January in Sagunto

After the flurry of the holidays, I decided to put my nose to the grindstone for the new quarter, but not without making time for fun. At 18 credits all in Spanish, there's a grand temptation to spend all my time studying, but I've been finding ways to do it without going crazy. For one thing, I do the vast majority of it out in the school garden, where even in January the sun shines. Also, at the end of the week, when my brain is at its most tired, I go hiking up in the mountain behind the school.

My time has been punctuated with several fun trips to Valencia. The first one was to get a pair of boots from the huge sales the Spanish have after Three King's Day. The second was with the school, to the City of the Arts and Sciences to see a film, the Alps in their famous IMAX theatre, the Hemispheric. It was a gorgeous film about the Swiss Alps, though that has nothing on the beautiful white curves of the buildings outside the theater. Afterwards, we went to a mall across the street where, despite having fun trying on various pieces of clothing I'll never be able to afford with my friend Jenny, I managed to escape buying nothing but some turron ice cream and a tube of toothpaste I needed.

The last visit I took to Valencia was yesterday, actually. This time, Jenny and I had such bad cabin fever that we just left. We had some of that good, rich Valor chocolate in the shadow of the cathedral and took a stroll through the central plaza. The day was sunny, and Jenny had the patience to walk with me through all the flower stalls, nerding out over the different types sold in their brilliant array. The first scent of Fallas was in the air--in the distance, we could here explosions by fireworks companies starting to test their products for Valencia's most extravagant holiday. As we walked back to the station, I was just entranced by all the colors of Valencia--the orange trees, the scarves, the ceramic tiles. . . Paris may be considered the city of love world wide, but Valencia has a romantic charm the world's tourist agencies have yet to spoil.

On campus, I've been enjoying several other diversions. The day after the inauguration, which I watched streaming on the internet, I had the pleasure of doing commentary on the local Adventist radio station. They were looking for an American perspective on it, and I was the only student they could get on such short notice. . . it felt good to be back in a studio. It feels like I spent a fifth of my time at PUC in Fischer Hall, and there's something nice and cozy about the sound equipment.

One Saturday night Jenny and I got bored and decided to do a photo shoot of our own. We dressed up and, working in glorious monochrome, had the time of our lives. Entertaining, and free to do. Despite the fact that my film collection disappeared during vacation, I have had no problem filling and enjoying my time. I've even been more faithful with worship attendance as a result. This last week was Week of Prayer, featuring Jonathan Dolcet, a former rock star who is now a pastor. His theme was, of course, music, and it was fascinating. I actually really enjoyed this Week of Prayer, which surprised me after last quarter's.

As for now, on Tuesday we're leaving for our tour to Barcelona and the small country of Andorra on the border between Spain and France. We'll be back on Friday, but it will be a nice reprieve from our classroom studies to get some more hands-on learning. That, then, will be the next episode of Jillian's Journeys; until then, I wish all of you an absolutely fantastic week.

Pucol, January 1-5

My train for Pucol left at about the same time as my parents, and I watched them until mine left. My friends Jonny and Lidia (who taught me Spanish my senior year at Pleasant Hill) picked me up, and we had lunch, where I met Jonny's parents for the first time. I really was impressed by how beautiful the entire family is. I helped his mother make the dinner for Nochevieja, the Spanish celebration of New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, I was a little too tired to eat well. I managed to stay awake to play some pool and eat the twelve grapes at midnight that correspond to the chimes of the Puerto del Sol clock in Madrid, at least. I actually breathed a sigh of relief as 2008 ended, once and for all--in a variety of ways, it had not treated me well.

After a very late breakfast the next morning, we went for a walk at the Pucol community beach. It was so lovely; somehow I had managed to live the previous three months with the sea out my window without actually visiting the beach. Sad. We ate after we came back--and I was once again flummoxed by how hard it was to keep up with how much my hosts ate. In the evening, we watched movies, one of them in English to give me a break. It felt good, because even though I appreciated the amazing amount of Spanish practice I was getting (Jonny's family was very patient with my many speaking errors), it just feels nice to hear something in your native language every now and then. A charm that transcends culture and language, though, was in watching Lidia's baby girl Sofia look at the world with her big, beautiful brown eyes, discovering it for the first time.

Lidia and I had a bit of an adventure the next day, taking us to various parts of Puerto de Sagunto in a frustrating attempt to accomplish things that refused to be accomplished. Although Lidia apologized for the frustrating morning, I was fine, because it was an excuse to spend more time with Sofia. We had a nice, generous lunch at the house of Lidia's parents, who invite me over on Sabbath from time to time. Afterwards, Lidia's mother gave me a huge pannatonni that kept me fed for about two weeks after I got back to the school. After dinner back in Pucol, I was lulled to sleep by the warm fire and peaceful harp music playing in the background. . . it was wonderful.

