"I think it's like Aloha"

Did you know "ciao" meant hello and goodbye? It was one of the many things Copeland and I learned while in Bologna, Italy this weekend! We had an amazing time. The food, the history, and the experience made Bologna one trip I will never forget (and one trip I will have to take again)!

I have to say, at first I was a little worried because we almost missed the bus to the airport, which would have been the perfect start to our first solo trip. Luckily we ran after the bus and the rest of our weekend was smooth sailing. We arrived in Bologna a little after 8 on Friday and arrived at Arcoveggio Hotel after realizing we probably should have brushed up on our Italian. It was so funny how we resorted to Spanish so much! I kept catching myself saying "hola," "gracias," and "perdón," instead of "ciao," "grazie," and "scusi," and even before "hello," "thank you," and "excuse me." I made me realize how much I am actually getting used to being in Spain.

We went to a popular wine bar and restaurant with live jazz called Cantina Bentivoglio. It was something I will remember FOREVER! When we walked in it looked like a cozy restaurant with tons of old and dusty wine bottles lining all of the walls. The hostess asked if we were interested in the jazz show, which we were, of course. When she opened the big wooden door in the back of the restaurant Copeland and I instantly smiled at each other with excitement- the jazz bar was tucked underground, lit by candles stuck in top of wine bottles, and filled with locals enjoying the music. The band, The Larry Willis Trio, was fantastic, and I felt like I could appreciate it so much after taking a jazz class at UNC last year. We ordered traditional tagliatelle al ragu' bolognese for me, insalata mista for Copeland, and bruschetta and a bottle of prosecco to share :) For dessert we ordered coppa al mascarpone con cacao e cioccolato and mousse al cioccolato con biscotto alle mandorle (mascarpone and chocolate and coco powder and chocolate mousse with an almond cookie). Every. Single. Bite. Was. AMAZING! We sat and drank and eat and listened until about 1:15 when we walked back to the hotel, reviewing every detail.

On Saturday we got an early start with a delicious and fresh breakfast buffet at the hotel. We walked into town to do a little sightseeing: Piazza Maggiore, Fontana di Nettuno, San Petronio Basilica, The Two Towers, and The University of Bologna. It was all beautiful. The Basilica is the 5th largest in the world; I would have taken pictures but it was not allowed. I guess you all will have to go and see it for yourself! There are tons of towers in Bologna and the two most famous are right beside each other. One is called Garisenda and it is leaning pretty badly so its just to look at :) The other is called Asinelli and you climb to the top, which we did. It was a 98 meter hike up the most narrow staircases you can imagine. We definitely had to take a couple breathers but we made it to the top (where it was freeeeezing!) and got a great view of Bologna. We were a little frightened on the way up because the stairs were so steep and narrow; the way down is a lot worse. We held on the railing for dear life and made it back to solid, but still very cold, ground. We got lunch at a little place Copeland found in her Lets Go Europe travel guide called Osteria dell'Orsa. It was very authentic with the menu only in Italian and communal seating . We ordered what we thought would be good considering we couldn´t read the menu and were pleasantly surprised with a panini for me and basically a bruschetta salad for Copeland. Yum. Being in Italy we were looking forward to getting some gelato, of course, and we had done our homework. Il Gelatauro was a small and traditional cafe and gelateria known to have some of the best gelato in Italy. I couldn´t describe the texture and/or taste of the three flavors we ordered: dark chocolate, cannoli (with bits of the cannoli shell mixed in), and pumpkin spice! Ahhh it was amazing, but again you'll HAVE to go yourself to really understand. Oh, and don't worry I would love to go with you and show you all of these little gems ;) While exploring we came upon some really loud disco/rap music and decided to see what was going on. It turns out there was a character by the name of Beppe Maniglia (as we found out from the cards his minions passed out) who had a rather large stereo system connected to his motorcycle. He also had a microphone and seemed to know every beat to the tunes but never started rapping. He had two little sidekicks, who were extremely old to be hanging around a motorcycle rapping superstar. The card they gave us with Beppe's picture had to have been at least 30 years old considering in the photo Beppe was in his late 20's and the Beppe in front of our faces had to be 50-some. He did not age gracefully. After some more exploring we went back to the hotel to warm up and freshen up for dinner. We went to a place called Bravo Caffe, which also had live jazz. It was really modern and great change from the night before. When we sat down the waiter filled us up with some champagne, homemade meatballs, and freshly baked (in-house) bread--and that was before we ordered anything! Copeland and I both ordered tortellini because after staring at them all day we decided it was a must! We were right. The dinner was topped off with cappuccinos and dessert while the band played. We ordered an Italian Trifle and Chocolate Layer Cake with crushed coffee beans....wow! We savored every bite, knowing it would be our last italian meal before we headed home to Sevilla.

