Well, technically, this blog IS over...My trip has concluded and I'm back into the groove of things here in the U.S. I definitely still miss Spain and especially the people I met there, but I've moved on to my life back here. I was only home for about a week before I had to move into my new house down at school with 4 of my best friends, including Paige who travelled with me all semester! I've also started my job as an intern at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Bradley, where I go to school, and I absolutely LOVE my job!
If you're still interested in following me and my wacky journeys and stories, I've created a new blog (not specific to travel or anything). Check out the new blog here: keeksandco.blogspot.com! I plan to post anything from recipes I try to craft projects for my new house and my sorority. Of course, if you have questions about anything or want to contact me, leave a comment below!
Thank you all for reading. Love you!
Kira
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
25 Tips to Traveling on a Budget
Faithful readers and future travelers,
Are you planning a trip and don’t know what to pack? Are you
hoping to travel but don’t want to return broke? Do you want to learn all about
how to be a cool world traveler like me? Fear not! The much-anticipated list of
travel tips is finally here! I’ve wanted to write a post about everything I’ve
learned while studying abroad so that I can share the knowledge...and HERE IT
IS!
These tips are designed for students, young adults and
anyone who would like to travel as much as possible without spending a ton of
money. It is a collection of things I found out while spending my semester in
Europe and advice people gave me before I went as well. Let’s start with tips
on packing and things to do before leaving:
1. Pack less than you think you’ll need. If you’ll be away
for a long time, you can always do laundry and you’ll most likely do some
souvenir shopping so, within reason, stick the bare minimum. It’s also smart to
pack Space Bags to fit things in better (these can be used in backpacks on
weekend trips as well!) and plenty of Ziploc bags because it’s hard to find
those in Europe.
2. Buy a neck pillow! If you’re going to be traveling a lot,
those squishy neck pillows are fantastic for mashing up against the window of a
bus, train or plane when you need some shut-eye.
3. Pack things like a padlock, eye mask, earplugs, shower
flip-flops and small, microfiber towels. If you plan to stay in a hostel you
will need all of these things. Many hostels have them available for you to buy,
but they are more expensive and it’s better just to bring your own.
4. Get your priorities straight. Think about your goal for
when you travel: do you want to spend the majority of your money collecting
cool souvenirs from places? Are you a foodie who just has to try all of the
best dishes? Is your “going out” fund going to be the biggest? Or do you want
to save most of your money for traveling to as many places as possible? It’s so
important to know this ahead of time so you can plan accordingly.
5. On that note, budgeting is GOOD. I’m not saying you need
to track every single expense you have (although if you can, more power to
you!) but have an idea of how much money you have to spend and don’t go over
it. I budgeted generously for my semester abroad because I had been saving for
at least 4 years, and I still came in at half of what I wanted to spend. I
found it helpful to keep a spreadsheet of how much I spent on plane tickets,
hostels, buses, etc. to have an idea of how much I’d spent. I also tracked food
and shopping/souvenirs as well.
6. Research the weather and the type of activities you will
most likely be doing wherever you go so you pack appropriately and don’t have
to spend money buying clothes you already have at home. I hadn’t planned to do
as much hiking and running as I do here in Spain, so I ended up having to buy
more t-shirts and athletic clothes because I didn’t have enough.
7. USE SKYSCANNER. If there was one piece of advice I could
give you to traveling cheaply in Europe, this would be it. Skyscanner.com is a
website that searches for budget flights and compares companies. You can
rearrange dates or locations to fly out of to search for different options. My
favorite part is that you can enter where you are flying out of and the dates
you want to go somewhere, then leave the destination open and search for the
cheapest flights that way. Using this feature, I flew from Spain to Switzerland
for $70, Ibiza for $34 and Scotland for $120!
8. Another tip about Skyscanner: the site merely shows you
which flights are available and the cost. It does not book the flight. It takes
you to another website, such as RyanAir, to actually book the flight. Before
booking, do a little bit of research on the company to make sure it is legit. I
booked a flight through a 3rd party company that ended up asking me
to send photocopies of my passport, license and visa and when I did not, they
tried to charge me double the cost of the flight to book a new ticket. When I
researched the company after the fact, I found they had terrible ratings and had
to learn the hard way.
9. Also be on the lookout for added costs when booking
flights. Many times, your flight will say it costs a certain amount, and then
an extra $30 or more will be added on at checkout for taxes and whatnot. Just
be aware of these costs. It’s not unusual to be charged an extra amount to use
your credit card to book the flight.
10. On the topic of flights, let’s talk about RyanAir.
RyanAir (and other budget airlines such as Easy Jet or Wizzair) are a great way
to travel at a very low cost. All of the flights I listed earlier were flown on
RyanAir. The airline is legitimate, but they have to do several things to keep
their costs so low and I’d love to warn you about them! They will do everything
in their power to fine you for not doing any of these things.
10A. You MUST print RyanAir boarding passes online before
you come to the airport. If you don’t, you get a fine. You can print them up to
15 days before traveling.
10B. You must get your boarding pass stamped by the RyanAir
staff if you are a non-EU resident before you go through security or they won’t
let you board. There is a special desk at airport check in counters for this
purpose.
10C. If you are checking a bag, you’ll be fined 20 euro for
every kilogram you go over, so be super cautious! I believe the weight limit is
15 kilograms.
