The City of Lights - The City of Love

I went to Paris!! Yeah, it happened. Just a weekend getaway with a couple of cool peeps (Caitlin, CJ, Holly, Annalise, Casey). I took detailed notes so I could come home and blog about EVERYTHING. But let's be real - I'm going to get bored just writing all of it, so there's no way I'm going to subject all of you to that. It'll be great to read in my journal later, like when I'm old and grey and want to peruse my travel logs. But for now, I'll spare you all the mundane details and skip to the cool parts, our points of interest.

General facts:
1. It rained the whole time. And if it wasn't raining, it was frigidly windy. But hey, if I'm going to be cold and soggy, why not do it in Paris? :)
2. Flying Ryanair is extremely stressful. They will take any excuse to charge you a 50-60 € fee for an over-sized bag, failure to print your boarding pass before you get there, smelling funny, etc. They are ruthless.
3. We stayed in a youth hostel - great experience, 3 snoring Aussies in the room, Peter from China..."obviously", party every night, nutella and baguettes and apple juice every morning - YOLO!
4. I felt like THE BIGGEST tourist ever, snapping pictures like an Asian. But ya know, everybody else was doing it... I've never really felt like a tourist in Spain since we go to normal places where regualr people live, but this was hardcore American touristing.
Anyway, we met Caitlin's friend, Casey (our resident Frenchman, tour guide, and photographer extraordinaire), at the bus stop and took off down the Champs-Élysées -- seeing everything from the Arc de Triomphe to The Louvre.

I climbed up the Eiffel Tower!! All 6 bagillion stairs to the mid level! There are not words to adequately express the view, the hike, the wonder, the fame. Gah!

I promise this isn't a food fable, but there was this quintessential French bakery. And the chicken sandwich and fruit tarts were unfathomably delicious!

The Catacombs - morbid but awesome. The cemeteries got too full and started causing health problems so the people voted to exhume all the remains from some of the biggest cemeteries all over Paris and deposit them in an empty limestone quarry. They started by simply heaping the bones in, but then somebody had the idea to organize it. So it's got an artistic and appealing pattern to it. Lots of bones and memorial stones with quotes about the balance between life and death. Kind of heavy stuff, but I'm so glad I saw it. (photo courtesy of Holly)

The Père-Lachaise Cemetery - where a bunch of famous people are buried. I got to see the graves of Chopin, Jim Morrison from The Doors (there's this tree covered in gum, pictured below, where people pay their respects by adding to it), and Oscar Wilde (funny story about that: It was closing time but Holly had to kiss his headstone to win a bet with her sister. Unfortunately, the security guard didn't think that was a good enough reason to not leave post haste and started screaming at us to leave. She struck fear in our hearts and we had to leave without the kiss. Never fear, she went back and got it the next day.)

The Galleries at LaFayette (on the Champs-Élysées) - the height of Parisian fashion. This mall was unbelievable. Really, Baby Dior? Prada and a bunch of designers' names I can't remember? A whole floor for wedding dresses? And (drum roll please) Ladurée - the most exquisite French treats you can get - macaroons. Wow! Worth every pretty penny I spent. Literally, I don't think I will ever eat anything so delicate and scrumptious again.

And, of course, McDonald's #2.

Sacré-Coeur and it's very modern stained glass. This was a cool contrast to all the ancient styles we've seen in Spain. Montmatre and it's super cute neighborhood - close enough to the city, but separate and quiet. The Moulin Rouge - I could not resist.

San Chapelle Cathedral - highest stained glass to wall ratio in the world. That was A LOT of glass.

Notre Dame - when I looked into the belfry, I could swear I saw someone scurrying around.

The Love-Lock Bridge - how romantic! Couples write their names and the date on a padlock, clip in to the grating on the bridge, and then throw the key into the Seine River below. Even better, while we were there, we saw a couple actually doing it. When they kissed, my heart broke - forever alone! haha ;)

The Orsay Museum or Musée d'Orsay - so much impressionism!! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I was in heaven for the whole 4 hours I was in there!! So much Monet, Manet, Renior, Degas, Van Gogh, room after room. If you folow this link, you can click on each room and see what was there - just in case you wanted to be jealous :) Yeah, I saw it all.

