Moulin Rouge

There are many sites that are famous around the world.  Most are famous because of the historical significance or what that location did for history while others are famous for the things that are known about it, good or bad. While in Paris, we visited one of the most known tourist sites in Paris known as the "Moulin Rouge" , meaning "Red Windmill" in French. This site is not famous for an battle or important piece of world changing history happened here, but it's famous for being the center of the "Red Light District" in Paris during the 18-1900's.

The Moulin Rouge is a cabaret was built in 1889 by Joseph Oller  

and is famous for the site of the start of the can-can dance. This dance originally started as a seductive dance by the courtesans. The Moulin Rouge, as well as all of the sites found around the red light district are best known for their adult entertainment and adult shows. I find it ironic though that a place that once was a forbidden place that only men go to is now a site that many tourists visit each day. I thought this street was a very important part of french culture and history. 

Food in Paris

Europe is different. It has taken me a few weeks to adjust to the differences between the cultures of the United States and countries here in Europe. But one thing that I've yet to adjust to here in Europe is the food. Food is an important part of culture and it tells a lot about the people that live in a region. The food in the south of the United States is different from the food in the north and the same goes for the east and the west. I assume this is the same here in Spain an for all of Europe. Because of I have never traveled to Europe, I thought before going to Paris that maybe the food in Spain was different and the food in Paris would be more like the United States. I was wrong. The food in this is a picture of a pizza that Shannon ordered in a little cafe. All of the pizzas were very different from the pizzas that are on menus in the states. Each one had strange ingredients that I would never think of putting on pizza. She ordered this one. It had olives, which is not that strange, egg plant, and an egg in the center of the pizza. I've heard that the French put eggs on top of a lot of foods, but I never thought a pizza would be one of these things. It was so strange to see them place a pizza in front of her with a fried egg in the center. She ate it and said it was really delicious. I guess everyone is different in the same way every culture is different. After my experience in France with the food, I have learned that every country has different customs and none are like the customs of my beloved homeland of the United States of America; not better, not worse, just different. 

Notre Dame

For our carnavales vacation me and several of the other students went to Paris, France to see the city. This was my first time to ever go to Paris so I was really nervous. I didn't speak the language and really didn't know a lot of about the city or its history. I learned so much while I was there. One of my favorite place we were able to see was the Notre Dame, which means "Our Lady". Before I went to Paris, all I knew about the Notre Dame was from the Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". This was one of the most amazing cathedrals I have ever seen. It definitely stands out above the city and is an amazing site. Construction on the cathedral began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII but wasn't finished until 1345 with the completion of the towers. I learned while I was there that at one point the cathedral was at risk to be torn down.  After one of the many wars that France was in the cathedral was in bad shape and was falling apart. The city planners thought that it should just be torn down and rebuilt but after the novel "The hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo was published the city planners reconsidered. The novel raised awareness of the cathedral's heritage which in turn sparked new interest in saving the cathedral. All because of one man and his novel a city wide fundraiser began earning enough money to completely restore the cathedral in 1845. I think the outside of the cathedral is magnificent, but the inside is the true beauty of the cathedral. I could almost feel the history and imagine all the things those walls have seen. From wars, to a temporary hospital, to being a very important part of history and one of the most notable cathedrals in the world, the Notre Dame is a site to be seen.

Castilla de Coca

I've seen some great things here in Spain, but since I've been here the castle tops it all. I had such a wonderful day going to all the different cities with castles. Our first stop was at Castillo Coca. It was by far my favorite. I had never been to a castle before and this by far overreached my expectations. It was beautiful! Also, I learned a lot about the history and the art that was put into the castle. We were able to see a lot of examples of art mudéjar which we were learning about in another class so that was really helpful for me to be able see and touch examples of art from hundreds of years ago. I was surprised there was a secret room. I think it's amazing that although people from that time period had none of the technology and services we have today were still able to create amazing and beautiful structures like this. I definitely felt that I took a step into the past and was able to see a little bit of the history of Spain right in front of me. It by far was one of my favorite places I've ever seen!

Cultural Futbal Game

So here’s a picture of a stadium. I know what you are thinking-“How is a stadium part of a cultural blog”. Well the answer is quite complex in reality. This past weekend a few of the students and I took a weekend trip to Madrid so we could go see a futbal game. Everything about this trip was a new and exciting learning experience for me. We had to learn about the Madrid metro system, we had our first European hostel experience and the biggest cultural experience for me- the game. I have always known that “futbal”, or what we know as soccer, is the biggest past time of Spaniards (most of Europeans for that matter) but I never really knew how important it was. I have been to futbal game in Mexico and as excited as they were there, it has nothing on the game I saw Madrid. The stadium was 2 or 3 times the size of Mexico. I had never been to a stadium that size in my life. I did some research and the stadium’s capacity is around 79,000 but has been as large as 110,000 in 1953. I was astonished when I read that. 110,000 people crammed into a stadium to watch an hour and half long game is amazing! Another cultural aspect that is different here in Spain than the U.S. at sporting events is the food the spectators eat. Everyone had what looked to me like large sunflower seeds that they ate during the first half of the game and after the second half everyone bought huge bocadillos. I bought one so I could fit in. I was happy to have been able to go see the major past time of many Spaniards and get a look into their world and culture.

