Italia-Spring Break Pictures 2

Spanish Steps in Rome
Trevi Fountain in Rome
Piazza Navona in Rome
Michaelangelo´s Pieta in St. Peter´s Basilica in Rome
St. Peters Basilica
The Colosseum
Easter Sunday mass on the steps of St. Peters Basilica
Sunset in Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre
Manarola, Cinque Terre
Hike from Vernazza to Monterosso; a view of Monterosso
Vernazza, Cinque Terre
En route to Monterosso
Another sunset in Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre
Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

Italia-Spring Break

Karen and I in Venice
St. Mark´s Basilica in Venice
Venice by night
Venice from the Clock Tower in St. Mark´s Square
Karen and I with the Grand Canal in Venice
San Croce Church in Florence
Ponte Vecchio in Florence
Karen, Cindy, and I in front of....one of the many churches in Florence
Florence from Piazza Michaelangelo

The Duomo in Florence

El que espera, desespera. I had been waiting patiently to be rewarded with Spring Break, but more so than just a break, to see one of my very best friends from home that I had not seen since her wedding in June! Therefore, it seemed as though the weeks leading up to Italy slowly dragged by, just because I was excited for them to begin! After a 6 hour overnight bus ride to Madrid, followed by an excursion through the Madrid Metro system, a RyanAir flight to Rome, a 40 minute bus ride to my stop for the night, followed by a 3 hour train ride the next morning, I was finally to Florence. And then, I waited another 2 hours, as Karen and Cindy wound their way around Florence, dragging their suitcases, and worrying that I would be kept waiting as they could not figure out where they were on the map because they´d gotten off at the wrong train station. The joys of traveling.

We spent two nights at the Hotel Ocagna in Florence, the first of them attending Italian mass in the Duomo church, which as is written in the random event pages of Karen´s life, she was asked to partcipate in the collection of the money. The next two days were filled with tasty Italian food, searching for the ¨perfect¨¨cute¨¨tasty¨Italian restaurant, and dodging the tourists much like ourselves who wanted to see all of the important sights in just a few days. Although we never made it to the Uffizi Museum, we certainly made up for it by Cindy´s keen eye for churches. I think we saw more artwork in the 4 days together than combined portraits and statues in the Uffizi. We got a great view of Florence after a hike up to Piazza Michaelangelo on a spectacular sunny day, where for some strange reason, there were about 70 ladies dressed up as brides we think, along with their grooms and bridal parties.....we are still confused.....maybe a photo shoot?, and then the opposite view after a bus ride up to the small town of Fiesole, which also overlooks Florence. We also treated ourselves to much needed Cappucinos as frequently as possible, and always followed dinner or coffee up with Tiramisu, just to compare the different varieties that make this a popular Italian dessert. To top if off, we had a great last meal in Florence at the ¨cute¨¨traditional¨restaurant we found in Rick Steve´s Italy 2006.....which every other person in the restaurant surely had used to find it as well...none of them being locals, but winning top prize in my book for the best food and most fun atmosphere!

Karen and I spent the train ride to Venice catching up on our lives over the past 9 months, still feeling astonished at the fact that we would reunite in Italy of all places, but feeling so thankful that we were able to do so. Stepping out of the train station in Venice, we immediately felt the maze that the city is comprised of, simply trying to find out hotel. Once finding Hotel Doge, we got a good laugh out of the fact that we would get ¨breakfast in bed¨...because there was no place else to eat it at the hotel. The energetic, not so fluent English speaking worker, was overly enthusiatic to inform us that she would be bringing us breakfast at 8:30am. Wow, we couldn´t wait to be woken up at that time!!!!! The entire situation reminds me of a play I just read in one of my classes mocking the bourgeoise society-Tres Sombreros de Copa, by Miguel Mihura. If you´ve read it, you can place how we were feeling just like Dionisio in the story :). Visits to St. Mark´s square and church, the clock tower that overlooks Venice, calling every bridge the Rialto bridge, and feeling like we were in the middle of Disneyland because of all of the tourists were some of the highlights of the beautiful city of Venice. We chose not to ¨Disneyland it up¨by doing a gondola ride, but instead, we fell into the trap again of finding the perfect café to indulge in a cappuccino. At the foot of the real Rialto Bridge, the epi center of tourism, in a café that turned out to be German of all things, overpriced, and for the stipulation that it needed to be warm, guess what we didn´t notice? It was an open air café. We got a good laugh out of our desperateness for a cup of coffee. I definitely should have used my veto power there huh Karen? :)

