Family in Spain, December 21-31

After my shoestring budget travel with my friends, I had the distinct pleasure and, to be frank, luxury of traveling through Spain with my family afterward. Although I will be visiting many of the same sites later on in the year, I did not care because of the sheer joy it was to be seeing them with my family. And on top of that, they brought help. I mean, I almost cried when Mom produced a beautiful red suitcase full of food, clothes and supplies from the States. . . my independent travels had left me in such a wretched financial state, I had started to wonder how I would eat for the rest of the year.

Our first day was spent in Madrid, seeing El Palacio Real, which I personally find more impressive than Versailles because it holds so much of its original furnishings. We also saw the cathedral next to it, and its crypt, as well as the world-famous Puerta del Sol, the clock under which thousands would gather to eat grapes at midnight on Nochevieja, New Year's Eve.

We devoted the next day to Toledo. Upon our arrival there, a local artisan led us to the convent where they make the famous gold Toledo designs by hand. I was fascinated to see the care and attention they gave to each piece, particularly the teacher who had worked there for 46 years. We saw also the cathedral which, among other things, had some fascinating architecture and a museum with many pieces by El Greco. For lunch, we had our first paella of the trip, and I was impressed by how much better it tasted from a restaurant than the school cafeteria. From there, we went to see a former synagoge, then a museum with wonderful interactive exhibits, one of which was well-preserved 18th century clothing. We rounded off our day with a visit to the Museo del Prado where, despite the many art treasures it contained, I was entranced by a sculpture I had never heard of, a woman at rest. I don't think I've ever seen one that beautiful and lifelike before.

After such a long day, we slept in the next morning. Before our bus tour, Grandma Sandi bought me a nice, new, warm black raincoat as my Christmas gift from Corte Ingles. It was hard for me to fully express my thanks, as the one I had been using was thirty years old, ragged, and leaking unpleasantly. On our bus tour, we saw a number of really cool skyscrapers I hadn't known existed. Later in the evening we visited the Christmas market in La Plaza Mayor. It wasn't as intricate as the ones I'd seen on my travels, but decent at least. We had a wonderful meal at a kebab place where there was dolma and hummus, some of my favorite food. We came back to the hotel to enjoy my Great Grandma Anabel's wonderful almond bark which she made just for us to have a taste of home on Christmas Eve. I really appreciated this gesture--I've missed her.

Christmas was a travel day to Barcelona, where we stayed in a very interesting period hotel (dated 1916). Our friend Deanna Knipschild was in town with a choir, so Dad and I went to see them. Standing in front of the Grand Teatre Liceu, one of the most ornate concert halls I've ever seen, I was amazed that an SDA choir would be performing there, and when we got inside, I was shocked to see it packed out. The concert was of gospel music, the first full-length concert I've heard in English since the last time I went to a Christian Edition concert with Dad.

Coming off of a cold, wet, rainy day in a bus tour, seeing the various Gaudi buildings, we had a good, satisfying meal at a Spanish restaurant. Then, we battled the blustering rain on La Rambla to get to a flamenco tablao. Unlike the one in Granada, some of these dancers had the stamina for two or three dancers in a row. The men were tall, and I wondered how many times they had smacked their heads on the low ceiling in rehearsal.

My poor father almost got robbed the next morning, but he beat the would-be pickpocketers off with an umbrella. He says it wasn't a big deal, but I'll bet it looked quite comical. He, my mother and I took the day to go up to the monastery of Montserrat while my grandmother and aunt stayed in Barcelona to do some shopping. Even though I don't believe in the legend of the Virgin of Montserrat, it was still inspiring to see something that inspires people to come from all over the world to see like that. The museum was interesting, too, with an early work of Picasso's and many beautiful Spanish works. We finished off the day there with a decent meal before heading down the mountain into its dark but beautiful shroud of iron-gray clouds. That night in Barcelona, we ran into Barry van Iderstein, my beloved former Spanish teacher, and I was able to thank him properly at last for teaching me Castellano in high school, not just Latin American Spanish.

The next day, we saw the Sagrada Familia, which is, news flash, still under construction; I can't believe its devoted architect was killed by a tram after his years of working on it. He really was a genius, to look at the geometry of the place. Dad and I took a stroll past the music palace, the market in front of the cathedral, and the roman ruins before we boarded the train to home sweet home Valencia. We ate in an American restaurant for dinner, and I enjoyed having jalapeño poppers again under the monochrome portraits of silver screen stars.

