There’s something absolutely magical about London. Admittedly, I was a little salty about going back to London at Christmas time after I found out the Tottenham Hotspur game was postponed until AFTER we left. I have no idea why … London is 100% my favorite city in the world. I could live there if someone would be willing to hire me and go through the whole visa process. Haha. Half-jokes. But here’s why.
Paris is one of those cities you either love or you don’t. Some people fall in love with the perceived romance of the city, other people say the city smells. For me, Paris has always been one of the cities I knew I needed to go to, but I wasn’t very interested. Honestly, the main reason I wanted to go was to take a day trip to Normandy and see the Omaha Beaches (but that tour was cancelled …) Still, there is plenty to see and do in Paris, and I felt that I needed a little more time.
Being back overseas means getting to spend a Christmas abroad. This year my parents and I had decided on going to Paris for Christmas and London for New Years. To be honest, Paris is one of those places that I know I needed to go to but didn’t really have much desire to visit. The main reason I wanted to go to Paris was to go to Normandy and see the D-Day Beaches. We booked a tour, but unfortunately our tour was cancelled ten days out.
Once we decided on our destinations, we had to decide our order. Should we do London first or Paris first? Unlike London, things are actually open on Christmas. If you’re looking for a European destination at Christmastime, Paris is a great place to go for this reason. The trains and metro are open, which is fantastic! We used them both several times on Christmas day.
If you’re like me, you love Game of Thrones and eat up everything there is about it. A few years ago, I stumbled upon a filming site for the series and was enthralled. I needed to go to more places. Luckily, here in Spain, there are tons of places to go to. So, when my friends left for San Sebastian, I stayed in Bilbao and took a half-day trip to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything. The truth is, I haven’t had a lot of time to travel and do things. Between working in a concertada, having Masters classes on Friday evenings, and working for an internet company on the weekends, I’ve been grounded to Madrid. But I had to do something. We had a long weekend, or puente, so I chose to go to Bilbao.
Guys, I’ve been so lazy. I haven’t written anything since the Real Madrid game I went to (I have another coming next week!), and I never wrote about my trip to Zaragoza. So finally, a month later, since today is a national holiday and tomorrow is another day off my school, I thought I should finally get it together.
Zaragoza is located in the Aragona region of Spain. It’s a decent sized city, with a population of over 600,000. If you’re looking for a wedding dress, you’re in luck! There were wedding dress shops on nearly every street. The best were the ones right next to baby stores. Get ready! Zaragoza has some pretty neat things to see and do, while still being affordable. I’ve picked out the best for you.
I was having a conversation with my friend about soccer last weekend and we were talking about Champions League. I thought it started later in the month, or even in October, but after checking an app, I found out that Champions League started this week! The Champions League is a multinational soccer competition among the best teams in Europe. It makes for some exciting fútbol. Real Madrid is the current reigning champion from the past two years (and the most-winningest with 12 titles), so I had to go to a game.
When I saw the game was in Madrid, I got extremely excited. I live a mile away from the stadium, so I don’t even need public transportation to get there. So I checked online and there were seats available! There were seats available in the front sections, even! Compared to the cost of American sports tickets, these were cheap. At first I thought it would be a bit weird to show up by myself, but then I thought, “Oh well, who cares?! This is an incredible chance that may never happen again!”
I was sitting on the bed with that feeling like I couldn’t do it. I wanted to book the next plane home. Then, someone walked in, I wiped away the tears, and took a nap. Since then, I haven’t had any more doubts.
I’ve been in Madrid for five or six days now. After living in Catalonia for two years, I was scared in how it would be different to live in the capital. So far, so good. I’ve been lost and found my way, I’ve wandered around, I’ve learned new things. This is Madrid.
You may have heard about it in passing, or seen Internet memes, or perhaps you have never heard of it at all. But it’s coming. Yes, Eurovision Song Contest 2017 is coming!
I’ve been holding on to this information for a while because it’s kind of nice having something that isn’t published to the world immediately. But yes, it’s true: I’m coming back to Spain.
Ever since I left last July, I’ve been considering the options to return. I’ll be studying a Masters degree in Bilingual and Multicultural Education at the Instituto Franklin at the Universidad de Alcalá in Madrid.