Marrakech, Morocco, Africa

Woman walking in an alley

The last excursion we took was a rather big one. I never expected to travel to Africa while I was studying abroad, but once one of our friends mentioned it, the idea caught like wildfire. Suddenly ten of us decided we all wanted to go, and we booked our tickets on the spot! We headed to Morocco on March 29th, right after our group trip to Barcelona. We arrived and were immediately picked up at the airport by a van that took us straight to our riad that we would be staying in for the weekend. After we rolled our suitcases down endless alleys, we finally were shown to our home. We walked inside and were amazed. The riad didn't look like much on the outside but the interior had two floors and an accessible rooftop, an indoor pool, 5 bedrooms that were intricately and beautifully decorated, tons of Moroccan lamps hanging from the ceilings, and SO much more. I was blown away. We also were told that we had a personal assistant, Rashid, and a cook while we were there, who was able to make us mint tea or coffee whenever we would like. Also, breakfast would be cooked for us in the mornings. I was amazed. After we chose our bedrooms we decided to venture out onto the streets of Morocco at night and look for a place to eat. It was dark and quiet and not too many people were walking about. We found a great restaurant and I had chicken, green beans, and potatoes. When we returned to our riad some of us started to play cards and had fun learning new games and laughing together.

Town square in Marrakech with the minaret in the background

The next morning we set out to take on the streets of Morocco in the daylight and to try to bargain and barter in the marketplace. Being out in the daylight for the first time was a wake up call. Africa gave me the most profound culture shock, more than any other place I had experienced. It was something entirely different than my normal. We were immediately whisked into African life by popping into shop after shop, bargaining with the locals constantly. I have to give Hannah credit, she was by far the best at bargaining, and nearly always got exactly what she wanted, for the price she wanted. She had a knack for it. I had to work at it but eventually I came through! My most proud purchase was probably an antique Kodak film camera that I fought to have. I got the price down from 1000 dirham to 400 dirham, and I was pretty pleased with myself. The vendors that you were most likely to see around the town were selling lamps, jewelry, leather shoes and bags, scarves, candles, and bowls. We also saw vendors selling swords, knives, soaps, spices, teas, and much more. The shops seemed endless. In the middle of the town square food vendors were set up, selling fresh squeezed orange juice and other foods. There aren't really street signs or lines on the road, it's more of a free for all. Donkeys, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians all travel along the same road in one giant conglomeration. It was one of the most hectic sights I'd ever seen. There were also men who had pet monkeys and snakes that were randomly positioned around the square, eager to catch tourists into taking a picture with their animals, and then demanding money. We got caught in this snare multiple times, and I had a snake and two monkeys thrown on me without my permission. Thankfully I steered clear of the cobras...there was no way I was getting near those things. The monkeys were brutal too, Hannah tried to get a close up of one and was bruised in the process.

One of the many street vendors

The next day we had one thing on our minds: camels. But the day actually started with all of the girls somehow waking up 2 hours early by accident...whoops. We had a laugh about it and then just hung around/napped while we passed the time until breakfast. A wonderful rooftop breakfast was laid out for us, I was so thankful to our cook. There was endless bread, jam, butter, coffee, orange juice and more. So good! Afterwards, we walked around determined to find somewhere to ride camels. After going in circles a bit and having some confusion with a taxi driver, we eventually made it to a remote desert area a few miles away from the city center of Marrakech. Here we hopped out and bargained for our camel riding price. They tried to immediately up the price right when we got there, which was typical. I can't remember if we gave in or if we got the price back down again, but we ended up paying something like 90 durham for this riding session. I immediately fell in love with my camel, Jomina. As soon as everyone got a camel, we were off! We all rode in a line for about 20 minutes or so, and we were snapping pics and filming the entire time. I got some interesting video....


After camel riding we took a few detours to get some last minute shopping done, and then it was time to head back to the airport. Our time in Morocco was eye opening and exciting. I was thrust into a completely unique and new lifestyle and it was so interesting to experience. We hopped into our van, and after some delay in the departure (the driver was arguing with people on the phone about whether or not we had paid him yet) we were off to Valencia yet again.

Alley near our rihad

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Fallas, Valencia, España

Light show at Calle Sueca

More of the light show

FALLAS. That is the one thing anyone in the spring semester hears about before they travel to have their Valencian experience. That's why when March rolled around, we were all super excited. Valencia does a great job on building up the anticipation to the festival and getting everybody in the city ready for the main week. Advertisements and flyers go up around the city, shops you've never seen open before suddenly are in business at every corner, and you hear the occasional burst of fireworks now and again. For some background into the event, the festival celebrates the patron saint of Valencia, Saint Joseph, the carpenter. Basically, all year round people in Valencia work to build massive monuments, each called a "falla", for the festival. They are made out of papier-mache, styrofoam, and wood.  Each neighborhood (which in the city of Valencia was around 350 or more) has their own falla and it can portray something historical, political, satirical, or comical, anything really. They are cartoon-like, colorful, intricate, playful, and some are simply breathtaking to look at. The neighborhoods that have more money to fund their building process usually have the most spectacular fallas. The first day of Fallas, the 15th of March, La Plantá occurs, and the builders go place the specific fallas in their neighborhoods. Our neighborhood had an interesting falla, it was a princess or young woman sleeping in a bed that was tilted upward, with a moon and sheep above her head and some other random and provocative scenes on the side. There are also usually "ninots" included with the neighborhood falla. They are smaller versions of a falla.

Our neighborhood Falla

Eventually, about a week before Las Fallas actually begins, something called La Mascletá starts to happen everyday at 2 pm. This event is almost indescribable. You have to experience it yourself to truly understand. Basically, everybody crowds into the Plaza de Ayuntamiento, the largest of the three main plazas and the one that contains city hall. Here, people count down the minutes 2 o'clock and then the show begins. The fallera mayor and fallera mayor infantil (sort of like the queen and princess of the festival) introduce themselves and officially start la mascletá. It was especially cool for me because the fallera mayor infantil for this year's festival was actually a student in the class I helped teach at the local school! Her name is Rocio and I remember meeting her the first day I went to go volunteer. She asked me if I was excited for Fallas, because she would be on tv and that I should look for her. The teacher then started explaining her role and position in the festival. It sounded so intricate and time consuming, most days she was not even present. Anyways, once they speak to the entire crowd, they count down and then the fireworks begin! They erupt from the central square and last for 5 mintues. The fireworks are loud, rhythmic, and spectacular. You can feel the vibrations, hear the sound, and see the smoke from miles away. If you are standing close enough, your body shakes a bit from the explosions. During these afternoon mascletás, we would grab churros and chocolate, a 1 euro cerveza from vendors on the street, and pick a spot that we could squeeze into. Then we simply enjoyed the show with the rest of the crowd of Valencians, all of us so excited for Fallas.