It really was good getting information in English on some of the things I'd completely and totally missed with the tour with the school. For instance, when I showed my family the historic section of Valencia, I had no idea there were Roman ruins there, or chapels behind Our Lady of the Afflicted, or even that the alleged Holy Grail was in the cathedral. How did I miss that? I made up for my gap of knowledge there by taking my family to my favorite horchateria, where they enjoyed cups of cool, fresh horchata. From there, I took them to the circular market, with some of the best and the cheapest textiles in town. We rounded off our day with a stroll through the City of the Arts and Sciences, which I had never seen at night before. It. . . glitters. The effect is astonishingly beautiful.

Morning brought our exciting day of Dad driving us to Sagunto in a rental car. I showed them my campus in detail, and this finally gave them the perspective on what a long walk it is to town from here. We got lunch from the Mercadona, and ate it as a picnic in front of the castle. It really is so much more lovely on a clear day, and even lovelier when shared with my family. We took a brief trip to Carrefour before meeting up with Jonny and Lidia, with whom I'd be staying after my parents departed, to have a stroll down an area known as Little Venice and a cup of cafe de bombon. Their company was very enjoyable. We rounded off the day looking at the fountains in front of the Palau de Musica. They are almost as spectacular as those in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, I believe.

On New Year's Eve, I said good-bye to my parents in the Valencia train station, and rode to Pucol to greet Jonny and Lidia for my next adventure.

This has been an extraordinarily long post, but thank you for your patience in reading it. I would like to take a moment out to thank everyone who either gave or sent me gifts or cards over the holiday season--some of you will never know how these kept me from freezing, kept me from starving, or kept me thinking positively when it wasn't easy. I really appreciate your generosity, and I will never be able to fully express my thanks.

Brussels, December 18-21

As opposed to our days in Luxembourg, our time in Brussels was action-packed with more things to do than we had ever imagined. After a pleasant train ride in, we had a picnic lunch of peanut butter and banana sandwiches in a laundromat, of all places, before we were able to check in to our hostel and walk over to USE-IT, arguably the most awesome invention known to backpackers. They have free internet, free hot drinks, free waffles (if you're nice), and even free, really cool maps with lots of fun suggestions. After we made contact with our families, we walked out to see the Christmas market of Brussels.

This one was even larger and more intricate than that of Frankfurt. In addition to the many stalls of good food and fascinating wares, they also had an ice rink and a huge inflated ice monster that actually breathed sitting outside a cathedral. In the Grand Place, arguably the most beautiful square in all Europe, my breath was stolen away by a spectacular show of lights and Christmas music playing across the facades of the already intricately gorgeous buildings of the square. It was indescribably lovely, especially at the end where they released bubbles from the brightly-lit, sparkling Christmas tree. It was like something from one of my dreams.

The next morning, we took the metro out to the bright, shiny Atonium, then admired the many intricate models in Mini-Europe at its base. I was amazed at the detail on these, but my favorite was Mt. Vesuvius, because there was a button we could push to make it explode, heehee. Afterward, we tracked down that famous little statue, Mannequin Pis, before having lunch to revive ourselves a bit from all this walking. We went from there to a museum of the city of Brussels. Although it features many interesting exhibits on the history of Brussels, the one that stood out was on the wardrobe of Mannequin Pis. I can't believe that something as inocuous as a statue of a peeing boy can mean so much to a city. Or how many outfits the thing has--some supermodels don't have that many outfits. And it's been knighted!

After that, we made some very noble but fruitless attempts at finding the cheap art cinemas referred to on our map, and encountered instead a wonderful sundown view of one of the cathedrals. I do love the sound of all those bells. . . We also saw a chocolate museum. Wow, it's hard to describe the incredibly intoxicating aroma of the chocolate in there. They actually showed the chemical breakdown of chocolate, and all the good theobromine, tannens, and antioxidants it has to offer. There was, naturally, lots of chocolate in our picnic meal at the hostel later on.

On our way to the flea market the next morning, we stopped at two cathedrals. The first one, St. Michael's, featured an intricately carved pulpit showing the story of the Fall and the plan of salvation--the theme of the resurrection was alluded to by two phoenixes perched on one side. I was mesmerized by the sound of the violin and the beautiful nativities lining the cathedral. The other one was equally lovely, set up for a wedding with callilillies lining the aisles. What was startling about this Brussels Notre Dame, though, was its location right next to a graffitti-filled skate park.

