Malaga: Dia Cinco

30.5.08

Friday was a day of rest and work. I did not rent a bicycle, as I originally planned, so I had ample time to relax and work on my homework. I worked on my economics homework for multiple hours, ensuring that it was correct. In the morning, I uploaded photos to my computer; however, due to poor internet connection, I was unable to put any on the blog.

In the evening, Bryan and I walked down to the school to hang out with our friends near the pool. I ordered spaghetti with white sauce and ham for dinner. Many people went to bed early, since our departure time for Granada was at 7:15 on Saturday. At home, Bryan showed Carmen and I all of his pictures from the trip. Afterwards, thanks to the social-networking website Facebook, we both showed Carmen pictures of our families. Carmen said my mommy was muy bonita, and I agreed!

Random Notes:
- I discovered these little cookies that are delicious. They are so soft that they essentially fall apart upon touch of your teeth.

- Is everything smaller in Europe (compared to US), or is everything normal here and larger in US (compared to US). I have not yet generated an answer to this question. Any thoughts?

Hay una problema

Unfortunately, the internet is not cooperating at the moment. I have tried uploading pictures, but I have had no success.

Last night, Carmen prepared comida muy americano. We had a salad with bacon and cheese, fried potatoes, bratwurst, and strawberries. I am not doing the bike tour today, but I plan on doing it soon.

Since the Granada trip is tomorrow, I will probably not post a new entry until Sunday or Monday. Pictures will, hopefully, be included with the next entry. I apologize for the disappointment.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

PICTURES!

At long last, I have finally uploaded some of my pictures to my computer. I will begin to put some of my favorite pictures on the blog, starting with Madrid. Stay tuned!

Malaga: Dia Cuatro

Hola,

As usual, Carmen prepared a delicious feast for dinner last night:
- tomatoes, avocados & corn
- green beans
- tortilla de jamon (an omelet with ham and cheese)
- orange for dessert

After my class this morning (stimulating!!!), the entire group traveled to the beach. Some of the students laid out on the beach to work on their tans, and some played a game of beach soccer. I walked along the coast with Tyler and Bryan, and we at lunch at a beach-front bar. I ate a pollo y jamon toasted sandwich (chicken and ham), and it was really good; however, it does not compare to the delicious array of paninis found at ArtStreet Cafe.

Afterwards, I sat on the beach and collected some rocks. I found very few shells; instead, there were many elongated and smooth rocks. I then skipped some rocks on the ocean waves. It was fairly windy today.

Unfortunately, there are no classes tomorrow. I plan on renting a bike and riding along side the Mediterranean Sea, stopping at whatever beach or restaurant I feel like. I may cycle into downtown Malaga and get a closer look at the Cathedral or Picasso Museum.

I promise that pictures will be coming soon!

Hasta manana.

Malaga: Dia Tres

It's day three here in Malaga, and everything is well.

Last night after class (boring), we went back home, and Carmen made us dinner. We had beef, chicken, and vegetables. It was a very filling meal. For desert we ate strawberries with whipped cream. I drew a map of the United States, and we showed Carmen where we live on the map. We then explained some of the different US holidays. Easter was the most difficult to explain. We mistakingly mentioned the "Easter Bunny" in our description, which made her think that we ate rabbits on Easter!

After classes this morning (boring), I ate a ham sandwich and went to the local grocery store, SuperSol. I aimlessly wondered the entire store about 30 minutes. I enjoyed seeing all of the different brands and types of food for sale. Surprisingly, all of the food was much much cheaper than I expected. The food was lot cheaper than the US, even after factoring the exchange rate. Also, milk and eggs were NOT refrigerated. How odd. I purchased a little pastry from the store's bakery. It was shaped like an apple, and it had apples in it.

Instead of going to the beach, I walked around the neighborhood. There are a lot of interesting restaurants and stores nearby that I hope to explore soon. As much as I enjoyed the big city life of Madrid, I appreciate the laid-back atmosphere here because I can absorb a lot more of the culture and lifestyle. Spending a prolonged period of time in Malaga will enable me to feel what life is actually like here, instead of experiencing Spain simply as a tourist, traveling from sight to sight.

Hopefully, I will upload some pictures in the next few days, but right now, I need to read for my class (boring).

Malaga: Dia Dos

Que tal,

Just a quick update from Malaga. Last night, Carmen made us beef stew and potatoes, and it was really tasty. The four of us talked, in Espanol, for two hours. Carmen commented that my Spanish was much better today, and it sounded like I had learned a lot already. As I stated yesterday, I am keeping a notebook of new vocabulary I learn and questions for Carmon. This is definitely helping me improve. Also, I learned that Carmen does not like roller coasters!

