School, of course, is really important, and thats why the tests are so stressful. I have gotten so sucked into having fun here that I have, at times, forgotten to study :) and that just causes me to have to cram (a habit I must get rid of soon!)
The best part about studying in Europe is that there are so many opportunities to travel! The last two weeks have been filled with travel. I got the opportunity to go to Toledo with the school, Madrid with Christina and Jamie, and to London to visit Uncle Pat and the boys with Elyse.
TOLEDO:
A beautiful old city filled with history and gorgeous buildings!
We met at the bus at 6:30am on Thursday, so early, and we drove many hours to arrive there around 2pm. The bus ride consisted of sleeping and listening to Mark Driscolls podcasts. The best part of the drive, by far, was our very quick stop in Consuegra! For those of you who dont know, that is the place where los molinos are that Don Quixote fought. I LOVE Don Quixote, so that was the best thing ever.
Machego sheep cheese also comes from this region of La Mancha.
Las Molinas!!
In Toledo we had some tours in different churches. We got to see some original paintings by El Greco, which was really cool.
To the right is a statue of Don Quixote that was in a lot of the stores around Toledo!
This is me, Christina, and Jamie exploring a monastery in Toledo!
MADRID:
After Toledo, we hopped on a train an headed to Madrid!
We were very fortunate and got to stay with a family that Samia knew there, and they made the experience completely unforgettable!
Not only did we go to Pacha (a nightclub)
and get to see the Reina Sofia museum,
but I also got together with Sofia!!
It was so awesome seeing her there! She brought us to the coolest tapas market, where they had a ton of different kinds of tapas to buy, and she took us to an awesome bar that specialized in stuffed mushrooms and sangria. And to end it right, we came back to Sevilla super fast on the Ave :)
LONDON:
Getting to London, that was the fun part :)
I dont know if any of you know what RyanAir is, but for those of you who dont know, it is a low cost airline that flies around Europe for SUPER cheap. The thing is, they have LOTS of fine print. Like the size of a carry on bag has to be much smaller than a normal size, also, you must get your boarding pass stamped at the ticket counter before going to the gate to avoid a 66 Euro charge for not getting it checked. Luckily, Elyse and I were warned about this before we went so we didnt have any problems. But let me tell you, even though I knew my carry on would fit, when I saw that we all had to put our bags in the measuring thing to check the size as we walked on the jetway, my heart was pounding out of my chest cause I was so nervous! I laughed really hard after to get rid of all the adrenaline that had built up inside me!
Ah, London!! Such a great place :) Sightseeing galore! And great family! It was so awesome getting to spend time with my Uncle Pat, my cousins Felix and Hugo, seeing my Auntie Charlotte, and getting to know Mollie.
We saw the Tower Bridge, shopped at Primark (the best store ever), and best of all, got to go to the Google offices!!
Being in Europe allows so much opportunity to travel for little money, and I love that I am able to take advantage of that. I had so much fun on this first round of travel and I can't wait for more!
Next stop.......TENERIFE in the Canary Islands!!! (10/29/12)
