Toledo a Sevilla

So today we left Toledo for our final destination...Sevilla. I woke up around 7 and got ready showered and all that jazz and packed up my stuff. Then my roommate Aries and I went down to breakfast. I had pan con chorizo and I'll olive oil and fruit ( watermelon and kiwi) and some peach juice. We had a big table of like 12/13 of us and we just sat around and talked about what we did last night and other topics. We then went our own ways to get our luggage. When I got to my room I made sure I had everything and I was set. Aries and I fitted into the elevator and went downstairs and checked out. After waiting in the lobby for like 20/25 minutes we loaded the buses. I'm on a bus with a few of the people that I have been hanging with like taryn Courtney Shelly Lauren Colton and others that I met at airport. There are three buses for Sevilla. We have three buses because each bus is taking us to a different location depending on where our host family is. I'm a little nervous to meet my host family but I should be fine I'll be myself and help out and follow the rules. For the bus we have two stops before in Sevilla a 20 min break at a rest stop to use baño and get something to drink or eat. I got a big thing of water because thirsty and gum and a little milka chocolate because haven't had one in a long time and that's it. We have a 3 hour drive til we stop for lunch which is an hour then we will be meeting our host family!!!   The scenery of our trip down to Sevilla is gorgeous... It's hilly and the green trees of all different types are here. I know I would hate driving through this area I don't know how the bus driver does it... So many turns.we went through stunner and held my breath and made  a wish but can't tell ya what that is. It also reminded me of when my family and i I were stuck outside a tunnel somewhere in Italy I believe and I had to go to the bathroom so bad because I drank like 2 liters of water and we were stuck in traffic... It was awful. We had lunch at like a little oasis In Andalucía  ... We got lunch ...I had a small thing of pasta i was going to get a bocadilla but I wanted a warm plate well let's just say wrong choice I ate like a third of it... Wasn't that taste. We had a big group of us together and we looked at the little gift shop. I walked outside to get a pic then a guy who is with the saint Edwards program and I talked about things like Peru what we are studying in school and how we like Spain so far. I can't remember his name because have met lots of people but I'll ask again lol. We will be in Sevilla by 5 pm tonight. Next blog will be about meeting my familia!

Madrid a Toledo

So today woke up at 630 and got ready because we had to be in the lobby at 9 am with our luggage and I have a carry on a big bag and a backpack so I got a lot and the big bag is half of me or more. Lol. Well around 745 I went down to breakfast and had fruit and pan and some mango and pear juice. It was nice. When I was done I went to the room and got my stuff and took the elevator down... Definitely beat the crowd lol yay go me!! We walked to the bus in group which happened to be a block and a half away and we definitely looked like tourists haha but it's all good. I boarded bus once my luggage was on bus and then I brought backpack on bus with me and wrote the dia en Madrid blog. I sat with Shelly on our way to Toledo. We knew we were gonna be walking and have a mandatory meeting so I took a nap on bus so I could survive. I woke up at right moment when we arrived in Toledo. I took a bunch of pics from us and then when our tour guide boarded the bus we then stopped at a few sites and got out and looked around. We then got off and started our walking tour. We went to a Montessori and we had a Spanish speaking guide for our tour. She talked kind of fast but she was pleasant and nice. We walked around saw a mosque and the cathedral in Toledo. Toledo is the old capital of Spain before Madrid. In Toledo there is a lot of influencia de Los arabes judíos y católicas. It's very interesting here! When we drove into Toledo everyone was in awe because its so different from Madrid. I find Toledo like the Europe you expect to see for me it kind of reminds me parts of France where my family and I have visited. Our guide took us into the little streets with shops and we window shopped kinda of like Verona Italy ... We also saw one of Greco's famous paintings in a museo but could take pic because pics were forbidden and I don't wanna get in trouble. We then had time for lunch so we walked around looking for a place to go. We couldn't for a while but then we found a statue of Miguel Cervantes and took a picture with him like as a group then just me!!! Miguel Cervantes is like Shakespeare to us Americans he wrote don Quijote. We then found a nice cervecería and the girls ( Kelsey madi Shelly taryn ally Becca and Courtney and me) ate at. It was nice and we were in the sun and I got some color ( yay tan) lol we the walked around looking at shops and we see a lot of fans here and taryn and I want to buy one but they will be cheaper in the south so we are anxiously waiting. We met up with the group around 4pm to go to our hotel. The hotel we are staying at is called hotel Beatriz it's quite nice and pretty, it's in the modern part of Toledo away from the historic sites. Plus there is FREE wifi...yeah buddy! The rooms are nice and bigger than those in Madrid. The hotel itself is quite busy because there are like 3 weddings and 2/3 communions happening at the hotel. The group of girls i Hang out with decided it be best to take a nap before our meeting so we did. The meeting was not bad... Not too bad mostly stuff on culture and what to expect for tomorrow and to see which bus we are on tomo because we meet our host family Tomo .. Little nervous but excited to settle instead of constant moving around and hauling my luggage everywhere lol. After the meeting we decided to go get food do we over heard another group going tow pizzeria and I asked them where it was and that we will meet them because we were waiting on people. Well let's just say it was an adventure but we found our way and we got some help From a nice lady who helped us to get to the street we needed to. It was just myself taryn Becca Courtney ally and Shelly who went to dinner we ordered a large pizza margarita it wasn't like an American pizza at least to me it was nice we each had a slice and each had a third of a slice. I had thT and a cocacola light aka diet come. We then took our trip back to the hotel and then decided to call it a night and we are all meeting up for breakfast at 8. Tomo is going to be a long day and a long day on a bus so I'm charging up m electronics. Well until tomorrow... Buenas noches todas!

