The river was absolutely amazing! The water was so cold and it really helped calm the afternoon heat a bit. It was just beautiful being in the countryside & seeing the mountains! Last night was pretty fun. After I got back from the river and there were people headed up to a little bar around the corner to watch the soccer game. Madrid won and their now in the final euro cup game!!! People were extatic here - big spain flags flying out of cars & horns beeping everywhere! i tried a bunch of different food from around here. There was [View Full Entry]

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Well, my plans changed just a bit today... I spent the morning at the alcazar de los reyes cristianos which is a massive castle building of islamic architecture, but was designed and built by christians! I´ve included a picture of the building. The entire city of Cordoba is a mixture of arab, christian, and jewish heritage. I think there is much to learn from this combination. I had planned to go to Granada tomorrow morning, but as its turning out, I won´t go until evening time. I´m just really enjoying the chance to feel out the southern culture here in Cordoba. [View Full Entry]

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Well, the arabic influence is stronger than I had anticipated in Andalucia. The buildings are amazing... it doesn´t feel anything like what I know of ¨Spain¨here... but it is still very beautiful! The sky is so impressive. I did not see a cloud all day long. NOT ONE! The sun just went down (it´s 11:30pm) and the stars are amazing. Nothing like a beautiful night´s sky from the roof of a building! By the way, I just checked the temperature... it´s still over 90 degrees! (Dad, you would hate this place!!) Don´t worry, there is air conditioning! I had arabic food [View Full Entry]

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hello everyone!! After leaving the hostel this morning, I walked the entire way to the train station to drop my luggage. I knew that it was going to be a long walk, but it was a nice opportunity to see the city. The green spaces in Madrid are beautiful. The train station was an interesting experience. I stood in a line for about 45 minutes waiting to purchase my ticket. I ended up buying a return trip while I was there because the thought of doing that again was ridiculous! I was also able to leave my big rolling bag there [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday was a long day. Good... but long! After my last blog, I met up with that professor guy for dinner. We found a neat & authentic Spain restaurant near one of the main plazas in Madrid. We enjoyed a wonderful meal, full of good bread and excellent pasta. At the end of the meal, the server brought us a dessert (on the house) that was a mandarin orange frozen drink with some kind of liquor in it. It was delicious! After dinner, we roamed the town a bit. Then, back at the hostel, I made friends with a girl from [View Full Entry]

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I made it here in one piece! On the flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam I had a tough time settling in. While I was emotionally exhausted after having to leave my family & Zoie... a large part of me was restless with thoughts of the adventure ahead. Overall, the flight went well. Then, there was a bit of a delay in Amsterdam because three people didn´t show up for the flight and they had to take all of the luggage off the plane to find their suitcases and then load everything back on. Seemed pretty silly to me! However, in the [View Full Entry]

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In just four hours I'll be heading to the airport. It will be an 8 hour & 20 minute journey to Amsterdam, a 2 hour & 30 minute layover, and then a second flight of 2 hours & 35 minutes to Madrid. When I finally arrive, it will be Tuesday around 4pm Spanish time. Crazy!! I plan to stay in Madrid for the evening at a hostel on the Gran Vía, one of the neatest streets in the capital city. When I get settled there, I will write again so that you know I am safe and sound. :) [View Full Entry]

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