That night after a fine dinner at Osteria Alberto, another Rick Steve´s reccomendation, we decided to go for a stroll...um...not so easy in the labryinth. We got a little turned around, but eventually made our way back to Hotel Doge and settled in to await our wake up call. 8:30 rolled around pretty early, and the knock on the door led to us being served breakfast in bed. We must admit that we all felt pretty akward in our pijamas...being served by the hotel worker, but it turned out to be a nice little breakfast despite the comic relief it provided us all first thing in the morning. Day 2 in Venice treated us to a trip to Murano island, famous for Murano glass, our first Italian Gelatto, another trip to St. Mark´s Plaza, and of course several other churches. We ended the night with a farewell meal just 2 doors down from our hotel room.

Karen and Cindy´s departure opened the door for my solo stint of the trip, to Cinque Terre, or the ¨5 lands¨that had been raved about by everyone I knew who had been there. I arrived after a full day´s travel on train, getting off at the first La Spezia train station instead of the second, and a hike up the one hill that exists in the first town of Riomaggiore, to my hotel room at L´Arcobaleno. I hadn´t exactly worked out in a few days, but that trip up the hill with my little roller suitcase was as bit treacherous. I was then a little worried about the hikes that lied ahead of me in the next few days :). My first full day in Cinque Terre consisted of a hike from Riomaggiore (20 min) to Manarola, to Corniglia (40 min), to Vernazza (1 hr. 30 min). I decided to save the last leg of the trip for the next day, so I would enjoy it more being that it was the hardest leg of the trip. Some of the views of the towns, of the ocean, and of terraces carved in the hillsides used for agriculture were some of the most beautiful I´d ever seen in my life. It was also a really great few days for reflection and realizing the beauty of this opportunity in my life. During my time spent in Riomaggiore, I treated myself to a big lunch each day, one was a pizza mmmmm, and the other was Spaghetti Carbonara that was fabulous. I was also witness to two incredible sunsets, an interesting Good Friday mass at the local parish, and the locals who strolled the ¨street¨of Riomaggoire by night to check out the activities. All in all, Cinque Terre was one of the highlights of my trip for many reasons. One main thing was on my mind though.....when was the Fortier baby going to be born?????? (Another best friend from college was due...and I didn´t have Internet access in Riomaggiore :)....so I waited patiently...!

The rest and relaxation was necessary to tackle Rome, which is where I ventured next to stay with my friend David. Also turns out that another friend that I had grown up with, who is now living in Amsterdam, was going to be in Rome at the same time. Two girls from Corning, California in Rome, Italy??? Pretty fun! Katie Coke, her boyfriend, David, myself, and Lauren indulged in a ¨Welcome to Rome¨dinner in which I once again ate Spaghetti Carbonara, while others had mussel soup, fried codfish, pizza, bruschetta, etc, in an atmosphere that was clearly Italian with white and red checkered tablecloths, and garlic hanging from the ceiling! After dinner, we even got to watch a little bit of the men´s Final Four Basketball games as we continued to visit!! On Easter Sunday, I awoke early and headed to St. Peter´s to check out the atmosphere. I really didn´t have to know how to get there; I just followed the thousands of people! I didn´t have a ticket to the mass, but it was outside on the steps of St. Peters, so everything that we couldn´t see in detail, was projected onto the big screen. This was one of the ¨once in a lifetime¨experiences I´m glad that I had the chance to be a part of. Although I didn´t make it through the whole mass, the 2 hours that I was standing there, meant a lot to me. Easter Sunday ended with a great dinner with my new Rome friends, and topped off with another visit from Katie Coke!!!! I was also able to Skype my parents and brother and his family, which made for a nice dose of home.

