Rome day 2 - 9/5/08

Today I woke up early and ready to see Rome! Thankfully, the hotel that my parents helped me find had an AMAZING continental breakfast that included everything from pastries, to cereal, to fruit, to meats and cheeses, with juice, coffee, water and more. It was a great way to start the day! I decided to walk to the Colosseum from my hotel by following the river which was good because the river was lined with lots of trees that provided shade on a VERY hot day! I passed many beautiful bridges and buildings. I also passed what I thought must be the "old version" of the Smart car since it was SO tiny!

So in my trusty guidebook, it said to go to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill first since the ticket is good for the Colosseum as well and the lines there can be awful. It's just amazing how much history there is all over Rome. The Roman Forum was where commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place. (http://www.rome.info.com/)

After spending an hour walking to this area, and another 1.5 hours walking around the Roman Forum and Palantine Hill, I developed a pretty annoying blister on my little right pinkie toe. Since I'm not as much of a "Girl Scout" like my sister, Julia, who has EVERYTHING you could ever need in her purse, I had to fashion a tourniquet out of kleenex that Paquita gave me for "in case".

Then a nice person gave me a Hello Kitty bandaid so I was on my way to the Colosseum! I couldn't believe that I was actually at the place that I've seen in movies, and heard so much about! True to my book, the line for tickets was SO long and I was very happy to walk right past them and present my ticket to the lady. Then, I got in line to get an audioguide so that I could get all the historical information about this amazing place. The Roman Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, was commisioned in AD 72 by Emperor Vespasian. It was completed by his son, Titus, in 80, with later improvements by Domitian. (http://www.rome.info.com/) Something that I thought was interesting was that the Colosseum was in ruins for a long time and many people took parts of the structure to use as building materials for houses and other buildings around Rome. Later, it was decided to treat it as a historical structure and maintain it.
By the time I was done with the Colosseum, I was so tired, thirsty, and hot since it was just about 2PM. I found a nice restaurant near the Colosseum per my trusty guidebook and was very pleased that it had air conditioning. Wearing a black shirt and being outside so much wasn't really working to my advantage! I sat down and ordered my first Italian meal, a caprese salad and magherita pizza. It was very delicious and I had a nice relaxing lunch while also writing in my journal.

After lunch, I decided to hop on the metro, which was also air conditioned, and go to the Piazza de Espagna. I found the history of it interesting especially since it had some very English style tea rooms next to it. The fountain was very beautiful and had people all around it. The funniest thing were these two Roman police men on horses who were getting a little annoyed at all the tourists asking to pose with the horses!

After spending some time there, I decided it was time to go back to my hotel for a short rest before dinner and going to see the Trevi Fountain in the evening so that I could see it all lit up. I couldn't resist stopping by a Gelateria on my way back to get my very first taste of Italian ice cream (gelato) and it was so delicious!

After resting for a little while at my hotel, and watching MTV in Italian, I found the Trevi Fountain which is absolutely gorgeous! I went when it was still light outside so that I could see it both during daylight as well as when the lights are illuminated. There were lots of people around and so there was so much energy! The tradition of the Trevi fountain is that you are supposed to throw two coins into the fountain over your shoulder, while facing away from the fountain. One is supposed to be so that you come back to Italy, and the other is for a wish. I actually forgot to wish when I threw the 2nd coin, so I had to throw 3. It is just so beautiful!

All in all, it was an amazing first full day in Rome and I just can't believe that I'm really here! Tomorrow, I have a tour of the Vatican set up and based on the fact that my parent spent about 7 days at the Vatican, I'm thinking there will be much to see!

Rome Day 1 - 9/4/08

Today I traveled to Rome! This is a picture of the ceiling in the Madrid aiport, which I thought was interesting.

And here is a picture of the train station when I arrived in Rome and had to take a train to the center of town.

I then took the metro to the stop that I needed and after stopping in a cafe and being helped by some nice Italians, I found my hotel. It is a very cute hotel and I was very pleased with my room. here are some photos.

The most entertaining thing in my room is the MTV in Italian and the air conditioning unit control which I took a picture of, como no?

