Buda buda buda buda rockin' everywhere

So, last weekend I went on a spontaneously planned adventure in Budapest, Hungary.  And oh my goodness.  I fell in love.

I guess I should mention first that the trip there was quite an adventure unto itself.  We booked flights on a budget airline called "Wizz Air."  Oh dear.  But it was cheap, and we're resilient college kids, so it's okay if it's not that nice, right??  Of course.  But then again, they don't exactly mention that there's so little leg room that a person of my height will feel claustrophobic.  Not a huge deal for me, but as for my 5'10" friend, "slightly uncomfortable" doesn't exactly do it justice.  So, what are three girls to do when they're squeezed into seats on a somewhat sketchy flight?  Why, they buy beer and wine from Zoltan of course!!! (Zoltan was our flight attendant's name...it made us ridiculously happy)  After three hours of chatting and watching me embroider (you'll see the final product in a few days...I promise it's not as grandmothery as it sounds), we finally landed, safe and sound, and wonderfully wine-happy in Budapest, Hungary, about to experience one of the best weekends of our lives!  The airport was definitely different...what with all the Magyar written everywhere that we could only attempt to pronounce.  But we withdrew money from what we deemed the "HUF getter," even though the currency there is forents, and tried to get over the initial shock of the crazy conversion rate: $1 = 220 forents, and 1€ = 280 forents.  Then, we found our way to the hostel after waiting about 20 minutes for a shuttle at the airport, during which time we realized that a taxi was actually cheaper...you live and learn!  Upon arriving at the hostel where we had reservations, we realized that it was "conveniently" located on top of a night club.  Ugh, wonderful.  We climbed up the stairs to the hostel, passing all the partygoers on our way, and found a plywood door on the 3rd staircase that was the entrance to the hostel.  Oh dear.  We rang the doorbell for about 15 minutes with no answer, and finally someone at the club told us what the code was to enter.  Yay!  When we entered the check in room, we found the girl that was supposed to be on duty passed out on the couch, and when we woke her up it was very clear that she was very high on something.  We had to ask her about 4 times to show us the way to our room because she was so out of it that she forgot to do so.  And then the room....well, it was sketchy enough that none of us felt comfortable lying down and sleeping.  So, great hostel right?!?!

And here's where modern technology jumps in to save the day.  Carrie, one of the girls with me, was on her iPhone trying to connect to the wifi, when she noticed a wifi signal from another hostel, which meant it must be close by.  So we immediately ran down to the street to find this mysterious other hostel, and found it almost right across the street.  We rang the bell, asked if they had room for us for 3 nights, they said yes, and we went up to check it out.  What we found was leaps and bounds better than the hostel we were in, and the guy at the desk was extremely nice and welcoming.  He also spoke Englihs! (turns out he's from Australia)  In a split second, we ran back to the first hostel, grabbed our things, told Ms. I'm-so-high-I-can't-speak that we weren't staying there, and checked in to the second hostel.  It was by far the best decision we made all weekend, because it was there that we met the people who would take us to unbelievable events throughout the weekend.

I can't even articulate what it is that made me love Budapest so much.  Maybe it was the pack of Australians working at our hostel who were the most ridiculous and entertaining people I've ever met.  Maybe it was the rager we went to in outdoor thermal baths (pool party in November, anyone??).  Or maybe it was that cruise down the Danube River at night, where you could see all the amazing building lit up like votive candles.  Maybe it was the ability to wander and explore during the day with absolutely no goal in mind other than to follow our noses.  Maybe it was the company of two amazing friends who had the same travel goals as I did: have fun and don't stress out about seeing everything.  Regardless, what I do know is that I will never forget this past weekend, and I WILL be back to Budapest (potentially in 2 weeks).  It's by far my favorite city in Europe right now.

Unfortunately, there were a couple sour notes at the end of the weekend: Ryan Air charged me 20,400 forents (aka ~$96) to print my boarding pass at the airport.  And then between Madrid airport and my apartment, I was pickpocketed.  That's the second time this semester, and this time, they got my credit cards, my license, and the forents I was going to save!  But after the amazing weekend I had, I'm relatively unbothered by the whole thing.  I cancelled my cards, they're being sent to me, I can get a new license, and I can always go to an exchange kiosk to get more forents to keep as a souvenir.

