My future home (hopefully!) Madrid

Plaza Mayor

This past weekend I spent in Madrid with all of the SMU girls at Franklin, and we met up with many more SMU kids in Madrid. We arrived late Friday night, ready to go out and get some drinks and tapas, and unfortunately the weather was not in our favor! We were greeted by some cold rain drizzle. But that didn't stop us- we went to a bar called El Tigre where you get massive drinks and an even greater amount of tapas for 6 euros. In Switzerland if I was to get a sangria that size, and 1 plate of tapas it probably would have costed the equivalent of 20 euros. The bar was completely packed, it was hard to move around, and there were Americans everywhere! I also happened to see one of my friends from high school in the bar without even planning it. I am constantly reminded how small the world actually is over here.

Sol

The next day we woke up and walked around the city from 11-7. The weather was cloudy, but no rain during the day. We got to see the Plaza Mayor, a palace whose name I can not remember, the Prado, and Retiro park! On one of the main Metro stops for tourists, Sol there are many people who dress up as characters to make money after they lost their jobs. This dude on the left is one of the examples of the people that appear to not have heads! 

Palace

The Metro system in Madrid makes it extremely easy to get around and the day went off without a hitch. For lunch we stopped in a restaurant and got stuck at the tiniest table for 7 people and it was so short you couldn't even fit your legs underneath it. It was really tasty food. After lunch we saw the Prado, a very famous art museum in Spain. My freshman year I took an Art History class as one of my general ed classes, and at the Prado I got to see at least 7 of the pictures we studied and it was unbelievable how magnificent they were in person.

Across from the Prado

Posing like Goya

 

Retiro entrance

After the Prado we had to stop by Starbucks for an energy boost and then were ready to walk through Retiro Park. After my trip to New York last spring break I fell in love with Central Park.. but Central Park has nothing on Retiro!! So beautiful. It probably also helped that we were walking through it at dusk and all the colors on the trees were incredible and ahh I just love Madrid! What isn't available in the picture of the lake in Retiro is all of the paddle boats that were on it just moments before this picture was taken! I can't imagine spending a day in that park on the paddle boats, going for a run, or just sitting and watching the little kids ride bikes. It was phenomenal!

Absolutely incredible

Lake in Retiro

Glass Palace in Retiro

Churros con chocolate!

 For dinner that night the woman at the hostel told us her favorite bar and tapas restaurant that we wanted to check out. She wrote down the name of the place, and the address and gave us a map. It was in a completely Spanish part of town and there were no tourists around and it took us 45 minutes to find where the restaurant should be- and to discover that it no longer is there! Very unfortunate. It was now 9 o clock we were all starving ready to eat and we had to stumble into a restaurant which only led to communication confusion between us and the staff! We ended up getting a lot of different appetizers and splitting and after that we took off for the classic dessert to have in Spain; Churros dipped in Chocolate. The place we went to was packed and it took about 15 minutes in line to get the churros and chocolate and they weren't quite what I expected, but they were still wonderful. We then went to a bar known as "Cave Bar" in English because the inside is decorated to be like the inside of a cave. It wasn't as crowded as El Tigre which was nice but unfortunately we had to get up at 545am to catch the metro to get to the airport, so I wanted at least 2 hours of sleep so we didn't get to stay there for long.

I may have only been in Spain for 48 hours, but I can not express how much I loved Madrid and the culture and the scenery and everything!!

Jenny and Megan in Lugano!

The night I returned from Turkey, Jenny and Megan (friends from high school) came into Lugano to visit me and see Switzerland! We had a wonderful weekend staying in Lugano, and it was exactly what I needed after my trip, friends and relaxation!
On Friday we slept in and when we got up we went to a chocolate factory about 20 minutes away and got to see a portion of the factory in production but at the end got to buy wonderful amounts of chocolate for very cheap prices! 2KG of chocolate for 10 francs to be exact!

That morning we also walked around Lugano and explored parts I have never seen before. I never realized how truly beautiful this town is!

We had a lovely dinner that night at Zalals, the pizza place right below my dorm and then made a plan for the next morning to get up and go see Bellinzona and the castles!















The castle has a little pond, and I have always wondered what it would be like to climb on the rocks on the other side of the little stream, so we all decided to try to leap to the other side and see what it was like! Jenny caught me in action trying to get over, but what she didn't get a picture of was Hillary actually pulling me across!!

San Sal across the lake

Our original plan for Saturday was to hike San Salvatore, but once we got up in the morning we had no desire to do it and thats when we made the quick change to Bellinzona. However on Sunday, we were determined to climb San Sal! I have been here for 3 months and never climbed it, so I figured now was better than never!

We made it!!! 

Overall it was an absolutely wonderful weekend and its amazing what quality time with good friends can do to a mood. I can't wait until December when I get to see them again!

