Una Mesa En La Esquina, Por Favor

Wow, I can't believe that I'm actually done with classes. It's amazing how quickly four months can go by. Last week, for my last art history class at the Prado Museum, our professor Paco brought us into the room that he brought us into on the first day (not that I remembered) with paintings by Goya--and specifically to "Saturn Devouring his Son." While it is a somewhat gruesome painting, it is meant to show that as much as you may try, you cannot stop time or destiny. He reminded us on how the first day when he brought us in the room in front of the painting he told us that our four months in Madrid are going to go by very quickly and be done before we know it, and that we need to take advantage of all of the time we have here and not have any regrets. And now, four months later he was telling us this again, but now instead of looking forward we were looking back. It's amazing how right he was. I honestly thought I was going to tear up it was so sentimental. It's so crazy to think that I only have a few days left in Madrid. One paper and one final left to go, I finish on Monday and our last dinner as a group is Wednesday night to officially end the program. Then my mom comes Thursday morning until Monday when I go to London for a week before finally returning to the U.S. after over four long months abroad. Now it's just time to take advantage of my last weekend in Madrid and then show my mom the amazing life I've been having for the last few months in one of my favorite cities in the world. I'll wait on the true reminiscing until my flight back to the U.S. in just over two weeks. Oh my goodness that's so close from now...

Last week I went on my last trip of the semester, and what better way to end it then with Paris? Thanks to Spanish holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday, we had a very extended weekend, so I was in Paris from Thursday night to Wednesday morning. The trip was absolutely fabulous, though we were thrown quite a few curveballs while we were there. We (Sabrina and I) quickly learned that this trip was not going to run as smoothly as our amazing spring break in Italy. And here are some of those annoying curveballs:

1. Getting to the hostel: although it was completely possible to get to the hostel by metro, we were told that it was unsafe at night (not true as we later learned) especially with our luggage, so we waited in line for 20 minutes for a very expensive taxi.

2. Highway closed: on the way to the hostel, our driver got stuck in ridiculous traffic for about 10 minutes because the highway was closed. Of course.

3. Getting to our room in the hostel: since the place we stayed was more residential than a hotel, we had to get our key from the safe since it was midnight and the front desk was closed. That wasn't the problem. The problem was finding a way to get up to the fourth floor since the elevator wasn't working for some reason. After about 10 minutes of trying random doors and considering just calling the hostel to send someone over, I finally tried one last door, which thankfully was for the stairs! I guess 10th time was the charm in that case.

4. Finding a bank: like everything else in life, it's when you need to find something that you can never find it--our case with a bank. Thankfully it only took us 20 minutes and asking one person, and it even ended up being a BNP Paribas, which meant less fees!

5. Figuring out how to use the Louvre audio guide: by the end of the museum it was undoubtedly audio guide: 1, Taylor: 0. I mean, I know I'm not all that technologically competent, but I had no chance with the audio guide, which was so high tech it was on a Nintendo DS. And I even paid five euros to rent it; at least the museum itself was free for us. The museum though was quite confusing. We spent about a half hour, starving and looking forward to our crepes the whole time, looking for the famous Mona Lisa, only to find out from a very rude worker that it was on the other side of the museum at another of the three entrances, which we had no idea existed. And that leads to the next curveball...

6. Attempting to take a photo of the Mona Lisa: besides the fact that seeing it was quite anticlimactic, as it is very small and put on a very large wall, you literally have to fight your way to the front to take a photo. I wasn't sure I was even going to make it out alive at one point, and when I finally did make out of the crowd I almost feel over as I was so unbalanced from people continually hitting into me.

7. Hostel taking Sabrina's money/Sabina getting stuck in the metro doors: unfortunately Sabrina had some of her own curveballs. For instance, although we paid in cash on the first day for the hostel, they still took the money out of Sabrina's credit card account for four days (which to them seemed to be normal procedure) essentially leaving her without any money for four days. She's very lucky I'm such a generous person and good friend =). She also managed to get stuck in the door to the metro train itself and the sliding doors where you put your ticket to go into the station. And both times it looked very painful...

8. Getting on the wrong train: I will admit, this was my fault. The train doors were about to close and I decided to risk it and get on without knowing for sure if it was going in our direction since the Paris trains fork a lot when they leave the city and we were going to Versailles. And of course I was wrong. So we had to backtrack which took us an extra 45 minutes or so to get there. My bad.

9. Lines to Versailles: After waiting in like for 45 minutes for our ticket to go in Versailles, we found out that there was another insanely long line just to get in the palace. So annoying.

