Ibiza

Greetings from Ibiza! I have been here one day and am leaving tomorrow...
Ibiza is an island a few hours by ferry off the coast of Spain. It has some pretty beaches but is most famously known for its many popular discotecas and its sunset.

I went to two different beaches here today. The first I just layed out on for a few hours this morning (about a 30 min walk from our hotel). The second was about 20 minutes past the front. After lunch and finalizing my ferry trip for tomorrow back to Valencia, I bought a cheap mask and snorkel and snorkeled around the second beach for a while. It was really cool. There was a lot of plant and coral life and a lot of fish, big and small that would swim right up next to me.

Tonight they gave us free dinner in the hotel that was actually pretty good ( a big buffet with lots of choices and desserts). Then, I went back over to the beach area to watch the sunset. It was packed and everyone aplauded when the sun disappeared over the horizon. It was really pretty over the water :)

Then I just did some shopping and came back here. They don´t have wifi here so I have to pay 1€ for every 20 minutes online. No fun. Plus I had to pay to use a pay phone to call the ferry company... at least I have access though even if I do have to pay...

As for the clubs, when at best discount the cheapest one is 37€, it´s just not worth it to me. Especially when all my friends I´ve made here didn´t come on this trip and I really don´t want to watch a bunch of strangers (who are all under 21 and therefore think the point of Europe is alcohol) get wasted like they do every night. So, I´m headed back to Valencia via ferry tomorrow afternoon. I´m hoping to see the lady who is in charge of our activities and stuff DJ at a club tomorrow night and then go to the Gregorian Chant mass Sunday morning at this really old church in Valencia. Plus, there are still so many places I want to check out and return to that I´d rather be in Valencia than here.

I can´t believe I will be home this time next week! I am excited to finally get to spend more than a few days at home for the first time in forever, but I will be very sad to say goodbye to Valencia. I have decided that it is my second favorite city in the world after Louisville :)

Ok, time is almost up and I don´t have another Euro coin so I´m off... ¡Hasta Luego!

Last full week :(

Haven't posted since friday... end of semester means a lot of work so it's been crazy but good :)

Saturday I went to the beach for a while which was fun :) then came back and did homework...

Sunday did homework and went exploring some more. Went to the Torres de Quart which are similar to the Torres de Sorranos in front of this building but a little different. They were of course really cool like all the really old stuff here is.

School all week. Watched movies in some of my classes. Explored the city some more. I absolutely love Valencia! Such an amazing city!!!

I don't know if I talked about these yet or not, but they gave us these little 7Euro food vouchers called Cheque Gourmet at the begining of the semester and I still have a bunch left so I've been eating at places that accept them a lot this week. Most of them are pretty good, but I'll have to go back to some of my favorites that don't take them (like the amazing crepes place :) ) before I leave still. One place around the corner from here is called Pan de Queso (Cheese Bread) and they have a bunch of croquettes and stuff plus their specialty which is similar to Red Lobster cheese buscuits but bigger and softer. Plus, they make them into sandwhiches which are amazing! Cream cheese and ham. Plus they have all these fruit juices and they will blend them with ice (granizado) which is amazing because I really miss smoothies. Tonight I am going with a few girls to this fancy Italian place that takes Cheques. It will be nice to go to a sit down dinner since I haven't been anywhere really nice in a while. The building looks really interesting, unlike anything I've ever seen, so I'll post some pics this weekend.

WARNING - rant in this paragraph
I have a huge project due tomorrow and a bunch of papers this week and next which are keeping me busy, but this weekend should be relaxing :) I am going to be spending the weekend on an island a few hours away just relaxing on the beach all day every day! It will be really nice because my roomate here has taken to staying up all night and sleeping all day and doesn't think it's fair when I ask her at 215am to turn off the lights because she wants them on and won't go in the living room to do whatever she was doing. So last night I put in earplugs and a towell over my head trying to sleep but found it impossible with how loud she talks to go to sleep until she finally did at 530. She didn't have class today, I did. Alarm at 8 was not fun... So, this just further enforces why I love having my own room and why I need my own space. Fortunatly, my teamates are awesome, because I can't imagine tournament weekends if I had to deal with someone like this! How I stayed calm last night I will never know because I wanted to kill someone...

Other than my roomate, Valencia is AMAZING though!!! I am excited to come home next week and see everyone and everything, but I must say I am definately sad to leave :( I really want to come back here again one day! I don't want to move here or anything, but I want to make sure I visit more times in my life.

Ok, for Joni's questions....

