Prague - A Quick Peek

Hola Readers,

I apologize for the absurdly long absence from the blogsphere. I have been exceptionally busy the past month with finals, a grand trip, and currently the visit of my parents to Spain. As a result, the blog has suffered, and I realize that. But, back, better than ever, is a sneak preview of what I hope is a thorough and entertaining series of posts leading to the conclusion of my semester here in Spain. Although I leave in 2 days to return to the good ole States , I have much to discuss concerning what has happened since our program's final excursion to Granada. On the 8th of June my friend Nick and I embarked across central and western Europe after our finals had finished. A bit celebratory and a bit adventurous, our purchase of a 15 day Eurail pass gave us access to a variety of trains all across Europe, and granted what we thought would be increased freedom and flexibility to maneuver across an unfamiliar and fascinating continent. The viaje took us to far away lands such as the Czech Republic, where beer was cheaper than water by way of a 1 to 3 ratio, and Berlin, where metro fare is not enforced, and in fact, most citizens ride for free. Epic videos from Munich and Prague will be uploaded shortly.

Hasta pronto,

B

Foto 1 - Augustiner Beer Garden - Munich, Germany... Augustiner just happens to be the pope's favorite beer...or so we were told.

Foto 2 - Taking a knee outside the Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria. The Hofburg was the home to the line of Hapsburg kings for 5 centuries.

Foto 3 - Pensive in Prague...Charles Bridge in the background

Foto 4 - Berlin bear and I jointly raising the roof. These bears were all over the city. I admired their gracefulness and upbeat nature.

Foto 5 - Beach in Biarittz, France - the surfing capital of Europe. This stop was completely unintentional, but nonetheless satiated my craving for a little surf and sand.

Granada Trip

Picture 1 - Nicholas and I with our famed tour guide Fernando (he accompanies us on every excursion and enchances the experience tenfold with his incredibly in-depth and insightful descriptions of what we are touring and seeing, he works at the Prado Museum for his full time job

Picture 2 - Christian Chorba and I throwing up "West Side" (Shout out to Avon and String, "The game is the game...Always"

Picture 3 - Gardens inside the Alhambra - the grand Muslim palace is indescribable in its beauty and scale.

Picture 4- View of Albyacin barrio from the Alhambra

Picture 5 - More gardens

Corrida de Toros - Primera Vez

Pic 1 View from Inside (looking at our at Calle Alcala, specifically Quintana barrio)

Pic 2,3 Inside the Plaza (2 - Opening ceremony, 3 - yes, that's blood in the top right corner)

Pic 4 - Outside at Ventas Metro Station, building is Plaza de Toros, constructed 1926 (I was able to take a short walk through the park near my house (Fuente del Berro) to reach here in 15 minutes.

Sorry, once again inundated with papers y otras cosas. Como resultado, short post Tomorrow the epic trip of the program to Cordoba and Granada, the Andlucia region (southern Spain). Supposed to be beautiful and quite historic. First bull fight last Sunday. Few words to describe such an experience. I have to say that I tried to approach it with a romantic heavily sentimental (this is beautiful and artistic in its own way) Hemingway kinda perspective. But, at the end of the day, the whole act seemed like I paid to witness 6 very bloody, very cruel bull executions. But, to be honest, the quality of the toreros was apparently not high, and on several occasions it took much longer to kill the bull than is normally expected (as a result, repeated stabbings of a sword into the bull's backside continually failed to have the desired effect). Safe to say, no ears were awarded. When a torero does an exceptional job (more or less, kills the bull with one stab), the bull's ear is cut off, and awarded to the bull fighter as a piece of the highest praise. This does not occur very often. Shot another video...not too detailed, but gives a bit of a perspective.

Hasta pronto jaja,

B

Barcelona Pictures

1. Outside the Sagrada Familia

2. Inside Gaudi's Casa Batllo

3. Courtyard off La Rambla

4. On top of Gaudi's Casa Mila

5. Barcelona harbor

Apologies again for the brief post, I will try to provide some context within the next couple days.

How bout Mine That Bird!

Adios.

B

Cinque Terre Italy Pictures and Video

No time for a lengthy post today. Sorry, in the middle of papers and exams. I promise the Barcelona commentary will be more in depth. In reality, Cinque Terre, kinda left me speechless anyway. The place is unconsiously beautiful, and the 6 hour hike along the Italian western coast left me all together very sweaty, but also very much in awe. Enjoy.