The Seine River boat tour - probably the worst €11,50 I've ever spent...oops. It poured, we got stuck on the open top with nothing but our umbrellas, and we'd already seen (up close and personal) every point on the tour. I don't recommend it unless you only have 2 hours in Paris and still want to see everything. Then, and only then, is it a good use of your resources.

The Louvre - Although, I almost liked the Musée d'Orsay better, you can't be in Paris and go there. I feel like it was more my thing. Despite the vastness that could easily swallow up a patron without a floor plan, we saw the big things in 2 hours - Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory, some Michelangelo statues, and others.

After enjoying Free Museum Sunday at the most famous museum in the world, we grabbed some crêpes and high-tailed it back to the airport in time to catch the last chopper out of Vietnam. I mean plane out of Paris - those Ryanair guys stressed me out though. All in all, it was a great weekend in the City of Lights, the City of Love.

Things I learned in León

May 1 and 2 (photo courtesy of Holly)

At the Basilica de San Isidro (Patron Saint of Madrid)- he wrote an encyclopedia before the age of the moors. Many years later, they dug up his bones and brought them here to León. The romans wanted to claim this area because the mountain had lots of silver. So we see a lot of Roman influence in the buildings and art. A basilica = a church in shape of cross. A cathedral = a basilica that has a Bishop's chair. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but the library in the museum of the basilica has beautiful, old books! They even have some that are so old (from the first 50 years of print) that don't have a 'published-in-this-city-by-this-person' stamp! I was in awe.

La Catedral de León: with the exception of San Chapelle in Paris (which you will see later), the León cathedral has the most stained glass for how big it is. Last time I was in Spain, the cathedral was undergoing lots of construction so we couldn't go inside. Now, there's still some scaffolding on the outside, but we got to go in!

And with the help of Rick Steve's self-guided tour, I learned that the flying buttresses helped support the weight of the wall so they could make a larger hole and therefore a larger window.

Cool feature: the outside lights go off at midnight and the stained glass is lit from the inside. It was a little underwhelming, but novel nonetheless.

I saw a sign that was kind of like a real-life Google maps, telling me how long it would take to walk to different points of interest.

I really want a sundial in my future garden, like this one from the museum attached to the León Cathedral.

The most ideal day yet.

Today was a really great day. :) I started it off by hiking with Logan and Andrea through a 'campo' which reminded me of some of the trails at girls camp. There were pine trees, rabbits, squirrels, bugs, rocky paths where mountain bikers kept passing us, lots of hills and small mountains of clay. It was kind of overcast and there was an occasional breeze. Gah it was perfect!

From that, I came home to a breakfast of toast and marmalade, magdalenas, and the best fresh pear I've ever had. It was so perfectly ripe, soft, and sweet that I peeled it and then just bit into it like an apple. Mmmm :)

After a quick shower, I put on my dress and took the train into Madrid with a large group to do baptisms for the dead in the Madrid temple. That was amazing!!! I've only heard the ordinance in Spanish once before, in Texas. But this was something totally different. The Spirit was incredibly strong and reminded me that Heavenly Father speaks all languages. The love I felt there was so...thick and comfortable. Not to mention, the building itself is breathtakingly beautiful. I mean, wow. The simple, white, carved stone reminds me of all the cold cathedrals and castles we've toured in the past few weeks, only more pure and holy.

Then, to top it all off, during and after dinner I had some great conversation with our Chinese roommate, Naomi, and my 'madre española'. I felt really confident in my language skills, which I'm discovering is kind of a hit-n-miss thing. I got to learn some cool things about the Spanish government, monarchy, and the civil war; the climate in China, traditional roles of women in both Spain and China and lots of other great stuff. We laughed and joked about housemate interviews, which made me think of my upcoming roommate contract with Angela, and it was just awesome. Then Naomi left and Luisa and I got to have some one-on-one time. She told me how grateful she is to have Caitlin and I here, now. She's definitely a blessing in my life, and apparently I am "an angel in her house". I don't know about being an angel, but I'm really glad I'm here. TTFN

Burgos

April 29 - Beautiful countryside!! On the way to Burgos, we stopped in a lot of places. First on the map, a pueblo in the middle of nowhere where we hiked up a hill and found an abandoned castle (called Peñaranda de Duero) and an amazing view.

