Florence and Milan -- April 17 - 20

Florence, from the top of the Duomo!

We arrived in Florence early afternoon and headed to our Hotel (should be called a Hostel) which was right around the corner from the train station once again.  My friend Jackie is studying in Cortona, Italy (about an hour and half train ride) and she was coming to stay with us for the night as well! Unfortunately she missed her train in the morning and was running a little late, so Audrey and I set out by ourselves to explore.  We headed first to the Uffizi Gallery but thanks to culture week the line was 3 hours long.  We happened to run into McKenna, Kelsey and Abby so we all decided to head to the Academia Galleria to check out the David.  The line was only 30 minutes long and by that time Jackie was able to meet up with us! :)  It was SO good to be reunited with her.  She is a photography major and had been to the gallery before so she was able to teach us a few things about it.  After the gallery we made our way to the famous leather market in the center of the city... it was dangerous! I wanted literally everything I saw.  I did pick up a cute leather bag while I was there :)  We went back to the hostel to freshen up.  Hilarious story - our shower didn't have a curtain.. WHAT!  So after we were done showering our bathroom was literally like a monsoon hit it.  We headed back to the city center and got dinner at a place we stumbled upon.  We literally sat there for over 2 hours chatting and catching up - it was nice to take a break from being a tourist!  We got gelato and called it a night so we would be prepared for the morning.

Jackie and I at the top of the Duomo

The Duomo

The next day we woke up early and met up with Abby, McKenna and Kelsey to check out the Duomo.  We ended up climbing all 469 steps to get to the top and it was SO worth it.. the view of Florence was gorgeous from all the way up there, although a little windy haha.  When we caught our breath we climbed back down and Jackie and I split up from the group to do a little more shopping.. the other girls decided to go on a wine tour for the day.  Jackie and I hit H&M, hard.  H&M is the best store in Europe by far - wish the ones in the states were that sweet.  Yes, we spent over 2 hours in there and found some clothes to add to our European wardrobe haha.  By that time it was mid afternoon and we had plans to meet up with my other best friend, Kelsey, on the steps of the Duomo.  She studies in Florence but had class in the morning.  Again, it was SO good to see Kelsey :)!  We headed back to the hostel to get Jackie's things and got her on her train to head back home, she had class in the afternoon.  Kelsey and I then spent the day doing a little more shopping and I got to see her sweet apartment that she's been living in.  We met up with some of her friends from her program (she goes to Indiana University) and headed up to Piazza Michaelangelo to watch the sunset and drink some wine. It's one of their traditions and their program was ending soon so it was bitter sweet for everyone. The other girls were done with their wine tour by then so we all met back up and went out to dinner for McKenna's birthday!  We were recommended a place over the river and we had to wait until 10 pm to even get a table.  It was WELL worth it.. Kelsey and I split some sort of pasta (no idea what it was exactly) and pizza.  We were stuffed forever, one of the best meals I've had in Europe!  We said our goodbyes and then our group headed to Kelly's friend's boyfriend's apartment to spend the night - great way to save money!

Sunset from Plaza Michaelangelo

Me and Kelsey!

Tuesday morning we had planned on going to Milan super early but the Uffizi was closed on MOnday and it's something we all wanted to see.  We woke up at dawn and were in line for the Uffizi at 7:30 AM! Definitely worth it since we were literally second in line.  We were supposed to meet Kelly and Breanne outside so they could give us keys to the apartment to get our things.. only problem was Kelly was out of minutes on her phone and we couldn't contact her or Breanne.  PROBLEM.  We searched the museum for forever and finally (thank God) ran into them outside!  We headed back to Kevin's apartment and got our luggage and headed to Milan :)  We got to Milan late afternoon and checked into our cute hostel. It was run by a family and we had the cutest little room there.  We dropped our stuff and headed to the city center to grab food.  Milan is definitely more metropolitan than other cities in Italy I've visited so it was a change.  We knew of 2 famous places to eat at in Milan; one being a pizza place where they put pizza toppings inside a donut (2 of my favorite foods) and another gelato place where the cone of the ice cream was filled with hot fudge and the ice cream on top.  Both were epic and I"m glad we got the chance to try them!  We saw the main tourist spots like a gorgeous famous shopping center (outside) and the Duomo (which I wasn't allowed into because I was wearing shorts, ugh!) We headed back to the hostel since there wasn't a ton to do and took advantage of the free WiFi haha.

