SPAIN TRIP

The first day of Spain was awesome! I met a lot of people and I got to explore many different sites of Spain with the many people I already knew! I started off meeting up people when I arrived with my mom at the Newark International Airport. It was pretty interesting, it took us a while for to get through the security check point!! Then once we got passed security, I waved good-bye to my mom, who dropped me off, standing outside the check point. Then, we passed our Gate and we decided to have some lunch. We walked around the terminal and found a Guinness Bar, then we ate at a diner. I had some Buffalo Wings. I got to talk to Jon, Derek, and Bernadette. Jon and Derek are cool dudes to hang out with, and Bernadette is funny and full of energy... and she’s cute!!

I met a lot of other people in the process of leaving for Spain. As we were walking down to get to our Gate, I met FLO, who was outgoing, excited about the trip, and... she’s very adorable! I ended up sitting on the aisle of the plane, with her in the middle right next to me. Before we took off, the plane had a power outage and we were stuck in our seats for an hour! Then we finally took off!! During the eight-hour flight, I watched Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, and FLO and I talked all night... and all morning. She is such an awesome girl to be around. We even talked when we landed, to our baggage claim, and on the bus ride to our hotel. After this, we arrive to hotel and finally got our rooms. I roomed with Jon and Brett. When we got in there, the room was really small.

I woke up, realizing that I’m not in New Jersey anymore! We started our day going downstairs for breakfast. I had bread, oranges, and strawberries. Then, we got on the bus, took a tour around the plaza, and then we went to Gaudi Park! I took a lot of photographs and captured a lot of footage on my brand new HD Camcorder. It was overwhelming, full of Gaudi architecture and unique musicians. After leaving the park we went to the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, and it was probrably one of the biggest churches I have seen!! I got a lot footage, but it was too bad we couldn’t even go inside.

Later that day, we went on a bicycling tour throughout downtown Barcelona. I was really excited to ride a bike, considering I haven’t rode a bike for a long time. It was so awesome and I had a lot of fun! We rode through a peaceful park that the Barcelona Zoo and large fountains, with some of the strangest birds I have ever seen! We even passed by the Olympic village and that was amazing! We saw some beautiful monuments and I love seeing the beach, looking out at the Mediterranean Sea, which is also a first for me!! During our bike ride, I tried the best I could to take pictures and film while I was riding. I just filmed every time we stopped, to either take a break or stop for traffic. The locals in Barcelona are crazy drivers!! I loved the jungle gym that made out of rope!! I would like to do another bicycling tour! After that, we had some free time to eat, shop, and explore.

I woke up, with a big headache from last night!! So, I had a lot of strawberries and oranges, brought them back up to the room. I turned on the T.V. and what was on? THE EXPRESS, in SPANISH!!!!! Throughout the morning, I finally felt at ease for the first time since coming to Spain, seeing the movie that had a big significance on my family. In case those of you who don’t know this film, THE EXPRESS is about the true story of Ernie Davis, the football player from Syracuse University . It was interesting watching an American film in Spanish. There were no English subtitles, but I didn’t mind because I’ve seen that movie so many times, I could quote the whole thing if somebody asked me!! Then we all went down to the lobby and hopped on cabs.

It was FLO, Sylvia, Bernadette, Brett, Christa, Hameenah, and I who went back over to the Beach again! We all went for a nice lunch down by the pier, looking out at the harbor, and had a great view of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a pretty interesting lunch, since everybody saw a naked guy riding a bike. This was a shocker to everyone, since I didn’t get to see the naked guy (What a relief!!). But Sylvia was the only person who took a big interest in this naked guy. She was obsessed with trying to get him on video! After eating lunch, we all separated into two small groups. I walked to the beach with Brett and Bernadette. We hung out on the beach for while, But, since everybody got to see a naked guy riding a bike, I got to a naked woman on the beach! It was a shocker to me, since I’m not used to legalized nudity. Then we went back to the hotel, waiting for other group to come back.

We then got together with our groups at the Hotel to go to the subway and visited the Gothic part of Spain. We saw the Barcelona Cathedral and Las Ramblas. It was actually pretty awesome there. I saw many great landscapes. After going around the place, we all separated into groups. I ended walking the Gothic plaza with Brett and Christa around the center of the cathedral, and the Municipal Palace. I took a lot of great pictures and filmed some awesome footage Cathedral plaza.

Later, we walked back to the plaza, where we were going to meet with the rest of the group. I saw a singing and playing Spanish songs. I even saw a guy try to steal Maria’s camera, but she grabbed it out of his hands and really yelled at him!!! After this event, I became really self-aware of the area I was in, started to protect my cameras... and wallet. After we left from the Gothic place, we went to dinner, and ate a Spanish meal called a paella. Once we left the restaurant we went back to the hotel, got our bags and went to the train station to take the overnight train that left Barcelona and took us to Granada.

When we got on the train, I could not believe it! The hallways were small. The cabins were small. The bathrooms were smaller than an airplane’s. The cabins only fit four people, but luckily for me, there were only three people in the cabin: myself, Jon, and Professor Tung. I went to bed early, but the beds were very small, and the train was rocking hard throughout the night! It was one of the worst night of sleep I have ever had!

