The Long Lost Puente: Part 2

So... I've been sitting on this half-finished post for a while... and by a while I mean over half a year now (yikes). But with my new-found dedication, I've finished it... a bit hastily, but it is done. In a week or so, I will pre-date it. In the meantime, here's the last installment of the December puente adventure:

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A blog post a day keeps the procrastination away...

Right. If only that was all it took. A blog a day does, however, keep us plugging right along in recounting my long-neglected-but-soon-to-be-over tale of the December puente.
If you've kept up with my last 3 posts (and really, by now you've had plenty of time ;) ), you already know that the day after my birthday, I boarded a very early flight from Bergamo, Italy to Thessaloniki, Greece, where I would be dancing the weekend away...

[more flashback, Wayne's World sound effects...]

You can see Thessaloniki near the top of the map, in the middle, on the coast. [source]

View of the Alps from the plane! One positive thing of flying at 7am.

I may have said this already, but RyanAir, I think you should buy this photo from me.

Once in Thessaloniki, I wandered around... a LOT. Note for next time: there are luggage lockers in the trainstation... that way, you don't have to lug your backpack all over the second largest city in Greece for 5 hours.
Anyway, after navigating the streets whose names I could barely read (I should have paid more attention to the

The Long Lost Puente: Part 1.75

Hello fellow travelers, family members and any other followers out there. What a horrible little blogger I have been. I have a backlog of things to talk about, but I wanted my stories to be told in order... and the longer I wait to start relating them, the more things I have to tell in order to catch up to the present, and consequently, the more burdensome the task becomes (in my mind, anyway). But no more! This week, I will give you all the pertinent information and you will soon know about my life in Spain in the here and now. Not to be a tease, but there are SO many exciting things happening that I can't wait to divulge. But first... let's finish up what has become the most drawn out story ever, that of my puente adventure back in the early part of December...

[imagine blurring images and flashback sound effect, a là Wayne's World, as we go back to that long lost time...]

Como and Lago Maggiore! (December 7th-8th 2012)

First lake view as we began our trip.

 After a lovely time in Milano, one of my new friends and I traveled north by train to the lovely town of Como where we met up with L who I mentioned in part 1.5. After spending a very fun night there, the three of us spent the day (my birthday!) driving around the beautiful Lago Maggiore through a slew of quaint little towns. Among them were: Lugano, Bellinzona, Brissago, Cannobio, Verbania and Stresa. We even passed through Switzerland! All in all, a whirlwind couple of days, and while I generally prefer to stay and soak up a place before I move on, I can't say that I didn't have a good time. Not a bad way to turn 24. :)

Because my memory of those days has faded, I will let the pictures do the talking.

What a lovely place this would be to live! Wake up to the snowy Alps!

Oh, hello Castle! You know, no big deal.

Why drive over or around the Swiss and Italian Alps when you can drive THROUGH them. This tunnel was something like  10 miles long!

An absolutely beautiful day for a drive through Italian Lake Country. Just wish we could have stopped longer to smell the flowers

Just sigh. Lovely paradise.

A little too chilly for a dip, although there are stairs going right into the water :)

The travelers. In silhouette.

There were houses UNDERneath the road. Crazy.

Our awesome rental: The Yellow Panda (thank you, Fiat, for the perfect name)

That's an island. I wonder how they get to work?

Last shot of pretty lake country before driving back to Como to return the Yellow Panda.

After returning the car, L. and I sent my new friend from Milano on his way and then headed for Bergamo, aka the actual location of RyanAir's "Milan" airport,  where Liz would be staying for a bit and from where I would be embarking upon the next leg of my epically long adventure the following day. We arrived very late and very hungry... and desperate for a good wifi connection so that I could talk to family on my birthday (because yes, it was still December 8th!).

The next morning (and I use that term very graciously as I don't consider it to be morning if it's still dark out), I caught the bus to the airport, went through the same RyanAir stress-fest, and made it on my flight A-OK. Now, while I don't know if I would choose the dawn flight if I had other options, but flying before the sun comes up does have its absolutely breathtaking advantage: Getting to see the sun rise from the sky!