We went to bed around 24:30, and I woke up at 10:30. It has been really nice to get two nights of solid sleep. I feel revitalized.

It is a little chilly today (64F), since there is no sun in the sky. Coincidentally, this is the first day I wore my sandals.

After classes today, I purchased a ham sandwich and gazpacho for lunch. I wanted to try gazpacho really badly, but I did not enjoy it as much as I thought it would. Perhaps I just got a bad bowl.

On Saturday, we are visiting Granada and El Alhambra. I am very excited. More information about this excursion will be coming soon.

Aside from the weekends, my day to day life will be pretty consistent. If you have questions about Malaga or anything about my trip, please e-mail me at jstoffl@gmail.com or post in the comments section below.

Hasta pronto!

Malaga!!!

I recognize it has been a few days since my last update. I apologize; however, we have been traveling and had no internet connection. If you only want to know the basics, I assure you that I am alive and well.

Saturday, May 24
We departed our hotel early in the morning to travel to Volubilis. The city is more primitive than any of the cities we have visited, and it is built on two large hills. Needless to say, there was a lot of uphill walking here. The view of the entire city and countryside was well worth the strenuous hike to the top of one of the hills.

After lunch, we checked in at our hotel, which was pretty nice. This hotel was spread out in multiple sections, and it had a great overview of what makes Volubilis famous: the Roman ruins. Once a huge Roman city, Volubilis has been excavated and partially restored. The site, although it looks rather small, was a massive labyrinth. Mosaics were in perfect condition and many columns were re-erected. Our guide, despite his inability to speak comprehendible English, was extremely funny. I could have spent an entire day here by myself exploring all of the ruins. One of the trip highlights, no question.

While exploring the ruins, I could not help but think, what is going to be remaining from our society two thousands years from now? What physical objects are going to remain, if any? What will “tour guides” say about our society? Think about it.

I greatly enjoyed the final dinner in Morocco. There was a Moroccan band that played authentic music for us. Afterwards, everyone danced to the band and the DJ. This was a great way to end the Moroccan portion of the trip.

Sunday, May 25
Our wake-up call was early on Sunday morning because we had a boat to catch in Tangier. Almost everyone slept on the bus, so the three hour ride was not too bad. While I was awake, I enjoyed the soothing view of the Moroccan countryside. Tangier was similar to Casablanca in terms of how western it is. We did not have time to explore the city, since we were on such a tight schedule. Due to the time constraints, lunch needed to be brief as well. Unfortunately, this yielded a stop at McDonalds.

Now, I cannot blame our guides for picking a McDonalds to eat at because they made the decision in our best interest. Peggy, our excellent guide, stated, “I saw how excited you all were at McDonalds a few days ago.” About 50 people piled into one small McDonalds, which had an excellent view of the Mediterranean Sea. I need to give major props to this McDonalds because they produced meals for 50 people in 12 minutes.

Now, readers, I am ashamed to report, that I partook in this McDonalds feast. My other option was to wait over nine hours for a meal, so I decided it was the smartest decision. Plus, it was free, so I am not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Of course, I ordered the McArbia, which is a hamburger on pita bread with Moroccan sauce and spices. I am happy for trying this unique sandwich, but I am in no rush to return to a Moroccan McDonalds, or any McDonalds, for a short time.

The boat ride from Tangier to Gibraltar was a lot of fun. Actually, we landed just west of Gibraltar, not the actual city of Gibraltar. The boat was huge, and the Mediterranean Sea/Atlantic Ocean was beautiful. One could see Spain and Africa at the same time on the boat. It was only a 35 minute ride.

Finally, we were back in Spain and en route to Malaga. The ride through the southern coast of Spain was enjoyed; however, despite my strongest will, I slept through most of it. Upon arriving in Malaga, our bus broke down. Fortunately, we broke down in the center of city, with a lush garden on one side and a castle on the other. An operational bus arrived 25 minutes after breaking down.

We arrived at Malaca Instituio (spelled correctly, Malaca not Malaga). This language school is the base of our operation in Malaga. We have classes here, and, for the students not living with a host family, it serves as a residence, too. Since I am staying with a host family, I spent little time here this night. I got a taxi and traveled to my host family.

To my surprise, all host families are hosting multiple students. I am with my friends Bryan and Dave. We met our mother, Carmen, last night. She is a single mother who has two children, now living in Madrid, who are two and three years older than me. She speaks very little English, so all of our conversations were in Spanish. Dave speaks fluent Spanish and is the best speaker on the entire trip. He provides a great channel because I am, by no means, fluent in Spanish and neither is Brian.