10D. Most of us just travel with carry-on bags because it’s
easier and cheaper and you can fit a LOT in a backpack! Be careful
though-RyanAir only allows you one carry on bag. If you are traveling with a
backpack, you have to be able to fit your purse in there as well! This is so
important-I had to stuff my neck pillow under my coat and look pregnant on one
flight because it wouldn’t fit in my bag!
10E. With your carry-on bag, you have to be able to fit it
in the container they provide and they will most likely make you stuff your bag
inside to prove it. Make sure your bag fits and is the right dimensions before
traveling. If you have a backpack, you’ll probably be fine and they let you
stuff it in there pretty hard (as
long as it fits all the way).
10F. On board, they don’t provide you with anything so don’t
expect snacks or drinks. They
will, however, try to sell you anything and everything for the duration of the
flight. Don’t expect to sleep much on a RyanAir flight either because you will
be woken up every 5 minutes as they try to convince you to buy soda, perfume or
jewelry.
10G. Okay, last RyanAir tip! RyanAir doesn’t assign seats
and they don’t post the gate of your flight until about 15 minutes before the
flight boards. Everyone waits at the screens for the gate to be posted, only to
have everyone running to get there first. I like to call this the RyanAir Dash.
The seats are first come, first serve. If you’d like a window seat or you want
to sit with your friends, just make sure you get to the gate as soon as it’s
posted.
11. Don’t be afraid to use other forms of traveling! I took
one overnight train and several trains within certain countries as well as
about a zillion buses. Transportation differs based on the country you are in,
so look into all the options to see what is cheapest.
12. Make sure you talk to your bank before you travel not
only to let them know you’ll be out of the country, but to figure out what your
foreign fees are. Those can add up, so be sure you know what percentage you’ll
be charged when you use a credit card or a debit card. Some debit cards don’t
charge you an extra fee to take money out of an ATM and if that’s the case, you
might be better off dealing more with cash than a credit card.
13. When booking places to stay, it’s also a good idea to
consider all options. I’ll discuss hostels in particular next, but we found it
cheaper in some cities to stay in a hotel because the cost was not listed per
person, but per room. When we had 4 people staying together it was sometimes
cheaper to get a hotel or rent an apartment, so keep all your options open.
14. Some good websites for booking hotels, apartments and
hostels are booking.com, hostelbookers.com and hostelworld.com.
15. Hostels always have a variety of room types to stay in,
and it totally depends on your preference and what is available. For a bit more
money, many hostels have private rooms. These are essentially like a hotel
although you will most likely have to share a bathroom. There are also dorm style rooms where
you might share your room with 4-12 or more people. One hostel we stayed in had
30-person rooms! Usually the more people per room, the cheaper it is.
16. If you are staying in a dorm style room, make sure you
have a lock to keep your stuff safe. Most will provide a locker, but you may
have to rent a lock unless you already have one.
17. When you are looking for a hostel it’s a good idea to
take these things into consideration:
- · Do they provide free breakfast? Often times no, but it’s good to look for!
- · Do they have kitchens? Cooking your own food is a great way to save money.
- · Where are they located? If they are in a central location, you can save a lot of money on transportation. Some hostels even provide free or discounted public transportation cards.
- · Do they give free walking tours? This is really common, and a great way to see the city for free! They do expect tips at the end, though.
- · What is their rating on the websites? Reading others’ comments can give you a good insight to the quality of the hostel.
- · Do they have free wifi? If it’s important to you, make sure they have it. Most do!
- · Do they store baggage for free and is it locked up? You’ll probably want to walk around after checking out if you have time, but make sure they can store your bag for you in a safe, locked location before leaving.
- · Do they provide bedding and/or towels? Bedding is often provided but not at every hostel and towels are often an extra cost. If you already have a microfiber towel or a travel towel, bring them if they aren’t provided.
18. Another site to check out for places to stay is couchsurfing.org. You can save a ton of money doing this because it’s FREE! I
never couchsurfed while I studied abroad but friends of mine did and loved the
experience. You have to contact the people on the website to set up your stay,
so look for people with background checks. Be careful if you choose to go this
route and only stay there if you are going with at least one other person! I
would not recommend couchsurfing alone.
19. Walk as much as possible or use forms of public
transportation. I know they may seem daunting, but you’ll learn to pick up
public transports SO quickly! They save you so much money in place of taking
cabs everywhere. Only take a cab when necessary! Especially when going to and
from airports it gets really expensive, so look into buses or metro systems. Most
cities have routes that take you to the airport.
20. When you visit a new city, make sure you check out the
available discounts for museums, monuments and other tourist attractions. Many
offer student discounts with a student ID, student visa or your passport.
Others have free hours where the museum is open to the public for free, so look
into it! It’s a good idea to always carry your student ID on you.
21. Be cautious of spending too much money on food. I love
eating and trying new things in the places I visit, but I do what I can to save
as well. It’s a great idea to cook for yourself if your hostel or apartment has
a kitchen, and going to the grocery store is almost always cheaper than a
restaurant. Also be aware of “tourist” menus...some restaurants will try to
charge you more than a food item is listed for on the menu when they know you
are a tourist.
22. Tripadvisor.com is another great resource for finding
out what the best things to do in a particular place are. They give ratings and
feedback from other tourists and it can help you decide what to spend your
money on.