It was a whirlwind of a week in Italy, and I probably should have caught a catnap on the plane ride, but I was excited and then some as I flew to my next destination, Thessaloniki, Greece, for a weekend of a different alphabet, feta, gyros, but most importantly, Lindy Hop! To be continued... :)

The Long Lost Puente: Part 1.5

Where did we leave off? Oh, that's right. I had survived my first RyanAir flight without having to pay any "fecking fees" and was on my way to Milan, Italy...
If you're just joining the party, I recommend reading the previous entry first :)

Milano! (December 5th-7th 2012)

By the time I landed and took the bus from Bergamo (location of RyanAir's "Milan" airport) and found my slightly-more-expensive-but-DEFinitely-worth-it hostel called Ostello Bello, it was already dark, and I was late for dinner with a fellow auxiliar friend who happened to have similar puente plans (She also has an amazing blog and talks about a lot of the same places I went on my trip here).

The Duomo at my first night in Milan

Afterwards, I returned to the hostel and made a few new friends at the bar (yes, the hostel had a bar)... two guys (one from Brazil, the other from Seattle) who had met each other earlier that night and were burning the midnight oil like myself. In the midst of (quite a few) drinks-- including my first glass of grappa-- the three of us decided to spend the following day touring the city together.

The next day, however, before touring, I had to keep my 9:30am appointment with Signore da Vinci and his Last Supper. It was somewhat saddening to find out how poorly it was treated throughout history... and sometimes even intentionally... but through dirt, flooding and bombings, an echo of what da Vinci originally painted remains, and it is truly breathtaking. No pictures were allowed, but here's a better image than the one previously posted:

Note at the bottom how someone decided "Hey! Let's put a door here." :(
Regardless, it's still amazing. [source]

With that done, Seattle, Brazil and I hit the beautiful streets of Milan! 

No idea why Elvis was there, but it was an excuse for a jumping sequence, and a great way to kick off the day. :)

The Long Lost Puente: Part 1

Once upon a time, in the lesser-known land of Calahorra, there was a puente in honor of Saint Nicholas. And on this puente, the wandering teaching assistant Cate was graced with almost a fortnight of completely uninterrupted holiday time. As if this weren't luck enough, Cate's birthday happened to fall right in the middle of it all. Excited at the prospect of such glorious free time, she made her plans, bought some plane tickets, and then, was off on her grand birthday adventure! This is the story of the first part of her journey.

Parli italiano? Zaragoza, or Getting to Italy (December 5, 2011)

In a word, no... but that didn't stop me from trying in my first destination. Where did I go? To the fashion mecca of Italia: Milan! Or as the Italian call it, Milano! Before I get to Milano though, I need to tell you how I got there.

Enter the biggest city in Aragón and 5th biggest city in Spain: Zaragoza! 

La Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Zaragoza, España

Zaragoza also happens to be the closest city to Logroño (about 1.5-2 hours by bus) with a functional airport (I say functional because technically, Logroño has an airport... that I've never heard of being used). Anyway, most importantly, Zaragoza is a hub for RyanAir, that infamous but oh-so-cheap discount European airline. 

At 9:00 am, I caught the bus to Zaragoza-- literally... I kind of mistakenly thought my ticket was for 9:30. Thank God I was up early and happened to glance at it in time. Phew! Anyway, my flight out wasn't until after 4 in the afternoon, but I hadn't been there before, so I thought I'd allow some time to get my bearings and walk around a bit. After arriving, I headed for the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, "the second most-visited pilgrimage destination in Spain," and lo and behold, I discovered a festival, complete with wise men, a Christmas market, and CAMELS!

Say hello to my camel friend! (Thank you, kind lady who took this for me!)
Also, see the baby behind mama camel?

A Return

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! I've finally returned to my blog after a solid month of home (in the U.S.), traveling around Ireland (with Ohio boy :D), show-and-tell at school (again with O.B.), and then readjusting to day-to-day life in Logroño... and subsequently procrastinating entries on this here blog. I apologize for the delay, but I promise to make the next few entries worth the wait. Here is what's to come:

• a picture-littered entry about that week-long trip I took, once upon a time, to Italy and Greece
• a post about home, possibly highlighting some of the differences between life in Spain and life in the States, but mostly gushing about how lovely it was just to be home.
• a post about how this guy from Ohio met me in Chicago to fly across an ocean just to spend time with me... and you know, drive around Ireland and stuff. :)

Ladies View, Ring of Kerry, Ireland...
Gorgeous. And there's more beauty to come :)

Look for at least one of these before the week is over! 