I took the next two days in Rome to heart, and decided to do the tourist gig. Each day, I wandered the streets of Rome, hitting up all of the hotspots that I had already visited in 2004 with Lisa Mispley Fortier (she had her baby the day before Easter btw!): the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, St. Peter´s Square, the Colosseum, etc. My only dissapointment from the first time visiting was that I didn´t get to go inside of St. Peter´s Basilica. Seeing that 2010 I have proclaimed as my ¨Year of no regrets¨haha, I was bummed when I couldn´t even find the end of the line to get into St. Peter´s. I succumbed to the fact that I probably wasn´t going to get in this time either. Regardless, the awesome visit to Castel Sant´Angelo on the first day, and the Capucchin Monks Crypt (4 rooms decorated with nothing but bones of 4,000 monks because they were not allowed to be buried within the city of Rome) made the return trip to Rome worth it. The flipping of another coin over my shoulder at the Trevi Fountain 6 years ago really did work.....wish I could remember what my wish was then to see if that had come true. :) I continued the tradition again this year, and then bolted to give St. Peter´s one last try, as it closed in an hour. LUCK! I basically walked right into the Basilica, and was in awe being inside of one of the most famous, and meaningful places on Earth. Michaelangelo´s Pieta rivaled Bernini´s arches towering over St. Peter´s tomb and the main altar, as well as Bernini´s Dove Window, and the ¨kissable¨foot of St. Peter (I rubbed it instead of kissing it). The enormity of the building was an incredible sight, and upon leaving realized that I now felt not only happy with my trip to Rome, but much more fulfilled. Check that goal off the list :)

Lilathon 5K

Right after the warm-up; on the steps of the City Hall ready to start the race!
This was a band that was encouraging the runners along the Zurriola Beach in Gros.
The finish line
Done!! Rachel and I after partaking in an amazing experience!

One of the coolest (I know I say this every time I write), and most meaningful things that I have participated in since arriving here was the Lilathon Women’s 5K running race last Sunday. The USAC office sent us the information, and my friend Rachel and I decided we wanted to do something local, so we signed up. Upon arrival at Eder Alderri Park/Ayuntamiento/City Hall de San Sebastián, we were amazed at the thousands of people that were already roaming the area waiting for the festivities to begin. I believe that they chose to hold the women’s only race on Sunday because Monday was the day of the “Working woman.” We worked our way inside the building to complete our registration forms. Rachel and I wore our USAC T-shirts so we would feel like a team, and represent foreigners as well, because we had seen pictures from last year, with the women wearing matching shirts, and we thought it looked like a lot of fun. Once we got our registration number, we had to get our bag of goodies including a T-shirt, foot chip (to record the time), and numbers to pin on our T-shirts. I sported the straight spandex, which I would never do at home, but I thought, why not? When in Spain, do as the Spaniards do J. After prepping ourselves and realizing that we lucked out because the weather was amazing for an event like this, we headed to the front of the Ayuntamiento for an aerobic warm-up. Luckily, our friend Mary was with us and was our photographer for the day, documenting everything that we did. We hopped around, doing aerobic warm ups in front of a huge crowd for about 30 minutes before the race began. The environment was electrifying, women were so happy to be spending time with their friends, and to help promote women’s sports on the street in a historically machistic society. Right before the flag was lowered for the race to being, they played a song to which everyone danced, and being in the back of the pack, we got about a 5 minute later start that the other ladies because we were smashed together like “sardinas en lata” (sardines in a can). Once we officially had started the race, we felt like we were in the Boston Marathon, as people lined the streets for miles. Just being over 3 miles, we passed through some of the most notable places in San Sebastian; starting along la Concha Beach and then weaving through el Centro and passing the Buen Pastor Cathedral, running along the river, and then by Zurriola Beach, before turning around for the homestretch and ending up along the Bulevard in la Parte Vieja. Although we ran at a snails pace, with out cameras in hand to soak it all in, we certainly enjoyed taking part in an event somewhat like a “local.” And of course, all of this hard work merited a breakfast afterwards at the infamous (or not) La Vaca restaurant!!!!

Last Weekend in February!

Gotzon & Inigo Mujika
The 3 Mujika Brothers

Bilbaobasket vs. Lagun Aro San Sebastian Gipuzkoa Basket

This is for you Dad; on the wall at the concert
Bizkaia Arena; Bilbao

My press pass
This was my game time seat-Press Row!