Ciao,

B

Chapter 3 - Firenze

Well readers, where to begin, it's been a little while in between chapters, but I figured it might be time again for another capitulo of my spring break saga.

Last I left you, we had completed our journey in Rome. And so, I hopped a train from Rome's Termini station to Florence. A few interesting tidbits about the train ride through the middle of Italy.

- my first trip on the immaculate Eurostar train, we were forced to purchase the slightly more expensive tickets because all others were sold out, but the setup all but made up for spending a bit more dough, the Eurostar kindof puts Amtrak to shame, the seats were large, comfortable, and clean and the journey took only 2 hours

- two guys, college kids, looked about our age that were setting directly adjacent to us, one had a backwards "Memphis basketball" cap on, and the other had a "Wisconsin" t-shirt, after going to prep school for 4 years, I like to talk alot with my friends about the idea of the "bro" culture, it can be described as dudes that a) don't always have alot going on up in their heads b) have led relatively privileged lives c) like talking about their flow, "hair" and d) love, i mean love talking about how much they brew, how high their tolerance is, and how fratty they are

We were quietly reading our books/magazines, but we couldn't help but notice the two of them were getting animated, why, you may ask?

- the Memphis dude was reciting his diary entry to his friend about their experiences in Rome, "oh, I thought, I feel kinda bad, he's keeping a diary, I shouldn't have judged him to be such a bro."

- Well, his diary entry read something like this, a stream of consciousness kindof effort:

"Rome, naked statues, nightclubs, lots of brew, being drunk, hot chicks, fun, friends, epic, the best."

- Yea, I'll leave it at that.

Arrived in Florence train station where we met up with our friend Ryan, who had previously spent time in Milan and Venice. The Venice train station was notable for but one occurence.

- Upon arriving in the station, we were approached by an elderly man who for some reason was walking his small white dog through the train station...at 9:30 pm on a Sunday night...alone, anyway, he approached us and excitedly asked "ahhh you need hotel?" Politely, we declined, and he continued walking his dog. However, not 2 minutes later, the same man came up to me, and posed "You need hotel?" I couldn't help myself, and I burst out laughing. The man proceeded to ask, "Why he smiling?" repeatedly when I continued to keep cracking up.

Florence was an incredible experience, and here are some of the "best of"

- View of the city from the top of the Duomo, one of Florence's most beautiful and recognizable churches, the building's design is the epitomy of Renaissance architecture, and the religious art inside made it feel like I was back in the Vatican

- Piazza Michaelangelo - stunning piazza that overlooks the city, this is where I called my parents to let them I was ok after the earthquake the previous night that had occurred outside of Rome, I subsequently used all the money on my prepaid phone, rendering it useless for the rest of the trip

- Bargello Museum - quaint little museum filled with magnificient sculptures, chiefly the works of Bernini and Michaelangelo

- A night out with a large group of Georgetown girls that a) had come down from the villa in Fiesole, or b) were visiting from Sevilla or some other random study abroad in Europe...an extremely fun night that ended with lots of merriment and dancing in some Italian club, big bonus...gratis entrance

- Our hostel...quite cozy, effectively an eight room apartment on the 5th floor of some building, also effectively a bed and breakfast, because the owner of the hostel, a very personable and loud Italian woman, woke us up every morning at 9 am with a boisterous "Bonjourno" and a basket set up with breakfast

- Michaelangelo's the "David" statue, his quintessential masterpiece, the statue towered over crowds and crowds of people who stared in wonder and awe at the meticulous attention to detail (pulsating veins in his arms and hands, perfect body structure) and the sheer scale of the sculpture, waited for an hour and a half to get inside to see him

- Cherry tomato and Mozarrella Salad at very authentic restaurant in the city...mouth watering, savery, any positive adjective you're heard from Emeril or Bobby Flay...I can die a happy man now.

There's always more to tell, but for now, I leave you til Cinque Terre. I hope you enjoyed Florence as much as I did.

