Las Fallas

Well, I just got back from a celebration in Valencia comparative to 4th of July on crack..... What Valencians do is they build these elaborate statues and burn them at midnight..along with lots of fireworks for everyone..incluidng 2 year olds..why you would give your 2 year old explosives...i'm still trying to figure that out. Here are a few pics and videos from the night! Enjoy!!

A pretty cool Fallas

La Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias

The beginnig of the Fallas Parade

The ending of the Fallas Parade

The burning of the Fallas at midnight before

The burning of the Fallas after....

As you can see, it was a wonderful, SAFE, time.
I'm leaving you with a pic. of me and a Fallas.... Love to all!

BIENVENIDOS PRIMAVERA!!!

So, it finally felt like spring today. I decided to walk around the city for 2 and 1/2 hours to take pictures of everything I missed taking pictures of during the winter. Enjoy! Welcome to spring and welcome to Salamanca!


Convent


Plaza Mayor


Unamuno


the Pontificia




University Facade


Cathedral



La Rana


Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

A Madrid!

Hola a todos!

Ayer, fui a Madrid! Yesterday, I went to Madrid! The program took us on a cultural/educational day trip around the city and it was exactally what they said it was going to be: cultural and educational.

The Reina Sofia Museo de Arte Contemporaneo
Our first stop was the Reina Sofia, a world-renowned contemporary art museum. There, we saw the begininng of contemporary art (starting in 1881 with the birth of Picasso, as stated by the spaniards). We saw cubism, surrealism, and about 3 or 4 other -isms that I can't remeber the names of right now. The highlight of the trip was getting to see Picasso's Guernica...of which we couldn't take pictures, and it was HUGE, the size of a wall and all in black and white (because he was inspired by newspaper pictures). However, I will include a picture of the outside of the museum. Looking very modern-esque.



After the Reina Sofia we had a lunch break, where we grabbed some food and went to eat it in the Parque Retiro, a huge park (comparable to central park in NYC) complete with roller bladers, street venders, and a lake with row boats.





After some lunch, we hopped on our bus and went to the Palacio Royal, or the Palace of the Spanish government. The king does not actually live there, but still uses it for formal occasions such as weddings, meeting diplomats, apparently playing billard with the diplomats...and a variety of other activities. No pictures were allowed to be taken inside the palace, however, I snapped a few of the outside.





I know; it was bright. I should've brought my sunglasses, however when I returned to Salamanca it had started snowing and it rained and snowed all night. Well, that is a lovely resumen of my trip to Madrid. It is such a lovely city, I can't wait to go back again. As for school, I am actually doing well this semester. I got all A's (okay, one A-) on my midterms, and I have three papers and two books to read until SEMANA SANTA. So, I'm just going to keep trucking along. Needless to say I have fallen in love with Salamanca and Spain and I now consider myself a Salamantino.
Besitos y Abrazos,
Ashley

Yo Sobrevivi!

Pues nada, MIDTERMS ARE OVERRRRRRR!!!!!!! I am sorry I have left everyone in the dark the past few weeks but nothing really interesting has happend in my life. I stayed in Salamanca last weekend and just explored some of the city. The beauty of this place never ceases to amaze me. I also studied for midterms, which I just finished about 2 hours ago. Ready to relax? I think so. Who knows what this weekend will entail? Shopping? Sight seeing? Studying?

The month of March I am pretty much planning to stay in Salamanca. I have four papers due this month, and a few books I have to read for class, so I decided that I am going to take part in the cultural activities my proram has to offer (paella dinners, cooking class, horseback riding, plays). I am excited! They should be fun. Also, we have our day trip to madrid next week. So be sure to look out of pictures of that. I wish I had pictures, because who dosen't love pictures?, so I will make sure to take some of SOMETHING this weekend. :) I hope everyone is doing well! Time is flying by so fast. I can't believe half of my time here is over. I guess I need to stop and smell the roses, or the oranges..whatever works best for y'all.
Love and talk to you all soon!
Ashley