San Sebastian- My last Spanish Saturday

Wow, so I was completely unaware that I would squeeze in a trip to Basque Country during my time here, but I did! Visited San Sebastian in "Pais Vasco," the North Eastern part of Spain (which also extends a bit into France). It's very distinct in its culture and history and they speak a unique language called "Euskara" that isn't related to any other language on the planet and its origins are not known anymore. (Ex: Pozten naiz zu ezagutzeaz" = "Nice to meet you") They have some of the most beautiful countryside and best food in the entire Iberian peninsula and I can't believe I almost didn't go!
Molly, Judy, and I took the 12:30 night bus which landed us in San Sebastian around 6 am. After the long night on the train, we got a quick caffeine fix, then walked along the entire shore of the main beach, known as "La Conche" for it is shaped like a seashell. The place reminded me of a mix between Newport and some sort of rich beach vacation spot. We wore nicer dresses for the trip so we could at least pretend we were well-off and spending a day at our favorite resort...! lol.
It was breathtakingly beautiful all throughout the day, but especially so at such an early and calm hour. We headed up to the viewpoint on a hill near the coast and could see the entire coastline of the city! We headed to the Old Town afterward and ate pintxos galore!! "Pintxos" (peen-chos) are like tapas but with much more variety and served in a unique way. The bars/restaurants have them all out on the counters and you pick and choose like an hours'd'ourvs buffet, then you tell them how many you had and which ones. We stuffed ourselves silly (I even tried the seafood: scallops, shrimp, and merluz!) and then went shopping around cathedrals, churches, and the river in the Old Town. During the afternoon Judy and I went into cuteness overload when a man with two fluffy white maltese puppies let us hold and take pictures of them! That, along with the futbol festival we came across, made the afternoon one cool random thing after another. Then we went to the beachfront bar and then down to the water to take pictures in the (surprisingly warm!) Atlantic Ocean. We had such a fun and freeing time swimming and playing in the waves, then we went to La Perla Spa right there on the beach for sea-mud wraps! It was so relaxing and we felt so spoiled after our treat... such girls! We headed back to Old Town for one last round of pintxos and ice cream before catching the 6 pm bus back to Madrid. The weather was on our side every part of the day: cloudy and perfect for photos in the morning, warm but overcast for shopping, sunny when we swam and played on the sand, and the first droplets of rain started as we boarded the bus for home! A full and fun 12 hours perfectly spent with my girls Molly and Judy!!
I am so glad I met and got to know these chicas on my trip from living and travelling and exploring together. We had so much fun going places, even when it was accompanied by bad luck (I blame Molly!)! Although I appreciate solo travelling and can be independent for many things, it wouldn't be the same if I didn't get to share my experiences (the ups and downs) with truly great people. These "on a whim" trips to unexpected gems have been bursts of bright color in my already colorful experience here in Spain!

Once upon a time...

A girl named Danielle was itching for adventure and running out of time to explore new lands. One day, she stumbled upon a magical land called "PORTUGAL." Little did she know she had found one of the most unique and beautiful corners in the whole world!