We got a great nights sleep after walking about 20 miles throughout the day and woke up to another wonderful breakfast. We wanted to make sure we got into town early to get a couple more things checked off of our to-do list: the Archeological Museum and MORE GELATO! We walked outside and it was SNOWING! It was so beautiful especially dusted on all of the statues and architecture. We stopped for some cappuccinos to warm up and then went on a tour of the Archeological Museum. Great thing about Bologna- almost every site is free- we only spent 3 euro and that was to climb the tower, which was well worth it. The museum was great with rooms containing Roman, Greek, Spanish, and Egyptian treasures. I definitely liked the Egyptian floor the best; it had mummies, tombs, caskets, and all kinds of jewelry. The only problem was EVERYTHING was in Italian...so we guessed what each little artifact was used for and what everything was exactly :) I think we were right but what we thought was a piece of jewelry could have very well been an ancient weapon! We had a great time anyway and when we were done we both knew the last thing we had to do before heading on the bus to the airport...GELATO! We had into another place on the internet the night before called Gelateria Gianni because it had won a lot of awards and supposedly had some pretty crazy flavors. Even though it was snowing we knew we couldn't leave Bologna without one more gelato excursion so we found Gelateria Gianna where we were the first and only customers (which may have been do to the fact that it was 11 am and snowing...not sure though). I ordered another dark chocolate (SO RICH AND DELICIOUS), mascarpone with cocoa, and inferno (this was one of their innovative flavors: white chocolate, dark cherries, chocolate chunks, and vanilla wafers!!!!) it was definitely the "icing on the cake." A perfect end to a perfect weekend.

We marched happily to the bus stop and headed toward the airport, but of course not without an extremely odd coincidence...while sitting on the bus I had my luggage in my lap and two girls (also speaking english) sat across from us. One saw my luggage tag and told me she too was from Raleigh! It doesn't end there- she asked me what high school I went to and I told her Millbrook and she exclaimed, "I graduated from Millbrook in 2000!!" So in the small city of Bologna on an airport bus thousands of miles from the United States, North Carolina, or Raleigh I found someone who graduated from the same high school as me! Small world. We chatted a little bit about old teachers and she told us that she now teaches english in Cadiz, Spain and has been for three years. She was traveling with another teachers (from Massachusetts), her spanish boyfriends, and a couple of his friends. Anyway we got to the airport and surprisingly, even though it was snowing our flight was not delayed and we made it back to Sevilla in time for a little rest before dinner.

It was definitely I weekend I will never forget from the friendly Italians we met (two gay guys-one was a waiter at Bravo Caffe and his husband/boyfriend befriended us after dancing to the live jazz in the middle of the restaurant) to the delectable Italian food and everything in between (the snow and sights). It definitely made me excited for the trips to come this semester and confident that I can travel around on the trips without tour groups, adults, or a travel agent. Can't wait for what's to come!

Arrivederci,
Amanda

Olé!

Hello,

Last time I posted we were going to La Carboneria on Friday. We did and I got some great videos to share--lucky you! We thought it was supposed to be a different type of dancing but it ended up being Flamenco again, which was fine with us because it's a lot of fun! Friday the group was a little different: there were only 3 members with a different guitarist and the backup singer from Tuesday was the lead singer but the dancer was the same. The show was great again and we went home to get some rest for what we thought would be a trip to italica the next day.

