"Oui" is spelled with an "o," not a "w"

August 21

So I'm writing this in the Boston airport. I've been traveling for almost 20 hours and I'm finally almost home. But anyway...

We finished off our Spain study abroad experience by taking a very impromptu trip to Paris. It was amazing. We didn't get to see everything but we were happy with what we saw: the Eiffel tower (at night with the light show), Notre Dame, the Opera House, and of course, the Lourve (only about 1/8 of it. It was humungous. Whenever we stepped in through the main entrance at first I thought it was a mall.)

I must admit I had some preconceptions about the French being very rude but almost every French person we met was very helpful. I love listening to French. And imitating the accent.

This week was our last in Santander. Que triste!

How Barcelona ate Danielle's camera

So we (Danielle and I) were scouting some Gaudí art and walking a little at the same time towards the bus stop. Danielle tripped (curse those cobblestones!) and since her camera lens was open, it smashed right into the pavement. Needless to say, the camera didn't survive. We weren't exactly having the best of luck that day (hotel A.C. was broken, the bus lines were running slow), and afterwards we decided we enjoyed Madrid much more, but Barcelona was still worth it.

Barcelona art rocks. Picasso, Dalí, and Gaudí lived and left their art all over the city with the most prominent one, in my opinion, being Gaudí's La Sagrada Familia. Gaudí started this huge church in the early 1890's and it still has about 30-40 years before it'll be finished. When it's built, it will have 16 towers. Yeah, 16. It was my favorite part of Barcelona.

So we got back to Santander safe and sound. We took a boat ride around the bay yesterday, and afterwards we tried chocolate with churros (which are totally awesome) in a little cafe overlooking the boat dock. We stayed for like an hour discussing seagulls, Paris on Friday, and how Michael Phelps is collecting gold medals like Cracker Jack box prizes.

A few of us (myself included) have been feeling a little homesick so we are going to a little Mexican restaurant we found downtown for a guacamole fix to hold us off until we return to the U.S. next week. I'll be really sad to leave Spain, but I think I'm ready to get back. I miss my family and friends in Dallas and Austin and I can't wait to see everyone again.

Ode to Art

Last weekend, Danielle and I explored Madrid: the Prado Museum, the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Real Madrid stadium, shopping on Gran Via... Then caught a last minute bus ride to Toledo where we saw a beautiful gothic cathedral, bought a bunch of Toledo Gold, and made it back, tired but satisfied, to Santander. Needless to say, it was a busy but wonderful weekend.

It's obvious that Madrid takes pride in its art. I think my absolute favorite part was the Prado Museum. It houses over 3,000 paintings of famous paintings by world renown artists like Goya, Rembrant, and Rafael. Statues of famous figures (Christopher Columbus, Goya, and the author of Don Quijote, Miguel de Cervantes) are spread throughout the city.

There was one thing that I found curious about this (you may not, but I found it interesting):
On our way from place to place on our first day in Madrid, we passed by like 50 shops that sold little statues of Don Quijote for a couple of euros a piece. "How weird," I thought. After about 25 more shops I finally gave in and bought one.

Anyway, my real question: why doesn't the western world idolize famous authors like Europe does? Have you ever seen a monument dedicated to Edgar Allen Poe or Harriet Beecher Stowe? Do you own a little statuette of Washington Irving? John Maxwell? F. Scott Fitzgerald? America doesn't lack famous authors. Yet Pamplona boasts a statue and a small plaza for the American author Hemingway (for his famous book about Spanish bull fights, The Sun Also Rises). Drop me a comment and tell me what you think.

Just thought that was interesting... off to Barcelona!