So despite those two less-than-favorable events, I had one of the best weekends of my life!!  And this weekend, I'm headed off to Barcelona with my program, followed by a trip to Paris next weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brother and sister-in-law!  I can't believe it myself.  I feel so blessed, and am so thankful for this semester.  I've certainly been going through an interesting emotional process, but I saw a quote today that really captures how I'm feeling about this semester as a whole:

"Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves." - Henry David Thoreau

I've definitely felt a little lost and frustrated this semester, but I think that this was God's way of giving me the chance to rediscover a part of myself that I'd lost in my first 2 years at Duke.  I've been able to uncover parts of myself that I forgot, but parts of myself that I loved and still love.  What an amazing gift.  It took me a while to realize it, but I think that's why I came here this semester.  To find myself.  God certainly works in amazing ways that we can't understand, but we just have to remember to trust him and trust his plan for us.  Everything will work out :)

And now, without further ado, picture time!!!

Wizzair...looking oh so professional in pink

the currency!  An Hungarian forent.  This one bill is worth about $45.

^ The changing of the Hungarian guards! ^

An absolutely stunning church...I just love the tile work on the roof!

The main bridge at night!

Us at the thermal baths party!

(view from the cruise Friday night!) The Parliament building...isn't it stunning?

Paris!

**Disclaimer: I'm about a week and a half late on this post!  Whoopsies!

Paddle boating in Parque Retiro!

Right after I went to Galicia with my program, my boyfriend came to Madrid to visit for 12 whole days!  It was amazing to have him here, and we had tons of fun just exploring the city and enjoying time together.  For our two year anniversary and his belated birthday, I got us tickets to the Spain-France World Cup qualifying match.  It was so much fun to go to a futbol game in Europe!  Too bad France scored in the last moments of add on time...ughhh Spain what were you doing??  Also in Madrid, we wandered around Parque Retiro, went to the Prado, and ate some delicious food!!

As if that all weren't enough, we went to Paris for the weekend to stay with my brother, Chuck, and sister-in-law, Laetitia.  Here are just a few snapshots of our 4 days as super tourists in Paris!

Pepper!!!!  It was so nice to have a pet to play with :)

The Louvre!

Notre Dame! 

Sacred Heart

Big person carousel...

Little person carousel!!!  Which one should I use?

The Eiffel Tower at night...beautiful!!!  Unfortunately, it was foggy and there was no visibility at the top.  But Clarke and I can still say we went together!  And of course, we had a champagne toast at the bottom with Chuck and Laetitia!

SPARKLE

To put it simply, Clarke's visit was exactly what I needed!

Oh city living

As you may remember, I was pickpocketed earlier this semester.  My iPhone was stolen, along with my cash, but I was never threatened, never hurt, only unsettled after finding that I had been quietly robbed. Last night, my host mom was robbed, but this thief took her entire purse while we were all hanging out at the theater celebrating the closing night of her play.  What a terrible night to be robbed!  This semester, several other students in my program have been pickpocketed, all without violence or force, so I guess we can be very thankful for that!  We've been told that there have never been this many pickpocketing events in one semester abroad in Madrid, so I guess we're just seeing one manifestation of the economic crisis here!  People will go to new lengths to make money and get by.  Every day, I see dozens of people begging on the streets, either sitting curled up in a blanket or putting on some kind of performance (and oh the variety you see there).  At night, I see homeless people sleeping throughout the city in doorways or behind the pillars in Plaza Mayor.  It's such a sad thing to see, and there's little that I can do for any of these people as a fairly broke American college student.  For now, all I can do is clutch my bag tight and hope that I'm not the victim of another thief!  And I can pray that the nonviolence of these events continues.  God, help Spain get out of this economic mess.

________________________

Si recuerdes, fui robada al principio de este semestre.  Me quitaron mi iPhone, junto con mi efectivo, pero nunca fui amenazada, ni lastimada, solo agitado después de encontrar que había sido robado en silencio.  Anoche, mi madre española fue robada, pero este ladrón quitó su bolso entero mientras que nosotros estábamos pasando tiempo en el teatro para celebrar la última noche de su espectáculo.  ¡Qué noche terrible para ser robado!  Este semestre, muchos otros estudiantes en mi programa han sido robado, todos sin violencia o fuerza, y por eso supongo que podemos estar agradecidos por eso!  Hemos sido dicho que nunca habían tantos incidentes con carteristas en un semestre en Madrid, y supongo que estamos viendo una manifestación de la crisis económica aquí.  La gente hace todo lo posible para ganar dinero y sobrevivir.  Cada día, veo mucha gente mendigando en las calles, se acurrucado en una manta o haciendo un tipo de espectáculo (y ay la variedad que vees).  En la noche, veo personas sin hogar durmiendo a través de la ciudad en puertas o destrás de los pilares en Plaza Mayor.  Es tan triste verlo, y hay muy poco que puedo hacer para alguna de estas personas porque soy un estudiante americana casi completamente pelada.  ¡Para ahora, todo que puedo hacer es apretar mi bolso contra mi pecho y esperar que no estoy la víctima de otro ladrón!  Y puedo rezar que la falta de violencia durante estos eventos continua.  A Dios, ayuda a España para salir de esta crisis económica.

