Sleep.
I haven't done it much lately.
Sunday... Stayed up to see the 12:00 Fireworks show.
Monday... Full 8 hours
Tuesday... Working on Paper and visiting the senior picnic via Skype
Wednesday... Flamenco Show
The truth is, a lot of people in Spain rarely sleep. At midnight, there are plenty of people out on the streets and on the weekends it's even later. At 8 AM the next morning though, everyone's out and about. I suppose that is just how cities are. The siesta is a built in nap time and yes, some people observe it. However, you can still see just as many people out and about during siesta although all of the smaller shops are closed.
For me, I don't take my siesta very often, only on the rare occasion. Actually, Monday - Thursday I either have class or tutoring in the afternoons.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Heat, Loquats and Flamenco
All of the sudden, it's ridiculously hot in Spain. Do you think if I had been brought up without air conditioning, it wouldn't seem as hot now? I've converted to sandals and shorts or skirts only.
Today I ate a loquat. That is what it is in English and I have never heard of it in my life. I think they're from China. Also, yesterday I ate snails. They were not bad, but it was just weird to suck them out of their shells.
Tonight we went to a bar that has a genuine flamenco show. It was one of those cultural experiences. Flamenco seems very strange to me still.
Quick facts about Flamenco: It is native to Andalucia. (southern Spain, where I live)
It is rhythmical. Along with guitar, a lot of it is hand clapping and foot stomping.
It has a sad sound, almost like crying.
Its popularity in Spain began about 150 years ago.
I am now taking questions over Spanish life.
Today I ate a loquat. That is what it is in English and I have never heard of it in my life. I think they're from China. Also, yesterday I ate snails. They were not bad, but it was just weird to suck them out of their shells.
Tonight we went to a bar that has a genuine flamenco show. It was one of those cultural experiences. Flamenco seems very strange to me still.
Quick facts about Flamenco: It is native to Andalucia. (southern Spain, where I live)
It is rhythmical. Along with guitar, a lot of it is hand clapping and foot stomping.
It has a sad sound, almost like crying.
Its popularity in Spain began about 150 years ago.
I am now taking questions over Spanish life.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Things I love
1. The 20 Minutos Girl. [There is acutally a 20 Minutos Guy too.]
"20 Minutes" is a free newspaper and these people stand on the street everyday giving them out. It's trickier than it sounds because tons of people walk by everyday and the 20 Minutos girl has to move quickly to personally hand each one a newspaper. They are very persuasive about giving away the free newspapers and I sometimes find it hard to refuse.
2. The fact that the only music playing in passing cars is straight hip hop. It makes you want to dance in the street.
3. The lack of Franchise and the abundance of little stores on every street.
4. Pedestrian only streets.
5. The total acceptance of double negatives in the Spanish language.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
I'm still going to the Feria.
Yep, the Feria is STILL here.
On Friday night I went to the Feria with some crazy americans. We started a conversation with a group of Spanish people and hung out with them for the night. It's always good to meet new Spanish people, since we spend most of our time hanging out with Americans. They said they would take us to a Caseta but instead we walked around the streets and to a hamburger stand. It got very late so I headed home without actually making it to said caseta. Nevertheless It was really fun. Even late at night, with younger crowds, there are still groups of people singing Sevillanas and dancing in the streets.
Saturday. I sat on the new and improved Asuncion [that street has been under construction forever but now it is all pedestrian and beautiful!] and read my literature book and watched the flamenco dresses go by. Then I met my friend Vanessa and we went to the Feria. They say that the Feria is less authentic now because the people from Sevilla have gone to the beach and the people from outside have come in. We stopped by a few public tents and I danced Sevillanas with a Spanish women, but some of the parts she did completely differently from the way I learned them. We then returned to the country club caseta, where my tutoring family let us into the adult section. It was very swank yes, but not as lively. We ordered the ever famous churros con chocolate.
They say the Feria is very expensive, but it can also be very free. It depends on who you are. I, for example, went to the feria for four full days and spent 4.50 Euros on churros, juice, and a flower for my hair.
Sunday: Today is the last day of Feria and it ends with fireworks which I am currently waiting to go see. I went to a new church today in the evening. It was very far away, more contemporary, and full of Americans. Everything was in Spanish, but it was very easy to understand and the preacher knew English as well. My favorite part was the music. It was lively and it's always fun to sing in Spanish.
Today was a good day.
On Friday night I went to the Feria with some crazy americans. We started a conversation with a group of Spanish people and hung out with them for the night. It's always good to meet new Spanish people, since we spend most of our time hanging out with Americans. They said they would take us to a Caseta but instead we walked around the streets and to a hamburger stand. It got very late so I headed home without actually making it to said caseta. Nevertheless It was really fun. Even late at night, with younger crowds, there are still groups of people singing Sevillanas and dancing in the streets.
Saturday. I sat on the new and improved Asuncion [that street has been under construction forever but now it is all pedestrian and beautiful!] and read my literature book and watched the flamenco dresses go by. Then I met my friend Vanessa and we went to the Feria. They say that the Feria is less authentic now because the people from Sevilla have gone to the beach and the people from outside have come in. We stopped by a few public tents and I danced Sevillanas with a Spanish women, but some of the parts she did completely differently from the way I learned them. We then returned to the country club caseta, where my tutoring family let us into the adult section. It was very swank yes, but not as lively. We ordered the ever famous churros con chocolate.
They say the Feria is very expensive, but it can also be very free. It depends on who you are. I, for example, went to the feria for four full days and spent 4.50 Euros on churros, juice, and a flower for my hair.
Sunday: Today is the last day of Feria and it ends with fireworks which I am currently waiting to go see. I went to a new church today in the evening. It was very far away, more contemporary, and full of Americans. Everything was in Spanish, but it was very easy to understand and the preacher knew English as well. My favorite part was the music. It was lively and it's always fun to sing in Spanish.
Today was a good day.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Spring Break Two / My Never Ending Weekend
Today is April 23. We have had classes 10 days so far this month.
Wednesday. I Went to the Feria with Katherine, Gia, and Bridget. It was raining so that was a bummer. We went to the rides part and also danced some more. Another point about the feria- There are tons of horses. It is tradition to ride to Feria in a carriage and there are horse drawn carriages all over the place. You see a ton of them driving down the street, full of dressed up families. Walking into the Feria feels a little bit like stepping back in time two centuries.
Thursday. Mostly everyone is now in Italy. I walked around the Feria some more, and then met two friends who remain in Sevilla for ice cream. We went to one of the best ice cream places I have ever experienced.
