Día de los Reyes and Carnaval, Two Holidays with One Stone

This post is long overdue, months overdue, back in January overdue...I am hiding this behind my "students have their English exam next week" excuse.  But seriously.  Apologies for Trinity exams consuming my life for the past few months.

La Cabalgata in Santander

Anyway, now to bore you with an informational post, my "B".  One of the greatest parts of living in Spain with a native Spaniard, and working at a Spanish school is that I get to experience many Spanish holidays quite authentically.  Two such holidays this year were: Día de los Reyes and Carnaval.

Día de los Reyes

Our "USA meets Spain" Reyes presents

Día de los Reyes, or Day of the Kings, is celebrated January 6th in honor of the day the Three Wise Men are thought to have 'beheld' baby Jesus after he was born.  In Spain this holiday is in many ways quite similar to how Christmas is celebrated for children in the USA, as it is traditionally the Magi that bring them holiday presents and not Santa Claus.  They're incredibly popular and if you ask many Spaniards they always had a favorite growing up (Balthasar is in particular quite popular among my friends).

To celebrate the arrival of the kings to Spain on January 5th, most cities hold a typical parade known as the Cabalgata de Reyes Magos that welcomes them into the city.  The parade I saw in Santander had different floats, trucks, and even sheep (who doesn't love a herd of sheep wandering through a city)!

Near the end of the parade the kings finally arrived on their own floats and are followed by different fire trucks and delivery trucks that "help bring the children their presents".  Later the Magi walked around the city distributing candy to any little children, which was absolutely adorable to see...and I maybe asked for candy too...maybe...

Our Roscón de Reyes

As it's celebrated on the 6th, this is the day where most Spanish children receive most (if not all) of their holiday presents.  For their breakfast celebration it's typical to have a special cake called a roscón (similiar to a fruitcake, but tastier!), which can even be filled with different things like cream or chocolate.

What makes the roscón so special is that inside there's often a small toy that's been hidden inside, sometimes even a bean.  If you find the toy you are proclaimed the 'king/queen of the day' but if you find the bean in your piece then you're supposed to pay for next year's cake.  This year in the cake the BF and I bought for ourselves I found the prize, which was a tiny turtle!  Though it did help that I devoured most of it...

Carnaval

Carnaval is a great holiday for Auxiliares because we get to celebrate it with our students.  It celebrates the time before lent with a hugeee party (think Río and Mardi Gras), but in Spain there's more child-friendly activities than 'earning' beads.

In my schools the children got to do a lot of fun activities preparing themselves for a big parade at the end of the week.  The theme for the year was art so all the students made costumes depicting different artists and aspects of art like: crayons, colored pencils, paintbrushes, and even the melting clocks of Dalí.  The teachers even had their own costumes to parade around with the students.  As you can see I was a beautiful painting.

At the school they had El Entierro de la Sardina or "The Burial of the Sardine" which is a Spanish tradition that one of our teachers explained as symbolizing the end of Carnaval by burying the past in hopes of a better future after fasting during Lent.  The sixth grade students and their teachers all wore black and paraded around 'mourning' as the fun of Carnaval ended and Lent was about to begin.

Celebrating El Greco

Our 'Sardine' was a large, colorful, paper Sardine that was actually burned instead of buried and when that sucker finally went up in smoke everyone cheered for the end of the celebration (or maybe just that it was time to go home for a nice long puente).

Later that weekend there was a parade in Madrid capital that we watched with my BF's parents who were visiting from Santander.  Instead of having a tradition 'Carnaval' theme, the parade was designed to celebrate El Greco (as this year marks since the artist's death) along other important, particularly Spanish, artists.

Las Meninas

The various floats and displays featured works ranging from El Greco himself, to Bosch, Velázquez, Picasso, Goya, and even Andy Warhol.  Between the floats there were also various performances of cultural groups from different areas of Central and South America.  Even though I've celebrated Carnaval once before in Spain (read as going out with friends in costumes), this was the first time I had seen any kind of parade.  Even though it wasn't "traditional" Carnaval, the art nerd in me was still impressed by a lot of the floats.

It's definitely a unique feeling to be a part of another culture's holidays, but I've also found that experiencing these holidays now that I'm living and working here has helped me learn a lot about Spain and its history, and also feel a little bit less like the "token guiri".