Whew! Time to breathe. Let's talk Galicia!

Well, the last few weeks have certainly been busy ones, but they've been so exciting!!  For this post, I'll just tell you about one of the trips I've taken, and tomorrow I'll update you on everything else!!

Two Mondays ago, we ventured to Galicia with the program for a 3 day trip.  It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  We went to Santiago de Compostelo to visit the cathedral there, which is a very famous Christian pilgrimage site, and dates back to the 11th century!  It is known as one of the best, if not the best, examples of a cruciform church in the world.  We even got to walk around on the roof...it was simply stunning!

The next day, we went to another pilgrimage site - San Andres.  It is in the northwestern-most corner of Galicia, and thus Spain.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  Words can't describe the wonder I felt when I was there.  It was so powerful to see and feel God's presence in such a stunning place.  The pictures don't begin to do it justice, but it's worth a shot!

This dog got a RIDICULOUS amount of attention from all of us...we've been so deprived of pets!!

notice: the bottom half of the blue/white is water...beautiful!!!

The day after this, we went to la Coruña to observe more beauty at the Torre de Hercules, the oldest Roman tower like it that is still used today!

Adventures in Lisboa!

This past weekend I ventured to Lisbon (Lisboa in Spanish), Portugal as the vast majority of Duke students abroad went to Munich for Oktoberfest.  Since learning that I'm slightly gluten intolerant and VERY intolerant of beer, I decided to not spend the $600 it would take to go watch others do what I can't (logical, right?).  It's still on my bucket list, so one day I'll convince my siblings or best friends or boyfriend to go with me.  I'll enjoy it much more that way than being surrounded by 100s of my peers getting drunk and needing to be taken care of.  So, we can add that to the bucket list I'm accumulating while in Europe!

Small bits of regret aside, Lisbon was amazing!!!  It felt a lot like San Francisco to me, with the hills in the city, the bright colored building, the waterfront, and the big red cable bridge.  We visited the Jeronimo Monastery, which was truly amazing.  I am in complete awe of the architecture that there is in Europe...it's hard to believe that men built these palaces and churches with their bare hands hundreds of years ago, and they're still there for us to marvel at.  There is one story worth sharing about my visit to the monastery:  To enter the sanctuary is free, but to enter the sacristy, you have to pay 1 euro.  When my friends and I entered the hallway to pay, I tried to hand the man 1 euro, and he told me in broken English, "You don't have to pay....you're younger."  I figured, hey, why not take the opportunity to get in free, and said a skeptical okay in response (I figured maybe it was because we were students?).  As I started walking toward the sacristy, my friends started to follow me without paying, and the man yelled at them about paying.  Everyone was a bit confused and eventually he asked, "Wait, how old is she?"  At this point I turned around and told him that I am 21 years old.  He looked shocked.  I paid the euro and walked into the sacristy.  Later, my male friend on the trip told me that after I walked in, the guard looked at him and said, "I thought she was 14."  EXCUSE ME?!?!  Two thirds my age?  Right.  You're an idiot.  I know I look young, but 14?  Come on.  Oh well, I guess I'll be happy about it when I'm older and aging phenomenally!

Much to my delight, we also ate some DELICIOUS food while we were in Lisbon.  The first night, we decided to have a "nice" dinner.  We started by getting a couple recommendations from the man working at the hostel.  He told us about an Italian restaurant and a Portuguese restaurant, and we figured we would try some local food!  When we arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted by people getting take-out...which is just fine, but wasn't quite what we had in mind.  (I know what you're thinking...that's what you get for asking a hostel employee for dining advice...you just wait!)  So what to do?  Well, thank you New York Times for having international restaurant recommendations.  We used someone's handy dandy iPhone to find one nearby, and boy was it an experience.

First of all, have you ever heard of a restaurant where you have to ring a doorbell to get in?  Now you have.  Inside, we were greeted by dark wood, Catharine scaled red velvet seating, ornate carvings and a few beautiful paintings, along with an interesting crowd: on man donning a pink button up, dark slacks and a white blazer, sitting with an overly done Asian woman with poorly dyed blond hair, and across the room a man in a very expensive looking suit who was later met my a woman in a jean jacket.  Talk about eclectic!  All of that aside, we sat and ate...and boy was it phenomenal.  I ordered the filet mignon prepared in what is apparently a very Portuguese style, with some kind of heavenly cream sauce.  Let me clarify something very important:  I like my steak RARE.  Walking, if you will.  It better be purple or very very dark red.  Usually, I think restaurants see me, a 5'2"ish girl who looks 2/3 her age and think to themselves, "she doesn't actually mean that...medium rare it is."  If anyone who works at a restaurant is reading this: do not make this mistake.  Trust people when they say rare.  Thank you :)  Anywho, the steak I received was PERFECT.  On the side, I had some good ole fries and a delicious salad reminiscent of those I eat in the U.S.  To polish it off, we bought a couple bottles of wine.  But of course, we had to try the dessert at this place!  So what did Catharine get?  Some cheesecake and a glass of 18 year old scotch.  I figured, why not?  Disclaimer: food in Portugal is much cheaper than food elsewhere.