Friday. Today we had a slight disaster as a water pipe has burst in our building and there is no water in two of the bathrooms. The water still works in Isabel's bathroom, so that's good. I worked on my paper a bit in the morning and then I went to the Feria with the family I tutor. They belong to a country club which has a huge caseta. We were in a section for children that had clowns and puppets and things. It was a chance to practice the Spanish. After the Feria, I went to Yogurtlandia. This is a yogurt store, yes. They serve white yogurt and you pick two toppings. There were fruit syrups and chocolate syrups. Mine was strawberry and chocolate with cookies. It was really good, but more of a novelty thing. It was a little expensive so I wouldn't get it often.
Wednesday. I Went to the Feria with Katherine, Gia, and Bridget. It was raining so that was a bummer. We went to the rides part and also danced some more. Another point about the feria- There are tons of horses. It is tradition to ride to Feria in a carriage and there are horse drawn carriages all over the place. You see a ton of them driving down the street, full of dressed up families. Walking into the Feria feels a little bit like stepping back in time two centuries.
Thursday. Mostly everyone is now in Italy. I walked around the Feria some more, and then met two friends who remain in Sevilla for ice cream. We went to one of the best ice cream places I have ever experienced.
Friday. Today we had a slight disaster as a water pipe has burst in our building and there is no water in two of the bathrooms. The water still works in Isabel's bathroom, so that's good. I worked on my paper a bit in the morning and then I went to the Feria with the family I tutor. They belong to a country club which has a huge caseta. We were in a section for children that had clowns and puppets and things. It was a chance to practice the Spanish. After the Feria, I went to Yogurtlandia. This is a yogurt store, yes. They serve white yogurt and you pick two toppings. There were fruit syrups and chocolate syrups. Mine was strawberry and chocolate with cookies. It was really good, but more of a novelty thing. It was a little expensive so I wouldn't get it often.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Feria
Allow me to attempt to describe the Feria.
Culture.
Feria is a very old tradition in Sevilla. The fair happens for a week every spring. The fairgrounds are huge, and happen to be two blocks from my house. Feria is comprised of HUNDREDS of tent/pavillions. Most of them are private but there are some huge public ones that anyone can go to. People hang out all day, drinking and dancing. There are also fair rides, which people ride in their dresses.
ATTIRE: The women all wear Feria dresses which are close fitting and have ruffles around the bottom and a wide variety of patterns. They wear giant flowers in their hair and giant earrings. It is very fancy and the dresses can be very expensive. What's more, many of them have different dresses for the different days. Isabel has about ten that she's acquired over the years. She let us wear one of her old ones so last night I got to dress up in full Spanish Feria attire!!
DANCING: I have never had a more useful dance class in my life. Our dance class all year has been learning the "Sevillanas." People do this at Feria all day and all night. It's a series of four dances that can be done with a girl and a guy but is often done with two girls. The huge ruffly dresses make it super fun to watch. In the public tents, there is a stage, but there are so many people that dancing can often be found in other random spots. Over the past two days, I have danced the Sevillanas quite a few times. People are sometimes impressed that we know how to do it which makes it even more fun. One time, we danced in the street to music coming from inside the caseta.
TUSDAY: Well after my mad trip to the airport and back, the day picked up very nicely. I went to Isabel's brother's caseta in my Feria dress. It is the 196th Caseta on the third street. I was very scared to go in at first because there were massive amounts of people that I didn't know and I couldn't see Isabel anywhere. Let me first just say that Isabel was dancing like a crazy woman. She is literally the crazy aunt. I met a lot of people and got about 70 kisses on the cheek. Some of them were very nice to me and spoke slow Spanish so that I could practice. A lot of people try to speak English with me, but I made some friends who stuck up for me and reminded them that I have to practice Spanish. I later went with Isabel to visit her cousin in another caseta. This one had slightly older people, around Isabel's age. The women were Amazing dancers and I just felt like I was being bathed in culture. I got to dance with one of them while people were yelling Viva! and clapping their hands. All of this occurs in a tiny space while people are trying to walk pass with Spanish tortillas on plates and drinks in hand.
I came home for dinner with Katherine and then I went back again, this time with 11 Americans. I was reduced to public casetas at this point but still managed to do a lot of dancing. About four or five of us had dresses that our Senoras had let us borrow.
Today was a good day.
Culture.
Feria is a very old tradition in Sevilla. The fair happens for a week every spring. The fairgrounds are huge, and happen to be two blocks from my house. Feria is comprised of HUNDREDS of tent/pavillions. Most of them are private but there are some huge public ones that anyone can go to. People hang out all day, drinking and dancing. There are also fair rides, which people ride in their dresses.
ATTIRE: The women all wear Feria dresses which are close fitting and have ruffles around the bottom and a wide variety of patterns. They wear giant flowers in their hair and giant earrings. It is very fancy and the dresses can be very expensive. What's more, many of them have different dresses for the different days. Isabel has about ten that she's acquired over the years. She let us wear one of her old ones so last night I got to dress up in full Spanish Feria attire!!
DANCING: I have never had a more useful dance class in my life. Our dance class all year has been learning the "Sevillanas." People do this at Feria all day and all night. It's a series of four dances that can be done with a girl and a guy but is often done with two girls. The huge ruffly dresses make it super fun to watch. In the public tents, there is a stage, but there are so many people that dancing can often be found in other random spots. Over the past two days, I have danced the Sevillanas quite a few times. People are sometimes impressed that we know how to do it which makes it even more fun. One time, we danced in the street to music coming from inside the caseta.
TUSDAY: Well after my mad trip to the airport and back, the day picked up very nicely. I went to Isabel's brother's caseta in my Feria dress. It is the 196th Caseta on the third street. I was very scared to go in at first because there were massive amounts of people that I didn't know and I couldn't see Isabel anywhere. Let me first just say that Isabel was dancing like a crazy woman. She is literally the crazy aunt. I met a lot of people and got about 70 kisses on the cheek. Some of them were very nice to me and spoke slow Spanish so that I could practice. A lot of people try to speak English with me, but I made some friends who stuck up for me and reminded them that I have to practice Spanish. I later went with Isabel to visit her cousin in another caseta. This one had slightly older people, around Isabel's age. The women were Amazing dancers and I just felt like I was being bathed in culture. I got to dance with one of them while people were yelling Viva! and clapping their hands. All of this occurs in a tiny space while people are trying to walk pass with Spanish tortillas on plates and drinks in hand.
I came home for dinner with Katherine and then I went back again, this time with 11 Americans. I was reduced to public casetas at this point but still managed to do a lot of dancing. About four or five of us had dresses that our Senoras had let us borrow.
