There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs, tomorrow, just you wait and see.

The trip began in London, England- a place I'm not too crazy about... so lets just skip to the white cliffs of dover. The ferry ride from Dover to France was windy, but what makes for a better picture other than Julie's crazy wind-blown hair?

Día de Acción de Gracias

Sorry guys, I didnt realize that I hadnt put this one up. Anyways.... this was Thanksgiving (Madrid style). On the actual night of Thanksgiving, Allie had me over to her apartment where the real action was happening! Turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and of course, stuffing! The Spaniards were fascinated by our American traditions, but later took us out to karaoke and sangria to officially Spanish-ize the day. The following night our program invited us to an "American-style Thanksgiving" dinner at a nice restaurant, and although the food was not nearly as impressive as Aunt Linda's yummy cooking, I was quite amused by my teacher (Fermin de los Reyes) as he insisted in sharing with us his bottle of brandy that he had won from a jeopardy game.

cheers!

our spanish thanksgiving, looks legit...

Fermin de los Reyes. What a name.

may i have this dance?

I've had these pictures for a while, thought I'd put them up.

one, two, step

passionate performance, el palacio real as the backdrop

homeless man hosts friendly company in the park

spreek engels?

"Spreek engels?" a small blond woman asked me, possibly trying to start up a conversation for our 2 hour plane ride to the Netherlands. I looked at her, utterly lost. It sounded like she was trying to speak English, but was handicapped with some sort of alien/robot accent?? This was my first encounter with the dutch tongue, frankly a silly sounding language, yet similar to both English and German. Later I would watch in amazement how this woman, who was no more than 5 feet tall, could successfully finish off six beers, preciously toasting each one to her small Dutch husband seated next to her.

Although I flew into Amsterdam, I stayed with a friend from Davis who is studying for the year in Utrecht, a sweet and humble town similar to Davis in that everyone and their mother owns a bike. It was refreshing to be in this strangely familiar environment, complete with a farmer's market, a killer Kabob stand, and smiling towns people. I also found that Dutch desserts top all with their stroopwafels and ginger marzipan-stuffed golden pastries.

Yet remember, this town is still located in Holland and for this, did not lack an abundance of "coffee shops" nor a bustling Red Light district, both which remain very controversial. It was hard to grasp that these sorts of activities are decriminalized yet it was very believable that the majority of their consumers and clients are tourists.

An awesome tree in the main quad of Amelia's school

A canal in Utrecht, the tallest church stands in the distance

Amelia introduced me the famous stroopwafel, appropriately, it's too waffle cookies bonded together with either caramel or maple syrup


The tallest church of Holland stands in downtown Utrecht


We made it into the Amsterdam for an afternoon and walked past its famed canals and through parks painted with fallen colored leaves. Madrid's autumn scenery lasted a mere week so I was very happy to have caught a glimpse of Holland's autumn. Our greatest find was a bagel shop without a doubt. No, they did not have my favorite holiday seasoned pumpkin flavor, but I thoroughly enjoyed a whole wheat bagel, lightly toasted with a side honey-almond cream cheese.





Serenity. A biker pauses for a moment



Ofcourse, the group shot in front of the canal. Our photographer thought himself to be a funny man as he at first pretended to run away with our camera...

did I mention it was FREEZING? Amelia lent me her silly hat that so nicely attracted everyone's attention. "Are you cold miss? hehe..."

a canal in Amsterdam at night. a possible inspiration for Van Gogh's "Starry Night?" I think so...


The great company of my friends Amelia and Elyssa, the Netherlands' gorgeous countryside scenery, and a reunion with our very dear friend, the bagel, made this trip exceptional. In just a few weeks I will return to Amsterdam to check out the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank's house during my Europe tour over winter break, and I promised myself that I would return to this lovely land again in spring time, in hopes see the country's famed tulip fields!

WHERE'S PHIL? HAVE YOU SEEN PHIL? PHIL?!

