Granada
I had the feeling that I would love Granada before I even arrived. And I was right, what's not to love about Southern Spain? After only 24 hours of being there I could easily imagine seeing myself living there.
So what made Granada so breathtakingly amazing?
Trees and mountains...oh how I've missed them. Little did I know, the Sierra Nevadas are located just outside of Granada, surrounding you with breathtaking views. The city is filled with bright colored buildings, unlimited tapas with your drinks and dreadlocked hippies. The area by the river looks almost Italian and other parts of the old city look like they could be in a Moroccan souk.
And the beauty continues...
On a hill above Granada lays the famous Alhambra palace which over looks the entire city. An oasis of elegance as Rick Steve calls it. The Alhambra is one of Europe's main attractions and dates all the way back to the 9th century, but wasn't a palace until the 13th century.
Blue skies and sunshine, it couldn't have been a more perfect day. As I walked around, I felt as if I was in a fairy tale. This is hands down, one of the most intricate, yet elegantly beautiful places I've been to and highly recommend seeing it if you ever go to Spain!
The night life doesn't quite compare to Madrid, but the charming small city makes you feel more at home and gives you a real sense of belonging compared to the bigger cities. A known bar in Spain is the 'Wall Street Pub' that we happened to find in Granada. The prices vary every 5 minutes depending on how many people purchase that type of alcohol. So if it's popular, the price goes down and vice versa. After a late night out, we enjoyed some amazing pizza before we headed back to our 5 star hotel that my program provided us with.
I didn't want to leave, 2 days wasn't enough time. But that just means one thing...I'll be back in the future!
So what made Granada so breathtakingly amazing?
Trees and mountains...oh how I've missed them. Little did I know, the Sierra Nevadas are located just outside of Granada, surrounding you with breathtaking views. The city is filled with bright colored buildings, unlimited tapas with your drinks and dreadlocked hippies. The area by the river looks almost Italian and other parts of the old city look like they could be in a Moroccan souk.
And the beauty continues...
On a hill above Granada lays the famous Alhambra palace which over looks the entire city. An oasis of elegance as Rick Steve calls it. The Alhambra is one of Europe's main attractions and dates all the way back to the 9th century, but wasn't a palace until the 13th century.
Blue skies and sunshine, it couldn't have been a more perfect day. As I walked around, I felt as if I was in a fairy tale. This is hands down, one of the most intricate, yet elegantly beautiful places I've been to and highly recommend seeing it if you ever go to Spain!
Tapas! Who doesn't like free food? Granada is one of the few cities left in Spain that gives you free tapas with your drink everywhere you go. And it's more than just one or two plates, leaving you satisfied.
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| Wall Street |
I didn't want to leave, 2 days wasn't enough time. But that just means one thing...I'll be back in the future!
Until next time, Granada!
My 24 hour journey to Munich
Knowing I'd be in Europe during Oktoberfest, I figured I'd celebrate it where it all started.. Munich, Germany. So, I bought my plane ticket in advance and was all prepared. Or at least I thought I was. No more than a week before my trip, a friend wanted to come a long and asked to see my flight itinerary. Little did I know I accidentally booked my flight to Frankfurt......So, of course I panicked. Luckily, there's a train station at the Frankfurt airport that heads to Munich, at least my detour will be a little more.. scenic..? Got to stay positive, right? Thursday rolled along and it was time to set out on this journey to Munich, alone.
Stop 1: Madrid to Paris
Check!
Stop 2: Paris to Frankfurt
Check!
After 7 hours I had made it to Frankfurt. I then took the shuttle to the train station and had a 5 hour wait ahead of me until my train came. I went to the bar, which was closing and ordered a glass of wine hoping it'd make me tired, so at least I could sleep. I then sat restless and shivering outside of Starbucks, using the 30 minutes of free wifi I had.
Time was ticking slowly and the temperature was dropping quickly. I went into my bag put on a sweater, a jacket, then my rain jacket and a scarf.....still didn't help. The station started to quiet down, luckily I'm a pretty patient person so it wasn't too bad.
I lied, it was pretty bad.
Finally, 1am had come. Only one more hour left. I took out my ticket to double check and looked up on the board and everything seemed to be good! As 2am approached I walked down to the station and waited patiently with the others. I asked multiple people, "Does this go straight to Munich, no train transfers?" They all said yes. As the train approached I asked one of the train conductors to make sure, he told me to stay on and at 7am I will arrive in Munich. Perfect.
