Lesson from Spain: 5 Things I Could Live Happily Without

One of the coolest parts of studying abroad is, of course, getting to live another lifestyle for an extended piece of time. While Spain admittedly isn't that different from the US, there are several ways that Spain is far more eco-friendly than we tend to be. And honestly, after 4 months, I can assert that all of these changes would be more or less painless, once you got used to them. I'm not on the band wagon saying that the human race needs to eliminate itself to save the planet. But I am saying that we'd better pay closer attention to our consumption patterns if we want any coal to be left for our grandchildren. So, here goes... :)


Having your own printer
One of the more inconvenient parts of being abroad- my printer is sitting unhelpfully several thousand miles away, which means that I have to use the copy center at school (just like everyone else). Having to pay per page for anything you print is certainly a wake up call as to how many useless things I print each week! Overall, though, I'm sure I'm saving money, not buying ink or a printer or paper. And as an added bonus, I'm creating far less paper waste this semester than at any other point in my life!

Public Transit
I can't say enough about Madrid public transit. Think DC Metro, but 100% safer, better lit, and cleaner. Everyone takes public transit here- it's reasonably priced, prompt, and very safe. My host family doesn't even have a car here! It's good to know that something I would use out of convenience also reduces my negative impact on the environment.

Disposable eating things, and eating on the go,
If you're looking for a plastic spoon in Spain, good luck! Aside from the American invaders, such as McDonald's, Starbucks, or Ben & Jerry's, it's fairly impossible to buy food-to-go in take out containers. All restaurants and cafes, and I mean all, use normal dishes that are washed in between uses. Initially, this is a huge pain as you realize there just isn't a way to grab a coffee to take to class, but eventually, you come to terms with the fact that if you want to eat something you're going to have to sit down and spend five minutes not running around. In Spain, eating is something to be enjoyed. Why would you waste the pleasure of eating and chatting with a friend just because you don't want to sit still for five minutes?

Hot Water
Haha... this one is a long story. Basically our hot water heater broke and we've been heating hot water on the stove for bucket-baths. Not the most ideal of circumstances, but at the very least it's taught me that I don't need hot water each time to wash my hands, or even to wash my face in the morning. The moral of this isn't no hot water so much as only when really needed. For instance, I won't be complaining if/when the repairman ever shows up to give us warm showers again! :)

Electricity
Again, this is a "less is more" category. In Spain (and the rest of Europe), electricity is a very expensive commodity. This translates into only one or two outlets in the whole cafeteria, only ten or so in the library outside of the computer lab, and very few in the airports. Also, my host mom will only have lights on in one room at a time- sometimes we crash into each other traversing a dark hallway! Not having power-on-demand has renewed my appreciation for the awesome blessing that electricity is, and has renewed my commitment to being a good steward of it. (Yes, Dad, this means I will try to keep lights on at home to a minimum!)

Ciao...
:) LJ

La Vita e Bella- Venice for Easter

Once again, what is there to say? Venice is well... Venice. A city afloat. A place of magic. Very, very expensive.


The streets, having been built both when people were about 2 feet tall (no, not really JMB) and when there weren't any cars (not that cars are allowed in Venice today either), are very very small. Trash-compactor-closing-in-scene-from-Star-Wars-small. So... photo! :)

The gondola drivers do literally sing Italian songs and dress in striped shirts. Even though I know it's all an act, I'm OK with it. It's awesome. Word on the street is that if you flirt a little bit you can get the gondola driver to cut his price in half... but flirting on Easter Sunday just felt wrong somehow.


The classic sitting-on-a-bridge-in-Venice photo. No Italy collection is complete without one!


The equally obligatory falling-in-the-water shot. Is it just me, or is that water not quite a normal color?


Fantabulous. On the waterfront near the Doge's palace and St. Mark's.


