Last day in Spain!

Today marks my last day in Valencia, and in Spain! I woke up early and headed into Old Town one last time for some last minute gifts and of course an ice cream stop :)

Upon arriving back to my apartment, I decided it was clearly time to start packing (I can't believe I waited so long)! I rounded up all my belongings and began the long process of folding and putting everything into air tight bags.

I said goodbye to my roommate, who is doing some independent travel, and then ate a quick lunch before my last afternoon siesta! I pulled together my backpack and headed to ISA to print off my boarding passes and mail a couple last minute items.

Tonight I'm meeting ISA at the stadium at midnight for our bus to Madrid. We should arrive around 5/5:30am, and since I have the first flight (at 7am), I'll have to move quickly.

Next time I post, it will be from Paris! Bon voyage! :)

Bioparc and Flamenco!

Wow! What a wonderful Tuesday I had! After my nail appointment (see previous post), Ashton, Cassi, and I grabbed a taxi and headed for the Bioparc. Read about the zoo immersion philosophy here. Though we only spent about 4 hours there, I could go back everyday and not get bored! Here are some of my favorite pictures!

Bioparc is plopped right in the middle of the city

cute river otter wiggling around

love me some greenery!

I FOUND PRIDE ROCK

lemurs out in the open!

he had scary eyes...

gorillas playing

elephants!

best candid ever!

GIRAFFE

I loved watching the giraffes most of all, but there was a baby gorilla that nearly stole my heart :)

After a quick photo upload to Facebook and some primping, I went over to Caitlyn and Cassi's apartment to have dinner before heading the the Flamenco show at Radio City. Dinner with friends was wonderful, and the Flamenco show was super fun!

dressed up for a night on the town!

love these girls :)

two musicians, one singer, and one Flamenco dancer

she was absolutely wonderful!

After a long day and night, I gratefully fell into a quick sleep upon arriving back at the apartment. My last evening in Valencia was one to remember!

Study Abroad: DONE

That's right folks, I'm officially no longer a student in Europe! Now I'm a tourist instead :)

Monday I spent nearly all the day studying for our Grammar final on Tuesday. I'm pleased to say that in addition to it not being all that bad, my professor rocks and emailed us all our grades later that day! Passed with flying colors :)

I also went back for another check up for my heat rash on Monday afternoon, and my arms/sides are doing significantly better. Though I wouldn't say they're completely healed, I'm thinking my touring time in France and Italy might be better since Judy and I will have air conditioning.

With classes all finished, I decided to treat myself for working hard and getting the grades I wanted. I decided on a manicure with gel/shellac (coolest invention ever)! Since I'm a newbie to nails, I stuck with a classic French tip manicure, which felt (and looks) great.

What I'm really looking forward to is getting a pedicure for my poor feet when I get back to the U.S. All this walking has really taken it's toll!

Paella, paella, and more paella!

To say my tummy is full of paella would be an understatement! Before I give you all the details, it's important that all my readers understand what an important cultural tradition paella is. Read about the history of paella here. My host mom has made paella for us at least once a week, usually for lunch (typically the biggest meal of the day in Spain). The main ingredients are olive oil, rice, meat, beans, and spices.

ISA took us on a short excursion just outside of Valencia to a farm (quite reminiscent of South Dakota), where we spent the entire afternoon watching and learning how to make paella from the world-famous chef Toni Montoliu at La Barraca.

The restaurant was absolutely beautiful, and they served us a nine course meal (yes, you read that correctly, NINE). Bread/pepper dip, patatas bravas, fried okra/zucchini flowers, paella, salad, fruit, dessert cake, and coffee!

Feeling overly-stuffed, I spent the rest of the evening in the apartment attempting (and failing) to cool off. I'm glad we had some down time this weekend- it has felt like go, go, go 24/7, so a break was wonderful.