Young girls dressed in the traditional attire and hairstyle of a fallera

The main days of Fallas were from March 15th to 19th, and we started the festival off right by attending a bull fight on the 15th. They have them all throughout the week during Fallas. I sat next to one of my teachers, B.J., who was telling me the details about the bullfighting process the entire time. Some people didn't want to attend, but I felt like I really wanted to commit to this particular cultural experience, no matter how gruesome or off-putting I found it. Toward the end, I felt weird admitting that I rather enjoyed it, but not because of the killing of the bulls, but the overall feeling that I was a part of Spanish culture for a moment in time. I could go on for days about the details of the fight, but I'll highlight some main ones. Trumpets signal the start of the fight. The three matadors that were performing were Corro Díaz, Matías Tejela, and Alberto Aguilar. They always wear gold. Their goal is to wear the bull down and test his strengths until the matador finally kills him by unfortunately stabbing him in the area behind the neck, above his head. Six bulls were killed in total during the fight. The matadors do use a red cape during their fight, but the color actually does not matter, bulls are colorblind. Other players besides the matadors are "picadores", who are on horseback and whose job is to stab the bull to weaken it, aiming high. The matador's goal is to clean the bull cleanly and quickly, and for it not to be drawn out. The crowd gets angry if this happens, and I saw this a few times. Ultimately, the fight was entertaining and informative to me, I'm glad I went.

The bullring in Valencia

In addition to being the first true night of Las Fallas, the 15th of March was also the first night that we all experienced the firework show from the riverbed. Honestly, it was the best display of fireworks that I've ever seen in my entire life, and that's not an exaggeration, they were phenomenal. Each night from the 15th to 18th we all walked outside and in front of the Torres to join the massive groups of people heading to watch the show. We walked a bit down the street, passing two or three bridges and then took the walkway down into the river bed to watch the show there. We always positioned ourselves to watch from behind one of the more modern looking bridges. When the fireworks began, we all were quiet, because they were magnificent. I think someone may have told me that they test out fireworks that they eventually use during the Olympics at the Fallas firework shows. That says something. Each week the firework show progressively got better, finally ending on the 18th, or "la nit del foc" ("the night of fire" in Valencian).

A bombero (fireman) watching our neighborhood's ninot burn

After the first day and night of Fallas, we were tired as anything. We knew we would have to sustain ourselves the rest of the week though, nothing was stopping. More people progressively arrived to the city, and the fireworks that explode every 2 seconds made everything louder. Each morning La Despertá would happen, which is basically an 8 am wake-up call of fireworks. They were wonderfully joyful, especially when we all went to sleep at 6 or 7 am....... 


Each day during the festival we would get up and go outside to see what was going on in the streets. For example, we attended a few block parties with music and drink vendors, watched groups women and young girls dressed in the traditional outfits parading throughout the streets, traveled to buy fireworks from the stores and then set them off in the riverbed (one of my favorite things to do), went to different neighborhoods to check out everybody's falla and how it compared to our own, or we shopped! The street immediately to the left of our study center became a block party itself, and so did the plaza to the right of us. You turned to the left and saw multiple vendors selling anything from waffles, fries, meat sandwiches, cotton candy, candy apples, and baked potatoes. There were also drink huts, jewelry stands, and souvenirs everywhere. It was insane and always packed with people. There was always music playing as well. We heard Enrique Iglesias' song "I Like It" probably a hundred times, and it became a joke between all of us at the study center. We went here almost every day and night to go get a drink, see what people were selling, or to try the random games they had set up too. Each time Hannah passed this soccer game on the side of the street she always had to try. The object was to kick the ball into the moving net without hitting the obstacle in the middle. Sadly, she never won, but we always had fun trying to convince the guys working at the stand to give us more tries than we paid for.

Torres de Serranos and our yellow FSU Valencia building during Las Fallas

At night, we would always go to dinner and then wait for the firework show. After the marvelous show we ended up hanging out in our Fallas tent. Each neighborhood that celebrates Fallas generally has a tent or a meeting area where members of the community come together to have fun and celebrate during the week. Ours had a D.J. inside and people serving drinks. At the very start of Fallas we attended a dinner in our tent, which was pirate themed, and we all dressed up and had fun meeting new people and dancing in our pirate outfits all night. This tent ended up being so convenient and fun, everyone generally gathered there and had a blast while inside. There were also "verbanas" at night, which are outdoor concerts, and some of our friends went to those as well. One of the most memorable nights was when we went to see the light displays over near Calle Sueca. All week long I had heard people talking about this light show and how grand and spectacular it was. I saw pictures on someone's phone and knew we had to find that street. I ended up visiting twice, and the first time I saw it, I was in awe. Streets in this neighborhood were filled with lights, streaming up and down the buildings and hanging from side to side. The lights were different colors and in multiple patterns and shapes. One of the most memorable light structures was a giant Eiffel Tower, sitting in the middle of one of the streets. It was absolutely beautiful. 