10. Getting to the airport: We went home on Ryanair, of course out of convenience and not choice (since no one in their right mind would ever choose Ryanair willingly). And because Ryanair is so convenient, it is at the farthest airport from the city, and since we had to be at the bus that takes us to the airport just as the metro starts in the morning, although we attempted to figure out another way around it, we had to take another insanely expensive taxi ride to the station. At least we didn't miss our flight though.

But anyway, on a happier note, Paris was so much fun. We did all of the touristy things:

1. seeing the Bastille, now just a giant statue where the prison used to be
2. seeing the Arc de Triumphe--I should probably eventually find out its purpose
3. seeing the Eiffel Tower and its light show at night and going up to the top during the day, both absolutely amazing. Sabrina and I were always pointing it out to each other whenever we saw it, since we could never get over the fact that we were actually seeing it in person, even when we were casually hanging out right in front of it
4. going to Notre Dame and seeing all of the famous statues and the famous bell from the movie
5. eating croissants in the park--so French!
6. going to Versailles--an amazing palace, especially the room of mirrors and a huge and spectacular garden with so many fountains, one drenching up because it was so windy the water manage to reach us 50 feet away
7. eating so many absolutely delicious crepes--plain sugar and the nutella and banana are definitely my favorite, sweet crepes are so much better than savory crepes, and getting them off the street makes them even better than getting them at creperies
8. trying the macaroons at the famous Laduree--the almond was my favorite--though the macaroons at the McDonald's in Madrid (yes, all McDonald's in Europe are much classier and have entire McCafe's and are so much nicer places to eat)
9. eating lunch at a cute cafe outside while people watching and having the best chocolate mousse I've ever had
10. buying curry baguette sandwiches off the street--they're actually quite common and quite delicious
11. going into every single patry shop like I manage to do in every city I go to in order to ask for their most "typical" and "common" pastries to try
12. eating a croque de madame with some new USC friends I met in Madrid and met up with in Paris (how awesome of a story is that)
13. eating the famous and actually quite delicious McBaguette which is only available in France--literally like a burger but on a baguette with horseradish sauce
14. seeing Napoleon's grave
15. going to the biggest Louis Vuitton store in the world--i think it was five floors and insanely expensive
16. of course, seeing a cabaret show complete with the three quarters naked women.
17. and just walking around and enjoying the city for all of its amazingness

I can't believe we did so much in such a short amount of time. Paris is truly an international city, and I think it's safe to say it can be crossed of my list. Now it's just one last trip after the program to London before I'm finally home in New York and back to reality!

This past weekend was my last trip with the USC program! I can't believe that there is only a few weeks left already! At least it was a fun trip; it was essentially just all food, which I can never complain about. On Friday we went to Segovia, a city only about two hours away. First we saw this really pretty castle. According to my art history teacher who I completely trust because he knows everything, there was this theory presented by a man that Walt Disney wasn't actually born in the U.S. but in Spain and as a child used to go up to this castle on trips with his orphanage before he was adopted and went with his new family to the U.S. This guy believes that this castle in Segovia actually served as his inspiration for Cinderella's castle, and has evidence to back all of his claims up. So either Disney was lying or this guy is wrong. I guess we'll never really know. Anyway, after the castle was the first of three amazing lunches with insane amounts of food before driving to the hotel in Salamanca. Later that night was a walking tour of Salamanca, which is a huge college town since that the majority of the people who live there are students at the university there, and saw the prettiest Plaza Mayor I've seen yet in Spain. It's so unfortunate that all of these Plaza Mayors were built though to kill people essentially; Spain's history is pretty gruesome though so I guess it's not surprising. After the tour a few of us went for dinner and then out for a bit to some bars which was fun.
The next day we went to this place called Barco de Avila which is this really small town in which the people have had the same profession--herding--for hundreds of years. Our guide actually told us a lot of interesting stories; unfortunately we stood in the same spot for the entire hour he was talking so my mind started wandering a lot anyway. Afterward we took a walk and saw some gorgeous scenery, and then of course headed off to lunch for probably the most delicious steak I have ever had, which the area is known for. Then back to Salamanca for a nap before going back out.
And finally on Sunday we went to Ávila, where I've wanted to go to since October when I did a scholarship application on it. It is such a pretty and medieval city, with a lot of the originally city walls still up. And after a walking tour, of course, we ate. Lunch literally became everyone's favorite part of the day. Always delicious. That's probably why I was always essentially in a food coma after eating. Yeah, these meals definitely aren't good for the whole losing weight in Spain goal. Oh well. Now I have Paris to look forward to tonight--six days of ignoring papers and tests and eating French food and attempting to speak French all over again. Can't wait!