23. Be prepared to take the early ones. By this, I mean that
often times, cheap trains, planes and buses leave really late at night or
really early in the morning. There’s always time for sleep later! If you really
want to save money, don’t be surprised if the cheaper flights leave
ridiculously early. I also ended up taking buses to bigger airports to save
money; instead of flying out of my local airport in Granada, Spain, I always
flew out of Malaga or Madrid. With the cost of the bus there included, our
travel expenses were still cheaper than flying out of the closer airport.
24. Ask your friends what their tips are! I learned a lot of
what is on here through talking to my friends who had traveled and hearing what
their experiences were. They might give you great advice on what things were
and were not worth spending money on. For example, I visited the Louvre in
Paris a few years ago and I advised friends who were going to Paris to go
during the Friday night free hours, as long as they were not big art fanatics
and could do with seeing the main pieces in about a 2 hour span.
25. Finally, always remember that as long as you actually
have the money, don’t keep yourself from doing something you really want to do
because it’s too expensive. Traveling to new places is a gift and you don’t
want to leave a new city or country with regrets because you cheated yourself
of an experience. Sometimes you might not have the money to afford a certain
excursion but if you do, and it’s really important, don’t let the money stop
you. My dad always gave me that advice and I really appreciate it; when you
look back on your life and your travels, you won’t care that you saved $50
(that you probably spent later on something way less cool), you’ll remember the
cool time you took a gondola ride in Venice, or when you splurged and went to
the top of the Eiffel Tower or the way you felt as you bungee jumped off that
bridge in Australia. Those are the moments that count!
I hope this post was helpful! If you are traveling and have
more questions or would like me to explain something better, don’t hesitate to
comment below or email me at krysiewicz@mail.bradley.edu!
Fellow traveler friends-please comment below as well if you have other tips
that I left out!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Pocos Días
Well folks, I’m officially past the 2-week mark until I come
home! I can’t believe it’s almost here already. I’m really excited to come home
and see everyone again and have my whole wardrobe back. I’m trying my best to
make the most of the time I have left in Spain before reality comes crashing
back to my life in 11 short days.
This past weekend, we decided to take one more little
getaway and hopped on a bus to a town near Granada called Almuñecar. It has
lots of palm trees and beaches and was a perfect, relaxing two days. I went
with three other friends from my program and we rented an apartment right near
the beach. For only 12 euro for the night, we got our own apartment complete
with a kitchen and a pool! We spent basically the whole day on Friday lying out
at the beach and at night we got some delicious Mexican food. After dinner we
walked along the beach and staring out at the water while a live saxophonist
played. We talked a lot about how lucky we are and how fortunate we are to have
this opportunity. All of us agree the feelings about the end of the semester
are totally mixed; one minute we can’t wait to go home and see our family and
friends again, another we think about how much we’ll miss just picking up and
going to the beach for the weekend because we feel like it. It’s a really tough
combination.
On Saturday we laid by the pool the whole day before we had
to head back to Granada. Sunday was also spent outside enjoying Granada: the
same group of four hiked for a few hours on some trails up in the mountains
behind the Alhambra and had some unbelievable views of the surrounding
mountains and the city from the top. It’s crazy that all of that beauty is
within walkable distance from my apartment here!
After the hike, we did a little shopping in the Moroccan
district where we each bought some Moroccan-style pants. They’re kind of ugly
but the most comfortable things in the whole world-mine have elephants on them!
We also did a bit of souvenir shopping for our families! After some afternoon
gelato in the sun, we all Skyped our moms for Mother’s day. It was great to get
to talk to my mom, but it’s hard not to be there for holidays like that. We
caught up for awhile though, and I do get to see them in 11 days!
Until then, I’ve kept myself busy making lists of all the
home-cooked foods I can’t wait to eat and all the American restaurants I can’t
wait to visit when I get back to the States! I never knew how much I would miss
Mexican food, Portillo’s or Panera. All my friends back home better be prepared
to eat up with me when I get back!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Vamos a la Playa!
This past weekend was yet another great trip, and a perfect
vacation to end my big travels for the semester. I have 2 weekends left in
Spain, which I’m finding really hard to believe. I’m not going into all that in
this post, however. After a semester jam-packed with travels all over Europe
(and Africa, too!), it kind of feels good to know that I’m done for a while.
I’m a tad bit burnt out on long travel days, but I’m glad we got in one last
big “hurrah” with a bunch of great friends this past weekend in Lagos,
Portugal.
Normally, when I travel on weekends I make all the plans for
myself. My friends and I research the hostels, search for cheap flights, book
the buses to and from the airports, figure out our itineraries and what the
best things to see in each city are, and so on. For this trip, a group of 12 of
us from our program in Granada booked our trip through a travel company and
miraculously, everything was planned FOR us! It was really nice not to have to
do it all for once.
The travel company, Discover Excursions, had a bus pick us
up along with about 30 other students from Granada at about 5:30 am on Friday.
The bus ride to Lagos is about 7 hours, so it was good to start early despite
being absolutely exhausted. We even got to watch a movie (in English!!) on the
way! We arrived in Lagos, a beach town on the very southern coast of Portugal,
at about 1pm and after checking into the hotel, made a beeline for the beach.
Conveniently, the beach was about a 2-minute walk from the hotel and boasted
beautiful aqua blue water and gorgeous rock formations. Oh..and unlimited free
sangria! YUM!
Discover Excursions also provides planned activities at an
extra cost in addition to the excursions included in your trip package, and in
Lagos they offer surfing, kayaking and a sangria boat cruise. Naturally, my
friends and I signed up for the sangria boat cruise, which was scheduled for
the first day. After a bit of sunning on the beach we met for the cruise, which
took us in and out of the amazing grottos formed in all of the rock formations.
