"Si...I mean oui...I mean...whatever"

Paris.

It's one of those places that you dream about going since you see a picture of the Eiffel Tower, hear that it's the most romantic city in the world, or, for some of us really special ones, watch Mary-Kate and Ashley's Passport to Paris for the first time.

When you get there, it can be magical.  But also...it's a real place.

Now I hate to buy into stereotypes, but the whole thing about Parisian people not being the nicest, especially to American tourists, is kinda true.  Our trip got off to a bit of a rocky start.  The first mishaps was nobody's fault but my own-I arrived at the airport only to realize I forgot my passport.  Two hasty cab rides and one new cab driver friend/hero later, I made my flight.  First hurdle conquered.  Then we got there.  I was traveling with my friends Emily and Olivia who you are likely well acquainted with by now if you've been stalking my pictures.  Emily had a skype interview set up that night which we thought she would be able to do at the hotel.  Apparently, transport from the airport took a little longer than we thought so we hopped off the metro and ran to the first place we could find with WiFi.  Low and behold, a McDonalds.  We're so French.  After fighting with WiFi and some diet cokes, we got back on the metro.  Sounds simple right?  HUGE mistake.  We used the tickets which we had bought at the airport which let all three of us through the machine.  A French security guard then proceeded to stop us to check our tickets and surprise surprise, they were the wrong ones.  It's strange that they let us through, but the whole her barely speaking English and us not speaking any French and her yelling at us at French and seemingly growing angrier when we tried Spanish and us desperately trying to explain that no, we did not break into the metro with all of our luggage while a metro employee was sitting there watching and her calling the police.....eventually led to us paying a 40 euro fine.  For doing nothing wrong.  Welcome to Paris.

But seriously, after that night, the whole trip turned around.  We headed out in perfect weather to our first big tourist destination--the Louvre.  It was huge and grand and surprisingly not overcrowded.  We of course saw the Mona Lisa and a variety of other paintings that I recognized from my intro to art history class from freshman year (listen to your mom when she tells you to take those things.  I did).  We also had Olivia as our very own art history master to inform us on some backstory.  Besides the classic Renaissance art, we also checked out the Ancient Egyptian art and got to see the first written law in history.  Super cool.  After the Louvre, we walked across the romantic lock bridge and down the river to Notre Dame.  No hunchback, but beautiful stained glass windows.  There was a choir singing and people taking communion (I think) which made picture taking a little awkward.  I can't imagine someone photographing me praying in my synagogue.  But then again, my synagogue looks nothing like Notre Dame.  We then proceeded to head back to the hotel to "get cute" and scurried off to the Eiffel Tower.  Now, I know we all like to think we're not cliche, but the Eiffel Tower lit up at night was truly like a dream.  We climbed to the top and overlooked the gorgeous city.  We then bought some grapes and wine and cheese and picnicked in perfect view of the tower. All the frustration of the night before melted away as Paris won our hearts.  3 more suckers pulled into the magic.

The next day, our first stop was, wait for it, a gluten free bakery.  Basically I have awesome friends who are willing to take time out of their trip so I can eat gluten free French eclairs and cream puffs.  It was such a delicious, friendly, happy place.  Totally didn't miss out on any French cuisine!  Then, we headed to Musee D'Orsay, an impressionism museum which I absolutely loved.  I've actually been an impressionism fan since Kindergarten thanks to a fabulous art teacher at STS.  We saw Monet and Degas and Manet and Van Gogh a Gauguin.  I know the Louvre is a thing, but I preferred this.  Next up, some walking through the city in the fashion district, along Champ Eleseey to the Arc de Triumphe.  The heart of Parisian shopping before our eyes.  The Arc de Triumphe and pretty much anything relating to any sort of French Revolution that I saw promptly began a chorus of "Do You Hear the People Sing" in my head.

That night, we dined outside at a French cafe.  I almost don't want to admit this, but I feel the world must know that I tried escargot...and it was kinda good.  But then I think about it and I'm slightly appalled at myself.  The restaurant was fun and was followed up by a swanky bar where we met some cool French guys who were actually really great to talk to.  And spoke English.  So basically major winners.  Yay for international friends!

