Photos from Valencia

As promised! One of my favorite and most apt sayings is 'better late than never', and that is why these photos are being posted almost two months after my trip...
These, like all others, are probably in reverse chronological order, if any order at all.

Spring break in pictures (Paris)

OK, so today, on my day off, I have decided to FINALLY put up some photos from Carnaval spring break (Easter spring break is this week coming up and me and a few other people are going to be doing the Pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago which means something like walking 100 miles in 8 days. Luckily my feet are nearly blister proof! [I hope]), so you can enjoy them. I still am slightly incompetent regarding putting various pictures on here with text, so sorry about how they will probably be in no order. But anyway, here we go!

Carnaval 2010, aka best spring break ever, PART TWO

Sorry this took so long! I've been doing some bureaucratic things and appearing in the regional newspaper and having to schedule appearances for autographs (just kidding), but now things are looking on track so I thought I would fill my loyal readers in on what exciting things I did after my trip to Paris.

So, once I got back in to Santiago - ok, it was another crazy flight. Darn Ryanair having cheaper tickets but being more complicated (pretty much like all my international flights seem to be) - from Paris/Madrid, I reorganize my suitcase hoping for warmer weather! Paris was basically arctic, so anything south should be an improvement. So, then Manu and I hop on the plane and do another crazy Ryanair circle. This time from Madrid to Valencia. Yay! At the airport in Valencia, there was no one there. Seriously. No one. When we wanted to get tourist information there were two kiosks actually open and the subway guy kept leaving his post. But we finally managed to make it to the subway stop to meet up with Manu's friend, Ania. After plopping our stuff down and noshing a bit, we go to make pizzas! We stay in this night because it is raining and the Valencians are wienies when it comes to rain, haha.

The next day we leisurely wake up, walk around the city, explore the City of Arts and Sciences (http://www.cac.es) and get info about their schedules before taking a detour to the beach. Here we watched the sunset while I was paranoid about getting sand in my running shoes. Anyway, the sunset was gorgeous and I did not get sand in my shoes. It's the little things in life, isn't it? After walking around a bit more and seeing all the boats in the harbor for the little boat racing thing that Valencia is famous for, America's Cup or something like that, we hopped onto the subway/trolley system (what is it with these cities having connected systems just to be confusing!) to go to a huge hotel for the Runners' fair. I picked up my number, 2361 ftw!, and got my swag bag and technical running shirt. And olive oil and socks! The most hilarious goody bag ever. After that we went back to the hostel and just crashed, because the next morning is a breakfast fun run! The important part is breakfast.

So we wake up, have breakfast in the hostel, then stroll over to the fun run site. Unfortunately, we got there late, so I sort of cheated on the run so I would know where it stopped. Fortunately, it doesn't matter because the only goal was horchatas and fartons (not kidding!! Feel free let loose that stifled giggle) at the end of the track lap. Horchatas are pretty much milkshakes. And fartons are like a sweet bread (not sweetbread, the space is important) that is cylindrical and has frosting drizzled on the top. This was the first year for the breakfast run, so the participation was minimal, maybe 40 people? After that, we explored a tower from like the Middles Ages and got a view of the city from above, it was nice. Then after eating the kind of lame pasta dinner for the marathoners and their guests, we made it to the aquarium!! Ah, the aquarium. I am sure many of you know of my affinity for aquariums and you can imagine the delirious delight at being at the (allegedly) BIGGEST aquarium in Europe! (I also love how aquariums always say they are the biggest at something, like, this one is the biggest because it is open air so the complex takes up more space. But I'm sure there is an aquarium that is the BIGGEST because it has the biggest tank.) Anyway, this aquarium is totally bomb. You get to go to each odd looking building and inside it is set up like, arctic/antarctic, temperate waters, Mediterranean, oceans in general, the Red Sea, etc. And then NOT in building but each in their own little area are birds, seals, and dolphins. And we watched the dolphin performance!! We basically stayed until the aquarium for real closed (who is surprised?) and were shuffled out. Since Valencia has not ACTUALLY FINISHED the subway line to the City of Arts and Sciences, we decided to catch a bus because it is mega far away. Bad planning, Valencia.

