10 months ago I stepped on a plane headed for Japan, not knowing what to expect and wondering what I'd gotten myself into. Four months later and I was on a plane to England, once again wondering what was lying in wait for me across the Atlantic.
It's funny, I thought England would be a breeze after Japan, but it turned out to have its own set of difficulties and frustrations that I never saw coming. Adapting to Lancaster University was incredibly difficult for me and I don't think I ever successfully got in the zone there. I might as well just come out and say it. I hated "Lamecaster" University. The big lecture halls, the professors being strangers to me, not being academically challenged enough, poor discussions in my seminar classes, being told that as an English/Japanese major I had no hope of handling a history course, etc. Basically, Lancaster is everything Beloit College isn't. (Thank God.) But I think it took going to Lancaster Uni to truly appreciate everything Beloit College has given me.
There was a major upside to the lack of academics, though. I was able to travel for really long periods of time, which wouldn't have been possible if Lancaster University was a proper school. I was able to visit France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Ireland, Wales, Northern Ireland, England, and Switzerland. Not too shabby, if I say so myself. And having that small taste of world travel has only made me want to see and do even more.
Last summer, my world was so much smaller. Now it's opened up and expanded in brilliant and unexpected ways. I still feel like I don't know much about anything, but hopefully my experiences this year have helped me become a little less ignorant about the rest of the world.
I find it really hard to describe my study abroad experiences most of the time because there's just so much to say I don't even know where to begin. Study abroad is a constant roller coaster of emotion most of the time. Some days you're looking out across glittering Paris from atop Notre Dame Cathedral and feeling like the world is filled with beauty and possibilities and some days you're sitting in your dorm room in northern England eating Chinese take away and feeling small and lonely. Study abroad mostly consists of low lows and high highs, but after having lived through both, I would relive the lows again and again if it meant I got the highs too.
I wouldn't have missed this experience for anything.
I came home to the US last Saturday, so this will be my last blog post on this blog. It's been quite a year and I can barely believe my study abroad adventures are finished. Fortunately, I don't think my traveling days are over just yet. I don't yet know where this path of mine is taking me, but I'm excited to be on it.
Thanks for reading.
Best wishes,
K. Stainbrook
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Dublin
Michelle and I met up with our Beloit friend, Brandon, at the bus station in Oslo and took a plane together to Dublin on June 16th. We landed in the city and spent most of our first day there wandering around and growing familiar with the main streets. Our first night was slightly marred by being harassed by a drunk Irish woman (who ranted about us being foreigners and how we needed to leave her country), but Brandon told her off and later we were able to joke about it. Crazy, ignorant people are everywhere, I'm afraid.
The next day we went on a free walking tour of Dublin. It was nice because usually Michelle and I will admire buildings, but not know their history or what they're currently used for. Our tour guide gave us a lot of interesting background information on many important historical buildings in Dublin and I realized that my knowledge of European history is pretty much zero (unless the US was involved). I'm going to try to rectify that when I return home.
We also went on a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. It was interesting to see how Guinness is made. We also got a free pint out of the deal, but not being a fan of beer, I ended up dumping it out in the sink and keeping the pint glass as a keepsake.
On Friday we saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College and then stopped at a pub for lunch and the US vs. Slovenia World Cup Match. It was probably my favorite part of my visit in Dublin, though I'm still trying to get over the horrendous call the referee made at the end. The US team was robbed! After the match, we relaxed in a nearby park and then returned to that same pub to watch England vs. Algeria, which was a little underwhelming as no one scored. Tomorrow (June 23rd) is US vs. Algeria and England vs. Slovenia, and I really hope the US and England both win so that they can go on to the next round. (Fingers crossed!)
Tasty pub food:
The pub's World Cup decor:
On Saturday, our last day in Dublin, we went on a tour of some rural areas outside of Dublin. I would describe the sights, but I don't think my descriptive powers are enough so I'll just leave you with some photos...
The next day we went on a free walking tour of Dublin. It was nice because usually Michelle and I will admire buildings, but not know their history or what they're currently used for. Our tour guide gave us a lot of interesting background information on many important historical buildings in Dublin and I realized that my knowledge of European history is pretty much zero (unless the US was involved). I'm going to try to rectify that when I return home.
We also went on a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. It was interesting to see how Guinness is made. We also got a free pint out of the deal, but not being a fan of beer, I ended up dumping it out in the sink and keeping the pint glass as a keepsake.