Coming back down the hill, there were some fascinating door covers - like rubbery cords that keep the flies out but let the fresh air in? I didn't actually ask anyone, so that could be way off.

Next stop, Santo Domingo de Silos - home of the famous singing monks who actually recorded a CD a few years ago. All I have to say is: goosebumps, chills.

On a different note, I bought a magdelena so I could use the bathroom (the only one I've had since I got here! actually no, that was remedied when I had one for breakfast the other day). Then I peeled an orange in one swipe, but Kjersten had issues and kind of hacked hers :)

Continuing on, we stopped to walk a trail mounted along the rock above a river that goes through a little valley. The only part of the name I remember is La Yecla. That could be the valley, the walk itself, the river, or just something I saw on a sign...whatevs :)

After that, we explored a small town with not much more to offer than a quaint church where Fernan Gonzalez was buried nbd. Also, I convinced the cute old man that we knew enough Spanish to get a tour of the museum in the cloisters and the back. And boy, was that so great! You're welcome, guys.

Here begins our foreign McDonald's experience (the one where we eat as many non-US french fries as possible). I haven't tasted this in over 3 years!

A quick run to Carrefour for Diet Coke and Oreo Milka bars (aka literal crack). I think we have an addiction.

The next morning, we visited the Catedral de Burgos where el Cid is buried. What a HUGE and FANTASTIC work of art and faith! Just....wow. I...yeah wow. Please see Facebook for all of the amazing stuff inside.

Segovia

I'm behind!! I don't know how this happened, but I have to catch up or else I'm going to be in over my head in the blink of an eye. Against my nature, I'll just write a few poorly descriptive posts about the past week to get everything up and then cover all future events and adventures in better detail, to my liking, as they happen. Deal? Good.

Okay, Segovia, April 27. It was a day trip to a super cute city that I totally remember visiting the last time I was in Spain. I even saw the bar (see right) where we used the bathroom. I still don't know how much that bartender appreciated 4 blonde Americans using the toilet without buying anything from him...oops. Anyway, here's the high points. TTFN

Roman Aqueduct - constructed between the 1st and 2nd centuries (A.D.) and fully functional until the 1930s or 40s when they stopped using it. The whole thing is made of stone, just stone. No cement, no mud, no clay, no nothing. The holes you see in each block in the first picture were for the 'crane' of pulleys that picked up each stone (like tweezers grabbing legos or something).

La Casa de Los Picos - used to be called "La Casa de los Judios" (House of the Jews), but when the Jews were expelled from Spain and the Christians came to rule, nobody wanted to live in a 'Jewish' house. So they put a new facade on and changed the name.

Intricate facades - to appear richer than they actually were (nobody wants their neighbors to think they're poor) and to personalize the government-gifted houses (it was an incentive to live in Segovia), they covered the outsides with stone, carved in beautiful designs.

La Catedral de Segovia - can you say Gothic? Almost. They didn't finish all of it at one time, so when they went to put on the main door, so many years had passed that the style had changed. Can you tell the difference?

El Alcázar - castle with inCREDible ceilings (unfortunately we couldn't use flash so all of my pics are blurry - but I'm sure you can Google it with this link), one of the inspirations for the Disney castles (Your thoughts, Angela?)

La Granja - palace with French-style gardens including a huge hedge labyrinth and a plethora of fountains. Also, the majority of las bovedas (the vaulted ceilings) were major works of art. Of course, my camera died so I don't have any pictures. Again, Google it! :)

Tocando la Puerta de los Cielos

My roommate, Caitlin, used this phrase yesterday and I decided to steal it. We were talking about how lucky we are to be here and how incredible this place is - from the people to the food to the culture to the city - we are literally knocking on the door of the heavens.

First day of class: pop quiz! Downside: 100 questions plus a paragraph about my piso. Upside: my teacher is probably THE CUTEST Spanish lady I've EVER met!! Seriously, she's classically gorgeous. I feel like we're in a movie, in a high school class, she's the recent college grad who all the boys are falling over. She's probably late 20s, petite, lithe, and has a spunky personality. She's got classy taste and total command of the class. Haha  I love it :)

We got lost in the city. Actually, we ended up taking the scenic route home from the mall (Alcala Magna) which boosted my pedometer through the roof, with a total of 24,000 steps for the day. I wasn't complaining because I felt totally picturesque wandering through the streets and looking at all the buildings, people, and small-town bustle.