What experience have you had with Día de los Reyes or Carnaval?

March Madness

And no I'm not talking about college basketball...

I can't believe I let a month fly by without posting anything, but I guess that's life for you.  Sometimes it can call for more than you're used to.

Spring blossoms on the way home from work.

It's not like March was supposed to be a busy month, the only thing I anticipated was the coming of Spring and hopefully having my clothes start to dry in less than a week (wishful hoping).

Instead March was a month full of extremely high "ups" and equally low "downs": stress, anger, frustration, joy, love, and fun.  It was a crazy month that I guess has kept me posting because I A) Didn't know how to express everything I was going through exactly as I wanted and B) Because I just didn't have the time to sit myself down at the computer and write.

And I really did have posts lined up to write, I even started a few of them: my first Día de los Reyes, Carnaval in my colegio, the process of renewing, and my thoughts on how living in Spain I've grown to love so many different foods.  But then they all just got put on the back burner of my life.

Spanish potluck dinner with friends.

I don't want to bore you all with a long post of every detail of my month, trust me, some of them I would rather not relive.  And that being said, some other ones I will put in their own post (hopefully not several months behind again).

To get over with it I'll start with the worst of the month:

• School drama.  My school is great, don't get me wrong but two situations that had been growing for a while mad March a very stressful month:
• One of my usual teachers was on maternity leave for a few months and a long-term sub was brought in.  Normal, right?  The only problem is that they brought in a teacher whose level of English was not up to what it should be in a bilingual school and she also could not control the class, among many other frustating situations.  I have never been so happy to have my teacher return last week, good teachers make all the difference.

Las Meninas at the Carnaval Parade

• With another grade we are preparing exams, which is frustrating for all parties involved.  The other auxiliar and I started to become way overused (and overwhelmed) with what we were being asked to do, like: solo teaching all of the classes.  It just got to be too much, finally leading us to a meeting to talk through all the issues and miscommunication.  Which was a reminder that when there is a problem and/or you feel uncomfortable, it will only get worse until you talk about it.

• General job stress.  With the crisis in Spain and lack of jobs for most of the youth, we were anxiously waiting to hear back from the BF's company if he would get officially hired like they kept hinting.  My staying in Spain for next year depended a great deal on whether or not he would be able to stay in Madrid with me.  After a long distance relationship for two years we've both vowed to do whatever we could to avoid being in the situation again, making the uncertainty of his job a huge stress for both of us.

• Children are infested disease carriers.  Kidding...only a little bit, at least they're cute...

Sneak peak of las murallas de Ávila.

But like I said before March also had its beautiful moments, worth all of the stress and frustration.

• Finally good luck in jobs!  At the end of the month we finally received good news on both fronts and will likely be here for at least two more years (at least one more for me with Auxiliares as I was officially placed last Thursday!)

• A day trip to Ávila, the capital of the province of Ávila in Castilla y León, with friends.  It's a great small city known for it's medieval wall and it's high number of Romanesque and Gothic churches.  Plus great Chuletón (a type of T-bone steak)!

• An impromptu trip to Barcelona last weekend to visit some of my boyfriend's friends.  It was my first time in Cataluña in general and I had an amazing time getting to know them and the city.  There's nothing better than having native tour guides, especially ones so welcoming!  We didn't get to see everything we wanted, but we both want to go back with more time to enjoy the city and his friends.

• And general exploring and enjoyment of Madrid.  Like watching the Carnaval parade in person, visiting the Museum of Sorolla (one of my favorite Spanish artists), and devouring the Spanish cuisine.  We're a couple that really, really loves food and on the weekends (and sometimes the ambitious weekday) we like exploring different corners and restaurants of Madrid. 

• And finally my dad arrives to visit on Wednesday and I'm beyond excited to see him, as I haven't seen him since August!  I spent most of March planned for his visit and looking forward to his arrival.  It's his first time in Europe so we have plans to travel to some different sights in Europe and Spain.

Now that April is here and the weather is BEAUTIFUL I'm excited to (finally finish the posts I've planned, of course) what this month has planned for me and spend more time walking around and exploring Madrid.  It's such a huge city and there's so many places yet to discover.

View of Barcelona from Parque Güell.

