Things I Miss Most About Spain

-Having friends within walking distance

-Nights out that don't end until the sun comes up

-Food-I'm having serious cravings for jamón serrano, tortilla, and pintxos

-My private lesson students, even the naughty ones

-Easy travel

-Tuesday morning tostadas at Bar Gredos

-Watching Athletic Bilbao games in a packed street

-Seeing the mountains everywhere I look

-Being a short metro ride to the beach

-The teachers and students at my school

Originally posted 2.21.13

Giving Barcelona a Second Chance

The first time I visited Barcelona, I was less than impressed with the city. Understandably so, as I was only visiting for 24 hours, and was exhausted from an early morning flight from Malta. I tried to see as much as I could during the day, but the crowds and fatigue got the best of me.

Fast forward a year and I was back in Barcelona. This time, it was early summer, and I had more time to explore the city. Being that it was summer, it was still crowded, but I was able to enjoy the culture and take in everything Barcelona had to offer. If you find yourself wanting to visit Barcelona, grab a flight, book a hotel on venere.com, and check out some of my favorite sites around the city.

Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas is a pedestrian mall that connects Plaça Catalunya with the Christopher Columbus monument. This tree-lined street is full of vendors selling souvenirs, street performers, and lots of cafes and restaurants. It can be sensory overload with all the sights, smells, and sounds, but that's part of the fun as you wander down the street, not sure where to look first.

Parc Güell

Antonio Gaudí is one of the most famous Spanish artists, and it is easy to see the legacy he left on Barcelona. A park with endless trails, views, and colorful sculptures, you can easily spend half a day or more exploring Parc Güell. If you take the trails to the top of the park, you're rewarded with a spectacular view of Barcelona, which reaches all the way to the sea. If you're an America's Next Top Model fan, the season 7 finale was shot in the creepy cave-like tunnels that are around the park.

The Sagrada Familia

Another Gaudí creation, the Sagrada Familia is an icon of Barcelona. Although it won't be completed until 2026 (it began construction in 1882!) tourists flock to this unconventional cathedral by the millions. Even if you don't venture inside the building, the architecture will still captivate you. The amount of detail is astonishing, and I'm hoping I can go back one day after it's finished to see the completed version.

There are a lot more sites and things to see and do in Barcelona, but these three are a good place to start. The city is enormous, so bring your walking shoes, and make sure you keep an eye on your pocket. Most of all, enjoy Barcelona and all its beauty. 

Originally posted 2.19.13

Why Choose Pais Vasco?

It's that time of year, when wannabe auxilars flood the message boards and Facebook groups. When the Spanish consulates receive countless asinine emails questioning application statuses. When Profex goes down because of the sheer volume of people trying to apply to be an auxiliar. 

As a former resident of País Vasco, I feel that it is my duty to inform those going for the first time and those renewing for a second (or third year) why País Vasco is an excellent, if not the best, choice (of course I'm biased, what did you expect?). 

It's beautiful. 

País Vasco has some amazing natural beauty. There's the ocean, there's the mountains, and everything in between. There are some amazing hikes, and the beaches are stunning, whether you prefer sunning or surfing. There are picturesque pueblos that are unlike anything you will see in the rest of Spain. The weather, while rainy at times, is mild, making it bearable in the winter months as well as summer. 

San Juan de Gatztelugatxe, one of the only hikes I will do

Mundaka

The location is prime

País Vasco is small. There are three large cities: Vitoria-Gastiez, Bilbao, and San Sebastián. For the most part, anywhere you are placed within the community of País Vasco, you will be able to live in one of these three cities. Of course, many people chose to live in the pueblos, but even then they are able to visit the cities relatively easily. I get lots of emails from couples looking to apply, and I always tell them to chose País Vasco, simply because it's smaller and the chances of being together are much greater than in other larger communities. In addition, transportation options to other parts of Spain and Europe are pretty good. It's not as extensive as Madrid, but the Bilbao airport hosts routes to many key hubs. RyanAir (love them or hate them), Vueling, and EasyJet all fly to and from Bilbao. In addition, Santander is also a RyanAir hub, and is only an hour by bus from Bilbao.

Another thing that ties in with travel is you get the most vacation time of any of the communities, as far as I know. You get an entire week for Carnaval, and two full weeks for Semana Santa. Amazingness!

You could be here in just a few short hours!

