Sunday, April 19, 2009

Paris and Barcelona

Well we are back in Valencia after a long trip. I had a lot of fun and I am so glad that Sarah was able to come over and travel with me. Tomorrow Sarah leaves and I don't have class again until Tuesday so I plan to rest all day and do homework because I am exhausted.

Paris

We arrived in Paris after a wonderful time in sunny Rome. The first day in Paris we saw the Eifel Tower, The Louvre Musuem (where the Mona Lisa is), and Norte Dame. Everything was so pretty there and we climbed to the top of the towers at Notre Dame and the view was amazing.

The next day in Paris we saw both the Eifel Tower and Moulin Rouge at night. They were really cool. We spent most of the day at Versailes, which is where the King use to live. We actually met a boy from California and he spent the day with us. We even took a boat ride on the pond were the King use to hold boating parties. That was really cool. The gardens there were beautiful and I can't imagine how packed it is there in the summer. We also went to The D'Orrsy Musuem that day as well and saw some Van Gough and Monet. But the paintings that Sarah and I wanted to see the most were not there. That was sad. We also saw the Arc de Triumpe. That was cool too and huge.

Both nights for dinner we ate Omlets and during the day we ate a lot of Crepes. They are sooo yummy. I am going to miss them now that I am back in Spain. But Paris was gorgeous and I had so much fun. Our hostel there was really nice.

Barcelona

We left Paris and headed off to Barcelona. We stayed with Josep and Imma. Josep is an old foreign exchange student from Lapeer of one of my mom's friends from work. Josep is 34 and his wife and him were married in May. They live in a beautiful condo and are super super nice. They cooked dinner and breakfast for us both days. Saturday we went into the city and they went with us. We took a tour around Barcelona and saw things like Sagrada Familia and Parque Guel by Guadi. They were really pretty things. We also all went out to lunch. It was cool. I spoke Spanish a bit with them so it was nice to realize that I really do know how to speak.

Back to Valencia

We came back today from Barcelona and just walked around Valencia. Sarah and I hungout with my friend Kaitlyn from here for a bit. Sarah also met my family and they seemed to like her. We spoke in Spanish which Sarah does not know so that must have been hard. Haha. She should learn.

All in all my time with Sarah has been great. I have enjoyed traveling all over Europe and liked Paris a lot more than I thought I would. You always here mixed thoughts about it. Sarah leaves tomorrow and it'll be sad. But I will be back in the USA in 2.5 weeks. HOW WEIRD!!!???!!! On Wednesday Serge comes to visit from Belgium until Monday. So that'll be fun.

Well Love you

Monday, April 13, 2009

Sarah in Spain and our trip to Rome

Valencia with Sarah

My week went by fast and then next thing I knew it was the day Sarah arrived in Valencia. She made it safely and it was really good to see her. We checked into our hotel which was really nice and then went around Valencia. We ate pallea for lunch, a Spain must. It was a beautiful sunny day. We climbed up El Miguete, the church tower, in Valencia and it was really cool. I had not done it yet and the view was amazing. The stairs were a little hard to climb and they were steep but we made it. Sarah was a trooper even though she was tired the whole day. She met two of my friends, Jana and Kaitlyn, before they left for Dublin. For dinner we ate at Pizza Hut. It was so yummy. Everything was closed because Thursday was a holiday in Spain because of the Last Supper. Then we went to bed early because Sarah had jetleg. Other than that it was just good to see Sarah and I am really glad that she came. We left Friday for Rome.

Rome

We got to Rome safely and checked into our hostel. We were in a ten person mixed dorm room and I had a lot of worries. But all has been going well, tonight is our last night there. We have not had any problems there and it is a really great location. We are about a 10 minute walk from the Collessuem. Anyway so Friday night we arrived and then we went to the Trevi Fountian and The Spanish Steps. There were a ton of people. The Trevi Fountain was all lite up and it was really pretty. Then we went out to dinner for pasta of course. I love Italian food.

