Ok, so I know that I've been really bad about updating... part of it is that the last city we visited kind of got ripped off. Hopefully this will be rectified, but until then... here's what I can say. The drive up to Granada was incredible. I'm really glad that we decided to drive because it really allowed us to see a completely different side of Spain. On the flip side, we also got to experience the real traffic side of Spain. And unfortunately, that meant that we arrived at the Alcazar later than our reservation... by about 30 minutes. While [View Full Entry]

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We finally get on the train on Saturday morning and we're off. Getting to Seville, we get a rental car and head into the city. The city is very confusing, but after about an hour we finally find the Cathedral - which is the 3rd largest in the world, after the Vatican and St. Paul's. There's something very surreal about Seville - it feels like you're on a movie set, like nothing is real. But everything is gorgeous and real as real can be. Although we didn't think we would have enough time to do everything we wanted to, we look [View Full Entry]

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Ok, so here are some driving pictures. I didn't realize that Spain's supply of olives and sunflowers are grown in Southern Spain, but they are. After about a four hour drive, we arrive in Nerja. Nerja is quite possibly the cutest little city in Spain. It doesn't have the same feeling as the rest of the cities that I've seen - it's more of a relaxed locals getaway. It also happens to house the world's largest stalactites and stalagmites in a cave on the hill. Pretty crazy stuff. In the cave I ran into the first rude person of our trip [View Full Entry]

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So a red-head, a brunette and a blonde get on a train... or at least they try. On Friday afternoon, after getting out for the day, Sarah, Blair and I head to the Renfe Train Station (which is about 12 metro stops from our dorm) to catch the 2 pm train to Sevilla. Let's just say everything started off wrong - we left the dorm late, we missed the first train... and then the best part. I go to exchange our tickets for a later train and find out that there are only two left - one at 8 pm or [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit the Spanish Senate. Interestingly enough, Spain's Senate has 264 members - 208 are elected by popular vite, 56 are appointed by regional legislatures. Terms are four years, but the seats appointed by regional legislatures can be recalled at any time. I also did not know that Spain is comprised of 51 territories. We were able to tour several rooms, which is well-documented by my pictures. We started off in a smaller new meeting room, which was built in 1991. After that we saw the actual senate floor that is used today and the original [View Full Entry]

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On the Fourth of July, instead of having a bbq near the beach, I decided to leave Madrid for a quick trip to Florence. This was my first time in Italy, and I have to say that it was a great experience - I can definitely see going back many times! I was able to take some great pictures of the clouds prior to landing in Florence, which was really neat too. Once we landed in Florence, I definitely felt like I was in another world. The old charm of the city is something that just can't be recreated. I was [View Full Entry]

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Catch-up Entry #2: I explored downtown Madrid Thursday evening with a couple of friends. For once we decided to have dinner out... but it turned out that we just ordered frozen food. It was good, but rather disappointing, considering that we're in Spain. Next time we will definitely have to do a little more research before going to a restaurant. The Plaza Mayor is gorgeous. It's just a huge plaza that people congregate in for an early evening tapas and Sangria. But when we got there, it was really crowded because a summer evening festival was happening. I watched Flamenco dancers [View Full Entry]

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So, short back-up entry. We visited the Consitutional Court of Spain on Wednesday. It's actually quite impressive. Apparently the Spanish Constitution has been rewritten several times... the last time was in 1982. This was the only time that a Constitutional Court was created to allow different regions to have a court to settle disputes with the federal government. They also have a great library that reminds me a lot of Beauty and the Beast. Later that night we had a fiesta complete with Sangria. See the pictures. Sorry this is a short post! [View Full Entry]

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Well, one short half-day after getting to Madrid, our classes started. I'm taking three classes from three Spanish Law Professors. They all have really impressive credentials - 2 are partners at global lawfirms (who teach on the side for a different prospective) and the other one cancelled the first class (clearly a slacker). Actually, he was doing something in D.C. because he is an advisor to the government and couldn't get back in time for the first class. Interestingly, the professors were very nice and apologized for their poor English skills. I think that this is rather ironic - the [View Full Entry]

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As all adventures must inevitably start with a mode of transportation, we’ll start my journey there. While I usually can’t wait for trips to start, this one certainly started of quickly - about 7 hours before I anticipated starting it. Continental (by far my favorite airline right now) called me at 10 am to tell me that my 5 pm flight had been cancelled. They rebooked my on a 2 pm flight to Newark, where I would be able to make my connection to Madrid at 10 pm. At the end of the conversation, I understood that there were thunderstorms in [View Full Entry]

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