Día en Madrid

Dia en Madrid So my full day of Madrid was awesome. Woke up around 730 because I was gonna walk with my friend madi but the hours were set hour back on her phone. So I was up and did some stuff on. Internet. Then got some breakfast... Some plain yogurt fruit n pan con jamon. Then got ready and then we went on a tour of the city which is what we were supposed to do on first day. It was nice we saw the city then we were dropped off at the real palacio where the royals use for special events but do not live in... They actually live outside the city of Madrid. It also has over 2000 rooms. We then walked around going to different plazas and seeing the architecture. there is architecture that represents the arabic influence Spain but not much but you can pic up things. We also went to the plaza mayor which was quite interesting because today is day that there was s big fútbol game between Barcelona and Bilbao ...they are huge rivals people all over came to watch game. It was interesting and different because us American love fútbol Americano aka football. We also saw a mercado that is market that had you buying food drinks in a decent size building...it was packed and smelled good. We also went to the plaza del sol which was cool its a big plaza. After that we went to lunch. Kinda had a hard time to find the street we wanted because there ar so many side streets and we kinda went in a circle and we finally figured it out when we asked a police officer for directions in spanish. We stopped by a small cafe. The waiters were nice and I talked to one of them explaining why we are here and such and all in Spanish!!! Lol. There were 8 of us so I sat with Becca and madi and then Kelsey David Shelly and ally sat at the other table. I had a croissant with chorizo in beer for lunch and Becca had same and madi had a beer and salmon tosta. After that we walked on calle atocha back to the hotel then wee went on a trip to el museo del Prado which we say painting fromm Goya Greco Velázquez it was really cool the museum but we couldnt take pictures :-( but I like art and enjoyed it. By the end of the tour I was pooped out and ready for a siesta. After the tour of the museum we all decided to either go nap or eat well I chose sleep and went to bed for 2 hours. We all met in the lobby around 730 and we decided to go out and go eat and find a spot to watch the fútbol, game. We ended up meeting up with Taryns friend who is here in Spain for grad school her name is Sara We went to a restaurant with her and met up with some of her friends. We ended up meting up at the plaza del sol. We the took the metro which was cool only a euro and 50 cent euro ( idk how u say the sent part of the euro lol. I'll have to google) we took the metro to a more residential area and went to a restaurant called the drunken duck. It was really nice and chill. We ordered food and watch the game. I had minisalchicas which is I'll sausages and it came with fries. I enjoyed it but didn't finish. I also got a drink that Sara suggested and it's very common in Spain it's called cerveza con limón or a beer with some lemon fanta..l have realized that fanta is very popular here. We had fun and took the camera out and we all took pics of the group ( for most of us it's of people we are traveling with because most of the pics thus far are of things I've seen in Spain like buildings and statues not of people or myself lol) we were out til about 12 and we took the metro back to the stop right by our hotel. Once I got back I was on the Internet for a bit then passed out in my bed on my last night in Madrid ... I have to get up early because going toledo in the morning and there are only two elevators and I have big bags lol so gonna get down to lobby early. Ok hasta mañana.