When we woke up on Saturday it was pouring rain but we walked to the hotel to meet with our group for our trip to italica. Well italica is actually roman ruins in Spain so it is all outside so our professors canceled the trip until another date. With our jeans soaked we walked back home and went straight back to bed :) The rain stopped that night and we met up with everyone to go out. We ended up going back to Cervercia International and I got a different type of beer (still from Belgium) called Boucanier, delicioso! Next stop- Rebotica for giant mojitos of course! We tried something new on Saturday night--la discoteca! The club Catedral gave out free passes so we all went and it was soo much fun! Everyone had glow sticks on and Lagy Gaga was pumping out of the speakers (they LOVE lady gaga here). Copeland and I danced the night away and burned off the calories from our mojito :) We didn't expect the discoteca to be fun but it was actually great and we want to go back soon!

Sunday ran, did some homework, and got gelato yummm. I got dulce de leche and hazelnut and copeland got fruit yogurt and mango flavors. Everytime we would pass this one gelato stand in Nervion Plaza we would oooo and ahhh but never indulge...we fell in love after the first bite!

Monday we had class, of course...but everyone decided to go to La Carboneria for flamenco again haha! So we joined and got to see another showing with our favorite flamenco dancer :) I think we are going to wait a little while until we go again though.

Tuesday was exciting because we DIDN'T HAVE CLASS!!! We woke up for breakfast and were planning on heading to outlets near the mall called The Factory. When we got to the bus stop we realized we would miss lunch with the bus schedule so we decided to run first and go to The Factory after lunch. The bus there is free, which is nice and we did some shopping and came back to do some studying!

Wednesday we had a really hard quiz in our grammar class...not too sure how that went but we only need to pass!! During siesta we did some work for our Spain and the European Union class at 6:30. After that we came back to get ahead on some work because......

WE ARE GOING TO ITALY FRIDAY!!! Ahhh we are so excited!! We are heading to Bologna, Italy, which is the culinary capital of the Italy (which is the culinary capital of the world in my opinion)!! Our flight leaves Friday after lunch and we are staying until Sunday afternoon :) Bologna is supposed to be a great college town- it has the oldest university in all of Europe! And we read about a gelato shop that is supposed to be one of the best in Italy so you know we are going there!!

Today is Thursday and the weather is finally nice! We had Spain and Islam class this morning then walked around town or about 4 hours until lunch! We found a couple of new stores and went to the bus stations to inquire about billetes (tickets). We just had lunch and are going to start packing for Bologna!!

Ahhh we are just living La Dolce Vita!

I'll update on Sunday after our vaca!!

Love you all!

Amanda

Vivo en España!!

Ahh it is just hitting me that I actually live in Spain- for four months!! So crazy.

It's starting to feel more real now because we are getting into a schedule and can actually get around pretty well! On my last post I left off on Sunday...

After our run Copeland and I met up with Sarah, Caroline, and Mac near Plaza Nueva. We wanted to go shopping but we quickly realized EVERYTHING besides restaurants/bars are closed on Sunday. So we window shopped :) It was a gorgeous day so we walked to the river and decided to sit a while--actually one of my favorite things we have done so far. We sat on the edge of the river and chatted for a couple hours with the sun on our faces, ahhhh. I forgot my camera or else I would have some great pictures.

Monday we had class and such so it wasn't too exciting besides the fact that it's in SPAIN! Then on Tuesday we had our 1 class :) and walked to go shopping- inside the stores this time. Tuesday night Copeland and I met up with Sarah and Cameron to go to...FLAMENCO! We went to a place called La Carboneria, which everyone recommends. The flamenco is free and it is really a cool place where lots of locals go. We all got some tinto de verano (of course) and enjoyed the show! It's definitely different from what we expected but really awesome--singing, guitars, clapping, stomping, and dancing! The show lasted about an hour and we headed home.