The food is amazing

There's a reason many of the top chefs in the world are Basque. In fact, many of the top restaurants in the world are in País Vasco, more specifically, San Sebastián. If you love food, País Vasco is going to be your paradise. You have the traditional Spanish favorites like jamón and tortilla, but you also get pintxos, txacoli, and pastel Vasco. Going out for pintxos, tiny dishes usually served on bread, is a necessity in País Vasco, and it's a tradition you won't want to miss out on. Even if you're not a foodie, you'll find something you like along the way. 

One of the most amazing desserts I've ever experienced. Because food is an experience here.

Shrimp and jamón pintxos

It's off the beaten path

Yes, the Guggenheim is a big deal, and San Sebastián is a summer resort town, but really, there aren't a lot of foreign tourists in País Vasco, which can definitely enhance your experience. If you're looking for a place many people haven't heard of, this is it. 

Obligatory

It's different

Many Basque people will be the first to tell you that País Vasco is not Spain. However, don't let this deter you from choosing it! It is very different from the rest of the country, but this only enhanced my time there. Learning about Basque history and customs fascinated me, and I gained different perspectives from living and working there.  Many people express concern that they won't be able to practice their Spanish as much in País Vasco. While most of the schools teach at least partly in Basque, I didn't feel as if my Spanish suffered at all from it. In my experiences, people don't expect you to know Basque, and are more than happy to help you with your Spanish. Yes, you'll get the obligatory agur when you leave the grocery store, but hey, it's cool to know a few words in a language only roughly a million people in the world speak. 

After awhile, this will just seem normal

So now that I have presented my case, it's up to you. But I really do think you should give País Vasco a try. And if you're looking for more auxilar resources, check out my blog twin Liz's page on all things auxiliar. She covers everything from costs in every community to how to set up your internet to how to score those private lessons.  Seriously, it's amazing.

Originally posted 1.30.13

Getting Culture Shocked

I've been back in the States for a good 4 months now. I'm quite enjoying it, and like to think that I'm adjusting pretty well. However, every once in awhile, something pops up and I get reverse culture shocked. Big time. 

Examples:

-Using medicine or foods I really like sparingly, like I won't be able to replace it.

-Repeating what I'm going to say in my head before I order food or talk to a customer service person.

-Planning days in advance to do laundry, completely forgetting you can wash and dry clothes in a couple hours if need be.

-Driving freaks me out.

-Not wanting to go out til after 12, then forgetting the bars close at 2.

-Not being able to buy alcohol after a certain time (8 pm on weekdays, St. Paul? Really?). 

-Taking my keys with me whenever I leave the apartment, even just going downstairs to check the mail (my door in Spain would lock automatically behind me).

-Hearing songs on the radio and thinking, "Hey, that would make an awesome lesson for learning past tense/questions/vocabulary!"

-Getting good customer service. I get a little weirded out when waiters or at stores are overly friendly. Or just friendly in general. 

These little peculiarities are great because they remind me of my time in Spain. It's nice to have some reminders every once and awhile. 

Originaly posted 12.6.12

Wrapping It Up in Greece

We ended our trip by taking a ferry ("The Flying Dolphin", to be exact) from the bizarre-ness of Albania to the island of Corfu, Greece. I had previously been to Athens when I studied abroad in 2008, and was excited to see the islands I had heard so much about.

I cannot think of a more perfect ending to our trip. We stayed in Perama, a sleepy town not far from Corfu City. Our hotel was amazing, overlooking the Mediterranean, with crystal-clear water that we snorkeled in every day. I'm not going to lie, we didn't do much. We ate, drank, and lounged on the beach. We narrowly avoided starting World War III with our Russian neighbors, who didn't take too kindly to us hanging out on our balcony after dark, but aside from that, it was relaxing and a great way to finish up our trip and our years in Europe.

The view from "The Flying Dolphin"

View from our hotel balcony

Walking across the Mediterranean to get to Corfu City

Very Grecian!

Ready for another day of snorkeling!

I think I read at least 3 books whilst in Greece-gotta love having a Kindle. 

View of our hotel from a restaurant

Salad topped with feta...amazing!