So, the other week I realized I'm almost done with my time abroad!! Portugal had been on my mind since it's so close and relatively cheap, so semi-last minute I booked a flight and a week later packed my bad and headed off not really knowing what I would find. The hostel I booked in Lisbon had amazing ratings and now I know why... it's the best place I've ever stayed at, including hotels! (photo: the view from MY room!) The place was a Portuguese "mansion" that was converted into a hostel, it was perfect as a solo traveller. The staff treated me like a friend visiting their house for a weekend rather than a temporary guest and I met so many interesting and fun people! My first evening I met 2 girls from New York who have been living in heaven in Lisbon for the week and had a lot of insight for me. We got a fancy seafood dinner at a nearby restaurant (yes, I ate fish and yes, I liked it!) and I crashed early, preparing for my big day ahead.
Friday morning I headed out on a roadtrip with a local named Ricardo, 2 Aussies, a Brazilian, and another Cali native. I was the only girl, but definitely kept up with the boys! "We Hate Tourism Tours" was started similar to how my dad started his business, so I liked the idea the moment I heard about it. Bruno, the founder, was working st the hostel and in meeting travelers he realized that they didn't know what to see when they came to Lisbon or only did the touristy things. He started taking people around to see his favorite things, then his friend and mechanic Ricardo helped him fix up more vehicles, and viola, the tour company was started!
So, Ricardo took us around in their bright yellow bus to show us the best of the Lisbon area from a local's perspective. First we went to Sintra, a historic place with many castles and (enchanted) forests. We had the local tradition of Ginja, a cherry liquor which you drink from a tiny chocolate cup that you eat with it! In Sinta we mainly saw the Palacio de Pena, a huge colorful and funky castle on the top of the main hill of the Lisbon area. It overlooks everything, from the Moorish castles and ruins to the big city to the ocean. It was like being in a wooded fairy land, despite the heat, and I'm so glad we got so much time there! After that we got a simple lunch and ate it at the most Western Point of all Europe, Cabo de Roca. It was the most spectacular views of the Atlantic for miles and miles as well as the coastlines, so awe-inspiring yet I had no idea it existed! We went to the pristine sand dune beach of Guincho where locals relax, and then explored the rocky areas. We went to Cascais for the best Gelati in the area, but didn't stay too long. We finished with Belem to see a few of the impressive monuments and a monastery. They were nice, but we were REALLY there for the infamous pastries at Pasteis de Belem! These things are world famous and have been around since 1837! Normally it's packed with people out the door but we actually sat down to enjoy it. My mouth will never be the same...! After that, our trip was over and we got back to Lisbon. There was so much more to the day in between the events that it felt like such a full and complete experience. The people were fun and we joked around a lot, plus everyone had the same desire for a "backdoor" kind of experience of the place. It was nice to be around like-minded people and not do the tourist trap thing.
That night, I met up with my new Australian friends plus some German people from my hostel and we just enjoyed the warm and breezy city at night! In one of the major plazas there was music playing and performers, as well as spectacular night views!
Saturday my New York girlfriends and I went to Cascais to lay out on the beach. It was the cutest little cove area with gentle waves, clear water, and a small harbor. I later walked around to explore the shopping, then went back to Lisbon for a bit. There was a big-deal European soccer championship on TV so while everyone in the city was watching it, we went to a delicious dinner then back to the hostel to hang out and talk with everyone. We relaxed and swapped travel stories and jokes into the night. Woke up at 5:30 for my early morning flight and went back to Madrid with amazing memories!

Going to Portugal was the best thing I've done on this trip as a whole, but going alone really made it worthwhile! It was so nice to be able to plan what I wanted to do on my own timing and not waste my time doing things I was just "eh" about. I could meet up when I felt active and stay behind when I was tired and have some time to myself even when surrounded by so many people. Meeting new friends helped out a lot, and I now have people to visit in other parts of the world!
--PHOTO--

Barcelona, how I will miss thee..

I've officially been to Barcelona, one of the coolest and most beautiful cities in Europe and it will remain in my top 3 favorite cities forever! The vibe reminded me of San Francisco with an old European twist, complimented by all the diverse people around.
Judy and I flew into Girona with Judy on Thursday night (after running late and delayed flight and a rainstorm...ugh) and eventually got to our hostel around 2 am. It was extremely well located, in Placa Real right off of the famous Las Ramblas, the main pedestrian street of the city. There were funky bars and restaurants in the same plaza, so it was always lively and filled with people!
On Friday, Chris showed us around everywhere. And I mean ALL over... this guy is an efficient tour guide, lemme tell you!! We started off the day in the pouring rain on Las Ramblas, then hit the Market for bright colorful fruit and a look at the chocolates, live seafood, and a wide array of cheeses. Then we walked further up Las Ramblas to Plaza Catalunya with all of the pigeons and scared them away with our umbrellas! We saw the Universitat de Barcelona and got a delicious tapas lunch. We saw the Block of Discord (a street with 3 crazy modernisme buildings vying for attention) which included la "Casa Mila" by Gaudi, aka the Bone House, and 2 others. Then we saw "La Pedrera" by Gaudi, aka the Stone House. (see the photos near the end of the blog!)
We headed over to Park Guell for a while (also designed by Gaudi) and it was absolutely amazing! The sun came out during this part of the day, just adding to the beauty that was already there.
The park had breathtaking views, intriguing landscaping, fun architecture, and a very peaceful feel. We saw the 360 view of Barcelona from the top of the "Three Crosses" then headed to Gaudi's most famous work, "La Sagrada Familia" cathedral. It is indescribable in words, you have to see it! Some may think the kooky spires are nontraditional and weird (both true descriptions), but it works in some strange way and I really hope they finish the building in my lifetime! They're definitely not close to being done, but I've heard what the artistic view is for the entire building and it's incredible!
After the long Gaudi day, Chris attempted to make us homemade cheesy pasta... it turned out to be clumpy cheese on chewy noodles, fun times! We went to the fantastic "Magic Fountains" light up to classical music in front of a grand palace. It was truly magical!