Light show near Calle Sueca

So finally on the last day of Fallas, the 19th of March, La Cremá occurs, where the neighborhoods burn their own falla, except of course the one that wins! The winner is spared from the flames and put on display in a museum. We watched our neighborhood ninot burn but decided that we wanted to watch a giant falla which looked like Leonardo da Vinci burn instead of our own. We walked a few blocks down the street and stood for about 2 hours with a giant crowd waiting for this falla to burn. There were thousands of people too, it was a very popular falla in the area, big enough that people could walk inside of it! Finally around 2 or 1:3o am we heard the crack of the firework that starts the fuse and watched as the massive falla burnt to the ground. We were so close that as the flames grew bigger, we all had to back up due to the immense amount of heat that erupted from the area. I felt like I was sticking my head in a campfire. Eventually the face of Leonardo fell off and everyone cheered! It was amazing to watch such a huge structure burn to the ground. Bomberos (firemen) were there to occasionally spray the surrounding trees and buildings with water so nothing else caught on fire. I really felt for those guys...they work overtime during this festival. After most were done marveling at the flames, people filed out of the neighborhood and back down the street. My friend Michael and I stayed to watch the rest of the structure burn to see if all of it would come down. We stayed with a few other Valencians until all that was left were two wooden poles in the middle. Then as if on cue, it started raining, the second time it ever rained during my time in Spain. I thought it was interesting how once 350 or more fallas burned around the city of Valencia, the rain came in to take care of business and help the bomberos with extinguishing the flames at the very end. 

Leonardo falla before 

Leonardo falla after

This festival was so wonderful to learn about but even better to experience and live in at the same time. I was so thankful for my Regional Cultural Studies class, because it was so very focused on the basics of Las Fallas and everything that goes into putting it together year round. Some of the pictures I used are average, but I really wanted to show the festival as best I could. I know one thing for sure, I'm positive I'll return to Valencia one day to see all these sights again. Everyone was right, Fallas was something I'll never forget.

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Galway and Dublin, Ireland

Dunguaire Castle

Ireland was by far my favorite place that I visited. I enjoyed everything about it: the food, people, music, landscapes, and the overall essence of the country. We flew into Dublin late at night and then immediately got on a bus that took us to a small town on the West coast of Ireland, called Galway. We all had heard about this town from friends and we decided we wanted to travel through the Irish countryside and see it for ourselves. I fell asleep on the bus listening to "Hoppipolla" by Sigur Ros, a great song but one that will definitely knock you out. We weren't disappointed  in the slightest when we woke up. It was the most classic, stereotypical country Irish town you could think of. We arrived and got off at the small bus station and realized just how small the town was. However small, we still couldn't find our hostel properly. We stumbled the wrong way a couple of times, all 6 of us making a huge commotion with our rolling suitcases on the cobblestone. Finally a guy across the street saw us and asked if we were lost. He came right over and nicely explained to us how we had been going in the complete wrong direction. He was our first encounter with a great Irish accent and friendly personality and it was so refreshing and nice. We plopped into our hostel beds after he sent us the right way but not before we all took a look at the room and started complaining about the size, push button shower, and other things about the room that obviously differed from our unbelievable apartment in London. We were tired, so our anger was a little amplified at the time. In the morning we obviously decided to suck it up and become one with our hostel.


The next day we got a great breakfast at a place we grew to love, called Coco's. I noted that everyone here is so nice, ridiculously so. They want to know your story, where you are from, what you are doing, and if they can help you in any way. Then we hit up the tourist information center, as any good Americans would. We read about the Cliffs of Moher that we had heard so much about and we talked with the ladies there about how and when we should visit them. They arranged for us to get our own van tour which would take us into the countryside and out to the cliffs that same afternoon. We were thrilled we could go so soon, so we waited and then finally boarded our first bus with tour guide Paul, a great Irish man with bright blue eyes and a great accent. Every accent was great, I won't lie there. He introduced himself, taught us some Irish phrases such as "What's the crack?" which is similar to "What's up", and "Oh class", which means "Cool!" Paul told us that Gaelic or the Irish language isn't used as frequently anymore, it's sort of a dying language, but it is used more in the rural areas. I noted all the street and shop signs were in Gaelic as well as English. He explained that he was taking us to meet our other guide who was further along and waiting with our van. I almost forgot to mention that we happened to be in Ireland on a leap year, which is actually a special occasion. On the 29th of February in Ireland, a woman is allowed to propose to her man. (Yes the movie Leap Year doesn't lie, for those of you who have seen it). Paul, the guide, kept joking that he was doing our other guide a favor, sending him 6 ladies to tour around the cliffs on leap year of all days. We all wondered if we would see any proposals by the end of the day in Galway. Driving through the countryside in Ireland was one of the most memorable things, and the most beautiful. Our tour driver had a story behind everything we saw. We drove past the Burren landscape (an area well known for its rocky texture) and also saw the gold sands of the area called Fanore. We learned that Clarenbridge, a village we passed, has an annual oyster festival in which last year 45,000 pints of Guinness were consumed at a pub called Paddy Burke. We also travelled through the fishing village of Kinvara (which means "head of the sea"), where Dunguaire Castle, the most photographed castle in Ireland, stands majestically. We stopped here to take pictures and our guide told us that it was tradition to go up to the gate of the castle and ask it a question. Supposedly you would get your answer in due time. Naturally, we all followed this Irish tradition upon hearing it. We got back in the car and our driver asked us if we wanted to hear some traditional Irish music. We agreed immediately. He started playing great songs, one of which was the popular tune "Galway Girl", which we started hearing all the time in Galway's pubs. It's also featured in the movie "PS I Love You". This song became the theme to our trip.  The entire time I was there the only thing I remember thinking is, "Wow, this is legitimately what anyone would imagine Ireland to be like." Green Fields. Rock Fences. Sheep. Blueish Gray Sky. Castles. Rolling Hills. Those are the guaranteed things you would see driving by. Hannah really wanted to stop and play with the sheep at one point and she told our driver every five minutes. He gave her the name "lamb lover". He eventually stopped one time and we made small talk with a farmer who was out in his field and told him where we were from.