Siesta was great. Then Lexi, Caitlin, and I went for a 2 hour walk about town and visited some of the historic buildings in Alcalá, including the cathedral and a few convents-turned-university/office. We watched a Real Madrid fútbol game with the local YSA group.

Best of all, Roark fixed my ordenador! Well, kind of. The problem is: I have Windows Vista. Enough said, according to Roark. Apparently, Vista does not support Netgear wireless routers and guess what router Luisa has! So I'll have to do all my picture posting somewhere else - school probably. At least I know I'm not just being tech-challenged :) As soon as I can find some time, I'll put up a bunch of pictures. I'll probably put most of them on Facebook so don't forget to check there too. TTFN

This is the life

So my laptop doesn't work. Great. I used Catalína's yesterday but I can't do that forever. It just won't connect to the Internet! Her laptop and my iPod work great, but my ordenador is just not seeing the wireless! Any suggestions?

Recap of today: Catalína and I slept until 1:30pm when our host mom knocked on the door saying "Buenos días, buenos días! Pues....buenos tardes." We asked what time it was and were so surprised! Good ol' jet lag. We showered and got dressed, just in time for lunch -- yummy green beans with ham and egg in them and literally THE best fish sticks I have ever eaten! Seriously, what are those things that I buy back home, if not fish sticks?? After lunch, we met up with the whole group in La Plaza for our orientation. I was expecting something more class-related, but we walked by the AlcaLingua building (which our little group found yesterday) and then took a tour of the main building and its three patios. Apparently, Alcalá is the very first university laid out like a city. Or maybe she said it was the first city built for a university. Something like that :) The chapel-like building at the very end had a super gorgeous ceiling painted blue, red, and gold with a crazy carved pattern. I'm so dumb though! I haven't had my camera with me for anything these last 2 days! Luckily, Catalína's been taking pictures and it's already in my purse for tomorrow. After the tour, I pulled out some Euro and headed to the heladería (ice cream shop) for the second time in 2 days :) when we were there yesterday, Catalína told the scooper they were going to be great friends because she was planning to go there every day. I thought he'd love the joke and be all for seeing such a pretty girl cada día, but he straight up told her not to or she'd turn into 'Gordita' (complete with pot-belly motion). Oh boy, gotta love these Spaniards. But don't worry, I only got a scoop of limón and one of frambuesa (raspberry) sorbet. Eating my helado in La Plaza in the afternoon sun watching all the passersby - the children playing ball, the viejos taking their paseos, the teens hanging out - this is the life. To wrap up the day, we had FHE with the local YSA group and the kid who's leaving on his mission in 3 days taught us a few Latin dances. Good times! Unfortunately, I have class tomorrow at 9 in the morning. BUT Luisa is going to make us breakfast, so all is good in the world :) So here I sit, in bed, listening to Catalína gasp at the book she's reading on her nook, hoping I can find somebody to make my computer work tomorrow, reveling in the thought that I'm in Spain! Yeah, no big deal. Except it's a huge deal. Just sayin'. TTFN

I made it!

Wow! I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!! There's so much to talk about and not nearly enough time. I feel awful that I slept through la cena. My sweet host mom, Luisa, even tried to wake me up but I was out, dead -- stupid jetlag. I landed in Madrid about 9:30 this morning and the whole group was finally assembled about 11:30. We rode a charter bus 40 minutes to La Plaza de Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares (my home for the next 6 weeks) where our host families picked us up. I live about 3 minutes (maybe 4 blocks) from the Plaza, which is super lucky and convenient. I unpacked my stuff and then lunch was ready for us -- a delicious "tortilla espinaca"(omletish with spinach and cheese cooked in) and "pure de patatas" (mashed potatoes with onion and garlic seasoning). At the end of lunch, Luisa's youngest son, Javier, and his friend, Juan, stopped by to visit. Oh. my.Gosh. That is probably THE most beautiful man I have ever seen! I was literally speechless. I kept stumbling over my words and I felt like an idiot! I really hope he comes around often :) After lunch, my roommate, Catalína, and I met up with several other kids from the program at La Plaza y just walked around the city for a couple of square blocks. We found a great little park with a zipline and sweet jungle gym, delicious ice cream, kebob, and a Walmart-like store called Carrefour -- you can get everything there! Then, we walked home and I started to check my computer when I totally passed out! Now, it's past midnight and I'm wide awake. Tomorrow afternoon is our orientation at Alcalingua (the school I'll be attending). I hope by then my body will be on the right time. So I'd better try to go back to bed :) TTFN