Today was a good day.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Volcanic Ash Cloud, You Win
Today I woke up early at 7.15 to get online and check the status of my London flight. It was not canceled. However the London airports were closed until further notice although some of the Scotish airports opened today. Isabel was all worried about whether or not she should pack me a bocadilla. I told her I didn't know but in the middle of breakfast she made me look up the Sevilla airport, which said my flight was scheduled to leave on time, which is what I already knew. Then she asked me if I needed a bocadilla and then she got really worried about what I would wear to the Feria tonight if I didn't go to London. So I was late for class.
After my first class, the situation was the same, and after my second class it was still the same. At this point I was really nervous. I didn't want to miss my flight if it was happening but it seemed absurd that it wasn't canceled. Based on the advice of several wise college students, I decided to go to the airport. In fact, this may have been cheaper than calling the airline. At this particular epoch, airlines are being swamped with calls and the number is not toll free. The last time I called an airline, it cost me over 5 euro.
So, I ran from school to my house. I even took my sandals off and ran in bare feet. I'm surprised I didn't get called out for public indecency. I ran in my house and Isabel asked if I needed a bocadilla. I told her I had to leave now and that I still didn't know if my flight was canceled. So I'm running out of the door and she's throwing bocadillas at me. I caught the airport bus, hot and tired. When I arrived at the airport, there was a big line of British people at the vueling counter. (haha, sort of)
"So is the flight to London canceled?"
"Yeah, it was canceled this morning."
"Oh, well I kept checking the website and it never said. That's why everyone's here."
"Yeah, I know."
--Vueling Lady.
I think the problem is that the airline is Spanish and budget.
On the way home on the airport I met a really nice Italian couple who were having an extended stay in Spain. They had gone to the airport as well to find their flight canceled. It was really cool to talk to them, so I consider that bus ticket 2euro well spent.
The UK airspace opened up at 10:00 tonight.
On the flip side, I got to go to the FERIA today.
After my first class, the situation was the same, and after my second class it was still the same. At this point I was really nervous. I didn't want to miss my flight if it was happening but it seemed absurd that it wasn't canceled. Based on the advice of several wise college students, I decided to go to the airport. In fact, this may have been cheaper than calling the airline. At this particular epoch, airlines are being swamped with calls and the number is not toll free. The last time I called an airline, it cost me over 5 euro.
So, I ran from school to my house. I even took my sandals off and ran in bare feet. I'm surprised I didn't get called out for public indecency. I ran in my house and Isabel asked if I needed a bocadilla. I told her I had to leave now and that I still didn't know if my flight was canceled. So I'm running out of the door and she's throwing bocadillas at me. I caught the airport bus, hot and tired. When I arrived at the airport, there was a big line of British people at the vueling counter. (haha, sort of)
"So is the flight to London canceled?"
"Yeah, it was canceled this morning."
"Oh, well I kept checking the website and it never said. That's why everyone's here."
"Yeah, I know."
--Vueling Lady.
I think the problem is that the airline is Spanish and budget.
On the way home on the airport I met a really nice Italian couple who were having an extended stay in Spain. They had gone to the airport as well to find their flight canceled. It was really cool to talk to them, so I consider that bus ticket 2euro well spent.
The UK airspace opened up at 10:00 tonight.
On the flip side, I got to go to the FERIA today.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Transporte Chaos
Today begins the Fair in Sevilla. However, everything is crazy due to the fact that planes are still not flying in North Europe. I suppose I am lucky to be stuck at home in light of the fact that some kids in our program went on trips over the weekend and now can't get back to Spain. The crazy thing is that I still Don't even know if my flight is canceled. It's looking very probable since there have been no flights since Thursday and the volcanic ash cloud is growing. The London airports are currently closed until at least 7am and my flight leaves at 2:40pm. Who's to say?
The unfortunate thing is that all of us have trips this week due to not having school. The ash has now spread to Italy, a popular destination. On the other hand, having a canceled trip is not as bad as being stranded away from home.
I went to visit Dos Hermanas yesterday with another American student. The other girl is Laura and her parents went to Forcey when she was a child, the same church my grandparents go to. We had a pretty intense discussion about Catholicism and religion. Then we helped make wedding invitations and met the fiance, who is Canadian and Spanish. We practiced speaking Spanish.
The unfortunate thing is that all of us have trips this week due to not having school. The ash has now spread to Italy, a popular destination. On the other hand, having a canceled trip is not as bad as being stranded away from home.
I went to visit Dos Hermanas yesterday with another American student. The other girl is Laura and her parents went to Forcey when she was a child, the same church my grandparents go to. We had a pretty intense discussion about Catholicism and religion. Then we helped make wedding invitations and met the fiance, who is Canadian and Spanish. We practiced speaking Spanish.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
New Record
Saturday, April 17
Today I walked over 11 miles! I love not having a car. It's a certain sense of freedom. It makes me feel very good to know that I can take myself all over this city without any help.
For the morning, I went to the museum of contemporary art. It's in an obscure location and it took me about an hour to walk there. The walk was loads of fun though because I walked through the neighborhood of Triana, and then along the river. The museum had a photography exhibition from the 70's and a collection of paintings from Madrid. It was in an old convent of course, and had extensive gardens.
After lunch, I walked to a mall in Nervion to meet the only friend I have who did not go to Portugal. The mall was huge and I'm very glad I got to experience it. I bought a dress at H&M. H&M is one of the very few chains that exists in both the states and Spain. (Along with Starbucks, TGI Fridays, McDonalds, and Mango)
After the mall we went to the Corte Ingles. Corte Ingles is a huge department store all over Sevilla that has everything from furniture, to clothes, to groceries. It is like a really upscale expensive Wal-Mart. This particular Corte Ingles is 9 stories. There was a section dedicated to Feria dresses. Feria is next week and the dresses are all very full of ruffles and polka dots. It was a most exciting experience.
I also ventured to demonstrate my knowledge of Sevillana dancing for Isabel. She knows the dances too and started to dance with me. Her friend Juan Carlos knows how to sing the music, so we had a regular fiesta in our house after dinner. They both said that I was a good dancer for an extranjero, or foreigner.
Today was a good day.
Today I walked over 11 miles! I love not having a car. It's a certain sense of freedom. It makes me feel very good to know that I can take myself all over this city without any help.
For the morning, I went to the museum of contemporary art. It's in an obscure location and it took me about an hour to walk there. The walk was loads of fun though because I walked through the neighborhood of Triana, and then along the river. The museum had a photography exhibition from the 70's and a collection of paintings from Madrid. It was in an old convent of course, and had extensive gardens.