Originally posted 10.23.12

Keep Albania Weird

There were a few things that tipped me off to the fact that traveling through Albania would be a different experience. My first clue was that Matt told us we hadn't booked any hotels for our stay. If you know Matt, you know that's a bit out of character for him, since he likes his vacations planned to a T. He said we would just "see what we found when we get there". Then, he told us we would be taking a taxi from Montenegro to Shkoda. The taxi ride was an adventure in and of itself. We were with an Asian student that we had "met" in the bus station, and the taxi driver spoke little English. We got hung up a little bit at the border, and it was a bit nervewracking watching the driver talking to the border patrol without knowing what they were saying.

Flag of Albania

We reached Shkoda in the early afternoon. The city was very different from most of the other cities we'd been to on this Eurotrip. It reminded me more of a city in Mexico or Central America, except because Albania is a predominately Muslim country, with mosques and minarets on every street. I asked Matt where the bus station was, as we had to continue our journey to the beach town of Durres. He shook his head. "We're not taking a bus. We're taking a furgon." He explained to me that most people travel by large vans for very cheap rather than using the bus system. We were then thrust into the world of furgon travel. And what a world it is.

Inside the furgon

We started out standing on a random street corner in Shkoda. That was all it took, three Americans with backpacks, for the drivers to approach us. We bartered a bit, and finally settled on the cheapest driver. We hesitantly crawled into a huge van that looked like it had seen better days. As we drove, I noticed that there were no seat belts. I noticed this when we were careening around corners and making very sudden stops. If you look on a map, the distance between Shkoda and Durres is not that far, however, it took us probably twice the time. As we drove down the highway, we would stop for anyone that was standing on the side of the road. People got on and off at their own convenience. At one point, we stopped to deliver a mattress to an old lady (probably about 90) who was waiting for us on the side of the highway. I'm also pretty sure we picked up a police officer. There was a point where we were cruising through town with the door wide open, and a teenager hanging out. I was apprehensive about getting carsick, but that wasn't a problem, surprisingly. It was a strangely efficient way to travel, as we got to interact with the local people and see many different sides of Albania, from the mountains to the rural rest-stops (emphasis on the "rural").

Streets of Shkoda

When we arrived in Durres, we set out to find a hotel. Since the Albanian Lek is worth less than the Euro, we were able to find a nice hotel for not a lot of money. Durres is a resort town, and Bryce set out to explore the boardwalk while Matt and I stayed at the hotel to Skype his brother, who was getting married. It was then that I got one of the strangest texts of my life.

"Come down to the beach, someone is walking their bear."

Excuse me? I wasn't sure what to make of this. Was this a way of saying a really large dog? I asked for clarification, and received this in response:

"No, it's a bear. It's on a leash, and the guy wants me to feed it bread."

 I excused myself from the Skype conversation and hustled down to the beach. There was indeed a brown bear, sitting on the boardwalk, on a leash. I stood looking at it from a distance, trying to figure out what was going on. Apparently, this ain't no thing in Albania, as all the people walking by didn't even bat an eye. Bryce informed me that the bear and his owner appeared to come from an apartment building across from the beach. This prompted a whole new set of questions. Was this his pet? It lives an apartment? Do the neighbors know? How does it fit? Sadly, these questions were never answered, but it definitely keeps Albania at the forefront of my mind when I think of my travels.

The rest of our time in Albania, was sadly not as eventful. The next day we took another furgon ride from Durres to Sarande. This one was not quite as fun as the first, as it was a million degrees hotter and we were crammed in a packed van for over 8 hours. However, we were rewarded with a seaside room with a view on what can only be described as the Albanian Jersey Shore, only with Russians instead of Italians.

Sarande

Albania, over all, was an adventure. I'm not sure I would return, but I am glad we went there and had the experiences we did there. It was nice to get off the typical "European vacation" track and see something completely different and unique, and Albania was just that.

Originally posted 9.25.12

Photos from Montenegro

We had 2 stops in the tiny country of Montenegro, Kotor and Budva. Both were very different but stunning in different ways. Kotor has an amazing old town, surrounded by mountains. Budva is a resort town with a jaw-dropping coastline and beaches galore. Here are some of my best shots from this part of the trip. 

Our bus hopped on a ferry to get us from Croatia to Montenegro-first time for everything!

The port of Kotor-lots of Russian billionaire's yachts!

Church in the old town.

The mountains behind the old city wall

Taking the sun in Budva

Sunset over Budva


Next up is Albania-one of the most bizarre places I've ever visited! Check back soon for that!

Originally posted 9.14.12