On Sunday, we took a small day trip to Versailles.  This place is something to see.  Gold everywhere, breathtaking rooms, the infamous hall of mirrors, and a garden full of daffodils that may be one of my favorite places in the world.  The long lines and train ride out there were totally worth it.  The town was really cute too.  Kinda felt like a mini Paris right outside the city.  When we got back to Paris, we made a quick stop at San Chapel, a church with wall to wall stained glass windows, before Olivia flew back to Madrid.  That night, Emily and I went to a fabulous 300-person restaurant called Chartier with no English menu and a super friendly waiter who explained everything to us.  It was reasonably priced and beyond delicious.  I loved that there were a lot of actual French people in there as opposed to just tourists.  I highly recommend it for when you go to Paris.  It was a perfect ending to what turned out to be a fantastic trip.

And now, I'm sitting in a hostel in Barcelona at the beginning of my Spring Break aka Semana Santa. Not feeling 100%, so I've decided to take it easy tonight.  I have a long and exciting week ahead of me.  Then it's just 2 more weeks of class, my parents visit, 1 week of finals, and May travels.  I can't believe how fast it has gone and yet, I know I'm going to be ready to come home to my friends and family.  Amargo-dulce~bittersweet.

I suppose for now, we'll always have Paris.

The (other) Festival of Lights

I went to this festival.  It's called Las Fallas.  It was awesome (and I mean that in the true sense of the word).

Imagine spending the entire year working on a huge piece of art full of color and well thought out themes and social commentary, building it to be the height of a small building, putting it out on display, winning a prize for it, and then...lighting it on fire.

That's right.  During Las Fallas, people build these incredible structures that cost tons of money only to light them on fire throughout the city, alongside incredible light shows, professional fireworks, and some not-so-professional fireworks.  The booming pops created the sense that we were in a war zone, but filled with joy.  Can you picture it?  It's a hard one, I know.

Las Fallas takes place in a Southern city on the coast of Spain called Valencia.  The festival lasts for a while and includes street food, vendors, minor explosives, and of course, the works of art which are called Las Fallas.  On the last day of the festival, the fallas are burned--and the whole country takes the day off.  It also happens to take place on the Spanish Father's Day, which is "St. Joseph's Day" according to the Catholic Church.  I do not know if the two events are related.

Honestly, I'm still not really sure what the point of Las Fallas is.  It was, however, one of the most fun and crazy things I've done here.  My friends and I wandered around the city finding fallas along the way, eventually ending up at the city center where the biggest, grandest, most awarded fallas stood.  The one to the left was called Paris.  Each falla had various scenes going on all around its three-dimensional self.  It was truly a sight to see.  It felt almost sad to burn them, but also undeniably exhilarating--and I didn't even have a part in building them.  I didn't even know what they were going to look like.  Let's just say that I was probably one of the least directly connected, in-the-know people there and yet the whole spectacle wrapped me in its embrace, enchanting me with parades and music and colors and lights and streets where 5 year old children played with fire.  A little dangerous, a lot never gonna happen in the U.S.  It belongs in Spain.

Watching the huge fire, which was preempted by our favorite songs (Ay se tu pego and Waka Waka) and accompanied by Spanish Opera, was insane.  The firefighters presence was certainly comforting and certainly necessary.  After all the burning was complete, the city looked like a wasteland.  The leftover flames fighting for their last breaths, the smiling people covered in ash, and the tired tourists boarding the busses back to Madrid at 3 AM.

Las Fallas was an adventure.  It was an event in every sense of the word.  It was exactly what I needed to get me out of the mid-semester slump I had been in that weekend.

The memory will be burned in my mind forever.

Hey cool, I'm spontaneous

Trip planning is stressful.
I know, I know, I get to travel through Europe for 5 months.  My life is so hard.
Really though, booking flights, finding hostels with the most conflicting reviews ever, and making sight seeing plans can get overwhelming.

You wanna know what's less overwhelming?
Packing a bag, including both a sweater and a swimsuit, showing up at the train station, and picking a place on the departure list.

And that is exactly what I did.