View from inside the mall looking out into the city center

Wednesday morning we headed back to Granada and FINALLY had a flight that flew straight into our city. No 2 or 5 hour bus rides.  Overall my Italy experience was all I could ask for.  Italy is definitely a country I can't get enough of - I can see myself returning many times :)  We got home in the middle of semana santa or Holy Week here - can't wait to see how Spain celebrates Easter!

Roma - April 14 - 17

So at first I really didn't want to go back to Rome since I had been there a few summers ago and I didn't know if it would be worth spending the money on something I had already seen before.. but in the end I decided to visit again and am I glad I did.  I had a totally different experience and I wasn't bored for a second seeing everything a second time.  It helped a little bit too that I knew a little bit about the city and I actually remembered a lot more than I thought.  The travel plans were a little complicated since everyone had their own itinerary in mind.  I traveled with Audrey and our plans were exactly the same (Rome, Florence and Milan).  Abby, Kelsey, and McKenna were a day ahead of us and Kelly, Breanne and Madeline were a day behind us so we were able to spend time in each city with all of them (except after Florence everyone split off a little bit).  The adventure began for Audrey and I on Thursday (we had to miss school) because that was the cheapest flight we could get into Roma...

Making a wish into the Trevi Fountain!

Another early morning and bus to Malaga.. thankfully our last one!  We got to the airport pretty early so had to wait around BUT I guess our Vueling flight was underbooked so we had to combine with an Iberia flight.. aka big seats and a legit airline!  Audrey and I are 95% positive there was a famous soccer player on our flight too.. he looked so familiar and had that appearance of being someone famous. I spotted it first, I'll keep you updated if I can figure out his name.  Anyways!  We arrived in Rome, and hopped on a train to Termini Station, a few blocks away from our hostel.  Yellow Hostel (weird name I know) was actually really nice.. we stayed in a mix dorm with weird boys and a girl from Australia.  We got on the Metro to head to Piazza de Spagna (or the Spanish steps) to meet up with McKenna, Abby and Kelsey to join them on a small walking tour of the city.  When we got off the Metro Audrey immediately realized her wallet was no longer in her purse.. we're not sure if she was in a  rush and dropped it OR if she was pick-pocketed on the Metro :( it was a nerve-wracking time but we decided there was really nothing we could do about it at that point so we met up with the girls still. We visited the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona.  At the end of our tour we met up with some friends studying in Rome and other people from U of I traveling that weekend!  The girls studying in Rome took us to this delicious pizza place close to their apartments.  I walk into the restaurant and ran into my friend Dustin from high school.. what a small world!  After dinner we walked around for a little bit but the weather was rainy so we called it an early night.

Pantheon

Day 2 (Friday) Breanne, Madeline and Kelly arrived!  We ate breakfast and met them at the Spanish steps once again.  From there we did a little shopping on Via del Corso and got me a jacket - who would have thought Rome would be so cold in the middle of April, definitely didn't pack for the weather this time :(. Of course we got gelato (strawberry is my favorite) and then headed to Vatican City because we had a reservation for the Vatican Museum at 2:00.  We walked through quickly (there's just too much to see) until we ended up at the Sistine Chapel.  We previously downloaded Rick Steeve's podcasts about some sites around Rome, so we listened to those and it was our own free tour.  The Final Judgement (the famous painting on the main wall of the chapel) is much more interesting when you know what you're actually looking at haha.  We made our way into St. Peter's Basilica, my favorite landmark still to this day, even after so much traveling, and then looked around the square for a little bit.  We wandered across the river for what seemed like ages until we stumbled upon a random restaurant down a random alley - sometimes the best kind.  The food was DELICIOUS.  I got gnocchi with a cheesey tomato sauce. Since the weather wasn't the best, and everyone was exhausted from traveling, we headed back to our hostel to relax.  We stopped at a little cafe right down the street and the girls got canoli's (not sure if I spelled that right) and coffee with Bailey's - why have I never tried that before?!

Kelly and I on the Spanish Steps

Trying to be artsy in St. Peter's Basilica

Saturday the weather finally decided to take a turn for the better - we could actually wear shorts! We woke up early and headed to the Colosseum and Palatine Hill/Roman Forum.  The good news was it was culture week in Italy so all the museums were free to get into.  The bad news was the lines were incredible.  We got lucky though and arrived early enough to beat most of the crowds.  We took an obnoxious number of pictures that day (well worth it!) and ended up getting lost in the ROman Forum.. you'd think they would mark the exits better among piles of ruins.  We went to lunch at another random restaurant and got some pizza then made our way to the Pantheon once again to try a famous gelato place called Giolitti.  The line was obnoxious but SO worth it.  I got Mango, Strawberry and Lemon.. definitely the best gelato I've ever had.  We went back to the hostel, Audrey and I packed up our things, and we got ready for dinner.  We stayed local and went to a small restaurant (that was packed!) right by Termini station.  Again, I can't say it enough, the food we got was delicious.  I got penne ala bolognese and I wish I could have eaten 10 pounds of it.  The owner loved us - he even gave us his business cards - and gave us shots of homemade alcohol before we left.  It was so strong I'm pretty sure my sinuses will be cleared for the rest of my life.