Turkey

 I am so sorry I am extremely behind on my blog posts! I am going to try to do 3 in a row, but Turkey, which was 3 weeks ago will probably be very vague! Internet in Turkey was a struggle to get, and although all of our hotels had wireless, it barely worked in the rooms.

I left for Turkey on a Saturday in October for my Academic Travel class. There were 27 kids, and our professor and when we got to Turkey our tour guide. My first impression of Istanbul is it is giant. On our second day being there, we walked around town for a couple hours, got to see some cool places and went on top of a tower and could see for miles in every direction, and all of it was Istanbul! In fact, on the last day there before we left for the capital of Turkey, Ankara, we went on a cruise down the Bosphorous strait, which lasted for 2 hours and when we got off the boat we were still in Istanbul.
Non detailed list of what we did in Istanbul:
1. We got to see a lot of Mosques. Most of them were designed by architect Sinan and are extremely beautiful buildings covered in colorful tiles on the inside. I have never seen so many shades of blue in one place ever before.
2. Spice market- We saw this our second day there, it is basically a preview of the Grand Bazaar and gave us some practice at haggling!
3. Hagia Sofia- incredibly beautiful. The upstairs of the Haiga Sofia had wonderful mosaic artworks of Jesus, and Mary and many scenes, and one of the ones we got to see is known as one of the most beautiful mosaics in the world.
4. Of course we went to the Grand Bazaar, and of course I got ripped off! But not before the man told me that he felt bad for my future husband because "I am stubborn, and a pain in the ass!" Grr.. Mean Turkish man!
5. Before the Grand Bazaar we got to go to a Turkish Carpet store and see many different types of Turkish carpets, and I even got to tie a knot in a silk rug that was being made, and will be worth $15,000 when it is finished. We got to see the woman that makes the carpets and watch her make a couple knots. This particular rug was going to take about 18 months, and she works on it 3 hours a day.
6. Sheesha bars. Every night there were at least 10 people that went out to a Sheesha bar and then out to the clubs. I was actually plagued with sickness for about 3 days there due to the pouring rain and cold we were walking around in, so I only went out with the group twice, but we got to experience Turkish culture.
7. Protests in Taksim Square. I was extremely scared when I saw hundreds of people marching through the streets protesting the bombings between the Turks and Kurds that were happening while we were there, but eventually I was calmed down and realized it was cool to see that peaceful demonstration two nights in a row.
8. 2 Different castles, one with an Asian influence and the other with a European influence.
9. The underground sistern where they used to keep water for the town, and at the bottom of one of the columns when they mostly drained the sistern, they found 2 Medusa heads- one is upside down and one is sideways.

The next Friday, we took off for Ankara where we saw the mosoleum for Ataturk, one of their great leaders. Saturday we went to Konya and saw a tomb and met with a Dervish and heard him talk about their beliefs and got to see part of their ceremonies. Sunday we took off for Antalya. Along the way we stopped at one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters as well as an old Roman town. It was really cool to see those things and think about the people that used to live there- but at that point everyone was super excited and restless to get to the all inclusive resort! Turkey was the only academic travel that had the privilege of going to an all inclusive for 3 days and having a vacation! The only reason it worked out is the owner of the hotel chain in Antalya was a prior student of the professor and gives us a great deal. I spent 3 days laying on the beach, laying by the pool, eating so much food and playing pool at night or going to the discoteca in the hotel! That Thursday we came back to Lugano, to cold weather!

Tying a knot

Overall, Turkey was a great experience and I am so glad I got to experience that country and culture. The people were wonderful and nice, as long as you stayed in the right places!

Some pictures:

Domabaci Palace

Domabaci Palace

Ataturk Mozuleum

Amphitheater 

Our Resort- Delphin Palace

Medusa

One of the most beautiful mosaics

Top of the tower

Spice Market

Hagai Sofia

Blue Mosque

Inside blue Mosque

Hagia Sofia

Cleaning Day!

In preparation for leaving for Turkey on Saturday, Shelayne and I spent the evening cleaning our room. It was a much needed clean! Thankfully it is all wood floors, and relatively small but clean floors are so lovely. 

I officially only have 1 midterm left, and have to prepare a presentation for my Turkey travel- I am so close to a lovely 2 week break I can not wait! Today I received the list of hotels we are staying at in Turkey, and WOW! I will have so many incredible pictures when I return and the last 3 days at an all inclusive are going to be so wonderful. I will have internet at the hotels, so I will keep yall up to date with pictures and stories. 

Hope everything in the States is going well. 

Sobrio

Sorry I am slacking on my blog posts! This week is midterm week and has consisted of a lot of studying, and napping!

Pregnant cow in back was about to pop!

