[4/7-4/13] WEEK THIRTEEN

Okay so it isn’t quite the end of the week but I leave to go to Italy for 10 days in a few hours so it’s now or never! This week was the last week of classes so that has been a little stressful with final projects and things coming up but it also feels good to get things done.

This week was our last visit to the nursing home and we gave Claudia a scarf, flower, and video we made of our interviews. She really appreciated everything and even cried when thanking us. She is such a sweet woman and I am so lucky to have gotten to know her and her family. I will treasure the class and that experience forever!

Finals are in two weeks so ideally I would study a little bit for them while traveling in Italy but I’m going to guess I will find better things to do. 

Hasta Luego! Here’s to one of the most amazing weeks of sights and carbs!! Italy, HERE I COME!!! 😀

[3/31-4/6] WEEK TWELVE

Wow this time is actually flying by! I can’t believe I’m already talking about rapping up the semester and there is still so much left to do and see.

This past week was a kind of low key week and it was actually really nice. There definitely a lot of work to do to prepare for the last week of classes (next week!!) and then our final exams just two weeks after that. It’s a little stressful now but to be fair there hasn’t been too much work throughout the semester and it was bound to catch up some time. Not having to worry about weekend travel makes the week that much more relaxed and I really enjoyed it for a change. A few nights after dinner I went to a cafe/bar close to the Fund and just had a glass of wine with some friends- such a treat! I’m going to miss that once I get back to the US, not going to lie! 

This week we also had our school talent show and although I didn’t perform I really enjoyed seeing the people I’ve gotten to know over the semester up on stage. Some people sang, played guitar/piano/flute, danced, juggled, and other random things. My favorite was a group of students that danced and sang the ‘Summer Lovin’ from Grease and it was definitely hilarious. A girl played Danny and a guy played Sandy (in a yellow wig) and it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.

On Friday we had a group excursion to Segovia. We visited the alcazar (castle), cathedral, and saw the aqueducts- one of the largest and oldest in the world! The castle there was home to Isabel and Fernando for a good amount of time and holds a lot of ancient history. It was amazing to me to see knights’ armor, tables, tapestries, and other things that are exactly the same as they were when Isabel and Fernando were queen and king, quite some time ago. I really liked seeing the ancient aqueducts and it was truly an example of human ingenuity at its finest- incredible!

Sunday we went to a ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet that was premiering here in Toledo. It was a modern take on a classic tale and I really enjoyed it! I felt pretty sophisticated going to a ballet on a Sunday afternoon- especially since the tickets were free 🙂 There was even a surprise ending- happiness?!? Yeah I’m not completely sure what happened but I was impressed. Bravo!

Earlier in the day I went on a walk with a few friends around the outside of Toledo and ended up walking on this trail for about 3 hours. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was actually pretty hot- about 80 degrees! We were getting pretty warm but with such beautiful scenery who would mind! It makes me happy to have time to just walk around and really take advantage of how awesome it is to be in the amazing city of Toledo. 

The days are certainly numbered and I’d like to think I’m doing my best to make the most of them 🙂

Hasta luego!

Megan

PHOTOS PHOTOS PHOTOS:

[3/24-3/30] WEEK ELEVEN

Okay so I got behind having so much stuff to do in the real world but now I have 2 weeks to catch up on- here goes the first! The highlight of this weekend was traveling to London with a good friend of mine from the Fund, Morgan. She and I get along really well and both love to laugh and I had a great time traveling just the two of us. Amazing how much easier it is to agree on what to do when you’re in a small group!

Our flight from Madrid to London was at 6 in the morning on Friday and because it takes a little while to get into Madrid we left the night before and stayed in the airport- what fun!! It’s really not that bad, a lot of people do it and there’s plenty going on so you don’t feel unsafe. I can’t say the quality of sleep on those plastic benches is superb but that’s the life of a traveler 🙂 The great part about getting to London so early in the day on Friday was that we had tons of time to explore and get lost (in a good way!). A family friend of Morgan’s mom was nice enough to let us stay in her house for the weekend so we headed there to drop off our things first. The tube certainly lived up to the hype with its small cars, high speeds, and stations that are truly unique.

