The return to Ronda

The return to beautiful Ronda this time was strictly business. More or less. Around February, my journalistic self got to searching for English-speaking newspapers here in southern Spain that might offer me an opportunity to do a little bit of writing abroad. I stumbled upon The Olive Press, a bi- weekly or "fortnightly" publication that is based out of Andalucia! Perfect, right? I got in touch with the editor, Jon, not completely expecting a reply, however received an enthusiastic invitation to come and do a month-long internship with the paper! Jon is a British ex-pat who runs the paper, which appeals to the large number of ex-pats in southern Spain as well as the entire population of Gibraltar, ha. Although I can't exactly take off a month from school here (or maybe I could, who knows with Spain) to go live in Ronda and write, I organized a mini-introduction to the paper this past Thursday and Friday, kind of a test run to see if I would like it. Although the two day stint was quite enjoyable, the days leading up to it were quite frustrating ( I swear, Spain is making me more impatient/schedule and detail-oriented (thanks Mom for the latter))...

Of course, like a lot of Spain life, my trip wasn't confirmed/slightly detailed until Wednesday afternoon, where I learned that the paper is actually in an even smaller town, Arriate, a few km outside of Ronda that I would have to take another bus to. So all I knew at this point was that I was going to Ronda on the 10 am bus, catching some bus to Arriate, trying to find a place to spend the night and finally ending up at the office of The Olive Press. Getting to Ronda and then Arriate as I found was pretty easy, and after arriving (and asking for directions/backtracking a little), I found the suggested pension where I could spend the night. Problem was, there was no vacancy. So now here I was in Arriate, with no where to stay, no clue where the paper office was and Jon wasn't answering his phone. Since I have a pay-as-you-go plan here, I hate calling more than I have to, because it can get pretty pricey, but I finally got in touch with him and he sent the reporter, Wendy to come pick me up! After I hopped in the car, we then proceed to drive 10 minutes out into the countryside of southern Spain, a little strange when I thought we were heading to a newspaper office. Turns out, it was exactly the right direction, as Wendy explained to me while we pulled up, that Jon runs the newspaper out of his house and the office is in fact a converted cow shed. HA. The entire time, I was imagining a fairly large staff and a nice, professional office--the small staff of 5 and the cow shed were quite the surprise.

Despite the small-scale initiative, Jon has built a paper that is one of the most successful English-speaking newspapers in Spain! Just by looking at the website, you can tell that he knows professionalism. After the few brief introductions, I was straight to work, something else I wasn't entirely expecting. Since I came towards the end of preparing for the next issue, everyone was busy busy and over the course of Thursday afternoon and Friday, I helped to write about 12-13 briefs--mostly skimming previous news articles and either translating or summarizing them into new briefs. It was interesting to do this way, as well as learn the slightly different format of journalism (considering the entire staff are a bunch of Brits)! And not to fear, I found somewhere to stay--Wendy has an extra cot in here piso in Ronda, so she graciously let me spend the night there. We went out for tapas and too many beers with the other reporter James Thursday night, and by the end of the night met up with Wendy's friends who were hilarious to say the least. I really enjoyed getting to talk to Wendy and James about a lot of things per usual, Spanish, American films/TV shows, NCAA basketball and journalism. On Friday, it was a bit of an early morning, but I spent the day writing just a few briefs and mostly catching up on my personal blog and surfing the web (oops). My bus left for Sevilla at 6 pm, so I clocked out right around 5 pm and had Wendy drive me back to Ronda. Quite the successful trip, I would say!

Having the opportunity to work with The Olive Press was all in all a great experience, and I have been talking to Jon about hopefully coming back in June to do a few more weeks of work. Not only is this internship a resume booster, but I've already managed to get some stuff published (fingers crossed) and I wasn't even there two full days! I was a little skeptical about it at first, but after my two-day excursion, I know that the internship possibility is definitely something I want to make happen. Besides, how could I turn down the opportunity to live in GORGEOUS Ronda? The answer is quite clear there I think.

Compass Comforts.

