PAMPLONA! San FERMIN!

This weekend was INCREIBLE
Started with San Sebastian, and we went to the ever famous San Fermin wine festival/ bull festival in Pamplona - made famous by Ernest Hemingway.

We were SO prepared. We packed extremely lightly, brought 4 bottles of wine with a bottle of brandy, 2-1 liter botas and 1- 2 liter bota* 4 liters of water, the clothes on our back, and put the rest in a locker in the bus station. The clothes on our back were, of course, the traditional white clothes with a red scarf/bandana.

We arrived around 6 or 7 (Javi and I) and we walked around in awe. We poured the wine and a tad of brandy into the skins (apparently the brandy preserves the wine), and we headed out people watching the thousands. We watched a band play in the main plaza, got a bite to eat, then met up with our friends who had arrived later. 

We went from spot to spot because there was so much going on. When we met up with Vanessa, she showed us this little street where an AMAZING band was playing insane drumming beats. I wish SO BADLY my camera hadn't broke because it was one of the coolest experiences ever. Everyone gathered around this tiny rocking band and just "primitive street danced" hard- (as we liked to call it). No grinding, no guys trying to get with anyone, just pure.human.expression. It was so awesome. 

Javi and I proceeded to salsa as we waited to meet up with Sandy and her friends from home. We ended up meeting them in another huge area were alternative bands were playing on stage. They were sitting with some cool French people. We eventually made our way back to the Street Dancing area- IT WAS SO COLD AT THIS POINT. The town was A MESS. An international Chili Fest times 23. It was absolutely ridiculous. We eventually walked around for like 2 hours to find a place to camp out and attempt to grab some shut eye before the bull run at 8. 

We collected ourselves and walked to the bull ring at 7ish, and the people were still completely ham-slammed. They were dancing, chugging alcoholic bevs, and we found our way into the stadium to watch the most INSANE running with the bulllllllls. 

Apparently it began because the people used to sell cattle and whatnot in the city, and they once got loose and charged, so everyone took off running. It stuck ever since then. People lined alllll down the streets. We were in the famous bull fighting stadium where all the bulls ended up. It was PACKED FULL. There were many an introduction with song and such- but then, the bulls were released. The people were sprinting down the narrow streets, and the bulls thrashed on. There is a classic photo of a man centimeters from losing his life from that day in all the newspapers. When the bulls got to the ring, the people were celebrating and had to SCRAM to the outside as they ran for the final exit. It was crazy.

 (In the stadium, it shows the whole run on camera view featured on a screen in the stadium, so you can see the whole thing.)

the neck of his shirt

After this came bull after bull with semi-dull horns because this part the bull wasn't able to gore people like the first part. People would try to mess with the bull or look cool, and every time they would just get WRECKED. The bull would pick people up with its horns and just shake them around like dolls. Everyone ended up standing right back up except one guy who we think got a broken rib. It was ABSOLUTE CHAOS. People just yelling and screaming, entertained as if by gladiators. 

The weekend was a success, by far. I will return to San Fermin, but I will get a hostel in time - next time. 

*wine skin

The stadium

the run. La corrida del toros

*

SAN SEBASTIAN! (Friday/Saturday) then Pamplona/ San Fermin!

This past weekend was absolutely one  of MY FAVORITES.
I left my camera :( and my video camera got ruined by the tide in San Sebastian, but I will try to post as many things as possible to give you an idea of the experience.

I LOVE SAN SEBASTIAN. Javi & I LOVE IT THERE
we took the 8 am train Friday, and we arrived around 1. It is BEAUTIFUL. We walked around some stores, and we went to the beach for awhile. We arrived during low tide apparently, and we sat quite far from the water. As we laid down and relaxed, awhile into it, the water completely shocked us and got our stuff wet. It was so depressing :( We continued to move back, and it caught us at least 3 times we had to grab the stuff and move quickly -being that we were then much more alert of the changing water levels.

We ate at an amazing restaurant that night in the center of town; Bodegon Alejandro. It was supreme. We went to bed early since we had surfing the next day!
The water was cold, but we had full wet suits; so many people surf in San Sebastian- it was so interesting to see and interact with all the people. The waves there are also quite larger than what we had in Puerto Rico. It was so much fun. We got EXHAUSTED as usual, but it was an absolutely AMAZING 2 hours of surf.

We nommed hard for lunch at some tapas or pinxtos places in San Seba. We ate mussles and some papas at a bar - I cannot remember the name. We then proceeded to the famous La Cuchara de San Telmo. Seriously- best food I've had -probably- in Spain. 3 euro a pinxto/tapa, and each was a reasonable size and legit gourmet. We had 5 plates and 2 drinks for 23 euro total.
Their famous sautéed foie gras, cuchillo de Segovia, pulpo, gazpacho, and scallop.