For Sabbath, I enjoyed making some mandarin juice for breakfast before heading to church. I enjoyed Sofia's Sabbath school class; it was cute. After a very, very long church service, we had lunch at the house of some of Jonny's parents' friends. It was lavish with food typical of Madrid. It was so good, so filling, that I couldn't eat for the rest of the day of socializing. Eventually, my head hurt so much from processing so many conversations in Spanish at once that I went back to Pucol with Jonny and Lidia to defrag my brain with a film or two in English.

I had enjoyed my time so much there that I found myself almost unconsciously trying to stretch out breakfast so as not to leave too soon. I enjoyed the crepes Jonny's mother had made very much, as well as the rich chocolate. I kissed Lidia, Sofia, and Jonny goodbye, and they drove off into the rain. Jonny's parents took me to the school, but it wasn't open yet, so they called Ana Fernandez, one of my teachers. She let me stay in her house until the dorm opened, even served me a good lunch of tortilla espanola. Then, I returned to a dorm that was empty save for my friend Tristinn and I to await the coming of the next quarter.

First, though, we had the fun of attending the parade in Sagunto for Three King's Day, also known as Epiphany. How fun! Not only was there music, lights, and all manners of marching, but also candy and small gifts thrown out to the crowd. The children were almost more fun to watch than the parade, for all their bright smiles and how their parents held them up so they could see better. Three King's Day is the gift-giving holidy here in Spain, not Christmas, so it was fun to watch how that worked.

What I learned from the people I stayed with over New Year's until returning to the dorm was what good hospitality looks like. I am incredibly grateful to them for that, and can only hope to be able to show the same kindness to others who will need it of me later on.

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.

Paris, November 22

Phew! For those of you who have been wondering why it's been such a long time since I've posted, it's because I didn't have much turnaround between the epic trip to Andalucia and a wonderful excursion to Paris last weekend. Those of you who knew I was in Paris and are wondering why I haven't posted about it yet should also know that I have been SWAMPED with work ever since I got back. . . but now I can relax a little and write to everyone, because, thank heavens, it's SABBATH. Even if I weren't such a die hard Adventist, I think I'd still have to pick a day like this to stubbornly defend rest. . . but I digress. You want the fun exotic stuff, not my anti-stress rhetoric.

Approaching Paris from the air at night was a breathtaking spectacle like no other, a good first impression of the City of Lights. When we landed, and found our way to the hotel, we were mildly surprised to find ourselves in the red light district, but the hotel itself was in a nice, quiet little alley away from all of that. Hotel Andre Gill was decorated in warm orange colors and cats were on the reception counter--and so I instantly fell in love with it. We had our first taste of Paris that night in the form of warm Nutella crepes from a street vendor.

Our first full day, we did a lot. Versailles is large and nearly indescribable in its vastness, not just the palace but its sweeping grounds, outlying summer palace, and Marie Antoinette's estate. The fall colors only served to increase its loveliness. We emerged from the metro after our visit to see a sparking blue Eiffel Tower (blue to celebrate the EU being in Paris currently). Wow, that thing is just as beautiful as I'd always pictured it, and more. . . and the full moon only added to the romantic atmosphere. Later, we toured the Seine on a ferry, sliding under twelve of Paris's most famous bridges and getting a great overview of the city and its history, from Notre Dame to World War II. Altogether, an excellent day.

The next day, we found a Free Tour (which they have in many cities in Europe, it turns out) that took us all over Paris. We started at the Saint Michael Fountain, and it seems like we went everywhere. . . on foot. This filled in an area of French history about which my memory had been sketchy--their civil war between the Catholics and Protestants. Seeing the church from across the Louvre where a Catholic king and a Protestant queen got married to the sound of riots in the streets just amazed me at how people survive such insane things. After our tour, which ended at the World Fair buildings, two of us went to see the interior of the Paris Opera House--wow, that was cool. I was amazed by their score library and set designs. The costumes were out, too, in long rows for a sale or something. The building itself is indescribably beautiful, far beyond anything the various set designers for The Phantom of the Opera can recreate.