How has March treated you this year?

Nochevieja, Celebrating Like a Spaniard

A little late in the year for talks of New Year celebrations, but never too late to learn some new traditions!

New Year's Eve throughout the world is quite the spectacle, but never have I seen a spectacle as large as in Spain.  This year was my first New Year's Eve away from home, and I got to spend it with my boyfriend's family and friends in Santander learning how to ring in the new year like a Spaniard.

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I was first most surprised by how family oriented this holiday was compared to the United States.  Unlike in the USA where I either celebrate at my house with my mom and a few friends or at a friend's party, my boyfriend's whole family got together for a huge family dinner (very similar to their Christmas Eve here).

We arrived at their grandfather's house for around 9:00 pm, perfect timing for a Spanish dinner, and spent the time playing games and planning on how my hair would be done for later that night.  Yes, you heard that, how my hair was going to be done...but more on that later.

Bringing two cultures together with pie!

As the clock struck 10:00 we all gathered around the table for a huge dinner of langostinos, pâté, anchovies, cured lomo, salad,  piles of bread, cochinillo (suckling pig/piglet), and cordero (lamb).  Finished off with dessert of torrijas (like a very sweet french toast) and apple pie I made to share some of traditional USA culture.  As usual everything was delicious and I rolled away from the table with a stomach too full for my own good, my typical state after big Spanish family dinners.

Now with an hour to spare before the twelve chimes from Puerta del Sol, the hour of the peinados (hairstyles) began.  In Spain once midnight strikes it's very common for teenagers/young adults, who are of drinking age or atleast pretend to be, meet with their friends to go out.  One of the ways to do this on New Year's Eve is to have a cotillón, a party where a group of people rent out a bar for one pre-paid entrance fee (normally anywhere from 35-70€) and stay and drink there until the bar closes around 6:00 am.  In Santander everyone is dressed to the nines for these cotillones, the men in suits and the women in nice dresses, some even with their hair styled.

My fabulous hair-do

As it was my first, and maybe last cotillón as many of our friends aren't feeling cotillones anymore, we wanted to go all out.  The BF's aunt used to be a hairdresser and she fabulously styled my hair and his sister's.  While we were being "beautified" he was on grape duty.  Counting out grapes for all the family members and making sure everyone had the twelve grapes in time for the twelve chimes, probably the most well known Spanish New Year's tradition.

Unlike watching a giant crystal ball drop in Time's Square, well they have a small ball drop, everyone gathers around the TV, with grapes in hand, to watch the center of Madrid and wait for the clock to strike.  Once the clock strikes numbers appear on the screen with each chime, telling when each grape should be eaten.  I'm proud to say I ate all twelve grapes in time, good luck and prosperity for the new year!, though it did help that we had seedless grapes...  Regardless, we toasted the new year with cava, gave besos to the whole family, and enjoyed all the fireworks being set off near the house.

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Now that it was after midnight we were in a time crunch to finish getting ready to meet our friends in the center for 1:00 am.  We were dropped off by their father who agreed to pick us all up the next morning in the center around 7:00 am, a reasonable party end in Spain.

Altogether the cotillón was fun, not the greatest music unfortunately, but after being in Madrid it was great going out with all our friends from Santander.  And like any great Spanish party, we ended the night (began the day?) with chocolate con churros.

When we woke up later that day we went back to their grandfather's house for a New Year's Day family lunch of delicious home-made Paella.  A few games later, more like the same game of Risk for a few hours, we all went to the cinema to catch a movie (Keanu Reeves's 47 Ronin) together.  The perfect way to relax after a long night, and to remember how much I love the Spanish importance of family.  There's nothing better than family time!

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How was your New Year's Eve?  Have you ever celebrated it as part of another culture?

Nochebuena, Papa Noel, and a Snowless Christmas

I knew one day I wouldn't be able to come home for holidays; after all we all grow up, we all move away from home, and we all start our own lives.  I just never imagined the day would come so soon and that we would be separated by a whole ocean.

When I accepted the position to teach abroad in Madrid I made the conscious decision that I would not be home for Christmas.  Flight prices are so expensive this time of year, I didn't know if I would have my resident card in time, and it just seemed easier to stay in Spain to celebrate.

Christmas morning!

