Driving along Spain's eastern coast: Valencia and Alicante

Like I said in my last post, on Monday morning our group left Barcelona for Valencia. Our group changed a bit that morning, as Molly and Amy headed back to Granada. Thus Anais, Jayson, Liz, John, Courtney and I caught the 12:00pm train and arrived in Valencia around 3:30pm, meeting our other friend, Lacie, at the train station. Lacie had gotten into the city the night before and was able to lead us on the 10 minute walk to our hostel. Exhausted, we freshened up and rested for a little while before leaving the hostel around 7:00pm to walk around the city. Valencia is beautiful at night and we were lucky to run into lots of friendly people willing to take photos of our whole group. A few minutes from our house was the Plaza de Ayuntamiento. This plaza contains a beautiful fountain, the City Hall, the main Post Office and other buildings from the city's golden age. The plaza was decorated for Christmas with garlands of lights and a giant lit-up Christmas tree in the center. From this plaza we walked to the cathedral and took a look around. However, there was either a mass or some kind of meeting about to begin just as we were arriving thus we didn't spend too much time inside.

Valencia at night.

Group photo in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento.

The fountain in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento.

Courtney, Lacie, Jayson, Anais and Liz... being silly.

Valencia's cathedral.

Inside by the alter.

Late night walks are my favorite!

Me and John.

Tuesday morning we got up early and made our way into the city around 11:00am, wanting to take full advantage of our one full day in Valencia. We started the day off at Valencia's port. While there's not much there now, the port was the host of the 33nd annual America's Cup (sailing races) in 2007 and we were able to see all the teams buildings, etc.

Finally... Valencia in the daylight!

Valencia's small port.

Anais and John.

After spending a little while walking along the port, we made our way to the City of Arts and Sciences, an incredible group of museums, venues and monuments that Valencia is famous for. The "park" is amazing- it's impossible to describe and almost as impossible to capture in photos. Here's a description that I snagged from a website: "The City of Arts and Sciences is a huge futuristic educational complex designed for Valencia by the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrva, as a present to his home city. Calatrava's vision is that of the space age, inspired by animal skeletons.[...] The City of Arts and Sciences is composed of 5 elements, all bound together in a luxurious landscape of clear water spaces and greenery. It is truly a city within a city- you will find yourself far, far away from Valencia, on some distant planet in a distant time." While in the park, we were able to spend time at both the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (the Concert/Opera Hall) as well as the Museo de Ciences Principe Felipe (the Museum of Science). If I ever get the opportunity to return to Valencia, I'd love to visit the park's L'Oceanografic (the Marine Park), the biggest aquarium in the world!

Approaching the City of Arts and Sciences.

The Science Museum.

Left: The Concert Hall; Right: The iMax Theater

The Concert Hall.

L-R: Lacie, Courtney, Anais, John, Liz and me.

What a cool place! I wish that I could have visited it for a longer period of time...

It began to rain as we were walking around the City of Arts and Sciences and while having lunch at a nearby shopping center, Lacie suggested that we make our next stop the Museo Fallero (Museum of Las Fallas). Las Fallas is a festival that takes place in Valencia every March and it's undoubtedly one of the most unique and crazy festivals in Spain. Originally started as a feast day for St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, Las Fallas has evolved into a five-day, multifaceted celebration involving fire. Here's a brief history about the celebration: "the focus of the fiesta is the creation and destruction of ninots (“puppets” or “dolls”), which are huge cardboard, wood, paper-machè and plaster statues. The ninots are extremely lifelike and usually depict bawdy, satirical scenes and current events. A popular theme is poking fun at corrupt politicians and Spanish celebrities. The labor intensive ninots, often costing up to US$75,000, are crafted by neighborhood organizations and take almost the entire year to construct. Many ninots are several stories tall and need to be moved into their final location of over 350 key intersections and parks around the city with the aid of cranes on the day of la plantà (the rising). The ninots remain in place until March 19th, the day known as La Cremá (the burning). Starting in the early evening, young men with axes chop cleverly-hidden holes in the statues and stuff them with fireworks. The crowds start to chant, the streetlights are turned off, and all of the ninots are set on fire at exactly midnight." It was a really interesting museum and we had a great time looking at all of the sarcastic and satirical winning ninots. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to see the celebration in person this upcoming March!