Some tips about spontaneous traveling:
-Be prepared for any type of weather
-Pack light
-Go straight to the tourist office when you arrive at your destination
-Do not arrive after the tourist office is closed

Here's why:

We decided on Sevilla based on the raving reviews of the city from some people I know who studied abroad there and the advice of some people at the train station.  After about 2 1/2 hours on the train, we stepped off the train into the Sevilla sunshine and found the tourist office.  Best decision ever.  She booked us a hostel, circled top locations on the map, and told us which bus to take.  We ended up in the hostel next door somehow, but it worked out well.  It was the afternoon by then, so we just walked around and explored.  There's no metro in Sevilla, but the city is completely accessible on foot.  We passed several big tourist spots that were closed, and made a note to go back the next day.  The main thing that struck me about the city though was certainly its beauty--the more I saw, the more beautiful it became.  My pictures do not do it justice by any means.
That night, we had a delicious tapas dinner (I know you're shocked) and found a rooftop bar at a hotel looking over the lit up Cathedral in the center of the city.  Hello dreamworld.  Then we met up with my friend from Cal (and New Jew and Kadima), Simone, who is studying abroad in Sevilla for the semester.  She took us around to some fun student spots and gave us a middle of the night, impressively thorough tour of the Jewish quarter; I would expect nothing less.  It continues to amaze me how few Jews there can be in a country with so much Jewish history.  After a long day, we headed back to the hostel to rest up for another.

Sevilla day 2 was some of the most efficient and best sight seeing I've ever experienced.  We crossed the river (is it dumb that I didn't know Sevilla had a river?) and watched some crew teams for a bit.  Then we headed over to Plaza España---literally one of the most breathtakingly gorgeous places I've ever seen.  The tile, the park, the fountain, the river.  I couldn't get enough.  We had to tear ourselves away from the beauty to go to the next stop.  We quickly grabbed a starbucks drink (yes, they're global) and encountered a huge rally/strike/manifestación.  There have been Spain-wide demonstrations going on to protest the economic situation.  I've been learning a bit about their political system and it's interesting because by American standards, the "right wing" party, which is considered center-right here, is pretty center left and the "left wing party" is socialist but really just left with a welfare state.  I feel like there shouldn't be that much to fight about.  Nevertheless, the economy is bad and the unemployment rate is high.  Moral of the story, occupy everywhere.
Ok back to sight seeing.  we made our way through the crowd to the Alcazar, an Islamic and Gothic style palace that dates back to the Middle Ages.  To go with the Sevilla theme, it was beautiful.  It was so amazing that you can still see the teals and reds on the walls.  The place felt endless, filled with rooms and gardens, and a beautiful location to sit an eat lunch in.  We decided the people who work there probably never tire of the beauty.
Last big stop of the day was the Cathedral, the third largest in the World.  I really hate to admit this, but as spectacular as this place is, all Cathedrals are starting to mesh together in my head.  There was a style (namely, Jesus) and people stuck to it.  Of course, it was great though.  The best and most unique part of this one was the tower.  After climbing up 36 (odd?) floors, we arrived at the top and were greeted by an absolutely fantastic (running out of synonyms for beautiful) view of the city.  A lit bit of souvenir shopping, and an "hasta luego" took us back to the train station.

To Madrid?  Hmm...we could go to Madrid.  Or we could go to the beach in Malaga.  Hmm...

Yup, Malaga won.  It was worth it for several reasons:

1. I am declaring here and now Malaga has some of the nicest people in the world.  We arrived after the tourist office closed (again, I advise against it) with no clue where to go.  Oops.  Luckily, a woman in a shop was soooo helpful.  She literally took 20+ minutes to tell us where to go and what to see.  As if that wasn't enough, she told us to call the store if we need anything.  I swear, if we had called crying she would've invited us to her home.  Once in the center of the city, we had some trouble finding a hostel.  Malaga's police force to the rescue.  We asked two officers for help, which quickly turned into 4 on their phones looking up places and giving us directions.  There must be no crime in Malaga.  After 2 hours, we ended up in a hotel with the best receptionist ever.  The next day, the bus driver gave us a thumbs up when it was our stop to go to the beach.
2. We got to lay on the beach in beautiful weather.  Need I say more?
3. Some some Picasso artwork in the birthplace of Picasso.
(4. I could understand the Spanish movie on the train, which really is just a personal accomplishment thing)

Overall, the spontaneous weekend trip was a raving success.  Do this at least once in your life.  I just might do it again.