In retrospect, more convenient: yes, easier: no, rewarding and worth the experience: definitely.

While it was at times really hard being away from my family (a.k.a. on Christmas Eve I might have cried the whole bus ride home from the downtown area...), I was extremely lucky to be invited to spend the holidays with my boyfriend's family in Santander and had a home away from home.  Plus the added bonus that I got to see what Christmas was like as part of a Spanish family.

One of the things that pleasantly surprised me the most was the extent of the public Christmas decorations.  In both Madrid and Santander there were Christmas lights on all over the main streets and plazas; I was amazed when December hit and the streets were lit up every night.  While Madrid, as the capital, certainly had more lights I still found those in Santander impressive.

Town Hall of Santander

The plaza of the Ayuntamiento of Santander was lit up with tree lights, the reyes magos (wise men), and reindeer; not to mention the carousel and Mercado de Navidad in the Plaza de Pombo.  I guess I found all the holiday decorations strange becauses of all the controversy at home about decorating for Christmas and excluding other holidays.  It's become such a taboo subject in some public places like schools that I was not used to so much "Christmas", but being away from home I loved all the extra holiday spirit!

One tradition that was definitely new for me was Tardbuena. When December 24th roles around all the young (drinking age) people, at least in Santander, celebrate Tardebuena.  Before having dinner and spending the evening with their families, they spend the afternoon drinking at different bars with their friends.  And when I say the afternoon I literally mean from noon to seven bar hopping decked out with noisemakers and santa claus hats.

When I asked my friends about this tradition they said it's something that is a relatively recent addition to their holiday celebrations, maybe five or so years old.  While it may just seem like typical Spain going out and partying, it's more than just getting drunk before your family dinner.  It's about including your friends in your holiday celebration and celebrating being a "family" with them.

I found on my first Tardebuena that it was the perfect way to fit in 'friend-time' during the busy family holiday season.  Unfortunately for us though, and in true Santander fashion, Tardebuena ended in a rain-out as we tried to run to the bus stop without being soaked.  I failed and made the bus looking like a wet dog...

My second Spanish family

After everyone goes home, or is picked up, the real Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) celebrations began.  Finally, with dry hair, I got dressed for the night and we all went to my BF's grandfather's house in a village just outside of Santander.  Unlike most holiday celebrations at home there were not appetizers served while everyone was waiting around for dinner to be cooked, you just have to be patient and wait for food (very un-Spanish!)  This wait is even more noticeable by the fact that dinner was not served until 10:00 pm, an ungodly dinner hour for most Americans.  But absolutely worth all the delicious Spanish foods!

[If you want to learn about some of the traditional Spanish Christmas treats read this post by blogger Cat from Sunshine and Siestas: A Field Guide to Spanish Christmas Treats, I particularly like marzipan and turrón the most.]

A little piece of home!

When we did finally commence eating, our first plates were: langostinos (prawns/large shrimp), pâté, anchovies, cured lomo, salad, and of course piles of bread.  I'm not a huge fan of pâté or anchovies, but I love langostinos and I had a super Spanish lesson on how to peel them with a knife and fork.  I'm proud to say that I was mostly successful!  After the first plates came the meats: cochinillo (suckling pig/piglet) and cordero (lamb).  And finally dinner was followed by New York style Blueberry Cheesecake from the BF's cousin, assorted Christmas cookies I made with the family, and drinking and games until four in the morning...  I kid you not.  Let's just say this grandma started to fall asleep after midnight.

Christmas morning after waking up, not so bright and early, we gathered around the Christmas tree to open our presents from Papa Noel.  Papa Noel is very similar our 'American' Santa Claus and is a relatively new part of the Spanish holiday traditions.  In fact, many of my students and friends still receive most (if not all) of their presents from the Three Wise Men on the Epiphany on January 6th.  Nowadays in the BF's house they give most of the presents on Christmas and only a few on the Epiphany.

Christmas boxer sharing the spoils

Our piles of presents were all sorted and marked by our respective slippers, and like at home, we each took turns opening the gifts.  The BF's family was super sweet and even had some presents for me!  It was really thoughtful because I thought I was only going to have the gifts that I had gotten when my mom put Christmas money in my account for presents.

