Opera, awkward Australians, and Harry Potter

Verona was nice. Dave and I did get to see an opera from the festival, which are performed in a humongous amphitheater. It was nice, but it was Verdi (Aida), who isnt mz favorite to begin with, and I found the production... rather trashy. It was definitely a tourist attraction.

After Verona, Dave and I spent our last three days together getting lost in the muggy heat of Venice. Unfortunately, no non-platonic activities took place... ever. Im sure he was aware of my lust (for lack of a more fitting word) for him, but I think he chose to let it pass by. Oh well. We said our goodbyes and parted wazs last night, he on a night train to Paris, and I on one to Vienna.

When I disembarked, I immediately sought out a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It would be a lie to say I didnt feel a little pang of emotion knowing it had already been available in Europe for over 9 hours and I hadnt even started on it. I procured a room in the hostel closest to the train station and began. 12 hours later, here I am, finished. It was quite enjoyable.

Been to and going

So I've been with Dave ever since we met up in Rome. After a few days there (including a day trip to Pompei) we shuffled on up to Florence for a few nights. It was amazing. Our Ceiling had a 16th century fresco painted on it (I mean... the ceiling of our room, not the hotel). Apart from that, Michaelangelo's David was intense. Everyone said it would be, but you can't understand until you've seen it. I captured a few illegal shots before we took off. Also, the gelato in Florence can't be beat. We were told by some locals where the best gelato was, and they were right. The day we left, we went there 3 times for breakfast (I'm on holiday, no judgind alowed).

We went through Pisa and spent the night in Lucca, hometown of my friend, Giaccomo Puccini. Since then, we've been in the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, which is too beautiful for words. It's five really small towns, and even though Dave and I have a platonic relationship, I think we've caused waves with the locals (they always chat and stare when we walk around, only augmented by the fact that our mini-apartment is on the central square). Last night we splurged for a four-course dinner in the nicest restaurant they have, and three older American ladies just could not stop staring at us. In retaliation we decided to hold hands and make googley eyes at each other, so as to watch them squirm. We ran into them again today on the hiking paths between cities, and it was pretty funny.

We leave tomorrow for Verona, where hopefully we'll get to catch an opera. Then it's on to Venice (where I'll be when Harry Potter comes out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), at which point we part ways. It's okay, though, because he's going to come visit KY for a vegan week sometime in the future, and I'm going to start writing Harlequin novels to finance a shopping adventure to southeast Asia, where he will accompany me (he's... got money).

Much love,
Scott

A change in plan

So I had an absolutely wonderful time in Munich. I saw several operas and went to some really interesting art galleries, and got an autograph from my beloved Edita Gruberova (and learned how to actually pronounce her name!!).

I went into Innsbruck, Austria on Friday, and hated it. There wasn't much to do at the time (hiking and skiing trips leave at 8 every morning only) and I was feeling really homesick and lonely. I decided to take a major shift in my plans and take a night train down to Rome, which is where I currently am.

Yesterday was fun, and today was been great. I've been palling around with an Australian fellow named Dave, who has been a lot of fun. Tomorrow I'm going on a day trip to Naples and Pompeii, and then Tuesday I'll finish off Rome with a trip to the Vatican and St. Peter's. Next stop (in theory) is Siena, a quiet village south of Florence.

Germany, here I am. Yesterday was rough. My plane was delayed two hours and I never got to the small town I intended to... but it turned out okay. I got into Munich about an hour ago, and I'm going to hang out here until Friday.

I'm aware I haven't written for several weeks. There have been many reasons, all of which are boring and beside the point now. I have many things to talk about, but internet time abroad isn't free, and there are always things that one would rather do. I'm afraid the majority of my updates until I get homw will mainly be little blurbs like this. If you have specific questions, e-mail me, because it's always nice to log into the internet and find a full mailbox with letters from friends.

Con amor,
Scott

Corpus Christi Parade

This week is Corpus Christi, meaning after 12:00 today all classes are cancelled for the rest of the week! After I got out of my morning class, I got a chance to run down the street and catch today's parade. I just wanted to share a few pictures:



The dragon that greeted onlookers first after the mini-band.

A man on stilts. At first he had white face paint, but it's hot in Granada.
A fancy woman riding the back of a dragon?

An asian man pulling a cart... The view I wish I had.
While I didn't understand what all things things added up to, it was still an enjoyable time. There where many other things that I either didn't get a picture of, or haven't put up yet, like large statues of religious figures I didn't recognize and people with giant heads who hit the people standing closest to the parade with balloons. All in all, it was pretty short, but fun.

