Hi all, long time no talk. A lot has happened (as usual!) and I am going to try and cover it all. In order to do that, I might be a little brief with my entry but if there are any questions, email me at pattonch@gmail.com or leave a comment, I will try and get back to you a little quicker than I have been (Thanks Mig!) Let's see, where shall I begin:
Toledo:
The weekend of the 15th, I believe it was the second weekend in November, I had a friend come visit from Barcelona, one that had gone to the Portugal with me. He came to visit for the weekend and we took a day trip on Saturday to Toledo. Toledo was the Old Arab capital on the Iberian Peninsula. Originally Madrid was constructed to protect the city of Toledo from the encroaching Christians from the north. Eventually, once the Christians regained control of the entire Iberian Peninsula in 1492 (Yes that is the year Columbus discovered America), One of the kings renamed Madrid the capital of Spain due to its ideal weather and location in the center of the peninsula.
Our day trip was really amazing, the city is filled with some much culture and Arab influence. There is also a very large Cathedral in Toledo which is something that rivals the Cathedral in Sevilla. While we were walking around the city, we ran into a few friends from Madrid and spent the rest of the day with them. Once it got dark we returned to Madrid.
School has been very tough. I have a short essay to write about once a week in my grammar class and write now, I should be writing a 6 page essay for my economics class. Of course I am procrastinating but you will all enjoy what I have written so it will be worth it.
That is it for the learning part of school, but as for teaching, things are slowing down. My student that I teach twice a week is very smart. I feel sometimes as if I am not helping much but I suppose that any sort of practice helps a little. She knows almost every vocab word I through at her but has problems reading and writing. I can't teach her very much about the verb tenses because I didn't learn that about English when I grew up. I only know what sounds correct and maybe I few grammar tricks. Everything I do seems to help but I hope she is not expecting a full "grammar" lesson, because I would have problems with that.
It is getting really cold here! freezing temperatures during the day and below freezing at night and in the early morning. Once the sun goes down, you have no choice but to bundle up! It reminds me very much of New York weather, with out all the snow. As for Thanksgiving, that was probably the coldest night of them all. Good thing we spend most of the night in the restaurant. All three EAP study abroad programs had a Thanksgiving celebration together. Dinner was great, certainly not a traditional homey thanksgiving dinner but at least we had turkey!
As for tonight, tonight is John's birthday party. His birthday is not until the 3rd of December but his host family is having a small gathering at their house. I am excited to finally meet his host family. I had a lot of fun with my host family and Mexico and I miss that atmosphere, and the food! It should be a fun night.
For the future, I have started planning my Christmas vacation plans. I am spending Christmas with Seara's family in Germany in a small town in the Alps, really close to the Austrian border. It should be a lot of fun and really really beautiful. Also, I am meeting some of my old high school friends in Amsterdam for a few days while they are traveling around Europe. They are visiting about 10 of the major cities in Europe and are passing through Amsterdam right after I finish classes in December. I will let you guys know more about my plans once I plan more.
Thats it for now, take care everyone for the holidays and don't be shy to leave any comments. Love to all!
Patton
viernes, 30 de noviembre de 2007
domingo, 18 de noviembre de 2007
Portugal
So, it has taken me quite some time to write about my trip to Portugal but I have finally found time to do so. I have been swamped with things to do, catching up with school work, teaching, and just trying to relax. Finally, for all the regulars, here is a overview of my trip two weeks ago and what has happened since then.
Wed. Oct. 31:
Brandon arrives after a 7 hour bus ride from Barcelona. He arrived in the morning before I had school so I let him into the house so he could sleep. Around dinner time we met James at the bus station. We had some problems at first with the tickets because James had not received an electronic confirmation when he bought the tickets. It took a little work but we were able to get the tickets and at 10 at night, we left for Cádiz. The bus ride to Cádiz was very long. We arrived at 5 a.m. the next morning in Jerez and made it to Cádiz a half hour later.
Thur. Nov. 1:
James, Brandon and I get off the bus at the end of the line. We have no idea where we are and can only assume we were in Cádiz. We had slept the whole way down and had not heard the bus driver say anything except for that the bus was turning around and everyone needed to get off. It was really cold, really cold! and dark. We made our way to a hotel and asked for directions. Apparently the bus had dropped us off in the opposite corner of Cádiz. We ended up walking along the beach for about an hour before we found the old city walls and the old gate leading into the city of Cádiz. Since the old days, the city has expanded but it used to be a stronghold that protected from foreign boats entering the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar. The reason we left on Wed. night was because there was a holiday for all of Spain on Thursday. Of course we had forgotten about this holiday so we spent the frist 6 hours of our trip hiking around the city with not a single car or person in sight. The only people we saw were the cops that had stopped us thinking that we were terrorists. The had to cross check all our IDs and look at our cameras because we had taken some pictures of a government building. It was really a ridiculous scenario but I suppose you can never be too careful.