On Friday we saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College and then stopped at a pub for lunch and the US vs. Slovenia World Cup Match. It was probably my favorite part of my visit in Dublin, though I'm still trying to get over the horrendous call the referee made at the end. The US team was robbed! After the match, we relaxed in a nearby park and then returned to that same pub to watch England vs. Algeria, which was a little underwhelming as no one scored. Tomorrow (June 23rd) is US vs. Algeria and England vs. Slovenia, and I really hope the US and England both win so that they can go on to the next round. (Fingers crossed!)
Tasty pub food:
The pub's World Cup decor:
On Saturday, our last day in Dublin, we went on a tour of some rural areas outside of Dublin. I would describe the sights, but I don't think my descriptive powers are enough so I'll just leave you with some photos...
Monday, June 21, 2010
Oslo
Last week I went on my final trip this semester. This time to Oslo and Dublin. Oslo was first and I spent two days there (June 14th and 15th), hosted by my friend Karoline, who I met in Japan, and her boyfriend.
They were incredibly kind to offer us a place to stay and as Oslo is an expensive city (the kroner to US dollar is painful), we were more than happy to take them up on it.
We left Lancaster at 6am and after traveling all day made it to Oslo later in the evening. My first impression of Oslo (at least the rural areas outside it) were that it looks a lot like Wisconsin. Wide, open fields with smatterings of farms and forest-y areas. They even drove on the right side of the road!
Karoline picked us up at the bus station and whisked us off to her adorable flat where she and her boyfriend, Simen, whipped us up tacos for dinner. We spent some time getting to know each other (and for Karoline and I, catching up) and then we went to bed. I'm pretty sure Michelle and I fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
(Because Oslo is so far north, it never quite gets dark in the summer. It was very strange for it to be 11:30pm and for it to still be daylight outside.)
The next day, Karoline and Simen showed Michelle and I around Oslo. It was a beautiful day and we even got to meet up with Lael, who was also staying in Oslo last week.
The Opera House:
On top of the Opera House (Japanese V-signs were a must):
Stern guards sternly guarding the fortress:
Inside the fortress:
But my favorite part of Oslo was their botanical garden and all the statues inside. We spent an inappropriate amount of time goofing around, but I don't think anyone could resist being immature and silly amongst statues like these...
My favorite statue of the bunch - a man fighting an onslaught of laughing babies!:
Karoline and I inspecting the pile of children statue:
My other favorite - angry, bratty baby statue:
Later that night we had another excellent dinner at Karoline and Simen's flat, watched a Japanese movie that I'd never heard of but was a mix of everything Japanese people love, and then... sleep! We had to wake up in the morning to catch our flight to Dublin.
I was very sad to say good-bye to our Norwegian friends, but it was onwards to our next adventure in Dublin.
They were incredibly kind to offer us a place to stay and as Oslo is an expensive city (the kroner to US dollar is painful), we were more than happy to take them up on it.
We left Lancaster at 6am and after traveling all day made it to Oslo later in the evening. My first impression of Oslo (at least the rural areas outside it) were that it looks a lot like Wisconsin. Wide, open fields with smatterings of farms and forest-y areas. They even drove on the right side of the road!
Karoline picked us up at the bus station and whisked us off to her adorable flat where she and her boyfriend, Simen, whipped us up tacos for dinner. We spent some time getting to know each other (and for Karoline and I, catching up) and then we went to bed. I'm pretty sure Michelle and I fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
(Because Oslo is so far north, it never quite gets dark in the summer. It was very strange for it to be 11:30pm and for it to still be daylight outside.)
The next day, Karoline and Simen showed Michelle and I around Oslo. It was a beautiful day and we even got to meet up with Lael, who was also staying in Oslo last week.
The Opera House:
On top of the Opera House (Japanese V-signs were a must):
Stern guards sternly guarding the fortress:
Inside the fortress:
But my favorite part of Oslo was their botanical garden and all the statues inside. We spent an inappropriate amount of time goofing around, but I don't think anyone could resist being immature and silly amongst statues like these...
My favorite statue of the bunch - a man fighting an onslaught of laughing babies!:
Karoline and I inspecting the pile of children statue:
My other favorite - angry, bratty baby statue:
Later that night we had another excellent dinner at Karoline and Simen's flat, watched a Japanese movie that I'd never heard of but was a mix of everything Japanese people love, and then... sleep! We had to wake up in the morning to catch our flight to Dublin.
