Get your game face on.

Wow.  So San Fermin ended up being probably the most epic party I have ever been to in my life.  Normal population: 200,000.  San Fermin population: 1 million.  The professional San Fermin-goers know how to do it:  Go to fireworks at 11 pm.  Stay up all night, get a spot for the bull-running at 5 am.  Watch bulls run at 8 am, get churros at 9 am. Bedtime: 10 am.  Repeat each day.  As a result, let's just say that the normally clean, calm and pristine city of Pamplona turned into absolute chaos.   

Though Pamplona streetsweepers are remarkably efficient the rest of the year, there was no way they could clean up PAMPLONA: WAR ZONE, which results from hordes of partying foreigners and Spaniards alike. Case in point, the Ciudadela.  As you can see from this picture, people just set up camp among all the trash.  Tent or no tent, if you need a place tosleep, the grassy Ciudadela is the place to be.  

Sevilla

So we just got back from officially the last big trip we're going to take in Spain.  And it definitely ended up being very different from the other trips we've taken.  We had just finished exams and were ready for some relaxation.  We didn't feel as compelled to do all the touristy/cultural things, because we've done a pretty good job with that on our previous trips. Of course, we did all the obligatory sights...El Catedral, the Alcazar, the parks, etc., but were never rushed for time.  We really were just able to take our time and do whatever we wanted.  

A friend who studied here last semester had recommended a bunch of places to get tapas and to go out at night, so we had a really great time.  Most of the bars she told us to go to were

 international student bars, but somehow we managed to pick out the Spanish-speaking people in the bars, and therefore never really used much English while we were out at night.  One guy from Colombia commented on our language skills, saying that Leslie has an extensive vocabulary but I have more fluidity/fluency with my words.  Guess all those games Leslie played with her dictionary went to good use. :)

Sevilla has a different flair to it than Pamplona, that's for sure.  It has all the Moorish tiling and is more what you think of when you hear "Spain."  Flamenco, bullfighting and tapas are a big part of the culture there, and we were able to do all of it except the bullfight, which is only on Sundays.  They have a lot of free flamenco shows at "tabernas," so we went to one called La Carbonería, which was very cool.  Nothing like drink

ing a "Tinto de Verano" while watching free flamenco.  

Interesting side note:  Let's just say the Andalusian men are a bit more...vocal...then Spaniards in Pamplona.  It's not unusual for us to get the "HOLA GUAPA" or "La Rubia!" in Pamplona, but let's just say it was pretty constant in Sevilla.  

Just climbing a mountain in the Pyrenees...

So we've been trying for a couple months to find this mountain hike outside of Pamplona that a few of our guy friends did and said was amazing.  Attempt #1: we wound up by the river, with no mountains in sight.  But hey, at least we found the river, right?  So anyways, attempt #2 was a little more successful.  After 2 1/2 hours of trying to get out of Pamplona, through Rochapea, and up the mountain (using directions such as "Turn left on Unnamed Road A") we made it to the peak of the mountain and had an amazing view of it all. 

 We had just sat down to have lunch when, of course, we hear a giant rumble of thunder.  Exactly what you want to hear when you know it's going to take you at least an hour to get down the mountain.  But hey, we made it down in one piece and the rain held off until we had gotten off the mountain.  Mission = success.  

Amsterdam!

So first of all...I have no clue why this first paragraph is underlined.  Anyways...I just got back from Amsterdam on Sunday...talk about a cool city.  Very tolerant, very open.  We stayed in Vondelpark, which is right by the Van Gogh Museum and the "Iamsterdam" sign.  After we got in on Thursday,  we went to the Anne Frank House and this epic pancake house called the Pancake Bakery.  These are no ordinary pancakes...they're similar to crepes, but not rolled.  And the size of a giant pizza.  Garland and I split a chorizo and cheese one (going all Spain style in Amsterdam), and then all 3 of us split the best thing I've ever tasted...chocolate syrup, ice cream, whipped cream, and powdered sugar on top of the pancake.  We devoured that in no time.  Then we finished the night with a little walk through the Red Light District.  Interesting, to say the least.  

         On Friday we took a free walking tour from our hostel...our tour guide, Kevin, basically came to study abroad in Amsterdam and never left.  What a life.  He told us sooo much about the Red Light District, like the fact that it's mandated to be gone by 2015.  The way they are getting rid of the red light district is by putting in "fashion windows" with new designers that are advertising their stuff, and buying up the windows with the prostitutes.  Then, theaters and restaurants and such are being put in there.  Our guide said though it's mandated that the red light district has to be gone by 2015, it will be 2012 at the rate it's going.  