Walking around was a great way to explore the city but we were also very hungry and had no way of getting food. After spending the whole day in Cádiz, we made our way to the bus station and bought tickets to Jerez. The ride was short but we all slept anyways. We had hiked all over the city of Cádiz with our packs on our backs and now we were very tired. At Jerez we rented a car and made our way to Sevilla to meet up with Chris, our forth member. By the time we arrived in Sevilla, it was dark, but not as cold (thankfully). We walked around the city for a while, once again exploring with our packs, until we found a hostal. We dropped our bags off and went out to a bar for Chris' birthday.
Fri. Nov. 2:
The next morning, Brandon and I woke up early and walked around the city. Now that the holiday had past, the city was filled with tourists and visitors alike. We would have liked to check out the Cathedral and the Castle there but the lines to get in were incredibly long and we didn't have that much time. After exploring we gathered our stuff up and took the car our on the road. From Sevilla we drove across the Portogal/Spanish border all the way to Faro where we had an early dinner/late lunch. It was a long drive to Faro only because we drove along the coastal highway, that way we could access any of the beach front roads easily. In Faro we had some excellent seafood and walked the streets a little bit. From Faro we went to a really pretty beach for the sunset and then made our way to Lagos to spend the night. At this beach we ran into our second Police experience. Apparently we don't look like the locals. Some woman who was vacationing there assumed we had broken into her car and stolen her purse. If we truly had done that, I don't know why we would have stayed at that beach to watch the sunset, but we were harassed anyways. Once again they took our IDs and made us take all our things out of our pockets and walk in a single file off the beach. Thankfully we had James, who spoke portuguese, to help us out with the police. He was able to communicate with them and tell them we were not involved in any way with her missing possessions. What an ordeal.
By the time we made it to Lagos we were all very exhausted and tired from the day's activities. It was dark but still early when we arrived. We decided to walk around the city and check out some of the night life. We met some English-speaking backpackers in Lagos who told us that Lagos is a backpackers' party town. Apparently there are some really pretty trails along the southern Coast of Portugal. After we went out for a little while, we all came home and crashed to get ready for the next day.
Sat. Nov. 3:
We woke up early and once again walked around the city, to get a feel for it in the day light. We got some food and made our way to the beach. We had to spend some time at the beach since we were so close! Once we got to the beach, the waves looked great! Our buddy James was super amped on renting boards so we made our way to the local surf shop as quickly as we could. The waves were great. We all got a chance to surf a little and everyone had a lot of fun. We spent almost the whole day at the beach surfing and hanging out. It was a lot of fun, and of course, the excellent weather made the day that much better. By the time we returned the boards we were starving. We ate at an Indian restaurant, which was amazing, and then continued on our way. We had asked a local about where to go next and he recommended we head another 30 Km down the road to a small rural town called Carrepeteira. We drove there not realizing that rural really mean rural. When we got there the town only had one cafe where everyone was hanging out and a few houses. We found the only hostal in town, which was of course closed. Now we were desperate so we asked for help. They sent us to the cafe to ask for Olivia and she would be able to help us with a place to stay. At the cafe some guy led us up the hill to where Olivia was and introduced us to Olivia. Thankfully Olivia was very nice and offered us a room to stay for the night. We parked the car and paid Olivia and went into our room for the night. We played some cards and then went to bed.
Sun. Nov. 4:
We woke up early and said good bye to Olivia and thanked her and then headed out on our way. We decided to hit one more beach before we drove back to Sevilla to return the car. Since we weren't taking the coastal highway on our way home, it took less time to drive back to the border, only 2 and a half hours. Portugal is smaller than I thought. This other beach was very secluded and beautiful. It had a small cafe where we all ate, and as well, James and Chris rented surfboards. We surfed a little and then made our way home.
The trip was a lot of fun, more than I would have imagined. I thought renting a car would have been too expensive or too much of a hassle but it turned out to be neither of the two. I enjoyed every minute and would recommend it to anyone that was considering the same. Portugal is an amazing and beautiful place. We made it back to Sevilla by nightfall, returned the car and bought our bus tickets for the ride home. We made it back to Madrid just as the metro was opening in the morning. I slept for a few hours and then went off to school. Of course I was really tired so I took a heavy nap that day and then went to bed early. I could barely do my homework but it was all worth it.
Here are some pictures
Wed. Oct. 31:
Brandon arrives after a 7 hour bus ride from Barcelona. He arrived in the morning before I had school so I let him into the house so he could sleep. Around dinner time we met James at the bus station. We had some problems at first with the tickets because James had not received an electronic confirmation when he bought the tickets. It took a little work but we were able to get the tickets and at 10 at night, we left for Cádiz. The bus ride to Cádiz was very long. We arrived at 5 a.m. the next morning in Jerez and made it to Cádiz a half hour later.