On my way.

"Tell everybody I'm on my way
New friends and new places to see
With blue skies ahead yes

I'm on my way

And there's nowhere else

that I'd rather be


Tell everybody I'm on my way

And I'm loving every step I take

With the sun beating down yes

I'm on my way

And I can't keep this smile off my face"

"On My Way" Disney's Brother Bear

A cancelled flight out of Salt Lake City meant lots of things yesterday. (1) I missed my connecting flights to Philadelphia and then Madrid. (2) I went to Houston instead and (3) got to see Sam and the Twins before I left the country. Now I will (4) arrive in Madrid with the bulk of my group and we'll all take a bus to the Plaza where my host family and roommate will pick me up, meaning (5) I don't have to take a taxi!

So here I sit in the Philadelphia Marketplace in the Philadelphia International Airport, in a giant, white rocking chair, looking out the window at the pouring rain, thinking about what I'm going to order for dinner at Earl of Sandwich (a throw back to the one I frequented while at Disney), anticipating my second-ever transatlantic flight, wondering what my host family will be like and how much Spanish I'll be able to get out before my tongue gets tied and begs to speak English, grateful for the good fortune and generosity that has brought me to this moment, excited for the language barriers I'm about to demolish and the fluency I'm just 6 weeks away from claiming, nervous for the cultural leaps I'm making and the ignorance I'm leaving giving up. I pray for peace to calm my nerves and for the strength to speak and make mistakes and learn, to love and learn from all of Heavenly Father's children I meet, and to remember and enjoy every second of this experience for as long as I live.

I look forward to sharing the next 6 weeks with you :) It's going to be fun! Thanks for following. TTFN

First. Primero. Première.

So my friend, Talyn, started a blog challenge where she gets on and posts something once a week. I am not so naïve to think that I will commit to join her in the challenge, but it's always a good time to start blogging again :)

Since I last blogged, I've finished one more semester (almost two) of college at the BYUtiful school in the cute little town of Provo, Utah. But that doesn't really tell you anything about WHAT has happened in the last 9 months. 9 months??? That's enough time to grow a baby!! Don't worry, that's not what I did! But a lot of my friends did...weird, I'm THAT old. Anyway, I've come up with a list of "firsts" to describe my last 9 months. I've thought about putting up pictures that go along with each one, but we all know that would make this post non-existent. One more excuse for me NOT to post this for another 9 months. But if you're interested, I kept a pretty good photo diary on my Facebook.

First semester of college with Julie -- my sister and I go to the same school again!
First drive-in movie
First time on a long board -- I'm not that bad
First bite of curry -- thanks Shelene!
First famous concert -- Lea Salonga in Concert at BYU
First success on a wakeboard
First kiss
First boyfriend
First hike of the year -- canyoneered 'The Subway Trail' in Zion National Park
A new 'posse' -- not a 'first', but noteworthy nonetheless
First trench coat -- it keeps my bum warm!

First real-world promotion at work

First international roommate (she's from Columbia!)

First basketball game in Salt Lake City
First failing grade
First heartbreak
First hockey game
First jump in a frozen lake (1m30s, 3'C water in January) -- not the smartest date I've accepted

First relationship with a professor - I ask such good questions, he remembers who I am!