After lunch, I walked to a mall in Nervion to meet the only friend I have who did not go to Portugal. The mall was huge and I'm very glad I got to experience it. I bought a dress at H&M. H&M is one of the very few chains that exists in both the states and Spain. (Along with Starbucks, TGI Fridays, McDonalds, and Mango)
After the mall we went to the Corte Ingles. Corte Ingles is a huge department store all over Sevilla that has everything from furniture, to clothes, to groceries. It is like a really upscale expensive Wal-Mart. This particular Corte Ingles is 9 stories. There was a section dedicated to Feria dresses. Feria is next week and the dresses are all very full of ruffles and polka dots. It was a most exciting experience.
I also ventured to demonstrate my knowledge of Sevillana dancing for Isabel. She knows the dances too and started to dance with me. Her friend Juan Carlos knows how to sing the music, so we had a regular fiesta in our house after dinner. They both said that I was a good dancer for an extranjero, or foreigner.
Today was a good day.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Things Get a Little Crazy
Yesterday I went to a Bible study at the church in Triana since I had missed Sunday. It was a woman's Bible study and it was really serious because it was about the minor prophets! I was not prepared for that. It took me the first five minutes to figure out that "Abdias" is Obadiah.
There was a party at school involving flamenco music and people were practicing our Sevillana dances. It was a little bit rainy and we were in the courtyard so the party got squished into the covered part. Later, the musicians left and someone plugged in an Ipod. "Party in the USA" came on and all of the Americans got crazy and started dancing in the rain. It was a great moment. The line "Who's that chick that's rockin kicks, She's gotta be from out of town ... 'Cause all I see are stilettos, guess I never got the memo" is especially applicable in Spain, you don't even know.
Well after the party, everyone still had some energy, so we proceeded to continue dancing.
Today was a little more slow. Almost everyone went to Portugal this weekend, but I stayed home and the rain HAS RETURNED. It's been awhile.
In World news, there is volcanic ash all over northern Europe. All of the UK airports were closed yesterday and I am supposed to fly to London in four days! Oh no!
There was a party at school involving flamenco music and people were practicing our Sevillana dances. It was a little bit rainy and we were in the courtyard so the party got squished into the covered part. Later, the musicians left and someone plugged in an Ipod. "Party in the USA" came on and all of the Americans got crazy and started dancing in the rain. It was a great moment. The line "Who's that chick that's rockin kicks, She's gotta be from out of town ... 'Cause all I see are stilettos, guess I never got the memo" is especially applicable in Spain, you don't even know.
Well after the party, everyone still had some energy, so we proceeded to continue dancing.
Today was a little more slow. Almost everyone went to Portugal this weekend, but I stayed home and the rain HAS RETURNED. It's been awhile.
In World news, there is volcanic ash all over northern Europe. All of the UK airports were closed yesterday and I am supposed to fly to London in four days! Oh no!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tapas
Today I went to out for tapas (small snacks) with a group from school. It was a school program so we went with two professors. The bar was small as usual and crowded. Some people were sitting, but I was standing at a table. We had a piece of tortilla de patatas, a mini sandwich, and some cheese and sausage. It wasn't much food and luckily there was a bocadilla at home for me.
In cultural realities today we talked about saving the planet for most of the hour. It stemmed from a newspaper article about natural disasters which lead to a discussion about global warming. Our professor, who is bastante absurd went as far as to use his "20 year old" pencil as an example while he was trying to show that our society is too accustomed to getting new stuff all of the time. A pencil was a pore example. A better example would have been a car, a phone, any electronic, shoes, basically anything not a pencil. The intended theme for today was "Life outside of the Center in Spain: Interactions"
In cultural realities today we talked about saving the planet for most of the hour. It stemmed from a newspaper article about natural disasters which lead to a discussion about global warming. Our professor, who is bastante absurd went as far as to use his "20 year old" pencil as an example while he was trying to show that our society is too accustomed to getting new stuff all of the time. A pencil was a pore example. A better example would have been a car, a phone, any electronic, shoes, basically anything not a pencil. The intended theme for today was "Life outside of the Center in Spain: Interactions"
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Spanish Woes
I lost my bike card. It literally fell out of my pocket while I was riding my bike. The process for reporting a lost card involves e-mail, so I don't have high hopes for any quick solution to this situation.
I am now realizing that it is time to start writing my essays. My classes have 6-10 page Spanish essays due in about two weeks. So far, I have written only a little.
On the flip side, today was a free breakfast day at school and I had my tutoring class.
I also went to the public library to look for an English book for my tutoring. I did not find one, but I DID find the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in Spanish. true story.
I am now realizing that it is time to start writing my essays. My classes have 6-10 page Spanish essays due in about two weeks. So far, I have written only a little.
On the flip side, today was a free breakfast day at school and I had my tutoring class.
I also went to the public library to look for an English book for my tutoring. I did not find one, but I DID find the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in Spanish. true story.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Post
There are six weeks left of Spain.
Take advantage of your opportunity to send a letter abroad!
Crystal Lyons
CC-CS
Calle Harinas 16 y 18
41001 Sevilla, SPAIN
Take advantage of your opportunity to send a letter abroad!
Crystal Lyons
CC-CS
Calle Harinas 16 y 18
41001 Sevilla, SPAIN
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Hola Playa!
I went to the beach with Isabel this weekend! It was a great deal because Isabel wanted to go and Katherine and I got to go for free. We went to Puerta de Santa Maria to an apartment on the beach that Isabel's friend owns. We left Friday morning and when we got to the apartment it smelled rank. Something had tripped the circuit and since no one had been there all winter, the power had been off for an unknown amount of weeks. There was an impressive quantity of fish and meat products in the freezer and when we opened the freezer, the smell almost make us get sick. I ran bags of rotten fish downstairs to the trash as fast as I could.
After that adventure we went down to the beach. It was too windy and the sand was blowing everywhere. We gave up and moved to another part of the beach that is protected from the wind by a wall of rocks. Everyone at the whole beach was in this one spot. We had bocadillas and got in the water a little bit but it was mostly really cold. I got sunburned on the backs of my legs and knees. There's always one spot that I miss with the sunscreen. After the beach, we went to a port to see some boats and to a store "where the put everything cheaply". I bought a necklace and Isabel bought a shirt. Isabel had packed very carefully and brought all the food with us. We had dinner and she even brought flan for dessert.
Saturday Katherine came on a train and we went into town to get her then to the beach. This time I wore all my clothes to avoid further irritation of the sunburn. I read a lot of a Spanish novel for my literature class, but I still have two essays to write.