Día 1 parte 2

Parte dos well the hotel we are staying at is amazing!!! Se llama NH Nacional super nice and I have made some friends so yay go me! Lol yesterday a few of us we're hungry so myself plus three girls ( Shelly from GA, jesicca from MI and maddie from OKLAHOMA.) they are nice girls we we t out to this restaurants for tapas bec we weren't that hungry so we went to this cafe called los zuritos it was good I got a tosta which is nice toasted bread with some topping I had foie confitura de manzana y virutas de jamón ...or in English it's Foe ( which idk what it is it's some kind of fruit preserve ) apple preserve with shaved ham on toasted bread ... This was quite tastes or TASTE lol...I had a nice bear with it too. The others got a seafood tosta one thT was like a quiche and another that was a type of fried chicken with a nice sauce. Mad die had a nice red wine and the others had water and sangria. We walked around a bit just up la calle ( calle = street) atocha ( Madrid is very hilly... Great workout for legs lol) we walked around til it was siesta time ( that's where stores close and people take time for themselves and relax) we then got back to the hotel for meeting but I took a small nap. Meeting was interesting at times just like an orientation. We were gonna do a bus tour last night but stuff was going on in the city so we couldnt so the girls plus some new faces and I walked along another calle and found another cafe this one was called cafe Amanda. The lady who served us was nice and we each got some food and a drink I had a nice Spanish white wine and in sandwich for my dinner even though dinner should at 9-11pm but I am still adjusting to the Spanish ways. We walked around then we de died to go back to the hotel and relax and then meet up later to go out and see what the people of madrid do at night. We knew a few members of our group were goin out but we were wanting to chill so we went to a nice cute and cheap place for a drink. I got a common beer that spainards drink. The other had wine and sangria we watched people and got to know each other then we came back to hotel and I called and emailed people back Ann states then it was time to hit the hay... Sleep is good... Can't wait for more adventures in madrid ...till then.

Día uno parte 1

Spain day 1So today was quite intense. I was nervous for mmy flight and wanted to make sure I had enough time and that I got through security and such...well I did and I'm glad. My daddy and phi dropped me off at the airport which was nice. Dad mentioned to wait a little but the longer I would wait to get through security I would be sad and my eyes would have tears lol. Once passed through security I went straight to the gate k19 and chilled I was texting and on facebook. For awhile it was just me and a few people then when it was about 2 hours bore departure more people came. Right before w started boarding i went to find an outlet that worked so i could charge my cell for a little and i met some nice people, one from KY and the other from chicago..they seemed micr and coo...always nice to make friends in new places. With Iberia they do things backwards lol instead of boarding those closes to front after business and first class they do from back of plane to front which makes sense but at same time they were kinda disorganized when actually boarding people. See Iberia gate and British airways share the same desk so you can enter the gate on either side, well on one side he boarded business and first class but then on other they boarded the rest but no one knew so there was a lot of going back and forth. I was a little annoyed but at least we weren't delayed hours so can't complain. I do miss my family and friends but I know that this experience will be the best for me and I will have fun and love it . Well once I was on the plane I got my seat and sat down just waiting for the person next to me to come and it ended up being a nice woman who is from Spain, we didn't talk much at first because I was watching a movie ( this means war, which is quite funny I did laugh aloud at times ...lol) when the flight attendants brought us our food ( which was quite yummy.. Chicken mashed potatoes and green beans, tuna salad, bread roll and a cheesecake.. Didn't eat all because wasn't really hungry yet but it was better than I thought it would be) we started talking and I actually used my Spanish and talked a little with her and she understands me so that's a good sign and she said that I will have a great time in Seville and with my Spanish i will be fine. I also find it funny how the flight attendants just speak Spanish to me instead of English and I'm used to it because of my awesome natural tan. Lol but it's nice because then that way i will become more comfortable with speaking ( which I find as my weakness) but I will improve... Yay!!! So took about a 3 hour nap it isn't much but it's some sleep... I guess my body is anxious for Spain plus it kinda sucks to sleep on a plane because it takes me forever to find a comfortable position...it's cool to see the sun rise thought from being so far up....it's pretty