We went to lunch at a cute local bistro and then spent the rest of the day wandering around the amazing city of London! We found the house where the Parent Trap was filmed, went to Harrod’s, M&M world, Trafalgar Square,  and King’s Cross station where parts of Harry Potter were filmed. We met up with our friend Trevor we met on the Paris trip who is studying abroad in London this semester. We went to dinner and had an authentic fish and chips- it was delicious!! He walked us around by the Thames river, the Millennium Bridge, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Tower of London. It was pretty to see the bridges an everything lit up at night and it was nice to have a ‘local’ guide to show us around for the night!

Another great thing about London- the tap water is free with your meal, something that I now appreciate as it doesn’t exist in pretty much every other European city I’ve visited!

The next morning we headed to the Notting Hill neighborhood to find the blue door from the movie and experience the gigantic Portobello market in all its glory on a gorgeous Saturday morning. This was one of my favorite parts and it was so cool to feel like a local shopping for fresh fruit and muffins as we walked. Later we hit up Oxford Street where the main shopping is, walked through the enormous Hyde Park, and made our way to Buckingham Palace- good news, the Queen was IN! 🙂 We really lucked out by having gorgeous weather for spending the whole day outside and just took it all in.

Cutting through St. James’ park, we made our way to the area along the river with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Parliament. I loved seeing such a famous area in person and being about to appreciate how big everything really is. We obviously had to stop and get our pictures taken with the red phone booths because we wouldn’t have really been to London otherwise! Next we went to the London Eye and got on after only having to wait about 30 minutes. The views from the top were really beautiful and because the skies weren’t their usual grey, it was extra special! After the Eye, we headed to the center of the city to meet up with a high school friend of Morgan’s for dinner. We had a great time talking and comparing travel experiences over our semesters abroad. It’s fun to talk to other student and laugh about all the things that seem to go wrong but really just make for good laughs and bonding in the end.

Sunday morning we quick walked to where the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road cover was taken and walk on the magic crosswalk. It was pretty cool but the neighborhood has changed from the picture over the last almost 50 years- regardless, I know where it is! 🙂

We made it back to Madrid and were exhausted but very content with our fun filled weekend. I had such an amazing time and fell in love with the city. As with every place I visit- I already can’t wait to get back! But I know how lucky I am to have seen everything I have and am so grateful for every minute!

Here’s to making the most of my fleeting time left in Spain with some pretty incredible people! ❤

Megan

[3/17-3/23] WEEK TEN

Well this was definitely quite a week, I’m exhausted and still catching up but wouldn’t change it for the world!

On Monday night I went into Madrid to meet and have dinner with my roommate Sam’s parents who were visiting. It was a little bit of a struggle to get there given that I planned on ‘winging it’ with the metro once I got there but it all turned out alright. I met up with them in the Puerta del Sol in the middle of the city and we went to a nice restaurant nearby. It was really nice having a piece of home here in Spain and they were very nice and friendly! We met up with another friend of Sam’s from the U who is studying in Madrid and had a good time talking and eating my favorite Spanish dish- tortilla Espanola (and some wine! 😉 ). I’m looking forward to attempting to make it once I get back to the US but we’ll have to see how that goes. After dinner I took the metro to catch a bus back to Toledo but once I got there realized I had missed the last bus by about an hour. Obviously I should have checked the schedule given that the buses are generally unreliable. Anyway, I ended up calling Sam and meeting back up with her and her parents and sleeping on the floor in their hotel. I felt so bad for crashing their vacation but they were very nice. In the morning they headed to Sevilla and Sam and I headed back to Toledo. It was a rough night but I was happy to have not spent the night in the metro and to be back home. Shout-out to the Allevens!