After the beach, Katherine and I took a boat to Cadiz. Cadiz is a city on a very small peninsula at the bottom of Spain. The boat to Cadiz costs 2 Euro and took thirty minutes. The first hour in Cadiz we spent not knowing where we were and wandering through uninteresting streets. We did go into two cathedrals. Eventually we found a place where stores were opened. We went in a gift shop and then to 100 Montaditos, where we got a snack of a tiny sandwich. [They really are pequenito.] I was scared that we would not be able to find the boat so we left to go find it and arrived 40 minutes early. So we walked back to a plaza, took a few pictures, and took the boat back to Puerta Santa Maria, where Isabel picked us up. Katherine and I practiced our Spanish the whole time. In fact, I haven't spoken English this whole weekend, aside from writing things online.
Today it was cloudy, so we decided to come home because the beach would be too cold. Katherine and I walked down the beach to a place where there is an expanse of rocks covered by water only at high tide. It was fantastic.
This was a good weekend.
After that adventure we went down to the beach. It was too windy and the sand was blowing everywhere. We gave up and moved to another part of the beach that is protected from the wind by a wall of rocks. Everyone at the whole beach was in this one spot. We had bocadillas and got in the water a little bit but it was mostly really cold. I got sunburned on the backs of my legs and knees. There's always one spot that I miss with the sunscreen. After the beach, we went to a port to see some boats and to a store "where the put everything cheaply". I bought a necklace and Isabel bought a shirt. Isabel had packed very carefully and brought all the food with us. We had dinner and she even brought flan for dessert.
Saturday Katherine came on a train and we went into town to get her then to the beach. This time I wore all my clothes to avoid further irritation of the sunburn. I read a lot of a Spanish novel for my literature class, but I still have two essays to write.
After the beach, Katherine and I took a boat to Cadiz. Cadiz is a city on a very small peninsula at the bottom of Spain. The boat to Cadiz costs 2 Euro and took thirty minutes. The first hour in Cadiz we spent not knowing where we were and wandering through uninteresting streets. We did go into two cathedrals. Eventually we found a place where stores were opened. We went in a gift shop and then to 100 Montaditos, where we got a snack of a tiny sandwich. [They really are pequenito.] I was scared that we would not be able to find the boat so we left to go find it and arrived 40 minutes early. So we walked back to a plaza, took a few pictures, and took the boat back to Puerta Santa Maria, where Isabel picked us up. Katherine and I practiced our Spanish the whole time. In fact, I haven't spoken English this whole weekend, aside from writing things online.
Today it was cloudy, so we decided to come home because the beach would be too cold. Katherine and I walked down the beach to a place where there is an expanse of rocks covered by water only at high tide. It was fantastic.
This was a good weekend.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Death by Art and Dress up
All of the sudden, after Spring break, there is a lot of work to do. Mainly we have a giant Art History of Spain exam this week. There are 36 works of art that we have to identify and describe, along with the artist and epoch. I also have to start working on my essays and things because the semester will soon be coming to a close.
Easter was not big at all in Spain. There weren't bunnies or eggs, although we did find all of that in Switzerland. People celebrate really seriously on Thursday and Friday of Semana Santa and by Sunday everything is winding down. What a shame, since the defining aspect of Easter is the resurrection.
In two weeks, we will have the fair. It is traditional to wear large ruffled flamenco dresses to the feria. Yesterday Isabel let us try on her dresses to see if one would fit. It turns out that she has about seven of them because the feria lasts for a week and she used to go for several days. It was great fun.
Easter was not big at all in Spain. There weren't bunnies or eggs, although we did find all of that in Switzerland. People celebrate really seriously on Thursday and Friday of Semana Santa and by Sunday everything is winding down. What a shame, since the defining aspect of Easter is the resurrection.
In two weeks, we will have the fair. It is traditional to wear large ruffled flamenco dresses to the feria. Yesterday Isabel let us try on her dresses to see if one would fit. It turns out that she has about seven of them because the feria lasts for a week and she used to go for several days. It was great fun.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Spring Break! Part 4 - SEMANA SANTA
Oh, how shall I describe Semana Santa? I think that I simply won't be able to make you fully understand.
Semana Santa, or Holy week is a celebration that lasts for seven days leading up to Easter. Each day has about seven or eight processions. The processions all have different routes but all of them go through a main avenue and plaza leading to the cathedral. The processions include hundreds of nazarens, people holding candles and two giant pasos, with sculptures of the virgin and of Jesus. There are about fifty men under each one, carrying it on their shoulders.
The streets are FULL of people. At some points, you can't move through the crowd. In the parts of the routes near the cathedral there are stands with chairs that you must pay to sit in. Apparently, you keep your chairs from year to year, paying each year, and they are passed down through families.
There were times when Semana santa caused me great frustration. The main road that I take to get home was blocked off for processions. Sometimes, wandering through the side streets I would run into a different procession and have no way to get home.
Thursday night is the Madrugada, and their are processions from 12 Am to 12 Pm. On the other days, the processions last from about 2pm to midnight. Instead of staying out all night, I decided to wake up Friday morning and go see the Macarena, the most famous virgin. Well, on Friday morning the TV wasn't functioning and Isabel decided to come with me because she couldn't watch the processions at home. At that point, it was a whole different story. She said we didn't have time for breakfast and we left in her car. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a sidewalk cafe eating churros with chocolate while Isabel was searching for a cup of decaffeinated coffee. There was a couple from Barcelona who really love semana santa staying at our house. They were out that morning so Isabel took went to find them. It was here that I learned you're allowed to get inside of the procession. Isabel is pretty crazy. She was walking among the nazarenes, talking on her cell phone, looking for her friends. Well, we found them and then we all went to find the Macarena. There was definitely a mob surrounding the Macarena. These three adults I was with [who were all in their 50s] pushed through the crowd. I was afraid I would get lost or squished to death. The best thing about the macarena is that people throw flower petals on the street from the tops of buildings as it passes. It was raining flowers on me!
On Friday afternoon we were surprised to learn that Isabel's brother has tickets to the chairs in the plaza. Katherine and I got to sit there with Isabel! On Thursday, when I couldn't see anything for the giant stands, I had a definite distaste for the chair institution. Friday, I kind of liked it. We had to dress up in black to sit there. Here is a picture of us with Isabel on Viernes Santo.
I decided to make a day out of hanging out with Isabel. She invited me to a bar with her friend after we saw the processions. It was more of a private society country club type of place. I had a fanta and a tapa of meatballs. It was entertaining because I never understood the jokes that her friend was making and they kept having to repeat things. The funniest part was when I was reading the tapas menu. I didn't know what anything was, so Juan Carlos, Isabel's friend went down the list and identified everything as "fish" accompanied by a swimming motion with his hands.
That day was a good day.
