Rainy Day in Rome

A few weeks ago, Jakota and I went on a weekend vacation to Rome. She had found some cheap plane tickets online, so we jumped on the opportunity. Jakota had never been to Rome before, and this was my second time in Rome. The first time was five years ago and I was on the EuroTour with a bunch of other exchange students in Spain. On that trip we only got to spend one day in Rome, but even back then I wanted to stay longer. This time, travelling with Jakota, we stayed in Rome from Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon. I had so much more time to enjoy the sites, museums, and culture of the city.

Thursday evening Jakota and I just spent our time settling into our Bed and Breakfast. The next morning, we used our complimentary breakfast coupons at the cafe to order our breakfast. The coupons were good for a coffee and one pastry from the cafe. My favorite combination immediately became the cappuccino and the wild berry croissant. Then we rushed off to the Vatican to make it for our scheduled tour time. You technically aren't allowed to take pictures inside the Vatican museum, but you can take pictures inside the Basilica. I recalled all of the information I could from my guided tour of the museums five years ago. Unfortunately, my memory of the information is a little spotty because we were rushed through the museums so quickly last time. Not only were we rushed five years ago because of time constraints, but also because it was the beginning of peak tourist season in Rome when we went in mid June. I highly suggest travelling to Rome in the winter months because the Vatican was far less crowded this time. There was actually space to stop and admire the works of the great Renaissance artists instead of getting a glimpse of it before being shoved into the next room by a sea of migrating tourists.

We spent the rest of the day visiting all of the big sites we could in the northern part of the city.

Enjoying the view

A seagull enjoys the view, too.

Colosseum

Roman Forum (Where Julius Caesar was killed)

Partheon

I got to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain properly this time. Five years ago, the fountain was turned off and walled off due to repair and maintenance work. I hope I tossed it in right so that I get to return to Rome.

The Spanish Steps

 On day two, we visited a few more monuments including, the Mouth of Truth, and we also stopped by a museum and had some fun admiring the art and posing with the statues.

Good puppy!

 

I picked Constantine's nose!

For those wondering, I did not stick my hand in the Mouth of Truth. That is why there is no picture of me doing it. I didn't do it the last time I was in Rome either, and for the same reason I didn't do it this time. I can't imagine they can clean the thing, and at least a thousand people stick their hands in it every day.

 On day three I had my heart set on seeing some catacombs. The entire weekend had been unusually rainy for Rome, and this day on particular was very wet. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the catacombs, but no worries, there were no dead bodies. The areas of the catacombs open to tourists normally don't have human remains in them anymore, or at least, the human remains are still sealed away. Any human remains that were once accessible to the public have been relocated, probably for the best since people have a tendency of taking anything they can pick up as a souvenir. Jakota and I ended up having a private tour because we were the only people who showed up for the English tour at that specific time. There was a Spanish tour that went into the catacombs before us, but in my experience, it is best to go with the smallest group available. The rest of our Sunday in Rome we spent at a very large gallery where we were also unable to take pictures. Usually you can take pictures in this museum, but there is currently a special Picasso exhibit in the museum, so people aren't allowed to take any pictures of anything, apparently.

 That afternoon, we went back to the airport and headed home to Almeria, just in time to start work early Monday morning.

Unfortunately, after returning to work, I caught a terrible virus that has been going around. Such is the life of someone who works in education. I basically spent a week and a half completely congested, fighting through terrible coughing fits while trying to teach. I used every single trick I know, and a few new ones, to keep it at bay. As of this weekend, I finally seem to be coming out of it, though my appetite is still shot.

Into the New Year

Hello, everyone.

Before I jump completely into the new year, I have to talk a little bit about what I did over the holidays.

This year, I decided to go back north to Zaragoza to visit with my old host family from when I studied abroad five years ago. It was wonderful to see the family again, and everyone was happy to see me. Though nothing much had changed in the city or in the village, all of my cousins in the host family had grown to be much taller than me, except for the one who was five the last time I was in Spain since he had not yet hit his growth spurt. The men in this family are just, so tall.

I was met at the bus station in Zaragoza by one of my cousins and my host sister, Victoria, who I had never actually met before. I'd say that Victoria an I get along pretty well. It is unfortunate that we never really got to know each other before now. I stayed in the spare room in my host brother's apartment in the city, which is a quick walk away from Grandma's apartment. My host brother's apartment is small, but very new. However, the fridge is stocked exactly like you would expect it in a bachelor pad. That didn't matter much since the Christmas festivities were taking place at Grandma's apartment. No worries, I ate plenty of food.

