Heading to Pittsburgh, PA?

Hi everyone!

As you can see, I haven't been able to blog in a while due to my super jam-packed senior year starting. During Christmas break, I'll hopefully have some new information up about places to go and things to see abroad!

Meanwhile, you should all check out this new blog that I started for a class of mine! It's full of information about the neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. If you're every over this way, definitely check it out to get the most out of your time in the Steel City! Our project was to organize this information and present it in a different way, so we also have it linked up to a Pinterest board, if you're interested.


http://pittstudentguide.wordpress.com

(Pinterest, which is awesome in general so if you don't have one, you should get one)
http://pinterest.com/pittsburghguide/neighborhoods-of-pittsburgh/



Thanks so much!
See you all with new posts in December :)

xx
Katie

Travel quote of the day

"Travel, like a surgeon, opens you up – mind, heart, and soul – and removes preconceptions, biases, and small-mindedness. In its place it leaves a love for the world and all people; it also entrusts you with a larger understanding of our common humanity and the quandaries we share as a planet."

R. Denning





 

Oh, the places you’ll go! : Ireland

                I was lucky enough to travel to Ireland with my brother when he came to visit. We made it to three different cities and they were all so amazing although we were only there for a day each. We went to Dublin, Galway, and Cork. Even though we were only there a short time, the impression made was a great one. We traveled in between the cities very easily. There were daily buses to take you to the different cities. We didn't plan ahead for this part of the trip but rather just asked the front desk of the hostel we were staying at. They were very helpful and pointed us in the right direction! I loved every hostel we stayed in and only wish that we had more time to hang out at the actual hostels!


Here is a list, by city, of some of the things I enjoyed about Ireland.

Dublin

Where to stay:  Four Courts Hostel

                We flew into Dublin from London and from the airport and it was relatively easy to get there. We used the Hop on, Hop Off bus in order to get there (more info on that following) which we picked up right outside of the airport.  I know a few other people who have stayed here as well and they had an enjoyable experience as well. Although I haven’t done it myself, my friends have reported that this hostel has a good bar crawl and it was lots of fun! It’s also priced quite nicely at around $20-25 a night, depending on how many people are sharing the room.

                There’s a bar right down the street from this hostel that says it’s the oldest in Dublin, so a visit is worthwhile. It’s a very typical Irish pub feel and if you go into the back room, there’s another part of the bar where the walls are covered in currency from different countries which was pretty awesome

What to do:

Buy the Bus Tour

It was recommended by a friend that it was worth it to purchase the Bus Tour and I am passing on that recommendation.  It was definitely worth it. You buy one day and get one day free. It’s hop on, hop off, goes all over the city, and if you so choose to listen, there is information about each stop playing throughout the ride. You can also take this bus from the airport into the city!

                Go to the Guinness Storehouse

This is a MUST. The Hop On, Hop Off bus will take you to right outside of it. Go on the tour here. It’s really impressive how they have set up the whole factory to show how Guinness is made. You also get a free pint of Guinness at the end! They also have an option where you can learn how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness (more complicated than I thought!)

Galway

Where to stay: Snoozles

                Snoozles is specifically one of the hostels I really wish we had more time at. It was such a cool place to hang out. We traveled by bus from Dublin to Galway; this hostel is right next to the bus station. Their accommodations were better than I ever expected with really nice rooms and a private bath for a 6 person room. It has an entertainment area downstairs as well as a patio and kitchen. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the main area of Galway. Priced around $20-30, it’s a great place to stay in Galway.

What to do:

                Cliffs of Moher

This one I don’t know too much about due to time constrictions. If you plan on doing this, be aware that the Cliffs are not in Galway but are about an hour drive away. There are tours that take you there via bus that leave in the morning and come back later in the afternoon.

               

                Just walk around!

Galway is a very quaint little Irish town. The buildings are colorful, some of the streets are cobblestone, and the people are friendly. Take a walk through the town and go down towards the water. It’s a beautiful place to hang out for a bit. 

                Eat at Dail bar

Recommended by a friend, this place was a great place to settle in for a Guinness and some grub.

                The Quays

                                This pub was lots of fun and had great live music.

Cork

Where to stay: BruBar & Hostel

                This hostel was especially cool because it’s inside of a bar. Downstairs is the bar and then once you head upstairs, it turns into a hostel! The rooms were really small but considering we weren’t in the rooms for too long, it didn’t matter so much.

What to do:

                Take a trip to Blarney!

There are buses that go to Blarney where the Blarney Castle is. The grounds around the castle are gorgeous and then, I mean, there’s a real castle. It was so. cool. 

  

 Happy traveling!

May the road rise up to meet you, 

may the wind be ever at your back. 

May the sun shine warm upon your face 

and the rain fall softly on your fields

- Irish Blessing

Typical Spanish dishes: Arroz Cubano

       This dish was one of my all time favorites of Maria Jose's. It is rice with parsley and garlic covered with a sauce that has tomate frito (a fried tomato sauce), beef, white wine, and garlic. A little variation on it would be topping it with a friend egg. And of course, true to my host mom's mentality on lunches (1st plate, 2nd plate, and bread) a small salad was paired with this many times and the wonderful bread to clean the plate with.