Semana Santa, or Holy week is a celebration that lasts for seven days leading up to Easter. Each day has about seven or eight processions. The processions all have different routes but all of them go through a main avenue and plaza leading to the cathedral. The processions include hundreds of nazarens, people holding candles and two giant pasos, with sculptures of the virgin and of Jesus. There are about fifty men under each one, carrying it on their shoulders.
The streets are FULL of people. At some points, you can't move through the crowd. In the parts of the routes near the cathedral there are stands with chairs that you must pay to sit in. Apparently, you keep your chairs from year to year, paying each year, and they are passed down through families.
There were times when Semana santa caused me great frustration. The main road that I take to get home was blocked off for processions. Sometimes, wandering through the side streets I would run into a different procession and have no way to get home.
Thursday night is the Madrugada, and their are processions from 12 Am to 12 Pm. On the other days, the processions last from about 2pm to midnight. Instead of staying out all night, I decided to wake up Friday morning and go see the Macarena, the most famous virgin. Well, on Friday morning the TV wasn't functioning and Isabel decided to come with me because she couldn't watch the processions at home. At that point, it was a whole different story. She said we didn't have time for breakfast and we left in her car. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a sidewalk cafe eating churros with chocolate while Isabel was searching for a cup of decaffeinated coffee. There was a couple from Barcelona who really love semana santa staying at our house. They were out that morning so Isabel took went to find them. It was here that I learned you're allowed to get inside of the procession. Isabel is pretty crazy. She was walking among the nazarenes, talking on her cell phone, looking for her friends. Well, we found them and then we all went to find the Macarena. There was definitely a mob surrounding the Macarena. These three adults I was with [who were all in their 50s] pushed through the crowd. I was afraid I would get lost or squished to death. The best thing about the macarena is that people throw flower petals on the street from the tops of buildings as it passes. It was raining flowers on me!
On Friday afternoon we were surprised to learn that Isabel's brother has tickets to the chairs in the plaza. Katherine and I got to sit there with Isabel! On Thursday, when I couldn't see anything for the giant stands, I had a definite distaste for the chair institution. Friday, I kind of liked it. We had to dress up in black to sit there. Here is a picture of us with Isabel on Viernes Santo.
I decided to make a day out of hanging out with Isabel. She invited me to a bar with her friend after we saw the processions. It was more of a private society country club type of place. I had a fanta and a tapa of meatballs. It was entertaining because I never understood the jokes that her friend was making and they kept having to repeat things. The funniest part was when I was reading the tapas menu. I didn't know what anything was, so Juan Carlos, Isabel's friend went down the list and identified everything as "fish" accompanied by a swimming motion with his hands.
That day was a good day.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Spring Break! Part 3 - My Trip to MADRID
So, I accidentally got to see Madrid.
We left our hostel at 9:00 AM on Wednesday morning. We caught the airport bus to the airport and got on our plane to Mallorca. The plane was late and we were worried we would miss our layover, but they were boarding when we got there. Our flight was to Madrid, because it's much cheaper than flying into Sevilla. We landed at 4:20. Gia's parents were flying into Madrid to visit her, so we searched for them and met her dad. The rest of us had plans to take a 6 hour bus to Sevilla. There were buses leaving at 5, 6, and 7, so I figured if we missed the six, we could catch the seven. Well, it turns out that the bus station is on the other end of Madrid, so we had to take the metro for about 40 minutes. We got to the bus station at exactly six and were a little bummed that we would have to take the seven o'clock bus. While waiting in line to buy our bus tickets I overheard some unhappy customers in front of me. It turns out that all of the buses to Sevilla were full. Everyone was trying to travel to Sevilla for semana santa (or to return from their vacations since there's no school or work during semana santa.) The only bus we could buy tickets for departed at one AM! Since we had our luggage we couldn't do much, but we decided to go see a movie. We found a movie theater thanks to Bridget's blackberry and took the metro. We got to see an American movie with Spanish subtitles which was really fortunate. After that, we waited in the bus station for three more hours and bought some candy and sandwiches. I enjoyed my unexpected Madrid trip. The worst part was riding the bus from one to seven thirty in the morning. It's super hard to sleep. We got a cab from the Sevilla bus station and arrived home at 8:00.
So this Spring Break trip included
5 flights
6 buses / airport trains
3 cities
5 airports
The trip home included six different types of transportation and lasted for 23 hours. Also, it was the best Spring Break ever.
We left our hostel at 9:00 AM on Wednesday morning. We caught the airport bus to the airport and got on our plane to Mallorca. The plane was late and we were worried we would miss our layover, but they were boarding when we got there. Our flight was to Madrid, because it's much cheaper than flying into Sevilla. We landed at 4:20. Gia's parents were flying into Madrid to visit her, so we searched for them and met her dad. The rest of us had plans to take a 6 hour bus to Sevilla. There were buses leaving at 5, 6, and 7, so I figured if we missed the six, we could catch the seven. Well, it turns out that the bus station is on the other end of Madrid, so we had to take the metro for about 40 minutes. We got to the bus station at exactly six and were a little bummed that we would have to take the seven o'clock bus. While waiting in line to buy our bus tickets I overheard some unhappy customers in front of me. It turns out that all of the buses to Sevilla were full. Everyone was trying to travel to Sevilla for semana santa (or to return from their vacations since there's no school or work during semana santa.) The only bus we could buy tickets for departed at one AM! Since we had our luggage we couldn't do much, but we decided to go see a movie. We found a movie theater thanks to Bridget's blackberry and took the metro. We got to see an American movie with Spanish subtitles which was really fortunate. After that, we waited in the bus station for three more hours and bought some candy and sandwiches. I enjoyed my unexpected Madrid trip. The worst part was riding the bus from one to seven thirty in the morning. It's super hard to sleep. We got a cab from the Sevilla bus station and arrived home at 8:00.
So this Spring Break trip included
5 flights
6 buses / airport trains
3 cities
5 airports
The trip home included six different types of transportation and lasted for 23 hours. Also, it was the best Spring Break ever.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Spring Break! Part 2 - VIENNA
We arrived in Vienna late Sunday afternoon. We bought our Vienna cards, which were not as good as the Zurich card, but also less expensive. We took a bus from the airport to a bus station five minutes from our hostel.... The DO STEP IN. Here is a picture of us at the Do Step:
The Do Step is cheaper than the youth hostel, but still nice and clean. They do not serve free breakfast, but they have free internet. We stayed in a six person room, so we got to experience some room mates.
For dinner, we went to a Turkish restaurant which we found on Wikitravel. [I recommend wikitravel.] We had the most language difficulties here, because we couldn't read the menu and there were a lot of options. For some reason, we can't seem to shake our Spanish schedule and we continued to eat dinner around nine.