Saturday, we explored a second Ramblas in the city, had delicious kebaps, and then headed to Barceloneta, a city beach on the Mediterranean. The day was beautiful and accompanied by a chilly breeze, but once we stepped foot onto the sand it didn't matter! (I gotta admit, as a So Cal girl I got a little sentimental seeing a beach for the first time in almost 3 months!) We settled down for a little picnic and Judy and I got 5,00 E massages while suntanning! It was the most relaxing 10 minutes I've had in a LONG time... Then we dipped out toes into the Mediterranean for the first time and took a siesta on the sand. When we got up to leave, it suddenly got gloomy and we heard thunder, then felt fatty drops of rain pelt us! The weather in Spain is SO weird, I mean it's May and we had hail in Madrid on Thurs then a rainstorm in Barcelona! Ay ay ay...
We got Mexican food for dinner and Tiramisu ice cream for dessert! Saw the Arc de Triomf and Cathedral while walking, then a random pirate parade (still have no clue why that happened...) Went to Oveja Negra for a drink and soaked in the local feel of the city, then went to bed early (1:30, which is when parents start to think about taking their kids home here!).
Sunday Chris and I had lunch at Plaza del Sol, a vastly different place than my own Plaza del Sol in Madrid, and then walked to the Parque de la Ciutadella, comparable to Madrid's Parque de Retiro. We saw fountains, lakes, carnival booths for kids, the Parliament building, and many people picnicking on the sunny and beautiful Barcelona day! Finished with dessert at Hard Rock Cafe (oh, yes I did!) and flew home.

(photos: block of discord, stone house)



Wish I had had much more time in Barcelona to see Montjuic or go a little outside the city for the Salvador Dali museum, but all-in-all, I'm content with how the weekend played out. No one tried to pickpocket me (in the most notorious place in all of Europe!) and I fell in love with the feel of the city.

Shout out to Chris for making it a very memorable and fun weekend!! (Even with your poisonous cooking..! :P)

Adios week 7!

After Morocco, this week went by SO fast! On Wed, went to the Teatro de Zarzuela to see my first opera. It was completely in Spanish and I didn't understand as much as I wish, but it had a simple plot and was humorous, so I enjoyed it.
Thursday Chris came to visit me from Barcelona so after school Molly, Laura, Chris and I went to Segovia! (Chris barely made it onto the train, I had to beg the conductor guy to wait a couple minutes and open the doors again when I saw him booking it down the platform!)
(photo: Chris and I with the Roman Aqueduct!)
Segovia is the homeplace of the Alcazar that they built Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland to imitate. Let me tell you, the real thing is FAR SUPERIOR! We walked the cobblestone streets, saw the impressive Roman Aqueduct (still standing ever since 190 AD!!), visited the Cathedral, toured the Alcazar and climbed the 152 spiral stairs to the top of the main tower. (photo: me and Molly with the wishing well)
SO beautiful! We only needed about 4 hours for the whole city, so we went back to Madrid for dinner then out to Joy for dancing.