It was very intimidating for all of us to enter the host family with little knowledge of what we were getting into. Carmen is very nice, but it was difficult at times to respond to everything she said because of how quickly she speaks. I was a little frustrated last night, but I am looking forward to improving my Spanish everyday. My goal is to write down 3-5 questions everyday to ask Carmen at dinner. I am better at writing/speaking Spanish than speaking Spanish. I also plan on writing down all of the new vocabulary I learn everyday in a notebook.

Carmen’s apartment is really nice, and the three of us are staying in the rooms formally occupied by her children. Bryan and I are sharing a room, and each bedroom has its own bathroom. Last night, she made us dinner, and it was very good. She made a big salad, with avocados, a tortilla español, and an orange for dessert. We ate dinner at 9:30pm, and I was in bed by 11:00pm. It was nice to finally get some a good night’s rest!

Today, May 26
We are a 15 minute walk from the school, and a 25 minute walk from the beach. Please see the maps below.

B is where Bryan, Dave and I are living. A is the school.

Satellite view of our Carmen's apartment.

Bryan and I got lost this morning on the walk to school. Well, we did not really get lost, we just took the long way to the school. It was really nice to walk to school and absorb the surrounding area. Malaga is similar to Jacksonsville or Tampa Bay, Florida because many Spanish come to this area to vacation during the summer; however, the city is like San Franciso because everything is built on hills with many winding roads.

We took a brief tour of the city this morning and saw some of its main highlights including its Cathedral and a panoramic view of the city. We will be spending three weeks here, so we will have plenty of time to get acquainted with our surroundings. Malaga lacks the hustle-and-bustle of Madrid, and it also lacks the inflated prices. Granted, I have been here for only 24 hours, but I like it already.

For lunch, we grabbed some lunch at the Malaca Instituto’s “cafeteria.” I use the word cafeteria loosely because it was essentially a café and bar. I ordered a ham/cheese croissant and a bowl of pumpkin-carrot soup. We ate outside and enjoyed the pleasant weather (70F).

After my religion class, the school held Flamenco dance lessons! The hour lesson went by quickly, and I am now a pro. You all will be impressed with my Spanish moves on the dance floor.

My normal daily schedule is really up-in-the air at this point because there are constant changes with the class schedule; however, I will have internet connection. A typical day will probably include me waking up, eating breakfast, walking to school around 13:00, eating lunch, taking classes, doing homework, going home for dinner, and going to bed. Of course, I will also integrate time for going to the beach and exploring Malaga in my schedule.

If you have read this entire blog, I am truly impressed. You must really like me, or miss me, or both. Thank you for reading, and have a happy Memorial Day, everyone. More importantly, happy birthday, Dad!

BACK IN ACTION

iHola!

After a brief two day hiatus, Mis Viajes is back in action! I have returned to Spain and am currently in Malaga. Malaga is located on the southern coast of Spain in ¨La Costa del Sol.¨ The past few days have included extensive amounts of traveling and no internet opportunities, which explains the lack of entries.

I will write about the previous two days, in addition to today; however, I need to attend class which begins in 10 minutes. My goal is to have the entry up today, so check back in a few hours!

Rabat & Fes

Hello, all.

Although I am equally as tired as I was last night, I will describe both days in detail. I cannot disappoint you, my loyal readers!

Thursday, May 22
We traveled from Casablanca to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, this morning. In Rabat, we saw a huge royal palace and an unfinished mosque. We walked through an old fortress, which is now occupied by local residents, and, after about 15 minutes of navigating through back allies (painted white and sky blue) and little shops, we reached the Atlantic Ocean. It was a breath-taking view of the ocean, since we were elevated from still being in the fortress.

We drove by a huge plot of prime real estate which was being developed by a Dubai holdings firm. Although construction was just beginning, this 40 acre oceanfront land looked promising. There will be massive hotels, nightclubs, shopping, and entertainment venues in this area. As I referenced in an earlier entry, land development in Morocco seems to be a rather promising investment.

Later in the day, we boarded the buses to travel to Meknes, the city which our hotel is located. This hotel is, without question, the nicest hotel of the trip. The lobby area and lounges are very ornate and plush. There is a conference room, multiple bars, and even a disco in our facility. An outdoor pool overlooks a lush valley. The hallways of this hotel remind me of The Shining, but other than that, this place is great. Dinner was enjoyable, and we ate in a beautiful room covered in tile. After dinner, Emily, Bryan, and I had an hour and a half long conversation that covered a plethora of topics. I enjoyed this discussion very much.

-

Friday, May 23, 2008 (Today)
Today’s activities revolved around Fes, one of Morocco’s most well-known cities. Fes is basically divided into two sections: the new city and the old city. The new city is very modern and reminded me of Southern California. There were beautiful gardens, fountains, and trendy cafes along the streets. The old section of the city, is similar to Marrakesh, and is less wealthy. While traveling through the back allies of the Fes medina, our group stopped at four noteworthy establishments:

Loom
I watched beautiful rugs and scarves woven before my eyes. The selection and variety of colors was inspiring.