Now today is the marathon day! I wake up before the crack of dawn to get dressed and put all my running things on and get my bag ready for after the race. Now it is kind of chilly when yesterday was kind of hot, better for running a marathon, but a little too cool for walking to the starting point. I discard my sweats and put on my number (mentally note, next time do this the night before) and get into the starting block. And by starting block I mean the back of the pack. They fire the gun, set off the fireworks and blast Chariots of Fire and off we go! Every few kilometers (not miles, I know) they had a group of men dressed as cheerleaders and nurses, or a very small band playing music, or a gate marking each 5km with water - apparently there was a station with oranges but I didn't get there fast enough, haha - and then either every 10km and/or at the half marathon mark we were timed by the fancy chip I tied into my shoes. There were even some guys wearing costumes, like a few judges, a matador, and other people who were really fast and I didn't get the chance to pass them to see their costumes. The course is allegedly pretty easy, mostly flat, but we do go underground and then above ground following the streets going in tunnels, way awesome!, and it rained, but I was already prepared for that - Thank you, Galicia! When I finally finished - not last, yay! - I got a medal, a bag of oranges, a can of aquarius, and a bi hit of adrenaline and pride at having finished. But there was no buffet!! Come on, I just ran 26.2miles/42.2km and they don't even have food!!! So instead, I hopped up on the massage table and let some girls jiggle my legs for a few minutes then went to take a shower. After stuffing my face with food, NO THANKS TO YOU, MARATHON LACKING A BUFFET, we walked around the city a bit more then went to the IMAX at the City of Arts and Sciences. It was nice to be able to relax and watch a movie for a bit. By this point I am totally zonked and can barely walk up stairs, which is kind of entertaining to remember now, so we bus back to the hostel to pack because we are waking up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go to the airport.

The most remarkable thing about the flight back was, after being delayed in Madrid a few hours because of weather conditions and missing the buses back to Monforte for work from Santiago, as we were descending to the landing strip in Santiago, the pilot instead GOES STRAIGHT BACK UP INTO THE AIR. It was mega windy and he couldn't land the plane so we had to go back up, circle around, then he went for a second landing attempt. It was intense. After FINALLY landing, we ate and relaxed a bit before I had to go to Ourense.

In conclusion, in the 11ish days of my vacation week, I was on 8 different flights and walked millions of miles around Paris and Valencia, then RAN millions (26.2) of miles in Valencia. This is why people say they need a vacation after a vacation.

Next up, photos from my vacation! Stay tuned!!
xoxo

Carnaval 2010, aka best spring break ever, PART ONE

Hello! Bonjour! Hola!

A snippet of multilingual spring break part one this year! In France, I spoke spectacularly hilarious mangled French and then listened to spectacularly hilarious mangled English in response (am now convinced that all stereotypes about Parisians replying in flawless English to anyone speaking lackluster French is completely false, their mastery of English [despite being obligatory in their formative years of education] is only slightly better than the French I've never learned, which is yet ANOTHER strike for Europeans not living up to the reputation that they are all polyglots.) while speaking in Spanish to clarify through my interpreter friend, Anna, what was missed through the other two languages. In short, hilarity ensued. Also, at times it was really boring because everyone only spoke French so no one could translate fast enough so I was just hanging out listening.

Anyway, so, to begin explaining my awesome adventures!! My flight got into Paris on Friday evening and then I was on a 70 minute bus ride to actually GET to the city. By this point I am exhausted because RyanAir and Madrid were sort of being complete jerks and I had to run around the terminal trying to find stairs so that I could find the desk to get a stamp that I was told I didn't need but actually did, all right before the flight. I was running through the tunnel to board, too! Luckily, I made it and my running skills paid off while I was schlepping around a suitcase and going up- and downstairs. Ok, right, the bus. This was boring. It was dark and snowy so I couldn't see anything anyway. When I got to Porte Maillot (some congressional palace thing), I waited for Anna and then we had a huge miscommunication trying to find each other inside and outside this massive building. Eventually, success. Then her friend Elodee came to pick us up and take us to her apartment. OMG SHE HAD PET RATS. I STAYED IN AN APARTMENT WHERE THEY HAD RATS ON PURPOSE. Sick.

After chomping on some food, we fine-tuned our plans for the next four days and then went to sleep. Thank goodness, I was zonked. Once we woke up, there was definitely no rush here, haha, we went to the grocery store IN THE SNOW and then ate lunch and then meandered to the Louvre. Holy cow, this place is nuts. To say it is gigantic would possibly be an understatement. Also to say it is easily navigable would be a lie. But it was quite the spectacle, and in low season!, and had very fascinating little sections. Of course the Mona Lisa is the big draw, so we fought our way through the crowds to take pictures of the tiny painting encased in glass then pictures of all the people taking pictures. After we made our way out, we walked toward the Cathedral of Notre Dame and then the Pantheon where Napoleon is buried then went to meet up with Elodee and her friends at the Bastille. Don't be fooled, IT DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE!! I sort of had this expectation that there would be a huge prison tower there and basically they just had a memorial obelisk statue thing. But it wasn't for nothing, I had some tasty crepes and chocolat chaud! The less than ideal part was waiting outside for nearly 2 hours to get a cab to go to Elodee's apartment, in freezing temperatures, fighting in line with all the other people.