Yes, I did think of you when I saw the cats because I knew they would make you smile like they made me smile :)
Horchata is a specialty drink in Valencia that has traveled throughout Spain now. It tastes kinda like a sweet milk, but is actually made from the tigernut and water and sugar. It is an amazing drink! And they have it everywhere here.
I can't believe how fast it's going by either!!!

I did not win the ham, but I did get the highest women's score in the league so I won 2 shirts, a hat, and 2 sausages. That league was a lot of fun and all the people were really really nice :)

And finally, no. I have not been back to Planet Bowling yet, but I will be going to their location closer to the Study Center either Monday or Tuesday of next week. This week has just been too busy.
I love you too!

ok... off to dinner
Hope everyone is having a great week!!! Happy Birthday one day early to Mom! Love you all!!!

PS let me know if there is anything in particular anyone wants me to bring back from Spain!

Peñiscula/Running

Today we went to Peñiscula which is a little town a couple hours away. It was an optional program trip by bus, and why would I say no to seeing awesome stuff for free? So, we left this morning and got there around 1130 and the weather was nasty. Gray skies, windy, chilly, but we went on a boat tour around the cove and all of us just wrapped our beach towels around ourselves to stay warm. The sites we saw were awesome! A big castle that has a huge cave under it that leads into the dungeons. Stairs coming down from the castle that legend says were built in one night when a temporary pope (Benedict XIII) was going threatened to be assisnated by the Vatican who chose someone else. He was living there at the time, and it was an escape for him. The beaches also looked awesome! Soooo pretty! We split up for lunch and a group of us went to this covered patio place to eat some of Spain's version of Mecxan food. It was different (almost everything served with fried eggs on the side) but good. When we were done, the sun came out for a while so we went down to the beach! :) Then it started to rain and hail a little so we took cover til it passed and then toured the castle. It was very simple as far as decour but really cool to walk through. Stairs leading everywhere and some were so narrow I barely fit down them with both shoulders touching the walls on either side! Still really cool and some amazing views of the water and the town from the top!

When we got back, I decided to go for a run in the park. I went right into the park but ran along different paths this time (there are probably at least 4 or 5 paths in each direction at any given point in the park). I ran to the end that direction. I passed 2 festivals going on, a skate park, a big fountain surrounded be rollerbladers (some type of event), probably 10+ childrens playgrounds (one is called Gulliver and is a giant person laying down with slides and things to climb all over him and his hat and stuff), tons of trees and plants, some statues and memorials, some really old stones, and a bunch of stray cats. When I reached as far as you are allowed to run, it was right by the City of Arts and Sciences (at the end of them). It was beautiful down there! A little stream runs along one of the path and there were people relaxing all over by it. It was so nice, I just kept running. I ran back past where I had started, then I kept going. I ran for a while until I got to another big fountain. I had been past there before so I turned around and headed back. My total distance running was 7.54 miles!!! My previous record was 3.51. It was amazing! I probably could have kept going a little longer which was the crazy part, but I didn't want to have to walk back after dark (even though there were tons of people out playing soccer and stuff.

So, I had a really good day! :) Tomorrow I need to do a lot of homework since I have many papers and projects due next week, but I will probably take stuff either down to one of the plazas and have Horchata while I work or go sit in one of the amazing gardens and work. No point sitting inside all day when I only have 12 days left. Hasta Luego!

Lladro etc.

Another week almost over... Crazy how fast time is flying by here!!!

So, monday in class we went to Lladro which is a porceline figurine empire in Spain. We got to go through the back and see how they make each of the figurines by hand. First they start with liquid porceline which they pour into molds which take at most a few hours to set. They take out the pieces (up to hundreds depending on the size of the figure) and peel off extra bits before putting them in a bin to harden more. Then, ladies use more liquid porceline to attach all the pieces by hand. Then other ladies paint the figures using finished models as guides. Finally, there is a table in the back where two ladies sit and handmake flowers petal by petal which when finished are placed onto the figurines that use them. Finally, the whole thing is baked and inspected then sold. They are crazy expensive (some of the bigger ones more than a house!) but really pretty and really neat how they are made. Plus the place where they work is set up really nice for employees and even has a large cafe, a pool, and a lot of outdoor activities for breaks and to bring the kids to on the weekends.

Monday night I postbowled then bowled league. I did ok. I found out before league started that I am in third place... I might be a ham winner. We will see next week lol

Tuesday we watched movies in both of my classes. In the first we watched a film about Juana la Loca, the daughter of Isabel y Ferdinand who had a horrible husband who made her crazy then locked her away. In my other class we watched a more modern Spanish version of Romeo and Juliet that involved a lot of flamenco dancing. I also signed up for the flamenco class next monday and tuesday night. Figured while I'm here learning about how important it is to their culture I might as well try it out.