After the present extravaganza was finished we got ready to head back to their grandfather's house for Christmas day lunch.  We all filled up on more langostino, baked pasta, more meat, and leftover desserts from the night before.  Part of the family's holiday tradition was that after every Christmas day lunch the cousins all go out to the cinema to catch a movie, so while we digested we caught a showing of the second part of The Hobbit.

But even though "Christmas" was technically over, the celebrations were not.

Every year the BF and his friends have a Christmas dinner where they get dressed up, go to a nice restaurant for a special menu, and participate in Secret Santa.  Since this was my first Christmas here it was also my first year to be a part of the festivities.  Luckily I was given a good friend and I surprised her with a hand-knitted hat and jewelry.

This year we had the dinner on the 28th, the holiday of 'Día de los Inocentes,' the Spanish equivalent of April Fool's Day.  Let's just say the waiters' had a lot of fun making jokes when they were serving us...  The food was good, the wine was flowing, and it really meant a lot to feel like a part of the group.  As the 'foreigner' in a group it can be easy to feel left out even if no one means it: someone tells an inside cultural joke that you don't get because you didn't group up there, a song from the 80's comes on and the whole bar starts rocking out without you, etc.  

But my point is, that it's days like that Christmas dinner when you see the effort someone took trying to buy you the perfect present (an assortment of baking supplies, cupcakes for everyone!), that you realize just how much you're loved.  And that's when I realized everything.  

I was home for Christmas.  It just took a while to realize you can have more than one.

How was your Christmas?  Do you have any special holiday traditions?

Día de Acción de Gracias: Thanksgiving Abroad

Thanksgiving.  A huge American tradition where you gather with your family to remember all the things you have to be thankful for, supposedly like the pilgrims of Plymouth hundreds of years ago.

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The problem is though, what happens when you're an American in another country over 3,000 miles away from your family?  Well that's when the big girl pants come on and you pretend like you know how to cook a roast bird in a teeny tiny oven and invite everyone you know over to judge your cooking abilities.  Forget last Thanksgiving where I thought it was a big deal to cook with a fully prepared kitchen and ample seating.  I'm talking about how you find cranberry sauce and make pumpkin pie happen when you can't find the key ingredients?

But I digress.

Barely a week before Thanksgiving I thought: "Hey.  Wouldn't it be a great idea to invite squeeze ten people into our 40 m² apartment some of our friends over to celebrate?"

And it was great, but not always easy.  Especially finding all the traditional Thanksgiving fixings.  I took care of the desserts and meat (and a few random things like green beans and baked brie) which overall wasn't too bad finding most of the foods.  I had some serious difficulty acquiring ingredients for the pumpkin pie and cranberries though.  Luckily Madrid is a huge city and has plenty of American stores and managed to snag the last can of cranberry sauce in the store near my house. (Muahahaha)  And on the subject of the meat... I honestly gave up entirely on a huge roasted turkey and settled for a close-enough roasted chicken and turkey filets (with a delicious vinegar reduction sauce I might add).

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Thankfully it was potluck style so different friends were helping with different foods.  One friend made absolutely delicious squash and mashed potatoes, another supplied appetizers, and the rest supplied the beverages.  As per typical American tradition we had way too much food for all in attendance and all left completely stuffed.  And we even ended the day watching a little bit of good ol' American football.

And even though it was great, it was (for lack of a better word) different.  It was the first time I was away from my family for the holiday, the first time I was in charge of the meat, the first time I independently hosted it, and the first time celebrating in a place where Thanksgiving doesn't exist.  As an American abroad, not only are you missing the family and traditions you grew up with but you realize exactly how foreign you, and your culture, are.

But most importantly celebrating a holiday like Thanksgiving abroad reminds you why it was so special in the first place.  Too often we're so used to how things have always been done that we just go through the motions.  Celebrating, and teaching about, Thanksgiving here reminded me why I love this holiday and why this holiday is so important to us: to celebrate all the things we have to be thankful for.  And living abroad here in Madrid, how can I not be thankful for this experience and for all the great people I've met so far along the way.  An experience like this comes once in a lifetime and I'm truly grateful for everything, the good and the bad, that comes from living in a new country.

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And just to everybody else to be thankful, I'll leave you all with an adorable anecdote of teaching my students about Thanksgiving.  