The highlight of the week (and admittedly the whole semester) was the weekend trip to Paris I took with about 6 other students from the Fundacion in Toledo. We took a flight out of Madrid and landed around 10:30 and were at our hostel around midnight.

Friday morning we met up with our group of 19 students and tour guide, Kevi, and headed out. We started by walking and taking the metro to get us to the Sacre Coeur church. It is located on the top of a hill and has a great view of Paris from its front steps. It was interesting to hear about the history of the neighborhood and even saw these Disney-like symbols painted in the streets to criticize the neighborhood’s transition from working class to upper class once the church became a popular tourist attraction. Afterwards we walked to the Pigalle neighborhood and saw the Moulin Rouge with the red windmill on top. Being a fan of the movie it was cool to see the outside, although our tour guide told us seeing a show there will set you back about 100 euros ($140) and the cabaret dancers are typically from Australia because of their longer legs. Clearly we didn’t go to a show but I was happy to just have seen the outside 🙂 Next we headed to the Notre Dame cathedral which is located on one of the two islands in Paris. There was a big square in front of the cathedral and we were able to take a lot of pictures and then go inside. We learned about the history of the cathedral and how it was almost knocked down during the French Revolution but was saved thanks to the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame written by Victor Hugo. Inside there is a lot of stained glass and is very beautiful and unique on the outside. I really liked seeing the flying buttresses and gargoyles in all their glory! Apparently one of the gargoyles is modeled after the second architect’s mother-in-law, ouch!! Nearby is a neighborhood called the Forbidden City because women weren’t allowed to go there as it was just for priests and monks. Our tour guide took us to one of the famous lock bridges where couples put their locks in the bridge and throw the key in the Seine river to symbolize that their love cannot be broken. Apparently the original story was that when a man went to war he and his girlfriend would put a lock on the bridge and if it was still there when he got back she was waiting for him and if it wasn’t she had moved on. I had seen a lot of pictures of this bridge and people putting locks on it so it was pretty cool to get to see it in person. The view from the bridge of the Seine river (which was a beautiful blue and green) and Notre Dame was gorgeous and one of my favorite spots in Paris. One of the best parts of the whole weekend was that the weather was AMAZING, especially considering it was predicted to rain and be very cold all weekend- we definitely lucked out!! We took a walk through the area where most of the university students live and then finally saw what we had all been looking forward to, the Eiffel Tower! When we came out of the metro station, we could see about the top 5th of the tower over the building in front of it and I will admit that I gasped in excitement. Once we got to the tower and settle down a little bit our tour guide explained that it was originally built for the World Fair and was to be taken down within a year. The people living in the surrounding neighborhoods opposed its presence because it was so large and ugly and now makes those home the most valuable in the city. As a group we climbed up to the second (middle) level of the tower- all 669 stairs! We were a little winded once we got there but it was quite a spectacular view! After spending a lot of time up there and taking lots of pictures from the bottom we had free time to explore the city. We went to a nice restaurant in the Latin Quarter near Notre Dame and I even tried muscles and escargot! The muscles tasted like crab which I’m not a huge fan of but the snails tasted more like grass or dirt. I probably won’t be ordering either again anytime soon but it was fun to try new things- when in Paris! 😉 Afterwards we swung by a macaroon shop nearby and tried a few, they were delicious!! Then it was back to the hostel to rest up for a busy Saturday!