10 days in Granada

The past ten days have felt like twelve weeks. Not saying it's been bad, but experiences come so thick. Here is a picture of my room in Granada:



The city really is beautiful. It is compact, so I can easily walk accross the city in under twenty minutes. I live in the more modern section. About ten minutes down the road is the beautful Alhambra. I haven't gotten to visit it yet, but the plaza that lies below is my favorite part of the city. There are so many cafes with live music all the time, and the winding streets nearby remind you of a small italian village, only with lots of hookah bars.



This weekend, we took an excursion to the beach of San Jose. I'm not really a fan of the beach, so on Saturday when all of my friends were planning on laying out, I intended to rent a bike and explore the coast. Bad "spaghetti con atún" however, kept my in my room after a not so enjoyable night. I felt good after several hours of sleep, and skill went "de marcha" with my some of my friends.



On the way back, we stopped in a small village and thanks to our exceedingly friendly program directors, who seem to know just about everyone in Spain, we got to see a cool privately owned castle about 80 kilometers outside of the city.



The castle had a cool dungeon, and when I took a picture... about a hundred orbs showed up. Creepy.



Tomorrow I should hopefully start classes. After my placement exam on Friday I was put in the superior A class, however the teacher who administered the test somehow forgot to turn them into the university, and we have to meet tomorrow at 8:30 to hopefully find out our schedules...

I think I'm going to completely change my look this summer. I might go back on it once I return to Lexington (or I'll at least tone it down a bit) but I've started excersizing here in Granada and I hope to finally lose the last of my weight that I want to, and then I'm going to get a mohawk and an eyebrow ring. Crazy, yes, but it should be fun! I might actually go ahead and get the eyebrow ring now, because I'm a little excited about it. As for the hawk, I think I'm going to have to wait until just before I leave Granada, because I got a cool volunteering job at the Granada International Music Festival where I'll usher for expensive concerts and then get to watch them. Hooray! I'm not sure what they would think about me with a big mohawk, especially considering the pictures I submitted to them have my long luscious locks.

Until later, friends.
Scott

Madrid sights

Well, the first full day we were in Madrid, we first visited the Prado museum, home to many works of many Spanish and other international artists.

It was amazing. Our tour guide reminded me so much of Carolina (from the library), and I wanted to take a picture of her, but we couldn't use our cameras.

Next we went to the Royal Palace, and wow. I couldn't believe how intricate everything inside was. Once again, we couldn't take pictures, until we were outside by the gardens...

The last place we visited while in Madrid was El Escorial, built in the 16th century by King Phillip II as a final resting place for his parents, and where almost all the kings since are also buried. The building itself occupies 9 acres with 11 miles of hallways. Our two hour tour took us through about 3% of the whole thing. It is still a working monestary, school, and public library. It was definitely my favorite part of my trip so far.

View of the side of the building and gardens from the Queen's Room

I have plenty more pictures of everything, but each one takes about 5 minutes to upload, so unless I figure out another option, everyone will have to wait for the bulk until I get home. :(

My first night in Granada

So after a nice tour of Toledo (south of Madrid) and a four hour bus ride, we arrived in Granada where our host families came to pick us up. I was really freaking nervous, because I hadn't told API I was a vegetarian when they asked because I wanted to have some authentic Spanish cuisine, however when Antonio (our program director) was telling us about food in Granada it not only didn't sound appealing to me, it sounded like I was going to starve. They eat all the animal... which leads to the quintesensial dish of Granada being a tortilla (which actually means omlet) with cow brains and pig testicles. No joke.

Well, when my madre picked me up, she was about the cutest and nicest old lady ever. Not only that but she had brought along a girl named Bianca, who stayed with her over the Spring semester through API and doesn't leave until Wednesday. As we were walking back, she said to me, "¿Eres vegetariano, no?" Apparently, I had told them I was a vegetarian! She asked if I really didn't eat any meat, and I told her I wanted to eat some to try Spanish dishes but that I wasn't big on it. She asked if I would want a little chicken or fish from time to time to try what they eat. This woman understands me.

Her apartment was wonderful. I have a nice, big, bright room at the front of the house so that when I come home stupidly drunk and 4 in the morning I don't wake anyone up. I took pictures of the apartment which I will share when I actually have my camera, cord, and an ordinator (computer) all at the same time.