We also had a slice of cheesecake at a restaurant called La Vina; famous for it's cheese cake or tarta de queso. The quote from the reviews Javi and I like best is "eat cheesecake and die". It was definitely one of the best I've had.

Next post will be PAMPLONA!!! 

Spain wins the EUROCUP!

So this happened a little over a week ago, but I've been CRAZY busy as usual.
We watched Spain WIN the Eurocopa in the Bernabau stadium & it was absolutely incredible!!!
There were soooo many people there, and each goal was more adrenaline.

Spain won 4-0 against Italy in case you didn't know.

Everyone stayed in the stadium and danced after the game until we all walked with the crowd of thousands to the Plaza de Cibeles, where Madrid celebrates the wins of Real Madrid and Spain games. It was a LONG walk and the entire way was a complete disregard for cars, streets, police, and tranquility. It was AWESOME. Street lights & interections- yeah right- only walking, dancing and yelling through the streets. It was utter chaos.

At the plaza, everyone just chanted, danced and yelled until the sun came up. It was one of the best memories I will have had in Spain for sure.

The next day, the team came to present the trophy to the mayor of Madrid. We saw the team go by in the bus in the parade & it was also absolutely AWESOME of course.

Valencia

Wednesday - Sunday in Valencia I first went with my mom and Nancy, and Javi joined us Thursday night.
Valencia was pretty amazing, and it very much surpassed my expectations. We stayed in a super nice hotel on the beach, and we pooled it and beached it Thursday. The Spanish semi-final was Wednesday, and we had a great time celebrating the win.

 ^ okay I wrote this SUPER tired from Pamplona- so my writing was getting boring and I stopped--- TIME TO CONTINUE **

 Valencia is BEAUTIFUL. The beaches are the softest sand, and the water is QUITE cold. While we were there, there were fires in the south, so the air was really cloudy with ash, but everything was still supreme for sure. We visited the famous Cuidad de Artes y Sciencias in Valencia. I highly recommend it. The largest aquarium in Europe is there, and there are floors of amazing interactive science exhibits and more. You couldn't see everything in a day. We wish so badly something like this existed in the US; it's like a Disney World of intellectual materials- and it's beautiful architecturally as you can see in my video.

We ended up crashing on the beach as usual after visiting the museum - and Justine was there also!! (this was Friday).

After, we got ready, and we ate at a delicious restaurant/bar/later-pseudo-disco called Gabbana (also the name of the disco in Madrid, but they are unrelated). It has amazing cocktails and food. So good, we ate there 2 nights in a row.

The next day (Saturday), we went on a day long trip to "hot springs" near Valencia and MORE. It is led by DO-Valencia, and you should DEFINITELY go if you visit Valencia. Many of the adventure is also on my video.
We went to an area where the famous Queen's Veil is- basically a large waterfall and an area with a river and such where many people spend their weekends.
We went to the Hot Springs about 45 minutes out from Valencia. It is about 25 degrees centigrade all year, which is why it is called the Hot Springs, but the water is not necessarily... hot. We swam, explored a cave and spring area, and cliff jumped a bit! Then we went to an area where the dam nearby lets out the extreme pressure through a small hole, and it is a HUGE mass of water (also in the video). We stopped for pictures in 2 beautiful spots, and usually the trip ends with tapas in a nearby small town, but this weekend, there happened to be a bull festival with bull runs, and we got to watch it!

My next post will be about San Fermin in Pamplona- a HUGE festival for bull running and fighting, but in this city- because it was small- the bull runs consist of blocked off small streets, and cages for the people to watch. The spectators stand in the cages with bars around a foot and a few inches wide for runners to enter if they are *screwed. There are also bleachers on top for more spectators. The bulls are let out one at a time for people to try to trick them and run from them. These bulls were so fast and so terrifying, and little did I know, they were tiny compared to those in Pamplona. A bull turned its head the exact perfect way and somehow entered a cage of spectators. People were screaming, and it was terrifying. One of the men inside grabbed the bull by horns (lol) and they pulled it out by the tail from behind. The Spaniard who led our tour said he had NEVER seen anything like that before.

That night, Javi, Justine, and I went club hopping. The clubs there are very nice. We had been to Akuarela, and it was very nice and large, and it had a salsa room. We didn't stay very late, so we didn't experience all the people.