I sometimes wonder why things happen. Then, when something like this happens, I just feel plain lucky, and really believe that sometimes things are meant to fall into place where they are supposed to be; when you least expect it. As I’ve written before, I decided on a whim to get a part time job, once a week. So, after putting in my request to the USAC Office, I was placed with a family and a 9 year old girl. First positive: getting to do my homework on the job while Helene is at English and Dance class. Second positive: getting paid 10 euro an hour for doing my homework. Third positive: Helene’s Dad works for the local TV station. Fourth positive: Not only does he work for the TV station, he is the commentator for the local professional basketball team (and covered the Olympics in Beijing. Etc. etc. etc.) So, when I saw a basketball laying in a basket in their hallway on the first day of “work,” I mentioned it to Helene’s father. This prompted me to tell my history with basketball, and then preceed to get an invitation to a game with him. At the time, I had no idea what his job entailed. Now, I have a first hand knowledge.

Xavi picked me up from in front of Buen Pastor at 10:00 am Sunday for the ride to Bilbao. With him, a journalist who covers the San Sebastián team, and the ex-coach (now co-commentator) of the same team. And me? Yep. We took the hour drive to Bilbao for the “derbi” (what they call a rivalry game), with the guys doing their best to include me in the conversation. When we arrived, I kinda new we were VIP when we walked up the back stairs of the stadium, and Xavi slipped me a card that said, “la prensa” aka “press” and said, “just in case anyone asks.” We each grabbed the media guides, updated stats, and the fan programs to use for “reference” during the game. Xavi then stopped to chat with everyone we passed, and then handed me off to two guys who took me to get some coffee; Xavi and Co. then joined us about 10 minutes later. On the semi-awkward-because I had no idea who these men were-walk to the café, which was inside the building that not only housed the stadium used for concerts, basketball, and huge events, but is also a cultural center, I came to learn that one of these men was a camera guy, and the other, his assistant. VIP, I tell you.

Before the game, I had no problem flashing my pass as I explored the stadium, and then joined Xavi in PRESS ROW, right behind one of the baskets. To my left sat the ex-coach, and to his left, Xavi. In front of them, there was a TV, so they could see what people at home were seeing, and a computer screen with the updated minute-to-minute stats. During warm-ups, interestingly, “Eye of the Tiger” played, along with several other popular warm-up songs from the U.S. On the San Sebastián team, there were two Americans, one Polish guy, and the majority of the rest were Spanish nationals. The arena filled quickly…with Bilbao fans, waving green, balloons, and chanting the song that goes (dunt, dunt, duntduntdunt, duntdunt, BIL BAO-or in Corning we say, “GO CARDS” at the end…you get the picture). After introductions, the atmosphere got loud quickly, as this is an intense rivalry. Xavi wore headphones during the game, so I was unable to speak with him, but could “listen” to what he was saying…but not understand, because he commentates in EUSKARA!!!

At the conclusion of each quarter, the “stat girl” came by and handed us all the updated stats for both teams. During the second quarter, as I grew accustomed to doing, I watched the small TV screen in front of me to see what the people at home were seeing, and to get an up closer look at the huddles. To my surprise, the side view of MY face ecompassing the entire screen is what I saw during a brief 5 seconds. After getting over the shock that my face had been on TV, Xavi was pointing, hands in the air at the screen mouthing, “DID YOU SEE THAT?” He promised that at work this week, he would cut the clip and send it to me. I’ll be sure to pass it on, as I just love the profile of my face.

Although the game was not a fabulous game to watch, as Bilbao is a much more disciplined team, it was entertaining none the less to see San Sebastián’s coach get a technical foul, as well as two players. For me, just being in the gym was a taste of life at home. On the ride home, the men talked about the game and critiqued every aspect of what they had seen, while I reflected on the fact that I had my first press row experience, press pass, and Spanish TV fame. I don’t know how I stumble upon experiences like this, but I am very grateful, and thankful for the experience!!!! This game ended a great weekend filled with a trip first to a sidrería on Thursday, a solo hike up Monte Urguall on Friday to soak in the sunshine topped with a delicious dinner at a local restaurant, and a concert Saturday. Each weekend just keeps getting better!!!

Andalucia, ctd.