After a quick call to my mom and my fella to let them know I made it safe and sound, now I'm off to bed now because I have a lot to see in Rome during my short time here! I can't wait to get started!

Spain day 7 - 9/3/08

Today is my last full day in Spain. This morning I got up early and took Arcoiris to the school where she will be attending classes. This is the same school that I went to and it is part of the Universidad de Alcala. The building is a very old buidling that was once a monastary back in the 14th century and going back there brought back so many memories of my time as a student there which was amazing!

Then, Paquita's sister Morre ran into me on the street and invited me for a "bite" at a cafe with her friend. I went with them and had a orange juice, which is REAL orange juice sqweezed from oranges. After that I went to an internet cafe to email my mom and my fella, before going shopping for some gifts. Then I got home in time for lunch with Yolanda, Sergio and Sonia. I was so excited to see them again and gave them some little gifts that I had brought for them.

After that MariMar and Luis showed up, (the eldest daughter and her husband) and we all went for a walk around town. One this we did was get Sergio some card for his PSP that will allow him to save his games, or something like that.

I won't get to see Sergio or Sonia again before I leave but it was so nice to spend some time with them.

Tomorrow, I go to Rome Italy! I can hardly wait!

Spain day 6 - 9/2/08

Today was so great! Per Paquita's recommendation, Elias and I went to look at the cathedral that has since been rennovated here in town. They were working on it for many years and I hadn't seen it completed. It is so beautiful and walking around town makes me think of when I lived here. Then, we went to the monastary where the nuns make the best candy covered almonds ever! Once again, per Paquita's instruction, Elias bought one box for me and one for my parents. Then, I proceeded to buy several boxes of different sizes to bring home for regalos. They are so delicious and the nuns make them to raise money in order to live. I also learned that some nuns have laundry services or other services in order to raise money.

When we got home, there was a taxi in front of the house with the new American girl that will be living with Paquita and Elias this year. Her name is Arcoiris (Rainbow) and my spanish parents were wondering if she would be a hippy or not with such a name. Turns out, her dad was a hippy but she is not. She is a cute, blond, skinny girl from Tucson, AZ who reminds me of myself when I first got to Spain. Wide-eyed and a little confused!

Paquita was making tortilla espanola in the kitchen and it is one of my favorite things from Spain in terms of food. For those who don't know, it's sort of like a potato omlet, but so much better! Here is a picture of the perfect ones that Paquita made and mine NEVER come out like this:

When I told Paquita that mine sometimes get stuck to the pan when I'm flipping them, she said "Well, you need a really good pan to make tortilla espanola in" and then about 10 minutes later showed up at the door of my room holding a brand new frying pan! She said "You have to take this home with you and ONLY make tortilla espanola in it" and I replied "No, it's too much and you have already given me so much!" and she said "You are taking this home with you and you will only make tortilla espanola with it, this is a gift from us for you." They are just TOO cute!

Spain day 5 - 9/1/08

Today I ventured into town to buy some postcards to send to my sisters, my parents, and my fella back in the States. I also called to Italy to make sure that everything was ready to go with my reservation at the hotel that my parents recommended and helped me with called Hotel Columbus. Thank you Mommy and Daddy! On the way back home I stopped at my favorite jewelry store and was reminded once again when the clerk rang it all up that the Euro is stronger than the dollar. Oh well, it's my favorite store and they always have such cute stuff! After another wonderful lunch, I went with Paquita and Elias to look for some shoes for Paquita to wear to a wedding this weekend. For those of you who are questioning whether universal healthcare is the right answer for the US, here's a personal experience for you to ponder. Paquita had some painful issues with her left foot and needed surgery. Since Spain has a socialized healthcare program, she did not have to pay for the surgery when she went in. But she did have to wait about 6 months to have the surgery which meant that she was in pain almost every day for 6 months. Now, she still has issues and needed some more comfortable shoes to go with the dress she was going to wear to the wedding, which is why we went looking for some. After looking at many stores, we didn't find anything that would really work. Luckily, they have a friend that owns a shoe store who is going to keep an eye out for some comfortable shoes.