Wednesday we got to sleep in (!!!) because our first class was canceled since we had an excursion to Cordoba that weekend. And Copeland and I's "afternoon" class (6:30-7:45) was canceled as well because our profession, Jesus, has some car problems. We decided to go to Nervion Plaza in place of class and just walked around for a bit. We stopped at Cafe y Te- galato for me and cafe con leche for Copeland. I had the dulce de leche flavor in a cone and it was SOO GOOD!

As for Thursday we had class and an excursion to la Catedral de Sevilla. Fernando gave us a tour and it was so beautiful! It is the biggest Cathedral in the world (area) according to The Guinness Book of World Records. Pictures could NOT capture how giagantic this cathedral is. There is beautiful treasures from centuries past including crowns, gold plates and goblets, and other knick-knacks that I, of course, have lying around ;) It is also where Christopher Columbus is buried. Actually, SOME of Christopher Columbus is buried here--they only have some of his remains such as only 1 leg. There was a lot of controversy over if his body was actually in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, or Sevilla. Cuba opened the tomb and it was empty--fail. The Dominican Republic still claims he is buried there except that they did some DNA testing of the one in Sevilla against the bodies of Columbus's children and viola it is him! Some parts could potentially be in D.R. though? Another fun fact: there used to be a crocodile that lived in the Patio de los Naranjos (an walled outdoor area with tons of orange trees). Legend has it that the daughter of a spanish king was being courted by a sultan and as a gift he brought an elephant and a crocodile to Sevilla. The elephant died and one of the tusks is hanging in the Patio de los Naranjos but the crocodile lived for a really long time there. People loved it and it grew so comfortable with humans that it could be pet like a puppy! When the crocodile died years and years later the people of Sevilla mourned! They embalmed the crocodile and hung it in the Patio as well but Fernando told us that right now the real one is being restored a bit and the one hanging was wooden. Interesting! Our group climbed La Giralda- the tallest point in Sevilla. It was quite the march up but well worth it. The view was awesome (as you can see from the pictures) and it was a great workout!

Thursday night we went with lots of people from our group to Cerveceria International, which as beer from all over the world. The walls are covered in different beer bottles and the menu is pages upon pages long. Copeland and I tried a beer called Augustijn from Belgium. It was really good and strong! Next we went to La Rebotica, where you get a giant mojito for 5 euro. They very tasty but definitely for sharing so Copeland and I split one.

Today is Friday and we had class this morning and are thinking about going back to La Carboneria tonight for some different dancing (not sure what kinda yet but I will let you know next post)! Tomorrow is Italica with professor Fernando!!

Adios amigos!

Amanda

Spain Sightseeing!

Hola a todos!

It has been a busy past few days in Spain but so much fun! It has been sunny, which is a nice change of pace! We finished our first week of class so we only have 17 more to go (WAHOO)! And we did some great sightseeing and have been going out on the town!

Thursday Copeland and I went on a run after class because we are going to do a half marathon in Lisbon, Portugal in March! I definitely have some training to do but it will be get exercise and an awesome experience to finish a half marathon (IN PORTUGAL)! Then we took a tour with the study abroad program led by one of our professors, Fernando. He is really sweet and knows everything about anything historical in Spain! We went to Reales de Alcázares, which is the palace that the royal family still lives in today! It was soo beautiful and we are definitely going back because Fernando told us they have some days were it is free and we will have more time to roam around the grounds and gardens. The style was originally mudéjar, which is muslim but it also has some Roman and other styles as well because many monarchs have added on through the years. All of the ceilings and stone work was so intricate and it was so gorgeous to walk through. After our tour Copeland and I went out to meet our friend Clara and her (and our new friend) Ana. We had a lot of fun first at Flaherty's and then at a bar where Copeland and I were the ONLY americans! Clara talked us into getting "agua tropical," which is NOT water at all haha! It is basically a pitcher of shooters, muy delicioso! After exams are over for the students in Spain we are going to go to tapas together, yum!