Colosseum

The group - Me, Audrey, Kelly, Madeline, Breanne

Roman Forum

Best gelato place!

We said bye to Roma (sadly) and went to bed early since we had to catch an EXTREMELY early train to Florence.  That's what happens when you're a student with a budget trying to travel ;)

Me at the Capital!

Alpujarras

Again, sorry for the non-updated blog in a while!  Trying to live up the last stretch of time I have left here - it's a weird feeling.  Here's a little bit about what I've been up to :)

The group.. yupp poor Jake and Matt were the only guys!

The weekend of April 8 and 9 (right after my parents left) we had a group trip to the Alpujarras mountains to hike for 2 days, 1 night.  For those of you that know me well I 1) hate the outdoors 2) hate anything that involves physical activity and 3) am not very coordinated.  Aka everyone was making fun of me even before we left for the trip...

Thank God we moved at the same pace! Me and Kelly

The group met early on Friday morning and we took a small bus a little over an hour away to the famous mountains.  The bus ride was very winding so I popped some Dramamine and was out for the entire trip since I get motion sickness.  We arrived in Pampeniera, Spain, a small "pueblo" (town).  There we  literally threw our things into a meeting room and headed out for our first day of hiking.  We met our guide for day 1 who turned out to be the spawn of satan.. I'm not kidding.  She took her job a LITTLE seriously... sorry I'm not going to jump over cliffs to move along the mountain faster.  Needless to say she hated me from the beginning since I was always last HAHA sometimes I think I did it on purpose, with Kelly right next to me of course.  After 3 hours of trekking up and downhill (which by the way, contrary to popular belief going downhill is difficult too) we took a break for lunch.  Our guide and her assistants layed out a spread of meats, cheeses, bread, and a bunch of vegetables.  They even let us lay in the sun and rest for about an hour, thanks to Miguel Angel telling her we needed at least a little break.  After lunch we hiked about another hour and a half until we got back to Pampeniera.  We checked into our hostel (I roomed with Karrah, Kelly and Audrey), showered, and passed out until we met for dinner at 8:30 downstairs.  Dinner was typical Alpujarras food - we had choices of rabbit, lamb, beef, multiple types of fish, etc.  I stayed safe and picked steak but my friend Breanne ordered rabbit.. and it came with the HEAD STILL ATTACHED.  I did try it though, tasted just like chicken surprisingly.

Pretty views.. see those white dots? That's the pueblo we hiked from!

Day 2 we began our hike early again and had the nicest guide, this time a guy, who actually made the experience semi fun, and for me that's saying a lot haha.  The morning began REALLY rough because we climbed all uphill for a good hour or so.  After a few hours we reached our ultimate destination - the top of a MOUNTAIN.  Yes, I climbed a MOUNTAIN.  The view was absolutely gorgeous and made the grueling trip there totally worth it.  We had the Sierra Nevada Mountains to our right and we were so high up we could see the Mediterranean Sea to the left, all the way back in Granada.  Our guide even gave us chocolate at the top for energy - see I told you he was cool.  We hiked down some more and he took us to 2 other small pueblos - one of them being his own!  We learned how houses in this area are constructed and their very simple way of living.  We stopped again for some lunch and began walking to our last pueblo.  I asked one of the guides if there was any more uphill and he said no. He must have realized my athletic ability because he LIED to me... let's just say we were LITERALLY scaling the mountain to get to the other side, slightly scary.  Kelly and I were struggling to get to the top (the guide then proceeded to tell me there would be ice-cream at the top) and we finally made it... there wasn't ice cream waiting though, but a BUS to drive us back to our original meeting place.  It was better than Christmas.  We all piled in, headed back to Pampeniera, and loaded up the buses for our trip back to Granada.

I DID IT!