Day 1:
We Slept in a little, due to our extreme lack of rest the day before. First stop of Vienna was the graveyard. Here we payed our respects to Beethoven, Strauss, and Schubert. Next we went to the center of the city. Vienna has a "ring" that goes around the downtown area and marks the borders of the old city wall. We strolled around the ring and found the Opera house. We found a suave hotel were we got sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we found Palace #1, Hofburg Palace.
We did not go into this palace, we just enjoyed the ambiance. As usual, the most impressive aspect is the grand size of the palace, something I can not capture in photographs.
From here, we abandoned the ring and headed into the center of the city to find the Cathedral, Saint Stephen's.
Next we went to the Hundertwasserhaus. This was architectural art. It's actually an apartment complex as well as a few shops and things.
THEN, we went to the opera! We learned from our room mate that you can buy 3 euro standing tickets to the opera each night starting at 6. We went at about five thirty, but the doors were locked. We were just hanging out by a fountain when we realized that there was an extensive line on the side of the building. We waited for awhile and got our tickets. We went up to the balcony and everyone ties scarves around the railing to save his or her spot. With our scarves in place, we left to have a quick dinner of subway. [We budgeted our meals right?] The opera was very beautiful. We could only see about half of the stage and my feet kind of hurt, but on the flip side, we had screens with English supertitles, so we could follow the action. After the opera we went to a cafe and met the only rude person of this trip. This waiter was not open to questions about the German menu.
Day 2:
We started Tuesday by going to an amusement park slash fair. It wasn't very lively, but we rode a roller coaster. You paid per ride, so that was a bummer but the coaster was legit and we didn't wait in any sort of line.
We had "Happy Noodle" Chinese take-away for lunch and headed for the Schloss Schonbrunn Palace. We paid to take a tour of this palace, which was many rooms. There are extensive gardens in the back with a maze, which took some time for me. There is also a hill with a "viewing terrace."
From there, Vienna looked massive. I couldn't see the end of the city in any direction. We took some time to relax on the grassy hill and enjoy the view.
The Third Palace was the Belvedere. This palace is now an art museum, but according to me it is the most beautiful of all. At this point we were enjoying our free time and laughing about the funniest aspects of our trip.
For dinner we went to the Mozart Stube, another recommendation of our room mate. This was a traditional Viennese restaurant, with candles on the table and an antique piano in the corner. I got the schnitzel! It is basically fried turkey. My dinner was a special price so I also got pancakes with jam for dessert. The best part of this dinner was that it lasted for over two hours. After we finished our dinners it took many minutes to order the dessert and after the dessert we noticed our waitress taking a break, sitting at another table. We finally asked for our check an hour after we had finished our food. We didn't mind the time, because we had no where to be. The attitude about going out to dinner in Vienna is that you must relax and enjoy the experience. It is the custom to "linger." I think this is a good policy, especially if you are with friends and have no home to return to, like us.
The Do Step is cheaper than the youth hostel, but still nice and clean. They do not serve free breakfast, but they have free internet. We stayed in a six person room, so we got to experience some room mates.
For dinner, we went to a Turkish restaurant which we found on Wikitravel. [I recommend wikitravel.] We had the most language difficulties here, because we couldn't read the menu and there were a lot of options. For some reason, we can't seem to shake our Spanish schedule and we continued to eat dinner around nine.
Day 1:
We Slept in a little, due to our extreme lack of rest the day before. First stop of Vienna was the graveyard. Here we payed our respects to Beethoven, Strauss, and Schubert. Next we went to the center of the city. Vienna has a "ring" that goes around the downtown area and marks the borders of the old city wall. We strolled around the ring and found the Opera house. We found a suave hotel were we got sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we found Palace #1, Hofburg Palace.
We did not go into this palace, we just enjoyed the ambiance. As usual, the most impressive aspect is the grand size of the palace, something I can not capture in photographs.
From here, we abandoned the ring and headed into the center of the city to find the Cathedral, Saint Stephen's.
Next we went to the Hundertwasserhaus. This was architectural art. It's actually an apartment complex as well as a few shops and things.
THEN, we went to the opera! We learned from our room mate that you can buy 3 euro standing tickets to the opera each night starting at 6. We went at about five thirty, but the doors were locked. We were just hanging out by a fountain when we realized that there was an extensive line on the side of the building. We waited for awhile and got our tickets. We went up to the balcony and everyone ties scarves around the railing to save his or her spot. With our scarves in place, we left to have a quick dinner of subway. [We budgeted our meals right?] The opera was very beautiful. We could only see about half of the stage and my feet kind of hurt, but on the flip side, we had screens with English supertitles, so we could follow the action. After the opera we went to a cafe and met the only rude person of this trip. This waiter was not open to questions about the German menu.
Day 2:
We started Tuesday by going to an amusement park slash fair. It wasn't very lively, but we rode a roller coaster. You paid per ride, so that was a bummer but the coaster was legit and we didn't wait in any sort of line.
We had "Happy Noodle" Chinese take-away for lunch and headed for the Schloss Schonbrunn Palace. We paid to take a tour of this palace, which was many rooms. There are extensive gardens in the back with a maze, which took some time for me. There is also a hill with a "viewing terrace."
From there, Vienna looked massive. I couldn't see the end of the city in any direction. We took some time to relax on the grassy hill and enjoy the view.
The Third Palace was the Belvedere. This palace is now an art museum, but according to me it is the most beautiful of all. At this point we were enjoying our free time and laughing about the funniest aspects of our trip.
For dinner we went to the Mozart Stube, another recommendation of our room mate. This was a traditional Viennese restaurant, with candles on the table and an antique piano in the corner. I got the schnitzel! It is basically fried turkey. My dinner was a special price so I also got pancakes with jam for dessert. The best part of this dinner was that it lasted for over two hours. After we finished our dinners it took many minutes to order the dessert and after the dessert we noticed our waitress taking a break, sitting at another table. We finally asked for our check an hour after we had finished our food. We didn't mind the time, because we had no where to be. The attitude about going out to dinner in Vienna is that you must relax and enjoy the experience. It is the custom to "linger." I think this is a good policy, especially if you are with friends and have no home to return to, like us.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Spring Break! Part 1 - ZURICH
We left for our journey on Friday morning. We caught the 10:15 airport bus in Sevilla and headed for the planes. Our plane left at noon and we had an hour layover in Mallorca. For lunch we had bocadillas packed by Isabel, of course.
Air Berlin is officially my favorite airline of Europe. They are so swank. On our first flight we got cookies with lime filling and on the second we got a whole bocadilla. The air berlin flights included a slew of languages: German, English and Spanish, when the flight was in Spain. Also, on some of the flights, the flight attendants wear jeans, black jackets, and hot pink hats.