Favorite Things

One of my favorite things about Madrid in addition to the buildings, scenery, and history are the really neat cows that are all over the city. They are in many different locations and all decorated differently. Some have kisses on them, some have wings and some are just plain colors. I picked this one for my blog for a few different reasons. First I liked the colors of it, I also liked where it was (it was on the corner near Gran Vía close to El Puerta del Sol) but most importantly, I liked what it has painted on it. To me, this looks like a small pueblo that could can be found in the vastness of the mountains somewhere in Spain. It’s a small town that’s far away from any of the hustle and bustle of the city and yet, it’s sitting here in the middle of one of the busiest intersections. I think it’s great that even in the midst of all the buildings and business of a city, we can be reminded that the city is such a small part of what Spain has to offer.

 

 

Skyline

I've been to many big cities in my 22 yeas. I actually lived in one of the biggest cities in the world for a while, and still Madrid is one of my favorite places I've seen so far since I've been here in Spain. I know when many people think of big citites the first things that come to mind are the traffic, pollution, and people, but one of my favorite things I like about big cities are the buildings. The architecture, their appearance, and their purpose are really important to me. Every city has a skyline, but this one is very unique. I took this picture from the Chamartín Train Station in Madrid. From this angle you can see the whole skyline of Madrid. I had never seen it like this before. From this view it looks like the buildings might even meet the clouds themselves. I love the way these buildings look. It may not be hundreds of buildings all crammed into a small space like other cities, but these buildings have something other buildings don't have- they have character. Each one is designed differently with it's distinct appearance. Each one has a modern feel but are totally different from the other. One looks like it has squares placed in the center while another looks like it's made of glass. In addition to the look of the buildings themselves, I love to take everything in the picture into account. I love the way at the bottom of the picture you can see the old Madrid with it's smaller, more classic European buildings while the tall buildings give the city a modern look. It's like two worlds colliding- the new and old in one place. I love that although there may not be many "skyscrapers" in Madrid- there are these 4 that hold such unforgettable picture in my brain that I will never be able to forget.  

Our First Hostel

The weekend we went to Madrid on our first group excursion Hannah, Gabby, and I stayed the night in Madrid. This was our first hostel experience in Spain and it actually turned out really well. You always take a chance when you book a hostel on whether it's nice or you're going to be sleeping in a tent, but this experience turned out nicely. We got a 3 bed room with a private bathroom. We payed 82 euro, but we were in the perfect spot! We were less than 5 minutes from the Puerta Del Sol and lots of great shopping. Our hostel was above a Discotech which was nice. After the group left we went shopping. I was so happy I found some really cheap, nice boots at a store. Actually, I found 2 pairs- so I bought them. I had been looking for boot and these were really nice. After we went shopping we walked around and looked for a cafe and walked back to the National Palace to take some pictures. We ended up finding a little Italian cafe and had a glass of wine before we went to the discotech. We had a really good time at the discotech even though we had a few interesting encounters with random guys. Word to the girls... if your friend is dancing with a guy and looks at you with fright- go over to her. And if she says "want to get a drink", "want to go to the bathroom" or something along these lines... for goodness sakes- SAY YES! I got stuck dancing with a really creepy guy and Hannah had to save me... Thank goodness for good friends! Over all our night in Madrid was a really fun and stress free night. I'm glad we went and I hope we get to go back and stay again.

MADRID

This was our first stop on our tour around Madrid. First, it was beautiful! I love European architecture! I tried to think about the people that were here when it was built. I wonder what they thought about. I wonder what was going on in the city while it was being built. I wish I could go back in time and see what it was like.  I think it's crazy that the building is empty. They only use it for is big events. I thought about writing them a letter and telling them they I would just live there. :-) 

In general though I loved the trip to Madrid. I really love big cities and Madrid is amazing. It's has a old European style but is a big, well known city. I enjoyed seeing all the painted cows around the city. It was fun to see the different styles and varieties.  I lived in NYC for a while and couldn't help but compare the two- but the 2 are so different. I love them both but for different reasons. I love the architecture and "small city feel" of Madrid but I love NYC because it's the U.S. and have the newer, more contemporary style. I hope I get to go back to Madrid soon and see more of the beautiful city.

I have totally fallen in love with Segovia! It is one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen. It has some of the most amazing views of the mountains and other parts of the city. Although the entire city is amazing, the aqueduct is my absolute favorite part!! It is an amazing site. I think it's amazing that it was working until the 60's! It's more than 2000 years old and the Romans that built it knew how to design and build it in a way that it would work for thousands of years! As we learned in our culture class, it's not even built with cement! I can't even imagine how they stacked and cut every stone to fix perfectly! I love all the beautiful sites here in Segovia, but the aqueduct is the most beautiful site here!