Museum of Las Fallas.

Lacie with one of the winning (and therefore spared from burning) ninots of a previous festival.

It's hard to believe that the figures are made from paper mache!

Who's grumpier, Jayson or the old woman?

After walking around and thoroughly enjoying the Museum of Las Fallas, we caught a local bus and headed back into the city center. We strolled through Valencia's Central Market and ended the day with a traditional Spanish meal of paella and tapas at a local restaurant. It was a busy day but we definitely enjoyed all that Valencia had to offer!

Central Market.

This would make a great Christmas card photo!

The next day, Wednesday December 8th, was the last day of our vacation and time for us to head back home to Granada. We said goodbye to Courtney who took a train back to Granada and Anais who had to take a bus back to Madrid. The rest of us (John, Jayson, Liz, Lacie and myself) decided to rent a car for the day and to make our own way back to Granada. It was going to be a long drive- about seven hours- but we were excited to be able to make the trip at our own pace, with our own music, enjoying each other's company. So, armed with just a map of Spain's major highways (nope, no GPS on this road trip!), we left Valencia and headed south along the coast, reading the highway signs to direct us. After a few hours of driving, we began seeing signs for beaches. Hungry and anxious to stretch our legs for a bit, we stopped at La Playa de San Juan located in the coastal city of Alicante. We were shocked to discover free parking just a minute's walk from the beach! Getting out of the car, we took off our shoes and sweaters and made our way to the water. We couldn't believe that on December 8th we were enjoying 72 degree weather and wading in the Mediterranean Sea!

Playa de San Juan.

Wait... is it really December 8th?!

Loving the warm weather! (L-R) Liz, Lacie, John, me and Jayson.

We spent a few hours enjoying the day and grabbed a hamburger and beer at an outdoor cafe before heading back to the car and finishing up the drive to Granada. By the time we arrived home that night it was already 11:00pm and we were exhausted, but thoroughly happy with a wonderful long "weekend" and lots of new memories! What a great vacation!

A weekend in Barcelona...

Hello, everyone! I'm back in Granada, very tired yet very happy, after a wonderful trip to Barcelona and Valencia. As I wrote in my last post, last Thursday night I boarded a plane from Granada to Barcelona to begin a 6-day long "weekend" with Anais, John and a group of five of the other students from the GRIIS program. Why did we have such a long break at the beginning of December? Well, December 6th is a national holiday here in Spain (Día de la Constitución) as is December 8th (Día de la Inmaculada). With both these days being holidays, in most places in Spain (but not all), the 7th is considered to be a "bridge" that connects the two days and thus many people have the day off, especially students and teachers. With such a long weekend on our hands we eagerly boarded the plane and landed in Barcelona around 10:30pm on Thursday, December 2nd. As it was so late, we didn't do anything more than find the apartment where we were staying (located in the area of Barcelona known as "La Rambla") and grab a quick bite to eat. However, on the bus from the airport to La Rambla, the area where we were staying, I couldn't help but be amazed by the sheer size of the city. Barcelona is a huge and majestic-looking city and appeared even more so due to the bright lights adorning all the buildings, trees and plazas for Christmas. As we hung out in our apartment that night before heading to bed, we were all very eager to start exploring the city the following day!

On Friday morning, the seven of us slept in and celebrated the start of our vacation with something completely un-Spanish- brunch! Here in Spain there's really no equivalent for American brunch and we had all been craving our favorite breakfast foods for quite some time! So, we went to the market and bought the ingredients to make scrambled eggs and french toast. With toast, fruit, orange juice and coffee rounding out our feast we stuffed ourselves until we couldn't possibly eat any more. How American! At 1:00pm, John and I started receiving phone calls from Anais saying that her plane had landed and that she was on her way to the apartment. After Anais got settled in, our group went to St. Joseph Market (La Boquería) to see all the food and other booths.

The entrance to the St. Joseph Market (La Boquería).

Delicious, fresh -and cheap!- fruit for sale.

A booth selling meats and cheeses. Note the hanging legs of ham (patas de jamón) that are very popular here in Spain!

