I haven’t updated in awhile because I have been traveling throughout Europe for the past month! From December 1st though the 8th, I was traveling with my school group through the south of Spain. My parents arrived when I got back to Madrid, and from the 8th through the 17th we traveled to Paris and Barcelona. Then my brother and I traveled to Rome and Munich from the 19th to the 30th. It has definitely been a long and exhausting month, but a great one at that. Here are some of the main things I remember about each city:
1. Paris - crepes, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Mona Lisa
2. Barcelona - Sagrada Familia, Gaudi Park, lots of French and different cultures, Picasso Museum
3. Rome - St. Peter’s = the biggest most beautiful church I have ever seen (and let me tell you, I have seen about a million churches in just the past few months), midnight mass at St. Peters (Josh and I were less than 10 feet from the Pope when he walked down the aisle.)
4. Munich - pretzels, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and beer (mixed with lemonade!) everyday
St. Peter's in the background. We were on the roof of a seminary where Josh's friend lives.
If someone had told me prior to this trip that in the next 4 months, I would have traveled throughout Europe, gone to three Real Madrid fútbol games and 2 bullfights, seen Coldplay perform, seen the Pope, seen Africa (when we went to Gibraltar), and made great friends not only from Furman but also from Spain and from all over the world, I might have believed the part about making some great friends from Furman. I can’t believe this counted as a semester at school! But I can because I learned so much in the classroom and outside of it. My roommate and I used to joke about how sometimes we learned more about the culture of Madrid on our nights out than on our required weekly cultural activities to museums or movies. I remember the first day when I got to Madrid, our Señora was showing me and Lauren around the house and explaining things and I understood probably about 5% of what she said. When my parents came to visit, we all had dinner at Señora’s house. It showed me just how much I had learned because I was able to understand most of what Señora said and then translate it to my parents.
My parents with Señora and the delicious paella she made.
I’m going to miss a lot about Madrid - the metro, my Señora, walking the streets, the parks, the people, the accent, the language, the olive oil, the nightlife, homemade sangria (1 euro bottle of wine + Lemon Fanta), and Cristiano Ronaldo to name a few. But I’m also looking forward to coming home and having all the things that I missed while abroad. I hope to make it back to Madrid someday, although I know it will be a completely different experience. For now, I have tons of pictures and memories of a great experience that I will never forget. Hasta luego, Madrid!
