Paris (for lack of a more creative title...)

Welcome to the frigid land of France where you understand nothing and it hails basically everyday. Indeed, perhaps a beach (Valencia, Ibiza, Mallorca, anywhere) would have been a more conventional spring break choice. But, alas, the sights and history of Paris, along with a few good Gtown friends studying there this semester, beckoned. It's true; Paris was built for tourism... Versailles, the Louvre and Tulerries, Champs Elysee and Arc du Triumph, Musee d'Orsay and Invalides, Napoleon's Tomb, Hotel d'Ville, the Opera, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Mont Martre and Mont Parnasse, Latin Quarter and the Seine... oh, and the Eiffel Tour of course. Yes, the week was packed with all of these sights and more... a few bars and some March Madness (which is a sore subject for me at the moment).

Suggestions:
*Go to Paris. Later in the year. It was coooold and rainy and so windy that the top of the Eiffel Tour had to close to tourists.
*Do not stay at the 3 Ducks Hostel... while this may be obvious immediately (given the name), unless you appreciate a bar as a lobby and muddy courtyard as the hallway, I would suggest going elsewhere.
*Do not be surprised by the 7.50 Euro bottle of Perrier... and, yes, currently that equates to about $100....
*The Louvre is closed on Tuesday, despite the tourist book's time schedules.
*If you are 4 people staying under a 3 person hotel reservation... TELL THEM, immediately, while an English speaker is available. Or they will catch you, try to rip you off, pretend they don't understand English, and then gruffly escort your party out the front door. (Don't worry, this was eventually resolved...)
*Enjoy the cheese and wine... and FONDUE!
*Enjoy the company of good friends... GO with friends!

Well, that's about all... Enjoy the pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2108136&l=167a7&id=1410721

y hasta pronto!

Las fotos, II

Extremadura trip with Gtown:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2105388&l=70ba6&id=1410721

Barcelona:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2105272&l=b8dfb&id=1410721

Madrid:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2105284&l=da5ff&id=1410721

Also, it is now officially Vacacciones de Semana Santa (Easter Break)... two weeks of no school, a Paris (maybe London) week long excursion in the middle of that, and Italy afterwards with the family! Can't wait!!

Madrid "Volunteerism"

I have to admit that I went into this weekend adventure in Madrid convinced that I would not like the city. Spaniards (that is, Salamancans) had told me of the large, unorganized city that was not as beautiful or nice as Barcelona. Nevertheless, I must say I was pleasantly surprised. We stayed at a nice hostel near Puerta del Sol, which is considered the center of Old Madrid. There were 8 of my friends from around Spain in the room, so the smelly shoe problem was not a problem AND there were individual rooms for each shower... No mistaking this time!

The premise for this trip was "John Carroll Weekend," an alumni gathering in which alums were awarded for their achievements (which, let's be honest, obviously included large donations to the university) and several cultural and academic events took place. My friends and I had signed up to "volunteer" for the weekend. The first night was the Welcome Reception at Casino de Madrid where we were fed free food and cocktails and even saw the Prince of Spain. The next day, I was assigned to volunteer at a bus tour of Madrid and tour of Las Ventas bullring. I learned a lot about the history of the city and that afternoon, as a few friends and I toured the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) I put some of that knowledge to good use. The next day we were invited to a free Thank-You dinner for all volunteers which was again more food than I could eat and more courses than I remember and, of course, Riojo (red wine). We proceeded to the free "Chimes Night" at the Westin Palace hotel where I saw some old Georgetown friends who were members of the Chimes a capella group (an old Gtown tradition). Saturday we toured the Prado Museum and saw El Greco, Goya and Velazquez masterpieces. Then we proceeded to picnic in the city park, watch Gtown win the Big East regular season and volunteer at the Awards Banquet. The staff dinner at this banquet was extravagant and delicious once again, and it was totally worth the logistical nightmare that proceeded (i.e. seating 500 guests with a last minute seating chart).

You may have noticed that I have been saying volunteer in quotations... that is because the absurd amount of free food, tours, and a lovely left over gift bag packed with free, expensive goods makes me believe that, economically speaking, this does not constitute "volunteering". But, hey, I'll definitely take it... Even the Madrid experience is definitely worth the trip.

Extremadura, Barcelona, and a hostel

Extremadura is the region just north of Andalucia (Seville, Granada, Cadiz, etc). We visited Roman ruins (obviously), Trujillo- Pizarro's hometown and the medieval town of Caceres. It was a fun trip and the best part was that Gtown paid for almost everything... so we are slowly getting our gtown tuition's worth out of this... meaning, of course, that we stayed not at hostels, but at a country estate and a remodeled monastery (called a Parador).

Barcelona this weekend was WONDERFUL! After an 11 hour, yes ELEVEN hour, train ride, I arrived on the eastern coast of Spain and the beautiful modern city of Barcelona. We saw Sagrada Familia (the cathedral Gaudi designed), Parc Guell (Gaudi's park, with the famous lizard and ceramics), las Ramblas, the Plaza Real and some beautiful beaches. The food was amazing, including our improptu picnic, tapas, and of course Sangria. Yet, the downside, or shall I say the tradeoff, was...

The hostel was relatively new and clean, with a family room area and computers. The first night we stayed with two nice UofM girls from Wisconsin, but at 10am the next morning, we were woken up to be told that we must move rooms due to some booking problems. So we moved into a room with two sleeping men and promptly left for the day. We came back to find these men just as we had left them, though they must have moved their smelly shoes toward the window by my bed b/c the room smelled of feet. These men lay in bed staring at us whenever we were in the room and not talking. So we stayed out of the room as best we could. Yet this posed problems as well... as I decided to take a shower and was not told of the separate men's and women's rooms. Assuming it was combined like the bathroom, I bravely walked into the shower room to find see-through shower curtains and a man already using the shower. I ran out but after my own pep-talk convinced myself that a shower was necessary and I would have to brave the elements. I walked back in but after standing in the shower fully-clothed, decided it would NOT happen. I ran out again to find my roommates who then informed me that there was a women's shower room... yes, a women's shower. Thank the lord, but wait, I left my shampoo in the men's room and had to sneak back in for that as the man still showering there looked at me strangely. Needless to say, I will think twice before showering next time...