The cliffs we were traveling to, the Cliffs of Moher, are actually the third highest cliffs in Ireland, but arguably the most visited. They stand 120 meters above the Atlantic Ocean. When we got there, the weather was cloudy, but as we walked around for awhile, the sun and blue sky began to peer out, leading to some great pictures. While I was walking around the pathways, I couldn't help but get frustrated. I was only perturbed because I couldn't make the scene in front of me appear the same way on my camera, the cliffs were just too beautiful and amazing. No picture I took there did them justice, although I wish they did. I had to get over that frustration and just enjoy the scene unfolding. With each passing second the clouds moved further and the sun shone more, peeking out in random spots and shining on the water, creating natural spotlights. I could have sat there for hours. John, the tour guide, told us to be ready after an hour or so though, and we after that length of time we met him back at the van. He drove us back and we said bye to him, closing a great trip and one of the best sites I saw abroad. At night, we went to two pubs that John told us about to hear traditional Irish music, Taaffes and The Front Door. At Taaffes we stood and heard a band play traditional Irish music. We picked a great first spot to go. It was small, local, and fun. Pretty much every place you go to in Galway was going to be small and local but this one definitely was. We could only stand because it was packed and no seats were available and we were right in front of the band, taking in the music and tapping our feet. The second spot of the night was The Front Door. Here we had fun harassing the DJ, when at one point Hannah asked if he could play the 90's tune "Cest la Vie" by B*witched an Irish girl band. He told us everybody in the pub would probably kill him if he did that. We heard the song "Galway Girl"multiple times that night, which made us love it even more.

Cliffs of Moher

We started off our day in Galway by eating at a great place called Maxwell's, where I had the best bread I've ever had in my entire life. It was sweet and fresh as anything, and tasted great when I dipped it in my seafood chowder. The chowder was so creamy and had huge chunks of fresh salmon in it, which I loved. After breakfast we headed to Galway Bay to see all the boats and the port area. It was pretty small and we saw only a few boats, which weren't very large. The weather was beautiful though, windy but blue sky was peering out occasionally from behind the gray. I spotted a lady who was allowing her son's stroller to be overtaken by seagulls, which was definitely a site. We stopped in jewelry stores, souvenir stores, natural medicine and food stores, and more. Hot chocolate was a must, so we headed back to Coco's our breakfast place that was near our hostel and had a good helping of hot chocolate all around. Filled to the brim with marshmallows. Then we all decided to rest, and I remember writing in my book a bit and putting Irish songs I had heard throughout the day on my ipod. We went out to a pub with a live show at a place called The Quay, where they played great Irish songs but also threw in some classics from Lynyrd Skynyrd, U2, and other rock bands. They also played the classic "Galway Girl" for everybody at the end, which I was beginning to think was very routine for anyone playing in a band in Galway, Ireland. They love that song, and rightly so, it's amazing. After that Hannah, Mackenzie, and I made our way to the equivalent of McDonald's in Ireland, "Supermac", except that it was ten times better. Why you ask? It also happened to have a Quiznos and Papa John's inside of it. We weren't complaining.


We woke up early to hop on our bus ride back to Dublin for the remainder of our time in Ireland. It was sad leaving Galway, I grew to truly love it so much. It's small town charm was so appealing, along with the countryside surrounding it. I had the most relaxing trip, as we all got our own seats on the greyhound style bus, and sprawled out with out feet on the seats next to us. I put my ipod in and listened to my Ireland playlist for the entire 3 hour ride, which was great. Watching Ireland roll by you and having great music to accompany the experience is phenomenal. I put "Galway Girl" on repeat. We arrived and found that Dublin was the capital of Ireland for a reason. It had huge buildings, tons of people, and busy streets, something we hadn't been used to yet here. We found our hostel and then immediately found a Chinese Buffet, of all places. We were pretty desperate just to sit down and eat, so don't blame us. However unappealing it sounds, the food was actually pretty good. We had dinner later that day at a place called Oval Bar, where I had Irish stew and Shepard's pie, both of which were fantastic. I love the food in Ireland. That night we met up with some boys from our program and went out to celebrate our friend Michael's  birthday.

Cliffs of Moher

Our day of exploring Dublin had arrived, and it was the first day where the weather turned for the worst. It was rainy by the end of the day but in the beginning it was tolerable, as we made the trek to find the Guinness Factory. We walked a good amount and finally found the gates and went inside. It was huge! It was also in the shape of a giant pint, with something like 8 different levels. The bottom was a souvenir shop and the other levels took you on tours of how they make their beer, the history, a museum with things like bottle logos throughout the years, and more. At the very top of the building there was a 360 degree bar called Gravity Bar where you were served your complementary pint of Guinness. The bar was in the shape of a circle, clearly, and all the walls were made of clear glass, so that you had an aerial view of Dublin on all sides. We stayed there for awhile, taking in the sites and enjoying our Guinness. I wrote down some fun facts while I was there: Guinness purchases 2/3 of Irish grown barley. Arthur Guinness, the creator and founder of the company, signed a 9,000 year lease for the area, so he must have been pretty optimistic. The beer is brewed in 50 countries around the world and the company was started in 1759. After the factory I spent some time in the gift shop and then we all went for food nearby. Afterwards, Paul, Drew, and I made our way to Trinity College to try and go see the Book of Kells in the library there. We ended up not seeing it because we got to the library 30 minutes after they closed, which was a bummer. It was still interesting to see the college campus and admire the scenery. At that point, it started pouring down rain, and we decided to grab a taxi to take us back to our hostel. I got back and Hannah was hungry so I went with her to have one more Supermac's experience. We ordered an entire pizza to ourselves with no shame as we talked about our time in Ireland. After that, everyone was ready to get food, and even though I had just had my fill in pizza, I went out and had some soup with the crew. Then a couple of us went to a giant place called Market Bar to end our Ireland experience.


Going to Ireland was a trip that I will treasure forever, and a place that I am positive I will return to someday. I fell in love with it. While my time in Ireland was fantastic, we all stepped off the plane in Spain, back in Valencia, with warmed hearts. The weather was warmer, the sun was shining, and we were feeling as though we had returned home. Valencia had officially become our home after that lengthy break, and we were truly excited to be back in our city.