After that, we headed out to the Louvre, breaking up to see whatever particularly appetized our own tastes. I saw, of course, the Louvre's three most famous works (the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo), but I think I was almost more impressed by Napoleon's apartments and Hammurabi's Code of Law, which I hadn't known was in there. Just walking through the section it was in, full of artifacts from Darius I's palace, was amazing from the perspective of a biblical scholar. . . and then to see Delacroix's famous painting of Liberty leading France to victory. . . I think that was my favorite. Afterwards, we saw the Arc du Triomphe up close. I never realized it was so big and beautiful. . . I love it. By the time we got back to the hotel, exhausted, we had, according to my step counter, done a four days' march. It was worth it.

Thankfully, the day that followed was not nearly so intense. We started it with a leisurely stroll up to Sacre Couer, where we arrived not just to a beautiful church and view of Paris inside and out, but to the pure, clear sound of womens' voices--we had come, quite accidentally, during mass. The experience was transcendental. From there we crossed by metro over to Notre Dame, to see it up close and personal. How lovely! It was every bit as gorgeous as Victor Hugo had described it. . . I was in awe of the incredible presence of this cathedral, and enjoyed the music of a choir that was singing there. There were protesters outside of it for some reason, which made it hard for me to meet back up with my group, but I found them, and we ate dinner on the banks of the Seine.

Later, we went on a tour of Montmarte, to see the various homes of the artists and composers who had lived and worked there. From the top of the hill, we could see all the lights before us. It was a breathtaking sight. In one square, we could see artists at work still, carrying on the legacy of the greats. We returned to the hotel, picked up our companions, and went to try and see Luxembourg gardens. Sadly, they were closed for the night, but what I saw through the bars was enough to allow me to see why Victor Hugo picked them as the backdrop for Marius and Cosette's courtship in Les Miserables. I really want to re-read that book now. . . but it's a real brick of a book, and I don't have that kind of time any more. We saw the facade of St. Sulpice, too, and made our way back to the hotel.

In the morning, we did some last-minute shopping before going to the Musee d'Orsy, where the Impressionist works are kept. After the Louvre, this sunlit burst of color was wonderfully overwhelming. The Impressionist masters speak to me in a way the somewhat stilted works in the Louvre do not. To see, at last, up close, the works of Seurat, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, and so many others I've admired all my life was a truly uplifting experience. The pastel works particularly captivated me with their soft, mysterious qualities. . . there was one of a family that I particularly loved, because it made me think of my parents. The many Degas paintings reminded me of a friend of mine who used to study ballet.

Finding the bus to the airport was a bit of an adventure, but eventually we got there, thinking the adventure over. . . but then we got to Valencia, and there was no one to pick us up from the airport. Eventually, one of the deans came and picked us up, but for a while, we grimly thought we would have to spend the night in the airport.

Since then, homework, homework, and more homework! Hopefully, as we careen towards the end of the quarter, things will start to ease up. Keep in your prayers the community of PUC, as there has been a car accident there which has killed four students, one of which I remember from my work at the library. It is sad to see such things happen, and they remind us all that nothing lasts forever. Thank you for reading to the end of this post, which I know is ridiculously long. My love to everyone. . . I miss you all more than ever, as Thanksgiving approaches, and hope that yours is happy.

Andalucia

I am exhausted, and no wonder--I have just spent the last eight days tromping through Andalucia, the southern part of Spain. This journey took myself and 28 other ACA students through the cities of Granada, Marbella, Gibraltar, Tetuan (Morocco), Algeciras, Seville, and Cordoba. To sum up such an epic trip is a daunting task, as it is to choose which of the visually stunning views to share with you in photos, but I will attempt to do so without making you read two hours worth of text.

Our first stop was Granada, a city full of college students as poor as ourselves. The benefit: lots of cheap food available to cater to the student crowd. Outside a gelato store, we saw two students entertaining themselves by dangling a spider in front of tourists as they passed by on the sidewalk below. Creative way of busting boredom, I say. Later that night (it was a really long night) we had a tour through the Arab section of town, including a glorious view of the former sultan's palace, the Alhambra on our way to a flamenco tablao. I was awed by the intensity of the performance, how these women are so confident even though in the states they would be considered past their prime. I tried to film a particularly captivating performance of a middle-aged woman with lungs of iron and swift feet, but gave up because it's the sort of thing you have to see live to understand.

The second day in Granada was exhausting, as we saw so much in so little time. . . on so little food. We saw the graves of the great Catholic kings, Fernando and Isabella, whose achievements include the reconquest of Granada, uniting Spain with their marriage, and the discovery of America. With that laundry list of achievements, no wonder they seem like some of Spain's favorite historical figures--particularly Isabella. The cathedral in Granada. . . now that was amazing. It's mostly in the baroque style, painted dazzling white with gold accents and high, vaulted ceilings. Almost more fascinating to me were the large old missals lining the perimeter of the room--all Gregorian chant written before the modern system of lines and clefs was invented.

