What an amazing 9 days in Rome, Madrid and Barcelona. Each city was amazing and very different from the rest. We started in Rome, my first trip to Italy. Was very excited to see many of the historical sites and of course feast on Italian food. I was somehow able to resist any Italian soccer jokes for the 4 days we were there, a big feat for me. Really got to see a good amount of the city in the time there. Was able to see the Coliseum, Forum, Pantheon, Catacombs, St. Peter's Square, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Truly was an amazing city, but never would want to go during tourist season, already enough Americans there in November. I did have one of those "wow, this is a small world" moments in Rome. Standing in the ticket line for the Coliseum, I hear my name called and turns out to be a friend that lived next door to me in the dorms at Loma who is studying in Paris. The food, and wine, was a major highlight. And yes Debs, I did only consume red wine. Make sure you let Rick know next time you're in there. Breakfast was always at the hotel and then usually grabbed a small sandwich or slice of pizza for lunch to save up for dinner. Too many good dinners there. Veal saltimbocca, pasta carbonara, bruschetta, prosciutto, artichokes, mixed meat plates with chicken, veal, lamb and beef. Not to mention dessert every night. Ate at an amazing restaurant one night called Taverna Parione, hands down the best meal I have ever consumed. Can't wait to get back to Rome at some point.
After a few days in Rome, we headed off to Spain and started in Madrid. We arrived on Sunday, the night of the elections, creating an interesting atmosphere. Madrid was a nice city and very comfortable. Our class group was able to have a tour of the Spanish Parliament building and the Spanish Royal Palace. Got to try a variety of tapas, including a bull's tail dish and various types of Spanish hams. We consumed countless tapas and plates of paella, but the highlight of Madrid came on Tuesday, our last night in town. We were able to get tickets to see Real Madrid play in a Champions League match in the 1500th game ever played in Madrid's Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid won the game 6-2 against Dinamo Zagreb from Croatia. The atmosphere was amazing and the soccer was even better, at least by Madrid. Better yet, we were only around 50 feet from the riot police barricade surrounding the away fans corner. We sat in the covered and heated second row of the top section directly above the goal where 6 of the game's goals were scored.
Next came a final few days in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain. The weather was perfect and felt a little like home due to that. We spent a decent amount of time in meetings there, so I did not get to see as much of the city as I would have liked to. I did get the chance to go to the Camp Nou experience at the stadium for FC Barcelona. The experience included a museum, walk in the stands, the press conference room, locker room, walk through the player entrance to the field, and along side the field. The museum was full of trophies and touch screen media on the history of the club, a really cool aspect. We also were able to spend some time on the beach and had a guys night at the casino the last night in town and actually managed to win some money even as we sat at a poker table with a Scottish guy that played in the World Series of Poker this past summer. Unfortunately, the FC Barcelona game on Wednesday was in Milan, so we had to settle for watching it in one of the official team restaurants and bars near our hotel. Barcelona also was where we got to spend Thanksgiving, my first away from Jeff and Debs. The 17 students and 2 faculty members with us at least got to have a Spanish restaurant's attempt at a turkey dinner, actually exceeding my expectations. Being in Spain, of course we started with various tapas, but then came turkey, corn, mashed potatoes, veggies, gravy, champagne for toasts, and local wine. It was a great experience for us and really was a great bonding moment when you could tell many of us missed our families that day. I was at least able to call Debs, Jeff, and the gang in Tuscon real quick and say hi, which was very nice.
Now, I am back in freezing Freiburg with only 2 more weeks of class, then finals and our Model European Union simulation. Next weekend, I get to return to Italy for a weekend in Venice (thank you Easyjet for having 46 euro roundtrip flights!) Only 23 more days until I land at LAX and celebrate Christmas with the family. Have a few busy weeks here that will be nonstop like our first few weeks as we balance classwork with making sure we spend time with everyone before heading back to the States.
And now for some pictures:
St. Peter's Square in Vatican City
This picture was requested by Jeffy in front of the Pantheon in Rome, Grandpa's favorite.
Coliseum in Rome. One of the most amazing things I have seen.
La Campana tapas bar in Madrid, Spain. Unfortunately I didn't see any Campana signs in Rome.