The next afternoon, a group of us went to Ashley's host mom's apartment for more paella! It was great chatting and hanging out with my favorite girls in an actual house (not an apartment, which is virtually all the housing in Spain). She also had air-conditioning, which was a plus :) Ashley made paella for us, while I fell in love with an 11 month old baby boy named Adrian! (Of course I would find a child- nanny problems!)

please ignore my unattractive face

Once again, I'm stuffed to the brim with delicious paella! It's hard to believe I only have a few more days in Valencia... I need to get studying for my final exam!

Until next time,
Maggie

La Albufuera/Gandía

On Friday, ISA took us on an excursion to La Albufuera. Here a little snippet from the official website: 

"The Albufera of Valencia, located about 15 kilometers south end of the city of Valencia, is the largest lake in the Iberian Peninsula. Around the Lake Albufera, a former marine gulf closed by a sandbar or spit and fed by fresh water from gullies, ditches and springs called ullals , lies one of the most interesting human landscapes, traditional Spanish Mediterranean, and one of the most ecologically valuable areas of the peninsula."

It was absolutely wonderful to start my day off with a tranquil boat ride around a lake. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to take my time in the mornings, and this peaceful trip was a wonderful reprieve from the noise and chaos of the city of Valencia. 

All too fast we were back on the bus headed for the city of Gandía, about an hour south of Valencia.  I came very close to throwing up on the bus from motion sickness despite the fact that I’d already taken a Dramamine.  Bus drivers in Spain are much more concerned about time that the comfort of their passengers.  I had already decided not to participate in the water sports offered that day (kayaking, surfing, wind surfing, and something else).  Instead, Ashley, Cassi, Caitlyn, and I found a city worker and each bought a beach chair to lounge on for the rest of the day (only 4 euros each)!  We got all lathered up with sunscreen and began the ritual of laying out, getting too hot, taking a dip in the water, and starting the cycle all over again.  

my view for the day

pink toes

city behind my beach spot

random Zumba class on the beach!

All in all it was a wonderful (but hot) day at the beach! I worked on my tan, swam a little bit, and chatted with good friends :)

Last full week of classes in Spain!

Wowzers! Has another week of classes already flown by?!

Of course it has. Classes this week were rather uneventful. In grammar we focused on the imperative (command) mood, as well as the subjunctive. Our final exam next week will include the imperative tense, as well as the 4 tenses of subjunctive- oofta! Lots of studying in my future.

Monday evening, my time, I got to Skype with my mama for a little while, which was absolutely wonderful! I'm anxious to go home in a couple of weeks. On Wednesday, Cassi and I presented our culture exposition on Salvador Dalí. It went remarkably well, minus a few mistranslations that our professor jumped in and corrected.

For the not so fun news- my aversion to serious heat has manifested itself as a heat rash down the sides of my body (super attractive, right?) I went to a local clinic with one of the ISA directors where the doctor prescribed me antibiotics.  I had a follow up appointment Friday evening where she gave me more antibiotics and a cream to help speed the healing process. I would be the girl to get sick in Spain! Oh well, hopefully the medicine takes care of my discomfort, so I can go back to enjoying my last week here.

Don't worry, I looked up all the meds online and my wonderful mama called my doctors to check for any interactions with my current medications. I'm in the clear, so hopefully these suckers do the trick!

Día de Gaudi

Anyone heard of Antonio Gaudi? If not, please pause your reading and take the time to google him. So many fascinating facts!

We started off our last day in Barcelona at Park Güell (again, google). I've had a picture of this sight as the background on my computer for months! It is that breath taking.

We then proceeded to the Sagrada Familia for a quick tour around the outside. Just as beautiful as the night before!

After a long(er) walk than I expected we visited some of the houses that Gaudi designed in another part of Barcelona.

The last hour before we departed Barcelona, we headed down Las Ramblas (again, but this time the right way)! I found a couple souvenirs and some beautiful jewelry! I was definitely sad to be leaving Barcelona so soon; I could have easily spent another week in this mesmerizing city!