St. Mark's was absolutely breathtaking. Being a Medieval church, it was a nice break from the other cathedrals we've seen, which were mostly enormous and white stone with stained glass. In contrast, the entire interior of St. Mark's is covered in mosaics. As I tried but epically failed to capture below, if you look in from the choir loft (aka up high), the entire basilica literally glows in the candlelight. Not even to mention the tessalations and 3D tilework on the floor, the icons, the sculptures... it really was fantastic. And if you're ever there, pay the extra 4 euro to see the balcony. It's pretty sweet.


I'm sure some of you will be scandalized by the following sacrilege, but c'mon... God has a sense of humor... ;)


Well, that's all for our Italian dream vacation. What can I say- great food, great sights, great travel buddy! We did everything from go to Confession in St. Peter's to try on masks in Venice, and ate lots of pizza in between. It was a wonderful experience, and not even the (mostly crummy) weather could dampen our mood! So, I guess there's only one thing left to say...

La Vita e Bella- Florence Duo

Ok, so let's review. Our hostel was literally a converted villa, and since Florence is in Tuscany, it was positively gorgeous. Early spring in Italy. There are no words!


This museum is... the inside of our hostel. I'm not kidding. It was a villa!


We did the "essential Florence" since we really only had one day. We started at the Duomo... (dome in the background)... of which I did not take any interior photos because I am a jaded tourist who has "enough photos already" of European cathedrals... but I stand by my decision. If you want to see it, go Wikipedia it!

For some unknown reason, we then thought it was a good idea to climb the bell tower. You can clearly see how this was converted into a tourist attraction:

Fr. Mario: Gee, Fr. Luigi. We don't actually ring a bell anymore, what are we going to do with this old bell tower?
Fr. Luigi: I know! We'll tell tourists that it's fun to climb to the top!
Fr. Mario: Even tourists aren't that silly. There are so many stairs! And no railings! And no way for more than one person to pass at a time!
Fr. Luigi: That's ok... we'll just convince the American tourists, and the rest will follow...


I will admit the views are wonderful. Even on an obnoxiously cloudy day!


Baptistry doors. Check!


I believe this was the Medici household, but I'm not sure. At any rate, it gives you an idea of the beautiful artwork all around!


In all, Florence was lovely. I would spend another week there and in the Tuscan country side in a heartbeat! My one regret was that we missed the memo that you need reservations for the Ufizzi, the world's largest collection of Renaissance art, so after spending 2 hours in line we only had about 45 minutes to see all of these amazing things! We only made it 1/3 of the way through. *Sigh* (Don't let this happen to you! If you go to Florence, reserve tickets!!!)

But I guess if that's my biggest regret over Spring Break, I'm doing OK. :)

La Vita e Bella- Florence!

Ahh, Florence. My favorite of the three cities we visited. Let's start with...

This is where we lived:
(There was a villa involved)


And this is what we ate:

This, too:
Need I say more??? :)

Our first evening we wandered around, getting our orientation of the sights. Florence's important historical things are all in the same general area, leaving the harried traveler feeling quite at home rather quickly. I'm a fan. One of my favorites was the Italian hall of fame at the Uffizi, featuring every famous Renaissance person ever plus some extras: Raphael, DaVinci, Michaelangelo, Dante. History classes have it all wrong: don't study the Renaissance! Just come to Florence! It's so much better!

We wandered down to the Ponte Vecchio and lingered among the men selling illegal fake Prada bags, people playing guitar for the honeymooners, and couples PDAing by the river. (Yay, Europe!) It really is a magical site.


That's all for now... the rest of Florence tomorrow!

La Vita e Bella- Ciao, Roma!

Our last day in Rome wasn't even technically in Rome, but actually in Vatican City. You know, we wanted to catch up with the Pope. It's been awhile since he came to chill at our campus in 08. :) For those of you who saw my Facebook comments, yes, I did find a Swiss guard. Guaranteed: Catholic, single, over 5'6", and under the age of 30. Sweet!

The main attraction: the Pope! He's that little white dot under the white canopy. We felt quite language-savvy as we understood about 4 of the languages spoken: Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Italian! :)


St. Peter's Square! Waiting in line for the Basilica... obviously a photo opp. :) (Yes, the line was this long!)