We met in the lobby again in the morning and headed out to the Louvre museum. It was perfect timing because it was chilly and rainy the whole time we were inside but cleared up once we were done. Thankfully our tour guide took us around to see some of the main exhibits because the museum is HUGE!! My favorites were the Mona Lisa and a painting of the French Revolution. It was so cool to see these famous paintings in person after learning about them, I even shuffled through the crowd by the Mona Lisa to get my selfie with it! There was a ton of stuff to see in the museum and we spent about 3 and a half hours without much of a dent- definitely somewhere you could spend days in! After the Louvre we had free time and headed to the Jewish neighborhood to visit some parks and grab lunch. We had delicious falafels for lunch as we walked around the area and then walked to the Arc de Triomphe and got some pictures. We headed back to our hostel and met up with our group to go on a night bike tour. We met up with our tour guide, Kirsty, who was from Scotland and had an awesome accent. She was super funny and took us all over Paris- on our very own bicycles! Mine was named Hop Scotch and the whole experience was probably my favorite part of the entire weekend. We biked alongside the bustling traffic of some of the busiest streets of the city and was both daunting and exhilarating! We biked past a few of the cafes that Ernest Hemingway wrote while in Paris which was pretty cool. We also revisited some of the places we had gone earlier on our bike tour and even stopped for ice cream. My favorite part was seeing the Louvre all lit up at night- it was gorgeous! We took a river boat wine cruise and it was a little chilly but very cool to be seeing the city from a different perspective and at night! After the boat cruise we got back on our bikes and made it to the Eiffel Tower just in time to see in ‘sparkle’ instead of just being light up which it does for the first 5 minutes of every hour. This was truly a magical moment and something I had been wanting to see for so long- unbelievable to be there seeing it all in person!! 🙂 After our bike tour ended we had free time and decided to walk around and explore for a little bit. I ended up going back to the Eiffel Tower with my good friend Morgan and another student from the weekend group. We weren’t sure if it would be closed when we got there and weren’t sure what we’d end up doing. Well, it was open and there wasn’t anyone in line to go up to the top when we got there so naturally we had to do it!  We took two elevators straight to the top and boy am I glad we went up there! It was pretty windy and cold once we were at the top but it was completely worth it, the view of the city was gorgeous! We could see the different places we had visited earlier in the weekend and really enjoyed taking in the view for about an hour! After about a million pictures we headed back down and back to the hostel to get ready for our last day in the city.

Sunday morning we packed up our things and headed to the Catacombs to get in line before it opened. Even getting there about 20 minutes before it opened we didn’t get inside until about an hour and a half later. Once inside we headed down about 130 steps in a tiny spiral staircase and were deep under the ground. The stacks of bones and skulls were extremely interesting but also made my skin crawl a little bit. It was pretty incredible to know that the bones were from bodies and people that lived so long ago but the idea of being that close to them was crazy! After we made it our and got some fresh air in our lungs we made our way to a church located close the Notre Dame called Sainte Chapelle. It is known for its exquisite stained glass and was built to hold the Crown of Thorns. There are two floors and each one has large stained glass windows. When we got to the second floor my jaw all but dropped to the ground at how beautiful it all was. The chapel has many different windows and each is made in its own style and with its own story. The windows are supposed to be viewed like a book from left to right and together make up a larger story. Some windows were being restored but the majority of them remained. I’m so glad we made it to this church, especially since it’s considered one of the more ‘hidden gems’! 🙂

Clearly this weekend was pretty phenomenal and I am so happy with the whole trip! Paris was a city I had always wanted to visit and could not have asked for a better time or better people to spend it with!

Au revoir tout le monde! Merci pour la lecture!

Megan

 

[3/10-3/16] WEEK NINE

Can it seriously be week nine already?? I never thought I would feel so comfortable while also so far from home and am truly blessed to being having this experience!

This week I’m going to change things up a little bit. I love talking about my weekend trips, it’s no surprise that they become the highlight of most weeks, but what is most important and dear to me is how happy I feel to be here every day and the friends I’ve made that make this experience so special. 

To recap my weekend, we had a Friday excursion on the route that Don Quixote was based on and Saturday and Sunday I was in Valencia to celebrate the Las Fallas festival. 

Our Don Quixote excursion consisted of stopping in a series of small towns and then watching the movie on the bus between stops, although I admittedly didn’t stay awake to see all of them. We saw a lot of old windmills, a castle, and a lot of the beautiful rural areas of the area around Toledo. I didn’t know much about Don Quixote other than that it was written by Cervantes and I guess now know a little more haha. I liked that it was a different type of excursion, more relaxed and in the countryside, a cool change. 