From the flea market (where I talked myself into buying a new hat), we went to the museum of musical instruments. The building itself was an Art Nouveau masterpiece with all of its exciting green ironwork, and the interior of the mueum lived up to its facade. To see so many ancient, modern, and exotic instruments and to hear their sounds was inspiring. It made me homesick for Dad, having flashbacks of him teaching my classmates and I music history when I was little. It also made me miss my oboe with an unexpected dull, throbbing ache. I've never gone this long without playing it.

Our last night in Brussels was spent in the Christmas market, enjoying whatever untasted delight of Brussels we had missed. To my profound irritation, a homeless man flicked a bottle of wine at my friend Cassy and I, spotting my cream scarf and new hat with dots of color. However, I did try a real Belgian waffle--that was amazing. Where I really went crazy was in buying lace--small portions of that mesmerizing little heaven of red, gold, and silver are now mine. I could hardly believe my luck in finding the only store in Brussels that sells red lace. Coming out of it to see the Grand Place for the last time truly made me sad.

All we had time for on our last day in Brussels was the Comics Museum. I hadn't realized what a European art this was, or how both the Smurfs and TinTin come from Belgium. It really is an art, like animation--a bit of a predecessor to it, actually. The building, though, was almost more impressive than the museum. It was a glorious Art Nouveau construction of curvy steel and airy glass. I loved it. We had one large meal in the hostel of pasta and vegetables before taking off on our long walk through the city to get to the airport shuttle. This walk took us through the Moroccan section of town, with all of its robe makers, and through the Sunday Market with all of its good. Tristinn and I said goodbye to Cassy, and got ready for the next leg of our adventure.

I know this post is really long, but Brussels truly is an amazing city. Although I knew almost nothing about it before I went, it became my favorite city of the trip. On the blog is just a sampling of some of the incredibly cool sights and sounds of Brussels, and I hope you will take the time to look at it--because more than any other city on the trip, I found myself wishing I could share it with all the people I love back at home, and that includes you.

Luxembourg, December 15-18

When we arrived in the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,, we probably tromped halfway around it looking for our hostel, but we found it eventually. It was much like a college dorm room for six people, though in the entire time there all six were never full.

Exploring the city, we found its Christmas market, which wasn't nearly as large as Frankfurt's (though it featured live music), and crossed the valley to look at the Bank Museum. This featured a number of beautiful quilts on banking themes, as well as a model of their vault. We stopped for some hot chocolate before crossing back over to the Christmas Market, where I ate a post of really good cheese fondue that put me into a rather loony mood as we walked back to the hostel.

Because the following day offered us nasty weather, we spent most of it inside two of the larger museums, seeing them in detail. The first one, the history of fine arts, had a fantastic mural of the Nine Muses from a Roman villa discovered in Luxembourg only a few years ago. It was spectacular in its intricate beauty and incredibly well-preserved. The museum also had a drawing by Victor Hugo and a few Impressionist paintings well worth seeing.

The museum of the history of Luxembourg itself, though was just incredibly cool. It had everything in order, easy to find, and good places to sit periodically. It explained the history of Luxembourg well, from its first ruler, Count Siegfried, to an elaborate exhibit on the religious makeup of Luxembourg today. It was all fascinating, especially the sections of World War II and Luxembourg's role internationally. To burn time afterwards (because everything in Luxembourg closes ridiculously early), we went to a theatre for old films, the Cinemathique. We saw this really, really strange picture called The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds. Yeah. The title says it all.

Our next day was almost wholly unremarkable. We saw the local cathedral in the morning, which was absolutely gorgeous for its simplicity and lovely stained glass windows. Then, we went to see a museum we wanted to see. .. and it was closed. So, we walked around the valley a bit and enjoyed the natural beauty of the place. We never did our walking tour, unfortunately, as the rain came down in icy, cold, freezing sheets. We spent the rest of the day in the hostel, playing card games. Somehow I managed to lose at each one spectacularly.

I was actually grateful to move on to Brussels from there. The rain, the limited hours, and the number of good tourist sites closed for the winter had really gotten me down. I almost wish that I could go back to Luxembourg during the summer, when the casemates and the ducal palace are open, but at least I got to see what a country that small looks like once. If I had to pick another country that small to visit, I think it would be Lichtenstein, because the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland is based off of theirs.

Just random thoughts. If you ever go to Luxembourg as a tourist, go in the summer. Trust me. I love you all, and don't want you to waste your time on it.