It was unbelievable! The free sangria made it a little better as well. We were
lucky to have amazing, warm weather all weekend, although the water was
absolutely freezing. That didn’t stop my friends and I from jumping off the
boat for a bit to take a little swim. I was out of the water in seconds, and
back to enjoying the sunshine from the boat deck! At night, we went into the
city center to visit Nah Nah Bah, the restaurant that is home to the Toucan
burger, one of the top 50 burgers in the world! It absolutely lived up to its
reputation; the special sauce and grilled pineapple were fabulous. I haven’t
eaten much red meat since coming to Spain and it was so satisfying to sink my
teeth in a big, juicy burger. I devoured the thing in an embarrassingly short
amount of time, but according to the wristbands they gave us for the weekend,
“You only Lagos once!”
My friend Ari and I on the sangria boat cruise
Inside the grottos
The famous Toucan Burger!
On Saturday, we met as a big group for the buses to take us
to Ponte da Piedade, which is a lookout point where you can see some beautiful
views of the ocean and rock formations we had seen on the boat tour. I couldn’t
help but take a million photos because everything was so gorgeous! Afterwards,
we headed to a beach called Maia Praia for the day and spent a perfect
afternoon relaxing on the beach, getting tan, and drinking....you guessed it!
Sangria. Upon returning to the hotel, we had a little time for some dinner
before heading back on the bus to visit Cabo San Vicente, more popularly known
as “The End of the World.” I can see where it got its name; the cliffs there
were breathtaking. We sat and watched the sunset and I couldn’t help but think
about how beautiful the world is and how lucky I am to have been able to see so
much of it already. Sunsets make you think about deep things like that.
On our last day, we took advantage of every hour of sun
possible. Most of our friends had signed up for surfing or kayaking and left
right after breakfast for the day. Paige and I spend our day on the rooftop pool
of the hotel where, for the majority of the day, we were the only two guests up
there. From the rooftop, you could see out onto the ocean and it was the
perfect last day in Lagos. I loved the whole weekend and really enjoyed not
having to plan anything for once. I highly recommend Portugal if you ever have
the chance to go, and I hope to return to visit Porta or Lisbon in the future!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
A Wee Taste of Scotland
Well, I’ve officially left the land of bagpipes, tartan,
haggis and English speakers. I finally have the time to sit down and write a
post about what was, undoubtedly, my favorite trip this semester. I honestly
didn’t think I’d be able to choose a favorite (7 countries is a lot to visit in
4 ½ months and they are all such amazing places) but the UK really holds a
special place in my heart. First of all, this was my first time in an
English-speaking country in almost 4 months and as much as I love improving my
Spanish, it was such a wonderful mental break to not have to THINK so much all
the time! I could order something off a menu or ask someone for directions and
not have to plan how to say it beforehand. It’s the small things.
I had my first taste of the UK when my mom and I traveled to
England (and Paris as well) when I was 17. It was both of our first times in
Europe and an unforgettable experience that really started a “travel bug” for
me. I just adore British culture; the accents, the classiness, the adorable
phrases (cheerio!), the tacky “God Save the Queen” memorabilia. All of it just has me
envisioning a future lifetime where I hop on a red double decker bus in my
Wellies and Barbour jacket to visit my dear friends Kate and Pippa for tea and
crumpets whilst my plaid-clad Westie terrier plays with the Queen’s corgis. A
girl can dream. Even though it’s not the UK, I also visited Ireland about 3
years ago with my high school choir and fell in love yet again. I couldn’t take
in enough of the green landscapes and just about everything to do with the
culture. Needless to say, I was excited to return to the UK for a weekend in
Edinburgh and St. Andrews...even though I was a bit concerned about being in
such a cold place after 2 weeks of 70-80 degree weather in Spain.
So why was this weekend my favorite trip this semester? I
don’t know that I can pin down one exact reason why, but I’ll attempt to
capture the experience as best as I can. Apologies if this ends up being a long
one, but I think the best trip deserves a longer than average post, don’t you?
Paige and I met our friend Maggie at the bus station and
after a 2-hour bus ride to Malaga, a blissful cup of Starbucks coffee in the
airport, and getting patted down after setting off the security alarms yet AGAIN,
we were on our way to Scotland! Our flight landed in Edinburgh at midnight, so
we had to wait outside for a night bus that takes passengers into the city
center. Immediately we had our ears open for any sign of a Scottish accent. Two
older men behind me in line were conversing with each other when Maggie and
Paige asked each other what language they were speaking. It turned out to be
our first encounter with English there and we didn’t even recognize it! We were
also very pleasantly welcomed with some good British kindness and hospitality,
something that is seldom found in Spain. The bus driver was so nice and helped
us find our hostel. Tired from a day of travel, we crashed as soon as we got to our hostel room.
*SIDE NOTE: I am planning to write a blog post in the future
with a list of ways to travel inexpensively and tips on hostel life, Ryanair,
booking cheap flights, etc. with everything I’ve learned this semester. (I have
just barely spent half of what I budgeted on travel this semester and I’ve
traveled almost every weekend!)
