London, Stonehedge, Bath

So far London has been great! I have a single in Campbell House West a dorm that is right near the main campus. Since classes haven't started yet I have had a lot of time to explore the city and get to know the tube system. I went to Camden, an area in London that has a lot of open air markets. The streets were just overflowing with stalls selling almost anything you could think of. A few days later I went with some friends to see Big Ben and Parliament and we took a walk along the Thames. I have also visited Piccadilly Circus, Harrods, and Covet Gardens. Yesterday I traveled outside of London to tour Stonehenge and Bath. It was cool to see Stonehenge because I have heard so much about it. It was very cold and windy there so I was glad that the visit did not require much more than walking around the rocks. From there we drove another hour to the city of Bath. I was charmed the minute we began to drive into the city. It looks like it came right out of a Jane Austen novel. We drove around the city stopping at the Royal Crescent a row of 30 houses built by John Wood the Younger. After that we took a tour of the Roman Baths. It was very interesting to get a look into this ancient custom. It was especially interesting to see the parts that still contain water and where it runs into the baths. After the baths we walked around the quaint streets and along the Kennet and Avon Canal that runs through the city and stopped for some tea and scones before making the journey back to London. So far England has been amazing and I am very much looking forward to the rest of my time here.

Lisbon day 2

After two weeks of serious touring we are exhausted and decided to take it easy our last day. We took the train to Cascais a fisherman town outside of Lisbon. We spent the day sitting by the beach and wandering around the narrow cobblestone streets. The beach was stunning. The sea was an amazingly bright shade of blue matching the cloudless sky and the sand felt like silk beneath our feet. It was a relazing day which was much needed after the last two weeks in order to prepare for getting settled in London. For dinner we walked to the Barrio Alto neighborhood which is known for being a hot spot after sunset. We have an early flight tomorrow so we decided to keep our night low key and just hung out in our hostel with the other international travelers staying here. Tomorrow our semester abroad actually begins!!

Lisboa

We arrived in Lisbon so early that the streets were empty as we walked from the metro station to our hostel. It gave us an opportunity to really take in the streets of the city. However, we were a bit too tired to truly appreciate it. The streets look they are a mosaic made of white tiles with black designs. In the afternoon we a tram, the cities more well known form of transportation, up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. It has been a fort since before the Romans in 138 B.C. and was home to the Portuguese Royalty for some time. The castle is located on top of Lisbon's highest hill and you can get an amazing view of the city from up there. You can even climb up stairs and walk along the tops of the walls. We walked the cobblestone streets leading down the hill and stopped at the Se, Lisbon's cathedral. It was founded by Alfonso Henriques in 1150 and was built in a Fortress like style. It's facade actually reminded me of the Notre Dame in Paris. We finished the walk back to the hostel and moved our things into our rooms as they were not ready when we arrived.

Last day in Madrid

After Services we had a picnic style Lunch in Park Retiro a 340-acre park in the middle of urban Madrid. There is a nice lake with a path around where we sat for a while and partook in some people watching. Also within the park is a Crystal Palace modeled after the one in London. It was closed when we got there but it is a glass-paneled building used as space for art exhibitions and other public shows. It was just a quick walk from the park to the Reina Sofia, Madrid’s modern art museum. Housing big names like Dali and Picasso the museum is made up of large white rooms and the entire structure surrounds a sculpture Garden. It’s big item is Picasso’s Guernica and they have an entire room displaying his preliminary sketches. Madrid has been great and now it’s time to move on to our final stop Lisbon, Portugal

Madrid 3

Although it’s a bit cold outside it’s not raining so today we decide to go to the Botanical Garden behind the Prado, which we decided to pass on yesterday. It was founded by Charles III and contains over 650 species of plants. The entire thing is split up into four levels each one presenting plants in a very organized and scientific way. It was not built just to be a nice garden but in fact to serve as a museum of plants. On one end there is a green house. Each room is dedicated to a different variety of plants like cacti, palms, etc. On the top tier there was a special exhibition of Bonsai trees. It was pretty impressive to see the different shapes they could be trimmed into and how small they actually are. There were even a few pots containing a group of trees that looked like mini forests. From there we walked to the Park del Oeste which over looks part of the city. In the park is the Templo de Debod an Egyptian temple that had to be relocated due to the Nile rising after the building of the Aswan Dam. It was given to Spain as a thank you for helping with the process.It sits in the middle of the park surrounded by water helping to simulate its original Egyptian setting. Our last stop of the day was the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida. It is a small chapel where the artist Goya is buried. Within it’s cupola Goya had actually painted a beautiful vaulted fresco. It was a bit of a shlep to get there but definitely worth it. Then we went back to the room to rest up and get ready for Rosh Hashanah services. We went to the Bet Yaakov synagogue, and as we are in Spain decided to check out the Sephardi Services. The women seating was in the balcony and the female members of the community were quite chatty. After services we went for dinner at the apartment if the Madrid Chabad Rabbi and his family. We dined with an international group mainly consisting of Americans and Israelis. The Rabbi said at the beginning of the meal that in his apartment it is as if we are in Brooklyn, NY. While it wasn’t exactly like Brooklyn it was nice to have a meal with native English Speakers after over a week of communicating mainly with sign language. One more day in Madrid and then it’s on to Lisbon.

Madrid 2

We had been warned that Spain would be incredibly hot. So, we were a bit unprepared for today's cold and rainy weather. However, we didn't let it hold us back. We began our day by picking up breakfast at the San Miguel market a slightly more high end market that is housed within a small glass paned structure and includes a bakery, coffee shop, book store, and appliance stand as well as the expected fruits, vegetables, and other fresh foods. From there we went to the Almuneda Cathedral. It took 110 years to build so while it was originally intended to be a Gothic style structure the plan changed and ended up being neoclassical. The interior is made of white stone and so bright. The multiple chapels and stained-glass windows are designed in a much more modern and colorful manner than those we have seen elsewhere. Next we went to the Palacio Real, the palace that was once home to the Spanish Royal Family. All of the rooms were so luxuriously decorated. Every room had a Fresco on the ceiling, lushly upholstered walls, and multiple crystal chandeliers. Even the dressing room was beyond extravagant. It was a nice break from the rain. After lunch we decided to go to the Prado Museum as another indoor activity. We walked through almost every gallery and viewed masterpieces by Spanish painters such as Goya, Velazquez, and El Grecco as well as Italian, French, Dutch, Flemmish, German, and English painters as well. It was exciting to see some works I have studied such as Las Meninas by Velazquez and Goyas' The Third of May. I also very much enjoyed The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch. On our walk back to the hostel we passed through the Plaza de la Cibeles

Madrid!!

This morning we took the three hour train ride from the Barcelona Sants train station to the Atocha station in Madrid. Our hostel, called Louis XV, has an elevator which automatically makes this one of my favorite cities. After getting situated we hit the streets. The hostel is located on Gran Via right in the middle of the city. We walked down to Puerta del Sol which looks like it would be very nice but is currently undergoing a lot of construction. We stopped to pick up falafel and eat lunch on the go as we headed to Plaza Mayor a nice square with outdoor restaurants and a building with a mural painted on its exterior. After that we wandered around the city through narrow streets lined with quaint buildings painted in shades of yellow. Before we knew it it was five o'clock and we were exhausted so we headed back to the hostel to rest up before heading out to a late dinner. We ate near Plaza Mayor In a cueva or cave, a tapas bar located within an old tavern. Once inside we immediately understood why they are called caves. The interior was made of brick and the rounded ceilings in the series of small rooms had a very cave like feel to them. Looking forward to what Madrid will have to offer us tomorrow!