Tannery
Although the smell was nauseating, we saw how leather was washed and dyed. You need to see a picture of this to see how bizarre this was. Definitely a “dirty job.”

Pharmacy
Jars of all sorts of spices, soaps, lotions, and (legal) herbs covered this tiny store. The shop owner gave us samples of all of his most popular items. My hands smelled good and felt soft after leaving the store.

Tile
Hard clay to soft clay to the kiln to painters to glazers to the store. We saw the entire process of how Moroccans make their tile. Very cool.

Upon completion of this exhausting tour through Fes, our guides decided to stop at the local McDonalds for a drink before our dinner in about 2 hours. These Americans I am traveling with went wild. Although already packed with locals enjoying their meals, this McDonalds was packed with UD students ordering food. I informally polled students, and they claimed most of the food tasted the same. To my disappointment, nobody was brave enough to order the “McArabia,” a popular specialty burger here. I noticed two local teenagers slyly taking pictures of the group of Americans ironically eating at McDonalds. The only students who could resist the greedy paws of the omnipresent Ronald McDonald were Tyler and I.

NOTE: I have not been including my criticisms of the trip because I only want to remember the positive, and you do not want to hear about the negative. I will post a comprehensive list of my criticisms after the trip after it is over, but I will give you a preview now. Students have been complaining about how “bad the food is” or “how much my stomach hurts,” and, yet, they completely indulge themselves at McDonalds. One individual had the nerve to say, “Can we have McDonalds every night?” Seriously?

After everyone glutted themselves at McDonalds, we traveled to the top of this hill which overlooked the entire city of Fes. There were some ruins of ancient tombs which proved to be fun to explore. Tonight’s dinner was one of the trip’s best. Highlights of the meal included dates and a cinnamon-sugar like pie with chicken and beef in it.

Now, I am going to sleep. Goodnight, America.

Too Tired

Fatigue is finally starting to set in on me, as well as many others in the group. In addition to posting today's blog entry, I was planning on completing my homework tonight, but, as we all know, homework never goes according to plan.

I wrote down everything that happened today, and I will include today's (Thursday) activities in tomorrow's entry. This video illustrates how I sleepy I feel right now:



Au revoir!

“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”

Hey everyone, I am reporting from Casablanca, Morocco. Today’s entry is going to be a bulleted format. I like offering my readers a variety of writing styles to discover what works best.

Casablanca Notes:

• Casablanca is much different than Marrakesh. It is probably the most western cities in all of Morocco. Casablanca, as its name suggests, is composed primarily of white buildings. It also has a beautiful beach. We caught a quick glimpse of the beach, but we did not have the opportunity to explore it. The French influence is very apparent here.

• We visited the King Hassan II Mosque today. It is only one of two mosques open to non-Muslims in Morocco. This is also the third largest mosque in the world, only behind Mecca and Medina. Seriously, this thing is massive. It can hold 25,000 people! It was extremely impressive, and it was built right on the beach. Architecturally, it was one of the most amazing structures I have seen in my lifetime.

• We had fresh fish for lunch, as we overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. We all knew it was fresh because the fish still had heads.

• Our hotel is “swanky.” It is easily the nicest place we have stayed at the entire trip. It is very modern and located directly in the center of the city. We can see the Atlantic from our 8^th floor room. The dinner, served buffet style, was enjoyed by all. Many declared it the best meal of the trip. There was really no stand-out dish, every object was simply tasty.

• At the end of dinner, a group of us watched the end of the Manchester United and Chelsea football game. This game was a big deal over here. I am not a big football fan myself, but I did enjoy watching it.

Random Notes:

• While Europe has one of the most comprehensive train systems in the world, we have not been on any to this point. While in Malaga, we will be using trains for weekend trips.

• New York Yankees are the only represented American sports team here. It is not uncommon to find children and adults wearing a Yankees hat.

• I have seen more American cars in Morocco than in Spain. I have seen about 7 overall now.

You know, I caught some CNN in English today, since many British visit Casablanca on vacation. I did not like what the media had to say about our country. Gas prices reach record highs at $130/ barrel, huge thunderstorms ravage Georgia, and market drops almost 2%. Hopefully, this news changes ASAP, or I will have little incentive to return to the states. I may need to stay in Europe. If I stay, you are all invited to join me.

Here’s looking at you, readers!

"GREASTEST BLOG EVER WRITTEN"

As the title suggests, this is the greastest blog ever written. It is not the greatest, but it is, in fact, the greastest. There has been some confusion noted by our readers; however, I assure you this is NOT a typo.