If I think of more, I'll add them. For now, I spend my time doing homework, being studious, advising and assisting international students, playing Rock Band and Just Dance 3, and recently taking advantage of the sunshine and putting on some shorts -- yeah, it's still 55'F but I think my blood has gotten thicker :) I think Spring is finally on it's way! Here's to "firsts" and other new things. TTFN

Julia Child and Tortilla Española

Today I was flipping through channels and watched a clip of Julie and Julia where Amy Adams's character decides to start cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook and write a blog about it. That reminded me, "Hey I have a blog too!" "Yeah," I thought, "I should work on that." So here I am, back online. I was sort of on a fast from my computer. It was unintentional, but it felt good. No Facebook, Gmail, or Googling things for the heck of it. Instead, I have gone to work every day, loving my job and my scrubs. I have read Mr. Popper's Penguins and Handle with Care. I spent time with my family at Brazos Bend, The Battleship Texas and San Jacinto Monument. I went to Quintana beach in Galveston with my posse. I bought a new swimsuit, burned to a fiery crisp, and sloughed skin like I was a snake or cicada. And today, I made Tortilla Española with my Daddy. I bought him a Spanish cookbook years ago for Christmas and it has a really good recipe for one of the best tapas I have ever had (also the only tapa I have ever had). I made it at BYU for extra credit in my Spanish class and it didn't turn out too bad. Daddy's got the technique down better than I do, but I'm working on mine. It's not the kind of tortilla we gringos first think of, though. It's made with potatoes, onions, and eggs. It looks kind of like a huge omelet. We also added green chilies to one and bacon bits to the other. Mmmmm these are really tasty! Muy rico :) So here's my small attempt at blogging about my cooking endeavors. TTFN

PJs at work? Yes!

I finally did it!! Well I guess it's not so much my accomplishment as it is that someone finally called me back! But I have a job! On Wednesday, I started working at the front desk of a family practice office. The lady who works there now is having surgery next week and will be out for about a month. She's been training me on the procedures for checking patients in and showing me the ropes of the office. Everyone who works in the practice has been there for at least 4 years, some as long as 9 or 15. There's no way I can hope to jump into their routine or camaraderie so fast, but they are all super nice and I think I'm going to like working there. The actual tasks are not too difficult but I don't have a lot of down time. There are 2 doctors, 3 PAs, 1 LVN, 6 MAs, and the office staff (that includes me!) in the practice. In addition to using my secretarial and customer service skills, I am picking up valuable healthcare skills. I am getting exposure to lots of medical terminology, and I get to talk to the PAs at lunch (that was a cool day). But I think my favorite part of the job, which I technically haven't even experienced yet, is that I get to wear my very first set of scrubs!! I'm going out to buy them today. Holy cow I am so excited!! PJ and sneakers st work! "Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot." TTFN

{{SUBMIT}}

So I think I'm kind of a pro at hitting the submit button now. I just applied for 23 job postings today online. Thank goodness they invented Craig's List! It's like the cornucopia of good tidings :) 157 copies of your text book?...check. Piano lessons from the lady down the street?...what's your price range? Healthcare jobs in the Houston area?...you betcha! I had to eliminate all the ads asking for Registered Nurses. But after that, I had a pretty decent pool to start with. I'm not super qualified at this point - I haven't done anything noteworthy in the healthcare/medical field. I'll keep looking tomorrow and hopefully people start getting back to me.

In other news, my sister is an academic whiz! Who knew? ;) In addition to singing a capella with other Seniors from the Varsity choir, Julie was recognized for outstanding work in her Government and Economics classes and will graduate Cum Laude next month. I am proud to call her my seeester.

And one more thing: I'm going to Six Flags Fiesta Texas on Saturday with my other favorite sisters! I love being an adult and getting to do cool big kid things :) TTFN

World traveler

So I'm kind of a compulsive traveler :) Last week, I was in 4 states in 7 days! Utah - Texas - California - Arizona. And I'm going to AZ again for a friend's wedding at the end of this week. Boy, do I love having a Daddy who worked for the airline or what?! Bam! I am dreading the day I turn 24 (when I lose all my flight benefits), but for now I think I'll just worry about all the places I am going to go in the next 4 years. Hmm...Spain for sure, other European countries, probably New York to catch an afternoon show on Broadway ;) and various other destinations. Okay, destinations aside, where am I going to get money for food and taxis? Here's the part where some fabulous hospital in Houston offers Katie a job so she can be a real-life traveler, not the fake kind from movies :) TTFN