That night though, we went to club Animas then looked into a few clubs we walked by such as High Cube and others I cannot remember (close to the port/beach)..
Animas was quite fun, especially before around 3 when it got crazy (this attitude is not normal for me or others in Madrid, Barcelona, etc. Let me explain why). The people we encountered that night, got less friendly as the night got later and the crowd busier. With the experience we had, people did not dance like people dance in other towns at the clubs in Valencia. It became SUPER crowded, and the music grew louder and better- a perfect combination for super fun dancing, but the people continued to bob their heads and hold drinks in their hands. Javi, Justine and I waited quite awhile, and the break for full-on, let-yourself-go, just-have-fun, Kapital-like, Pamplona-primitive-street-dancing, vibe just never came. It was the strangest thing... comprende? BAH! Anyway. That's my one complaint about Valencia; other than that, it's a great, beautiful place with lots to do, and lots of delicious Paella to eat.

Next stop- SAN SEBASTIAN AND PAMPLONA (this past weekend) where my video camera got wrecked by the wide changing tide, and I forgot my normal camera :( - however, one of my favorite weekends since I've been in Spain BY FAR

*for lack of better word

Paris

there it is- I hope! I don´t currently have the photos since I am on the library computer at school, but Paris was beautiful, like most places in Europe. Although I must say, Paris is SUPER beautiful.

note: there will probably be some weird looking punctuation and accent marks due to this hard core keyboard.
note also: this is the first post that has not been written between 2-5 AM, I believe. It feels quite nice.

Anyway, so yeah, Paris is beautiful. Everything is insanely ornate and large, and there is SO MUCH to see. Paris is, however, quite spread out. I couldn´t study abroad there. If you had a car, I suppose it would be easier, but it is very spread out, and the metro is older and, thus, less comfortable than in Madrid.

Javi and I took the night train to Paris. It left at 6 on Thursday and arrived at 9 AM Friday. We slept hard since we went out to Gabana the night before. The typical Wednesday is this: intercambio, 100 Montaditos (euro montaditos and jarras of beer on Wednesdays) then Gabana, which is a club sponsored by Belvedere, and on Wednesdays, it has free drinks from 12-1:30 AM. Say you know Omar (the club owner), and you get in free.

Anyway, so the train was so nice- especially the return trip because Javi and I had our own luxurious room, and the train has a cafeteria and a nice restaurant, so it´s very nice and fun!

Back to Paris:
We stayed in Hotel Queen´s, which is super nice and cute, and it´s located in a VERY non-touristy area. It was recommended by Nancy´s brother, Mike, who has an apartment in Paris. OH YEAH! My mom and her close friend, Nancy, arrived last week on Tuesday! Forgot to mention that; it´s one of the reasons I haven´t posted in a LONG time besides the fact that you never have time for sleep here.

Back to Paris Back to Paris: Javi and I ate delicious food upon arrival: Croque Madame with a side salad and mushroom omelette. In France, you eat EVERYTHING or it´s considered a waste. I learned that the hard way, and I wished I had been hungrier before sitting down to eat. Also, at many places, you have to pay to use the restroom, so keep that in mind when you travel to France.

Javi and I wondered around, and we ended up taking a train to Versailles, which is kind of on the edge of town (the metro doesn´t go there). It was so amazing. We walked around the gardens and passed out on the lake´s edge until the madres arrived around 3. We all met up and ate dinner at this delicious Italian restaurant that Mike took us to with his wife and son.

That night, we walked under the Eiffle Tower and bought tickets for a cruise on the river for the next night. Mike showed us around Paris and took us down the streets with bars and lots of people. I can´t remember many names, especially since I´m not even half-decent with French. Paris at night is so awesome, but it´s very difficult to do things alone when you don´t speak ANY French.

The next day, we took a bus tour, which takes you to all the major spots in Paris, and you can get off and on whenever. We went through the Louvre Museum, and everywhere else you can imagine. We ate crepes and such for lunch, and we had dinner on the river cruise, which is a MUST DO in Paris.

The soccer game against Spain was that night. It was crazy! Spain won, and the people were, rightfully, not happy, but many were very destructive about it. Riot squads were standing aside ready for anything, and people were getting rowdy and aggressive. A wine bottle barely missed Javi´s head. We bolted and chilled at a bar until the people had dispersed and left the large area where they watch the game (like Madrid´s Bernabeu Stadium)

There´s so much to say about Paris and our experience, but nonetheless, I was very relieved to return to Madrid and to a place where I could communicate with the people. Unfortunately a heat wave hit this week, and it has been sooooooooo hot!!!!!!

This weekend we go to VALENCIA!! I actually go tonight, and I´m so excited!
MORE TO COME! EEEK!

Barcelona

Barcelona this past weekend was amazing. It is very different from Madrid, but you need more than 3 days for sure.