We arrived in Zurich and bought our Zurich cards, which turned out to be the best idea ever because after that we didn't pay for the airport train, city trams, nor museums. Aside from a few minor adventures such as losing Katherine in the bus station for ten minutes, everything went famously. For dinner, we went to a place called millennium. You ordered at the counter and then a waiter brought us our food, so it was like a mix of fast food and fancy. I had a big plate of spaghetti!
Some things about Switzerland:
It is one of the only countries around not in the EU and so there is a different currency. Swiss francs are a little less than the US dollar, but essentially equal. Everything in Zurich was crazy expensive, but we had to keep in mind that
A. Francs are less than Euros.
B. Sales tax is always included in the price tag (this is the same in Spain).
C. Also, in Spain and other places, tipping at restaurants is not expected.
People in Switzerland are much quieter than Spaniards (the tram was shockingly silent) and they also move more quickly. However, pretty much everyone we spoke to knew English and they were all extremely friendly. The first night, we got on the wrong tram and some girls helped us find our way. (in English)
The public transportation system in Zurich was the most awesome transportation I have ever seen. There is a complex system of trams all over the streets, and we never had to wait more than two minutes for one. The trams are never late, and never full. There were always seats.
The Youth Hostel of Zurich turned out to be on the expensive side, and they mysteriously added six francs a night because we weren't members. This was the only money flaw of the trip. On the other hand, I felt like the hostel fit the price. It was extremely clean and we got a nice breakfast every morning.
Day Two:
We woke up early to take full advantage of our one full day in Zurich. We started with the churches: the fraumunster and the grossmunster, fondly referred to as the "Grau" and the "Frau" by our group. The Grossmunster has two steeples, and we paid two francs to climb the tower. It was legitimately ancient with a spiral staircase and later layers of wooden stairs. The view was outstanding, you had to be there.
Next we went to an art museum. My favorite exhibit was a shadow art display. It had sets of spinning objects with giant lights casting shadows on the wall. The shadows were constantly changing, like a kaleidoscope. Next we went to a history of diseases and medicine museum, where we saw some antique medical equipment and methods. Then we ate our plane bocadillas for lunch, along with some Swiss chocolate. The next thing was to do some shopping, or rather looking. We found a few chocolate shops, one selling chocolate hamburgers, which were delicious. We also saw a four story toy store. Switzerland is clearly in the money and downtown has some truly swank shops.
Next we went to a conceptual art museum. It was weird. There was air duct art. We went back to the hostel for a rest and had mcdonald's for dinner.
Day Three:
We checked out of our hostel, and went to the Swiss history museum. This museum was amazingly set up. The displays were works of art: some of them spinning in a giant wheel, some of them inside the walls, some of them in the floors. We rode the tram for a while, to get a quick free tour of the city, and then got ready to head for the airport. We got lunch on the way. I had a sandwich from a little stand. Not surprisingly, there was a chocolate festival in the airport, so we caught a few free samples before we got on our plane and headed for Austria.
In Summary Zurich, Switzerland
-reserved, yet kind people.
-one of the wealthiest cities in Europe with one of the highest standards of living.
-amazing public transportation.
Air Berlin is officially my favorite airline of Europe. They are so swank. On our first flight we got cookies with lime filling and on the second we got a whole bocadilla. The air berlin flights included a slew of languages: German, English and Spanish, when the flight was in Spain. Also, on some of the flights, the flight attendants wear jeans, black jackets, and hot pink hats.
We arrived in Zurich and bought our Zurich cards, which turned out to be the best idea ever because after that we didn't pay for the airport train, city trams, nor museums. Aside from a few minor adventures such as losing Katherine in the bus station for ten minutes, everything went famously. For dinner, we went to a place called millennium. You ordered at the counter and then a waiter brought us our food, so it was like a mix of fast food and fancy. I had a big plate of spaghetti!
Some things about Switzerland:
It is one of the only countries around not in the EU and so there is a different currency. Swiss francs are a little less than the US dollar, but essentially equal. Everything in Zurich was crazy expensive, but we had to keep in mind that
A. Francs are less than Euros.
B. Sales tax is always included in the price tag (this is the same in Spain).
C. Also, in Spain and other places, tipping at restaurants is not expected.
People in Switzerland are much quieter than Spaniards (the tram was shockingly silent) and they also move more quickly. However, pretty much everyone we spoke to knew English and they were all extremely friendly. The first night, we got on the wrong tram and some girls helped us find our way. (in English)
The public transportation system in Zurich was the most awesome transportation I have ever seen. There is a complex system of trams all over the streets, and we never had to wait more than two minutes for one. The trams are never late, and never full. There were always seats.
The Youth Hostel of Zurich turned out to be on the expensive side, and they mysteriously added six francs a night because we weren't members. This was the only money flaw of the trip. On the other hand, I felt like the hostel fit the price. It was extremely clean and we got a nice breakfast every morning.
Day Two:
We woke up early to take full advantage of our one full day in Zurich. We started with the churches: the fraumunster and the grossmunster, fondly referred to as the "Grau" and the "Frau" by our group. The Grossmunster has two steeples, and we paid two francs to climb the tower. It was legitimately ancient with a spiral staircase and later layers of wooden stairs. The view was outstanding, you had to be there.
Next we went to an art museum. My favorite exhibit was a shadow art display. It had sets of spinning objects with giant lights casting shadows on the wall. The shadows were constantly changing, like a kaleidoscope. Next we went to a history of diseases and medicine museum, where we saw some antique medical equipment and methods. Then we ate our plane bocadillas for lunch, along with some Swiss chocolate. The next thing was to do some shopping, or rather looking. We found a few chocolate shops, one selling chocolate hamburgers, which were delicious. We also saw a four story toy store. Switzerland is clearly in the money and downtown has some truly swank shops.
Next we went to a conceptual art museum. It was weird. There was air duct art. We went back to the hostel for a rest and had mcdonald's for dinner. Day Three:
We checked out of our hostel, and went to the Swiss history museum. This museum was amazingly set up. The displays were works of art: some of them spinning in a giant wheel, some of them inside the walls, some of them in the floors. We rode the tram for a while, to get a quick free tour of the city, and then got ready to head for the airport. We got lunch on the way. I had a sandwich from a little stand. Not surprisingly, there was a chocolate festival in the airport, so we caught a few free samples before we got on our plane and headed for Austria.
In Summary Zurich, Switzerland
-reserved, yet kind people.
-one of the wealthiest cities in Europe with one of the highest standards of living.
-amazing public transportation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
