Friday, July 29, 2011
Small, Small World
I can not believe we ran into a College of Charleston student and friend of Clare's while at the Ciudad de los Artes y Ciencias!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Hey Ya'll
I'm finally getting the time to update ze blog.
We have been busy little bees since arriving in Valencia. Lots of walking, eating, drinking, and siesta-ing.
Valencia es beautiful. The architecture is unlike anything I've ever seen before. The weather is perfect, with an average temperature around 85 degrees.
And the food? To die for.
Last night we ate paella (which is the signature dish of Valencia) with Sangria, it was fantastic. I've also eaten an insane amount of bocadillos (sandwiches). My favorite is the the plain cheese sandwich- delicious bread with manchengo cheese. Manchengo cheese is made from sheep milk. It's bomb.
I've also had a few firsts here in Valencia.
I had my first coffee with real sugar, not splenda or sweet and low. Real sugar. I'll never go back to the substitutes. No way.
I had gelato for the first time, too. Holy my goodness. Move over, frozen yogurt, there's a new addiction in town. Banana split gelato with caramel and chocolate sauces and chocolate chips. Heaven in my mouth.
Ok, so what I have been doing these past few days:
I arrived Monday afternoon. We immediately met one of our bosses, José, for a walking tour of the city. Then we followed him to a local pub where we met other interns who instantly became our new friends. We spent hours talking, drinking, and singing karaoke. We then went out to the club district and experienced a discoteca.
Tuesday- Siesta. Pretty much all day. (Siesta= a small nap taken in the afternoon, usually after a large meal).
Wednesday- My first day at the language school. Clare and I got royally lost and arrived around 45 mins late. Oops. But the school is in a really cool house and the teachers are all young and fun. After a little siesta time, I took some time getting lost in our new neighborhood while drinking a cappuccino. Around 7pm the four CofC interns (Clare, Seth, Wes, and myself) headed back to the language school for sangria and a class karaoke battle. We then headed to the Plaza de la Virgens for dinner with Mike, our program coordinator. More sangria was consumed. Then we spent the evening in the plaza, hanging out and drinking beers. The Spanish have a word for that: botellón, which means "street drinking."
Thursday, today, we walked around as a group and consumed the sights. We went to the Mercado Central, the big food market, then to the Catedral de Valencia where we climbed the thousands of stairs to the bell tower. The view was breathtaking. Clare and I then parted from the rest and headed to la Ciudad de los Artés y Ciencias. Holy my goodness, it was as if we entered an alternative universe. The architecture was mind-blowing. Check out the photos I've just posted on Facebook to get a better look. Words can not describe what my eyes just saw.
Now is time to shower, then a little siesta before off to an intercambio. The intercambio is at the little irish pub I spoke of before, and we're meeting up with some native Spaniards to practice our Spanish and their English over a few local brews.
Check out the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2132444024324.2124868.1042710041&l=778d78545c&type=1
We have been busy little bees since arriving in Valencia. Lots of walking, eating, drinking, and siesta-ing.
Valencia es beautiful. The architecture is unlike anything I've ever seen before. The weather is perfect, with an average temperature around 85 degrees.
And the food? To die for.
Last night we ate paella (which is the signature dish of Valencia) with Sangria, it was fantastic. I've also eaten an insane amount of bocadillos (sandwiches). My favorite is the the plain cheese sandwich- delicious bread with manchengo cheese. Manchengo cheese is made from sheep milk. It's bomb.
I've also had a few firsts here in Valencia.
I had my first coffee with real sugar, not splenda or sweet and low. Real sugar. I'll never go back to the substitutes. No way.
I had gelato for the first time, too. Holy my goodness. Move over, frozen yogurt, there's a new addiction in town. Banana split gelato with caramel and chocolate sauces and chocolate chips. Heaven in my mouth.
Ok, so what I have been doing these past few days:
I arrived Monday afternoon. We immediately met one of our bosses, José, for a walking tour of the city. Then we followed him to a local pub where we met other interns who instantly became our new friends. We spent hours talking, drinking, and singing karaoke. We then went out to the club district and experienced a discoteca.
Tuesday- Siesta. Pretty much all day. (Siesta= a small nap taken in the afternoon, usually after a large meal).
Wednesday- My first day at the language school. Clare and I got royally lost and arrived around 45 mins late. Oops. But the school is in a really cool house and the teachers are all young and fun. After a little siesta time, I took some time getting lost in our new neighborhood while drinking a cappuccino. Around 7pm the four CofC interns (Clare, Seth, Wes, and myself) headed back to the language school for sangria and a class karaoke battle. We then headed to the Plaza de la Virgens for dinner with Mike, our program coordinator. More sangria was consumed. Then we spent the evening in the plaza, hanging out and drinking beers. The Spanish have a word for that: botellón, which means "street drinking."
Thursday, today, we walked around as a group and consumed the sights. We went to the Mercado Central, the big food market, then to the Catedral de Valencia where we climbed the thousands of stairs to the bell tower. The view was breathtaking. Clare and I then parted from the rest and headed to la Ciudad de los Artés y Ciencias. Holy my goodness, it was as if we entered an alternative universe. The architecture was mind-blowing. Check out the photos I've just posted on Facebook to get a better look. Words can not describe what my eyes just saw.
Now is time to shower, then a little siesta before off to an intercambio. The intercambio is at the little irish pub I spoke of before, and we're meeting up with some native Spaniards to practice our Spanish and their English over a few local brews.
Check out the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2132444024324.2124868.1042710041&l=778d78545c&type=1
Friday, July 22, 2011
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