In an unrelated turn of events, the subtitle "the greastest blog ever written" is apparently trademarked by another blogger. This morning, I received an e-mail stating that I was being sued for copyright infringement for $5,000,000 by this wealthy blogger. Apparently, this dude has nothing better to do but read blogs all day. Instead of litigation, I have no choice but to change the subtitle of the blog to "the greatest blog ever written." I assure you, the quality of the entries will not suffer as a result of this change.

Thank you for your loyalty, I look forward to delivering you more grammatically correct updates in the futur.

More Marrakesh

Salutations!

The group’s mood today can best be defined as exhausted. The nonstop traveling, long days, and irregular eating schedules have drained a lot of people physically and mentally. Besides battling my sleepiness in class this morning, I am doing well. Coffee helps, too. Once we get into Malaga, things are going to slow down a little and the days are going to be more consistent.

Today’s Events
Today we spent more time in Morocco, which translates into “to pass by quickly.” Hundreds of years ago, Morocco was a pit stop on the way from Southern Africa to the north and apparently filled with thieves. Fortunately, it is not like that today. After class, we observed some tradition Moroccan cooking and food preparation. It was really cool to see all of their different spices and techniques. Most dishes are prepared in a tazgin (spelling). It is like a primitive crock pot made out of clay. We also learned how to make their famous mint sweet tea.

We also navigated through the back allies of Morocco. The walls were about 30 feet high, and the passage was probably 6 feet wide. It was an adventure. Perhaps I am over-romanticizing these simple allies. I thought a roller coaster would fit perfectly through the allies. With a tight turn radius, the small cars would speed through the narrow corridors and have near misses with everything in its way. Of course, after pitching this idea to the group, everyone who knew me rolled their eyes.

Interesting fact: all doorways and houses look identical from the allies. Everything looks run-down and bland; however, when you open the doors you will be amazed at how elegant the houses can be. This is done because all people, regardless of their wealth, display themselves in the same manner. There is nothing signifying economic status or political status.

Later, we visited the former palace of the Moroccan Prime Ministers (name I cannot remember). There were many good examples of Arabic architecture; however, all of the furniture was removed, so I did get a good idea of what it actually looked like. My favorite part was all of the lush vegetation entering the palace. I saw banana trees. We went to a few other landmarks in Morocco before the end of the night. There are plenty of European tourists here. I ate a snail at one of the markets. It was delicious!

Morocco Map
Below you will find a map of our adventure in Morocco. We leave for Spain on Saturday.

(click image for larger view)

We are traveling to Casablanca tomorrow. You might have heard of it before. They may not have internet connection, so this may be my last entry for the next few days.

If I remembered how to say “goodbye” in Arabic, it would be right here!

Marrakesh Express

Greetings!

I would like to thank you, the readers, for making my blog so successful. I have received both positive and negative feedback, and I greatly appreciate both. If you have any particular comments about my blog or specific questions you would like me to answer, please e-mail me at jstoffl@gmail.com or post it in the “comments” section. I know that some of you may not know me, but I would love to answer whatever questions you may have about the trip. On to the updates…

Weather
In Madrid, we experience fairly moderate temperatures. The mornings were cool around 60F, and around noon it warmed up to 65-68F. It lightly drizzled one evening around 2am, but it did not disrupt our plans. 2am? You read correctly: 2am. Let me explain: in Spain, lunch is consumed around 14:00-15:00 (2-3pm), and dinner is between 22:00-24:00. As for the famous Spanish nightlife, the locals begin their evenings at 1:00. Most clubs do not close until 6:00. Mother, for the record, I only stayed out until 3:30.

In Morocco, the sun is extremely hot! Thankfully, there is very little humidity, so it is cool in the shade. The temperature is probably 78F and around 66F in the shade.

Time
Spain is 6 hours ahead of the US’s Eastern Standard Time. Morocco is only 4 hours ahead.

Fotographia
I apologize for the lack of photographs on this blog to this point. I promise there will be some in the near future. My friend Tyler wants to be the official photographer of “Mis Viajes.” I could not turn down this fine artist! I will supplement Tyler’s great pictures with a few of my own. Just wait until you see his photos from today’s lunch!

Class
Sadly, today started the “study” portion of this study abroad program. My two classes (Christian History to 1500 and International Economics) were painless, and they appear rather promising. Both professors are integrating information about Spain/Morocco into the courses. What a genius idea!

Best part of today’s classes= Class was held outside on the hotel’s patio adjacent to the pool.
Worst part of today’s classes= Other UD students were lounging around and swimming while I was in class.