Happy New Year! What's your sign?
I'm a fire rabbit :)

Now, it's off to do some errands. My weekend was full of fun... including one North Carolina boy's bar birthday bash, a chilly but invigorating search party walk with a friend whose keys decided they wanted to explore the Parque Ebro alone, and then a lovely (and delicious) Chinese feast in honor of the Year of the Dragon with some friends in Calahorra, followed by cards, drinks (new additions to my top five: Boston and Moscow Mules, thanks Ash!), and a night out on the town. 

A very full weekend, indeed, but unfortunately that means I did nothing particularly productive on the home-front. Time to rectify this...

By the way, anyone have any suggestions about what I should make for dinner? I'm stuck in a cooking rut and any inspiration would be most appreciated :) 

I love you all! Thanks for reading. 

Home tomorrow! Happy Anniversary today!

Hello, dear readers... I know, I know. My post-a-week resolution only lasted, what, 3 posts? The usual excuses: I've been über busy and on the road. I'm still recovering from my first (of many more) epic Euro-trips and to be honest, have found it much easier to catch up on a season or two of Dexter than to tackle another blog post. I've made it a little over halfway through the 4th season... Christmas-y, I know. :)

It's scary how creepy John Lithgow can be... and who the heck shot Deb and Lundy if it wasn't him??? [source]

Anyway, I'm sitting in one of my Calahorra haunts, Cafetería Niza. It meets my criteria of: good coffee, good tortilla, but more importantly, wifi and outlets that work. I would normally be in class at this time, but because the internet at the school doesn't seem to be working and because my activity (showing "How The Grinch Stole Christmas") depended upon it working, my teacher said, "Well, I guess you have a free hour."

If only I could have known this would happen... I wouldn't have bothered getting up at the before the crack of dawn to catch my ride, as I now do now do not have class until 10:20. Oh, and guess what we're doing in that class? Watching the second half of a movie they started yesterday. One of many times I ask myself, "why am I here?" I really could have just skipped the whole week and gotten home early... If there are any future auxiliares reading this, note that you can probably skip the week before winter break starts. Your teachers (at institutos, anyway) have nothing serious planned, and your time would be better spent elsewhere. Sleeping, perhaps.

BUT, morning crankiness aside, TONIGHT, I LEAVE FOR MADRID!!! IN 10 hours, I will be on a bus, napping and dreaming about some ruby red slippers clicking together... Unfortunately I'll have about 12 hours to wait in the airport before I actually take off. Is it strange that I'm actually kind of excited about trying out the whole sleeping in the airport thing? And can you believe there's a how-to website with reviews of airports, tips, and anything else you might need to know? Ah, the things we travelers value. :)

This will be me around 6am... AFTER I make it through security... [source]

I will have stories to share, I am sure. I just hope that they're the kind that make me laugh. :)

Anyway, in less than 36 hours, I will be home for the holidays. Hallelujah. Amen. I need my family. And I need a week to refocus... somehow that's always easier at home. Can't wait. Cannot wait.

I'll try to update from the airport-- I've read that there's free wifi. If not, hasta luego, amigos. I'll catch up with you Stateside!

P.S. Happy 26th Anniversary to my wonderful parents! Boy, am I happy that happened ;)

Kicking off December with a bang...

I've only gone a little bit past my self-allotted one week between posts, and yet, so much has happened! It's been a whirlwind of working, trip-planning, moving and thinking. Here are the highlights:

1. I have moved!
After returning from Santander to an apartment where:

• The internet was down, 
• a particular 19 year-old Spanish roommate STILL hadn't cleaned up dishes that had already been in the sink one week before I left, 
• the kitchen faucet was still dripping, and 
• aside from him mentioned in #2, there is not a native Spanish speaker in sight, 

I decided it was time to look for something new. And I lucked out on the first try! As I write this, I'm sitting in my lovely (full!) bed in my new room on Saturnino Ulargui. The street name doesn't have quite the allure as Avenida de la Paz, and sadly, I no longer have my own balcony, but to be honest, I wasn't using it anyway-- too cold! 