Sevilla's cathedral: Santa Maria de la Sede
View from la Torre Giralda, in Sevilla's cathedral
Sevilla; Puerta de Jerez
Dave and I en route to Cadiz
Cadiz-Carnaval

Andalucia

Cadiz Carnaval
The boat from Rota to Cadiz
Carnaval costumes; myelf, Paula, Dave, Miguel
An afternoon of Tapas in Malaga
Malaga cathedral

I haven’t written in a while, but the main reason behind that is probably because school has intensely heated up, I went on a five day vacation, and I somehow get to the end of each day wondering where it went. Bad organization of time? Certainly could be. Going to make it a point to try to start getting up earlier; 9:00 just doesn’t cut it, although it is very difficult due to living with four other people. One thing I’ve really come to learn/realize is that no, in fact, I do not function well without sleep. This includes my ability to speak a second (and third-Euskara) language. This needs to become my priority, but I can’t always control the noise decibel in my piso :(. Hmmmm…in the last fifteen days…..

Two weeks ago, I randomly made plans to visit a friend of a friend in Southern Spain. As I don’t have class on Fridays, and we were given Monday and Tuesday off of the following week due to Carnaval, I decided that I needed to treat myself to a vacation. So, after getting to know this friend-of-a-friend, Dave, through email, we decided to meet in Málaga. I know, I know, Mom, meeting someone I don’t know in a foreign country? My justifcation: better than traveling alone, and I trusted my friends from home J. Turns out, David’s grandmother lives in Southern Spain, in a town called Rota, which was just a short boat ride from Cádiz, where it just so happens that one of the most infamous Carnaval celebrations in Spain occurs each year. Perfect!

After class on Thursday, I booked it home, threw my way-over packed backpack on my back, and speed walked to the bus station, about fifteen minutes from my piso, in the part of Donosita called Amara. I boarded the bus, and immediately…..started doing homework. What’s wrong with teachers these days? Homework over vacation? A presentation, and two tests the day we get back? I just don’t understand teachers sometimes…………….:) Yet, I do. My bus ticket took me straight to the Bilbao Airport, dropped me off in front, and I checked my baggage into the Vueling Airline, and gave a half hearted attempt at doing more homework before boarding and sleeping the entire hour and half flight. Beautiful thing sleep is; and I can’t help but sleep in a moving vehicle, boat, plane, etc. It’s just innate I think.

I arrived at the Málaga Airport, hopped in a cab, and chatted up the driver on the way to Picasso’s Backpacker Hostal, the site where I would meet this mystery person that my mother was so dearly worried about. I immediately noticed the difference in the Andaluz accent from that of the Basque; something I’m not sure that I would have noticed before interestingly enough. Also, I found myself judging it; as if it weren’t as good as the Basque accent J. I guess I’m starting to look at things from the point of view that I am living here in the center of the Basque Country; turns out it’s a pretty great place. I arrived, and believe got overcharged by the oh-so-friendly cab driver, and checked into the hostal, awaiting Dave’s arrival.

After Dave arrived, we decided to get a bite to eat and get to know each other a little bit, as we’d be spending the next four days together. After a pretty early night, I was overjoyed to find that the top bunk that I had been so graciously left by the Canadian girl on the bottom, included an amazing down comforter. I am going to make an investment when I get home. If I ever go back to Málaga; I stay at this hostal. Sleeping in a room with three other strangers never was better. Got a great night’s sleep and ready for the next day’s adventures. The next day consisted of dodging the rain whenever possible. To do so, Dave and I visited the Cathedral, uhmm…wandered though it I mean, and snapped a few pictures. He got used to my excessive picture taking real quick. We then decided that yes, we did need to visit the Picasso museum, as this was his birthplace. However, as proved to be the theme of the weekend, we first got something to eat. We found a somewhat of a hole in the wall (we thought) until the server spoke English and so did every other person that came in. Oh well, we made it as Spanish as we could; ordering about five different raciones, splitting them, and chatting for about three hours. My favorite part of the meal? The snails J. Nothing like stabbing a snail with a toothpick, dragging it’s body out of its shell and then chewing it. Mmmmm. Really though, delicious!!!! The Picasso tour ended about an hour and a half later, when I decided I needed a nap. It was vacation, right? So, I napped before dinner (I told you we did some eating), and we found a place to eat near the hostal. Here…I had my first taste of Mexican food in a month-chips and guacamole! The night ended young; me with my earplugs and down comforter, snuggled away for a great nights sleep.

