dreams to be dreamed and dreams to be lived

i just can't stay away. paris, you have caught my heart so completely...if only my wallet and language skills could keep up! a while back when i realized my time was winding down, kristen and i booked tickets to go to paris for the weekend to be able to sing the classic verse "i love paris in the springtime" and visit her friend from santa barbara who is studying there. although we were only there for two and a half days, we covered a lot of ground and ate at the majority of pastry/bread shops in the center districts :) each day started with a pan chocolat, map in hand, and discussion of future plans for how we are going to live in this city some day. the changes in seasons were incredible--the sun was out, flowers were blooming, and everyone was out and about to get a taste of life without the winter layers. what is there to really say, except that paris is magical in every season. with some sense of direction, it is easy to stroll from one national monument to another, discovering picturesque alley ways and unexpected treasures. the city seems to never stop and be in some balance between extremely old and startlingly modern. there is an energy that is distinctly it's own, sparking curiosity in its visitors and continuing cooly through the daily lives of the locals. it is hard for me to believe that the novelty of it all could be warn away quickly.
here are some pics of the beautiful city and a taste of a dream come to life:

this captures one aspect of the parisian essence--adorable bikes parked near little cafes where beautiful people chat and watch the world go by.

notre dame from the back-side

we stumbled upon a local market with gorgeous produce (and to-die-for baked goods of all kinds)

taking an eating/walking break on the bridge

spring flowers in bloom

getting ready to climb to the top...obviously a little loopy from the sugar and cinnamon crepe eaten directly before this picture

here, with the view of the city below and all different languages being spoken around us, the performer started singing 'Hotel California.' i couldn't be happier being in that moment, exactly where i was with an incredible friend by my side, both of us smiling with contentment that our home is with us where ever we may go.

granada reunion in belgium

adventures await everywhere. i was reminded of this once again as i packed my bag on a sunny tuesday to take my first ryanair flight to the little country of Belgium with my flat-mates from last semester. speaking rapid spanish, Yoyo (French), Agnes (German), and I (Californian) may have looked like an odd group to other travelers, but to us, our many differences were small compared to our connection created at a little flat off a cobblestone street in Granada, Spain. we arrived in Belgium to be greeted by Aurélie, our old belgium flat-mate (and tour guide) along with Pascal, the honorary male of our home. after exchanging big hugs, we jumped in the car headed straight for a brass band concert. belgium beers in hand we danced the night away, feeling far away from Spain, but strangely comfortable and at home.
now, how to sum up the trip without boring you with all those little 'you had to be there' details?
i guess i'll start off with the highlights:
-- Aurélie lives in a huge home with 10 other students in a co-op kind of deal. it's pretty incredible. dinner is eaten together every night (the chef rotating on a schedule in the kitchen), all food and house responsibilities are shared, eggs are collected from the chicken coop, musical instruments are scattered in each room, and nights are frequently ended all around the firepit in the front yard chatting about days events and stories of when we discovered the truth about santa clause. (pic of breakfast on the patio)
-- the weather was incredible. sun. blue sky. t-shirts. i am convinced that what they say about the country have 300 days of cloudy skies and the majority with some sort of precipitation is a grand conspiracy.
-- it must also be noted that everyone in the house (and our travel group) spoke french...except me. there was a lot of listening, trying to interpret body language, and trying to contribute as much as possible with smiles. just another facet of the adventure.
--our second day there we took the train to a little town called, Bruges. it is in the Flemish part of the country (no french spoken here) and is seriously something out of a storybook (and is referred to as the Venice of the North). a canal connects the majority of the town and runs along brick buildings with potted plants and charming moss covered roofs. in addition, almost every street contains at least one chocolate shop with a window display begging to be eaten. it was a magical day of strolling the streets, riding a small boat along the canal, and being together--a group of young people, appreciating a beautiful city.

this is the main square in Bruges--horse drawn carriages run everywhere and those triangle shaped roofs are everywhere. love them!

the city from the oldest bell tower in the town.

a garden of daffodils in a park made for the nuns of Bruges to enjoy.
-- one night, it was MEXICAN FOOD night. Aurélie had promised the house my cali-mex cooking specialty a while before we got there, so fajita style burritos it was! cooking for 18 people was an adventure (along with giving several lessons in how to properly fold a tortilla...a skill that must be practiced i learned).
--next big adventure was Brussels, "the capital of Europe" and home to all the official EU buildings. i must say i enjoyed the city, but found it very different from any place i'd visited before. maybe it's the combo of the Flemish and Franco parts of the small country or the clash of modern and gothic architecture...regardless, it was a cool place. here are some pics to prove it.

