Textbook Stuff
Spain

Textbook Stuff

I like being here. As the time continues flying by, I’m starting to realize that I’m going to be pretty sad to leave Madrid. Funny things happen here that I wouldn’t get to experience back home. For example, my lovely Mom sent me some peanut butter as an Easter present, and I was shocked when my roommate Valerio told me he had never tried it. I immediately made him some toast and spread some on, watching eagerly as he took his first bite. His reaction wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for, if anything he looked slightly disappointed. When I asked him what he thought, he told me “Well, it tastes just like a peanut…  Except creamy.” I’m still not sure what he was expecting…

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To Be Young
France

To Be Young

Vincent: You know what the funniest thing about Europe is?
Jules: What?
Vincent: It’s the little differences. I mean they got the same sh-t over there that they got here, but it’s just-  it’s just there it’s a little different.
Jules: Examples?
Vincent: Alright, well you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don’t mean just like in no paper cup, I’m talking about a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald’s. And you know what they call a, uh, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
Jules: They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?
Vincent: Nah, man, they got the metric system, they wouldn’t know what the f-ck a Quarter Pounder is.
Jules: What do they call it?
Vincent: They call it a “Royale with Cheese.”
Jules: “Royale with Cheese.”
Vincent: Thats right.
Jules: What do they call a Big Mac?
Vincent: A Big Mac’s a Big Mac, but they call it “Le Big Mac.”

Finally saw Pulp Fiction for Movie Monday last night, it might now be my new favorite, and this quote is so fitting, considering where I spent my weekend.

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Strip My Mind
Hungary

Strip My Mind

I made my first venture into Eastern Europe. It was not warm. For most of the weekend the temperature stayed in the negatives, meaning that I spent most of my time wearing roughly 15 layers of clothing and whining about how I couldn’t feel my phalanges. Despite the freezing weather, and thanks to copious amounts of hot wine, my friend and I did manage to tough it out and explore a lot of the city. Budapest is divided in half by the Danube river, with the Buda side being older and more residential, and the Pest side being the more modern downtown area. Both sides are lovely, full of old beautiful buildings and lots of trees, I was very impressed.

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Sunshowers
Spain

Sunshowers

I spent this past weekend in the Canary Islands. Know nothing about them? Neither did I.Located off the northwestern coast of Africa, the islands have the same latitude as the Sahara, so they’re warm pretty much year-round. This makes them a popular get away for Europeans who want to escape the painful winter months, which was precisely my motivation as well. The weather in Madrid last week was just brutal, around 40 degrees with winds and rains, but after two friends and I made yet another early morning RyanAir commute we were pretty thrilled to be able to change into shorts and start enjoying the sunshine.

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What A Wonderful World
United Kingdom

What A Wonderful World

London was fantastic!  One of my favorite things about traveling is that through the miracle that is Facebook you can keep in contact with cool people you meet along the way, and then one day visit them in some other exciting location. Such was the case with my London weekend: I made a friend from New Zealand while on my cruise last May in the Galapagos, and since he is now living in London but was soon taking off to head back home, I took the opportunity to hop over the pond for a weekend.
At the Bottom of Everything
Spain

At the Bottom of Everything

This past Sunday I had one of my favorite experiences in Madrid so far. I had a friend request proof that I’m actually here, telling me that I’m probably just writing  from San Diego and stealing the pictures off other blogs to make all my law school friends jealous. So this time around I’ll actually put up some photos with me in them, prepare yourself!

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Golden Years
Italy, Spain

Golden Years

Hello, my name is Alyssa, and I am a disease. Missing more school today because I am sick yet again, the worst. My immune system is apparently non-existent in Spain, and I’m so tired of it. Not really sure how to fix it, I had a big plan to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to give it a boost, but my amazing Auntie sent me a box of Christmas goodies all the way from Chico, CA, so I keep eating those instead, oops. Hopefully this will be my last cold for the rest of my time here…? Crossing my fingers.
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Past In Present
Morocco

Past In Present

Bleh, I’ve been so sick the past two days. Fever, chills, aches, and those other fun things that come with having the flu. This means no eating my 12 grapes in Sol with the other madrileños, no dancing until dawn to ring in 2011… instead I was stuck inside, alone, with DVDs, Bebida Isotonica, and the equivalent of Spanish saltenes. I am more than just a little bitter about this.
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Spain

Blue Christmas

Waaah. Not being home at Christmas makes me feel a little bit like the grinch. Even though I’ve been extremely homesick these past few days, Madrid is not a bad place to be during the holidays. There are a ton of Christmas markets all over the city, and lights, and lots of madrileños wearing really dorky holiday hats, everything is very festive. Walking around the city you see lots of Santa’s on ladders climbing up people’s balconies, which makes a lot of sense since there are no chimneys here.

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