asummerinSPAIN

On Friday, we visited three museums in Valencia. First, we went to the Museum of Sciences. There were a lot of hands-on activities, and I discovered I have an Egyptian foot, like 49% of the population. Also, we were told by a worker of the museum to jump in on a quick presentation for a gift and free food. So, naturally, when the words "free" and "food" occur in the same sentence togeter, we college students were all for it. So...we joined the presentation....with about 50 elementary school kids. And we happened to walk in the back with about 2 minutes of the presentation left. It was a Dannon yogurt presentation, of all things! Haha! Oh well, we got a stuffed Dannon Dino to carry around! No food, sadly, but we were pretty excited about our ... read more

Jill, Lorin, Katy, and I took a whirlwind three-day trip to the capital of Spain...Madrid! We visited the Prado Museum of Art (pre-nineteenth century art), Reina de Sofia (modern art.....hmm), the Royal Botanical Gardens, and the Royal Palace. We actually weren't allowed to take pictures at either museum or the palace. (amazingly, I still had over 150 pictures....wow.) The Prado was massive. We spent several hours walking around, and I know we still didn't see even close to everything. As for the modern art museum, the Reina de Sofia...I must say. My favorite painting was a white canvas with black dots...or maybe the brown blob...or perhaps the single line...I mean, seriously. I'm not sure I understand modern art. ;) Despite that, we had an interesting time! The botanical gardens were beautiful, even though many things were ... read more

Heading home, it was a bittersweet departure. We loved Italy. Despite the challenges, we were able to see all the sights we wanted and somehow, miraculously, avoided major crowds. The Italian landscape that we saw was wonderful. But, seeing my apartment again felt great. Back in Valencia. Ready to roll!... read more

The Roman Colosseum, Roman Forum, and many many other ruins... read more

The adventures we had in Italy were unforgettable, incredible, and sometimes a bit sketchy...and it seems with even the best intentioned plans, things sometimes go awry. If you'd like the full story, shoot me an email. But the shortened version includes numerous train rides, a late night sketchy taxi ride, and adventures of getting lost, getting found, and enjoying Rome like we couldn't have imagined. ... read more