It is more spread out than Madrid, so the metro is INSANE. So many people are squished in it, and you have to travel quite awhile to get anywhere.

It was hot, and the people were crazy fun; bearing in mind that the people we met were mostly tourists due to the Sonar music festival, but we met SO many people from different places whether just for a 10 minute convo walking to the beach and back or drinking sangria before the club crawl at the hostel.

There is so much night life in Barcelona! We went to Shoko, Cat Walk, and the beach til the morning time both nights. Others went to Opium as well.

Everyone was there to have a good time:

We walked around las Ramblas, and we ate lunch there. It was very beautiful and difficult to describe. It's a street of shops and different architectural buildings. We went to the famous Market de San Joseph/La Boqueria, and it was INCREDIBLE: 10 times bigger than San Miguel's in Madrid. 

The beach was great, the water was cold, and the entertainment grand. 

The metro is open 24 hours on Saturdays - I WISH MADRID'S DID THE SAME!!!!

Barcelona has many stories, and we definitely made a ton! I have to return. 

Photos thanks to Jason Krusie & Vaness Charis

Mallorca! +

NEW VIDEO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN7gFYyPY9c

It's so hectic! You never have time to stop, eat, or sleep!
It's been super fun & classes are great. So much happens that it's hard to write a detailed post reflecting on the week, so I'm going to try to post more often; I've just REALLY been taking advantage of this siesta thing when I can since you don't really sleep at night. I guess that's what happens in a culture that you eat lunch at 2 and dinner at 10/11 PM.

Last week we did a bunch. Notably, we went to intercambio again and brought a large group of people to 100 Montaditos - I very much recommend! It's very cheap and DELICIOUS. On Wednesdays, una jarra de cerveza is only 1 euro and all the montaditos likewise are a euro, so it's a great deal. Montaditos are small bocadillos, which are sandwiches and are basically the food of choice here. Everything has an unbelievable amount of carbs here. We try to balance it with protein, but it can be quite tough!

Thursday we went to the famous Madrid club - Kapital - ^

It was UNreal. So much fun! We literally didn't get home til the sun was rising, which is actually more common than you think in Spain. 

I went to the famous Museo Del Prado on Friday. There's SO MUCH ART there & botanical gardens. El Greco, Velasquez, and the likes have many a painting there.

Javi and I went to Mallorca this last weekend as well! We left on train to Valencia for ~1:30, then took a ferry that stopped at Ibiza on the way to Mallorca - it was 10 hours long! Baeleria was the cruise name & yes, it was a cruise it turned out more than a ferry! And the Friday we went, they had bands playing on the terrace of the ship, so there was basically a party until arrival at 8 AM in Mallorca. Javi and I slept through most of this party after our crazy Kapital Thursday!

We then took an old style train to a tram to Puerto de Soller. It was nice because it is basically a tourist attraction and a cheap way to get around Mallorca. Mallorca is a MAJOR tourist attraction for, randomly, Germans. The people who work there speak Spanish, German & English at most places. 

Where we stayed was unbelievably beautiful. A video will be up soon. 

We PASSED OUT on the beach for ~4 hours, and I ended up with half of my body and face sunburnt since I slept on my side! Then we put the vibrams on and walked along a cliff trail to what ended up being the spot for local youth. They were sitting in circles on the cliff and jumping in the water and swimming with their pups. Javi and I sat out there for an hour or so, and when a group left, we jumped in the water from where they'd been sitting. It's quite cold there! 

We went to a delicious restaurant for dinner, and enjoyed sangria during the Germany game. 

The next morning we went back on our way to Madrid. 

Some lessons learned this week: 

• If it feels right, say you're from the UK because in some situations, it may work to your advantage in case a person doesn't like Americans much -- example: taxi drivers, club promoters
• Speaking of club promoters! To drink for free and have a fun bar hopping experience. Walk around Madrid just about any time after 9, although 11-1 are prime times. Club promoters are EVERYWHERE with get free entrance and free drinks/shots at that time. Walk in, have a drink, enjoy the atmosphere, leave, go with the next club promoter with a flier that says free drinks. (SOME don't have free drinks, but most do)
• 100 montaditos is the BOMB
• When you go to El Tigre and get Sangria, ask for it WITHOUT sugar. 
• When in the metro, and on all escalators, stand on the right side, walk down on the left. DO NOT STAND ON THE LEFT SIDE. 
• Don't call people señor or señora & don't use "usted" in Spain unless the person is very old or unless you want there to be a distance (like sometimes waiters and such) 
• People stare A LOT and it's normal- especially on the metro
• Get a piccell phone if you can

That's all I can think of at the moment! So EEEEE