Dublin and the River Liffey

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London, England

Buckingham Palace

Spring Break was a whirlwind of planes, trains, buses, and metros, including the famous London Underground or the "Tube". I'll start by explaining our trip to the famous city of London, England. I have always dreamed of going to this city...not solely for the Harry Potter related reasons, but maybe a little bit. I have always wanted to go to England and Ireland in general and I'm so fortunate that I had a group of girlfriends who agreed and wanted to do the same exact thing. I wrote everything we did day by day in my black moleskin book and I'm so glad I did. I can recount pretty much anything you ask me about our days in each country or city. We started off in London on February 23rd and it took us awhile to find the apartment we were staying in because the building, in Canary Wharf, was so brand new. Our taxi driver didn't even know where to take us, so he practically just dropped us off on the side of the road and let us fend for ourselves. After finally making our way inside, we were amazed. The apartment was on one of the top floors overlooking the "Wall Street" area of London and had a great view of the River Thames as well. Immediately when we got situated in the apartment we went looking for food to buy for the next five days. We ended up shopping at 2 am at the British equivalent of Walmart. Our first day we set out with the mission to get to the famous Abbey Road, home of the music studio where the Beatles recorded, and of course where the famous image of their Abbey Road album was taken. Once we arrived, we quickly stepped in to recreate the picture ourselves, like anyone would. We also signed our names on the fence in front of the studios, joining the several other thousand people who had already done so. I always love the feeling of being in the same place as something or someone historic, cultural, or just plain intriguing, and this certainly counted. Stepping in the Beatles footprints was amazing. We finished up the day heading to Tottenham Court Road, a significant place in the Harry Potter series, and we wandered the streets taking in the London city scene. Watching the driving on the other side of the road for the first time was something I definitely didn't get used to. After another trip on the tube, we headed in and planned the next day.

We woke and started our journey by visiting the famous Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. Thankfully we had great weather that day or else the event would have been cancelled. In retrospect, we ended up having phenomenal weather the entire time we were traveling. Only once did we get rained on, and that was our last day in Dublin. To continue, the changing of the guards was a fantastic experience, we videotaped the marching and marveled at the gates and architecture  of the entire building. It was interesting to be in the same place where I watched the royal wedding a year or so ago, peering up at the balcony where the entire family stood and where William and Kate's famous first kiss was shared. In front of Buckingham Palace lies St. James Park, arguably my favorite place in London. This park stretches from the street in front of the palace to the entrance or arch leading to Trafalgar Square. I could have spent hours there reading, taking pictures, and just admiring the atmosphere. I feel as if it was the equivalent to New York's Central Park, in the sense that London is a giant city and this park was a breath of fresh air in the middle of all the people and commotion. As we were walking by the park we stumbled upon a movie set for the next James Bond film, which had us stopped for a good ten minutes looking for celebrities. We arrived to Trafalgar Square after our brief detour and marveled at the scene. Two giant fountains with an obelisk in the middle were in sight as well as a great view of Big Ben straight ahead. Trafalgar Square is also home to the National Portrait Gallery and the famous Lion statues in the center of the square. Also, it was the site of the last Harry Potter movie premiere which I freaked out about. There were vast amounts of street performers as well, along with a giant countdown clock to the Olympic games this summer, which we took a photo next to. We then headed to Covent Garden Market. Here we watched a great interactive street performance with a man who brought a 7 year old British boy, a Chinese man, a German man, and a British woman to the front and made them dance and entertain the crowd. The market was full of great shops and vendors ranging from handmade jewelry to photographers showcasing their work. There was also a great cupcake shop we had to stop and take a look at....and sample. We went into a bookstore later that day and I bought Harry Potter, the British version! So happy. Then Leen and I went and got some guacamole because we had a craving, and everyone else had gone to rest. Every single shop and restaurant that we encountered after leaving Covent Garden Market looked amazing, we wanted to go inside each one. Leen and I finished our day by walking back through St. James Park to get to the tube, to wrap up one of the best days I had while abroad.

Fountain at Trafalgar Square

In the morning the next day we woke up and I did my usual: make tea! I made it for everyone who wanted it and it was honestly the best way to start the day. I love tea so much and I had been missing it greatly in Spain. We woke up and gathered strength and headed to Camden Town Market, a great place filled with food stands of every type, and souvenir shops that never ended. I wanted to buy everything I saw in each stand. Leen and I ended up buying some hipster glasses with clear lenses. Best purchase of my trip, I think. Also, I ended up seeing Katie Gonino, a friend from high school who was studying in London, so it was good to see a familiar face all the way in Europe. I was in owl heaven there at the market, they had owls on everything. Shirts, necklaces, earrings, glasses, posters all with owls on them. I couldn't decide on any one thing, they were all so cute. The jewelry stands were fun to look through, they had everything you could imagine. After we walked up and down the streets of Camden Town we decided to leave and head toward Kings Cross Station. This truly fulfilled a Harry Potter dream of mine, and I don't care if I sound like a nerd here. Originally we got off at the tube stopped and had to ask that awkward question that probably so many people working there get every day, "Where is Platform 9 3/4?" "You know...from the movie?". The first people we asked seemed to be convinced that it was closed or it had moved for construction which REALLY put a damper on my day. Pretty fast. Despite that information, I was determined to just go look inside the station. So we all walked inside to look more and then asked again. The next response was more to my liking, a worker told us we were close, and that it was just down the way! Why on earth would those people tell me it was closed? I put that annoyance aside as I pretty much ran to the spot between platforms 8 and 9. Out of the way, behind some construction we found a wall that had been moved with a sign above that indicated the spot. There were a few people there taking pictures but no large line. We all quickly took our pictures (yay!) and then moved on to go look more at the brick architecture that made up the platforms. I also took a picture by platforms 3 and 4 because I think someone told me that's where they actually filmed the scenes...who knows if that's really true. But I took the picture anyway. Why not? I'm only there once.