Fresh seafood (marisco)... it was still alive and wriggling about on the booth!

Upon leaving the market, our group split up for the afternoon. The five other GRIIS students- Jayson, Liz, Courtney, Molly and Amy- bought tickets for a tour bus to see the major monuments in Barcelona. On the other hand, John, Anais and I went on our own walking tour of the city since they both had already visited it before. We started out by walking down the streets in La Rambla, ending up at the Port de Barcelona (Barcelona's port). It was a beautiful afternoon and we enjoyed the warm, sunny weather as we strolled.

Walking around "La Rambla."

Me, Anais and John by Barcelona's Port.

Port de Barcelona.

What a beautiful day we had! Sunny and warm!

I wanted to go sailing!

After walking along the boardwalks, we headed into the city's Gothic quarters. There we walked along the narrow streets and were surrounded by small plazas and beautiful old buildings. After stopping for a snack of chocolate con churros, we saw the Picasso Museum, the Cathedral as well as the Barcelona's City Hall. To end our first day in the city, we made our way back to St. Joseph Market and bought German sausages for dinner.

John and Anais, mapping out our route.

One of the many churches in Barcelona.

About to enjoy some delicious chocolate con churros!

Barcelona's Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia is very impressive to see, despite being under renovation.

The Gothic-style cathedral dates back to the 13th century but wasn't finished until the early 20th century.

Barcelona's Ajuntament, Catalan for "City Hall."

As we were eating, the rest of the group returned to the apartment. We were all tired and didn't feel much like going out to a club or the bars that night so we decided to stay in and hang out amongst ourselves. We were enjoying Spanish beer, listening to music and playing card games when we heard a knock at the door. Expecting an irritated neighbor coming to complain about the noise, we were thrilled to find three Irish kids our age in the hallway asking if they could join us! The three Irish- Eoghan, Ciara and Joey- were staying in the apartment across from ours and were in Barcelona for a mini-vacation, too. It was great to meet them; they were so friendly and funny and got along really well with everyone from our group! As they're from Dublin, I'm hoping to try and maybe see them again when I visit Ashton sometime in the next few months!

Moving very slowly Saturday morning on account of having been up so late with our "neighbors" the night before, we had a leisurely breakfast as we drew up that afternoon's plans. Full and freshly showered, we set off to catch the metro to head up to visit the Sagrada Familia. The Sagrada Familia is perhaps the most famous "monument" in Barcelona- it's a stunning Roman Catholic church (Basilica) designed by architect Antoni Gaudí. Although it's still incomplete, the Sagrada Familia is breath-taking to look at and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Having arrived at the church too late to enter, we again caught the metro and headed over to Parc Güell. This, too, was designed by Antoni Gaudí and was built between the years 1900 and 1914. The park is beautiful and we made it there just in time to watch the sun set over the city!

The Gaudí Museum, found at the entrance of Parc Güell.

Climbing the stairs in the park to overlook the city.

My friend Liz and I next to the famous chameleon statue.

I love all the mosaics and the colors found around the park!

Jayson, Anais, me and John.

The view from the top. Barcelona at dusk.

Most of the group, from L-R: Amy, Molly, Courtney, Anais, Jayson and John.

 Later that night we decided to experience the nightlife in Barcelona. We went to a club called Razzmatazz and spent the night dancing in the giant club- 7 floors! The club was much, much bigger than any of the clubs here in Granada and it was fun to experience "big-city" nightlife for a change!

Sunday was our last full day in Barcelona. We headed back down the port and climbed the Mirador de Colom, or Columbus Monument. From atop the monument we were able to see some incredible views of the city.

Mirador de Colom.

Port de Barcelona.

Overlooking La Rambla.

Next we made our way back to the Sagrada Familia to take a look at the inside. What I thought was stunning from the outside was even more incredible from the inside; Gaudí was truly a talented visionary.

The Sagrada Familia.

Isn't it lovely?!

The alter.

Looking up! The pillars are meant to resemble trees.

John, me, Anais, Liz, Jayson and Courtney.

It's hard to believe that even with all this detail, the Sagrada Familia is still incomplete and under construction!

