Over the past month I've traveled to London, Paris, and Rome. I had a wonderful time in all 3 cities- they are amazing. With a new hat, new gloves, new boots, and new fuzzy socks, I was prepared to face the cold winds and rainy weather of the North. I traveled to London with 4 other girls. We stayed in a nice hostel called Safestay. We decided that it really earned it's title, because we felt 100% completely safe. It was so safe that you needed your key to start the elevator and get through the doors to different hallways. It rained a little, but we had some clear days as well. In London, we saw all the "must-sees" such as Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc. The real reason we traveled to London, however, was because we all received our acceptance letters to Hogwarts. Well, not exactly, but we did buy tickets to tour the real studios where they filmed the movies. Which, not surprisingly, was one of my favorite parts of my trip so far. If you know me, you know that I spent a good portion of my life hoping there was some way I could go to Hogwarts. This was pretty much the closest I could get, and I couldn't stop smiling the entire time. We saw all the major set pieces, rooms, costumes, special effects, etc that they used in the movie. I would recommend this tour to any Harry Potter fan, it was magical :)
We traveled to Paris with API, our program here in Granada. I was so excited for this trip, because I could finally use my 6 years of French again. When I first arrived in Spain in August, I would speak French by accident whenever I tried to speak Spanish. I found that the reverse happened a lot in France; I couldn't get Spanish out of my mind! It was fun to speak some French again, and I loved being back in Paris. The Eiffel Tower took my breath away, the Christmas market on the Champs-Elysées was so cute. I froze a little, drank the most delicious apple cider ever, got lost in the Louvre, ate A LOT of crêpes, appreciated the charm of the city... all the things one should do in Paris!
We just got back from Rome last night, and I am still reeling with excitement from the trip. I could have stayed for months in this city. It was difficult to fit everything into a few days, but we covered all the big places. Since it's winter and the sun is setting early, we did a lot of our exploring in the dark, which was really neat. We saw the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Colosseum at night, which all took my breath away. The Vatican was awe-inspiring and beautiful, and the Forum/Colosseum was unreal. We had an amazing tour guide from Boston who was one of the most intelligent (and hysterical) people I've ever encountered. She shared so many interesting stories with us about Ancient Rome and the ruins. I could not get over the fact that I was standing in the history we've learned about since elementary school. Truly fascinating. We also ate food for which there are no words. We walked along the river, Christmas shopped in Piazza Navona, got lost, stumbled upon ancient ruins, ate some more incredible food, walked, walked, and walked. I also was so excited to get to visit Christina in Florence for a day! We hadn't seen each other in 7 months, so we had a lot of fun re-connecting, walking around, laughing, sharing stories about our trips, and getting soaked in the rain. In Rome, we stayed in a cute Bed and Breakfast called Bavarian B&B. I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling in Rome, because it was fairly close to everything, clean, home-y, and run by the most adorable Italian woman ever. From the moment we got there, she was sharing stories and helpful hints with us, answering any question we had and taking good care of us. In the end, none of us wanted to leave Rome. And I cannot wait to get back someday.
I can't completely describe the way I felt in these big European cities. The amount of history there is crazy, and it's always bubbling up around every corner. Seeing the huge monuments and places we've read about for years in school was exciting and breath-taking. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience these cities. The good/bad thing about going to some of the biggest cities in Europe is just that: they are massive. You can never run-out of things to do, but you can never do everything you want to do there. Every city we left, we all said the same thing: I can't wait to come back! There also is so much of Europe that I wasn't able to travel to, which only makes me want to come back more. And of course, I'll want to return to Granada the minute I leave.
So what else has been happening in Granada over the past month? On Thanksgiving, everyone was feeling a little homesick for their families and huge turkey dinners. To cure our tryptophan craving, our program gave us a Thanksgiving dinner. It was American style food, served in a Mexican Restaurant, in Spain. Thanks-ception! (Term coined by Erin O'Brien). It was so great to be able to experience a Thanksgiving away from home, and give thanks for all of the amazing things we have experience in the past 4 months.
Another thing I want to take note of is how much I've grown to love Flamenco. Coming to Spain, I knew Flamenco was popular here, but I didn't know much about the dance or the music. I've been to 2 Flamenco shows, both of which were amazing, and learned about Flamenco in class. I didn't realize how much footwork and hand movements are important to the dance style. The way the guitar, dancers, and singers work together is amazingly seamless. They seem to be totally connected to each other the entire time. Apparently Flamenco dancers in Spain believe that are born with something that allows to perform Flamenco with a certain passion. If you're not born with it, you can try to do Flamenco, but it won't be the same. I really appreciate the complexity, beauty, and passion of this style of dance and music.
I remember sitting in my house back home, thinking about what this trip was going to be like. I wanted to know the details: what would the people be like, how would I navigate places on my own, where would I travel, what would my house be like, would I learn a lot of Spanish, what are classes like, would I get lost, would I miss home? And I had to tell myself to wait, take a deep breath, and just take the trip day-by-day. Figure things out as I go. This is one thing I've really learned along the way: it's ok to not know things. It's ok to get lost. It's ok to not know a city, people, the language, the culture. Everything can be figured out and mastered. Or not. I've gone from being scared to navigate the Philadelphia airport on my own, to figuring out my way around Rome without the fear of being lost. I've learned how to be lost and then be found again. And not panic. I've learned how to communicate with people with out using the same language. I've learned that everything is a learning experience and an adventure, and we need to enjoy the ride and not just look forward to the destination.
Now I look forward at 11 days. Eleven? That's it? I honestly can't believe it. There has been so much action and traveling over the past month, and now it is time to wind down. Study, enjoy Granada, hang out with my great friends I've made here, eat a lot of Paqui's delicious food, walk around under the Christmas lights, and speak a lot of Spanish!
I'll leave you with a fairly famous quote that sums up my traveling experiences:
It is better to travel well than to arrive.
Thanks for reading! Good luck with finals to all my friends back home, I can't wait to see you all soon.
Much love,
Eleanor
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