Cars
I have only seen three American cars in five days (two Fords and one Chevy). Believe me, I have been keeping track. How many international cars have you seen today in the US?

Food, Glorious Food
The food here is great. It is a culmination of many different cultures. Favorite foods I experienced in Marrakesh include crepes, freshly-squeezed orange juice, olives (some spicy and some salty), flan, and mint tea.

Marrakesh
Today, we traveled an hour away from the city of Marrakesh to Ourika Valley. On route to our destination, I noticed a plethora of construction. It appeared to be high-end apartments and condos. Many Europeans are investing in this area. Some of the places look really top-notch. It is very cheap for Europeans to travel to Morocco, and some have summer homes here. Does anyone want to go 50:50 with me and start building over here?!

Ourika Valley was breath-taking. It reminded me a Florida, California, and Colorado all in one. There were millions of olive trees and other tropical trees in a huge oasis (Florida). Surrounding the oasis is a massive snow-capped mountain range (California). Between the oasis and the mountains, you will find red-dirt cliffs with the locals living on tiny, winding roads (Colorado). This area was truly beautiful, and everyone in the group was in awe. There is actually a ski-resort in the mountains! Nobody expected this from Morocco. This was one of my trip highlights so far.

The group traveled to a local souke (spelling?) which is a market. It was intimidating to be completely surrounded by locals. I could see every pair of eyes on us, as we strolled the streets. It was interesting to navigate the tents and vendors of this particular weekly market. All types of spices, live animals, vegetables, and random junk were found here. For me, this was a frustrating experience because I did not know which vendors I could trust or not. Some of the merchants would not leave us alone and were pushing their products to the point of annoyance. There was no real danger here, but, it is uncommon for Americans to visit this local market. At the market, I was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I am glad I experienced it.

I need to do my homework now because I have a quiz tomorrow morning. Yes, a quiz on the second day of classes! Definition of grimy. Remember, e-mail me at jstoffl@gmail.com if you would like me to answer any of your questions.

Hasta mañana.

Bonjour from Morocco!

After a day of traveling, I made it to Morocco. Morocco is located in northern Africa, and 98% of the population practices Islam. The primary language here is Arabic (I know none), and the secondary language is French (hence this entry's title). We flew from Madrid to the Marrakesh airport. The architecture of this airport was unreal. It was essentially one giant box composed of white, polygon-shaped supports. We flew on UK-based easyJet, which, for a budget airline, really impressed me in terms of service and quality. I am, however, waiting for the airline expert, Robert Pitingolo's opinion on easyJet. I would have no problem flying them again in Europe!

While the unexpected free wireless internet at our hotel is a major plus, the quality is very poor, so it is difficult for me to navigate the internet. No matters! The blog is always mas importante (the most important). Unfortunately, there will be an annotated entry today because it is very late, I have homework to do for the first day of classes tomorrow, and breakfast is at 7:00am.

Marrakesh is really cool so far. It it is much more modern and beautiful than I expected. I am anxious to explore this city and its unique culture. There are influences from all over the world here like Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East. I will save more information for my next post! Instead, I will leave you with the song "Marrakesh Express" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Enjoy!

The €1 Blog

Hola,

I apologize for the brevity and lack of quality in my previous entry. You, my loyal readers, deserve a better blog post than that! This is no ordinary blog. As the title proclaims, this is the greatest blog ever written! In order to prevent upcoming blog entries from being as bland as the first, I now write down all of my ideas. Anything amusing or interesting I write down to tell you. As the title suggests, I have invested €1, or $1.58 USD, in this one post, so I assure you, this entry and future ones, are going to be awesome.

€€€
Madrid is an expensive city, and it does not help how weak the dollar is currently.

American Tastes
There are some ¨American¨ restarauntes here¨: Starbucks, KFC, and, of course, McDonalds. Of course, I went into all of them (except Starbucks) to investigate. Each McDonalds has been packed everytime I see one. They are a lot nicer in the city, and they offer free wi-fi internet services with any purchase. Many UD students have utilized this offer; however, Mickey D´s has not convinced me to purchase anything. However, their ¨Euro Menu¨ is defintely appealing.

Bocadillo de Calamares
One of the eating highlights has been the cheap and tasty bocadillo de calamares (squid sandwich). The price is great (€2.15) and they are delicious. Many people were skeptical; however, I convinced them to try it and they loved it. We ordered them at this tiny tapas bar right next to Plaza Mayor, and this placed was packed with people ordering these things. The locals serving us were witty and made us laugh. We may go back tonight for another bocadillo!

Churros con Chocolate
For breakfast this morning, Josh, Steph, and Tyler ordered churros con chocolate at a small chocolateria. Unlike in the US or Mexico, the churros are rather bland, and the hot, pudding-like chocolate provides all of the flavor. They were great!