Anyway, back to Scotland! The next morning we woke up and
enjoyed the free breakfast that the hostel provided before wandering up a
little bit of Princes Street, one of the main two streets in Edinburgh. As soon
as we stepped out the front door of our hostel, we could see the Edinburgh
Castle! We walked down the street for a bit, snapping tons of photos and
soaking in as much as possible. After an hour or so, we met back at the hostel
for a free walking tour they provided. The tour lasted three hours, and we
covered a lot of the city and learned some really cool things! I don’t remember
a lot of the history, but our tour guide knew some really interesting tidbits.
The city is also full of Harry Potter ‘artifacts’ as it is the place where J.K.
Rowling supposedly wrote some of the books. We visited the cemetery where she
got names for some of the characters, including Voldemort’s grave! I’m not an
HP fan, but I still though it was so cool!
Edinburgh Castle
The Elephant House Cafe, where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter
Voldemort's Grave
Another fun part of the tour was the story of Greyfriar’s
Bobby. Bobby was a little terrier dog who helped his owner chase away thieves
and when his owner passed away, Bobby faithfully sat by his gravestone for 14
years until he passed away as well. Obviously I got a picture with his statue,
the most photographed statue in Edinburgh!
After the tour, we walked through a bunch of touristy shops
on the famous Royal Mile, where I had to stop myself from buying all the Westie
and Scottie dog stuffed animals and restrain my urge to go in every store that
sold Hunter Wellies. Ryanair’s one-bag limit is a great way to prevent you from
buying unnecessary souvenirs. We also walked up to the Edinburgh Castle, though
we decided not to pay to go inside.
I think we were all a bit tired from the walking tour at
that point, so it was perfect timing that we had planned to head to the bus
station and catch a bus to St. Andrew’s University to visit my best friend
Elissa! The bus ride was about 2 hours through the countryside, and it was the
perfect way to relax while seeing some scenery. Elissa picked us up at the bus
station and we went to find a pub for some dinner. I absolutely adored walking
through the town of St. Andrews; everything was so cute and quaint and I got
really excited to spend Saturday there exploring. At the pub, we ate some great
food and I got hooked on my favorite cider, Kopparberg’s. We had a fun night
out and Elissa was kind enough to let us all spend the night in her dorm (even
though we had to snuggle up in her full-sized bed!).
My Favorite cider
In the morning, Elissa gave us a great tour of St. Andrew’s,
starting with the Old Course. St. Andrew’s is known for golf, and it could not
have been more beautiful (or more cold and windy). We stared out at the water
for a while, just enjoying the skyline dotted with turrets and cute buildings.
Our next stop was the dorm where Kate Middleton and Prince William lived when
they attended the university! We then visited St. Andrew’s Castle, which are
essentially ruins of the outer walls. Intact castles are amazing to see, but
ruins of castles just have something magical about them. Even more magical was
the glorious sun and beautiful weather we had that day!
The Old Course
a wee bit windy!
The dorm where Kate and William lived!
In the castle
We took a break to enjoy some lunch at Northpoint Café,
where Kate and William supposedly used to meet for coffee. I had an amazing
turkey, Brie and cranberry jam sandwich. I know the UK isn’t known for their
food, but I had some delicious things on this trip!
Our next stop was the Cathedral, which is also in ruins. We
wandered through the cemetery for a while, just reading headstones and enjoying
the sun. We had time for one last stop before catching our bus back to
Edinburgh, so we sat in an adorable café and I enjoyed some yummy lemon cake.
The 3-hour bus ride back to the city was even more beautiful
than the first, as we drove along the coast of the North Sea. It left me with a
lot of time to contemplate life. Before I came to Spain for the semester, I had
always thought I would spend another year or so of my life in Europe. I’m not
sure what I would do there, but I always pictured myself working for a year or
so in a foreign country in Europe where I could work and travel and soak up as
much culture as possible. I hated admitting this at first, but after spending
time living in Spain and traveling to all these amazing countries, I decided
that I definitely enjoy living in the US and that coming back to Europe was
something I wanted to do for sure, but only for vacations. 3 days in Scotland
reminded me what I love about it and restored a little bit of my faith in
Europe. I think if I ever do come back to live in Europe, it will most
definitely be the UK or Ireland.
Back in Edinburgh, we wanted to find a couple of good pubs
and a place to eat dinner. We were really surprised at how early everything
closed there! In Spain, dinner doesn’t start until 8 pm. In Scotland, dinner is
over at 9. In Spain, the bars stay open until at least 2 or 3, whereas in
Scotland, they close at midnight. Discotecas are open until 6:30 or 7, and the
latest clubs in Scotland closed at 3. We were shocked at how much Spain has
made us night owls! We hurried up and found a restaurant still serving dinner
so that I could try the food I had my mind set on sampling the whole weekend:
haggis. Haggis is a traditional Scottish food, and it’s extremely popular
throughout the country. I won’t list what’s in it-if you’re curious, I suggest
you Google it. If you are planning to try it, then maybe don’t. I’m proud to
say I ate (AND LIKED!) my first Haggis at a restaurant called Dirty Dicks. Complete
with a bottle of Strawberry Lime Kopparberg cider, the night was a great
success.
Not sure how I'm going to like haggis...
Sunday we woke up with an air of sadness, knowing we only
had a few more hours in Edinburgh until we had to leave and cut our visit
short. We all agreed we could have easily spent 5 more days there. To make the
most of our last few hours, we walked to the Holyroodhouse Palace for a tour.
Holyrood is the Queen’s official residence when she is in Scotland, and she
usually stays there during summer months. The palace gave us free audio guides,
so we were able to learn all about the different rooms including the bedroom of
Mary Queen of Scots! The gardens and view of the hills, along with the
crumbling abbey in the back, were completely breathtaking.
