Excursions Excursions Excursions

Hola a todos! Spain continues to amaze me. Everyday I can't believe that I am actually here. My CIDE program here has brought me on some incredible excursions. A few weekends ago we were able to go to Madrid and Toledo.

Everyone in my program jumping in front of the Royal Palace. This was probably my favorite part of our time in Madrid because the inside of the palace is beautiful. 

Plaza Mayor in Madrid.

Museo Nacional del Prado.

We were in Madrid for a day and a half and went on a few tours (one for every picture above). It was a cool city, but much different than I expected. Personally, I like Toledo more. All I wanted to do in Toledo was take a million pictures... SO PRETTY.

Right when we got to Toledo our bus stopped in front of this view and let us take photos for awhile. This is exactly what I pictured Spain to look like before I came. 

We stopped and watched this man make a bunch of swords.

On the floor above there was a store where you could buy his swords and also they sold a lot of jewelry too. Clearly I didn't buy the sword. Someone had to show me how to hold it.... haha

We were given two hours of free time to roam around. My friends and I took a bunch of pictures and stopped in a few shops.

Then we got a tour of the Toledo Cathedral. It is GIGANTIC. I don't have any idea which part of the church they would even use for Mass. HUGE.

Toledo Cathedral.

Toledo Cathedral.

Two weeks later, my program went to two cities in France: Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Biarritz. I had visted these two cities a few weeks ago with my host family, but this time it was fun to have more time to explore the cities with other students in my program. 

For lunch we had a huge meal... but I guess every lunch is gigantic here. Anyways, we had FRENCH fries in FRANCE. Pretty cool. Also, we said Bon Appetit more times than necessary haha.

Catie, Mary, and I on the beach in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. (Same beach I luckily had the chance to swim at once before)

I had been hearing that the chocolate here was delicious. So I bought three bars. (Trying to wait to open them until the fam arrives!) 

After Saint-Jean-de-Luz, we went to Biarritz. So incredibly beautiful here. 

Climbed up on some rocks.

Beach in Biarritz. I attempted climbing that rock... in a dress. I made it about two feet up.

I also bought a chocolate crepe to share with friends.

In addition to these two excursions, I have my four classes. One of which is a cooking class! This week we learned how to make pencas rebozadas, tortilla de patata, and arroz con leche. 

I am obsessed with tortilla patatas. They are my go to food when I go anywhere. I will most definitely be making them when I go home. The arroz con leche was not my favorite because it was just super sweet rice. The pencas rebozada were good... to me it tasted like water chestnuts with cheese and ham. Oh and the pop can that says KAS limon... so good. It's basically carbonated lemonade. 

Also, I have days where I feel like my Spanish is improving a lot, and then days where I struggle. But I know it is improving because I conjugate verbs into forms on a day to day basis that previously I had only used when forced to in class. I also am catching myself thinking in Spanish most of the time... now I'm just waiting until I start dreaming in Spanish... that's my goal. My family here has been very nice and are one of the main reasons my Spanish is improving.

This is a selfie we took while climbing up a mountain nearby. 

Hope all is going well for everyone! 

And the fun continues!

Hello all! I can't believe I have been here for two weeks now! Everything has been incredible. Last weekend my host dad's brother was in town and we went to two amazing cities with him. First we went to San Sebastián, Spain, This city is about an hour away from where I am staying. It has three beautiful beaches and is also where the other half of my university is located. 

On la Playa de la Concha with my host sister.

We ate pintxos there. (Similar to tapas)

Plaza Constitución. 

We only stayed in San Sebastián for two or three hours. Then we were off to FRANCE! I have now been to two countries in Europe! Crazy, 

Swimming in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France.

Hanging out on the beach.

Roaming the streets... so pretty and different than anything I have seen!

Again on the streets... cute shops everywhere.

Cool boats.

Visiting those cities was something I'll never forget. I am really thankful that I have a host family happy to bring me along on their travels.

After the weekend, I had a typical week of classes. I'm taking a theater class, a cooking class, a conversation class, and a culture/ politics class. They are all in Spanish so I hope that I am improving,

All my classes are in this hallway.

My friend from GV in one of our classrooms.

Indoor area in the university with palm trees! I hang out here in between classes.

Yesterday, my friend that I met from California and I decided to ride the Funicular up the mountain to get a great view of Bilbao. It only cost 1 euro each way so we were pretty happy.

View from the top.

My friend and I enjoying the view (before the rain started pouring).

Everyday I enjoy walking around. The city is full of old and new buildings. 

One of my favorite buildings.

Hope all is well! I'll try to post again soon :)

  

I have arrived!

Hi everyone! I have arrived safely in Bilbao and I am loving it here so far. The first week was full of many activities and excursions around the city. During the first day we had meetings where we learned about the program and were able to meet other international students. It has been fun meeting people from not only around the United States, but also different countries around the world.

Most of the Grand Valley students here.

On our first day we also had a tour of the city.

Our tour guide that told us the meaning behind all of the artwork.

Cheesin' in front of my favorite view of the city...the river and the Guggenheim Museum,

Standing in front of my new school.

Later in the week we visited a couple cities nearby.

Plentzia- The water is so pretty there.

Some GV friends in Plentzia.

Puente de Vizcaya- Such a cool bridge. You can pay to park your car or stand on the platform to cross the river.

Beach in Getxo.

Over the weekend I spent a lot of time with my host family at their other house 30 minutes away. They are such a nice family and are helping me a lot with my Spanish. Everyday I feel myself understanding Spanish a little more.

 Swimming by the mountains! Such a pretty view.

While we were there we were able to see a bunch of churches that are part of the Camino de Santiago.

This church is over 1,000 years old.

The shells mark that this church is also part of the Camino de Santiago.

I went to this beautiful old church in the mountains on Saturday. 

And I got to see the man-made lake that supplies water for Bilbao.

Everything here is extremely pretty and everyone is super nice. I still can't believe that I get to study here for the next three months. Classes are just starting this week and I am looking forward to improving my Spanish. Today I found out that I was placed in the level I need to transfer all of my classes back to Grand Valley- such a relief. 

Hope all is well back in the US!