the spanish flat together in Belgium!

buildings in the main plaza

maybe it's just me, but sitting on the ground in a main plaza felt odd..yet, here it's all the rage and a completely normal way to enjoy the architecture.

i was a little out of the monuments loop when i was told we on our way to see one of the main monuments in Belgium...the statue of Brussels, the dignified 30 cm statue of a little boy peeing into a fountain commemorating an old tale of a young boy saving the city by putting out a fire with his bodily fluids. i was told it's Belgium humor. (they even dress the statue up on holidays and for random occasions)

those five days in Belgium are ones i will never forget--it was a trip unlike any other on many accounts. now on to the next adventure :) cheers!

signs of spring

after weeks of rainy, gloomy, less than enjoyable weather, granada decided to remind me of the warm, good ol' days this past weekend. it's amazing how a little sun can change a city--out of nowhere came spaniards of every age scarfing down a gelato (yet, still too afraid to shed their winter jackets...what's the deal people?), groups of dazed but happy tourists wandered the cobblestone streets, smiles appeared on even the grumpiest of frutería ladies, and an overall energetic buzz blasted from tapas bars that spring has finally arrived.
naturally, an event such as this could not be wasted inside my dark and damp piso doing homework or procrastinating doing homework by knitting scarves in my toasty bed--no, no, no. instead i joined kristen and an australian friend, tim to indulge in some Los Italianos cassata (gelato cake mixed with dried fruit and nuts) and explore our beautiful city. what started out as a tour of the neighborhood and the epic graffiti art that is housed there, ended up being a long awaited hike above the city and among the "cuevas de los gitanos" (caves of the gypsies). it is exactly as it's named: caves dug into the side of the hill that have been occupied by gypsies...quite fascinating actually. as we hiked by in my dress and kristen's flats (clearly not so prepared for hiking) we yelled "hola" to the residents as we trotted by their homes on the dirt trail and and feel in love with the views.




it was a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of spring and see the city from above. plus, i forgot how soul cleansing hiking in some nature is. i will be visiting my gypsy friends again soon.
till then, i will be off to Belgium to visit an old flat-mate and check out that chocolate and waffle filled country :) update to come in a week or so.

meet the flat-mates

why, hello there. in an effort to keep up with my little blog here, i shall introduce you to the new lovely ladies living in my little 'piso' or flat. sadly, after three of my flat-mates from first semester headed back to their prospective countries, their rooms were left empty and freakishly clean awaiting the new arrivals. unlike my california living situations in which roommates are planned a year ahead of time, not knowing who would be living in the room next me was strange, but kinda thrilling.
well, i lucked out once again, with two wonderful italian chicas. (the third room, once the guest room, will be occupied by a sweet french girl this upcoming friday)

starting from left to right: Valentina is a sweetheart from Genoa, Italy who loves to sing Tracy Chapman as she cooks in the kitchen and debate about consumerism and socialism. next is Jenny, also Italian but who studies outside of London. she is a complete movie buff and is determined to catch me up on the american classics i have missed...the irony. second from the right is our old neighbor from England visiting for a catch up session on life in granada. and lastly, farthest right is Joanna, my French roommate from last semester. our flat is constantly filled with people from all over--it's amazing how living and interacting with people from dozens of countries daily has become extremely normal.

while i truly love the international experience i am living, sometimes it is necessary to return to my roots and hang with my california girls. this past weekend was my good friend Laura's 21st birthday celebration. theme: Leisure Suit (song by Fiest--40s glam) menu: mushroom and pea risotto, noodle shells stuffed with spinach and ricotta, chocolate covered strawberries, and yummy drinks of all sorts. execution: success. celebrating together that friday made me realize how being abroad has brought us all together in a special way. while we all want to meet people from exotic countries, practice our spanish with locals, and live our experience outside of california to its fullest, i think we have all come to understand the deep connection we have as americans and how we have become each other's support systems--a family of sorts.

feliz cumpleaños, laura!