For those that don't know, "Holiday in Spain" is a song by the Counting Crows, one of my all time favorite musical groups. It's about leaving your worries behind and all that seems impossible to overcome at that very moment. Its about a new start to new life, hence it's the link to this blog (yes I know it's corny so I'll refrain from further cliches). Anyways, it mentions packing up your bags and heading to Barcelona, something I was just able to do at the first sight of winter's gloom here in Madrid.

Barcelona differs from any other European city I have been to, mostly because parts of it resemble southern California! People are noticeably more laid back, the youth is obedient to surfer culture, and the seafood is unmatchable to any Madrileño attempt of paella. There is space, the city is oriented to the outdoors, and the weather is ultimate. People speaking Catalan threw me off a bit, but no permanent damage was done.

Climbing the play structure at the beach, I don't know how those kids are so brave, I was having some difficulties...

Self-portrait, always the best

Sandy sunny beaches!


Antonio Gaudí is my new obsession. I will be presenting on him for my art history project, so I guess I'll enlighten you guys with a few facts. Fascinated my nature, he incorporated its angles and curves perfectly into his works. His most famous piece, La Sagrada Familia, is obviously inspired by trees and flowers, stamping his architecture with a chilling uniqueness, distinct from any other artist even in his same school of thought. In addition to this one-of-a-kind cathedral, stand many other Gaudí works all over the city, of which all are aesthetically pleasing to their spectators.

La Sagrada Familia, in construction since 1882

Group shot in Park Güell, Gaudí's work that overlooks the entire city its beaches, especially stunning at sunset


Our trip to Barcelona was not managed by any binding schedule. Sagrada Familia and Picasso's Museum were on the list, but other than that, our time would revolve around pure relaxation on the beach along with a side plate of exploration and discovery. We managed to come across live music performances every single night, ranging from a holiday ensemble accompanied by a special seasonal dance, to a reggae festival celebrating Arab-Spanish identity, to an underground jazz hub that served as a harmonica player's sanctuary the night we showed up. We also found ourselves meandering down a gay nude beach, quite the surprise...and I tried roasted chestnuts and scallops for the first time, separately of course.

I didn't know Sydney too well, but we had a fantastic time together!


We found a great outdoors market with the catch of the day, fresh fruit, and of course candy!


Lastly, I'd like to take a quick moment to explain this entry's title. As Allie, Sydney and I were touring through Sagrada Familia, we heard a few English speakers talking amongst themselves. It is still so easy to drown out Spanish and remake it into incomprehensible gibberish, but English now stands out more than ever, as we rarely hear it in Madrid. So these people were unmistakably Americans: Hawaiian shirts, cameras around their necks, a clear cut east-coast elderly accent... At first, it was just a few women and one man, cute, identical to your bubbies. They had a worrisome tone in their voices, concerned about some man by the name of "Phil"... and so the drama begins...

"Doris, have you seen Phil? Where did Phil go?"
"I don't know Sylvia. Roger, have you seen Phil?"
"Phil? No, where'd he go?"
"Phil? Oh no, we lost Phil. I told him to stand right here," said a woman who looked like she could easily be a Gladys.
"Well, Phil isn't here. Who knows where Phil is?"

This all became pretty annoying after a while, and became even more agitating as it lasted all through the entire walk-through of the cathedral...continued into the gift shop... and then outside the gates... Just as we thought we had escaped the "finding Phil" nonsense, the disquieted bunch, now around 15 to 20, made there way across the street to where we were looking at trinkets and gadgets on a street corner.

"Oh gosh, what could've happened? Poor Phil!"
"Phil!" one lady screamed, pointing at someone.

All looked hopeful, but a second later the man replied:

"I'm not Phil..."
"Oh," said the woman, puzzled.

Then, all of the sudden a man's voice said:

"Uh guys, I'm right here..." said Phil (apparently), but in a tone of voice that hinted that maybe he didn't want to be found; this making complete sense, especially after having witnessed how worked up this whole group can get.

I was so relieved, and without thinking I turned around and shouted, "YES! Someone found Phil!" They looked at me confused, but this awkward moment passed as we all started in a slow clap which soon lead into a full on applause upon finally finding Phil. It was a kodak moment for sure and a potentially very clever short film.