For the rest of the weekend I went to Valencia which is about five hours away from Toledo with a few friends for the huge celebration going on there, called Las Fallas. For this festival the people build gigantic paper-mache statues and then after a public vote, all but the elected favorite are burned. It is supposed to symbolize starting a-new but mostly involves a lot of people, fireworks, and loud noises everywhere. We spent a lot of time wandering around the streets getting to see as many of these fallas as possible, and saw quite a few of the many fallas. The coolest part of the weekend was a girl we met who is from Valencia who offered to show us around the city. She spent over six hours walking us to different points of interest in the city which we never would have seen if it weren’t for her. My favorite was the giant light show set to Michael Jackson music. It seemed like what I would imagine Las Vegas to be like! The giant crowds and kids setting off really loud fireworks in every alley got to be a little overwhelming so we spent most of Sunday relaxing on Valencia’s famous beaches. What a treat that was!! Of course the weather was gorgeous- about 75 and not a cloud in the sky- so that didn’t hurt 😉 

Now for the day to day update. The person I spend the most time with while I’m here is my roommate Sam- who is one of the coolest people I’ve ever met, I feel like we’ve been friends for a long time! 🙂 I really lucked out because at first I was considering switching to a host family but started to feel at home once we got along so well. We’re both pretty goofy and admittedly very weird so it’s not hard to image that we became friends. I’ve made a lot of really good friends here and find it hard to believe we’ve only known each other for about two months. 

My class where we do interviews with our ‘grandma’ Claudia in the nursing home has been one of my favorite parts of the semester! This past week we also got to talk with one of her daughters and it was cute to see them tag-team the story telling. She is such a sweet old woman and cannot say enough good things about her children and grandchildren, she is so proud of all of them! She also likes to tell us about all the young men who were in love with her when she was younger and I can’t help but laugh with her as she tells us about what they would all do in attempts to earn her affection. She was- and is- quite the catch! We are working on putting together a movie which will have a series of clips from our interviews with her and that she and her family will get to keep. 

My master painters class has taken a few trips to the Prado art museum in Madrid and we are continuing to study El Greco, Velazquez, Goya, Picasso, and Dali. I really enjoyed seeing the actual works we had studied and it makes the class that much more interesting knowing we have the opportunity to see them while there. Last week we had an eight page paper due about a painting of our choosing and as an engineering student this was a rare experience but I actually enjoyed writing and learning more about the subject. 

My favorite class is my conversation class which mostly consists of, you guessed it, talking. Our professor is about 5 feet tall and is very cute and stylish. The dynamic of our group of students makes the class very enjoyable and we always end up laughing hysterically no matter what the topic. In addition to enjoying the class, I have also taken the most away from it. It is good being forced to talk in front of the class in Spanish and we are also learning vocabulary that is relevant in everyday conversations.

I can honestly say I am enjoying all of my classes and know my Spanish has come such a long way because of them.

My favorite part of Toledo is a giant rock that overlooks the city of Toledo and only takes about a 45 minute hike to get there- it’s all uphill and a great workout!! Below is a picture I took from the rock at sunset and is my favorite view of this wonderful city. ❤

 

 

Thanks for following me on this wonderful journey of a lifetime!

Xoxo,

Megan 🙂

 

P.S. I’ve updated pictures from some recent trips if you want to check them out!             (https://www.flickr.com/photos/115673005@N04/)

WEEK EIGHT – PART DOS

Hi again, let’s pick back up where we left off!

When we got to Granada and had checked into our big fancy hotel (the perks of traveling with our school group!) we spent a little time unpacking and went and grabbed a quick dinner before meeting back up and heading to a Flamenco show. We took a bus to the caves up in the Sierra Nevada mountains outside of the city where we saw the show. We got to sit very close the floor and were right near the action! The dancers were incredible and I’m so glad I got to see their  dancing up close. Afterwards we took a walking tour of the neighborhood with a group of students from Poland. It was pretty random but it had a nice view of the Alhambra temple at night. 