When we got back to Granada we headed straight to a bull fight.  Bull fights come rarely to Granada, even though we have our own "Plaza" or stadium for them so we decided to seize the opportunity and go. Long story short, we were there for less than 10 minutes, found it absolutely terrible and disgusting, and left.  There's some things about the Spanish culture I will never understand and this was one of them.  The poor bull was so helpless and had no idea what was coming for him.  It was too much for some of us to handle so we thought it would be better to just leave.  Bull fighting is becoming illegal in many parts of Spain (like Barcelona and other areas) and the people of Granada are on board with making it illegal here also.  My senora doesn't support it either so she was glad that I came home early.  The ONLY good thing about that fight was that the ticket price went to charity for kids with down syndrome.. it made me feel like I wasn't supporting animal abuse.

Bull fight :(

The rest of the week was low key.  Our culture of Islam class did spend some time in the Albaycin (the old moorish ghetto) to tour where the old town used to be.  Granada still has such a strong Islamic impression so it was interesting to visualize how the city was actually constructed in the past. The remainder was spent figuring out plans for our next 10 day break, called semana santa or Holy Week which leads up to Easter.  I've never planned so last minute before but I crossed my fingers everything would work out and the horrible train strikes in Italy would hold off until we got home!

The Swedish Girls Arrive! Ahh

My senora decided to host 2 other exchange students from Sweden.. she wasn't going to at first, but the other school practically begged her so she accepted.  The girls, Amanda and Lena, arrived VERY late on Monday night / Tuesday morning - not until 4 am!  I was asleep by then but finally met them on Tuesday morning during lunch.  They're 18 and 19 and JUST how you would picture them - long bleach blonde hair and blue eyes.  Lunch was a little complicated since..

1. My senora speaks Spanish and French
2. I speak Spanish and English but unfortunately no Swedish
3. The girls spoke Swedish, English and VERY little Spanish

aka I was Miss Translator once again.  I tried to speak to them in Spanish so they would actually learn (why else would they come to Spain) but they literally had NO clue what my senora and I were saying so I translated between English and Spanish as best as I could.   They had to meet up with their group again after lunch all the way across the city and looked like they were about to have a panic attack when they whipped out their map and saw how far it was, so I decided to walk them.  On the way we spoke English so I learned a lot more about them.  They're in their last year of our equivalent to high school it sounds like and plan on taking a year off to travel the world once they graduate in June - how sweet right?  They think Americans are crazy for going to college right after high school.  The girls even asked me "aren't you sick of school?" and my response was pretty much "why do you think I'm here?" haha.

My only other encounter with them was this morning getting ready for school.  I explained to them IN ENGLISH that the 3 of us SHARE a bathroom which means we ALL have to get ready in the morning.  What does one of them do?  Gets in the shower at 7:40 when breakfast is ready at 8 and we all needed to be out the door by 8:30.  Believe me I don't mind sharing a bathroom but clearly they have some issues.. looks like I'm setting my alarm a little earlier tomorrow. haha

Last funny tidbit.. one of them claims to be allergic to gluten.  When my senora found this out she pretty much freaked out since we a) live on bread products and b) gluten-free products are very expensive here.  She was nice enough to go buy the girl gluten-free juice and bread so she at least had something to eat for breakfast.  Today my senora tells me, she vents to me all the time, that the girl ate chocolate (with gluten) and drank the normal juice (with gluten).  In Spanish she goes "I don't get it.. I think she's lying".  Not sure if someone would lie about a gluten allergy but I'm just glad I'm on my senora's good side.

The Family Visits Spain! April 1-4

The moment/blog post you've all been waiting for - Steve, Di and Auntie Josie come to Europe!!  I had such a great weekend with them showing them around my home for the past few months and I think they enjoyed it just as much.  They were amazed at how different the culture was and how beautiful Europe truly is - much different than the states.  Even though we had such a short time in Granada (they arrived on Friday afternoon and were gone by early Monday morning!) I was able to show them some of my favorite parts to the city...


On Friday I surprised my parents by meeting them at the airport!  One of my friend's family was on the same flight so we were able to wait for them together.  The fam finally landed around 1 in the afternoon.  Mom and Auntie Josie looked a bit tired but excited and my dad was in high spirits - he slept the entire 8 hours!  The travel agent had arranged a car so we took that to their hotel and got them checked in.  They stayed at Hotel Carmen (which was beautiful!) right down the street from my apartment.  We took advantage of the beautiful day and I showed them around my home for the past few months.  They were amazed by the views and how different/pretty the buildings were.  We stopped by my school and then walked up the street to eat at a place recommended by our program.  It didn't take my dad long to get used to Spanish food - he ordered boiled octopus for his first meal!  After lunch we wandered around the streets and walked into a few shops.  Another thing I forgot to mention, we don't really have a big shopping center anywhere (like a mall) so the streets are just lined with shops.  Aunt Josie and my mom were in awe.. and I'm pretty sure my dad shed a few tears because he knew what was in store for him haha!  I took them to a famous ice-cream shop, called Los Italianos, that is ALWAYS packed.  Michelle Obama even stopped there when she came to visit Granada last year. They were all jet lagged so we went back to the hotel so they could sleep for a little bit.  For dinner I took them to Restaurante Sevilla which is famous for paella.  My dad was dying to try it and all of them liked it a lot!  Ours was filled with seafood, chicken and vegetables.  To walk off dinner we headed towards Plaza Nueva and I showed them the Alhambra illuminated at night.  Ask how many times all three of them tried to pronounce Alhambra.  My dad and Aunt Josie finally got it after 3 days.. my mom, not so much.  She was convinced it was called Alambriance...


