Just got back from my trip to Andalucia (Southern Spain) and have some great photos to share. Unfortunately I’m swamped with homework this week, so I’m going to let the photos do most of the talking. Sleepy-eyed but excited the thirty-something students in my program and I left Segovia on Thursday at 6:00 am. We drove through plains, mountains, and finally the huge stretches of olive groves that are so characteristic of Andalucia. Our first stop was the city of Córdoba, where we viewed the beautiful mezquita (mosque) that was converted into a Cathedral in 1236. This building expresses a long [View Full Entry]

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*Camera still not working right, so sorry for the small amount of photos Last Thursday Iñigo picked me up from Segovia and we drove three hours north to La Rioja, Spain’s best-known wine region. We met up with his best friend Tiri and his girlfriend Alejandra, and another couple, Chema and Alicia at our two-floor suite at the hotel Los Augustinos. The hotel was located in the little hilltop town of Haro that overlooks the Río Tirón and the Río Ebro and is surrounded by some of the most renowned bodegas in Spain. We were all pretty tired from the drive, [View Full Entry]

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With every place I see in Spain I just keep falling more and more in love with the country. Two weekends ago I went to Barcelona with the students in my program for four days. This cosmopolitan coastal city, with its superb seaside views, incredible architecture, and cultural scene has been my favorite Spanish city to date. We were blessed with benign weather the entire weekend, and from our hotel on Las Ramblas, the famous promenade in the heart of the city, we were able to walk just about anywhere. We started the visit with a walk along the three parts [View Full Entry]

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After another weekend in Madrid, I’m enjoying the tranquil life in Segovia. Iñigo came to pick me up in Segovia on Friday, and we went to Madrid to celebrate his friend’s birthday. I got to meet all “the guys,” each one a distinct and amusing character, but all very courteous as well. Although I was the only girl in the group, they made sure to make me feel comfortable and included. We lounged around a bit on Saturday, and then Iñigo cooked me dinner at his house. I was pretty impressed with his knowledge in the kitchen! Later that afternoon I [View Full Entry]

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Looks like I’m due for an update. Things have been pretty, well, relaxed as usual. It was nice to come back to my casita here in Segovia after a whirlwind trip to Greece. In Segovia I’ve just been going to school, and talking, talking, talking as much as I can. I’ve met a lot of Spaniards with whom I spend a lot of time chatting in cafés and going out to the bars. Of course I spend time with Iñigo when he comes here or I go to Madrid. At this point I feel like the language is really clicking: I’m [View Full Entry]

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And finally an update about my fall vacation to Greece: 09/30/07 Madrid-Athens After a discouraging bout with a flight-booking agency that ended in an irredeemable plane ticket, lost money, and dampened spirits, my friend Breezy and I ended up buying last minute tickets to Greece. We had planned the trip and had it in our hearts that we were going to see Greece, and we weren’t going to let anything get in our way. So we flew across the Mediterranean Sea and had the most incredible and lovely vacation. We flew into Athens on September 30 at 3:30am (well, what could [View Full Entry]

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Ay, ay, ay… am I ever tired. It’s hard to keep up with the Spanish on the weekends. I’m back in tranquil Segovia after a long and exhilarating weekend in Madrid. We went as group on Friday and did the tourist thing, catching glimpses of La Puerta del Sol (the shopping hub of Madrid), El Palacio Real, La Plaza Mayor, and El Parque del Retiro (Spain’s Central Park). At first glimpse, Madrid is really big and has lots of traffic like most large cities, but people walk at a much slower pace and everything seems a bit more relaxed. The buildings [View Full Entry]

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It’s been two weeks since I first arrived in Spain, and I’m feeling pretty comfortable. I love speaking the language, and besides a few glitches, I’ve been able to communicate pretty efficiently. However, during the first week, my brain literally felt tired from constantly trying to communicate in Spanish. I’m living in Segovia, Spain, which is just about 45 minutes from Madrid. It’s a tiny tiny full of beautiful ancient cathedrals, churches, monasteries, castles, and lots of chic bars and cafes. All the buildings are made of stone, and the town is absolutely precious in the warm colors of the late [View Full Entry]

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