The Love Language. record stores. Locopops. Hanging out in downtown Raleigh. summer time. Kooley High. REAL breakfasts. concerts. the NC Art Museum. Noodles & Co. Umstead park. crab ragoon. Weaver Street. Tar Heel Basketball. cupcakes

These are a few of my favorite things, things that are currently absent from my life. And things that I can't wait to hopefully fill my July and August with, when I return to sweet Carolina.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE SPAIN. Currently, I am sitting in a former cow shed turned newspaper office in the middle of the outskirts of small Arriate, Andalucia (about 15 minutes outside of Ronda), doing a little bit of a trial run with an English-speaking newspaper (more about this in another post). And it is absolutely beautiful--mid 70s outside, Carolina blue sky and a generally relaxed atmosphere. There is no denying that I fell in love with Ronda the first time I came here in February and if I can arrange to make a month long stint with this newspaper at the end of my semester, it would be phenomenal. But that being said, as I move further into my semester, my longing for all things NC grows ever so slowly. I am convinced it must be this fantastic weather that spurs my desire to listen to my favorite local bands, check the lineups at all of my favorite Triangle venues, dream of the tantalizing pomegranate-tangerine and ache just the slightest for the dog days of the NC summer.

Last night over drinks I was talking to the fellow reporters about what I miss most from home, but also how much of a perspective change it is to be looking back at your home country from the outside. It has been good for me--it makes me realize the things I took for granted, but also allows me to be humbled and not so absorbed with AMERICA (though from time to time, it comes up in comparison, but I guess that happens to anyone who knows one thing more or less all his life).

I'm taking this weekend to relax and re-group, doing some solo traveling and looking to find some treasures without any barriers from the outside or from companions. So far it has been good to me, a nice recharge despite my longing for a few "compass comforts." I'm excited to discover some more incredible things in this European country of olive oil and warmth.

So, in the words of The Decemberists (who also happen to be playing a show in Raleigh while I'm still overseas), July, July! Until then, let the adventures continue!

It's (NOT) always sunny in Sevilla...

It is ANOTHER rainy day in Sevilla, and let me tell you, I've got myself appropriately armed. 3 hour naps, skipping class and listening to the beautiful souls of Bon Iver, The Tender Fruit, and Sufjan Stevens. Until our 2-week long bout of rain a few weeks ago, I had no idea how miserable it was going to be (I'll even admit it might top rainy days in Chapel Hill). When it rains here in Sevilla, I am forced to walk everywhere, and because supposedly Spaniards don't wear rain boots (not true), my feet are always soaked. Having to pay for a bus system that doesn't stop super close to my house is quite the nuisance (especially when I can't find the route to the uni) and riding my bike is just plain miserable. Additionally, I've already lost one umbrella to the elements, granted it was only 2 euro; however, it is just a continuation of my tendency to go through umbrellas at an unfortunately fast pace. But I think the major problem with rainy days here, is that I am further encouraged to just sit on my bed. and not do anything1 I think one of the things I miss most is having somewhere to go to other than my room. At UNC, when it would rain, I would sometimes go sit in a cafe and just pass the time away--here it is not as easy, seeing that the cafe WiFi is hit or miss and cafes are pretty expensive...it's not like we have a union or gym we can go chill in. And also, the home is strictly that--the home. It is private and kept for the family, therefore there's no way you can pass the time with your friends. And I've decided that rainy days here ultimately create just the tiniest bit of homesickness, welling up inside of me.

Yet despite this soaking spring, there are hints of warmth and future sunshine teasing us every once in a while (INCLUDING THIS AFTERNOON, figures that the sun would come out as soon as I started this post). A few days last week, it almost reached 80 degrees! A stark contrast, especially considering the terrible weather that NC is going through right now. And the temperature here is only going to climb--it has been rumored to reach over 100 degrees by mid-summer! Yet I am still excited--summer has always been my favorite season and getting the opportunity to bask in the Sevilla sun is quite enticing. Also I am continuing my saga of trips, with Valencia, Lagos, and Galicia all looming on the horizon!

So although the rain seems to get me down here in Sevilla, I've got a lot to look forward. I think as we've traversed the half point of the semester, the combination of the rain, the growing old of FRIED food and the longing for some of North Cakalacky's comforts makes for a slight desire to rush forward to June. I am sure that this weekend's solo journey to Valencia will help to change my perspective and give me a renewed perspective. After all, I'm positive exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment, rain or shine.

From the mountains of Madrid or from the coast of Barcelona...

I'm still behind on blog posts...so technically these trips are from March. But true to the Bob Dylan song from which this blog post steals its title, I did indeed travel to Barcelona and Madrid, two very distinct and thriving cities (and the largest) in Spain. We'll begin with Barcelona...