Saturday we got an early start and signed up for a tour of the Alhambra and Generalife.  The tour group picked us up at the hotel around 9:30 am and provided transportation up to the Alhambra. There we met our tour guide, I forgot his name, who was conducting our tour in both French and English.  Everything he said he said in both languages - how exhausting!  I was able to teach my family a little bit too since we're learning about a lot of the same things in my Culture of Islam class.  They especially enjoyed the second part of the tour, the Generalife, which are gardens and the previous sultans' summer home.  From the Generalife you get a gorgeous view of the Alhambra! I'm pretty sure they took about 90 pictures there.  We took the bus back down to the heart of Granada and got lunch in one of the main plazas called Bib-Rambla.  I introduced them to Menu del Dia (the multiple course lunch I explained before) and they couldn't believe how heavy lunch was!  They all loved the laid back atmosphere of Spain and just people-watching.  Aunt Josie couldn't believe how all Spanish parents dress their kids the exact same way, regardless of age.  When we were all full we did a little bit more shopping and enjoyed the weather (which was sunny and close to 70!).  On the way home my dad demanded ice cream once again so I took them to another place we love going to. Still full from lunch, we decided on getting on very light dinner - how perfect for a tapas night! I introduced them to Calle Navas - a street lined with great bars for tapas.  It was hard to find a table at first since it seemed like everyone in Granada was out for the night, but we finally sat down.  For our first class we got tuna sandwiches and chip-like things.  We ordered an appetizer of tomato salad and an assortment of fried fish to pick on.  Again, we just sat and talked and my parents and Aunt Josie soaked in the culture.  I think getting tapas was one of their favorite parts!


Sunday we woke up to some cloudy and rainy weather.  I took them to mass, yes in Spanish, at the Catedral at 11:30.  I hadn't been there myself so it was an experience for all of us.  Mass in Spain is VERY short and the priest didn't look up once, he just kept reading!  We were out of the church no later than 12:00 - unheard of in the states.  Right around the corner from the Catedral is the Capilla Real.  Here we found many paintings from the 14th and 15th century from various artists.  We also got a look at the tombs where Isabel and Fernando are buried.  They're buried underground and their caskets are kind of freaky to see, but again, interesting.  We walked back to Bib-Rambla, since that's where many of the good restaurants are, and tried another restaurant called Monolo's.  After lunch we headed to my apartment so my family could see where I lived and to meet my senora!  I told them about the 2 kiss custom but I think we were all a little nervous.  As a thank you present for taking such good care of me my mom bought Encarnita a small crystal cat (since she's obsessed with cats) and a photo album.  My senora LOVED both of them and was excited to meet my family!  It was a little exhausting to translate between Spanish and English, but I made it work.  we went out on the roof of our apartment building, the terrace, so they could get a nice view of the entire city of Granada.  My family took a bunch of pictures with Encarnita too so I'll have to upload one when my parents send them to me when they're home!  We said our goodbyes and made our way to a small cafe to get a pastry and warm up a little bit - it had been raining on and off all day.  They all had a very early flight (7 am) to Rome the next day so we decided to call it an early day.  When we got back we skyped my brother, Bobby and Grandma Smith to check in and I left them so they could get a good nights sleep.


Overall the weekend was everything I expected!  I'm so glad I was able to show them all the things I loved about Granada and they seemed like they really liked it as well.  After they visited I realized I take some things that I have here for granted since they are so normal to me but so new and different to them.  I'll definitely miss these things heading back to the states!  I'm excited to see how the rest of their trip goes throughout Italy and can't wait to hear all their other crazy adventures :)


As for me, only about a month left - it is crazy how fast it has gone.  I probably say that every week haha.  This weekend I'm going hiking in the mountains with the group in a small city about an hour away.  The following weekend I leave for Italy.. then it's Easter, Portugal, finals and home sweet home back to the states... how bittersweet.