Ciao bella,

B

Chapter 1 - Bergamo, Milan, Chapter 2 - Rome

Hola Todos,

Chapter 1 of my Semana Santa saga has arrived, so here goes. Two Thursdays ago, I hopped a flight to Milan(Orio al Serio) airport with my friend Ryan. The flight was cake. I was excited for all that lay ahead, and as it usually tends to be, when you're excited for something, the time seems to pass just that much quicker. After an hour bus ride from Bergamo to Milan (Yes, RyanAir enjoys having you fly to budget airports that happen to share the same airport name, but are in reality at least one hour away by bus). I finally reached destination number one when I arrived at Milan train station. It was a chilly, rainy evening, but that did little to dampen my spirits. Ryan met a Gtown friend of his at the station, and we said our goodbyes. I was going to Rome; he was going to stay in Milan for a couple nights before heading to Venice, where after we would meet in Florence. Anyway, I had severely underestimated the amount of time it would take me to arrive in Milan, so I had about 3 hours to burn. With a densely packed bag of clothes a backpack slung across my back, and the rain continuing to fall outside, I was in no condition to explore any new neighborhoods. The train station was my new barrio, and it was my intention to explore the area to its fullest. A couple nuggets from my extended stay there until my 10 o'clock train.

- the waiting area was a bit of a circus. Birds flying all over the room, the seating area was filled with what seemed to me multiple church pews, a loud drunk African man yelling in as many languages as he could speak, loud Italian men, also drinking, yelling at him to shut up

- I'd never paid for a bathroom in my life, but sure enough, I headed downstairs to the banos, and there was a 1 euro fee. When you got to go, you go.

Finally, it was time to board the train, and after the night passage of about 8 hours, I was in Rome.

Chapter 2

I arrived around 7:30 in the morning, and my first task involved finding my friend Nick at his hostel in the city. I had understood that he was actually staying in a hostel that was located on the same street as the one we were to stay in for the next couple days. I had understood that. What I realized after texting him "Afuera" (Outside), was that I had arrived at 13 Via Palermo. He then informed me that in fact, it was not 13 Via Palermo, but 13 Via Palestro. Ahh, a bit of a mix up on my part to start the trip, but I recovered and wandered the city a bit more before finding him. Our adventure began with us back tracking to our hostel (which I had mistakenly found on Palermo earlier jaja). We threw our stuff down, and began to attack the city like a shrimp on a plankton. I figure the best way to chronicle Rome is to break it down into a "best of" kinda deal.

- Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel - goes without saying, breathtaking, stunning, overwhelming, almost too much at times for me to focus on. Michelangelo's work is not only shockingly good, but it's also just but a piece of all the art that is present in that museum. There is a colossosal amount of artwork in that place( an incredible portion dedicated to scultures). The Last Judgement was obviously the highlight (the room was set up like a rectangular dining hall, only natural light entered, and the room was full of people with heads staring upwards)

- Absurd Meals (I am lucky to have found a traveler with a similiar mindset as me in regards to searching for restaurants.) It's about getting way off the beaten path, sometimes way way off. Like wandering for 45 minutes off the map south of Circus Maximus ala Matt George style, deep, deep into residential streets, before finding a gem. The test: do they speak good english? at this place...the answer was hell no. the food was unconsious and I ate the best caprese salad of my life. Same went for later on Saturday night. Dined on rigatoni with a lucious meat sauce in the neighborhood of Trastevre in the south of the city. Desert: chocolate mousse only gods should be allowed to eat. The creator: an older very very Italian woman working as the solo cook in this small establishment deep within the maze of streets in that area.

- Sunday we saw Saint Peter's Basilica, and I have to say that this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Nick and I climbed to very top of the dome, where we shot a video especially aimed at Matt, Blair, and Phil. It's attached to the blog. But, on a serious note, it was really special for me as a Catholic to make the pilgrimmage to the Basilica. It was a surreal experience being able to walk where so many holy individuals have.

- Finally, on our last meal, we decided to conserve money by finding a local grocery store to put together a potluck dinner. Our coup: a old, old man, running a tiny tiny food store right off a major piazza. Let me just say the man's movements were precise, and meant not to exert an overly large amount of energy. He was meticulous in his calculations of our bill, and as Nick put it "He became disenchanted with the cash register, and decided it best to do his math on the side of a paper bag to tally our purchases." We only ended up purchasing fruit from our friend, but we combined that with sundried tomato and mozzarrella cheese pizza and a silky succulent cannoli to form a pretty rediculous meal.

Well, that was more or less Rome. I hope I gave you all a window into my experience. I'll be back with more shortly.