On Saturday we had a huge delicious breakfast and headed to the Alhambra for a guided tour. Luckily for us the weather was incredible and was prefect for wandering around outside for hours. The temple was covered in beautiful murals, ornate carvings, and rich Muslim influences on the architecture of the temple. My favorite parts were the grand gardens around every corner and even though some of the flowers hadn’t bloomed yet the fountains ponds were absolutely breathtaking. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city which of course included a few ice cream stops 🙂 Afterwards we headed to the Capilla Real where the bodies of Isabella and Fernando and their daughter are. It was pretty incredible to think we were that close to the bodies of people that had such a large effect on the lives we live today- although admittedly a little creepy! That night we went out for dinner for a friend’s birthday and had a really good time. 

Sunday we had free time in the morning and I got to meet up with my high school friend, Kelly, who is studying abroad in Granada this semester. We got to wander around and explore before getting on the bus for our five hour drive back to Toledo. Luckily for me, after taking a 25 hour bus ride to Texas for the Gopher bowl game in December, all these bus rides are a piece of cake!! 

It was quite the weekend, and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Thanks for checking in 🙂

Megan

 

[3/3-3/9] WEEK EIGHT

This week marks the halfway point of my time here in Spain and I have to say realizing that makes me pretty sad- not that I’m not missing everyone from home of course! 🙂 All the more reason to make the most of every moment!

This weekend we took a trip to Andalucía, the southern-most province of Spain. The best part for me was that it was planned by our school so the traveling around was without stress! 

We got on the bus Friday morning at 5:30 bright and early and headed to our first stop, Córdoba. We stopped for breakfast at a hotel and it was really nice. They had tons of food- bread especially- and this was a very welcomed change considering the typical Spanish breakfast usually consists of coffee and a pastry or something very light. We got back on the bus and were on our way to Córdoba.

Once we got to Córdoba it was like a completely different world! It was about 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky- perfect weather if you ask me!! We met up with our tour guide who had a striking resemblance to the character Gru from the Despicable Me movies! He took us through the main district of the city which was all colorful stucco walls and lots of flowers blooming everywhere. Needless to say it was everything I had envisioned for a city in southern Spain with a strong Mediterranean feel. We got to see the Mezquita which was originally built by Muslims but later renovated to become a catholic church. It is quite amazing to see the blending of two very different architecture styles and also serves as an example of just how greatly Spain has been molded by the religious powers that ruled it. We had free time and were able to wander around the city and explore in the gorgeous weather- I think I even got a little bit of a burn! 😉 We had a huge but delicious lunch at a fancy hotel and then were back on the bus to make our way to Granada for the rest of the weekend.

 

g;sldfkjgskldfjgsidfgs;lkdfjgsk;ldfjgsdfg….  THIS POST IS ON HOLD DUE TO HAVING TOO MUCH FUN DOING OTHER THINGS! Check back in for a finished post (or two!) next week! 🙂

[2/24-3/2] WEEK SEVEN

Hola a todos!

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly each week flies by but it’s a good reminder to enjoy every moment 🙂

This past weekend I went to Brussels and Amsterdam with a friend of mine from the Fund. We started our weekend by heading to Madrid after dinner Thursday and spending the night in the airport. It was certainly not the best sleep of my life but there were enough people there that it didn’t feel too strange. Friday morning we flew out of Madrid and were off to Brussels! Once we landed we spent a few hours wandering around the neighborhood near the train station and went into a lot of local shops. We took a bus to Amsterdam and got to our hostel in the early evening. We headed into the main downtown area and had a good time just taking it all in. We walked down the main tourist street in Amsterdam, Damrak, and found ourselves an ‘authentic’ little pizzeria for dinner- it was delicious! We spent the rest of the night exploring the streets (and canals!) of the city. And oh how gorgeous it is at night! We made our way to the Red Light District and certainly saw a lot of interesting sights, ha! We also made our way to the Skinny Bridge, one of the oldest in Amsterdam. I had never seen anything like the canals of the city and obviously had to take a million pictures of them! We headed back to our hostel and rested up for our second day.