Blue dot is my new home, red is the old. Click for better detail :)

Anyway, this place is CLEAN, there are no smokers, the kitchen is immaculate and my room is nice and bright. It's on the 5th (and top) floor, so no more street noise. I'm a lot closer to Casco Antiguo (old town) and yet, it will probably work out to be less expensive here. All in all, I'm very much looking forward to living here and my only regret is that I had to leave 2 lovely roommates behind, Emma and Martin. I will miss them, but I probably left just in the nick of time, as a fifth room was just let. That would've been 5 people sharing one bathroom and a tiny kitchen! Here, I live with two nice Spanish girls... one's a pharmacist, the other, a psychologist... with the potential of a third moving in in the next couple of weeks. The two don't speak any English so here's hoping my Spanish improves tenfold! But talking extensively with them will have to be put off for about a week because on Monday...

2. I'm going to Italy... and later, to Greece! This coming week we have a puente from Tuesday through the end of the week. And guess who doesn't work on Monday's :) So, with a solid week of free time, I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to go someplace a little farther away. In searching, I decided to google "european swing exchanges" and guess what?! There's a Lindy Hop exchange in Thessaloniki, Greece from December 9-11. And guess what?! Thessaloniki just happens to be one of the cities RyanAir flies to. 

Swingalonica!!!

The one downside: no flights there from Spain. Oh well... guess I'll just have to fly to MILAN first!!! :) 

The Duomo! [source]

ALL about Santander!

I'm going to warn you now: this post is LONG, but it's mostly pictures, so don't be afraid :)

Last weekend, I went to Santander with my friends Rebecca. and Bionca. As you can see on the map below, Santander is west of Bilbao, my last little adventure, and pretty much due northwest of Logroño, in the region of Cantabria.

More importantly, it is ON THE COAST! Sea breezes, sand between the toes... one kind of heaven.

We arrived around 9 o'clock in the evening, in the dark, and without a hostel reservation (oops). As it turned out, this was rather fortunate, as it led us to seek out the Pensión Madrid, only a 5 minute walk from the bus station and a VERY good deal at only 15€ a night/person for one room for the three of us. And OH, was it comfortable (yay for memory foam mattress covers)! Of course, that last bit may have had something to do with the fact that we had just attempted sleeping in the not-so-comfortable bus seats. Anyway, after walking around a bit and eating at a diner-ish place (that reminded me of a Perkin's) where the food was okay but the company was excellent, we decided to heed the call of those lovely comfy-topped beds and get a good night of rest before a very unplanned tomorrow.

And then it was Saturday, where the word of the day was wandering. And in wandering, we stumbled upon so much!

A protest before breakfast: In what would you invest it? (300 million euros)

In search of breakfast, we passed this cleverly named bar :)

After breakfast, we went in search of the Tourism office for maps and advice. From this angle, I was very confused about which direction to go. It turned out the office was behind me :)

At the tourism office, we discovered that the only museum that any of us had

Bilbao and the Puente

Bilbao! Frank Gehry's architectural masterpiece, The Guggenheim Museum and El Puente de la Salve

I have decided to ride the wave of my freshly asserted motivation (see last entry) and tell you all about my trip to Bilbao over the puente two weeks ago. But first, let me answer the question that some of you may have: what in the world is a puente? Yes, I am a mind-reader ;) Actually... funny story...

A lovely girl named E.* who is also an auxiliar here as well as a palm-reading enthusiast told me that I have "the mystic's cross." In other words, I kind of am a mind-reader. Or at least, I'm intuitive enough to be... according to my right hand. But I digress...

This is puente in the traditional sense.

Puente means 'bridge.' This can be a literal bridge (as in build one and get over it :P), but it is also what Spaniards call a 4(or more)-day weekend. For example, the most recent puente was due to All Saints' Day (November 1st and a National Holiday in Spain). It fell on a Tuesday this year, so the schools and a lot of businesses go ahead and give everyone the Monday before off as well, thus they bridge the weekend to the holiday. Get it? This is a Spainism (yes, I made that up) that I wish the U.S. could adopt... but alas, they have manipulated our federal holidays (MLK, Memorial, Labor... do we get off for Columbus?) to all fall on Mondays.MLK's birthday's on the 15th? Let's put his day on the third Monday of the month. Columbus landed in America on the 12th of October? The second Monday of the month for him (regardless of the fact that the rest of the world celebrates it ON the day). Sheesh.