Frankfurt, December 12-15

Our arrival in Frankfurt-Hahn Airport was marked by an hour and a half bus ride to get us to the city. This trip offered us spectacular views of the forests and villages along the way. I was enchanted by these views, stunned by their beauty--it is absolutely indescribable, like something out of a postcard.

Once we got to our hostel and checked in, a desk worker recommended that we visit the Christmas Market. Oh, what a wonderful thing that was! Stall upon stall of beautiful lights and Christmas decorations, and delicious food. We fell in love with Germany on the spot simply for its ability to make our taste buds come alive again after the bland school caf food. There were also incredibly intricate ornaments for sale, made of carefully-tooled wood. We rode a two-story carousel to get a good view of the glittery place.

The next day, we took a walking tour of the city. It's amazing, how much of Frankfurt was rebuilt after World War II. I was impressed by all the layers of history to the city, from its first mention as a town by Charlemagne to the prosperous banking industry that thrives today. It's amazing how Europe's tallest skyscraper and Roman ruins can be within walking distance with each other.

The largest impact for me, though, was the wall dedicated to the Frankfurt Jews who died in the Holocaust, Anne Frank among them. Of the 6,000 or so Jews who were deported during the war, only three survived to the end of it. Throughout the city and the rest of Germany there are "stumbling stones" in front of houses of those who were executed by the Nazis. We saw one dedicated to a child whose only crime was having epilepsy. Sad.

We did see some more positive sights, though, like a place where Martin Luther had stayed the night, a monument to Gutenberg, and the front of Goethe's house. We finished off with some more good food, after which we went to see what was my first opera, Don Carlos. Wow, that was epic. . . the music, the singers with lungs of iron, the costumes. . . and the sheer intensity of the drama. It was absolutely thrilling, even from high up in the cheap seats.

Sunday morning, we went to Mass at St. Leonard's, entranced by the ringing of the many bells in the city. I don't think I've been to a Catholic church during Advent before, and it was nice. Later, we walked along the river, next to a billowing steam engine train to get to the first of our two Jewish museums for the day, which had all kinds of interesting things on the history of the Jews, from the Middle Ages to the formation of the country of Israel. The second one focused on the remains of the Judengasse, the Jewish ghetto which had been destroyed by the Nazis and later excavated. It was interesting to see all the different articles used in daily life from that period, and to read, in detail, how the Jews in the Middle Ages celebrated Sabbath. I like how special they made it, how beautiful.

Afterwards, I went to the Frankfurt Historical Museum, which was also fascinating. It covered parts of Frankfurt's history the other museums hadn't even touched on, like the rebuilding in the thirties and the protests in the sixties. I was amazed by some of the articles of clothing they had, not to mention a popular ergonomically correct kitchen the Frankfurters had developed. Having seen it, I walked to the opera house to meet my friend, who had gone to a movie, through the greenbelt that replaced the city wall a century or two ago. It was absolutely spectacular, and I enjoyed watching the children ice skating in the square in front of me while I waited for them.

We took it easy for our last night, playing cards and eating popcorn. The next day would take us to Luxembourg.

Thank you for your patience in reading all of this, and happy Three Kings Day. Here in Spain, it's the gift-giving holiday, and I give you all my love.

Holidays (Introduction)

Happy New Year! I have been on the road for about three weeks now, and I finally have my computer back. In this time, I have been to four different countries and enjoyed myself to the full. Because it is nearly impossible to cover the wonders of Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Spain all in one email, I have decided to break this up into several parts that I will write about as I have time. Finally I have pictures of Paris up on the website--thank you for your patience with the extreme delay.

In the intermittent time between Paris and my departure for my holiday travels, there was a whirlwind of studying and partying to be done. Also, because people were in their rooms studying with the internet on, there wasn't a lot of bandwidth left for me to use to upload. One of the more fun parties we had was a Thanksgiving celebration that we put on for the school. My responsibility was the decoration, and it gave me warm fuzzies to make the caf look like the Yosemite Thanksgiving I remember fondly. There was also a series of Christmas parties with secret friend gift exchanges and the like.

I love parties, but a mandatory three-four hour party during finals week is ridiculous. . . it was fun, but between that and the girls who chattered in my room late into the night, I faced my finals less prepared than the year I skipped dead week because I had bronchitis. No matter; I'm not just here for the academics, but for the cultural experience, and that has been absolutely fantastic.