The next day we shopped at Oxford Street at a store called Top Shop, in which I wanted every single thing. The catch was that it was super expensive, so therefore I bought nothing. It was torturous walking through that shop, they had every single shoe you could ever want, and every single item of clothing to match. Also, they had a built in nail salon, hair salon, cupcake shop, fro yo shop, and sandwich shop inside. Plus it was 3 levels. It was by far the most elaborate store I'd ever been in. After shopping for awhile some of us really wanted to have a "fish and chips" experience so we asked some people on the street where the best place would be to get some quality fish and ships. We were directed to a restaurant called "The Golden Union" and we weren't disappointed. I ordered the fish and chips and a chocolate milkshake and had a lunch that almost reminded me of home. The "chips" were equivalent to large french fries and the milkshake was one of the best I've ever had. That could have been because I hadn't had a milkshake in 2 months but whatever. It was great. I remember today I wished that I had more time in London cause I realized that our time was winding down. There is literally so much to do there I could spend 2 weeks or more! By the end of our trip we all started to fall in love with it. Hannah and I were brainstorming how to become nannies for British families so we could stay and work in London indefinitely. Today was also Cristina's 21st birthday so we got ready and went to a great Indian Restaurant called "Brick Lane". We were probably the only people in the place, but it didn't matter. The food was excellent, and I knew just what to order after our Food and Society class went to an Indian restaurant one night (it was actually on my birthday!). Chicken Tikka Masala is what I ordered, along with some Cheese Naan (aka cheesy bread). After that we walked around London at night and made our way back to our neighborhood, Canary Wharf. We decided to rest because tomorrow was our traveling day and last day in London.

Westminster bridge and Big Ben

Today on February 28th, we woke up and we had to pack. We had to be out of our apartment by 2 but our flight to Dublin wasn't until later that night. I packed up with mixed emotions. This apartment in London was so incredibly nice, I had a kettle to make tea, television, washing machine, and nice bathroom. Plus London in general was just amazing to me. Similar to the big city life of New York City but with old, antique stone buildings as opposed to high rises everywhere. Also there was a good mix of nature in between the city life. The parks and gardens around London were so relaxing and beautiful, I wish I could have visited them all. After the landlord of the apartment nicely allowed us to store our bags in her apartment for the day, we made our way to Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. The London Eye sits directly opposite of Big Ben and Parliament, across the River Thames. It basically resembles the biggest ferris wheel you've ever seen in your entire life, but instead of sitting in an outdoor cart, you are put into a enclosed pod with 10-15 other people that has clear windows on all sides. You are slowly circled around to the highest point and then you sit there for a few minutes to take in the view. There are interactive speakers that tell you what surrounding area you are looking at. From atop the Eye we could see literally every London landmark, and it put everything into perspective for us. After that Hannah and I were intrigued by an advertisement for a haunted house, so naturally we had to do it! To paint a picture, we walked in, paid for the experience and immediately they strapped me down in an electric chair looking contraption and gave Hannah a chainsaw. They took a picture which made it look like Hannah was chopping off my arms while I was stuck in the chair. I remember cracking up at the hilarity of the situation because the people working there were so dead serious about it. They even put a fake nub on one of my hands which was all bloody. We waited in line with some guys from France and made small talk with them, and then were shuffled in the room to start our haunted house experience. All I really remember is how funny it was when something grabbed Hannah's leg from underneath a fence and she fell to the ground in horror. I died laughing. After the 10 minute experience which probably wasn't worth all those pounds...we got the rest of the group and headed across the bridge to see Big Ben and Parliament up close. I made sure to document the scene in National Lampoon's European Vacation that my Dad likes so much, when Chevy Chase continues to say "Look kids, Big Ben...Parliament," when they go around in circles multiple times in the car. Then we walked to Westminster Abbey and looked in the gift shop there, which was filled with Royal Wedding souvenirs, clearly. Some of us split up at that point to go shopping or to walk around more, so Leen and I decided to go find the London Bridge. The famous bridge you see in postcards with the two towers is conveniently called "Tower Bridge" and in my mind, I had been imagining that it was London Bridge. The two bridges actually lie parallel from one another. We eventually found London Bridge and stepped onto it. It's honestly a little anticlimactic in regards to architecture and style. The Tower Bridge is photographed more and is really intricate and detailed. For the sake of the song and for historic purposes, we decided to take a tour of the London Bridge. The catch was that it was also a haunted house. I don't know why London was filled with haunted houses or scare attractions but we had multiple choices on "haunted" places to go, people were handing out flyers on the street corners everywhere you turned. The cool part about the one we went on was that it was actually underneath the London Bridge. The "haunted tour" or the "London Bridge Experience" as they called it, was informative as it taught you about the history behind the London Bridge, and was scary at the same time. Leen was freaking out while I was laughing hysterically. We learned that Olaf, the viking, tore down the foundation of London bridge originally, and in 1666 The Great Fire of London destroyed it. It was constantly rebuilt. There used to be houses and shops lining the bridge, and it was bustling with traffic. After this informative tour we quickly hopped on the tube to make it to Piccadilly Circus just so we could say that we've been there. It was really similar to New York's time square. 

Big Ben

From here, Leen and I boarded the tube for the last time and made our way to find the others and grab our luggage to hurry to the airport. It was off to Ireland for the second half of our Spring break tour. While I was sad about leaving London and wishing I had more time, I have to say that Ireland was the place I had always dreamed about visiting, so I was as eager as anything. It did not disappoint. 

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Roma, Italia

St. Peter's Basilica and Tiber River

I decided to skip some other weekends and write about Rome first in my epic attempt to blog about the past three weeks. I have barely had time to sit down, and now that I am, I want to do Rome justice because it was an epic trip. Rome was the best first trip to take outside of Spain, and came with a good amount of learning experiences. Learning experience number one, RyanAir (an airline with some pretty cheap flights around Europe) has very strict carry on bag limitations. I was annoyed beyond belief that I had to pay a fee and have my bag checked. Then to continue the wonderful journey that Ryan Air offers, they do a great job of not allowing you to sleep or relax in the slightest because they walk up and down the aisles selling everything form perfume to lottery tickets, which clearly no one on the plane wants. We got to Rome (we meaning my traveling buddies Hannah, Cristina, Leen, Megan, and Mackenzie) cold, tired, and wet from the rain, and we struggled to find taxis to take to our hostel. We ended up talking to some Spanish guys who were on our flight and we waited with them patiently in the cold rain. To add a cherry on top of the day we were having, they quickly hopped in the next taxi that came by and left us to fend for ourselves. Chivalry was not present. At this point when the giant taxi van swung by and picked us up we looked at it as a gift from god. Even before I got in though, I knew it was going to be an interesting voyage, due to the vibrations and bass I could hear blasting from outside the van. I hoped in the front seat with this guy who basically drove around in a club on wheels, I'm surprised he didn't have strobe lights and smoke machines in there. It honestly made the ride into Rome so much more exciting though, as he drove us in his mini club past the Colosseum and other famous landmarks.