Parque de Attraciones
I saw Madrid´s amusement park today from El Palacio Real. I saw two of their roller coasters and their drop tower. While it is not a must-do park, I would have liked to have visited it, but there is just not enough time!

Madrid Vision
The past two days, all of the UD students had a bus pass that took us around the city. It definitely came in handy after walking around museums all day. We could easily walk everywhere, but it is nice to sometimes rest on the bus.

Am I in the US?
Guess what the two most advertised products are currently in Madrid? Grand Theft Auto 4 and Indiana Jones 4. You cannot go anywhere in the city or metro without seeing huge posters for both! I guess the Spanish love stealing cars and adventure movies just as much as Americans do.

Parques, parques, parques
Madrid has some outstanding parques (parks) in the city. Due to time constrains, we have not been able to explore them all, but the ones we have been in are beautiful. Clean walkways, shaded paths, fountains, and amazing trees adorn each park. As big as the city is, I am impressed with the amount of nice gardens, parks, and fountains.

Euro not going to believe this
I found a euro coin on the ground yestery (€.50), and I was pumped. You would be excited too, if you were with me.

Cafe con leche
I have only recently started to occassionally drink coffe, but I have greatly enjoyed Madrid´s cafe con leche (coffee with milk). It sounds simply enough, but this drink is half really strong coffee and half hot milk. It is never too hot to drink because it is always the perfect temperature. Even the non-coffee drinkers have enjoyed it.

Portion Size
It seems like all I have been doing is talking about food, but food is a big deal in Spain! The portion size here is extremely smaller than you will find in the US. Plates, cups, portions, everything is smaller here! The bottom line is simply that people eat less here, but they are eating more often. It is unusual to pay such a high price and receive such a small amount of food, but that is how they do it here!

La Reina Sofia y Picasso
Today, I went to ¨Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia¨ or just La Reina Sofia. This was my favorite museo of the big three. It contains modern art (from 1900 to present), and I enjoy that a little more than classical art. While the Salvador Dalis and Miros were cool, this museum is all about Picasso. Where do I begin? There are about 6-8 rooms dedicated to Picasso, and they are all pretty cool; however, the real gem here is ¨Guernica.¨ I would consider it one of the top five most important/famous works of art in the word. Google Guernica, if you do not know the story behind why Picasso painted it. Adjacent to the actual painting were Picasso´s sketches for all of the characters and figures in the painting. These were horrorific and disturbing, but it was incredible to see how much work he invested into, what I consider, his masterpiece. It was awesome. When viewing ¨Guernica,¨ I tried to get a closer look because the crowd was about 25 feet away from it (NOTE: this painting is approximately 25 feet tall and 50 feet wide). I crept from the left side of it, closer and closer, and the alarm went off! It was so embarassing. Everyone looked at me, and all of the UD students with me were laughing. The security guard had seen me the whole time, so they understood. I will surely never forget my ¨Guernica¨ experience.

Other Notes
I do not have much time left, so I will try to summarize a few other points. Overall, I have felt rather safe. There has not been any one moment were I felt unsafe, and nobody has been rude to be or anyone in our party. El Palacio Real, one of Europe´s best palaces, was awesome, and we spent over 2 hours there. Each room was unbelievable. Hopefully, I can talk more about it later. I have explored a lot of the city, but it is so big that it is impossible to do it all in our limited time here.

We leave for Morocco tomorrow afternoon. I am unsure if we will have internet or not, so it may be a few days until my next post. Hopefully, this entry will keep you satisfied for a few days. I hope you are all doing well, and you will hear from me soon!

Hola from Madrid

Hey everyone!

I only have 20 minutes at this internet cafe, so I will fill you in with as much information as possible.

The flights went great. The one to Spain (about 3,500 miles) went by quickly. Upon arriving in Spain, I met up with the other UD students. There was some confusion as to where the group was meeting in the Madrid airport, however, we eventually figured it

We took the metro to our hostel, which is centrally located in the heart of Madrid. Puerto del Sol (the Times Square of Madrid) is only a 3 minute walk.

At our current hostel, the rooms are about what one should expect from a hostel. It is fairly small, but it does have its own shower and bathroom which is nice. I am rooming in a triple with my friends Tyler and Steph. The best feature about the room is its small balcony overing Calle de la Cruz (Cross Street). Last night, we took the chairs from our room, sat on our balcony, and watched the people walk on the street. It was a great time.

Madrid is a great city. After two full days of exploration, I feel very comfortable in navigating the city. There are tons of shoe stores. Honestly, every other store sells shoes! If the store does not sell shoes, it must sell ham. Madrid is the unofficial ham capital of Spain. Needless to say, I have consumed jamon (ham) on multiple occasions. In fact, yesterday a group of my friends and I ate at El Museo de Jamon (The Ham Museum). There was ham in everything.