After dinner (veggie pizza with goat cheese, yummmm), Bianca took me out to a tapas bar to meet her Spanish friends and fuck-buddie. We had a beer there and then moved to a cheap discoteca, which was so much fun. Spaniards are just great. They made me feel very welcome, and seemed pleasantly surprised that I could communicate in Spanish well, so we all talked a lot. I got pretty drunk and chain smoked... everyone does and it was fun. Then I came home and crashed. I don't think I could have hoped for a more enjoyable first night in Granada.

The Whirlwind Entry

Okay, so I don't have a lot of time on the computer right now, so this will have to be brief until I get into Granada and have free internet, but here it goes:



-London was super expensive. I didn't get to experience a whole lot of the city both due to financial constraints and the ever present jet-lag. I did, however meet a boy who was 5'6" with dark brown curly hair, striped collared shirts, brown shoes with tan stripes, and was a music major. What was his name you ask? Scott. Weird. No, we didn't make out... unfortunately.

-Note to self: Don't do drinking in Madrid with any American who might be annoying when drunk and proclaim loudly that we are a groups of Americans right after being rude to the natives... bad plan.

-I've become the translator by default for the other students in Madrid. I went out to eat with a large group today and ended up being the liasion between us and the waitress. Flattering, but it really gets old. I'm definitely ready to be among the Spaniards exclusively though. Tomorrow we move into Granada and I meet my host family.

That's all for now, I promise I will splurge more when time allows.

Con amor,
Scott

London Arrival

I have left the U.S. behind. After an 8 1/2 hour flight from Atlanta, I entered the London Gatwick arirport at 7:15 British standard time. The jet-lag is horrible, as I had imagined, but I have still been able to keep a sharp enough mind to navigate the London underground, find my hostel, and even learn how to call the U.S. from a London payphone! No pictures as of yet. I'm not sure how I can upload them at these sketchy internet cafes, and I don't have the mental energy to figure it out at the moment.

Today is kind of open for me! I don't have any preconceived plan about what I should do, although I think I'll have to take a nap once I officially check into my hostel. I looked into seeing an opera at Covent Gardens, and I might be able to catch one tomorrow, which would be fun.

One thing to note: there have been so many devestatingly gorgeous men around ever since the Atlanta airport. My hostel is simply swarming with them, and I don't really know what to make of it. With so many, my chances of getting lucky have to increase, no?

Exposition

My journey has begun. Leaving Lexington last night was much more difficult than I had planned. I expected to walk away from my life here without a second thought, since I will be returning in less than three months, however after saying goodbye to several friends and driving home, I realized that never before had I been away from my hometown for such a long time, and I felt unsettled. Regardless, I packed up the last of my belongings, had individual goodbye time with each of my roommates' dogs, and set off for my sister's house.

An evening with Owen and three hours of sleep later, I drove with my grandmother the home of my mother in Cordele, GA. Luckily, I had six CDs of dramatic sopranos to keep me conscious enough to manage driving. I have entertained myself the past several hours with my new digital camera (pictures to follow soon, I promise), railpass information, and my Spanish cell phone, but now the time for sleep has definitely come. ¡Buenas noches!

My grandmother, me, my mom, and my step-dad. Please note that members of my family do not age normally; my grandmother turned 70 last week and my mom is almost 49.

Preparations

Okay, so I spent quite a bit of money this morning...

First, a second class 1 month consecutive eurail pass. With insurance and shipping, $720
Next, a Fujifilm V10 Digital Camera with a 1gb memory card, $150
Finally, a Rick Steves' Navy Blue travel bag, $100

I'm leaving Lexington in 10 days. On May 11th I'm going with my grandmother to my mother's house in Georgia, and I fly out of Atlanta on May 19th for London. I'll connect to Madrid after Englanding a couple days and start the program!! It's so close!

Got the call today

GUESS WHAT.

I got accepted into the program I applied for. Yipee! It's official, I'm going to Spain this summer!

Preparations

My purpose for this blog is to record events leading up to and during my upcoming trip to Europe. I plan to study for 6 weeks in a Spanish city, followed by a month of solo backpacking through several other countries. Cliche, I know, and especially to have a blog about it, but this is more for my own personal record than for anyone else.

As of now, I plan on studying with Academic Programs International at the University of Granada. I'll be taking Spanish Language, Spanish Geography, and History of Spanish Art. I then plan to use a 10-day over 2-month flexipass to visit Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Vienna, Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Athens in that order.

I'm super excited! AHHH!!