Other than that meal, I tried some amazing things during my stay, including pita shoarma, pasteis de Belem, and bacalao.  I also drank my fair share of Fanta.  It's amazing in Europe.

In other news, I also got to see my old youth minister and his family while I was in Lisbon!  They're living there right now to learn Portuguese so that they can become missionaries in Angola, which was a Portuguese colony and where Portuguese is still widely spoken.  It was wonderful to see him and an amazing reminder of how God works to keep us all connected!

So without further ado, here are some pictures from the weekend:

City at night!

The Monastery! 

The main altar in the sanctuary

Pita shoarma - YUM 

Pasteis de Belem with powdered sugar and cinnamon!  They may not look like much, but they're phenomenal.  Not too sweet or heavy, but just right!

Look at the tiling on the building!  It's outstanding, and very common throughout Lisbon!  This company has been making their world renowned pastries since 1837 and have never shared their recipe or ingredients.

View of the monastery and the fountain in front of it from the top of the windrose 

The view from the top of the fancy outdoor elevator that there is in Lisbon...look at the castle!!

More from Segovia!

Well, I promised more pictures from Segovia, so here they are!

Inside the Palace...this kind of tiling is seen in historical buildings throughout Spain

A very famous statue portraying Remus and Roma, the twins who founded Rome (according to traditional stories). 

Several of us at the top of the tower at the Palace

The Roman Aqueducts!

Well, this week has certainly been interesting.  I've finally hit the homesick phase of what I've described as the freshman year emotional progression.  My heart has started to realize that I won't be leaving Spain for awhile, and that this isn't just a vacation or camp session.  I have almost three more months here.  My heart isn't the one thing that's started to realize this.  My brain has too.  I guess it's pretty smart for having figured this out, and it's decided to make it very difficult for me to understand Spanish this week.  Funny joke, right?!?!  It feels like my brain is just shutting out all Spanish, and pouting at me like a teenage girl: "No!  I won't do it!  I won't learn Spanish!  You can't make me!"  Well, brain, you're going to have to move on from this little mood swing soon, because we don't have a choice here!  I'm here in Madrid to stay for a while.  What a wonderful, albeit homesickness-inspiring, reality that is.

This week, I've had class and more class, a couple homework assignments that are reminiscent of the work I did in middle school (where they give you packets with questions and boxes in which to answer each question...and then have you ask three random people what they think about the topic...sound familiar to anyone?), emotional downs and emotional ups, some good soul searching, and a wonderful trip to Segovia, Spain.  It is without a doubt my favorite place that I've visited in my time here.  For anyone who's been to or learned about Spain, you might be saying to yourself, "She's crazy.  She likes Segovia better than Sevilla and Granada?  That's not possible."  Even my host mom, when I told her, was shocked and told me that that was unbelievable.  Well, it's just the truth.  Perhaps it's because we only spent a day there and it wasn't part of an exhausting 7 day trip to 3 cities, but regardless, I thought it was the most adorable little city ever.  We got to see the Roman aqueducts, which are really incredible, as well as a small church from the Romanica era, el Alcazar (a royal residence and fort during the medieval period) and the Royal Palace in Segovia.  It was a long day, but it was beautiful!  Segovia is a small city.  You can walk from one end of the urban part to the other in about 20 minutes.  In that 20 minutes, you'll pass the most adorable cafes and the best pastelerías (pastry shops...yum!!!).  It just felt warm and cozy and inviting - homey, almost.  I definitely want to go back one day!  Maybe this semester, maybe down the road in life, but it's certainly on my bucket list.

Other things I've decided are on my bucket list while I've been here:
1. skydiving over the Swiss Alps (come on....how unbelievable would that be????)
2. staying in a Tuscan villa in Italian wine country
3. learn how to make paella and tortilla española
to be continued...

Back to Segovia for a moment: unfortunately, my camera was dead, so I'm currently scouting out pictures from my friends' albums on facebook, but for now, here's one picture of me in front of the Royal Palace in Segovia.  Think this looks beautiful?  This is only the side entrance!