Friday Chris, Molly and I saw the Temple Debod, the only Egyptian temple in all of Europe (apparently Spain had a birthday and Egypt didn't know what to get them... guess they had too many of 'em lying around). It rained/thundered a bit but we explored on foot all the way to the river, then went back to Sol to visit the Mercado San Miguel. It's basically like a market for tapas, so you buy from one of the stands then settle down at a cafe around it or inside and enjoy. After that stop, took a break for home. Then the three of us met up for dinner at a Meson, a fun and slightly fancy terrace type restaurant and had verrry good food and my first taste of Cava.
Saturday was quite the Madrid day! I took Chris to see the Museo del Prado, a world-class museum known for it's impressive and HUGE collection of European art (Las Meninas was amazing!). We saw El Greco, we saw Velazquez, we saw Goya (before and after the dark period), we saw SO much... and we did it all in 3 hours! We enjoyed the impressive works but also made it a fun time with our own commentary on everything. After that monstrosity, we went to Retiro park to see the main sights and then headed home for a bit.

We met up with a group of friends to have Paella, actual Spanish cuisine that was created in Valencia. The huge table-sized pans fed all 8 of us to bursting! I liked the seafood fidea (but couldn't bring myself to eat one of the prawns, it was looking at me with those black eyes!) and the chicken paella was superb! All in all, quite a good experience.
Today's a sleeping and studying day, not as much fun, but necessary. It's been a draining few days, but still enjoyed myself nonetheless. Chris leaves tomorrow, but I'll be seeing him in 4 days when I go to Barcelona on Thursday!

Morocco

Wow, my trip to Morocco was so wonderful! It was an escape from the everyday Madrid life and felt like such a long vacation! Partly because of all the complications, but also because of all the stuff we did while there.
Molly, Judy, and I were supposed to take a 1 am bus to Sevilla but the company lost our reservations and we ended up on a bus to Cordoba and then taking a train to Sevilla. Met with our big tour group and bused to Algecira, then took a ferry over the Straights (saw dolphins along the way!!) and arrived in Ceuta, my first time on African soil!
We crossed the border and drove to Tetuan, got a walking tour of the Medina (the oldest part of the city) which was so different from life as we know it!! We had dinner and crashed at the hotel after 2 days of virtually no sleep (bus napping isn't exactly restful).
Saturday we got up early to visit the mountain village of Chef Chaouen. It was beautiful, all the buildings were light blue or periwinkle and white and it was so charming.

Our tour guide was this short man who we affectionately called "Habibi" (sweetie/honey) and he was, no joke, a mix between Yoda and Abu! We learned some tidbits about Moroccan culture, such as bowing when you pass through the small 4'10" doors, crossing the threshold with your right foot, and other little things. I had coffee with Habibi and listened to him talk about his life for a bit and offer pearls of wisdom. It was a relaxing time and my favorite point of the trip.
Back in the Medina in Tetuan, we had the most delicious lunch I've had in... I can't remember! Everything was fabulous and they had entertainment for us as well. We left after lunch for Tanger, the famous city on the northern coast. We visited the Caves of Hercules, so beautiful on the Atlantic coast! I got to ride a camel for like a second, but it was still unique and fun! They are awkwardly adorable (Leigh! :P) and the baby was so cute!
We saw the lighthouse on the cape which is the closest point from Spain to Morocco and just enjoyed the beautiful seascape. We went to our hotel and a private dinner + show complete with the Moroccan cavalry, live music, fire dancers, child acrobats, belly dancers, magician, and amazing food! (I think Moroccan food beats Spanish food without the slightest contest!) Went swimming at night, very exhilarating in the dark cold water, and there was a wedding going on at the hotel which had Moroccan music blaring til after 5 am! (Other countries go ALL out on celebrations, it's really awesome!)
Got maybe 3 hours of sleep, then we traveled back to Ceuta in the morning, (saw dolphins AGAIN on the way back! my personal feeling is that the trip was blessed! lol) and then Sevilla which took all day. We had to wait until a 1 am bus again, so we watched the sunset over the river at a park. The bridge lit up and people were out and about, so I had a new version of Sevilla to remember (I like the city more now that I've seen it without SO many people crowding it).

Got into Madrid at 7 am on Monday, went homevthen straight to classes. After classes, had my internship, then my final class, came home and realized I was running on fumes and passed out at 11. It's been a tiring week since then, still need to catch up on sleep.

My advice: make it to Northern Morocco at some point in your life! It is beautiful, so green and was the perfect temperature, plus the culture is unique and the people are friendly even if they are trying to sell you a 2 E necklace for 20. If you can master bargaining, you'll love the shopping! Always chop the price at least in half, then stick to your guns. :)