On Friday Sarah, Copeland, and I went to Discover Sevilla to ask about some trips they offer. It is owned by a few guys who studied abroad in Spain themselves and loved it so much they came back to live here and started a tour service. They put together trips for college students studying abroad and we really want to go on their trip to the Sahara Desert--it includes camel rides and staying in an Oasis one night with a Berber cooking for us! We also went to churros con chocolate with some friends from the program. YUM, they are sooo good! The churro is fried dough but big fluffy sticks of it not little crunchy ones you would think of from the U.S. And you get "hot chocolate," which is really thick and basically like a melted chocolate bar with cream. You dip the churro in the chocolate and ENJOY! We are definitely going back for more (in a few weeks so we don't get fat)!

On Saturday we woke up--way to early--at 7 am to meet our group for an excursion to Cordoba. It takes about two hours to get there, which was perfect for a nap :) Cordoba was originally a roman city and was later captured by the Berbers. The Mosque was constructed as early as 784 and was later converted to a Cathedral. It is giant inside and contains gorgeous architecture. We also saw the Cordoba synagogue, which dates back to the 14th century and was also very beautiful! We got back to Sevilla around 5 and, of course, got cafe con leche before going out on the town with everyone. We went to a bar for free sangria, which was actually free tinto de verano and then a bar called Long Island. Long Island has a shot for every state of the USA--Cameron and I chose Ohio, EW it is just straight absinthe. I found out at that moment that absinthe taste like black licorice, which I consequently do not like. But we had a fun night and returned home a little early to try and get a normal amount of sleep.

Today is Sunday and we went on a run around Sevilla and are about to explore a bit with Sarah and Caroline!

We have to take class in Sevilla???

It's true, we have to actually go to class and even do HOMEWORK while studying abroad...I personally think that researching flights, accommodations, and tours is enough work to replace classes! I say this because Copeland and I have been travel agents these past couple days planning our travels throughout Europe for when the program is over and it is hard work! From trying to find the best travel times and making sure we stay within some budget we finally each came up with itineraries (thanks skyscanner!). It looks like Seth and I will be starting in Sevilla and visiting Munich, Vienna, Prague, and Amsterdam!!! So I guess now we have to focus on actual classes, which have been pretty good so far. I am taking Advanced Grammar and Composition, Spain and the European Union, Spain and Islam, and Spanish Art and Culture, muy interesante! We already had reading homework :( but all of the professors and really nice and very funny. It is definitely hard to think about class when you are thinking about the adventures we are going to have touring Europe though!

Otherwise, Sevilla has been super rainy these past couple days and it looks like it will continue to be for a while...when the sun comes out so will my camera and I will hopefully have some pictures up that all of you can be jealous of :) Thursday and Saturday we are doing some tours with the whole group so I will definitely have pictures of those soon. Also, our new friend Clara invited us to happy hour at Flaherty's with 1 euro Heineken's and karaoke on Thursday so we are excited for that!

Hasta luego amigos!

Amanda

Amigos Nuevos

Buenos Días!

It is 4:30pm in Sevilla and Copeland and I are still in bed- obviously we are having no trouble adapting to the life style here in Spain. Don't worry we got up for breakfast and lunch. It was our first night out on the town last night and we had a great time! We walked down to another area in Sevilla called Plaza Nueva (fitting because we met amigos nuevos). It is where all of the sites like the Cathedral are and it is GORGEOUS!