The night was a cold, cold blur. We immediately got to our hostel, the first one I've ever stayed in, and it was surprisingly nice. We met Americans right off the bat who we had mutual friends with people we knew from high school. That concept always continues to surprise me, that you can be so far away from home in a hostel at 3 am in Rome and you can connect with someone right off the bat by 1 degree of separation. Then Cristina and I got into our room and passed out. We thought we turned the heat on, or did turn the heat on and it malfunctioned, but either way the both of us were freezing the entire night and even woke up in the middle to put sweaters and peacoats on for extra warmth. Easily the coldest night I've experienced and that's saying something considering I've been camping in 20 degree weather and below. We awoke to snow the next morning, and all day long it poured down on us, switching from freezing rain to flakes. I wrote down every single answer I got to the question, "When was the last time it snowed in Rome?" and I received answers such as 2 years ago, 4 years, 14 years, 1956, 1939, 1985 and finally when the Virgin Mary gave birth to baby Jesus. That last guy thought he was really clever. I layered more than I had in my entire life, three pant layers, 4 sweaters and a coat, scarf and eventually rainboots that I had to purchase so my toes wouldn't freeze off. Not to mention, we had to purchase umbrellas off the side of the road for 4 euros which eventually fell apart by the end of the day due to the wind. My umbrella was done by the first stop of the day, the Trevi Fountain. We ended up visiting many historical landmarks and sites by the end of the trip, the Trevi being one of them. I did the classic move of throwing of the coin into the water and making a wish, which is a cliche but necessary thing to do when in Rome. We also stopped by the Spanish Steps, Trajan's Column, the Colesseum, the Pantheon, multiple Piazzas (Plazas) and many famous churches, including my favorite, San Giovanni. I loved the feeling of knowing that I was in the presence of such rich and ancient history. I guess I'm a nerd in the sense that it gets me excited. I also contribute that excitement to my art history class and teacher my senior year, there would be no way I would know the importance of what I came to Rome to see without Mrs. Edelman and that 8th period class.

The church Santa Maria Maggiore 

Rome continued to surprise us throughout the upcoming days. I noticed that Italians were in general, much more friendly and outgoing as compared to Spaniards. Only once were we unhappy at the way we were treated by a man who rudely overcharged us at a restaurant when we only sat to drink wine, and then proceeded to yell at us saying that in America this wine would be entirely more expensive. I felt this to be expected because we stopped at a very public and non authentic restaurant. What we tried to do most of time there was find off the map, local, and genuine places to eat. One day we were walking down a side road and saw the cutest grandma and grandpa playing with their grandchild in the snow. We asked them where we should eat lunch and they pointed us to a wonderful spot called "La Campana" where we had one of the best meals of the trip. This is hard to say though because every meal I had was superb. I'm not joking when I say I had pasta, pizza, bread and probably a dessert (my favorite Tiramisu) every meal of this trip. There was one night I recall I got chicken and potatoes and even that was amazing. I couldn't stop talking about those potatoes or the tiramisu I had from a restaurant called "La Famiglia", which we ended up eating at 3 times....that's dedication. Because I'm on the subject of food, I will continue to talk about it happily. On Sunday we stopped to eat at a wonderfully authentic restaurant that we were told was the pope's favorite spot to eat, called "La Venerina". We ate here with the 2 priests that toured us around the basilica on Sunday and a couple who was receiving the same tour. Also that very same day we had the best gelato in the Vatican City at a spot called "Old Bridge". I got chocolate and cookies and cream gelato and did not mind the wonderful scoop of whip cream that came on top. 

My favorite day in Rome would have to be the Sunday morning and afternoon we spent with 2 priests that Cristina organized us to meet. I am so thankful she did this because they were honestly the highlight of the trip for me, and were both very sweet, down to earth, and so helpful in touring us around St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. I kept a notebook with me at all times and probably wrote down every historical fact they told us as well as art history details about the entire facade and inside of the basilica. I won't bore everyone with the 5 pages of notes I took but I will say some cool fun facts just for good measure. The canopy is made of bronze and it was constructed by Bernini and it is the biggest bronze sculpture in the world. Inside the basilica and to the right is the famous "Pieta" statue of Mary and Jesus made in 1399 by none other than the famous Michelangelo. The priests also noted that if you were to lay the facade of the basilica down flat, it would be bigger than a football field. Plus, on the inside, if you were to stack two Statue's of Liberty on top of each other, they would both fit inside the dome of the basilica. Fun facts like that are intriguing to me. To add one more fact about St. Peter's, 140 statues of saints and martyrs are placed around the colonnade on the outside of the building. It was great to see a service going on on the inside of the basilica as well because hearing the organ playing and people chanting made everything more special to witness. The best part of the day was probably coming outside and getting to hear the pope speak and see him in the window. He addressed us all in different languages, commented on the unusually chilly weather, and blessed all of us in the square. That's something that doesn't happen every day. 

Inside of St. Peter's Basilica, Bernini's canopy

Rome was fantastic and I'm so glad I was able to share it with 5 of my friends I've made here in Valencia already. I feel like I could write for days on my experiences here. Despite the mishaps along the way, we all made it back safely and with few injuries (a couple of us did slip repeatedly on the ice). We all smiled when we stepped out into the Valencian sunshine. We felt at home more than ever. 

Colosseum

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Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias, Valencia, España

City of Arts and Sciences

I know I haven't written in awhile, but in my defense, I honestly feel like I am doing so much and experiencing new things everyday, there is hardly a free moment to sit down and write! It just means I'm having a great time over here, so rest assured that I have fun and do something memorable everyday. Because of this, I get paranoid I will forget things so I keep a notepad in my purse to jot down things quickly throughout the day...yes I know it's a little excessive but I don't trust my memory. I'll provide a quick overview of what I've been doing with the group here accompanied with a picture to set the scene!