After another Ryanair flight adventure and a severely delayed train, I finally arrived in downtown Barca around 4:30 pm. Since our group was split between two hostels and two different flights, we spent the majority of Friday evening just trying to get checked in and then grab some dinner. And my dinner I must say was fabulous! A goat cheese spinach salad with a honey dressing...nom nom nom. Considering that I usually only eat fried food, the meal was quite the treat. Friday night was a bit of an early night, as to prepared to traverse the entirety of Barcelona on Saturday.

The next morning we began. First with a trip to the Plaza de Espanya (notice the crazy Catalan spelling), then Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell, then to La Boqueria, Columbus Monument and the port and finally to the Picasso museum and the beach! When I said we traversed the city, I wasn't kidding! For me, the Sagrada Familia y La Boqueria market were two of my favorite sites--the architecture of the Sagrada Familia is unmatched and unlike any other cathedral in the world, it is simply mesmerizing! I think I could stare up at those towers forever.

And La Boqueria was like a dream come true! As we walked into the famous covered market, my mouth watered at every stall. Finally, a 1/4 kilo of gouda, a baguette, some strawberries + mangos, a strawberry coconut smoothie and a few pieces of white chocolate later, and I had a FANTASTIC lunch! I think that if I lived in Barcelona, I would spend a majority of my money at this wonderful market.

The Picasso museum was also an incredible experience, especially because I am love the artist's work. It was set up in chronological order and the opportunity to see work spanning the artist's entire life was such a neat experience; seeing his renditions of Velazquez's Las Meninas were definitely the crowning moment of the visit to the mueseum.

To complete our time in Barcelona, we went to Marsella Bar Saturday night, per suggestion by fellow Dive writer Jonathan, for some mean and green absinthe. It was a really unique experience, as the bar is almost 200 years old and was the stomping grounds of some really famous folk. Pouring our water over our sugar cubes into the absinthe proved to be a bit of learning experience to say the least, but at least most of us achieved the green hue typical of the spirit. It was the perfect end to a long day of city seeing.

Sagrada Familia

Mediterranean Sea

La Boqueria

Parc Güell

Gaudi's Casa Mila

Next up, Madrid! Madrid was a great trip in the fact that I got to visit some friends as well as relax a little while seeing all of the city's major sites! One of my co-workers from Skyline this past summer, Jessica Alcorn, lives in Madrid teaching English with two roommates (all of who graduated from UNC--go Heels!), and I got the chance to stay with them for three days (even though I only saw Jess for a little bit due to a frisbee tourney--but then I got to sleep in her bed :)) In fact, her roommate Tory had the same home stay as I do now when she studied in Sevilla a few years ago, so it was quite fun talking about our crazy experiences.

To get to Madrid, I decided to take the bus, a six-hour venture I conquered alone. But let me tell you, I quite enjoyed the lack of company and the lovely scenery--it actually gave me a good amount of time to kind of think out a lot of things. When I finally arrived around 8:45 pm Thursday night, Tory met me at the bus station and we went straight to some delicious tapas! Jamón Iberico, queso de oveja (goat cheese) y huevos con patatas fritas (eggs over-easy on french fries!) were a great start to Madrid! Over the course of Friday and Saturday, I went to all the typical places--El Mercado San Miguel, La Reina Sofia, El Prado, El Palacio, Parque de Buen Retiro y many more. I did a lot of it by myself (since Tory had already been many times, I don't blame her) but I actually ran into my friends Will and Christina and we met up to go to the Prado and then a delicious Italian dinner! And to end my trip to Madrid, I went out Saturday night to celebrate Tory's birthday with several of her friends. We ended up staying out all night and were actually still awake for Daylight Savings Time, which totally threw off my schedule, but allowed me to have the experience of riding the Madrid metro as soon as it opened (6 am). Despite the immense lack of sleep, I had another 6 hour bus ride back to Sevilla to catch up on my sleep.

My trip to Spain's capital was great, especially since it was my first time back since the airport (which doesn't really count since I was only there for about an hour), and I must say that Madrid would be a great city to live in--I can see why my friends have stayed for two years! It is a big city, yet retains a truly Spanish feel, something that Barcelona sometimes lacked. Also, I never felt rushed in Madrid, despite its huge size. Although I pretty much conquered most of the city in my trip, I hope to go back (not including my plane ride back to the states) and explore a little bit more.