We ended up at a bar we heard about through a friend who was here last semester called Flaherty's, an Irish pub. We sat at the bar and (legally!!) got two beers called Cruzcampo, which was the bartenders favorite (I agree- it was really good). We got to talking to a patron of the bar who asked us where we were from and the second we said "Somos de Carolina del Norte" a spanish girl turned around and told us she had been to Chapel Hill! What a coincidence! Her name was Clara and she had a great friend named Ana. We immediately began chatting about the US, North Carolina, and Sevilla. Clara loved Chapel Hill, particularly the night life. She told us she thought kegs were crazy because she was forced to do a keg stand and that she loved house parties! She also loved our usual spots like Bobs and Deep End! Clara and Ana were so nice and we talked for a couple hours- Ana even shared with us her secret crush on the bartender! They informed us that we must order what Ana was drinking- tinto de verano- or summer wine. My official new favorite drink. Tinto de verano is wine and soda so almost a sparkling wine and muy barato (cheap)! Ana told us it is very popular in Spain and at most places it can be 1 euro or less (my kind of drink)! They helped us a lot with our spanish and we helped them with their english and we had a great time! They informed us that we should not call Matilde our "señora" because it can seem like she is our maid or slave-YIKES-but instead casera, which more or less means caretaker. Of course we exchanged names so we can friend each other on facebook before they left!

Next we met Alvaro and Alvaro, two spanish friends who were also great to talk with and helped us a lot with our spanish. Alvaro #1 did not speak any english but Alvaro #2 could speak english pretty well and was our official translator. Alvaro #2 loved movies and was a cameraman. One of his favorites was Avatar! They were so funny-picking on each other and calling each other names. When we looked down it was 3am and we decided to head home! (Mom/Dad don't worry no one hear goes out until 11:00 so coming home at 3am is normal). Of course we exchanged names again for facebook purposes!

We were so tired when we got back but so excited that we were able to meet locals, practice our spanish, and have a great time! And when we arrived home we had a couple of facebook friend requests! Matilde woke up us for breakfast and about 10:30 and told us we should go back to bed after since it is raining here. We willingly obliged and slept until lunch! Now we are planning to go and grab an expresso down the street! School starts tomorrow :( but we had a great first weekend in Sevilla as you can see!

Adios a todos!

Amanda

First Day (Take two)

Hola amigos!

Our first two days in Sevilla estas muy bien! We arrived and met our señora, Matilde, and her daughter, Ana. Ana is 19 and is really sweet. She studies business and loves pink :) Matilde is so sweet and has been awesome! She even made us fresh squeezed orange juice (SOOO GOOD)! She also has two sons who are older and live in Sevilla. Matilde and Ana live in an apartment on calle Fernandez de Rivera. The photos are of our room and our views from it! Matilde walked us to EUSA where we had orientation and will be taking classes. We unpacked, showered, and explored a bit. Today we went to Nervion Plaza, which is basically a mall and got cell phones. We did some shopping at H&M, Zara, and Mango then got expresso's at a cafe. So european, I know! Ana helped us get our internet working and now we are totally reconnected to the world with internet and cell phones (633 47 57 47)! Oh and if you would like to send me something (euros or US dollars would be great) send it to:

EUSA
Attn: Amanda Warren
c/ Plácido Fernández Viagas, 4
41031 Sevilla
España

Adios for now,
Amanda

First day

American. Airlines. Sucks.

As of now I am sitting in a hotel in Paris with Copeland and Sarah and we are reconnecting with the world through free WiFi after a crazy 30 hours. Our flight from Chicago to Paris arrived over an hour late so we missed our connecting flight to Sevilla. So after running around the GIANT Paris airport, which is the most confusing airport I have ever been too, we booked a flight for the next day. Sounds a lot smoother than it actually went though...first we went all the way to the iberia counter which is our airline for the flight to Sevilla- it was probably 2 miles away. They said they couldn't do anything and that we had to go alllll the way back to american airlines (another 2 miles) so we go and they say they can't do anything either because we didn't book the flights together. Anyway we call iberia and Sarah and I's credit cards are declined...awesome! So we were all trying to use the last 2% of battery of our electronic devices to email and let everyone know what was going on. Then things got better when we got a room at a hotel close to the airport and walked through the small town, which is really cute and quaint. We had dinner and are excited to shower and go to bed! Tomorrow we will try this again :) and be in Sevilla at about 2. So it has been an adventure so far, to say the least. They sent us our housing assignment and Copeland and I are living together and Sarah got the senora she wanted! Well that's all so far!

Sending love from PARIS!
Amanda