I was very sad to say good-bye to our Norwegian friends, but it was onwards to our next adventure in Dublin.
London
So on May 20th, Michelle and I *finally* took a train down to London. 'Have you been to London yet?' and 'How's London?' have been two questions I've received with some frequency from people back home. It was really about time we explored England's capital.
Michelle had a high school friend, Almas, studying in London and she generously volunteered her room to us. (She was out of town for most of our time there.) First order of business in London:
Conveniently Almas lives super close to King's Cross. The day after we returned to Lancaster, they were filming a scene from the new Harry Potter movie in King's Cross. Such bad luck. :(
Our first night in London we mostly hung about, but the next day we properly began weaving our way through the sights of London.
Big Ben!
Buckingham Palace!
Soldiers in funny hats!
Elephant statues!
We also saw two shows while in London: Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre and Henry VII at the Globe. Neither Michelle and I had ever seen/read Henry VII before, so it was a test of our English major might to see if we could follow it. I missed some of the finer points, but for the most part followed it quite well, though I'm sure that had something to do with how brilliantly it was put on. If I lived in London, I would see as many Shakespeare plays as I could. (And you can't beat the ticket price: just 5 quid for a "groundling" or standing ticket.)
Outside view of the Globe:
Inside the Globe:
Michelle and I also went to the British Museum, the Tate Modern, and the London museum. One of the nice things about the UK is that all of their museums are FREE. All three museums were very awesome. I could have easily spent all day in the British Museum. It just went on forever and ever. (I had to hit up the Japanese Gallery before we left, of course.)
It was incredibly hot in London the entire time we were there, but thankfully London has quite large and beautiful parks to rest in. Doesn't this look like heaven?
After a lovely time in London it was back to Lancaster for (gulp) finals.
Michelle had a high school friend, Almas, studying in London and she generously volunteered her room to us. (She was out of town for most of our time there.) First order of business in London:
Conveniently Almas lives super close to King's Cross. The day after we returned to Lancaster, they were filming a scene from the new Harry Potter movie in King's Cross. Such bad luck. :(
Our first night in London we mostly hung about, but the next day we properly began weaving our way through the sights of London.
Big Ben!
Buckingham Palace!
Soldiers in funny hats!
Elephant statues!
We also saw two shows while in London: Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre and Henry VII at the Globe. Neither Michelle and I had ever seen/read Henry VII before, so it was a test of our English major might to see if we could follow it. I missed some of the finer points, but for the most part followed it quite well, though I'm sure that had something to do with how brilliantly it was put on. If I lived in London, I would see as many Shakespeare plays as I could. (And you can't beat the ticket price: just 5 quid for a "groundling" or standing ticket.)
Outside view of the Globe:
Inside the Globe:
Michelle and I also went to the British Museum, the Tate Modern, and the London museum. One of the nice things about the UK is that all of their museums are FREE. All three museums were very awesome. I could have easily spent all day in the British Museum. It just went on forever and ever. (I had to hit up the Japanese Gallery before we left, of course.)
It was incredibly hot in London the entire time we were there, but thankfully London has quite large and beautiful parks to rest in. Doesn't this look like heaven?
After a lovely time in London it was back to Lancaster for (gulp) finals.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wales
Almost as soon as we returned to Lancaster, Michelle and I went on a trip organized through Lancaster Uni to go to Wales for a day trip (May 1st). We didn't know when next we'd get a chance to see anything of Wales, so even though we were still recovering from our 5 weeks roaming the European continent, we jumped at the chance to go.
In the first town we went to, we explored a castle and walked around the town a smidgen.
Inside the castle
Michelle in a tower
The king's toilet
The other town we went to was having a fair, so the streets were packed full of carnival rides, games and events. We didn't partake in any, but it was nice to just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere.
The little bit of Wales we were able to see was fantastic and all the people we bumped into were incredibly friendly. (One old man chased me down the street because I'd forgotten my water bottle inside his store and he didn't want me to be without it.)
It was a tad rainy, but that's only to be expected over on this side of the pond. Overall, it was a nice little trip (and one where we didn't have to search for a hostel, so it was already fantastic just for that reason alone!).
In the first town we went to, we explored a castle and walked around the town a smidgen.
Inside the castle
Michelle in a tower
The king's toilet
The other town we went to was having a fair, so the streets were packed full of carnival rides, games and events. We didn't partake in any, but it was nice to just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere.