a little love kick

i believe all students who have studied abroad can fully relate to the surprising emotional roller-coaster that this adventure entails. even the most stable of people are warranted to experience the ups and downs, elation and frustration, as well as the travel fever spurts and homesick lulls. each day is met with new discoveries and inherent challenges that make living in another country special. now, while i consider myself to be a fairly positive and happy person, this roller-coaster ride tends to catch me off guard once and awhile, leaving me a tad out of sorts from the unforeseen loop. so, as semester study abroad students headed back to the states, the first week of classes rolled around, and it came time to plan out the next five months of this adventure, this roller-coaster through me a little loop. well, let's be honest, i am not the best at transitions--something i'm working on :)
although my usual go-to 'mood funk' remedies are sweat (a good work-out), skype (thank goodness for technology), chai (tea and chatting with friends), and chili dark chocolate (if your taste buds have yet to be dazzled by this flavor of Lindt Excellence, i strongly encourage you run to the nearest grocery store asap), granada decided to do me one better and show me the most glorious weekend i have experienced in a little while.
no matter where i am, whether it's sunny santa barbara, charming small town davis, or in glorious granada, sometimes a 'little love kick' is necessary to remind me to soak this up, live in the moment, and smile because this is my life--and frankly, it rocks. this weekend was just what i need to remind me that i am in love with this ancient southern spanish city.

two of kristen's friends came to visit granada and where did we immediately take them--san mirador san nicolas. this 'mirador' or viewing spot is a square with a view of the Alhambra and Sierra Nevada mountains covered in snow. With such a breathtaking view, it is always filled with excited tourists, locals selling jewelery, and musicians (please notice his flaming red pants tucked into his white socks...really? what has style come to these days? haha)--basically the perfect people watching spot and place to remind me where i'm at//what kind of life we lead.

one of my favorite things about granada is the funky earthy community. as we were walking back from the mirador bongo drums filled the air. naturally, we went searching, quickly finding a mixture of granada hippies, dogs jumping in fountains, artists, and wandering passer-bys all singing dancing and enjoying the sun together. so fabulous!

sunday was the first of our weekend picnic tradition. here's part of the crew.



this is the view of the stairs leading down to my neighborhood. sometimes i curse these steps as i run up and down trying to manage the tapa and tinto intake, but the view from the top is most certainly worth the climb.

alive and thriving

it seems i am making it a habit of apologizing for my sparse blog entries. but, no more! it is now the beginning of a new semester and a new beginning on many fronts (one of them being posting something on my blog on a weekly basis).
first of all, an update of the last month or so since i've updated this thing. after my parents and i went our separate ways at the airport in Paris, it was quite the adjustment getting back into daily life and studying for...spanish finals. now, i know how to handle one to two weeks of sheer finals torture at UCSB--all i need are daily beach runs, obscene amounts of mexican food, practically moving into my favorite coffee shop for studying, and black licorice scottie dogs as a self created award system for memorizing my billions of flash cards. here, in spain, the story is quite different. not only are finals a month long, but the system is designed for students to learn all the material and do all the assignments in this month of pure chaos. as you can probably guess, this did not go down so well. as i'm sure my mom and dave could tell you, there were moments when "thriving" was possibly the last word i would use to describe my state. yet, somehow after hours of studying, asking anyone and everyone for help, and making the simple (yet revolutionary) discovery that life would manage to go on after finals, it all ended. on the 7th of february i took my last exam and completed my 7th full month in Spain.
how can it be approaching the end of february and officially be called the second half of my spanish experience? as i said early, i prefer to look at the second half as a new beginning--a beginning where my spanish has significantly improved, where granada is now my home, i have some vague concept of the elusive spanish school system, and my desire to take advantage of every opportunity i can is bursting at the seams in order to truly experience what living in the south of Spain is all about.
so, here are some post- semester 1 pics to give you a mini-highlight:

instead of picnic-ing in a park, why not an ancient moorish castle?

Kristen and Giorgio exploring our neighborhood and views of the Alhambra

post picnic happiness with the gang.

for me, this picture captures pure happiness--finding home and family thousands of miles away. with salty sand on my skin, the sound of waves, and lifetime friends by my side, somehow the south of Spain feels like home more than ever.

the holidays--european style

after weeks of being absent, i am back on this little blog of mine and am finally ready to share a little bit about my memorable holiday season in that crazy place called europe. i apologize in advance if this comes out as a jumbled mess...the transition back to life and school reality has me in a bit of a scatter-brained state.

