Buses, Cities, and Beaches

So...I am not sure why but the last few weeks have been very busy. Here are some of my overall thoughts of the places I have visited and just life in general:

Madrid:

-Big city with a lot to do
-AMAZING Art. I went to El Prado (Saw "Las Meninas," a lot of Goya's works, and just incredible art in general.) It was awesome to stand there and look at original paintings from 400 years ago...that blew my mind. I also went to another art gallery that had Monet, Van Gogh, and I enjoyed that so much because there were less people, and so I could spend more time looking at each painting. At El Prado there were SO many people that I had to come back to some paintings just to get a good look. I came to the conclusion that art really should be viewed by yourself and taken in for as long as you need. I personally would hate getting a group tour of an art museum...just my opinion.
-Saw the Royal Palace that was the home of previous Spanish kings...I thought that was impressive and just cool to think about the kings and queens living there.
-I saw the play "Les Miserables" which turned out to be incredible. I payed 21 Euro and was literally on the absolute back row of the balcony, and it was still cool.
-I got ripped off at a restaurant...which royally ticked me off...and made me angry at the people who take advantage of tourists (a word to any Americans that do that to foreigners)
-I was paranoid about my bag being stolen because I kept being told over and over to watch my stuff
-I took a day trip to Toledo (a very, very, very old city) and got to see a building that used to be a Mosque, then a Synagogue and then a Catholic church...and that just baffled me, and I found it fascinating. I LOVED Toledo. The people were friendly, the city was beautiful and the history was inspiring. I got to see one of El Greco's famous works and it could hardly compare to the picture in the art books.

Las Fallas:

Ok, so Fallas is the major, major, major festival in Valencia. It is an all-out party for like a week straight. I was gone for a few days of it because I wanted to make the trip to Madrid and Toledo, but I did get to see a good bit of it. So Fallas started as a tradition a long time ago with carpenters. The carpenters would throw out their left over wood from the winter and burn it outside of their houses, and then later they started forming the wood into something that was criticizing their community or neighbors. It ended up being a political or social statement, and it also served as symbol to burn the old or bad and start fresh. So, still today they celebrate Fallas and it has evolved into a giant festival. Instead of burning left-over scraps they make (take all year to make) giant dolls or monuments made out of wood, Styrofoam and other materials. They then burn them on the last night of Fallas. There are 300 Fallas in Valencia, so you can imagine how crazy that could be! Around each Falla is a Falla house made up of people who are “Falleros and Falleras” and these people are deeply rooted in the festival and actually pay a great deal of money every year towards the festival. The Falleros and Falleras have a “house” which is basically a private tent where they eat, dance, and drink together. So basically if you are not a Fallero or Fallera then Fallas is quite different for you. You would celebrate the festival, but you would not celebrate it to the degree that the other people would. The falleros and falleras also dress up and march in a parade in the streets with flowers in their hands. They then offer flowers to the Virgin Mary (a huge monument placed in the Plaza del Virgin,) and the people of Valencia decorate this monument with all the flowers…it was incredibly impressive. So, I could go on and on about the customs and happenings of Fallas, but that was just a snippet. I enjoyed it a lot…

Barcelona:

I just got back from Barcelona Sunday night and I had a great time!

-mountains, beaches, and old streets
-I met up with Estibaliz (my Spanish friend), and Royce and Hannah from the States who -Are currently living in France. We all walked around, talked, and just had a good time together.
-La Sagrada Familia was incredible (I recommend looking it up online, it was very cool)

In general, I thought Barcelona was very, very cool. Since it is on the beach it seems a lot more layed back than Madrid and I really enjoyed it. I felt like I was in Florida for a moment :)

Life:

So, my life has been getting better and better. I am less lonely because I have been busier lately, and I am enjoying being here. I still miss Lee, and home and all, but life is good :)

Hope all of you from Tally and elsewhere are good!

Vicki

Ps. I may see a bullfight this weekend.