When the visit concluded, we had to make our way back to the
hostel to collect our things and head to the airport. I think we all left a
little bit of our hearts in Scotland. It was tough getting on that plane and
knowing we had to come back to class and “real life” (HA.) here in Granada. It
was, however, a good feeling knowing we wouldn’t have to get on another plane
until we head home to the states. I love traveling and flying, but 10 flights
in 15 weeks was a lot to handle. The rest of the week will hopefully include a
trip to the beach and possibly a visit to the Spanish city of Córdoba before we
leave for 3 days in Lagos, Portugal on Friday! Don’t worry, that one is a bus
trip-no more flying!
I have one last thing I want to include in this post, and
that is a big thank you to my parents and everyone who has helped me get here. I
fully recognize just how blessed I am to be here, and I constantly have to
pinch myself to convince myself that this IS real life. I am so, so fortunate
to be able to do a semester abroad, and I truly hope you all have the chance to
take a trip and visit new places. If you ever have the opportunity to visit the
UK (or anywhere in Europe for that matter), DO. It will change your life. I’m
serious. You have to travel until you find the place that calls to you, and I
also believe you have to travel enough to realize why you really love you home.
Each trip I’ve taken and each new country I’ve visited has taught me something
new about myself or about a new culture. Even though it takes a lot of saving
money to get here and a lot of hard work, I know for sure that I’ll be coming back
to the States a much richer person because of these experiences.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
From City Girl to Nature Lover?
Who would have thought? I think the day might have finally
come. With all those weeks of nonstop rain and the Spanish customs of not
moving out of the way for pedestrians on sidewalks, I could not have been more
ready to get out in the sunshine and away from the city. Granada has several
parks and lots of pretty plazas where you can sit and have a beer or a gelato
and talk with friends, but Paige and I needed somewhere where we could really
feel completely removed from the day-to-day movement of the city.
To be honest, I can’t even believe I’m saying this! I have
always been a city-lover...I was convinced I wanted to move to Manhattan for
college (back when my dream was to become a Broadway star) and I’ve always
loved being in cities with lots of people everywhere and things to look at.
Sometimes they can be overwhelming, but that was what I loved about them; from
the crazy graffiti on the wall, to the natives making a beeline to wherever
they just HAD to be in such a hurry, to the homeless guy playing the saxophone,
I just couldn’t get enough of it.
Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve seen so many cities here in
Europe in such a short time, or maybe it’s just that I’m learning to appreciate
the natural beauty of a place. Either way, I have found this past semester that
I’m happier when I get to spend time seeing the countryside of any particular
country or city. Granada has so much beauty surrounding it, but it sometimes
gets forgotten when walking through the city. Every once in awhile, I look up
and happen to catch a glimpse of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and they still
take my breath away just a little bit.
Now. DO NOT GET ME WRONG. You will still not catch me
camping or “roughing it” anytime soon (those of you who know me well know I am
just not the camping type), but I do enjoy spending more time outside and being
able to take a deep breath of fresh air. Thankfully, Paige happened to find a
wonderful paved running path close to our house that takes us straight outside
the city. It’s been so nice lately and I’ve gone for several walks along this
path. After walking for about 45 minutes, you turn around to see the massive,
snow-capped Sierras in the background and really have to pinch yourself. Call
me crazy, but there’s something about that farm-y horse smell out on the path
that is just really refreshing. A lot of flowers are starting to bloom as well,
which is hard on the allergies but great on the eyes. I know I’ll be spending a
lot more time on this path in the weeks I have left here!
This past weekend was filled with time outdoors; we went for
a couple walks on “our path” and on Saturday decided to head to a nearby beach
for some sun. One of the many disadvantages to not having internet? We have no
way to check the weather! The night before had said it would be sunny and about
75 degrees, but unfortunately it ended up being completely cloudy and a chilly
61 or so. Not exactly bikini weather. The beach we went to was in a town called
Nerja, about a 2-hour bus ride from Granada. We had brought picnic food and
planned to spend the whole day there, but ended up back in Granada in a couple
hours. Our time in Nerja was spent looking for shells and eating in a café all
while wearing a sweater. C’est la vie.
Back in Granada, we returned to sunshine and perfect weather
for a walk on the path once more. We wanted to go to bed fairly early to be
well-rested for our long hike in the mountains on Sunday! On Sunday a group of
people from our program decided to go on a hike together in a small town called
Güejar Sierra, about 40 minutes from Granada. The entire day was absolutely
breathtaking; the hike took us about 5 hours, and we literally couldn’t stop exclaiming
how beautiful everything was. The mountains were even cooler up close, and the
rushing rivers and bright blue lakes had me completely captivated. We got to
see some mountain goats, and took a short break part-way through to eat our
lunches sitting on some rocks by a stream. We got lucky and had great sunny
weather that wasn’t too hot or too cold. It was such a fun day, and a great
memory to look back on! Hopefully we will have time for another hike and a
couple more beach days in the next few weeks because I definitely want to spend
some more time in Granada and the surrounding areas before heading home in
exactly one month from today!
The weekend of all things nature ended with some indoor time
spent with technology. It was so, so great to spend over an hour talking with
my Dad since we don’t get to catch up nearly as much as I’d like. Even though I
don’t have internet at home here in Spain, I’m so thankful things like Skype
exist so that we can talk to our loved ones “face-to-face” while we’re over
here for 5 months.