Saturday morning we got up early and went to begin our day at The Vatican. There was a really long line outside to get into St. Peter's but it was a nice day out so we did not mind waiting. St. Peter's was beautiful. Then we went out to lunch for pizza. After that we went to the Vatican Musuems and of course saw the Sistine Chapel. It was amazing and beautiful. We also went to the castle by the Vatican. That took up the whole day but for dinner we went around to Piazza Novana which is really cool and full of painters and their beautiful paintings. Dinner was yummy as well.

Sunday was Easter but everything was opened still. We spent the day at the Colosseum, The Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, and The Pantheom. We paid 22 euros for the Colosseum, Palantine Hill and Roman Forum together and recieved a guided tour. This was really cool because we leanred a lot of the history about each thing. It was amazing to see all of this and wonder how they built this stuff and everything. I can't wait to show everyone photos.

Today, Monday, Sarah and I are not in as big of a rush since we leave tomorrow for Paris. We saw The Baths of Carcall today, which were really cool and were all the rich Romans use to go to bathe themselves. We also went to the old Jewish ghetto, the place they use to do chariot races, and the pymarid were someone unimportant but with a lot of money was burried and it was built in 12 BC in 330 days.

Anyway, I love Rome. It is beautiful and there is so much to see and do. I can not wait to come back and we able to go visit more places. It is so beautiful here and the food is amazing. Between Sarah and myself, we have probaly tried about every flavor or Gelato that they have. We have been eating it a lot but also walking a ton so hopefully that stops us from gaining weight.

Well back to the city of Rome I go.

Love, Em

Sunday, April 5, 2009

GO GREEN!..and Spain things

Hola!
First off, GO STATE!
Sorry sorry sorry. I have been forgetting.
So good news...Sarah comes in 4 days. 4 days. I am so excited. I can not believe it is almost here. Here I come Rome and Paris!

So School last week went good. Wednesday I had a phonetics quiz and this one really sucked. It was hard and I stuided a lot. So I was upset but now I am just letting it go. I'll find out what I got on it tomorrow. The rest of the week just flew by. After class Wednesday, Thursday and Friday some of us went to Dick Tracy's, a bar by the school, where you can get 3 beers for 1 euro. It was fun. Its nice just to hangout and have a good time.

Yesterday the school went to the City of Arts and Sciences here in Valencia. There is an oceangraphy musuem and it was really cool. My favorite thing was the dolphin show and then the tunnel that you walk thru where all the animals swim above you. I looked up and there was a shark right there!!! How cool! I had a good time and it was a gorgeous day. After that, we went out for drinks and then Becky and I stopped at the mall that is over there just to look around. Its a huge mall and we didn't buy anything. Then of course I stayed up to watch my MSU online! I am so excited that we won but I am pretty sad that I am not at MSU right now. I wish I was there celebrating with everyone and I miss them but oh well. The game was great and a lot of times I got nervous but in the end we won and that is all that matters.

Today I worked on some homework and tonight I am going to a soccer game. I am excited because I haven't been to on yet. It starts at 7 and then I have school tomorrow. We only have 3 days this week so I am sure that it'll go by fast. Then Sarah will be here on Thursday and we leave on Friday for Rome. Thursday I will show her around the city if she isn't too jetlegged.

Not much else is going on in my life. School is good. Friends and Family here are good. However, I am going thru chicken withdrawls because it has been a while since we had it. Hopefully we have it soon or I'll get some on vacation with Sarah. So things are good. I come home pretty soon. I can not believe that I have been here this long already. It is so crazy to thing that.
Given the chance, I would do it again. I know it was hard for me in the beginning but I am adjusted. Even though I am ready to go home, I know once I get there, part of me is going to miss my Spain life. Not that it's special really but it's just like when you go home from MSU for the summer and you miss it. It becomes a part of you. Spanish is such a big part of me now. I can't imagine what it is going to be like not speaking it everyday.

Well I will write before Sarah and I leave on our trip. Happy Palm Sunday!
Love you.
Root MSU on tomorrow!