The little bit of Wales we were able to see was fantastic and all the people we bumped into were incredibly friendly. (One old man chased me down the street because I'd forgotten my water bottle inside his store and he didn't want me to be without it.)
It was a tad rainy, but that's only to be expected over on this side of the pond. Overall, it was a nice little trip (and one where we didn't have to search for a hostel, so it was already fantastic just for that reason alone!).
Barcelona
We were back in Barcelona (where we had previously been stuck a week or so prior for 4 hours) and it was the final leg in our European tour.
Our first full day in Barcelona (April 18th), Michelle and I went to the Picasso Museum, which was quite nice, and saw a church and some random old people dancing in the square outside it.
We spent much of the rest of our day exploring Barcelona. It was good we were becoming familiar with the city, because this happened:
So... we knew we were going to be seeing a lot more of Barcelona than we had originally intended as our flight would most likely be canceled (though we held out hope that we just might make it back to Lancaster on time).
April 19th was Michelle's 21st birthday, so we went to her favorite place on Earth...
the beach!
Lori, a Beloiter we met in Sevilla, was also staying in Barcelona so we met up with her for dinner and went out for Chinese food... again. It was really good and I was my usual gluttonous self. :)
I also got an email from my host family, so that cheered me up a quite a bit and did I ever need cheering up, because the next day our flight back to the United Kingdom was canceled because of all the volcanic ash in the air.
The Icelandic volcano mishap did cause us to bond a little bit with some of our fellow travelers in our hostel who were also stuck. You know you're having a real study abroad experience when you're in Barcelona playing spoons with two Brits (one of whom is an English lord), an Australian, and a college student studying in the Czech Republic.
Michelle and I had quite a bit of extra time in Barcelona, (I was leaving on the 27th, and she the 26th.) so we didn't have to worry about trying to pack our days full of activities. Just by leisurely exploring Barcelona over the next week, we saw a whole heck of a lot.
The Olympic stadium
On top of Castle Montjuic
Tibidabo theme park (for my 21st birthday)
Park Guell
And much, much more. Suffice it to say, we really became familiar with getting around Barcelona and by the end of it, were no longer newbies at navigating the Barcelona metro system.
While it was nice to see pretty much everything there is to see (for a tourist) in Barcelona, I was happy to get back to Lancaster and relax. (Well, I didn't do much relaxing because I had my portfolio and dissertation due almost as soon as I returned to Lancaster!)
Although traveling was tiresome at times and wore me out, it was a fantastic experience getting to see places I never thought I would step foot in (and places I never knew existed!). But seeing all the cities and places I did only made me realize how little I've actually seen of Europe and has really made me want to come back here one day and see a little more.
Our first full day in Barcelona (April 18th), Michelle and I went to the Picasso Museum, which was quite nice, and saw a church and some random old people dancing in the square outside it.
We spent much of the rest of our day exploring Barcelona. It was good we were becoming familiar with the city, because this happened:
So... we knew we were going to be seeing a lot more of Barcelona than we had originally intended as our flight would most likely be canceled (though we held out hope that we just might make it back to Lancaster on time).
April 19th was Michelle's 21st birthday, so we went to her favorite place on Earth...
the beach!
Lori, a Beloiter we met in Sevilla, was also staying in Barcelona so we met up with her for dinner and went out for Chinese food... again. It was really good and I was my usual gluttonous self. :)
I also got an email from my host family, so that cheered me up a quite a bit and did I ever need cheering up, because the next day our flight back to the United Kingdom was canceled because of all the volcanic ash in the air.
The Icelandic volcano mishap did cause us to bond a little bit with some of our fellow travelers in our hostel who were also stuck. You know you're having a real study abroad experience when you're in Barcelona playing spoons with two Brits (one of whom is an English lord), an Australian, and a college student studying in the Czech Republic.
Michelle and I had quite a bit of extra time in Barcelona, (I was leaving on the 27th, and she the 26th.) so we didn't have to worry about trying to pack our days full of activities. Just by leisurely exploring Barcelona over the next week, we saw a whole heck of a lot.
The Olympic stadium
On top of Castle Montjuic
Tibidabo theme park (for my 21st birthday)
Park Guell
And much, much more. Suffice it to say, we really became familiar with getting around Barcelona and by the end of it, were no longer newbies at navigating the Barcelona metro system.