Last night we went down and checked out this festival going on in the riverbed. They have food and vendors from countries around the world. It was really cool. I am going to go back again this weekend when I have more time to look around at everything.

Today, I had class this morning then went to the travel agency to pay for a trip I am going on with the group next weekend. It is to a really pretty Spanish island and is recomended by everyone who has been. A lot of people are going because of some famous discos, but I'm not really in the mood to pay between 20 and 100 Euros just to get in like they are. I am really just looking forward to 3 whole days relaxing on a beautiful beach before I have to return to the busy craziness of the real world. Should be fun :) The place where I booked the ferry ticket was really neat too because it was right on the edge of the campus so there were students all around and I got to see some of the campus restaurants and stuff.

Tonight, as part of my Spanish class, we are going to see Slumdog Millionaire in Spanish. I didn't really like it in English, so I wish we were seeing something else instead, but it's alright. Should still be a good night and as long as our whole class comes (7 of us) she is letting us start class at 930 instead of 9 on Monday so...

test tomorrow that I should be studying for, so Hasta Luego!

And do Joni, HAPPY JUNE 3RD!!!

Love ya!

Madrid etc.

Sorry for no updates all week. We went to Madrid and I didn't have much time to update.
Tuesday from Madrid we went to Segovia where we toured a big castle and saw the Roman aqueduct. It is so big and the fact that it was built without any machines or mortar around 2000 years ago and is still standing tall and strong today is amazing to me!

Wednesday we went to the Prada and Reina Sofia museums. I had been to the Prada before with my high school trip, but now that I have studied most of the paintings in SHA and UCF Spanish classes, it was much more exciting to see.

Thursday we went to Toledo on the way back to Valencia. Toledo used to be the capital of Spain. It is a very old city and full of many amazing sites including churches, paintings and sword factories. They sell swords and many expensive items handmade from gold in shops all throughout the city. The city is also surrounded by water which used to be used for protection but now just looks amazing.

Friday I went in search of this nicer bowling alley that some bowler at the bowling alley I've been going to said to check out and that we had found online before I came here. I looked up the directions and it said that Metro line 4 dropped you off accross the street from it, which is perfect because that's the line closest to here. I rode the line the 30 minutes to the stop, but I didn't see it. So, the driver pointed out the street that I had to walk up for 15 minutes before I arrived. It was worth it though. The place was huge! It had a big movie theater, a whole bunch of restarants and clubs, a fitness center, stores, a big courtyard that connected them all filled with fountains and children's fun areas, and of course the bowling alley, Planet Bowling. It was 5Euro a game or for 11Euro you can buy a pass for 1Euro games, food and drinks for a month, which I bought. I bowled 5 games and finally started to get everything to feel right again. I can't take this much time off, it's going to kill me... I'm going to go back to the old place Monday night to postbowl for last week and to bowl this week, plus once more next week for the end of the league. I won't probably go back to Heron City where I went yesterday just becasue of the distance. Leaving, I didn't want to walk through those streets again since I didn't know that area, so I asked at the desk and they told me to take the bus out front. 2.5 hours and 1 bus and 2 metros later I got back to the study center... Not worth the hastle since I found out there is another Planet Bowling near the City of Arts and Sciences which is only like a 3 miles from here. I'll probably go by there Wednesday after classes since my pass thing I bought will work at any Planet bowling location. Is it bad I wrote more about bowling than Spain? Guess that shows where my heart/mind is now lol

Today, I got up and ran in the morning. I went the other direction in the riverbed park and saw some really cool stuff. There were tons of playgrounds all unique and amazing plus a bunch more fountains and a festival of nations. I really wish we had a park like this in Louisville and in Orlando because it is such a cool place for the whole family and I love having a safe, entertaining place to run. After, some of us went to the beach to relax for a while. It's so pretty and the weather was perfect today. It's a weird beach though because you have to walk forever in the sand before you reach the water. It is the longest beach any of us have ever seen, but it is still awesome! :) I love the beach!

Ok... off to do homework and stuff... and I just read the comments and Joni- I would love to come back here with you some day! and Mom-you keep asking for more pics, did you see the ones in the last post? Love you all!

SCUBA/Biking/Mas Fotos!