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through the city and eventually made our way back to the house for a "home-cooked dinner" of sausages and salad. Deciding to stay in again on account of having to check-out the next morning before heading to Valencia, we invited our new Irish friends over again and spent the night hanging out and having fun in the apartment. The next morning at 10:30 we said good-bye to Barcelona and made our way to the train station to begin our next adventure!

Thursday: the best day of the week!

For as long as I can remember, I've loved Thursdays. (Similarly, I've always hated Tuesdays, but that's another story for another time...) While Thursday isn't quite Friday, the day signifies that more than half the week is over and assures us that yes! the weekend's almost here. For the past two weeks, I've had even more reason to love Thursday due to some very fun events. I'll start with Thursday, November 18th. On that particular Thursday, instead of leaving work to catch the 2:15pm bus back to Granada, I stayed in the teacher's lounge until 2:50pm, the end of the school day, so that I could join the teachers at their monthly "jamón y queso" party. A few teachers were setting up extra tables and covering them with paper. As soon as all the students had left the building, all of the teachers began bringing out plate after plate of Spanish ham (including my favorite, jamón serrano), cheeses, breads, nuts, chocolates, potato chips and flan. There were dozens of bottles of wine (delicious red rioja!) and plenty of beer and soda for those who weren't fans of the wine. About 25 in total, we ate, drank and chatted for a few hours. The teachers and I exchanged lots of stories and colloquialisms about the USA and Spain and spent the whole afternoon enjoying each others' company. After an hour or so, someone brought out a guitar and we began singing popular Spanish and American songs, complete with dancing of course! Around 8:00pm, we all cleaned up the lounge and headed to a pub in town for a cocktail before calling it a night around 10:00pm. It was a great evening and I definitely feel that I bonded a lot with my coworkers.

Last Thursday, November 25th, as all of you already know, was Thanksgiving. While I wasn't home with my family enjoying my beloved "traditional" Thanksgiving Day celebrations, I by no means forgot the holiday. As you all know from my last post, GRIIS' director, Amalia, invited the students and me to her house to join her family at 9:00pm for a Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't know what exactly to expect but was pleasantly surprised with not only turkey and mashed potatoes, but with cranberry sauce, stuffing and pumpkin pie, too! We spent a good two hours eating and like every good American, we left the tables stuffed and barely able to walk. Here are some pictures from our Spanish-American Thanksgiving:

Here I am with Paula, 15, and Amalia, 12. They're Amalia's daughters whom I tutor in English every Monday and Wednesday afternoon.

The first table, patiently awaiting the start of our Thanksgiving dinner!

The second table, digging in and passing the food around.

¡Qué buena pinta tiene la comida! Doesn't that look delicious?!

Amalia cutting into the "tarta de tres chocolates" that Ana made for our dinner.

Dessert! Ana's tarta, chocolate ice cream and... yes!...pumpkin pie!

Tomorrow's going to be another great Thursday! I work a full day tomorrow, from 9am-2pm, after which I'll head home for lunch before catching the bus to the airport at 6:00pm to start a six-day trip to Barcelona and Valencia! I'm very excited... I've never been to either of the two cities before and I've heard nothing but amazing things about them. Next week, there are two holidays in Spain, on Monday and Wednesday, and a teacher holiday on Tuesday. This means that I have a six-day weekend (can I even call it a weekend if it's practically the length of a normal week?! Hmmm...) starting Friday. Tomorrow night at 8:55pm I'm flying with John and six other students in GRIIS from Granada to Barcelona. The following afternoon, Anais will meet us there as she's flying in from Madrid. We'll be in Barcelona until Monday morning, when we'll split the group up a bit. Five of us, Anais and John included, will head down to Valencia for two days while the other three will go their separate ways on different trips. Wednesday morning, after two days in Valencia, Anais will head back to Madrid and I'll come back to Granada with the rest of the group. The weather's been pretty rainy and cold here in Granada this past week but I've been checking the forecasts for Barcelona and Valencia; if they stay the same, we should have partly sunny skies and mild temperatures for the duration of our trip. Not exactly summer weather but I'll take it!

Alright, time to go. It's midnight and, true to my style, I have yet to pack for tomorrow's trip. I'd better get on that right now... ¡Buenas noches!