The inside of the Basilica. Fun fact for the day (not official... feel free to research): I've heard rumors that the occasional basilicas which are actually bigger than St. Peter's are christened as two basilicas, or half is not christened, so that St. Peter's keeps the record. Oh, Catholics...


The Pieta! It really does live in here!


In the gardens of the Vatican Museums. In case you're like us, and lost, just follow the signs that say "Sistine Chapel this way." Hysterically, you actually pass through the entirety of the Vatican exhibition under the premise that you're "on the way" to the Sistine Chapel! Ha. Tourists. They know us so well.

After about 90 minutes of "Sistine Chapel this way", Lucy managed to be paying enough attention to spot a Dali painting in the middle of new age artistic paganism. Yay, Luce!


Also, FYI, Rome-hopefuls: the spiral staircase is at the end of the exhibit. We got to the bookstore, realized we had missed it, decided we didn't care because we were so tired, and then found it on the way out! Don't lose hope! :)


What do you do if you're exhausted from trouncing around on foot all day? Find the cheapest, biggest dinner you can, of course! Mmm... :)


And thus end our travels in Rome... stay tuned for more Italian fun and food coming your way soon! :)

La Vita e Bella- Ancient Rome

Our first full day in Rome was spent exploring Ancient Rome. It was definitely pretty sweet!

Here is the Colosseum, the first stop on our journey. Somehow, the anti-bouncers* managed to know that we were American, and bugged us until we went on a tour group into the ruins. It was a pretty good deal, all in all. :)

(*Note: "anti-bouncer" is a term for people whose jobs it is to get tourists, usually Americans, to use their tour/bus/restaurant, etc. They can spot Americans from a mile away, and will incessantly try to convince you to buy their services. This term will be copyrighted soon.)


The inside. Random fact of the day: at some point in history (the Middle Ages?) the Colosseum was used as a village, and several hundred people had their houses and shops in it. Pretty sweet, huh?


Obviously, if they left all these giant rocks laying around, they intended for people to climb on them!


Some big, giant, important old building. Don't ask me. The tour guide had left us by this point. :)


Some more ruins... I know this was important... I just can't remember why...


Hmm... what to eat for lunch? Pizza, por supuesto! Of 14 meals in Italy, probably about 8 featured pizza for at least one of us. Mmmm.... :)


After lunch we went to a museum of art and sculpture. As you can see below, we took all of this history very, very seriously.


Practicing my teacher's-disapproving-look. >: |


The best part! This was the hall of philosopher busts. So obviously I just had to jump in line... :)

La Vita e Bella- Roma

(Note: to those of you who know me well, you know how I positively adore scrapbooking. Completely. Totally. With every ounce of my being. Thus, I warn you now- the photos I will be posting from here on out will only be a small part of those which will be debuting in my scrapbook of my trip. Get excited!)

So, Rome...

Is there any way to truly describe it?

It's one part blinding reality- hold on you your purse, or they'll steal it!- one part romance with the past- Julius Ceasar once walked these streets!- and several parts of deliciousness incorporated- you mean I can eat pizza for breakfast? Mom isn't here to stop me?!? :)

Definitely one of the coolest parts of my trip to Italy (aside from my awesome travel buddy) was the fact that I was incredibly ignorant of all things Italian beyond pizza and spaghetti. Sometimes I feel like some of the fun of travel is lost these days, as so often we've seen a hundred movies featuring the Eiffel Tower before we ever see it ourselves. So it really was a great experience to have no preconceived images of many of these sites, and to be completely surprised when we got there!

Exhibit A: Trevi Fountain

Exhibit A: Trevi Fountain. I'm sure the rest of the world is aware of how amazing it is, but I had literally never seen a photo of it, ever. I was expecting some decorated wishing well or other- imagine my surprise when we were greeted by a veritable waterfall gushing over magnificent statues into a pool the size of a small building! This was definitely one of my favorite discoveries in Italy, in large part because of surprise of the discovery.