While it was nice to see pretty much everything there is to see (for a tourist) in Barcelona, I was happy to get back to Lancaster and relax. (Well, I didn't do much relaxing because I had my portfolio and dissertation due almost as soon as I returned to Lancaster!)
Although traveling was tiresome at times and wore me out, it was a fantastic experience getting to see places I never thought I would step foot in (and places I never knew existed!). But seeing all the cities and places I did only made me realize how little I've actually seen of Europe and has really made me want to come back here one day and see a little more.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Madrid
Although it was terribly sad to say good-bye to Hannah in Sevilla, I was tremendously excited to be going to Madrid, namely because Kristin, my δΈηͺει ("number one friend" as my host mom would say) from Japan, lives and goes to school in Madrid.
After dodging around the giant baby heads in the train station (I'm not kidding you):
Michelle and I met up with Kristin outside. It was pretty fantastic to see her again and incredibly surreal to have a Beloit friend meet a Japan friend in Spain. It's so odd how people's paths tend to cross. After eating lunch at a tasty kebab restaurant, Kristin gave us an epic tour around Madrid.
The center of Spain where I stood and twirled for good luck:
The crystal palace (with Kristin!):
Our combined languages on one sign (English, Spanish, Japanese):
Giant beast ducks:
A palace turned hostel where we stayed for two nights:
The next day (April 15th), Michelle and I mostly wandered around Madrid aimlessly. We walked around an art museum that was very easy to get lost in. I really, really liked some of the paintings wherein because they weren't all Jesus on the cross or baby Jesus with Mary. (I'll be completely honest, I've seen enough of those to last me a lifetime.) I also almost left my dissertation behind in the gift shop, but luckily rescued it before I completely forgot it. (Don't ask why I was carrying it around with me.)
After the museum, we took a long nap, I worked on my dissertation some, and then we went to a Chinese restaurant to eat. (I told you we ended up doing that a lot in Spain.)
Our last day in Madrid we packed our things up at the hostel and moved them over to Kristin's flat where we were staying for our last night. We hung around her flat for a while, until Kristin had school things to do. Michelle and I left and went to enjoy the park where the ducks were again. Hannah had said she was going to be in Madrid that day and we had been hoping to meet up with her, but had not been able to get in contact with her so we'd given up on the idea of seeing her again.
Michelle and I loitered around in a cafe for awhile, mostly waiting for Kristin to get back to her flat so we could return ourselves. A little later in the evening, we left the cafe and stood around outside it for awhile, trying to get our bearings, when suddenly Hannah pounced on us.
Apparently she and the student group she was with were staying in the hotel right next to the cafe. One of her friends had pointed us out to her from inside the lobby and she ran out to greet us. The world can feel so unfathomably huge sometimes and at other moments ridiculously tiny.
So we were quite glad to have found each other. We went out for tapas with some of Hannah's friends, then said our good-byes and headed back to Kristin's flat. I wish I could have gotten to see Kristin a little more. It was nice having someone to reminisce about Japan with. Some days it feels like I was never there.
The next morning, Kristin made us french toast and we all left together for the train station. It was incredibly sad to say good-bye to Kristin, since I had no idea when I would ever see her again. Maybe if we both return to Japan one day we'll see each other there!
After dodging around the giant baby heads in the train station (I'm not kidding you):
Michelle and I met up with Kristin outside. It was pretty fantastic to see her again and incredibly surreal to have a Beloit friend meet a Japan friend in Spain. It's so odd how people's paths tend to cross. After eating lunch at a tasty kebab restaurant, Kristin gave us an epic tour around Madrid.
The center of Spain where I stood and twirled for good luck:
The crystal palace (with Kristin!):
Our combined languages on one sign (English, Spanish, Japanese):
Giant beast ducks:
A palace turned hostel where we stayed for two nights:
The next day (April 15th), Michelle and I mostly wandered around Madrid aimlessly. We walked around an art museum that was very easy to get lost in. I really, really liked some of the paintings wherein because they weren't all Jesus on the cross or baby Jesus with Mary. (I'll be completely honest, I've seen enough of those to last me a lifetime.) I also almost left my dissertation behind in the gift shop, but luckily rescued it before I completely forgot it. (Don't ask why I was carrying it around with me.)
After the museum, we took a long nap, I worked on my dissertation some, and then we went to a Chinese restaurant to eat. (I told you we ended up doing that a lot in Spain.)