As planned, Shelayne, Angela (her friend studying in Torino) and I went to a mountain house in Sobrio. The weekend was exactly what I needed. We have realized the one thing we are really missing about being in a dorm, is not having access to a couch. It's the little things in life that you learn to miss! So in Sobrio, one of the first things we did was sit on a couch in front of a fireplace. Perfection!
The house belonged to one branch of Shelayne's family and two of her relatives went with us, and cooked for us all weekend! I had some of the most delicious food that weekend! The dad was the most remarkable cook ever.
The first day we got there, we relaxed for a little and then before dinner we went on a walk and saw the town. Sobrio has a population of 80, and is on 2 square miles on the top of a curvy windy road! It was great to be in the tranquility! The next day after we got up and did some more homework, we drove to the peak of the mountain to an even smaller town (there were 4 houses there!) and it was snowing. That was the first snow of Switzerland that I have witnessed. It was so beautiful seeing the snow on the trees. We then went and met a couple of her relatives at another town and then went back to the house and relaxed and did some more homework. Sunday was just a homework and relax day and then we came back to Lugano.

SNOW! 

One of the most beneficial things for me this weekend, was her relatives spoke very little english. The wife spoke a decent amount, but the husband barely spoke it. Therefore, I got to learn what a home stay studying abroad would have been like. I got to play translator for the weekend and practice my Italian. It was very useful for my Italian skills, and Shelayne was even able to pick up some new words! I learned about the Ticino (the region of Switzerland we are in) dialect, and many of the elderly people in Sobrio spoke the dialect so it was very difficult to understand them. But it was still wonderful to be exposed to so much culture. Some examples of the dialect:


It's cold- normally is "Fa freddo" but in dialect it is "fa fretch!"
It's hot- "Fa caldo" --> "Fa cald"
wind- "vinto" --> "vint"
Basically all the words are just shortened, but they are just different enough that it is hard to understand!

The view from the house

The weeekend was exactly what we needed- a chance to study without any distractions, since there was no internet, and a couch with parents cooking for us. I am so thankful to have met them and will forever remember their amazing hospitality!

Now school- my worst midterm is over and I couldn't be happier! I also think it went pretty good... so that's a plus! Only 2 more midterms to go between me and 2 weeks in Turkey! I don't know what my internet status is going to be in Turkey because I still have no idea what hotels we are staying at- but I will try to find internet and keep yall updated on my Turkish adventures!


 On a sadder note, yesterday I once again was faced with the realization of how precious life is and I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have been given and for my family and friends. RIP James Rigg, you will be missed by many people. My heart is aching for the Rigg family, and you are in my prayers.

The Longest Week!

This week has dragged on like no other week! I think the fact that I have 3 midterms and an Italian paper due next week are really making me want time to slow down!
The past couple days have been an emotional roller coaster. For those of you who have seen my facebook, you probably saw the shared link of Allison Owens- missing in Italy, and then my following status. A recent SMU grad was reported missing on Sunday night just south of Florence, and then yesterday morning her body was found in a river. She was the victim of a hit and run. Although I didn't personally know Ally, I have seen her around and have many friends that were close to her. As random as the accident is, and yes, I know it could happen anywhere, I found comfort through another SMU girl here as we just both sat and cried. After that, waking up and realized Steve Jobs has passed away- I have learned my lesson. Life is so precious and the time we have on this earth needs to be spent living, and doing things you enjoy as opposed to worrying about every way something can go wrong.

On a lighter note, the next 2 months here are going to fly by and I am planning on going to some really cool places. Hopefully all of them work out! This weekend, in preparation for midterms, my roommate, her friend and I are going to a small town outside of Bellinzona where she has relatives to sit in the Alps and study study study! Thankfully, there won't be any internet so I will have zero distractions- besides my friends and wonderful views!
Next Saturday, I leave for Turkey for 10 days. I have been assigned to write a research paper on Mimar Sinan, one of the lead architects in Turkey during the Ottoman Empire. It should be interesting, and I have to give a presentation on it while in Turkey but I did not need another paper during this busy time! The unfortunate part is I have to do all the work for the Academic Travel class, but will get zero credit for it back at SMU. It will be a wonderful experience though!
When I return, Megan and Jenny are coming to Switzerland to hang out with me and we are going to have wonderful adventures then, and it will be wonderful to see my friends from Colorado!

November is going to fly. My agenda consists of Madrid, Amsterdam, Nice and Monaco, Austria and Zurich!
Since I won't have internet this weekend, I will write again on Sunday if my "Diplomatic History of Modern Europe" notes haven't eaten me!