All the sun and fresh air has made this nature girl pretty
much exhausted, though. My next adventure? A weekend in Scotland visiting
Edinburgh and St. Andrews! Stay tuned for a post about those shenanigans next
week. For now, adios!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
A Sunny State of Mind
Hallelujah! The sun has FINALLY arrived to Granada, and I’m
pretty sure it’s here to stay. Knock on wood. It’s been in the mid to upper
70’s lately and the forecast for the next week is about 75-80 and sunny every
day. Jealous yet?
The sun came at just the perfect time...I was starting to
feel a little hopeless with over a month of rain nearly every day. My hat goes
off to anyone who studies abroad in Ireland or the UK and comes back without
some form of depression-it’s so crazy how much the weather affects us!
The sun definitely makes my 30-minute walk to school a lot
more enjoyable. On an average morning you’ll find me strolling along the
sidewalk, sunglasses-clad, listening to some country music on my iPod, and
getting some hardcore Toms tan lines from my shoes. My host mom Carmen has
warned me countless times of how pale I am and how much I need to make sure to
wear sunscreen every day now that it’s warm and sunny (so you can rest easy
Mom, I’ve been wearing my SPF every day for fear that Carmen will yell at me).
I find it funny how adamant Carmen is about this advice,
considering the fact that all Spaniards seem to think it’s about 40 degrees
still. I’m not kidding-I get the strangest looks every day when I wear a
sundress or even short sleeves when it’s in the 70’s but all Spaniards are
still dressed in parkas, scarves, sweaters and boots. This is one cultural
thing I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand. I get so hot just looking at
them! How on earth do they not have heat stroke by now? The other day, Carmen
asked me how the weather was outside and when I told her it was great and
really warm (about 72 degrees) she responded, “muy bien,” while simultaneously
putting on her knee-length parka and scarf. I just don’t get it. Her poor
grandson Juan Antonio is still dressed in his winter coat every day as well,
and always gets scolded when he takes off his scarf!
In honor of the warm weather, about 20 students from my
program and I visited the Mediterranean Spanish island of Ibiza this past weekend!
It was the perfect, warm beach weekend that I really needed. Ibiza was
absolutely stunning; the water was amazing and we had the most perfect beach
close to our hostel. The best part? Our flight cost a whopping $34 roundtrip.
Thank you, Ryanair!
We arrived in Ibiza on Friday afternoon to perfect sun and
warm temperatures. Our cab driver on our way to the hostel informed us that the
tourist season doesn’t start until June there, and for that reason all of the
clubs except for one were closed. I didn’t mind too much, as paying upwards of
60 euros for an entrance fee
didn’t sound quite like my thing anyway. We couldn’t get into our swimsuits
fast enough, and after a quick pit stop for some snacks and beverages, we hit
the beach for the rest of the night. I had a lot of fun with the other people
from my program and we even started a little jellyfish fight! There were lots
of dead jellyfish just kind of floating in the water by the beach and they
weren’t stinging ones anyway, so we collected handfuls of the little guys and
just went crazy throwing them at one another. Sometimes you just have to
indulge in a little immature fun. The sunset there was breathtaking, but
unfortunately I had to pull myself away from all the fun so I could walk back
to the hostel to register for my fall classes at Bradley.
*Side note. We are not talking about the fact that I just
registered for my senior year. It’s not happening. I refuse to admit that I
only have one more year left.
In case you care, I did get all the classes I wanted except
for 4 hours that I’m waitlisted for, but I’ll be able to get into them.
Anyway...Saturday morning we got up for another day at the
beach and some girls decided they wanted to try a different beach on the other
side of the island because it was supposed to be one of the prettiest ones. My
friends and I hopped on the bandwagon (bus) to the Eivissa area of the island,
where it turned out we weren’t actually very close to the beach we wanted.
Instead, we walked about 30 minutes or so to a closer beach. It was really
pretty, but by the time we got there it was almost entirely covered in clouds
and really, really cold. We toughed it out for a couple hours and then decided
to head back to the beach by our hostel. Just as we had packed up our stuff and
set out to walk back, the sun started to come out. We ended up spending the
rest of the afternoon and evening on “our beach” watching the sunset again and
went out for dinner together.
Dove Love sign!
Our last morning was spent enjoying our last couple of hours
in the sun on the dock before we had to leave for the airport. It was really
relaxing, and I’m SO looking forward to the other beach trips I have planned
for the rest of the semester. I just got to thinking today that it seems like
it wasn’t that long ago that I wrote the post called “Six Weeks Already??”
Now, I only have less than six weeks LEFT here! I just can’t believe where time
has gone! I just know the next month and a half will fly by, and I can’t wait
to see you all when I get home. For now, I’ll be working on my tan, getting
weird looks from Spaniards as always, finishing up my classes, hoping I don’t
go bankrupt, worrying about how I will get everything home in a suitcase under
50 pounds, eating gelato, and missing everyone like crazy.
Hasta Luego!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Dear Diary.
If that doesn’t sound corny, I don’t know what does.
Anywho...I’m heading back to Granada after spending 11 days
traveling. I did a lot in the last week: we went to Barcelona, then on to Rome,
Florence, Siena, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Venice and are ending the trip in Bologna.
It was a jam-packed week and I’m kind of ready to get back to life in Granada.