We missed the memo that you're supposed to toss a coin in over your shoulder without looking. Hopefully tossing-one-in-sideways-because-we're-looking-at-the-camera counts. :)

Exhibit B: The Pantheon. Again, I'm sure all of you educated readers are aware that this impressive building from the Roman Empire was the largest dome in the world until the invention of poured concrete in the 20th century, but I was expecting something square and in ruins... I was literally blown away by this completely intact architectural wonder!

This is the best shot I could get of the Pantheon- I promise that it does not do it justice at all!

LB, don't be angry at my lack of Italian culture, but I must admit that many of our travels went along these lines... "Hey! Look! That's big. And old." "Yeah, I bet it's important. Let's take a picture!" Such was the case with the square below, which we learned later was the Square of Venice or something along those lines. To us, it is forever the SCARIEST street in the world to cross. In Italy, to cross you just walk out in front of the traffic, 4 LANES of speeding cars notwithstanding. It felt like learning to double-dutch all over again. Only, if you miss, you're roadkill. :)

The... Palace of Venice? Really, we don't know. But it looks cool!

We spent the first evening just wandering around, getting the lay of the land. We popped in and out of anything that looked interesting, like the church below. You know, just your average parish church. There must be dozens in Rome alone. So crazy!

The Sistine Chapel is NOT the only ceiling chapel in Rome, and if you ask me,
not even one of the most impressive ones! (Don't tell the pope...)

Sunny with a high of 75'...

Despite having basic competency in two languages, I'm afraid that I still cannot convey the glory of spring in Madrid. This year spring seems more wonderful than ever, since we literally just passed through ten weeks of rain, the longest in anyone's memory! (Note to self: don't live in England.) Every day I wake up, sun streaming through the white curtains above my bed, and peer outside. Birds are chirping, the trees are finally putting forth new leaves, and flowers are popping up everywhere. Walking around town, it feels like the world is just baking you with love- the sun warming your soul, and the breeze inspiring you to skip and whistle along. Life is beautiful. God is good. (And He is risen... Allelujah!)

Retro Post: Cordoba!

So, on our way to Sevilla, we stopped at the "little Mosque" in Cordoba. Random world-religion fact of the day: as the Muslim religion spread in the early Middle Ages, Spain became one of the biggest Muslim communities in Europe. Around the year 1000, the Spanish Muslim "church" split from the leaders in the middle east, and the "Caliph of Cordoba" became the ruler of all things Muslim in Spain. The point being... the Mosque in Cordoba is accordingly awesome!

I believe this is currently a bell tower- it may have once been used as a minaret.

Spanish tradition is that whenever you take over a people of a different faith, you smash their religious centers as a reminder of who's boss. The Muslims did it to the Christians in the 700s, and the Christians returned the favor during the reconquista. Thankfully, whoever was in charge of smashing the Mosque at Cordoba refused to follow orders, preserving this breath-taking monument. As a compromise, they built a Cathedral in the middle of the Mosque instead. So, you win some you lose some- history maintained a good deal of the Mosque of Cordoba, but Muslims lost it as a place of worship since it's currently covered in Christian symbols and artwork. The Mosque/Cathedral still serves as the main Cathedral in Cordoba, and the official seat of the bishop there.

(In case I haven't conveyed this well, this mosque is HUGE. It has a CATHEDRAL in the middle of it, and the Cathedral only takes up about 15% of the floor space!!!

Like I said, GARGANTUAN! Muslims do not use symbols of humans, God, or animals in their artwork, so they're really big on geometrical shapes and designs, such as the arches above.

Here you can see the Christian side chapel added to the Mosque. There are Christian chapels all around the perimeter of the building.

Hola!

The Cathedral inside the Mosque. This is my favorite Cathdral for decorations so far!

Altar of the Cathedral

I believe this is the ceiling of one of the side chapels. You can see Muslim use of words for decoration towards the bottom.


Some "Christianized" arches.


A Christian dome above some Muslim arches.