I got on the train and held on to my backpack and closed my eyes. The train stopped every 20 minutes...No sleep for me. I waited until I heard Munich over the intercom, nothing. Suddenly we were at a stop, but this time is was longer than usual.
A train conductor came in and asked me where I was heading. I told him Munich. He told me that this was the last stop and that I'd have to take another train. Hoping I was close by, I asked him where I was.
He said, "You are in Switzerland ma'am."
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If all could go wrong on this trip, it happened. He told me I had to buy another ticket to Munich, which would be another 5 hours. This was a joke. I went to the front desk and the lady told me I'd have to buy another ticket for $180 euros..! I asked her if there was anyway I could get a refund because I had already paid to go to Munich. She told me to go to Bahnhof train station where I got my ticket from and see what they could do. Of course Bahnhof wasn't close by and it required me to travel around Switzerland and take two buses there. Oh the joys of traveling alone.
Of course, I get lost. I asked numerous people for help and of course their answers would be in German, French, Italian and god knows what other languages. My phone was dying, I hadn't eaten in 15 hours and I looked like a hobo. Fabulous. Thankfully someone who spoke English approached me asking if I was lost. He was about to head on his bus, but missed it to help me out. He led me to where I could catch the bus and told me where to get off at. ----To whoever you were, thank you again!
Finally, I had made it to the Bahnof train station and told them my dilemma. I got on my next train and finally after 2 trains and 5 hours made it to Munich, 24 hours later...
Prost!
After traveling through four countries and finally arriving in Munich, this was probably one of my favorite weekends yet! Well worth it and it was a good learning experience. This definitely won't be my last time visiting Germany, I'll be back soon!
Stop 1: Madrid to Paris
Check!
Stop 2: Paris to Frankfurt
Check!
After 7 hours I had made it to Frankfurt. I then took the shuttle to the train station and had a 5 hour wait ahead of me until my train came. I went to the bar, which was closing and ordered a glass of wine hoping it'd make me tired, so at least I could sleep. I then sat restless and shivering outside of Starbucks, using the 30 minutes of free wifi I had.
Time was ticking slowly and the temperature was dropping quickly. I went into my bag put on a sweater, a jacket, then my rain jacket and a scarf.....still didn't help. The station started to quiet down, luckily I'm a pretty patient person so it wasn't too bad.
I lied, it was pretty bad.
Finally, 1am had come. Only one more hour left. I took out my ticket to double check and looked up on the board and everything seemed to be good! As 2am approached I walked down to the station and waited patiently with the others. I asked multiple people, "Does this go straight to Munich, no train transfers?" They all said yes. As the train approached I asked one of the train conductors to make sure, he told me to stay on and at 7am I will arrive in Munich. Perfect.
I got on the train and held on to my backpack and closed my eyes. The train stopped every 20 minutes...No sleep for me. I waited until I heard Munich over the intercom, nothing. Suddenly we were at a stop, but this time is was longer than usual.
A train conductor came in and asked me where I was heading. I told him Munich. He told me that this was the last stop and that I'd have to take another train. Hoping I was close by, I asked him where I was.
He said, "You are in Switzerland ma'am."
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If all could go wrong on this trip, it happened. He told me I had to buy another ticket to Munich, which would be another 5 hours. This was a joke. I went to the front desk and the lady told me I'd have to buy another ticket for $180 euros..! I asked her if there was anyway I could get a refund because I had already paid to go to Munich. She told me to go to Bahnhof train station where I got my ticket from and see what they could do. Of course Bahnhof wasn't close by and it required me to travel around Switzerland and take two buses there. Oh the joys of traveling alone.
Of course, I get lost. I asked numerous people for help and of course their answers would be in German, French, Italian and god knows what other languages. My phone was dying, I hadn't eaten in 15 hours and I looked like a hobo. Fabulous. Thankfully someone who spoke English approached me asking if I was lost. He was about to head on his bus, but missed it to help me out. He led me to where I could catch the bus and told me where to get off at. ----To whoever you were, thank you again!
Finally, I had made it to the Bahnof train station and told them my dilemma. I got on my next train and finally after 2 trains and 5 hours made it to Munich, 24 hours later...
Prost!
