Espana - OLE!

sunset over the water in the Parque de Retiro

Greetings from Madrid!
First off, for reasons beyond my realm of control, I'll be taking a brief hiatus from the European traveler lifestyle to spend lots of time at the Turkish consulate in New York. AKA, I'm coming home for Christmas, after all, which, when I saw my Sittoo's reaction on Skype webcam (during the family Thanksgiving day call!), made all the logistical pains and shocks of the past week worthwhile.
SO, a quick Spanish update before I wander off to live up my last few weeks in Barcelona, the south, and Morocco....

I have been staying just northwest of Madrid with friends, the fabulous Jacksons, who have been wonderfully kind and generous to me, treating me like a part of their family.
the view from the Jackson's balcony

Last weekend, we took a trip to Segovia, a city in the Castile region north of Madrid.

in the train on the way there

The Romans left one of the most impressive marks on the city - their huge aqueduct, one of the largest Roman remnants in Spain. The aqueduct stands 96 feet tall and was built in the first century AD without any mortar holding the huge granite blocks in place!

the aqueduct in all its glory

under the arch of the aqueduct, looking UP

we love the aqueduct!

view of Segovia from the hill

Julian, me, and Gabby with the picturesque view

After a delicious lunch, featuring special Segovian and Spanish deserts, we also saw the Catedral on Plaza Mayor, and passed a number of beautiful buildings tucked into narrow streets.

El Catedral - (I was in awe of it)

Catedral en la noche

inside the Catedral

Just a walk away from the plaza, we found the Alcazar, a huge fairy-tale castle that was destroyed in a fire and then rebuilt in 1882. It is said to have been Walt Disney's inspiration for Cinderella's castle. You can see the resemblance in the photos I took... but trust me, it's more amazing in real life. We climbed 152 stairs to the very top for a fabulous view of Segovia and the outlying area, and watched from up there as the sun set.

Alcazar

Another view of the castle

zoomed-in view from the castle

Some photos from Madrid:

el osito en madrid

"Ham Museum" .... yeah, Spaniards are obsessed with ham for some reason... gross.

yeah, this is a post office.

made some ghribee cookies! yum yum!

La Puerta de Alcala

again, with pretty lights! every street has different light designs hanging over it for the holidays... quite pretty.

how nationalistic and fun!

el Parque de Retiro

We decided to cook up a semi-authentic Thanksgiving dinner - it was excellent!

Rolling cabbage-leaves (no grapeleaves here right now..)

FLAN! (added an extra touch to Thanksgiving)

And now, to Barcelona! Love to all...

to hell with Freedom Fries!

that's me, the flailing tourist idiot.

Paris... my first ever solo destination sans any abilities in the language. "Bonjour, je'suis anana," doesn't get one very far in France, and nor does "Le sange est sur le branch," so this fact, plus all of the negative American propagandist karma I had heard regarding the country, made me uncharacteristically nervous at first. I took a Eurolines bus from Holland to France- about an eight-hour ride in total- and the trip passed smoothly and, surprisingly, relatively quickly. I didn't even have to say more than "Bonjour" to the handsome, young border-control officer as he scrutinized the contents of my increasingly more interesting passport (I LOVE passport stamps!!!). Voila!
view on the bus (it was mostly like this...for miles and miles)

Upon arrival, I found a nifty hostel in the Montmartre neighborhood (Le Village Hostel), directly down the hill from the Sacre Ceur, had a nice little check-in and convo with the lovely deskperson (en Espanol instead of disgusting pseudo-Franglais), embarrassingly walked in on and, consequently, met my half-naked New Zealander roommate (we had an awkward, hilarious, and surprisingly long initial conversation as he tried to hide himself in his sleeping bag), and hit the streets to make the most of my short stay in the city.
I stumbled across and quickly through the Red Light District (after Amsterdam, nothing could phase me really), making note of the Moulin Rouge, of course, and walked around the city for a while. Fact one: Paris is certainly NOT overrated.
Kiwi (he found some clothes, finally) invited me along to climb the zillion and a half stairs up the Sacre Ceur, where a breathtaking nighttime view of Paris awaited us. I could even see the Eiffel Tower glittering behind some trees off to the West. Fact two: Paris is a very low-lying city. The absence of sky-scrapers gives it a quaint, smallish feeling, even though it's geographically quite large. Also, the Metropolitan is winding, sometimes convoluted, yet effective, and really clean (the European cities I've seen make New York blush in this arena).
le moulin rouge (costs 170 euros to go for a show!)
sacre ceur by night

Day two - I met up with Elisa for a rendes-vouz at the Musee Rodin (really beautiful outdoors sculpture garden... it includes 'Le Penseur'), and an insider's guide to the city (aka: Paris in one very ambitious day). We saw the Tour Eiffel by day, then parts of the Latin Quarter (where all the chic etudiantes hang out), went for a 3-course French meal (10 Euro- what a deal!), walked along the Seine, and ate the most delicious gelatto I've ever had next to these amazing yellow-leaved trees by the river. Then, I topped that all off with a self-tour around the Notre Dame (lit some candles - with so many beautiful churches, it has become ritual for me), another walk along the Seine (past all the little souvenir vendors) all the way to the Louvre, then through the Jardin des Tuileries, and back to the Tour Eiffel for a night perspective. No sooner did I arrive at the base of the Tower, the hourly light show began. Completely enchanting. Like a million little fireflies on fast-forward. I decided to suck it up and pay the exorbitant (per my standards) fee for a trip to the top. I mean, who knows when will I be in Paris next? My only complaint is that going to the top of the Eiffel Tower alone is, well, kind of lonely. But check out the photos and, yes, it was well worth it.
the musee rodin (LOVE the yellow trees)

the infamous triangle at the Louvre (nice job, Dan Brown)

notre dame

i've become even more obsessed with picasso - the musee picasso in paris is really quite extensive

louvre by night

mini triumphal arch e moi

gellato!!!

ach de triumph

eiffel tower light show.

view of paris from the top

Dutch = extremely long words? ...

waitin' for the tram.

(real dutch flowers)

Yes, family, I'm still alive. And feeling quite fabulous, actually. At first, the time was creeping by ever so slowly, and rather uncomfortably, to be honest, but the past two weeks have FLOWN. Time is back to it's usual jive, I suppose, and life is full of stories. Current city? Madrid. But let me back up a tad...

So Lily, Josh, and I survived Amsterdam, city of contradictions. ....for now, check out the photos. More on that when I get a spare string of moments...

aboard the stena discovery, "the fastest high-speed ferry in the world!" (took us from england to holland)

they know how it should be done in the netherlands (view from the ferry)

apparently people like mini-casinos on their high-speed ferries??

along the canals -- heLLO, Amsterdam!

mmm... smell the wooden tulips. ??

street

KOEKEN! (=cookies, one of the only Dutch words we learned - along with Zakkenroller, which means pickpocket, in case you needed to know..)

plaque reads: ANNE FRANK HUIS

first night out

i saw how beer is made (thanks, heineken!)

street near the hotel