After Christmas, my host siblings, Mariangeles, and I headed back to the village where I spent the rest of my Christmas vacation. The days leading up to New Years, which we spent in our house in the village, were spent visiting with old friends and exploring the village all over again. Basically, I walked the dog a lot. I also took a day trip to Jaca before Reyes Magos (Three kings day) and explored the sites there.

Though the weather is much warmer here in Almeria than it is up north in the mountains, I did enjoy the change in temperature. Christmas doesn't really feel like Christmas to me if it isn't a little cold.

The Rain in Spain

The month of October was unusually rainy here. I say that because the number of days that it normally rains in this part of the world you can usually count on one hand. This week we also finally got over an early cold spell. It got so cold that I actually bought a comforter for my bed. Though my students were freezing, I mostly enjoyed the cold spell because it reminded me of what we would consider nice weather this time of year in Wisconsin.

Teaching classes has been going well. My fellow teachers have gotten better at communicating what they need from me. Some of the positive feedback I have gotten has been that I am very encouraging with the students. I certainly try to be. Some of the students definitely seem nervous around me, but I reassure them that I am not here to grade them on their English. I am another resource for them to use to improve their English. I don't need them to be perfect, or even up to level, I just want them to try. Many of them know much more than they think they do.

Anyways, I have been doing some travelling in my free time. My first full week in Almeria I took a quick weekend trip to Granada. It is an absolutely beautiful city and I was really glad I went on a whim. After settling into the hostel, I wandered around the city and decided to check out the botanical garden.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started off the next day by taking advantage of a free walking tour in the morning. Free walking tours are common in Europe. You normally give the guide a tip afterwards and it is an easy way to see a lot of sights and learn a lot about the city. Some guides even know a lot of stories and legends from the area.

 (One of the local cat families that lives on the historic sights)

 

After the walking tour I climbed up to Alhambra, the Moorish palace of the city. Almeria also has a Moorish palace, which I visited the following weekend.

 

 

 

 

 
Here are some more pictures from the walking tour.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

One detail of Arabic architecture is that you always want to look up.

 

One of the other more impressive sights that I saw was the Ermita de San Miguel Alto, a small church on a hill that overlooks the entire city of Granada. Though the hike was a bit steep, the view was entirely worth it.

 

 

That afternoon, I decided to treat myself to a Turkish bath since I had been walking around all day. I had made a reservation the day before because they only let a certain number of people in at one time. I loved the mint tea and the sauna.

The next day, my last, I decided to try and see anything I had failed to the previous day. The most notable was the Paacio de los Cordova which had an absolutely beautiful garden.

 

 

 The next weekend, I decided to check out the local sites in Almeria. I visited the Moorish palace, Alcazaba.

 

 That afternoon, I took a walk along the beach. We do have a very nice coast in Almeria. However, I would find the best coast a few weeks later when I traveled to Cadiz.

Cadiz is a small, peninsular city that is a very popular destination spot in Spain. It is a historic homeland of the Phoenicians, an important trading city for the Romans, and a historically important city to the development of Spain as a country.

Last week there was a long weekend. Since Thursday was a national holiday and I do not work Fridays I decided to take the extra day to travel to Cadiz, which is quite a distance from Almeria. Before I left, my bilingual coordinator, Maria Luisa, told me that Cadiz was dangerous. I asked her why. She said that I would fall in love with it and never come back. Looking out at where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, I did fall in love with the city.

My first night in Cadiz I stumbled upon a procession that I at first assumed was for All Saints Day. As I discovered later, it was actually for the Virgen de las Palmas. The procession is supposed to protect the city from a flood. Back in the 1770s there was a tsunami that hit Cadiz, and the Virgen is taken down to the water every year to bless the coast and protect the city from another natural disaster.

   
The following day I took a free walking tour around the city. Out of the many recommendations given to me by the tour guide, one of the things that I did was go to the Torre Tavira, one of the highest points in the city. I also walked along the coast after I ate lunch, which was very refreshing. However, it was still in the middle of a cold spell, so even though the weather in Cadiz was better than in Almeria, I did not go swimming.

 

 

 

 

(A beautiful ocean kitty)

The next day I went to a lot of very interesting archaeological sites and museums. I tried to go to as many museums as possible. I also made sure to visit the cathedral and climb the bell tower. The bell tower is the highest point in Cadiz.

 

 

 

All in all, I saw as much as I possibly could of Cadiz before I my eight hour train ride back on Sunday. I can certainly say that I did fall in love with Cadiz.