I guess it must be important to first state that I got stitches in Spain because I clearly can't handle Spanish knives. I admit the one I was using was no different than an American butter-knife, but for some odd reason fate wanted me to take a trip to the clinic that day. It should be mentioned that I probably will never hear the end of the fact that I cut myself on a dull butter-knife in the apartment kitchen, everyone finds it funny. I ran downstairs to the receptionist (who speaks only Spanish) and couldn't form the Spanish words in my head to tell her I was hurt, so I ended up just sticking my finger in her direction, to which she let out a little yelp. That was reassuring. So I ended up taking a taxi to the clinic into a room full of people who only spoke Spanish. I was laid on a table and wasn't really told what was being done to me. All I caught out of conversation was puntos, vacuna, doler, and cortar... which mean stitches, shot, to hurt, and to cut. Periodically when I wasn't really nervous I would ask "Como se dice?"and point to something and the doctor would let me know what it was. I took this experience as a great vocabulary lesson...when I wasn't thinking about how much I didn't want to be stabbed with another needle. Although the stitching up did hurt it was over in about 10 minutes, and I even made it back to my class at 3 o'clock. However, before my return to the center, the wonderful María, who works in the student service offices here and escorted me to the doctor, introduced me to my new favorite panadería (bakery) on our way back to catch a taxi. Here I found my favorite pastry called an "Ensaimada", aka the most delicious crescent roll bread, rolled into a spiral, and doused in powdered sugar.


Since the initial visit to the clinic, I've had to go back nearly 4 or 5 times for them to clean and change the bandage, and eventually have the stitches removed. I looking past all the annoying taxi fees, I really did like riding to a new part of town during the week and seeing things I wouldn't normally see around our location near the Torres de Serranos and the old city. On my route to the clinic I would drive past the    fútbol stadium, la Universidad de Valencia campus, and other sites. I also never failed to stop by that phenomenal panadería "Pan Estellés" each time I went to the doctor and bought myself an ensaimada with no regrets. When in Spain and you have stitches in your pinky, eat ensaimadas.

One of the first things I haven't reported on yet was visiting the famous City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. I almost feel like I need another day to visit again and get more pictures. When we are in groups it's hard for me to stay at a subject for awhile and get a better shot because everyone is moving so quickly. We walked in and had a few minutes to explore an area that had many different science experiments and fun hands on activities. This included a great mini show inside of a closed off room where a spanish robot talked to us about the solar system, which I found hilarious. Then we all proceeded to go watch a dolphin show, which was the highlight of my day, considering I hadn't seen dolphins since Sea World in 1997. After the dolphins flipped, jumped, and waved goodbye to us, we explored the aquarium and saw everything from penguins and jellyfish to walruses and beluga whales. There was also a really cool exhibit where you walk through a tunnel that is underneath a giant shark, stingray, and other assorted fish tank. This included a fish called the Sunfish which I thought had to be the most hideous fish ever, google it if you must. It looked like it was straight out of Jurassic Park. I would love another day to visit this main attraction of Valencia. The futuristic look of the entire building the the surrounding monuments was amazing and unlike anything I've ever seen. Our group was very large and there were some brief moments for photography but sometimes I couldn't switch settings fast enough. I think I could have taken better pictures if I spent a good amount of time there, so hopefully this means a trip back for me!

Back end of City of Arts and Sciences

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Torres de Serranos y Calle Serranos, Valencia, España

Torres de Serranos

My time here in Valencia has already been amazing, and it has only been the first week. The trip getting here wasn't as amazing however, Hannah and I underestimated that eight hour plane ride and made the mistake of not taking one large Tylenol PM. We had fun trying to eat during the turbulence and had laughing fits trying to put the food in our mouths while the plane rocked back and forth. Jealous of the woman passed out next to us (for the entire eight hours might I add) we were forced to switch back and forth between Die Hard, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, and the Lion King, which I watched twice. As a result of no legitimate sleep, we tried to nap on a bench in Zurich, Switzerland waiting for another flight in four hours, and I became very paranoid someone would steal everything I had. The next flight took us to Valencia, finally, and I couldn't keep my eyes off the window as we soared over the coast and down into the airport. I got off and prayed that my luggage wasn't lost and thankfully it wasn't. I was honestly feeling three major things after I got off that plane, met new people, and headed onto the bus to the study center. I felt anxious, lethargic (to the point of not being able to open my eyes to introduce myself), and nervous. The step off the bus and into the study center made everything real for the first time. More than the packing (which I did horribly), multiple plane rides, and constant reassurance by classmates who have already been to Valencia that these three months were going to be the time of my life. I had been waiting for that moment, I just wish I was in a better mood once I realized it! A quick shower immediately after I met my roommate and threw my stuff to the ground changed everything and I felt like a new person.


The students and teachers I meet are so nice and welcoming. After the initial "Hello my name is Kristina, with a K" to everyone I meet, the orientation meetings began and made me even more thrilled. Everyone seems so excited to be there and they never fail to remind you: "these will be the best 3 months of your life". Hearing it and living it are two different things, and I'm glad the time has come to live the Valencian life and appreciate my experience. I already feel like I am accustomed to the layout of the city (after walking for hours on end during Las Rebajas) and I am getting better and more comfortable using my Spanish out in public. Occasionally I run into a speedbump and have no idea how to say something, like trying to ask what a store's "return policy" was on their clothing. It always works out in the end though! Also, I continue to make the mistake of shaking someone's hand when I meet them instead of kissing them on the cheek. I have fun keeping count as to how many blondes I can find besides me, the tally is very low at the moment. More cultural differences to come I'm sure...


Paul, Hannah, and I stumbled upon a group of Jacksonville people and we all get along very well. Each person you meet seems to have a connection to you in some way or another. The biggest connection of all though is that you all are studying abroad in Valencia together and sharing the best 3 months of your life. I don't care if it sounds lame...it's true. So far I almost have all the names down, I know everybody in my apartment and I'm starting to get the hang of things like the best hangouts, restaurants, shopping hot spots and more. I can't believe a week has already gone by in this amazing city. I look forward to reporting about everything else that happens in my 3 months here!

Calle Serranos

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Sunset on the St. Johns 2, Jacksonville, Florida

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Sunset on the St. Johns, Jacksonville, Florida

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Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

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Lighthouse, St. Marks State Park, Florida

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Sunset, Panama City Beach, Florida

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