In the afternoon, we saw the Alhambra, and yeesh, after being there, I can't believe it's not as famous as Versailles (which hopefully I'll get to see in a few weeks). The gardens alone are breathtaking, and the many fountains are real marvels of engineering--they use no pumps, just gravity and the physics of narrow and wide pipes. The palace itself defies description, and unfortunately, my camera had run out of battery by the time I got to the interior. There is so much poetry in the geometric designs of the Muslim builders, in the intricate patterns of the tiles and lovely Arab script, saying over and over again, "God is great." I can see why the building inspired the American writer Washington Irving to live there for a time to write the book, "Tales From the Alhambra." I want to read it when I get a chance.

The next day was a welcome respite, mostly bus time with stops to various places on the Costa del Sol. I had my most solid meal in the trip so far in Marbella, where they had, of all things, peanut sauce. . . I had been dying for something rich and tasty like that. Later, we stopped at Gibraltar, which is a part of England, oddly enough. What I love about Gibraltar is that the English, in order to keep Spain from taking this little city away, put an airport between the city and the rest of Spain. The upshot? When you get out of customs and find a bus, you often have to wait for an airplane to cross the runway before you can enter the city. Only in Gibraltar. . .

Tetuan, Morocco, was our destination for the next day. With our native guide, Abdul, we got to ride a camel and take a tour of the Medina, the old section of Tetuan. In the Medina, there are 1800 streets, all narrow and hard to navigate, so it is imperative to have a guide. He joked, "You will see white people like you in there. They are not from Morocco. They came as tourists years ago and never found their way out." I certainly believe it--even with a trail of breadcrumbs or something, I don't think I could ever find the herbalist, the restaurant, or the artist commune we visited ever again through the dense marketplace with live chickens, all varieties of seafood, and robe artisans. I tried to buy a robe at the commune, but in the bartering process, the vendor was being really uncooperative, to the point where he resorted to flattery--"I would pay 250 camels for you if I saw you in that robe." Despite the cultural implications of this particular piece of flattery, I did really enjoy my time in Morocco, especially at the restaurant, where they treated us to good couscous and Moroccan mint tea.

By the time we arrived in Seville, it was rainy and almost sundown, so the main highlight of the day was the interior of the cathedral there. This cathedral is very, very impressive--supposedly the third largest in the world, and it houses the body of Christopher Columbus, among others. It has a pipe organ so large there's a choir room in the middle of it. Its bell tower, once the minaret of a mosque, is a beautiful, seamless blending of the Arab and renaissance architectural styles. For Sabbath, we went to the Seville SDA Church, where the people were very amiable, and spent the afternoon walking through the Plaza de Espana, which hosted the World Fair in 1929. Incidentally, George Lucas also filmed a part of Star Wars: Episode II there. Beyond that, we saw a memorial to the great Spanish poet Becquer, which was beautiful in its form and the significance of its different statues. Later in the evening, I enjoyed more sculpture as I accidentally happened upon a plaza full of Salvador Dali statues.

Our last day in Seville, we visited the royal palace there--it is actually the oldest one in Europe still in continuous use. How continuous? The king and queen were there just ten days ago. Much of the interior celebrates the discovery of the Americas, though there is one painting that interests me in particular because it finally explained to me who in the world San Fernando is. I spent so much time in the San Fernando valley without knowing who he was, it's embarrassing. So many layers of history in each room. . . and then the gardens were lovely as well, with peacocks and cats wandering through them.

Our teacher surprised us with a carriage tour of Seville, and it was neat to see the city from that angle. I sat up next to the driver, asking him questions, and that way learned a number of things I had missed over the last two days. Shortly thereafter, we headed out to Cordoba for our last night. Cordoba is a small town, but charming, with baskets of flowers hanging from the walls of the houses. The old section revolves around the old mosque we'd come to see, the new around a beautiful plaza of many illuminated fountains. The last morning of the trip, we toured the mosque--it was amazing, I just wish I'd been more awake and healthy to enjoy it. The mosque, now a Christian cathedral, is the largest in Europe, and well-preserved except for the parts the Christians ruined by building their own things in it. King Carlos the Fifth, several hundred years ago said that ruining the perspective of the place by building in it was a bad idea, and it stays that way to this day.

It was a long trip back, and I'm tired. Going back to routine school is tough after that, especially with such a difficult English class this afternoon and difficulties in hostel reservations for Paris. . . and being sick doesn't help things at all. Adventure comes at a cost, but I'd say that it's well worth it. I hope you all are doing well, and that you have a wonderful week.