Thur. Nov. 1:
James, Brandon and I get off the bus at the end of the line. We have no idea where we are and can only assume we were in Cádiz. We had slept the whole way down and had not heard the bus driver say anything except for that the bus was turning around and everyone needed to get off. It was really cold, really cold! and dark. We made our way to a hotel and asked for directions. Apparently the bus had dropped us off in the opposite corner of Cádiz. We ended up walking along the beach for about an hour before we found the old city walls and the old gate leading into the city of Cádiz. Since the old days, the city has expanded but it used to be a stronghold that protected from foreign boats entering the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar. The reason we left on Wed. night was because there was a holiday for all of Spain on Thursday. Of course we had forgotten about this holiday so we spent the frist 6 hours of our trip hiking around the city with not a single car or person in sight. The only people we saw were the cops that had stopped us thinking that we were terrorists. The had to cross check all our IDs and look at our cameras because we had taken some pictures of a government building. It was really a ridiculous scenario but I suppose you can never be too careful.
Walking around was a great way to explore the city but we were also very hungry and had no way of getting food. After spending the whole day in Cádiz, we made our way to the bus station and bought tickets to Jerez. The ride was short but we all slept anyways. We had hiked all over the city of Cádiz with our packs on our backs and now we were very tired. At Jerez we rented a car and made our way to Sevilla to meet up with Chris, our forth member. By the time we arrived in Sevilla, it was dark, but not as cold (thankfully). We walked around the city for a while, once again exploring with our packs, until we found a hostal. We dropped our bags off and went out to a bar for Chris' birthday.
Fri. Nov. 2:
The next morning, Brandon and I woke up early and walked around the city. Now that the holiday had past, the city was filled with tourists and visitors alike. We would have liked to check out the Cathedral and the Castle there but the lines to get in were incredibly long and we didn't have that much time. After exploring we gathered our stuff up and took the car our on the road. From Sevilla we drove across the Portogal/Spanish border all the way to Faro where we had an early dinner/late lunch. It was a long drive to Faro only because we drove along the coastal highway, that way we could access any of the beach front roads easily. In Faro we had some excellent seafood and walked the streets a little bit. From Faro we went to a really pretty beach for the sunset and then made our way to Lagos to spend the night. At this beach we ran into our second Police experience. Apparently we don't look like the locals. Some woman who was vacationing there assumed we had broken into her car and stolen her purse. If we truly had done that, I don't know why we would have stayed at that beach to watch the sunset, but we were harassed anyways. Once again they took our IDs and made us take all our things out of our pockets and walk in a single file off the beach. Thankfully we had James, who spoke portuguese, to help us out with the police. He was able to communicate with them and tell them we were not involved in any way with her missing possessions. What an ordeal.
By the time we made it to Lagos we were all very exhausted and tired from the day's activities. It was dark but still early when we arrived. We decided to walk around the city and check out some of the night life. We met some English-speaking backpackers in Lagos who told us that Lagos is a backpackers' party town. Apparently there are some really pretty trails along the southern Coast of Portugal. After we went out for a little while, we all came home and crashed to get ready for the next day.
Sat. Nov. 3:
We woke up early and once again walked around the city, to get a feel for it in the day light. We got some food and made our way to the beach. We had to spend some time at the beach since we were so close! Once we got to the beach, the waves looked great! Our buddy James was super amped on renting boards so we made our way to the local surf shop as quickly as we could. The waves were great. We all got a chance to surf a little and everyone had a lot of fun. We spent almost the whole day at the beach surfing and hanging out. It was a lot of fun, and of course, the excellent weather made the day that much better. By the time we returned the boards we were starving. We ate at an Indian restaurant, which was amazing, and then continued on our way. We had asked a local about where to go next and he recommended we head another 30 Km down the road to a small rural town called Carrepeteira. We drove there not realizing that rural really mean rural. When we got there the town only had one cafe where everyone was hanging out and a few houses. We found the only hostal in town, which was of course closed. Now we were desperate so we asked for help. They sent us to the cafe to ask for Olivia and she would be able to help us with a place to stay. At the cafe some guy led us up the hill to where Olivia was and introduced us to Olivia. Thankfully Olivia was very nice and offered us a room to stay for the night. We parked the car and paid Olivia and went into our room for the night. We played some cards and then went to bed.
Sun. Nov. 4:
We woke up early and said good bye to Olivia and thanked her and then headed out on our way. We decided to hit one more beach before we drove back to Sevilla to return the car. Since we weren't taking the coastal highway on our way home, it took less time to drive back to the border, only 2 and a half hours. Portugal is smaller than I thought. This other beach was very secluded and beautiful. It had a small cafe where we all ate, and as well, James and Chris rented surfboards. We surfed a little and then made our way home.
The trip was a lot of fun, more than I would have imagined. I thought renting a car would have been too expensive or too much of a hassle but it turned out to be neither of the two. I enjoyed every minute and would recommend it to anyone that was considering the same. Portugal is an amazing and beautiful place. We made it back to Sevilla by nightfall, returned the car and bought our bus tickets for the ride home. We made it back to Madrid just as the metro was opening in the morning. I slept for a few hours and then went off to school. Of course I was really tired so I took a heavy nap that day and then went to bed early. I could barely do my homework but it was all worth it.
Here are some pictures
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