On the actual day of Thanksgiving I helped teach the children about the history of the holiday and what it means "to be thankful."  In one of my first grade classes they got to thank each other for the nice things they do and many of them also wanted to thank me: "Thank you for loving me, thank you for helping me, and thank you for being in my class." THEN when some of my fourth graders realized that I wouldn't be able to celebrate with my family they told me they were sorry, gave me hugs, and wished me a Happy Thanksgiving anyway. Leave it to a bunch of sweet Spanish students to remind me of the meaning of Thanksgiving.

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving too, whether near or far from your loved ones.  I'm thankful for all of you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is finally the day, Thanksgiving!  It's one of my favorite holidays because A) I love food, B) I love getting together with my family and C) I love watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (like I currently am).  This year it's a big deal for me because I'm cooking half the meal myself.  My aunt is making the turkey, stuffing, and dessert while I'm cooking the appetizers and sides.  I'm really excited, it feels like my first 'adult' Thanksgiving.

But my favorite part of Thanksgiving is taking the time to think about what we are thankful for in our lives.  And this year I have a lot to be thankful for.  In the wake of Hurricane Sandy I am thankful that my home is safe, as well as my friends and family.  I am thankful for the traveling I have been able to do over the past couple of years; it's a dream come true.  I am thankful for my home, my health, having food in the fridge, and having the opportunity to work in the field that I have always dreamed of.  But most of all I am thankful for my loved ones near and far.  I am lucky to have such wonderful people in my life who consistently love and support me in all that I do.  Thank you all for being part of my life.  I am finally in a place where I know everything is going in the right direction.  I am truly happy and it's due in large part to the wonderful people I have surrounding me.

So Happy Thanksgiving everyone; I hope you have a day of great food, great family, and great friends.  And remember to count your blessings everyday! :)

Summertime Adventures July, Part 2

PARIS!!!

For the third week of July we went to Paris with a group of friends so get prepared for the mother of all posts!  We all stayed in this adorable apartment in the Latin Quarter.  From the balcony you could just barely see the Eiffel Tower, we were literally next to the Church of Saint-Séverin (as you can see in the picture on the left), and were about three minutes walking from the Notre Dame.  Amazing!  The very first night we got there we walked around for a while to see a little of Paris at night.

 

On our first full day in Paris we did a lot of walking, no metro for us!  First we saw the d'Orsay Museum, which I personally loved because it has one of the most extensive collections of Impressionist paintings, my favorite style of painting.  After the museum we walked up the seine to see the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, a famous bridge that my boyfriend and his other civil engineering friends studied in class.  It was really cool how you could walk from the lower level to the upper to cross the river.  

After that we had lunch in the Tuileries Gardens and continued on to see the Luxor Obelisk, La Madeleine, the Vendôme Column of Napoleon, the Arc d'Triomphe, and finally the Eiffel Tower!  So much walking in one day! Even though I have studied the art and architecture of Paris in my history classes I was still surprised by everything and how quickly I fell in love with Paris. As for the Eiffel Tower, the line to take the elevator was very long--and more expensive--so we decided to walk up as far as we could; which is about half way before taking the elevator.  After we made it to the top we rested in the park below for a bit before our long walk home.  I'm glad we got the experience walking because you got to see great views of Paris.  We were exhausted but did manage to get some wine and delicious cheese, cheese being of course my absolute favorite food, for dinner!

  

Our second full day in Paris we spent the morning at the Louvre.  It was wonderful because I studied many of the artwork and sculptures in my art history classes so I was almost overly excited to see it in real life, especially the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.  It was all spectacular, though a bit overwhelming fighting all the photo taking tourists to even look at the pieces!  After the Louvre we walked some more around Paris and got to see the Opera before we headed to Les Invalides.  It was once a hospital but is now where the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte is and is also a arms museum.  The tomb of Napoleon was huge!!    My boyfriend and I went back a little earlier than everyone else because like clockwork my hip was hurting again, and we went to a cafe near the Notre Dame to have a snack and some Paris.  If it wasn't such a cliché, I would have felt almost Parisian sitting in a cafe in Paris, let alone with a view of Notre Dame!