We headed out early from our hostel to try to get to the Anne Frank house and get in line before it got too long. Of course we didn’t end up getting there until half an hour after it opened and the line was already around the building and around the block. We decided to get in line and see how far the line moved. Luckily in only 15 minutes we made up about half of the line and were in the door within another 20 minutes. We had to wear our backpacks on our front but this actually ended up being helpful when climbing the stairs- or rather, the ladders! The museum had general information about the war, the lives of those hidden in the annex, the annex itself, and the stories of what happened to each person afterwards. Being a history buff I was enthralled by everything around me and had a hard time believing it was real. Being in the actual rooms where they were hiding gave me goosebumps and is an experience I will never forget- easily one of my favorite parts! Afterwards we went to lunch at a nearby pancake house and ate traditional Dutch poffertjes (little pancakes) with stroopwafel, cinnamon ice cream, vanilla sauce, and whipped cream. I practically died from all the sugar but can say it was the single best meal of my entire life. It was so delicious, fresh, and authentic, a killer combination! 🙂

After lunch we hit some sights and made our way to the Golden Bend neighborhood (richest in all of the Netherlands) and the nearby flower markets. There we got on a canal boat tour and spent an hour and a half taking in Amsterdam from the tour boat. I had read that the tours were highly recommended and I’m glad it worked out for us to do one while we were there. Our tour took us all through the city, by the Anne Frank house, out to the bay, by the Maritime museum, and back again- a great way to cover a lot of ground without too much effort! Once back on shore we walked to the IAMSTERDAM sign, saw the ships in the harbor, and made our way back to Damrak street for one last taste- their famous french fries. Yet another delicious dutch food! They’re served in a (very!) large cone and topped with a spiced mayonnaise, yummy! It was time to head back so we made our way to the bus station and got on our bus back to Brussels.

Once we were in Brussels we were pretty worn out and headed to our hostel. After a little confusion we found the correct series of metros (not without help from some very nice locals) and made it to our hostel. We considered going exploring for about five seconds but then got into bed and it was decided for us 😉 We were in a room with 4 other girls from all over the world (LA, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong) and had fun talking with them about their traveling experiences. They’d already spent a few days in Brussels and were able to give us pointers too- which was awesome! In the morning we had breakfast and headed into the city center. There weren’t many people in the streets when we first got there but enough chocolate (AHH!) stores were open and we managed to find stores that caught our eye 😉 We had delicious Belgian waffles with chocolate, obviously, and they were every bit as delicious as I had imagined! We did a self guided walking tour afterwards which took us a little ways outside of the city center. We saw the European Parliament buildings (because Brussels is Europe’s capital, what?)  and a lot of big beautiful parks just outside the city. On our walk we stopped at a few farmers markets and tried some fresh fruits and a few types of breads and cheeses. Seriously, everything there tasted INCREDIBLE!! We returned to the main tourist areas and exchanged euros for happiness in the form of Belgian chocolate. After a day full of walking and trying a lot of new foods we made our way to the airport to go back home to Madrid. Our flight was pretty smooth and after sprinting through the metro we made the 9 o’clock bus back to Toledo and I was back in my room around 10. It was so nice to be back and tell Sam (my roomie) all about my trip and unwind from the weekend.

I’m so grateful for an amazing experience and can’t believe how blessed I am to be here every day.

Thanks for checking in, see you next week!

Megan

 

New photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/115673005@N04/

 

 

[2/17-2/23] WEEK SIX

Hello all!

This will be another brief-ish post, given that this is my break from studying for today. It seems that midterms have unfortunately followed me across the Atlantic, although they are admittedly not as stressful as those back home!

The highlight of this week my the trip to Madrid on Friday and Saturday.