Joan Miró

Palacio Nacional

Picasso's Guernica

Plaza Mayor

Parque del Buen Retiro

Paris, je t'aime.

L'amoureuse de Paris. Lover of Paris.

Although it has been a week since my adventure, after my Parisian weekend, I am most certainly deeply in love with this city. As I listened to a on-repeat soundtrack of Phoenix and "Where Do You Go to my, Lovely?" by Peter Sarstedt, I whizzed through the streets of Paris for a weekend and loved every moment. My return to the City of Light will hopefully be sooner rather than later. Here's an explanation of my two Parisian nights that left me ultimately entranced.

1. My wonderful Parisian hosts! In order to save money, I've taken up CouchSurfing through out Europe as much as I can. And Paris was my first stop! I arranged to meet up with my hosts Caroline and Vincent in their neighborhood, Parmentier, Friday afternoon. While the friends I traveled with from Spain to Beauvais, and then into the city, went off to check into their hostel, I went on my way to navigating the Paris metro and meeting my hosts! And my first experience with the Paris Metro was also fantastic--it is overall an incredibly easy system to use and very well marked, which made getting around throughout the weekend incredibly easy! When I finally got to my destination after a few transfers and a few butterflies, I found Caro and we immediately walked into a French bakery before trekking home! What an appropriate introduction it was, indeed! The neighborhood where they live was quite lively and fun, as Caro told me, it is full of all kinds of bars and restaurants perfect for nightlife! And they live very close to the cemetery Pére Lachaise, which I will get to. Caro speaks excellent English which was great since I forgotten almost all of my basic French (yes after a few months...I'm embarrassed). Vincent knows a little but it was neat to hear them converse in French because it is such a beautiful language. They live in a very small flat, literally the size of my dorm room at UNC, yet have everything they need--kitchen, table, TV, washer, and a bathroom! So my two nights turned into what we joked was a "sleepover," since I was sleeping right next to them! But this is the Paris life--expensive, expensive, EXPENSIVE. In addition to the wonderful conversation and time spent getting to know Caro and Vincent (they are genuinely AWESOME, adventurous individuals, so fun to talk to!), they also gave me a great taste of French food culture--by providing me dinner both nights and a breakfast! DELICIOUS. We had crepes with ham and cheese, bread with paté and rilletes, gourmet and fantastic cheese, as well as raclette! Let's not forget the delicious wine, either! Breakfast was a handful of the best croissants I've ever tasted, it was truly a pleasure to have them offer me all the food and introduce me to fantasticly French meals! On top of all this, they even showed me around the city, including driving me around to see all the famous monuments at night--it was absolutely gorgeous and probably my favorite part of the whole trip! I honestly could not have asked for better hosts and it is without a doubt that Caro and Vincent MADE my Paris trip. Absolutely made it!

2. Living the Dream. One of the most unreal aspects of being in Paris--I'll admit, it is about to get super cliche, was seeing all of the things I've heard about and only imagined seeing in real life. The Louvre, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Tour Eiffel and Jardin du Luxembourg were just as incredible in real life as the movies. Seeing the Mona Lisa and The Wedding at Cana were surreal. You know, they really paint a fantastic image of the city in all those movies and such, for me it was completely accurate. I met up with the other girls and we spent the whole day touring all around the city, and finished things off with a fantastic lunch of one of my favorite, totally French foods--quiche Lorraine. Considering I paid a pretty penny for it, I was happy to find it to be flawless like the rest of the French cuisine. Finally getting to see the Tour Eiffel in person and completing the iconic jumping pictures could not have been better either! After Paris, I'm definitely convinced that sometimes it is okay to be a complete tourist.

3. The Parisian way of Life. It is damn expensive, granted, but there is something about the way of life and the opportunities that lie in Paris that completely charmed me. On my final night, Caro and Vincent took me to a beautiful park, le Parc des Buttes Chaumont, and we arrived just in time to see the beautiful sunset over the entire city of Paris, and Montmarte towering in the distance. And that's when I knew I had no choice but to return to this incredible city. On Sunday morning, I even finished my trip with a trip to Pére Lachaise, on a quest to find the beloved grave of Jim Morrison. Though I was unsuccessful because I did not want to miss my bus to the airport, the serene atmosphere and eerily gorgeousness of the cemetery was a perfect way to end the trip. I've always been a fan of cemeteries and enjoy venturing in them, for historical and also aesthetic purposes--they truly are fascinating! And now I have Pére Lachaise to add to my list.