Days 7-10: And final our final destination: Rome! Rome was so amazing. First was the amazing hotel (which we had to splurge on a tiny bit as we booked it like 3 days before we left Madrid) in which we were served breakfast--hot chocolate and tea with croissants--in bed. Then was all of the sights: the Spanish steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica which of course included fighting to get a good background shot without ten people in your way. So first was the fountain which was cool, and then the Colosseum. On the way there, it was really cool because we'd pass modern buildings and then right next door some ruins and then some building from a few centuries ago--it's really cool how Rome has made that work. Then we saw the Colosseum in the distance--like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it was so exciting to see it in person. And after waiting about 45 minutes--a very short amount of time in comparison to everything else, we went in. And of course, besides taking in its amazingness, first thing I recognize is how it was a scene in "Jumper," a movie that I didn't ever realize I remember. Then I slipped into my USC band shirt to take some photos fighting on, since I obviously couldn't pass up an amazing opportunity like that. And afterward we were off to the Pantheon, though I still don't know what it symbolizes. The best part about the Pantheon was honestly this gelato place right there that one of our friends recommended with rose--yes rose--flavored gelato. That with chocolate mousse gelato was an amazing combination. We also crossed one of the bridges to the other side of the river and explored Travestere, a really cool, young area with a lot of places to go out. Right before the river was also the Jewish ghetto, but unfortunately, with Passover, most of it was closed. The next day we entered another country: Vatican City. We waited two hours to go inside the Vatican, though I guess that is what we get for going Easter weekend. It's actually funny because the three of us made two Jews and a Muslim, and we were in the capital of the Catholic empire Easter weekend. But anyway, once in the Vatican, it is very strategic because we were forced to walk through an entire museum of art and such before reaching the main prize, the reason that everyone goes: the Sistine Chapel. I mean, the other stuff was cool, but after standing for so long just to get in, all you really want to do is see what you came in for. At least we saw Raphael's "School of Athens" on the way, which I really like. Once we finally reached the Sistine Chapel though, it was worth the wait. It was so amazing--literally the painting is all around you. Plus, it was really cool because like most things I saw in Italy, I already studied it in my art history class this semester with my amazing teacher Paco. So it was really amazing to actually point out the parts he emphasized, like Adam and God almost touching hands, the wall with the last judgement, and Michelangelo's own self portrait. Then we saw went to St. Peter's square and saw the basilica and where the Pope comes out to make his speeches, which actually made me really excited when I saw it in person since i've seen it on television. We also saw a line starting to form, which we later found out was for some Saturday night service. It's pretty amazing how intense Easter gets. It was funny though because there were two nuns casually standing in line--two monks out of probably ten nuns and five priests we saw that weekend, most of them just casually walking around the streets of Rome like whatever. Every time I saw one though I started laughing, since nothing like that ever happens in America. I've seen a few nuns in Madrid, but to see that many nuns and priests in such a short period of time was pretty amazing. Our last night in Rome we went out with one of Caroline's friends from birthright (which I want to do so badly!) in Travestere to this very Americanized Italian place they love. I finally had penne a la vodka, which is much less Italian than I thought, and this awesome Tiramusu. Then afterward we went to this wine and chocolate place and took shots of liquor out of chocolate cups with whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top. We were supposed to hold the cup from the top and drop it in our mouths, but they were much bigger then we thought (haha that's what she said!) and had major issues with it, taking us about five minutes to finally finish and massive amounts of whipped cream all over our face. It was quite delicious though, more or less like everything I had in Italy. Afterward we went to a few bars before heading home. Overall, in Rome, everything seems to be bars in main squares mostly filled with tourists while the real Italians just have a late dinner at the expensive restaurants in the square and take their time sipping their wine. So yeah, Italy may have pasta, but there's nothing like nightlife in Madrid. And finally, on our last morning in Rome, we took a nice walk and got some beautiful scenic photos before flying back home to Madrid and getting ready for the reality of four papers and two tests in the next two weeks.

Italy was an unforgettable experience. However, having been to so many similar countries--Portugal, Spain, the south of France, and Italy--I'm ready for something different, which I hope I'll get from my last trip since I'm running out of time. Only a little more than a month until I'm home!