Arroz Cubano con ensalada: Cuban rice with salad

Pan : bread from the Pan Man

         Before I left for Christmas vacation, I sat down with Maria Jose and got some of her recipes for these delicious dishes! Arroz cubano was one of them, seeing as it was my favorite. When I returned home for the holidays, I decided to make it for my family. It turned out pretty good (although host mom still always makes it best) although I couldn't find the essential tomate frito so I tried a combination of different tomato pastes and purees. Still a perfection in progress but take a look at the result!

Tomate frito and beef sauce simmering down

Finishing touches!
Maria Jose insisted that when you prepare it, you must pack the rice into a mug (or small cup) first, put that on the plate, and then pour the beef and tomato sauce over it so it looks pretty. So, not to go against the word of a Spanish mom, here's the finished plated food below!

The finished product!
Arroz cubano con tomates y aceite: Cuban rice with tomatoes and olive oil
(And bread, of course)

Photo diary: Street artists and performers of Granada, Spain

An artist sketching on a piece of paper attached to the side of a building in the Albaicín

A festival/procession in the Albaicín that we discovered was about an amputated finger (that was supposedly in the box in the middle of that hut that they're carrying) that was done every year in October

A dragon controlled by people dressed up for the Medieval Festival next to Rio de Genil in Granada, Spain

A couple dancing Sevillana with two men playing guitar in the background at the Mirador de San Nicolas in Granada, Spain

The same two men playing guitars on a Saturday in January at the Mirador de San Nicolas

One of my favorite artists drawing a Sharpie landscape of Plaza Nueva in January 2012
Here's his blog if you are interested: http://thelostphotographer.blogspot.com

The same man sketching the other side of Plaza Nueva in March; He sketched on the ground of Plaza Nueva almost every Saturday and Sunday

Typical Spanish dishes: Sopa de Picadillo

                When I studied abroad with API, the housing options we had were a home stay, a residencia, a shared apartment, or independent living.  I elected living with a family in a home stay during my first semester abroad. This meant that I would live with a Spanish family and my host mom (or dad) would do my laundry once a week, provide 3 meals a day, and cleaning once a week. One of the best things about this option (besides the great daily Spanish practice with a local) is the food. My host mom, Maria Jose, was a fantastic cook. She believed that a proper meal always consisted of a first plate, a second plate, and bread. While I was living with her, I took to habit to take pictures of almost all of our meals. Here, I will share with you some of the typical Spanish dishes she cooked for me!

                To start things off, one of my favorite dishes:  Sopa de Picadillo

The lunchtime spot: the kitchen table of Maria Jose

                This dish has shredded chicken, small thin noodles, carrots, and cooked egg. Sopa means soup in Spanish and Picadillo means mince, such as minced meat. So Sopa de Picadillo means a soup of minced meat. In this photo, the meat is not so much minced as it is shredded. This soup is delicious during colder weather; it’s a perfect pick-me-up! That day, it was served with a side place of an egg, ham, and green bean omelet as well as bread (what I observed as a huge staple in the Spanish diet) 

Sopa de Picadillo

Stay tuned for more pictures and 

information about typical Spanish dishes!

x

Oh the places you’ll go! : Granada, Spain

                I’ve decided to start a little series of post called Oh the places you’ll go! Throughout this series, each post will be focused on a different city that I’ve been to and recommendations that I have about hostels, food, and places to go. 

                I decided it was only appropriate to start with the city that captured my heart and where I have just called home for a year: Granada, Spain. 

                First off, if you haven’t been to Granada yet, you need to go. This is my favorite city in Spain for numerous reasons that would take a whole different post to list. Instead, here is what I consider some of the best food and drink places in Granada that should be visited if you ever have to good fortune of going. Since I was there for some time, some have two choices because, well, it’s like trying to pick your favorite child—you just shouldn’t do it.

Favorite overall café:

 Mundo Manila (Realejo, near the statue of Isabella and Colon)

-          All their food is delicious (yeah, I actually do mean all), the atmosphere is what I would call ‘global relaxation’, and the staff is super nice

-          Placeta de las Descalzas, 3

18009 Granada, Spain

Favorite breakfast place:

Mundo Manila (Realejo, near the statue of Isabella and Colon)

-          Placeta de las Descalzas, 3

18009 Granada, Spain

Hicuri (Realejo)

-          They have great ‘tostadas’ with scrambled eggs, which is a luxury considering the Spaniards don’t normally eat or offer eggs for breakfast

-          They also offer whole wheat bread for tostadas

-          Awesome artwork/décor inside

-          Calle Santa Escolastica, Esquina Plaza Girones 4,

Granada, Spain

Hicuri Restaurant and Bar

One of the paintings inside of Hicuri
Photo credit: Jiela Peyman

Favorite wine:

                La Ermita (Centre)

-          Their semi-sweet white wine is my favorite but frankly, every wine I had there was good

-          They are also the reason I learned to like olives—they’re the best there!