The Queen's Chambers

The Hall of Mirrors

The Next Day we were at Versailles, it was just a quick train ride away and was luckily a beautiful day.  Once we got to Versailles we had to wait in a HUGE line, over an hour.  But during this time we at least got to take pictures of the front before we went in.  Once inside it was honestly a little bit of a let down for me, it was so crowded and so many rooms were closed off.  You were funneled through the rooms and because of amount roped off and the amount of people, there was not a lot of time to look at each room because everyone was essentially shoving you through!  Despite this it was very beautiful.  The best part for me though was the gardens, even though you had to pay extra because it was the summer.   And my absolute favorite part of the gardens AND Versailles was the hamlet behind the Petit Trianon that Marie Antoinette had built for herself.  It was beautiful and had a working farm complete with adorable farm animals.  My boyfriend and I visited it just the two of us, so we had some alone time walking around the different buildings and petting the farm animals--well I pet the farm animals while he shook his head at me!  When we finally returned from Versailles we visited the north of Paris to see Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge and have dinner.  

  

 The following Day Adrián and I took our own day trip to Giverny to see Monet's Garden, which is actually the main reason I really wanted to go to Paris!  Ever since I was little I loved Monet's paintings, so much that my Grandma said that for my high school graduation trip she would take me to his famous gardens.  Sadly she passed away  before I graduated and I was not able to take our trip.  This Paris trip was partly planned by our friends so I could go because they knew how important it was to me, it was very sweet.  And it was such an amazing feeling going because it was like I had my grandma with me.  Getting to Giverny is a bit Chaotic though.  You have to take the train in the North of Paris to Vernon

and from Vernon you have to take a bus to Giverny, unfortunately we missed our first train because of the long ticket line.  When we finally got to Giverny we had a picnic with some French cheese I had bought the other day along with a fresh baguette, chocolate, and jamón.  The cheese was absolutely delicious and it was probably one of my favorite meals in France!  Giverny was a tiny little village and was so absolutely beautiful, but for me it was nothing compared to Monet's Garden and the lily pond.  It was a dream come true, I was so happy I was practically in tears!  It was truly one of the most beautiful places I've seen, absolutely breathtaking and quite truthfully a dream come true!  If you're going to Paris I highly suggest this day trip, you won't be sorry.

On our final day literally before leaving we visited the Notre Dame.  In the morning we saw the inside but we had to come back later to climb to the bell towers.  The inside was beautiful; I love the Gothic styles and, thanks again to all my art history classes, I had previously learned about the symbolism in religious art and architecture and was able to explain it to my friends as well--which I proudly overheard a tour guide repeating everything I had just explained, winning!  As for going to the top of the Notre Dame we had to wait in line for about an hour and a half, but the view to me was worth it.  While waiting we got some shopping done and took a quick look at the Pompidou building.  

When we finally walked up more stairs we saw that it was worth the wait.  From the bottom looking up you couldn't see any of the gargoyles but from above you had a perfect view!  It was like a scene from the "Hunchback of Notre Dame."  You got to walk across the building to the famous bell tower from the novel to see the actual bell, then climb all the way to the top of the tower.  The views of Paris were beautiful and we were even able to see our apartment from the top!  After the Notre Dame we bought some sandwiches to eat along the Seine.  I even indulged in an éclair, not cliché right?

When we arrived in Santander it was actually the start of their annual parties celebrating the city called, Semana Grande.  All around the city bars set up 'casetas' or little wooden houses, at these houses you can try different tapas and drinks.  Usually there is a special where one tapa and a beer are 2.5 euros.  They also have some areas where tents are set up for different provinces in Spain.  I loved going to the Asturias one because I love the sidra, since we don't have anything like it at home.  

Also at the same time there is a feria or fun fair going on near the stadium.  It has a bunch of food, rides, and games where you can win prizes.  We went on a couple rides with our friends, tried a special coconut treat--where my boyfriend, not so humorously for him, chipped his tooth--, and he even won me some stuffed animals!  It was really fun and I loved trying the different tapas and foods from different parts of Spain.  

During this week it was one of our friend's birthdays and we decided to have a tapas party to celebrate where each person cooked one dish of tapas to eat for dinner.  My boyfriend and I decided to make American food, and cooked buffalo wings and then pancakes for dessert.  Everything was so delicious, I love Spanish food!