Today we went to two great museums (consisting of artwork, not ham): El Prado and El Museo Thyssen. El Prado is one of the most prestigious museums in the world. We spent close to 3 hours there, and we did not even see everything! My favorites included paintings by El Greco and Goya. To see the paintings in real is amazing. El Museo Thyseen is a massive collection of art that was formally privately owned. So much to see here that, once again, we did not see it all. My favorites included the Picasso, Miro, and Van Goghs.

I have 2:43 minutes left! I apologize for any grammatical erros. I have not had time to edit this post! I will post again, hopefully soon, with much more details. Adios!

Adios Los Estados Unidos

A few quick updates:

• This will be my final post from the U.S. This afternoon I am flying from Cleveland to Newark, New Jersey. I am then flying from Newark to Madrid tonight. The flight arrives in Madrid, Spain at 11:35am Thursday morning.
  

• Fellow world traveler and UD friend, Bryan Rollo, has created a his own blog for the trip. Bryan will be joining me in Paris and Rome, after the UD Study Abroad program. Check out his blog here: rollobrm.blogspot.com

• Google Maps (maps.google.com) has been an incredible resource for planning this trip. I could devote an entire blog to highlighting its awesome features. For example, I first found my different hotels/apartments/hostels on Google Maps. I then saved their locations on my maps. I then found points of interest (i.e. Eiffel Tower) and Google Maps gave me directions! The satellite views are great, too! I cannot recommend Google Maps enough.
  

Okay, I seriously need to pack my bags now!

Wikilove

Wikitravel.org, part of the Wikipedia family, has been a huge asset in planning my travels abroad. Although not as detailed as a guide book, Wikitravel offers a relevant and thorough overview of your destination. The "wiki" sites use the simple philosophy of letting everyday internet users, like you and I, create and edit the information on their site.

I highlighted a few interesting points from Wikitravel for my first destination this summer: Madrid, Spain.

(click image for larger view)

• "Get Around"- features information on airlines, metro, buses, renting cars, and taxis.

• "10 things to do before you leave"- suggests activities that should not be missed.

• "Eat"- goes into comprehensive detail about local cuisines and recommends what to order.

• "Get out"- lists some convenient day trips located near Madrid.
  

As I mentioned before, Wikitravel does not offer the same level of detail that a guidebook does; however, it is one of the best (free) online resources I have discovered. I recommend Wikitravel for any upcoming vacations or trips you have planned. What you find may surprise you!

Okay, I really need to pack up now.

Translation Por Favor

I have already been asked, "what does 'Mis Viajes mean?" It translates to "My Voyages."

I assure you, this title has nothing to do with my favorite roller coaster, The Voyage. Actually, the original name of this blog was "La Leyenda de Bubba" or The Legend of Bubba. Ironically, The Legend is another one of my favorite roller coasters, also located at the same park, Holiday World.

Guide to Blogging

Some of you may be asking, "What exactly is a blog?" According to Wikipedia...

The personal blog, an on-going diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following.

Since blogs are viewed in reverse chronological order, my most recent posts are found at the top of the page. I will try to post new content every 2 to 3 days, so please check frequently for new stories and updates. Add this link to your favorites now!!! More multimedia content, such as pictures and videos, will be coming in the near future.

This blog is for YOU. I want to keep you, my family and friends, informed of my travels abroad. I look forward to telling you some exciting stories! If you would like to see something specific in this blog or have any ideas for me, please write them in the "comments" section below each post.

Travel Itinerary

Below you will find my travel itinerary.

May 14: Departure from U.S.
May 15: Arrive in Madrid
May 15-18: Madrid
May 19-24: Morocco
May 25-June 14: Malaga
June 15-19: Barcelona
June 20-22: Paris, France
June 23-26: Rome, Italy
June 26: Return to Madrid
June 27: Departure from Madrid

This first map highlights all of the locations in Spain that I will be staying in for extended periods of time.

(please click for larger view)

This map highlights weekend trips I will take while in Malaga. Trips include Sevilla, Granada, and Cordoba.

(please click for larger view)

This final map highlights the entire trip. The red arrows represent traveling with UD's Study Abroad program, while the blue arrows represent independent traveling. Start with the western most red arrow (representing flight from U.S.) and follow the arrow progression.

(please click for larger view)

Pretty cool maps, huh?

First!

The first post of my first blog. What an unforgettable moment. Expect great things.

This blog will serve as my primary means of communication from May 14 to June 28 while I am abroad in Europe. Until my departure, I will be diligently testing and formatting this blog.

Get pumped.