A Little Overdue

Well I planned on this being done a while ago but final papers and presentations got in the way unfortunately. A few exciting things have happened since my last blog post. The most exciting was I turned 20 years old in Valencia, Spain!! This trip was a blast! It was extremely nice weather (enough to get some sun at the beach) and the city was gorgeous. I saw the incredible Science Museum and Aquarium, and had a huge plate of paella that was about as big as my torso!! Did a lot of walking and saw a lot of the city! It was definitely nice to spend my last trip in Valencia for my birthday! I also got some great birthday cards (shout out to the Aunt Heather, Uncle Todd, Aunt Noelle, Uncle Mike, Aunt Rose, Uncle Greg, Gregory, and Gams and Grandad!!)! And of course the MASSIVE birthday package from my awesome family filled with goodies!! Definitely unexpected but TOTALLY awesome! This past weekend I saw my last soccer match this semester at Atletico Madrid as they took on Real Madrid. It was an incredible match and the atmosphere was incredible especially because they celebrated the stadium's 110th anniversary! Today has been incredibly cold and rainy but I did go to my last day of classes here in Spain! It's truly incredible how amazing this semester has been. I've met so many incredible people both international students and American students, experienced an extremely rich culture, and had the time of my life. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of that or supported me. I am always grateful for you all.

My Excellent Adventure with My Dad!! (Semana Santa)

Hello! I'm sorry this is such a late post but this week had me stressed with two exams and a research paper. But here is the update on my Spring Break (Semana Santa here in Spain)! My dad flew over for his first time to Spain! I picked him up from the Metro/Airport on Saturday morning and we found our hotel very close to Gran Via. They let us check in early and we took a short siesta before beginning our first day of exploring. We found Plaza de España, el Templo de Debod, and an awesome place for tapas: Vienna. We sat and talked for hours drinking coffee and eating grilled vegetables. I also showed him the Royal Palace, the Cathedral, and a little Spanish restaurant where we ate WAY too much food. We started our 4-day bus tour with a stop in Cordoba where we saw the old Cordoba inside the city walls then the Cathedral of Cordoba. Its incredible how massive this place was!! And shared by 3 different religions too! It really blows my mind how they all got along peacefully. After a couple of hours in Cordoba we continued our bus trip to Sevilla. This city was incredibly gorgeous and my favorite of the 4-day tour. The weather was perfect too! My dad and I admired places like Plaza de España, Alcazar, and even the Sevilla Bullfighting Stadium. The amount of history and culture in these cities was more than I have ever seen in the United States. My dad and I said multiple times, "You can't find stuff like this in the States." I'm so glad my dad could come and experience Spain for the first time with me because it really is a whole other world. We spent one more day in Granada which was also incredibly nice and we saw the Alhambra. If you don't know what the Alhambra is, it was originally created as a Muslim fortress in the 9th century! So much history and beauty in one place!! I think I might have caught a few bugs in my mouth cause my mouth was open the whole time. Finally, we returned to Madrid for a day before my dad left for the States on Saturday morning. The week went by so incredibly fast it seemed like I had just picked him up the day before! I had such a great time with my dad and I wish my sister and mom could have joined but we will have to all take a trip like this another time! Now there is only about 4 weeks left of the semester! I can't believe it honestly. My birthday is coming up next weekend and I'll no longer be a teenager! It's kind of scary to think about. Especially in the words of my sister Maggie: "You're already halfway to 40!!" Yea...no I don't wanna be halfway to 40 years old yet. Anyways thanks for reading and my next post should be next weekend! Hasta luego!