Our last day in Madrid we packed our things up at the hostel and moved them over to Kristin's flat where we were staying for our last night. We hung around her flat for a while, until Kristin had school things to do. Michelle and I left and went to enjoy the park where the ducks were again. Hannah had said she was going to be in Madrid that day and we had been hoping to meet up with her, but had not been able to get in contact with her so we'd given up on the idea of seeing her again.
Michelle and I loitered around in a cafe for awhile, mostly waiting for Kristin to get back to her flat so we could return ourselves. A little later in the evening, we left the cafe and stood around outside it for awhile, trying to get our bearings, when suddenly Hannah pounced on us.
Apparently she and the student group she was with were staying in the hotel right next to the cafe. One of her friends had pointed us out to her from inside the lobby and she ran out to greet us. The world can feel so unfathomably huge sometimes and at other moments ridiculously tiny.
So we were quite glad to have found each other. We went out for tapas with some of Hannah's friends, then said our good-byes and headed back to Kristin's flat. I wish I could have gotten to see Kristin a little more. It was nice having someone to reminisce about Japan with. Some days it feels like I was never there.
The next morning, Kristin made us french toast and we all left together for the train station. It was incredibly sad to say good-bye to Kristin, since I had no idea when I would ever see her again. Maybe if we both return to Japan one day we'll see each other there!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Sevilla
It took us two days to get to Sevilla with a pit stop in Montpelier in the south of France. It was our last time in France, but of course, we couldn't get out that easily! Every time we've traveled through or out of France, something has gone wrong and this time was no exception.
Just getting to Montpelier was a headache. We had to spend an unexpected night in Marseilles (after 4 train changes trying to get to Montpelier) due to train strikes. We were invited to spend the night in the train station instead of paying for an expensive hotel, but it was rainy, we were tired and the station was creepy (plus it was also going to close at 2am?), so we ended up staying the night in a hotel across the street. The next day, we had to catch a new train at 6am, which we successfully did and we made it to Montpelier.
Journeying out of Montpelier to Sevilla also turned out to be an adventure and a half. We had three trains to take that day, but the first ended up being a bus in the back parking lot of the Montpelier train station. And of course, we had a late start and buses are not nearly as fast as trains, so we missed our connecting train. We were in Barcelona at the time and luckily Michelle speaks Spanish, because it was nearly impossible to find someone who spoke English in the Barcelona train station. We got new train tickets, had to wait 4 hours in Barcelona for our new train, finally made it to Sevilla (very late) so the buses had stopped running. We took a taxi to our hostel, checked in and then...
HANNAH!!
Hannah was studying in Sevilla and I hadn't seen her since I left for Japan way back when. I don't think our smiles could be any bigger! We were only missing Coley and then I would have had all my roommates with me. :)
We caught up a little bit that night and ate some churros at a stand nearby. Two other Beloiters were also in Sevilla: Brandon (another friend of mine) and Laurie, who I'd never met until then. It was like a Beloit invasion of Sevilla!
The next morning (April 10th) we ate churros for breakfast, though they were higher grade ones than those from the night before. After we ate, we visited the third largest church in all of Europe, which was pretty damn cool. We also saw the grave of Christopher Colombus (also known as the world's biggest screw up).
We also walked around a connecting garden and went up inside a tower that overlooked all of Sevilla. When we climbed down again, I got to see my first ever orange trees!
We took a short siesta afterwards and then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant (eating Chinese food in Spain quickly became a recurring even with Michelle and I). It was nice to use proper chopsticks again! Later we went to a flamenco bar, which was very cool. I loved how they created music just by stomping their feet (though I imagine their ankles must have hurt after awhile).
We spent the entire next day at the beach, which was awesome and just what we all needed (especially Michelle, Brandon and I who had been traveling for so long). It had also been over a year since I had gone swimming, so I really enjoyed finally being able to do so again after so long. Unfortunately the beach was also where my camera stopped working for unknown reasons. It's working fine now that I'm back in England of course, but for the rest of the trip I wasn't able to take any photos! (Lucky for me, Michelle took plenty.)
In the evening, Brandon, Hannah, Michelle and I went to an Italian restaurant which was fab and later had ice cream. It was Brandon's last night in Sevilla, so we said our good byes. Lucky for Michelle and I, we still had two days left before we went to Madrid.
The next day Michelle and I explored Sevilla with Hannah, seeing the sights but mostly catching up. Hannah had class, so Michelle and I walked along the river and just enjoyed the day. Later we reconvened, ate at a tapas bar for dinner, and spent most of the night chatting. It was a lovely day.