Friday was our second class trip to the Prado in Madrid for our class about the master painters of Spain. We headed to the museum and this time saw the paintings of Goya. Every time I think I’ve seen the most incredible painting, it seems our professor finds more to show us. I especially enjoyed seeing Goya’s paintings as he transitioned through the different stages of his life. Seeing his pinturas negras up close was haunting and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

That night I spent the night in a hostel with a few good friends from the Fund and we had a really good time wandering around the city. To start off the night we went to a small tapas restaurant near the hostel to meet up with some friends. We later went to a large indoor market that is a popular place for young adults to go before heading to the bars. There are lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, pastries, and deserts for sale and a relaxed environment. I tried a ‘super’ cookie/brownie and can testify that it was in fact super 🙂 Afterwards we went to a small pizza place where they only had room for us in a makeshift basement dining room. It worked just fine and was nice for our group to be able to be together. Having our own room was also nice considering we talked for a few hours. Such great company!

The next morning we were able to- though not without a significant struggle- get tickets to the Real Madrid soccer match that was happening that day. I’m so incredibly glad that it worked out because it ended up being one of my favorite things so far this semester. I’m a big sports fan and, although I don’t have much experience with soccer world, I am embracing the treasured European past time. The excitement of the crowd was contagious and the team played really well. I got some great pictures of the stadium and game and I will certainly treasure this memory!

In our free time before the game we went exploring in Madrid, visiting a few parks and getting in a little shopping before it was time to head to the stadium. After the game we headed straight for the metro, to the bus station, and from there back home to Toledo. It was a tiring few days but oh so very worth it!!

This week we have midterms so I’m having to spend less time exploring and more time studying but none of it is too bad. Considering I really enjoy my classes, I’m glad to dig deeper into the material.

Next weekend I’ll be off to Amsterdam and Brussels so that’s definitely a reward for getting through the week! 🙂

Hasta luego, thanks for reading!

[2/10-2/16] WEEK FIVE

Hello again! Monday marks one third of the way through the semester and I’m already starting to wonder, where has the time gone??

I started this week out feeling worn down from the trip to Barcelona last weekend- though obviously it was worth it 🙂

Monday morning I woke up with a sore throat and a headache that got worse throughout the day. The worst part of being sick this week was that I couldn’t go with my group to visit our “grandma” in the retirement home, go to choir, or go to volleyball and Zumba. After a visit to the doctor on Tuesday I got a prescription for some medicine and after that felt much better.

Wednesday I went to the house of the 12 year old girl I will be teaching English lessons to for an hour each week. It’s a paid gig and I had a good time talking with her and helping her with her speaking- although she really didn’t need much help!

Friday my Master Painters class went on a field trip to Madrid to visit the Prado! Ahh so incredible!! Our professor was our guide and we spent about 3 hours just seeing some of the paintings we have studied in class. Most of them were either El Greco or Velazquez and I couldn’t believe I was actually staring at the original works of such famous painters! Knowing how much my mom loves art, I was thinking of her the whole time 🙂 Next Friday we will be going back to the Prado- this time to see those of Goya.

Of course, being Valentine’s day, we went out that night in Toledo. We got strawberry milkshakes and had a good time talking before coming back to the Fund and watching a few movies, a fun night with great friends!

Sunday morning I went on a car trip with a friend from Minnesota and someone she volunteers with here in Toledo. We went to Mérida for the day, a town about a 3 hour drive from Toledo. The city is known for its ancient ruins and we spent most of the day walking around and visiting a few museums and historical sites. A few of my favorites were a theater from the year 23 (that’s right- the first century!) and the partial aqueducts that are still standing today. I’ve never seen anything that old in my life and it was quite a surreal experience. I’ll be sure to add some of my pictures from the day on my Flickr page if you want to check them out!

I’m feeling better now and am enjoying my last week of classes before midterms, I can’t believe they’ll be here in less than 2 weeks!!

Hasta luego!!

Xoxo