Days 4-7: Tuscany. On Monday morning we arrived in Florence, ready to get our fair share of museums. We had a nice hostel in a very good location, and once again, the city was very walkable which was nice. Florence is a very nice city. In the center is its famous "duomo" or cathedral, like every other European city has. Since it was so big though it was very helpful as a reference point, especially at night. On the first day we went to the Piazza de Michelangelo. Like the Basilica in Marseille, it required a lot of walking up steps (though not as many this time thank goodness!), but my motivation this time was that if I can do Marseille I can do anything. When we got to the top though, we found an absolutely amazing view of the city. We also lucked out too because that ended up being the nicest day in Florence--we were essentially threatened with rain everyday in Florence and Rome but lucked out most of the time with the weather. We also got to the Piazza by crossing this really cute river (a common occurrence in Italian cities) on a bridge with all of these jewelry shops. When we got to the Piazza, after taking plenty of pictures, we bought a bottle of wine and sat on the steps looking out into the city--it was so calming. The next day we went to the Academia Museum in order to see Florence's pride and Joy: David. Constructed by Michelangelo, Florence makes it a point to let everyone know that it is there. And actually seeing it after learning about it in art history was amazing. It was so big and impressive. Unfortunately though that was really the only great part of the museum; the rest is essentially artwork from the 13th to 15th centuries, which means that there is only one recurring theme: religion. I mean, they're great, but there's only so many times you can see Jesus and Mary before it gets old. It is funny though to see some of those paintings though from the time because a lot of the artists weren't the greatest at painting faces, giving Jesus and Mary really weird expressions and such or making Jesus look like a girl. That was a lot of the same story for the Uffizi Gallery we went to on Thursday. One of the biggest and most impressive galleries I've ever seen, there was also just a lot of those paintings. I still tried to make the most of my time in the museums though since we had to wait an hour and a half to get into each one--yep, that long. Thank goodness I was with people who helped me pass the time. But still, by the time you finally got into the museum you were already so tired that it was hard to stay focused at some points. As for the food, amazing of course. I'm not sure if it's specifically typical to Tuscany, but I had a lot of pasta bolognese (with meat), which was really good, especially at this one small but really well-known place where we had to share a four person table with this random guy. It was a little weird, but we made it work. Florence is also known for its "pan de pescatore" which is essentially a super delicious chocolate chip scone. However, I also learned that white pizza in America is not the same as white pizza in Italy. We went to this Neopolitan pizzeria since we all really wanted to try Neapolitan pizza. Ordering a white pizza, I literally only got bread in the shape of a pizza. Turns out, white pizza means no sauce or cheese or anything and four cheese pizza is white pizza. My bad. At least I ordered meatballs too though so I was able to eat. Unfortunately I had to learn my lesson the hard way. We also went out in Florence, going to a few bars and a club since Florence has much more nightlife. It was fun, but we also found out that Italian guys are much more aggressive, which is not as fun.

On Day 5 we took an amazing day trip with this company called Walkabout Tours to the Tuscany region. We may have had to wake up at 7:30am and not get back until 8:30pm (and then crash for the rest of the night), but we fit so much into one day. First we went to Siena, this really cute city with buildings from different centuries next to each other, which was cool. Then we went to Chianti where we visited a vineyard/farm, saw where and how olive oil is made, got to take pictures with some cows, and had a great lunch in which we tasted a different wine with each meal. And of course, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous; it was exactly what I always imagined picturesque Tuscany to look like. After a great lunch we went to San Gimignano where we had to go to its famous gelato store that literally won best gelato in the world for something like three years. Boy was that gelato delicious. And believe me, I had enough gelato during my ten days in Italy to confidently make a statement like that. It was so flavorful and creamy, but not overpowering. It was so good that I really did get sad when I finished it. But anyway, enough about the food. The city was very cute and had some great views. And finally it was to Pisa, where after getting off the bus we took this trolley train to the only place anyone goes to in Pisa--the leaning tower. We had about an hour there and literally just took pictures the whole time. It was actually pretty difficult, since the person with the camera had to explain to the person posing exactly where to put her hands and such to make it realistic. But the end product was so cute. My favorite one of me is the one in which I'm leaning against the tower. I also tried to take one in which I was leaning like the tower but for some reason I only tilted my head so I look a bit stupid. Oh well. It was just so amazing to see the Leaning Tower since it's something you always hear about. It's actually pretty funny how excited I got, giggling with Sabrina, ready to jump out of the trolley to start taking pictures.

Overall, Tuscany was awesome, though I was a bit museumed-out by the end of our time there.