And the day after was just as great. Michelle and I slept in, I worked on my dissertation a little bit, and then we met up with Hannah in the afternoon to check out an art museum. I was a little art museum-ed out, so I spent most of the time there reading in one of the pretty courtyards inside the museum. Michelle and I siesta-ed at our hostel (I really grew fond of siestas!), and then we sat on the river with Hannah and watched the sun set.
After that, we went to the Chinese restaurant again, stayed until closing and then walked with Hannah back to her apartment where we said our good byes. It was incredibly sad, but luckily we'll all be seeing each other again in the fall since we'll be living together in a townhouse at Beloit. :)
The next morning, Michelle and I caught our train to Madrid.
Just getting to Montpelier was a headache. We had to spend an unexpected night in Marseilles (after 4 train changes trying to get to Montpelier) due to train strikes. We were invited to spend the night in the train station instead of paying for an expensive hotel, but it was rainy, we were tired and the station was creepy (plus it was also going to close at 2am?), so we ended up staying the night in a hotel across the street. The next day, we had to catch a new train at 6am, which we successfully did and we made it to Montpelier.
Journeying out of Montpelier to Sevilla also turned out to be an adventure and a half. We had three trains to take that day, but the first ended up being a bus in the back parking lot of the Montpelier train station. And of course, we had a late start and buses are not nearly as fast as trains, so we missed our connecting train. We were in Barcelona at the time and luckily Michelle speaks Spanish, because it was nearly impossible to find someone who spoke English in the Barcelona train station. We got new train tickets, had to wait 4 hours in Barcelona for our new train, finally made it to Sevilla (very late) so the buses had stopped running. We took a taxi to our hostel, checked in and then...
HANNAH!!
Hannah was studying in Sevilla and I hadn't seen her since I left for Japan way back when. I don't think our smiles could be any bigger! We were only missing Coley and then I would have had all my roommates with me. :)
We caught up a little bit that night and ate some churros at a stand nearby. Two other Beloiters were also in Sevilla: Brandon (another friend of mine) and Laurie, who I'd never met until then. It was like a Beloit invasion of Sevilla!
The next morning (April 10th) we ate churros for breakfast, though they were higher grade ones than those from the night before. After we ate, we visited the third largest church in all of Europe, which was pretty damn cool. We also saw the grave of Christopher Colombus (also known as the world's biggest screw up).
We also walked around a connecting garden and went up inside a tower that overlooked all of Sevilla. When we climbed down again, I got to see my first ever orange trees!
We took a short siesta afterwards and then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant (eating Chinese food in Spain quickly became a recurring even with Michelle and I). It was nice to use proper chopsticks again! Later we went to a flamenco bar, which was very cool. I loved how they created music just by stomping their feet (though I imagine their ankles must have hurt after awhile).
We spent the entire next day at the beach, which was awesome and just what we all needed (especially Michelle, Brandon and I who had been traveling for so long). It had also been over a year since I had gone swimming, so I really enjoyed finally being able to do so again after so long. Unfortunately the beach was also where my camera stopped working for unknown reasons. It's working fine now that I'm back in England of course, but for the rest of the trip I wasn't able to take any photos! (Lucky for me, Michelle took plenty.)
In the evening, Brandon, Hannah, Michelle and I went to an Italian restaurant which was fab and later had ice cream. It was Brandon's last night in Sevilla, so we said our good byes. Lucky for Michelle and I, we still had two days left before we went to Madrid.
The next day Michelle and I explored Sevilla with Hannah, seeing the sights but mostly catching up. Hannah had class, so Michelle and I walked along the river and just enjoyed the day. Later we reconvened, ate at a tapas bar for dinner, and spent most of the night chatting. It was a lovely day.
And the day after was just as great. Michelle and I slept in, I worked on my dissertation a little bit, and then we met up with Hannah in the afternoon to check out an art museum. I was a little art museum-ed out, so I spent most of the time there reading in one of the pretty courtyards inside the museum. Michelle and I siesta-ed at our hostel (I really grew fond of siestas!), and then we sat on the river with Hannah and watched the sun set.
After that, we went to the Chinese restaurant again, stayed until closing and then walked with Hannah back to her apartment where we said our good byes. It was incredibly sad, but luckily we'll all be seeing each other again in the fall since we'll be living together in a townhouse at Beloit. :)
The next morning, Michelle and I caught our train to Madrid.
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