SCUBA diving was AMAZING!!! It was about an hour and a half drive out there, but so worth it! We went to this little SCUBA school where they gave us wet suits, masks, and snokels and got into this little boat and went out. We stopped near this huge rock formation where we were aloud to snorkel around when it wasn't our turns. They had 4 instructors there who would each take 1 person down at a time to teach us and show us. The rocks were amazing in themselves. We jumped off this one structure and climped up and around to this hidden cave and a little hidden pool. So beautiful! And snokeling we could see some of the fish and reef life.
Then, I got to go under. They put the huge backpack of gear on me and then taught me the hand signals for ok and ear preasure and go up. They also showed me the important buttons to get more air, go up or down, and see how deep you are and how much oxygen is left. Then he pushed me off the boat backwards into the water so I can make sure I'm comfortable with the breathing thing. Then the instructor holds onto you from the back and slowly lets out the air thing so you start to go under. The stuff we saw was amazing! So many red speckled startfish (He had me touch one of them) and other cool creatures and plant life. He showed me how if you just cross your arms like you are hugging yourself and barely move your flippers you can go right thru a school of fish and they will swim right next to you without being scared away. We were down for about 20 minutes I think. Breathing was a lot easier than I expected down there, and since he was with me the whole time, I didn't even really get scared like I thought I would.

It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done and I definately want to get certified in the US so I can do another trip like this one. One girl brought her waterproof digital camera so i will post some of her pics once she sends them out. I bought a disposable waterproof one that I will post after I find a place to get them developed. I didn't take it under water with me because I wanted to have my hands free since I didn't know what to expect. I have some cool ones from snorkeling and of the rocks and stuff though along with some of me in the gear.

Yesterday, we went bike riding about 6 miles or so each way (about an hour ride each way) through the park, the city, and a special bikers route to the beach. It had so many hills and rough terain that it was a killer and my butt still hurts today, but it was worth it. The beach was really pretty and was full of beautiful stones all down by the water. I collected some of them to put in a glass bowl when I get my first house. It started to rain so we left the beach around 2 and rode back through on and off drizzling. My legs are killing me today, but I'm glad I went. I got to see a lot and proved I could do it.

Well, I think that's it for now. We leave in the morning for Madrid until Thursday with a stop in Toledo on the way back on Thursday. Should be a lot of fun. I am most likely bringing my computer, so I will keep updating.

And finally... PICTURES!!!!! WARNING there are A LOT! But I made sure to be in some just for you Mom :)

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=ae700e9846c8a6b06d9889752d9a603c&sid=0BZMmrVm4bMnKg

Enjoy!

Ok, yesterday day wasn't too exciting. Just went to class during the day then at night we did a trip to the beach town/port area. We took the Metro over to it and Catalina (a lady who works here and is really nice and leads all the social stuff) gave us a tour of all the old buildings and churches and the port. It was all pretty interesting. We also went to the Semana Santa museum which is where they keep all the big Holy Week floats that they pull along the beach along with live performances during Holy Week. They also had some of the costumes that the people wanting to be forgiven wear. These freaked us out as Americans because even though they were colored and had pictures of Jesus and Mary on them, they are the models the kkk stole their costumes from so it was creepy. Then we ate and had a drink at the oldest pub in Valencia. I tried their specialty that they make there called Vermouth (sp?) and we also got to see their wine cellars.

This morning in my first class we went to two amazing gardens nearby. The first was huge and we only had time to look at a fraction of it. My favorite part was the stone path with steps leading all around multiple areas and up some small hills. From the top of some of them, you could see an area of the park where they are doing an archeological dig on some old Moorish palaces which I thought was cool. The other garden we went to used to be owned by a family and was donated to the city. It was much smaller but just as amazing. It had a dirt path that led up and around a little hill and over a few small bridges with little water falls. I really want to go back to both gardens and read one day and take even more pictures.

In my other class today we went to the bull fighting museum and got to see some of the behind the scenes stuff of the arena. We got to see where the bulls wait before they go out and some of the castrated bulls that stay in the pens to keep the other bulls calmer until they have to go out. The we got to go walk down into the arena itself and take some pictures.

Nothing really exciting tonight... I went out to dinner with some of the girls and bought some more candy. There are so many candy stores around here and it's all SOOOO good! And cheap! In this area all the food is really cheap. Everything in the stores is expensive though so I'm glad I don't need to buy a lot of nonfood things while I'm here.

EXCITING NEWS: I just found out that I get to go SCUBA diving tomorrow morning! That should be a lot of fun! I bought a disposable waterproof camera to take out there with me but it only holds 27 pictures so hopefully I can get a few good ones.

Here are the bowling terms I said I'd put up:
bolera = bowling alley
pista = lane
bolo = pin
bola = ball
partida = game
curva = hook
flechas = arrows
la doble real = big four

I will try and get the pics up tonight... The camera cord is somewhere in my computer bag which I have to lift up my bed to get to...