Saturday morning, as I fought with my gi-normous backpack that I didn’t need, and Dave diligently carted around his carry-on size rolling suitcase that I’m pretty sure included only two pairs of socks, a couple shirts and a lint brush, he demanded that we trade. I tried to refute, but he wasn’t having it. What a good friend. So, I rolled the suitcase with little in it, while he had thirty pounds on his back. We took a local bus to the airport where we had a rental car “awaiting us.” Or so we thought. Turns out, the reservation Dave had made somehow didn’t coincide with the company, and for sure we got overcharged, especially for the tiny little car that we ended up with. Regardless, we were on a mission to make it to Rota with enough time to catch the boat to Cadiz.

Turns out, our mission first was to find food; naturally. So, as we hit up the highway, we also hit up every closed restaurant at that time of the day. However, once we had pulled into a closed Burger King, we couldn’t get The King off the mind, and were set on fast food; however we could find it. Eventually about twenty minutes away, as we followed a two lane road through little beach towns, and fearing that we were lost, we came across and open Burger King. Shortly after, we found the highway. Only a slight detour though cute little towns. No big deal as we had our BK. It was good too..no lie, the chicken sandwich was legitimate.

After satisfying our hunger, we continued (without a map) to try to find the highway, which we eventually did, after driving through about five little resort towns that line the southern coast. Once we eventually made it to the highway, which didn’t included speed bumps and stop lights that we had been obeying for an hour, it was smooth sailing. The countryside was spectacularly green, and hilly, as one might imagine, with little white housed village dotting the landscape from time to time. We ended up passing though Cádiz, the site of the night’s future festivities, and ended up making it to Rota in just about three hours. Rota is a town of maybe 10,000 people maximum, which lays on the beach, and has a nice, quaint feel to it. We were welcomed to Dave’s Grandmother’s house with of course, lunch (snails again J). Homemade meals. I’ll take ‘em anytime I can. The house is a small three bedroom, open living room/dining room, and a tiny, tiny kitchen. Regardless, the whole family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmother, etc. ect-people Dave didn’t even know) were very hospitable, and I enjoyed speaking with them. However, we were on a mission to find me a costume, buy boat tickets, and be in Cádiz..in about two hours. The first costume shop we went to, opened at five and people were hovering around outside for the last minute costume. As the doors opened, I went straight to the fitting room while Dave’s cousin and friend shoved costumes in for me to try…we were on a time schedule. What do I end up with? A jester costume? Yeah. Probably could have found something a little more attractive, but I was considering the warmth factor. We headed over to Cádiz on the ferry at 7:30, meeting some other people that they knew. I certainly loved seeing everyone’s costumes, as Carnaval is like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the big hoo-rah before the Lenten season begins. Or, through an American’s eyes, a huge Halloween in February. Regardless, we arrived with the masses to Cádiz, and first stop. Food stand-what else? This turned out to be a major theme of the evening; fries, hamburgers, doughnuts…etc. things that I would never eat on a regular basis. However, as per one of my instructors, it is the time to splurge….so, well, that’s what we did. We meddled in different plazas throughout the city for about ten hours, finding people everywhere we turned to speak with, and then buy some more food. We stumbled into one of the main plazas where there was a concert, but it was difficult to hear due to the sheer quantity of people that had packed the plaza. Then, we got more food. The costumes were something to be noted, as was the custom. Most groups of friends dressed up in the same store bought costume. Therefore, looking over one shoulder, we would see a group of six chickens, over the other, a group of ten soldiers, behind us, wolves, etc. Regardless of the costume, everyone’s intent was the same. Fun. Ten hours later, however, everyone’s intent was: sleep. But..the boat. We pushed and shoved our way back to the boat to ensure we would make the first one. Heavy eyes and Julie don’t mix. My first thought of bed was about three hours before, and I just can’t get that out of my mind when I know what I want.

Therefore, the 4pm wakeup the next day was insane, but understandable seeing how we didn’t get to bed until 7:30am. I don’t know if I can hang with Spanish hours. We woke up to another lunch J, and the bus station to Sevilla.

We arrived in Sevilla on the 14^th, and Dave met up with another friend, so I was able to treat myself to a Valentine’s dinner of Mexican food. My justification was that there are no Mexican places in Donostia, so I have to enjoy it when the opportunity arises. Then came the banana split….. (still had one more day before Ash Wednesday). Made it back to the room to call it an early night. Dave headed back to Rome the next morning, and I was able to awake, refreshed, and explore once again, the BEAUTIFUL city of Sevilla. I had been there before, in the heart of summer, battling 100 degree weather, and now, I was there in the middle of the worst downpour supposedly they had in like 70 years. Therefore, it was a necessity to buy another umbrella from the man standing outside of Starbucks. For 3 euro, it served me well.