most importantly, my mom and dave made it granada in impeccable timing, avoiding the horrible winter weather that decided to hit the majority of western europe on the eve of their arrival. it is hard for me to even describe my elation when seeing their faces at the granada airport--my christmas, my 'home,' my parents had arrived. after taking the bus back to the city of granada (tightly holding my mom's hand the entire time...some things never change), i immediately took them out to one of my favorite spanish tapas bars with a soccer game blasting, smoking fans yelling, and enough spanish beer and free meaty tapas to go around.
it is an understatement to say that our time in granada flew by. i did my best to give my mom and dave a taste of my life--the various tapas bars, my school campus, the walk above the alhambra, meeting with my spanish friends and flat-mates, and walking through the city with purpose and familiarity. as we walked together through the tiny cobblestone streets, it hit me how much i have come to know this city in the past 5 months. oddly, i was showing them my home, the place that has become mine--and strangely enough, they, the people who know me so completely, were virtually strangers to it.
despite my worries about winter weather getting in our way, this time of year proved to be wonderful. the city was looking especially festive with public christmas decorations on practically every street.

this is my favorite plaza bib-rambla in all its glory. surrounding the square is a quaint christmas market and the center is full of shoppers, kids laughing on bicycle powered merry-go-rounds, and and a huge nativity scene with a long line of all ages excitingly waiting to see it up close.

the festive decorations are everywhere and are so very different from those at home. at first, i pathetically pitied myself, thinking "man, this does not feel like christmas. shops aren't decorated, no one says 'feliz navidad,' christmas songs by annoying pop bands aren't on a 6 track repeat in every store, and for goodness sake these kids don't even believe in santa. what is this?" yet, after some thinking and mom-perspective i realized something. this may be the most festive city i've ever been in, here there are lights, carolers, nativity scenes in every nook and cranny of the city--it's just different. and they aren't asking me to BUY anything. the decorations are only there for enjoyment, night-strolling, and "ooo-ing and awww-ing," nothing more. (does this make any sense?)

what i'm trying to say, is this holiday season was quite special, but i am sure looking forward to the next one and the traditions and people that truly make every holiday completely treasured.
some more holiday highlights:

christmas eve dinner with my granada family and parents. delicious dinner including wild mushroom risotto, salad with persimmon and pomegranate, various cheese treats, home-made apple pie, and tiramisu. it was a beautiful fusion of people from my two 'homes' and a great opportunity to celebrate together.

our decorations in our little apartment. plastic tree complementary of the 'chino' in my neighborhood. mom's magic mary-poppins suitcase did it again--presents and christmas novelties from home showed up to make the day even that much more special. and yes, dave is standing in the kitchen...claustrophobic visitors were not invited.


as i mentioned before, the week in granada flew by, leaving me feeling a little uncomfortable moving on when i still had so much more to show and explain. luckily, after arriving in paris my unsettled feelings quickly evaporated and i immediately fell in love with the enchanting city once again.
how can one truly describe the magic of paris? is it the never-ending art? the fresh crepes and croissants every few steps? twinkly lights and overall yellow romantic lighting? the historical landmarks packed into one walkable city center? the little bistros where beautiful couples share secrets, friends laugh, waiters join in on table conversation, and french wine enchants taste buds? or is it simply the undeniable parisian energy that captivates and intrigues its visitors? or, more simply, all of the above? like many, i don't have the answer, only the feeling of strong attachment to this place and the deep longing to go back.

now, being in paris in the winter was a completely unexpected delight. while there is no denying that some days were darn cold and day light faded away at 5:00, i loved the city in this season. between the decorations, ice skating rink, people bundled up and snuggling for warmth, and a lovely bubble bath in our apartment, i could have stayed there all winter!
here are some pictures to get a sense of the city in it's winter state:










as you can see, it was a beautiful trip with many memorable moments. new year's eve spent at our local bistro drinking champagne and eating like kings, taking the metro (free today) jammed packed with excited people, sitting on a bridge looking at the eiffel tower in front, notre dame behind me, with my mom and dave. it was an incredible beginning to which i'm sure will be a wonderful 2011. here's on last pic of mom and i on new year's eve:


naturally, it was so hard saying goodbye to my mom and dave. just being together and spending the holidays as a family was beyond wonderful. (despite the weird fact of me reverting back to being a 14 year old little girl traveling with parents. after months of experience being on my own you think things would have changed. but, nope. i was back to following around with my camera, asking when was the next time to eat, and not thinking about the logistics of travel. how does that happen? i''m still a little baffled and kinda frustrated with myself) anywho, seeing it end was an emotional adjustment. i think i am still adjusting. but, with 6 months behind me, and 6 more months ahead, i feel ready and grateful for our memories together and my future adventures ahead in 2011.
Happy New Year!