         He also said coffeeshops (aka places where you can buy/smoke marijuana) are soon to be a thing of the past.  They keep doubling the number of coffee shops they close each year.  In January they tried to close all coffeeshops within 500 meters of a school, which would have closed all but 8.  So Amsterdam bargained to get that reduced to 250 meters.  He said the pressure is coming from the rest of the Netherlands and the European Union, which is VERY conservative compared to Amsterdam.  Interesting side fact to note: tobacco and alcohol are illegal in coffeeshops...but pot is okay.  The picture I put in here is the Coffeeshop from Ocean's 12...

Saturday was another touristy day...we started out the morning at the VanGogh Museum.  They charge you an arm and a leg, but it was still very cool.  After that, we took a little train 25 minutes out to this little village called Zaanse Schens, where there are a ton of windmills.  We got to go up in the windmill, which was really cool/probably very unsafe haha.  Our particular windmill makes the chalk dust for the markers on football fields.  All in all, a very cool little historical village.  Not to mention, we ate some delicious cheese in their little cheese tasting area.  Trip  = success.  Now back to studying for my next exam  and the GRE....

Hicimos el surf...

So the international student group at Navarra organized a little surf trip to Biarritz, in the south of France.  It's actually really close to us--only about 1 1/2 to 2 hours away from Pamplona.  For 25 euros, we got 2 hours of surf instruction, gear, and a bus ticket.  Pretty good deal, I think.  Someone was kind enough to take a pic of all of us...pretty small but still pretty cool!

Despite the fact that it was an absolutely terrible day weather-

wise (cold and rainy), it was a blast.  The waves were huge because the weather was bad, but that made it even more fun.  Mostly everyone spent most of their time on their stomachs, anyways...I only got up on my feet for about 2 seconds.  But hey, at least I got up.  

After changing out of our wetsuits, we walked along the coast and took a little tour of Biarritz.  It would be great to go back sometime 

when the weather is nice....Biarritz is a beautiful little town.  

Bar-tha-lona!

Seeing as it was Labor Day here in Spain last Friday, we took a little weekend trip to Barcelona.  We lucked out majorly, seeing as how the weather was absolutely beautiful.  We got in late Friday afternoon, so we just walked around Las Ramblas, which is the main strip with lots of street performers and vendors.  It's also apparently the #1 place in Europe to get robbed, but thankfully that didn't happen to us!  We took a little walk down to the boardwalk and then grabbed some dinner before heading back to our hostel.  

Saturday was gorgeous weather--we got up early and went to La Sagrada Fami

lia, which is a huge cathedral designed by Gaudi.  It's been under construction since 1898 and apparently isn't scheduled to be done until 2026.  It was pretty cool, because every part of the church was designed after some part of nature (tree trunks, flowers, formulas, etc).  Gaudí was quite the intelligent man.  We also walked to Hospital de La Santa Creu, which is Europe's 2nd-oldest functioning hospital and basically looks like a cross between a gingerbread house and Taj Mahals.  Really a cool place.  

From there, we thought it might be a good idea to walk to Park Guell, also designed by Gaudi.  Little did we know that it would be about an hour walk, uphill all the way.  So we definitely got our exercise in for the day.  It was worth it, though; the park was beautiful.  And, it holds the largest park bench in the world...so we can officially say we sat on it. 

Best part of the day was still to come...we went to the beach for a few hours.  Leslie and I got in, despite the fact it was absolutely freezing.  But hey, we can say we swam in the Mediterranean!

Probably my favorite part was the guy balancing a tray of 30+ donuts on his head while dancing, singing, and playing the triangle.  He really looked like he was loving life.  

Luck would also have it that the Picasso Museum is free on the first Sunday of the month, so we went there before heading home on Sunday.  Definitely worth the wait in line, because it was an impressive collection that really delved into his life.  

Claire comes to visit...and Mallorca

Claire Schlafly came to visit from London...she missed her flight to Barcelona so the only part of Spain she saw was Pamplona.  I think we showed her a good time...we explored Casco Viejo (old town), went out for pintxos, and hung out in the Ciudadela (the weather was warm for the first time in awhile!)

On Sunday we left for Mallorca.  After almost missing our bus, we made it to Madrid alive and flew to Mallorca.  Mallorca was absolutely gorgeous--the weather was wonderful and our hostel ended up bein

g like a hotel.  And you can't beat the fact that it was only 30 meters from the beach.  We hit the beach immediately after getting into Mallorca and then stopped off at a Mexican restaurant for strawberry margaritas as soon as it started getting too windy.  Monday morning was a bit rainy, so we went into the heart of Palma and explored.  Saw a beautiful cathedral and got a taste of what the actual city is like.  And, miraculously, it cleared up, so we took the bus back to our hostel and went straight to the beach!  This trip was really relaxing, because it was the first one I've taken that hasn't been all about seeing all the touristy sights--our only priority was the beach!