The next morning, Anna and I got up early and headed to Versailles!! We had to take a special train to get there (their metro system leaves the most to be desired. It is like two systems in one, quite illogical and confusing.) and then we went into the palace. I think I have sort of reached the point where a palace is a palace is a palace. I kind of wish I had gone in the summer/later spring because I could really see how the gardens would be really impressive, but in the winter they were muddy, snowy, dead and walking around on the ice was kind of perilous! But not to worry, we survived. Back in Paris, we went to Notre Dame again but this time went inside. Regretfully, we couldn't go up the tower because of the icy weather, but still. After this, we went to the D'orsay museum with all the impressionist paintings, then on to the Arc du Triomphe. We passed through a park with other memorial things (Paris is sort of parallel to the Louvre, there are so many gorgeous works of art, but people only focus on the really famous things, so they miss all the smaller ones) to get there. And then stand in the middle of the street to take pictures!! This was even more hazardous than all the ice. Actually, probably borderline stupid with all the traffic, but whatevs. We were able to go up the elevator for a city vista, but they didn't accept my fake French student ID so I actually had to pay, haha. The view was gorgeous; on the hour, the Eiffel Tower has special sparkly lights so we got to see that from the Arc as well as a general plan of the city. Very beautiful! Very cold!

The next day we went to the Eiffel Tower, this day was a little more relaxing because we did so much yesterday, but still, waiting in lines and ascending the tower took like FOUR HOURS. Then we went on a boat tour which was TOTALLY COOL! AND IN ENGLISH! We hung out on the Seine for an hour and heard stories about the buildings that are architecturally gorgeous but basically have some unknown purpose, then we learned about silly traditions involving bridges, and where famous ex-pats lived while in Paris. It was a very interesting tour.

Finally, the last day we went to the Moulin Rouge (just the outside, no worries), and Sacred Heart and Montmarche or something. We met up with one of Anna's friends who is from southern Spain but is at Anna's school in France, and she was really fun. We went to the Opera and then decided it would be way more awesome to see the Catacombs/ossuary instead. And it totally was. It was like thousands and thousands of bones layered up 60ft below the streets. After that we walked around the Isle of St. Louis, where Notre Dame is, some more and then tried to find the right metro stop to get back to the apartment. There we packed, said our goodbyes, ate crepes (it IS Mardi Gras day after all!) and pastries, and went to sleep. I woke up like 4 hours later, to get on the subway to go to the bus stop to wait 2 hours outside - stupid RyanAir - then finally got on the 70-minute long bus ride, then hustled through security to board. The next non-photo entry will be about going to Valencia with Manu. Stay tuned!

xoxo

Happy February!

I have the day off today because the students in the afternoon class have their exams. That also means that next Tuesday I have the morning off and on this and next Thursday I will be kind of floating around the teachers' lounge not going to classes for the afternoons. So, enough of rubbing that in everyone's face, I decided to announce how exciting my February will be!

On the 12th, I will be going by train to Santiago, then flying to Madrid, then flying to Paris!! I am so excited, it is incredible! My friend Anna (who studied with me in Santiago three (!!!) years ago), will be my hostess. It will be wonderful because she is French and knows things. Whereas I am perfectly capable of saying my name and that "I don't speak French" and "I don't know" and things like "cold", "hot", "beach", "snow", "flat hair/fallen cake". So, really nothing terribly pertinent to DOING things or ASKING for things in France.

Anna is planning out this amazing trip, involving all the major touristy things. Like Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Champs du Elysse (sp), the Louvre, the Museum D'Orsay and maybe going out a bit at night. Also, I was doing the math and for my training I'm going to have to do an 8-mile run one day while on vacation. :( While I'm kind of bummed about that, I know it's something I have to do to meet my goal. Anyway, it is going to be totally awesome. I will let you all know how it goes!

Speaking of goal, the day after I get back from Paris, Manu and I are going to Valencia! There are a few events lined up with the marathon, such as runners' fairs, a breakfast run (where I will be reppin' KS!), free guided tourbus tours, a pasta dinner (yay for carbing up!) and then the actual race. It is going to be kind of intense because this is allegedly an 'easy' marathon so a lot of really competitive and experienced racers come out to make personal records on the course, so it's looking mostly like I will be hanging out all by myself in the back. But it is still pretty epic that I'm really going to DO it! And in a gorgeous city! Win win (although not literally, hahaha)! Will also let you know how it goes! Oh! And I get this sweet gift bag. Bonus.

So, there you have it. This will be a phenomenal February (phonetic alliteration forever!) and I am excited for it to get here!
Xoxo

winter photos!

OK, so once again these are in reverse order and sloppy. But, you can figure out that these are pictures of the Christmas decorations in Galicia, the end of year dinner (yes, just the food, don't judge me for my priorities) at the Parador in Monforte, Christmas in Kansas, snow (and more snow), Ted's Eagle Scout Court of Honor, the Plaza lights on New Year's and the crazy amount of rain that is flooding the riverwalk where I run in Ourense. Enjoy!