Cinque Terre= Heaven on Earth

I had the most beautiful weekend in Cinque Terre this weekend with the SMU girls. We ran down to the train station after our class on Friday and hopped on to a train to Milan from there. Our train to Milan decided it wanted to delay for 20 minutes which got us to our platform in Milan just in time for us to watch our next train leave. We were surprised by this at all? Nope. Italian trains are always a little funky! We were supposed to be at our hostel at 445, but didn't end up getting there until 730 thanks to the lateness of trains and missing connections! We got to Riomaggiore as the sun was finishing to set and the views over the Mediterranean Sea were absolutely incredible. 

Our hostel was really nice and full of Australians! We got to talk to them for awhile and then went to dinner at a local restaurant and the waiter was one of the rudest people ever! I got gelato after dinner to make me feel better about the grumpy dude. Everything in the hostel would have been perfect but there was a chick snoring so loud all night- so frustrating! We got up in the morning and bought our passes to the walking trail, where the woman was also incredibly rude. The walk from town 1 (Riomaggiore) to town 2 is known as the Lover's Trail and is an easy walk where couples have put locks all along the railing, and pretty much everywhere as part of their commitment to each other! 

The walk was 20 minutes long and really beautiful. At one point there was a tunnel where people had signed all the walls and someone wrote something that I wouldn't be able to express any better:

Cinque Terre=  amore!

After exploring town 2 (Manarola) for awhile we took a train to town 3 and town 4. Town 3 (Corniglia) is a smaller town situated on top of a giant hill that you get to walk up. There are 382 stairs total to climb to get to the top. 

As you begin the climb they have this encouraging sign

View of the stairs from halfway up

Town 4 (Vernazza) was different than the first 3 towns because it was super crowded and touristy. We got there around lunch time so we walked around and finally found a hole in the wall that looked really popular and was selling fried fish in a cone. It was delicious! Fried shrimp, calamari, fish, and some mystery meat on a stick and yummy fried vegetables of some sort. While we were in line there was a couple that had just gotten married and I guess part of the tradition in that town was the bride and groom went onto a balcony on the main street and started throwing candy to all of the wedding guests.. and tourists! Everyone was taking pictures of the couple throwing candy and I wonder how it felt knowing they were going to be in hundreds of random tourists pictures!

My picture of them

After lunch and sitting by the water for awhile we began the trek walking between towns 4 and 5- and it was quite the trek! The walk wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't all have our backpacks on! Our hostel didn't have bag service so we had to carry all of our backpacks on our excursion with us because we were leaving from town 5 and it just made the walk so much more difficult. You could see Monterossa at the same level as Vernazza, but in order to walk to it you had to go up a giant mountain, down the mountain, across a valley, up another mountain, back down the second mountain, and finally a little walk into town! By the time we got to the outskirts of town we were ready to rid our backpacks, run to the beach, and jump into the Mediterranean! It felt wonderful. Hillary, Jen, and I swam over to a cliff that people were jumping off of, and proceeded to jump off as well! Cliff jumping is probably one of my new favorite things. Especially after an hour and a half hike in 80 degree weather up hundreds of stairs with a backpack on! 

Above Vernazza before climbing the first mountain

After some more Italian train drama, and sprinting through the Milan train station trying to buy tickets for what we were told was the last train to Lugano (leaving in 10 minutes!) it was wonderful to get back to Lugano in one piece. Jen made fried rice for us and we did what any normal study abroad student would do- watched the SMU/TCU football game! The game ended at 2am our time, but in case yall don't know how it turned out: SMU WON!!!!!!!!!! First time since 2005 SMU has won this rivalry game. It was much needed after our evening of stress trying to get back to Switzerland! 

Manarola

Riomaggiore

Sunday night: After Shelayne got home from her weekend away, we made delicious gnocchi and spaghetti sauce and then before doing homework had an intense craving for nutella cookies. As study abroad students, only here for 4 months total we decided we didn't need to purchase a lot of cooking utensils, including measuring spoons. So not only do we have to guess on how much of the ingredients to add, we have to get creative with putting it all together! 

I give you, our cookies that are about to be put in the oven: 

The recipe didn't call for any peanut butter, but we thought it was an appropriate ingredient. I have finally met someone who loves and appreciates peanut butter as much as I do! It's dangerous. 

Monday: 

I am embarrassed to say that it took me this long to get to the gym, but I went to the gym today and ran and it was quite the experience. The gym in total has 3 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, and 1 bicycle. While running on the treadmills, one is forced to face the people that are simultaneously working out on any of the other three machines. Kind of awkward. Shelayne and I went grocery shopping after class and for dinner, we made hamburgers! So delicious. I can't explain how much I miss American food. Tomorrow we are making soft tacos, and Wednesday chicken sandwiches. The food here is delicious, don't get me wrong.. but some normal food/ non pasta food is much appreciated every now and then.