Ez Utzi Kaxrkuyt.... Basque? What language is this!?

In the very north of Spain, just bordering France, lies the posh beach town of San Sebastian, or Donostia, in the Basque language. Although located is Pais Vasco, a region of Spain that often demands independence, San Sebastian's friendly environment attracts tourists and stuns them with its charm and winsome scenery. We arrived just in time to catch the last day of the towns 55th film festival. Although I disliked the movie we saw with a passion, it was neat to be a part of the jamboree! San Sebastians wouldn't stop talking about Demi Moore's appearance, but standing in lond lines and peering over people's shoulders didn't appetize us much. Instead, we chose to hike what at first, looked like a random mountain with a statue. However after reaching the top, we learned that it was once a fort, built to fight off ships from the opposing sides and was used during numerous battles. The view from the top, as expected, was incredible, and although it was a bit overcast, one could see for miles into the blue and violet mountains in the distance.

Excited to be in such a beautiful place! Note the Jesus statue in the background.

View from the top of the mountain. Beach, city, then mountains.

A shot creatively taked through sunglasses by Jenna

Leaning against the remains of the fort's wall.

Vast ocean

Trees right on the beach

This message was written in one of the bathroom stalls on top of the mountain. "I miss you. It is difficult to be without you in a place so beautiful." How appropriate.


Having traveled in France for a good amount of time, it was a bit difficult to stop asking for "l'addition s'il vous plaît", however what really threw us completely off was the Basque language. It has no historical link to any other known language, and uses a crazy amount of k's x's and q's, often all in a row!

??? No clue whatsoever...


I have been warned about Europeans' impressions of Americans, loud, obnoxious, and drunk. But I have decided they may be mistaking the English for Americans? We ran into a group of 15 or so English men celebrating a Bachelor's Party and the lucky man wore a pink cowgirl's hat and in both hands, numerous light up toys. Foolish or funny? I'm not sure... but definately entertaining!

What a trip! Before we knew it, we were back in Madrid, out of our American bubble, and living on our own in Madrid.

One last picture of the group! !Adios amigas, nos vemos pronto!

Oh, Mother Nature...

Thanks to a good friend's recommendation (Ezra, ofcourse), we made it out to the small beach town of Arcachon and Dune du Pyla, located just outside.

Arcachon was a needed break from the bustiling city of Paris. Although very humble, it did not lack delicious food (c'mon its FRANCE!). We met an Irish elderly couple at one of the boardwalk restaurants (the man had a stiking resemblance to my grandfather which was strange and fitting as he loved Ireland), and ran into them again at dinner time, taking their strict advice: "only go to a place where there a lots o' people!" It was the best decision ever and we managed to stuff ourselves with what I can only classify as "the meal of a lifetime." Really, nothing beats French desserts. After we rolled ourselves out of the restaurant, we stumbled upon a very strange casino, oddly located in town. I gambled for the first time, putting in five euros I spent two, and with no luck, gave the other three to my friends. Ofcourse Jenna won 20 euros off my one! Nicely, she gave me back five, so I'm glad to say that my first time gambling, I broke even! :) Arcachon was originally supposed to be the destination for the perfect beach vacation with the purpose to be bronzed and tanned, however Mother Nature was not on our side...

A damned beach vacation... (we tried to make it seem miserable as possible)



since there was no sun, we made sure to entertain ourselves, taking corny pictures, but we thought this red bench was especially cute



"the band picture" (don't you just love cameras with timers? that way, you avoid asking strangers to take embarrassing pictures)



... and we had a ninja photoshoot...



exploring my zoom feature



father and daughter sand castle building



The largest sand dune in all of Europe truly has something to boast about as the view was absolutely breath taking and well worth the steep climb. From the top, both a forest and ocean could be seen, the best of both worlds! I guess Mother Nature didn't want to dissapoint us! These pictures in no way can represent this place's true beauty, but I hope that you get the gist!

it's hard to tell, but this is my friend Allie and I sitting on top of the dune, looking out onto a forest that seemed to stretch for miles



the immediate and highly rewarding view just after the steep climb





treking along the dunes, what a handy walking stick!