Oktoberfest also known as Wies'n dates all the way back to 1810. It's a 16 day festival running from late September till the first week of October with more than 6 million people from all over the world attending it.
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| Dirndl The history of the Dirndl dates back to the 18th century, it was the dress that women peasants wore. In the 19th century people started to wear it for special occasions and holidays. During Oktoberfest you see women dressed in dirndls and men wearing lederhosens. |
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| Lost in Basel, Switzerland. At least I got to explore another country? |
After traveling through four countries and finally arriving in Munich, this was probably one of my favorite weekends yet! Well worth it and it was a good learning experience. This definitely won't be my last time visiting Germany, I'll be back soon!
Madrid
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| First Real Madrid game! Unbelievable watching this live. |
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| My favorite, Cristiano Ronaldo |
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| Katleiah, my best friend since kindergarten that visited me! |
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| Kapital, 7 story club with different types of music on each level. Madrid has probably one of the best night life. |
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| Italian food and wine |
The start
Coming to Spain I wanted to have the "full Madrid experience" so I chose to live with a host family. I've always heard horror stories from others, but I somehow was blessed with such an amazing family. My host family includes Alicia and Fernando and four other housemates who are also in my study abroad program. It is always a full house! The apartment consists of two apartment rooms into one, so it is very spacious. We are located about 20 minutes out of the main city center (Sol) which is perfect for a good nights rest!
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| Alicia and Fernando |
Food.. wow, where to begin! In Spain, meal times are very different than what I have been accustomed to in the United States. Breakfast is whenever you wake up and is usually light, like toast and coffee. Lunch is served around 2 or 4 and is the biggest meal of the day. Dinner is served around 9 or 11 and is usually light. People don't tend to go out here until 1am and are out until 7am or later!
For meals, Alicia cooks the most delicious-never-leaving-you-hungry dishes and it's always something different! She also bakes a fresh loaf of bread every morning! Oh, am I going to miss waking up to the smell of that when I leave! When I've talked to other friends with host families, they don't seem to be getting as spoiled as I have been with my family. I am truly blessed and thankful!
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| Tortilla de patata One of the most commonly served dishes in Spain. It consists of a thick egg omelet made with potatoes and fried in olive oil   Tapas are a variety of small savory Spanish dishes, often served as finger food and comes along with your drinks at a bar or café.  |
The school I am attending is Universidad Antonio de Nebrija. It's a small private school with mostly international students and some Spaniards as well. So far classes are good and I love my teachers. My school is located a little further out from the main city, so it takes about 45 minutes to get to. The plus part about having it further away is the amazing view we have over looking the city on one side and beautiful mountains on the other.
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| First day of school |
Madrid, Spain
I'm not one to blog publicly, but I figure with all this traveling I'll keep my friends and family updated. I've been in Madrid for about 2 weeks already and I can see why everyone falls in love with this city. From wine and tapas, to taking the metro the wrong way (multiple times) or salsa until 7am, this city never sleeps.
Some weird 'rules' I've picked up:
1. Don't stretch or yawn in public, especially in class -The teacher will call you out
2. Always have your belongings in sight, thieves are sneakier than you think!
3. Don't sit on the ground
4. It's rude to take food togo after eating in a restaurant.
5. When you greet, kiss both cheeks and make sure you go left first or it will be awkward, trust me
5. Oh and don't forget to use the word 'vale' in every sentence. Vale? :D
Some weird 'rules' I've picked up:
1. Don't stretch or yawn in public, especially in class -The teacher will call you out
2. Always have your belongings in sight, thieves are sneakier than you think!
3. Don't sit on the ground
4. It's rude to take food togo after eating in a restaurant.
5. When you greet, kiss both cheeks and make sure you go left first or it will be awkward, trust me
5. Oh and don't forget to use the word 'vale' in every sentence. Vale? :D
Parque del Retiro
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| Parque del Retiro is one of the largest parks in Madrid. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th century when it became a public park. It is partially laid out in a French style, while other parts are more natural. In the photo above is the lake. Here you can rent a rowing boat and enjoy a beautiful day in the sun. |
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About Me
- Aluna
- When we focus our energy towards constructing a passionate, meaningful life, we are tossing a pebble into the world, creating a beautiful ripple effect of inspiration. When one person follows a dream, tries something new or takes a daring leap, everyone nearby feels that energy, and before too long they are making their own daring leaps and inspiring yet another circle. —Christine Mason Miller