I spent the day dodging the rain, and enjoying time to myself, time to do whatever I wanted to do. I spend several hours in the cathedral, with the largest square footage in the world. I have always been amazed the this cathedral, and had no problem sitting in a pew, saying a few prayers, zoning out, and soaking in my surroundings. This cathedral not only is mentioned in the Spanish textbook that I use in my classroom back home, but also holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus, and is the site of la Torre Giralda (which Maribel and company visit in the textbook). Of course then, I hiked up the Torre Giralda, taking pictures along the way at every window, and arriving at the top to view the city from above. The whole time, I was thinking of my students at home, and how now, I will be able to tell them that I’ve been there and have pictures to prove it. Somehow, I always revert back to them, and all of the new things I will be able to share with them.

After a solo day, filled with a traditional fish lunch, and then allowing myself to get lost in the city, so I would have to ask someone directions (which a really nice lady did, and we walked and talked for about 20 minutes), I once again tucked in for the night. After a Starbucks visit (in which I finished some of the homework I needed to do for the next day), I headed to the airport. The taxista was another overwhelmingly friendly man, and we conversed for about twenty minutes, as we drove through the town, and he pointed out all of the new things that had been built in Sevilla for the World’s Fair in 1992.

Hours of travel made me thankful to return “home” to Donostia, sleep in my own bed, and dedicated myself to setting a routine.

FLOW

Since the trip, I have started, and been consumed by a translation project for the movie documentary “FLOW” (WATCH IT!!!!!). To get graduate credits in one of my classes, two other girls, along with our teacher, program coordinator, and myself, are working together to translate a school curriculum from English to Spanish that will enable teachers in Spanish to integrate this movie into their classrooms. My piece is approximately 50 pages, and our goal is to have it done before spring break….which is about a month away. Although very tedious and demanding, I find it fun in a sick kind of way because of the intriguing topic, and the “puzzle” of figuring out what sounds the best. Although I have been working solely on this project alone for at least four hours a day for the past week, in addition to other homework that seems to get done at the last minute, I have enjoyed jumping in head first and letting it consume me; although it has been consuming my social life.

OUT AND ABOUT

As alluded to, I have not been able to do a whole lot except for translate, eat, sleep, and go to class, however I’ve managed to do a few things. I’ve been out to pinxtos again, where my friend Lisa and I were on a mission to find the same pinxtos bar because we NEEDED to try the mushroom pinxto again. After a half hour of wandering in Gros, we came upon the restaurant, and let it melt in our mouths. This dish is amazing and inexplicable in words; a large mushroom, with a creamy and sweet white sauce, drizzled over foie. We also found ourselves at Aloña Berri, which is mentioned in the New York Times article, “36 Hours in San Sebastian.” We split three pinxtos here. It is difficult to explain the delicacy of pinxtos until you have experienced them for yourself. They aren’t about eating fast and feeling full. They are about taste, conversation, and pure enjoyment. The owner of the restaurant gave us his recommendations, and they were delicious. I am unable to tell you what exactly we ate now, but I can tell you that the owner, and his waiters were very proud of their establishment, and were eager to share their art with us. We shall return again.

INTERCAMBIOS

I now have three intercambios, aka insta friends J. I met with María, the original, again on Saturday, where after a coffee and conversation, we went to a local fish market. It is the little things like this that make me realize how much I take for granted at home. I’d been in this market before, but without her explanation of what was occurring here. She looks at the market as an art, as I’ve learned all Basques do with food, and explained the filleting of the fish, and pointed out how each booth was decorated in their own way, with the fish on display. It really was quite beautiful.

I meet with my second intercambio tomorrow. And, last week, I got an email with information for another one. A third? Why not. So, Ugaitz and I met on Monday at a small café near the Zurriola Beach. He is a 24 year old who has recently graduated, and is in the process of looking for a job, possibly in Madrid, or possibly in San Sebastián. Our time was spent entirely in Spanish, as he says that he has other friends with whom he can speak English. This was fabulous for me; also was the fact that he speaks entirely way too fast, yet I understood every word he said. Anyways, he was easy to talk to and a very nice guy.