Also: http://www.globaljewishvoice.com/author/rebeccapowell/

That one time I forgot to blog

I would like to publicly apologize to the blog world for falling so behind on my blog.  This apology is really only applicable if anyone actually cares.  I think some people do, but is admitting that narcissistic?  So many big questions to ponder.

Ok, well, back to my life in Spain.  Two weekends ago I went to a Carnaval celebration in Cádiz, which is in southern Spain.  I went with an organization called European Vibe which organizes trips and parties for (mostly American) students studying abroad.  It had its plusses and minuses, but it was definitely nice to not have to plan much on my own.  After a slightly excruciating 8 hour bus ride, my friends Emily and Olivia and I, along with about 250 other college kids, arrived at our hotel.  There was a party at a local bar organized by the trip that night which was fun but not all that exciting.

The next day we literally soaked in the beautiful weather that Madrid had been depriving us of and laid out in bathing suits in the sun.  After a day of lounging, we dedicated some time to getting our costumes ready.  Everybody in Cádiz dresses up for Carnaval and it seems like the crazier the better, as you can see from some photos.   We reboarded the bus (ugh) to head to the center of Cádiz, where we found a city square that resembled the biggest Purim carnival or Halloween party ever.  It was super fun to hang out and meet people in the city square, but honestly, we were kinda confused about the lack of music or the lack of an event.  We walked around the area a bit, saw the beach, and met some new Cádiz friends, both Spanish and American.  Apparently there was a parade in the middle of the night but the busses had already taken us back to the hotel.  Should've done a little more research, but overall, I had a super fun night.  Unfortunately, it took another 8 hours to get back to Madrid.  Really think that we should learn how to aparate to places.

I spent all of last week and this past weekend in Madrid for the first time all month!  It was really nice to stay in one, relatively familiar place.  In the middle of the week a bunch of us went out to Ethiopian food to celebrate a friend's birthday.  Ethiopian food is one of my new favorite types of food after truly discovering it in all its glory through my ethnic dinner club back in Berkeley.  Madrid's version was good, but couldn't really compete with Berkeley.  But then again, not much food can.

We went out on Thursday night to some really cute and fun places to keep the celebrations going.  Getting to sleep in on Friday was pretty glorious, since I hadn't gotten to do that for the past 3 weeks.  Friday night I went back to Chabad with my friend Jessie.  I saw some of the same people from last time and met some really great new people.  I definitely think I'll keep going whenever I'm in Madrid on a Friday night.  It's a really nice community and a great sense of familiarity.  From there I went to the airport not to travel but to pick up my friend Caitlin who came to visit me from Milan!  It was pretty late so we headed back to my place to rest up for a long day of walking ahead.

On Saturday, we walked through El Parque Retiro (a big Central Park type place), around Sol and Gran Via (big shopping centers) and to El Palacio Real (the royal palace).  We stopped to watch a lot of the street performers including a Mariachi band and a man on a unicycle.  There was one particular guy who we saw dancing in front of two different music groups.  He was certainly in his own world.  It was exceedingly amusing.  Overall, a super fun day of exploring and picture taking.  That night, we went to a tapas place and then to a big night club called Kapital.  It was a fun experience, but definitely a bit too crowded and overwhelming for my taste.  7 stories, tons of people, and long lines.  But fun dance floors and a karaoke room, so I was happy.  Stayed out until 6 AM which isn't so weird here.  I still think it's weird.

On Sunday, we pretty much spent the day recovering.  We went with my friend Jessie to a famous tapas bar at night called El Tigre which has ridiculously huge portions for not so many euros.  It's in an area called Chueca which is super cute and is the gay neighborhood of Madrid.  Definitely a fun night spot.  Then, on Monday, I went to school and sent Caitlin off on her own to explore.  Overall, it was a really fun weekend with a best friend. :)

And now, I have to do school stuff.  I know my friends at home are going through midterm hell right now but I must say that the lack of intellectually stimulating coursework here certainly makes me appreciate Berkeley.