Valencia!

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Valencia! 22-24 de Julio 

Today I left for Valencia for a beach filled weekend 😊 I can't believe after this weekend there will only be 7days left of me in Spain!! It has been such an amazing experience and I am sure that this weekend will prove to do the same.. I am going to keep up with this weekend on my phone with the notes app so when I arrive back on Monday there will already be a post ready for the blog! The tenses will be all over the place! 

Okay or as they say here "vale" .. I am on the train headed to Valencia.. 
We left today for Madrid at 330 by taking the .88 centavo (cents) bus to the train station in Segovia.. Then the20 min train to Madrid.. Actually my señora was on the train with me so we walked from our house to the bus and to the train! Rachel took the bus this weekend for a 5 hour bus ride but I decided to pay the 50 euros more for a smooth less than 2 hour train ride.. Remember the trains here are more comfortable and roomy than the plane ride from the states! We got to Madrid 4 hours before our next train to Valencia.. So we walked around and Jillian (I am also traveling with Ali) shopped- in late July and all of august all of the stores have "rebajas" which means sale/discounts-- I got a shirt last week for 5euro. Love it! Anyway time flew by, so we headed to the train station which is just like an airport.. There was like a selva/rainforest inside the station with turtles and random wildlife.. Very humid! 
So now I am on the 9:10 train to be in Valencia at 10:45 . The bus people arrive around 9pm.. So hopefully they can find the place we are staying because they are all the worst with directions and the best are on the train! So who all is coming this weekend?
Train-- Jillian, Ali, and I 
Bus-- Carey and Rachel plus 3 people we met from BSU!! Amberle, Julianna, and Jaime (boy). We have 2 triple rooms and one double in our "apartment" style housing.. We will find out more when we get there bc who knows after last weekend!!! Jaime said he is going to cook us a huge breakfast tomorrow which would be awesome because I miss breakfast!! All this hot chocolate and a croissant and some orange juice is not enough for the 7 hour wait until lunch! 

On the train they are playing a documentary how boring in comparison to burlesque that was played back from pamplona (that seems months ago!) so hopefully cage the elephant and some band of skulls can get me through this train ride. 

More to come as the weekend continues....

Just watched an episode of stargate in Spanish on the train. Feel so proud of myself for how much I am learning.. Wish my speaking skills were as skilled as my reading and listening.. 

Off the train and at the metro it costs 2.40 euros for a ride..Madrid is one euro and Barcelona was 1.45 but our pass made it easy.. This though is ridiculously expensive. 

Found the hotel, well apartment actually, it is great!!! So excited to be someplace that is nice and we have a full kitchen.. It's like one big bedroom with a huge shower with of course a bidet as all the places have.. So look up what it is if you don't know! 
This morning Jaime made us a great breakfast!! French toast and fruit 😊 tomorrow it will be biscuits and Gravy with homemade (casero) biscuits! I bet it's no better than Dad's. So now we are at the bus stop headed to the aquarium! It is 20euros with our discount for students--expensive! But then the beach the rest of the day and tomorrow 😊 a perfectly relaxing final weekend in Spain! Can't wait to see what the day will unfold! 

At the aquarium! It is huge and wonderful at security they said no food and then our bags went through security with tons of food-- obviously they really don't care here in Spain at all about traveling with things.. Now at the dolphin show 😊 well people are walking around beer.. Jealous. Too bad it's like 10euro.. But everywhere beer is acceptable such an interesting yet fabulous culture.. Waiting for the show to start as they play popular american music.. I am still waiting for some great Spanish music :/

So I feel like a child at the aquarium (the coolest indoor/outdoor aquarium) since I absolutely love water especially all oceans!! Oh my enthusiasm is over the top today! 

Look up boss orange and see If orlando bloom is the model 

The beach is fabulous! I absolutely love Valencia over Barcelona.. I think because the city is smaller and less touristy.. The beach was less crowded but actually had a lot more topless women and naked children. The water was so warm today and four of went on an hour and a half walk 😊 times likes these I wish it was my mom and I walking the beach & we were facing westward to watch the sunset.. 
Anyways, (now that I am sure my mom is crying 😊 ) the lifeguards sucked at the beach since they were never facing the water.. Hmm and as a lifeguard instructor I can say things like that.. The wind today has been out of control it is just blowing over everything making our towels disappear. I am so pumped to take a shower and clean away the sand until tomorrow when I spend the day at the beach then get on a 2 hour train ride to Segovia covered in sand. Simply said I am meant to be a beach bum all day everyday.. Sipping a beer (or margarita bc I can't wait to have one as soon as I reach the states), sitting getting a tan, and enjoying the sounds of the waves. That is the perfect life for me (granted I would prefer the Caribbean because of the clear beautiful water). Spend days boating around the mar (sea), maybe even sailing sounds absolutely amazing. 

Sunday-- woke up at 10 am.. We ended up not going to a discoteca since we were a dinner until 1:45 am.. We got paella Valenciana for 7 of us & it was the biggest dish ive ever seen & absolutely delicious! Also as normal with our segovia routine.. We had jarras (jars) de sangria. Love some sangria. So we ended up just going back to the hotel and staying in since we had to leave by 11am

Sunday- 😊 

We woke up at 10 am and had homemade biscuits and gravy! (dad- yours is better, but for not having breakfast r Anthing like this it was scrumptious!) Jaime made the biscuits on the stove since we didny have an oven.. Interesting & impressive. So at 1115 we headed to the beach!! Carey couldn't go because she got so burnt the previous day.. She is legitimately as red as a lobster. I hope she doesnt end up with any sort of sun poisoning. So Rachel stayed with her and I believe they went shopping but idk for sure. So at the beach.. It was packed as usual but it is also a Sunday morning. It was sunny and hot = perfect beach weather 😊 I swam in the Mediterranean and it was so nice bc it really wasn't that cold.. I put on lotion& dont really feel as though i got much sun.. Cant wait to be at home and lay out in the backyard 😊 ohh also, i think people were staring at us more today because we had swimsuit tops on  at the public beach.. Anyways we left at 330 to take the tram to the metro to walk back to tbe hotel but when we got off the metro at our stop we exited a different direction and ended up walking blocks in the wrong direction.. But I wouldn't expect anything else. So now we are on the train relaxing and soon to be sleeping for the 2 hour train ride.. I love this public transportation, especially since I have mastered it 😊 if I can take metros and buses places in a foreign country then the US would be a piece of cake (if we had metros). 

Okay hasta Que la proxima 😊
Em

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