Ciao bella,

B

Pics

1- Gladiator helmets near St.Pete's

2- Trevi Fountain

3- Pantheon

4- Hercules statue

5- Foro

Prelude - Semana Santa 2009- Italy and Barca

Look. It's been a long time, and I apologize to all the loyal blog supporters out there. For the past week I have been traveling because I have been on spring break. In the past week I have traveled up and down Italy, and this past weekend I stopped into Barcelona. I have a wealth of information and stories to tell, but there is not enough time or space to break it down into a single blog post. Instead, I will chronicle my journey in chapters. Today, Prelude. Tomorrow, Chapter 1...and so on. It's late, and I just returned to Madrid after a long day of walking and travel, so I will sign off here. But, much awaits in the these future posts, and I hope to regale you with stories of splendorous churches, delicious meals, and hilarious encounters. Until then, a couple photos of this week's past events.

Hasta pronto,

BD

Segovia Pictures

On Saturday the Georgetown program took a short bus one hour north to the historic Spanish town of Segovia. The place is famous for two things: its Roman aqueduct and its delicious pig. On Saturday afternoon we dined gratis, reveling in a succelent feast that centered around this farm animal. Among the most memorable moments was in bringing the pig out on a platter, the server made a large demonstration in cutting the pig parts with just a plate. His purpose was to show the meat was so tender that a knife was not needed to cut the body. He then proceeded to toss the plate in the air so that it smashed into pieces on the ground. Quite a spectacle. Another interesting aspect of the trip was the mini snow storm that hit shortly after lunch. After 3 or 4 weeks of sun and 70 degree heat, it was odd to be exposed to cold weather again. But, I kindof liked the challenge of weathering the elements again. Makes you feel tough when you're trecking along outside. The trip was very short, and we returned to Madrid around 7 oclock. The night was relaxed, and with Sunday came a grand, family dinner. My host mother's cousins, grandkids, sister and her husband, and my host sister all gathered for a racuous feast of pulpo gallega, specialty cheese and bread, olives, lucious strawberries, and my host mother's famous paella. The paella consists of a risotto like rice, calamari, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables. It's quite a dish. and she makes it a massive skillet for special occasions. A very Spanish weekend; I have to say. This week I make my preparations for a trip to Italy. I'll be in touch.

Hasta pronto,

B

Valencia Fallas

On Thursday I took a bus to the famed Spanish festival in Valencia known as Fallas. The bus left at 9 am from Universidad de Compultense campus, and it dropped us off there again the next morning at 10 am. The bus ride was 6 hours long. The trip there was quite bearable when taking into account the 45 minute rest stop (yea..i know a 45 minute rest stop, TIS, This is Spain, in the US, rest stops are max 10 minutes, and they will leave you if you don't make it back in time (shout out to Blair last year, deep south Georgia Dairy Queen) and the stunning scenery that enveloped our bus as we descended southeast to the coast for my first date with the Mediterranean Sea. Fallas is heaven for a pyromaniac. Each year the people of Valencia build these massive paper mache structures, and then burn them all to the ground in a massive ceremony. The festival celebrates the beginning of spring. Some highlights from the trip included:
- the glaring absence of rules and regulations regarding fireworks and any other fire like mechanisms that release smoke and absurd amounts of noise, police walked the streets while 5 year old kids would set off the equivalent of M-80s or bottle rockets just feet from where I would be walking, the whole environment had a distinct war zone type feel to it, Baghdad with a Beach kinda deal, minus blazing heat, armed soldiers, tanks plus lots of churro stands, outdoor cafes and majestic parks
- a couple encounters to recount
1) while dining on a relatively late lunch Nick and I met a guy from San Diego, Cali in an outdoor cafe. Ok so this man defines the term "dude." He's been in Europe for two years just traveling. He has a van, and you know what he does. He's got 4 boards, and he just loves to catch waves. When he started talking about "offshore wind and 3 to 4 foot swells" I knew I had a story for the blog.
2) a Hungarian woman near the Aquarium, with her Spanish boyfriend, she recounted to us how she didn't like the Spanish lifestyle, though she'd lived here for 6 years, how she speaks 6 languages. She also criticized the fact that I was wearing a sleeveless shirt, and asked if I had anything else to wear in case I was going to a restaurant later on.
Favorite spot of the trip: a bar right off the boardwalk that looked out on the beach, Valencia has a beautiful beach. I put my feet in the water at dusk, but since I forgot a towel, I didn't try to force a swim. The water was significantly warmer than the Atlantic, and definitely swimmable during the day.
Well, all for now, I'm off to get some studying done. Oh, and yea, Respect for the season the Terps put together, they maxed out and made the first weekend of the tournament fun.

Hasta luego.

Ireland Photos