Sunday January 31, 2010

Hey everyone! I hope you all have had wonderful weekends. Last night, I got back from our 3 day trip to the Tarragona area of Spain. For the most part, I had a wonderful trip with great weather and beautiful places. We arrived in Tarragona early Thursday morning and toured all around the city. Tarragona was on of the most important cities during the Roman Empire. We visited an ancient circus, theatre, ampitheatre, forums, temples, public baths, and gardens.

Tarragona

Tarragona

While I certainly enjoyed a lot of the sites that we saw, my favorite part of the day was our long lunch break. Mimi and I ate lunch with our new friends Lauren, Jess, Elly, and Jen. They were each from a different part of the U.S. and it was so much fun finally getting to know new people. At lunch time in Spain, many of the restaurants have a "menu del dia" which is the menu of the day. They give you a menu with several options for a 1st course, 2nd course, and dessert, and they also give you bread and wine. The prices usually vary from 8 euros to 20 euros depending on where you go. It is considered a steal because you get a lot of bang for your buck. Well, this meal was no exception! For 12.50 euros, I enjoyed bread, wine (lots and lots of it was served...and hey, I was paying for it!), salad, chicken, potatoes, and a traditional spanish dessert. Needless to say, this meal was phenomenal and I truly enjoyed getting to know each of these girls. Also, the wine helped us to enjoy the touring for the rest of the day, which was getting a little repetitive!

The best 12.50 Euro lunch I could have asked for!

At night, we checked into our 3 star hotel which was actually quite nice. All weekend, I was spoiled with 3 course meals and waiters doing everything for me. It was such a treat! I even got a HOT shower and lots of water pressure, something that is a rarity around here. Our water is so cold here that I have found myself showering at the gym a lot. Even there, the water turns off automatically when it's been on for about 30 seconds, so it makes showering quite difficult.

View from our hotel room of the Roman ampitheatre and the Mediterranean Sea

On the second day, we visited El Medol and the Torres Vineyard. El Medol was another place with ancient Roman ruins. By this time, we felt like we had seen everything so it wasn't very interested anymore. I did really enjoy the tour of the Vineyard, however, as we got to see how the wine was produced and even sample some of their wine. The Torres family has won awards all over the world for the quality of their wine, and they have even expanded their vineyards to places like Chile and California. I really wanted to bring wine for each of you to try, but it was simply too much to pack and risk breaking...sorry!

How lucky am I!? Morning sunrise from my balcony

My Spanish class on the beach at El Medol

The third day was my least favorite day, but we still saw some beautiful places. We went to the small town of Montblanc which was a medieval town. While there, we visited many cathedrals and even toured a monastery. The only bad part was that the weather was absolutely FREEZING. I truly cannot remember a time when I was that cold, and we spend nearly the entire day outside. Even when were were inside, it was like being outside because nothing was heated. We were supposed to take a 2 hour hike, but because of the miserable windy conditions, it was cancelled. Thank goodness! That was the first time that I can ever say that the weather really made me feel sick. It was unbearable!

On top of the world...but soooo cold! 

Now that I have been in Spain for over three weeks, my apartment is really starting to feel like "home." (Don't worry mom and dad...my real home is always in Charlotte). It was just so amazing to come home to a place that's my own and cuddle up in some warm sweatpants for the evening. I am so lucky to have a place like this! I have a group project due tomorrow for my Management Across Borders class, so I am off to meet my team members at Starbucks (yes, Starbucks are everywhere!). I miss you all!