The other weird thing is that my semester is more than halfway over now. THAT
is nuts. I don’t know where the time has gone!!
I could spend this whole post talking about everything that
I’ve seen and done this week in Italy, but I’ll spare you all the details. You
can look through my Facebook pictures if you want and I’d be happy to share
some of the funnier/most ridiculous stories, but I’m going to use this post to
talk about the corny. The feelings part,
if you will. Don’t worry-I’ll give you some of the highlights of my Italy trip
as well, if you care to read about them at the end of this post.
So for now, try to stick with me and I’m going to hope this
doesn’t become a jumbled stream-of-consciousness, get-it-all-out kind of post.
Fingers crossed.
When people talk to you about studying abroad, they pick out
the best parts to tell you-the cool places they visited, the famous landmarks
they saw, that time they went out to the 6 story club and met up with all these
awesome college kids from Holland, or how they are coming back to the States “like
totally more culturally aware and stuff.” Here’s the single most important
thing I have learned so far: I really, truly appreciate everything I have at
home a lot more. Sure, I like having hot showers that last as long as I want
and I miss Panera Bread or my Venti coffee, but it’s not just the American
lifestyle conveniences I miss. I’m close to my family and I realized just how
much I miss them without being able to see them for almost 5 months. I miss
snuggling up with my best friends and watching a movie in the Sigma Kappa
basement or giggling about stupid things until it’s way too late. I miss seeing
my puppy when I come home from school and spending hours cuddling with him. I
miss being able to call or text my mom whenever I want. I miss long walks
talking about everything under the sun with my dad.
There are a million more things I could list off. But
despite that long list, not an ounce of me regrets doing this semester abroad.
And that contradiction is exactly why most people who study abroad hold back
and don’t tell you about the things that weren’t so easy about studying
abroad-we are afraid you won’t understand that even though things weren’t
always easy or always fun, we still don’t regret our semester abroad and we
don’t want you to think we didn’t have a good experience.
I’m so incredibly blessed to be able to have this
opportunity to travel to all sorts of amazing places and meet cool people and
practice another language. So many people are not as fortunate, so it just
feels wrong to complain about anything or list any negatives about
studying abroad. Nothing is perfect though, so why would anyone assume the same
about living in a foreign country for 5 months? I was completely disillusioned
coming to Spain and honestly thought I wouldn’t feel homesick at all. When
people said they thought that 5 months was a really long time, I never thought
it seemed that bad. It’s one of those situations where I’m so, so happy to be
here and be experiencing it all but when May 24th rolls around, I’ll
be thrilled to see my family and friends again.
I don’t know if anyone will be able to completely understand
what I’m trying to say here, but if anything, I’ll be able to remember for
myself that it wasn’t all easy and that I did, in fact, learn A LOT from this
experience. That alone makes it all worth it.
And that’s about all I wanted to say about that.
SO. On a slightly more upbeat note, here are 10 highlights
from my Italy trip:
1. Seeing friends again! Special shout out to Nyssa, who
played tour guide for us in Rome! Our little foursome-Me, Paige, Hope, and
Elissa made an awesome travel group.
2. THE FOOD. I’ve got a lot of walking to do to burn off all
of the Italian food I ate this week. Seriously, friends...it’s obnoxious. The
gelato and pasta were just to die for! I just couldn’t help myself. When in
Rome, I suppose!
3. Okay, not exactly a highlight but it did make for
some stories was the Italian transportation systems. Basically, they kind of
suck. We were fined on the train for not stamping our tickets, we had a 2 hour
delay on one of our trains (almost leaving us stuck in a remote town in Cinque
Terre for the night!), and we are just all around over their methods of
transportation. I’ll take my walking everywhere in Granada over buses/trains/water
taxis ANY day.
4. Seeing the panoramic view of Florence from the top of the
bell tower next to the Duomo (it was closed for Easter, so we couldn’t go up in
it). I think Florence was my favorite city in Italy, and it was amazing to see
a view of the entire city from the top.
5. “If they can’t FIND me, they can’t FINE me” ...and other
one-liners from our week together. A lot of inside jokes developed during this
trip. J
6. Our wine tasting class in Florence. Happy to say I have
“graduated” from the Tuscan Wine school and am now an expert in wine tasting.
(But don’t ask me any questions about it because the wine got to my head a
little and I kind of forgot most of what we learned.)
7. The little town of Siena, and how absolutely picturesque
everything was there.
8. Taking those tacky tourist pictures holding up the
Leaning Tower of Pisa.
9. Attending Mass in St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice for
Easter. I wish I could have been with family, but mass in the second most
visited church in Italy is a pretty good alternative.
10. Throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain, because it
means I’ll come back to Rome someday. I really hope that’s true...Italy is an
amazing place and definitely somewhere I want to come back to later in life.
I’m hoping Venice hasn’t sunk by then, because it owes me a gondola ride!
Ok, so before I end this post, I have one last cool story to share with you, and picture to go along with it. Many years ago, my dad backpacked through Europe with a friend, visiting places like Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. One of his stops was to Florence, where he happened upon a cool-looking horse statue in a Piazza and snapped a photo of it. Upon returning to the States, he showed his parents the photos from the trip and my Grandpa immediately ran and got his photos out from when he was in Italy after WWII. Coincidentally, he had the SAME photo of the same, not-very-famous, horse statue. I'm happy to say I am the third generation Rysiewicz to take a photo of this statue in Florence. Pretty cool, I think!
xo
Kira
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