On another note, my fella is home from his trip to Mexico and on his way to pick up our doggies from my parent's house in the San Luis Valley and I'm praying that it's a safe trip for all three of them! Thanks Mom and Dad, again, for taking such great care of them!

Spain.....day 4 - 8/31/08

Today I slept in late and then went with Paquita and Elias to church. This was something that was a tradition when I lived in Spain 5 years ago so it was so special that they made it a point to continue the tradition of going to church together and then going to a bar called Indalo for a tapa y mosto afterwards. I hope I'm spelling that right but a mosto is basically wine before it is fermented, so pretty much grape juice. But it was something that my Spanish parents and I did every Sunday that I was in Spain. The mass in Spain is much different from the mass that I'm used to as there is almost no music and it only lasts about 30 minutes since the priest is the one that reads the 1st, 2nd, and Gospel reading almost without any breaks. What was cool was it was the exact same priest as when I lived here! For lunch we went over to Mickey and Anna's house because Mickey wanted to make me a lunch of Macaroni's "in honor of Ania (my nickname)coming back to Spain". They are so cute and said that this was the first time that they had so many people over to their house for lunch since Yolanda brought Sonia y Sergio too. This was the first time I have seen Sergio in 3 years and for those of you who don't know, he was the kid that I bonded with when I lived here. Since he is 8 years old now, he was more interested in playing with the computer than talking to me but he is still a very cute kid. I spent some time bonding with his little sister, Sonia who wanted to put makeup on my face.

Then I went with Mickey and Anna to see Hellboy 2 in Spanish which was pretty interesting! Yolanda and her boyfriend went with the kids to see the animated Clone Wars movie. Then, Mickey and Anna took me back to the center of town where they were having a parade to celebrate the end of "Las Ferias". What struck me is that for a small city such as Alcala de Henares, they still put so much work into the floats, costumes, etc.

After that we came home to watch the tennis player Rafael Nadal play in the US Open. Here in Spain he is a big time celebrity and they are very enthusiastic about his accomplishments. It was a really great day!

Spain....day 3

Today I went with Paquita y Elias to a tournament with all of their friends for a game called "Bolos Leones". This is a game that is sort of like outside bowling with half of a ball and instead of just knocking down the pins, you also need to roll the ball around the pins.
It's quite a complicated game and even more complicated to score. After watching the men play the game, it was the ladies turn. Paquita added my name to the list of players and we started the game!





















After we played the game, it turns out that I tied for 2nd place with a woman named Anna and we needed to have a tie breaker in order to find out who got 2nd and who got 3rd place. So we played a tie breaker round and.........we tied again!! So we needed to have another tie breaker round and.....she won and I lost so I ended up with 3rd place in the tournament! After that, we had a awards ceremony where they presented me with a special trophey so that I wouldn't go home empty handed since they really only had trophies for 1st and 2nd place. It was so special and cute!

Luis, the husband of Paquita and Elias' eldest daughter, just sent me this newspaper clipping that includes me! I can't believe it and was so happy when I saw that they included a little blurb about me!

Spain....day 2

This morning Yolanda showed up and took me go to a centro commercial to look for some regalos (gifts) and who showed up but Mickey y Ana! They came to have a coca cola with Yolanda and I. Yolanda is the middle daughter of Paquita y Elias and she has been friends with Mickey y Ana for some time. I met them when I lived in Spain 5 years ago (it's been that long?) and they are such nice people! Mickey (Miguel) is loud and funny while Ana is more quiet but equally as funny when she gets to know you and will speak up. I found some cool stuff for family and friends, I love the shops in Spain such as Zara and H&M!

After lunch which was great and la siesta, we headed over to Carmen's house to visit and so I could meet her son, Miguelito. Carmen is Paquita y Elias' youngest daughter and Miguelito is almost 2 years old and VERY cute. It took a few minutes for him to warm up to me, but after we bonded over a truck I brought for him we played for a while.

Carmen and her husband, Eduardo, have a house that is very beautiful and her son was just so cute!

Later on that night, we went to "Las Ferias" again and this time we had something called "Patata Asada" that is very typical of the carnivals in Spain and it is a baked potato with lots of stuff on it such as cheese, ketchup, mayonnaise, ham, corn and carrots and it was so good!