We had to get up real early the next morning. So, Jon, Brett, and I quickly packed our bags, had a light breakfast, and got down to the bus. It turned out we were the ones to the bus, so we were ahead of everybody else. We had many hours of bus riding. All I did on the bus was listen to my iPod, watching the countryside pass by us, or talking to FLO, who is really great to talk to! We rode for about four hours straight, with a pit stop at Córdoba. We went across the Bridge Gate to the Moorish Mezquita, originally constructed as an Islamic church, but now it is a Christian Cathedral, called the Cathedral de Córdoba. We went inside the church and it was beautiful. Then we had some free time on our hands, so we had lunch in the cathedral plaza.

Then we got back on the bus. We had about five more hours of bus riding. We did make a thirty minute pit stop in a small town called La Mancha, then back on the road. Then, finally, we arrive to Madrid! Once we got to Madrid, it was unbelievable!!! It was almost like through Times Square in New York City from the moment I saw the Chicago theater outside of our hotel. Jon, Brett, and I got to our room and we got incredibly excited. We had the biggest room in the highest floor of the hotel!!! It was like suite!!!! I turned on the T.V., flash the boards for a while, then I stumbled across a channel that Family Guy in Spanish!!! It was awesome!!!

That night we all went out to an Argentinean Restaurant for dinner. I had some kind of a chicken dinner. After this, we walked around the city of Madrid. From what I learned from Sylvia we passed by The Palacio Real, Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena, Plaza de Villa, Market San Miguel, and Plaza Mayor. Then we went back to the hotel and got some sleep, waiting for what the next day had in store for us.

We woke up, in our beautiful suite hotel. We had breakfast at a nice restaurant across the street from our hotel. Then, we got on the bus and went to the Plaza de Toro Madrid, which was a bullfighting colosseum. I took a lot of photos and recorded some footage outside of the stadium. The we got back on the tour bus to go to the Prado Museum. This museum has one of the world's greatest art paintings, created by many famous Spanish painters. I was mad about the fact I was not allowed to video recorded or flash photography inside the museum. But I got see a lot fine art and I will never forget it.

Then, it was noon, and we were on our way to El Bosque, a bull ranch where Spanish farmers and trainers raise and breed a family of bulls, train bulls to become bullfighters, and stage some bullfighting demonstrations. The bull ranch was located in the countryside of Madrid, about an hour and half from the city. We had a homemade B-B-Q lunch at the ranch and it was great. We went for a ride on a tractor trailer and saw many different kinds of bulls: breeding bulls and fighting bulls. Then we walked over to the bullfighting ring, where there was a bullfighter giving the demonstrations. I recorded probably the most footage from my camera. It was very interesting to watch, but I was feeling very sorry for the baby bull!!

After the bullfight, some of us in our group, including all of the professors went to a winery called Escuela del Vino, to taste many different wines! It was very intriguing how we got to learn all of the following stages about wine: How wine is made, who made the wine, how the wine is preserved and imported, and how the wine barrels are made! It was awesome!! Then we sampled three different types of wines, white and red, and ate some cured ham. After this we all pretty much went on our separate ways. Since it was Saint Patrick’s Day, some of us went to a local bar and drank some beers, and then we went back to the hotel and I got some early sleep.

We hoped on the bus and went to the Medieval town of Toledo, which was once the capital of Spain, and visited the Toledo Cathedral. It was big, it was beautiful!! Once again, I wasn’t allowed to take pictures and record footage inside the church, and I wasn’t really happy about that!! But I was able to take it all in, with the architecture and the medieval artifacts! After walking around town, we got back on the bus and went out to lunch! Only this time, we had to cook our own lunch. We helped the chefs cook the meals and then ate the food we helped cook. I loved every single minute of it!!! After riding the bus back to Madrid, on our way we stopped at the side of the road to see this beautiful view of the city of Toledo. The view was so overwhelming, I took a lot pictures and filmed some footage. The view of Toledo looked awesome from where we were standing, as long as you get to close to the edge!!

After this we all went to the hotel, got some rest, waiting for the night out in Madrid. As the Sun began to go down, I met up with FLO, Jon, Brett, Bernadette, Christa, Jake, and Derek, and we became a solid group for the night. We went out to dinner, and then we went out to a night club called Cibeles Madrid. This was my first time at a night club... EVER! It was awesome!!!! We drank and danced the night away! This is definitely one part of the trip I will never forget!!!

We left the hotel at 7:30 to get to the Madrid International Airport. When we get there, we come find out that our flight was delayed for eight hours!!!! So, we were stranded at the airport for nine hours, waiting for our airplane to come in. During that time, I had a free lunch and a free phone to my family, compliments of Continental Airlines for the delay. I even bought some gifts for my family at home, with Spanish culture. After many hours of waiting in the terminal, with nothing to do, we finally got on the plane at 2:00!! During the eight-hour flight, I watched New Moon, The Blind Side, Old Dogs, and Couples Retreat. This is where my journey in Spain ends: On the flight, back to the United States of America!!! I arrived in Newark, feeling great to be back home again, while reflecting on the good times I had, many great people, in Barcelona, Granada, and Madrid!! This was one of the greatest trips I have ever be involved in!!!