Paris was a wonderful 43 hours. Between the melt-in-your mouth croissants, to the gorgeous parks and yet simply the city's fierce attitude, I want to truly live it. After my short trip to Paris, I almost didn't want to return to Spain, but just for a little while ;) As I continue my semester in Europe, I don't have time for another trip back (alas!), but I just know that it will always be Paris that I want to go back to...

Au revoir, Paris et jusqu'à la prochaine fois!

(side note: I plan to find a way to continue my learning of French, going to France proved to be more than enough of an impetus)

Under the Moroccan Sun

As I continue my months of exploration and travel, I went on my first trip outside of Spain to MOROCCO!

It was quite the experience to get the opportunity to tour three Moroccan cities in 2 1/2 days, especially when the country's culture is so different from anyone I've ever experienced. We tried our hand at carpet bargaining, camel riding, market navigating and eating a variety of delicious and unique Moroccan foods.

I've pretty much grown up in a very traditional culture at home in the States and having the opportunity to experience a culture that is richly based in Islam and that speaks and writes a completely different language, Arabic, was a wonderful change of pace. Although the country is still developing and occasionally there were questionable things that we came across, I was intrigued by Morocco and wish I had a little more time to explore. To the Moroccans, it was quite obvious that our HUGE group was American and tourists, but I wonder how cool it could have been to immerse ourselves a little more in the culture. Perhaps, I'll get the chance to return. And maybe I'll stop by a little place called Rick's Cafe this next time too...

In terms of the other details from the trip, I am still a firm believer that sometimes, photos just articulate better than words, so enjoy these snapshots of my time under the Moroccan sun.

Chefchaouen

Tanger

Tétouan

Cave of Hercules

Continents traveled to: THREE and counting

Recuerdos de la Alhambra--Granada

Note: I've done a pretty bad job with updating lately, many apologies! Our Granada trip was Feb. 19-20.

As our last trip with the UNC program, we took a weekend journey to Granada, a beautiful city nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalusia. Granada is also home to La Alhambra, the renowned Islamic fortress that dates back to the mid 14th century; as one of our professors put it, it is truly a city inside of a city.

In Granada, we went to visit La Capilla Real, the final resting place of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella or Los Reyes Catolicos. Additionally we went to the Cathedral in Granada, another beautiful spectacle of the city. I have generally enjoyed traveling around Andalusia, because there are so many differences even between cities. Compared to Sevilla, Granada was a wonderful oasis away from the bustle--it is still a big city but because of it's proximity to the countryside and the mountains, it maintains a small town feel. As we walked the authentic cobblestone streets, peering at the various graffiti and hopping into tapas bars, I felt very consumed by the true Spanish lifestyle. The first night, our professors also took us on a mini-hike to the top of the city in order to see the beautiful view of the Alhambra. Like many of my adventures so far, it felt unreal. But after our official tours with the group, we had some free time as well. Saturday night we went to a tea shop for some DELICIOUS Pakistani tea that was infused with cinnamon, milk and a monton (means a lot in Spanish) of other things as well as some hookah. Although several people in our group decided to club it up that night in Granada, it was super relaxing and nice to just have a chill night with some friends.

Ferdinand y Isabella

La Catedral

Streets of Granada

Sierra Nevadas in the background

Granada graffiti

Sunday was the day of La Alhambra. But before we jumped on the bus to go to the fortress, a few friends and I decided to utilize my guide book in order to make good use of the day. We ended up going on a fantastic little tour of writer Federico Garcia Lorca's former (summer) house, where he wrote the majority of his work! It was so neat to see this house, which was built in the beginning of the 1900s with all of its original furniture as well as original artwork and diary entries from Lorca. It was honestly one of the best parts of the trip!

Outside Huerta de San Vicente (Lorca's house)

And finally we went to La Alhambra, the ancient Islamic stronghold that is nestled in the heart of Granada. Honestly, going there was such a fantastic experience that it is hard to put into words. My Dad has forever been enamored with Spanish guitar and one of his favorite songs is actually the title of this post; as I wandered around the fortress, I couldn't help but be entranced, just as I was by the beautiful song. Let these photos do the talking.