm (she goes to Syracuse but in Dublin she goes to UCD and has a dorm there). It was such a shock to hear people speaking English (or at least some sort of English) and although the weather was FREEZING, the country was incredible. We took a late flight on Thursday and landed in Dublin around 12:30am and although our cab driver was really talkative and nice, he totally scammed us and drove around, lost. Needless to say that our cab ride was 45 euros. Not a great way to start the trip. But, when we finally got to see our friend that we hadn't seen since MAY we had forgotten about our crazy expensive cab fare. We ended up sleeping on her floor because she didn't have much room. Talk about roughing it. But hey, having a free place to stay was great. In the morning, we got groceries, made eggs and then walked around the city center. It was beautiful! I loved the architecture, live music everywhere and the nice people. When we were walking down the street a balloon animal maker man gave us free balloon animals! I can't remember the last time I got something literally free. After visiting Trinity College and walking around all day with our Dublin native, we went to the Guiness Factory. We saw how Guiness beer is made and got a free pint on the top floor of the factory that had a great view of the city. The beer was really heavy but it was a great experience. After, we headed home to make dinner and get ready for a fun night of pub crawling. The live music that we heard at the pubs was one of the highlights of my trip. It seemed like there was someone playing on every street corner and in every pub. Since I've been in Madrid I've been musically deprived so it was great to hear live stuff.

Saturday we woke up bright and early at 9am and ran to catch a tour bus that took us to the countryside. We were the youngest people on the tour by far because 9am is an unknown time to most college students but the tour showed us a totally different side of Ireland. The nature and history was beautiful. We saw different towns and villages, a handweaving factory (random, i know), rivers, and a really old graveyard/monestary. We were so proud of ourselves for getting up and experiencing Ireland. After, we shopped (of course) we went home and got ready for another fun night on the town.

We wished we had more time in beautiful Ireland but sadly, we flew home this afternoon. The airport was actually the nicest airport I've ever been in. It was more like a mall than an airport. And although the airport itself was great, the airline was another story. Our bags had to fit in the overhead compartment and one of my friends bags was slightly larger. They made told her 5 minutes before the plane was boarding, that she had to pay 35 euros to check the bag and that she had no other option. The staff was extremely rude so we thought quickly and put on a bunch of the clothes that were making the bag too large. My friend ended up stuffing some under her jacket making a mock-pregnant stomach in order to get on the plane without 35 euros. Our scheme worked and although I was wearing a tank top, long sleeved shirt, sweat shirt, leather jacket, and 2 scarves, it was worth it.