-          Great gazpacho, nice staff, and prime location right next to the Cathedral of Granada. I could sit in that plaza sipping on wine all day long!

-       Cárcel Baja, 1, 18001, Granada 

The view from the plaza where Ermita is located-- can't get much better!

Favorite tapas:

                Bubión

-          My ABSOLUTE favorite tapas bar, ever ever ever

-          Calle Socrates between Calle Pedro Antonio and Camino de Ronda

-          Their Tinto de Verano (half red wine, half lemon Fanta) here is amazing and their tapas are phenomenal. Plus, you get to choose what you want!

-          Favorites?

o    Pechugas de pollo: The chicken and fries with a garlic-lemon aioli sauce

o    Carne en salsa: The meat in sauce

o    Croquetas : croquettes

o    Paella: this is usually a ‘Tapa del día’ but whenever I’ve had it, it’s delicious. It’s a typical Spanish rice dish

Bubión is on the left

LAX

-          Great eggplant with honey among other things

-          You get to choose your own tapa here and they’re all wonderful so it’s a win-win

-          Follow Calle Puentezuelas until you reach Calle Paz and take a left and go all the way down the street

Chicotá (Centre)

-          Great wine and wonderful tapas

-          You don’t get to choose your own tapas but they’re pretty much all good so it’s a safe bet

-          Calle Navas, about mid way down

Photo credit: Jiela Peyman

Favorite fancy coffee place:

                Il Caffe di Roma (Centre)

-          Their normal coffee is fine too but they have a large selection of ‘fancy coffee’ options too that are delicious

-          Plaza BibRambla

Il Caffe di Roma in Plaza BibRambla

Favorite ‘pan’ place aka bakery:

                Name is unknown but I have supplied a picture and directions

-          Their fresh baked loaves of bread are the best thing since, well, sliced bread. Almost  always warm, fresh out of the oven. A great accompaniment to any meal—and only .65 euro cents!

-          They also have a pastry that is like a log donut, covered in sugar, stuffed with Nutella, and then drizzled with chocolate— .95 euro cents and it’s a wonder how I didn’t get one every day

-          The sign says ‘Pizza al tallo, pizza, croissant’

-          The corner of Calle Pedro Antonio de Alarcón and Calle Emperatriz Eugenia

My favorite bakery

Favorite Gelato:

               Heladería Tiggiani (Centre)
                              -       Great gelato, tons of flavors, big portions, and cheap. How do you say no to that?
                              -       Plaza BibRambla


               Los Italianos (Centre)

-          The most famous gelato place in Granada and for a good reason. Although you get a small amount, it’s expensive, and sometimes you feel like you’re in a crowded bar trying to get a drink, it’s worth it to go

-          Don’t get it in a cone… it’s a rip off, trust me

-          My favorite combo: Chocolate and Hazelnut

Favorite bar:

                Tantra Bar

-          Great atmosphere and place to hang out with friends

-          Wander the streets like Calle Elvira beforehand because many times, they have reps walking around giving out deals on beer that are worth it

-          Feel like dancing after? One of the popular discotechs in Granada is owned by the same person. After you get a drink, go up to the bar and ask the bartender for however many free passes to Granada10 and then go off and dance the night away!

-          Calle Álvaro de Bazán, 9, right off of Gran Via

-          Granada 10 is 2 streets down on Calle de la Cárcel Baja

Great hangout:

                Damasqueros (Realejo)

-          Great atmosphere and close to the Center of Modern Languages

-          There are couches indoors and seating outdoors. Great place to spend an afternoon for a drink

-          Follow Calle Sta Escolástica from the statue of Isabella and Colon down and take a left onto Cuesta del Realejo. It’s across the street from where Cuesta del Realejo and Calle de los Molinos meet

Happy traveling and happy 4th!

x

 

7 things you should make room for

From my traveling experiences, I have compiled a list of 7 things that were the most important and useful things that I had the pleasure to travel with.

1)      A Kindle (or any E-book for that matter) preferably with 3G

This is number one for a reason. Traveling and getting to see these beautiful sites has a price to pay: sitting for long periods of time in lines, unsightly airports, trains, planes, and automobiles. Really anywhere. Travelers don’t have the luxury of being able to carry around heavy, chunky books. The Kindle charge holds for a long amount of time and you can pass the time very quickly by going through a book or two. It’s also great when you want to read on a beach or other odd locations. I recommend the 3G specifically because when I traveled outside of Spain, my phone did not work. Through the Kindle, you can access e-mail, Facebook—the entire world wide web—so I was able to contact friends from other countries who I was meeting up with without stressing about having to find a computer with WIFI. (I think my parents also appreciated it too when I got to shoot them an e-mail after landing safely in whichever city I was off to that weekend) The 3G is also great when you’re in the middle of nowhere and have suddenly finished your book. Hop on your 3G, browse the selection and get a brand new book delivered to the palm of your hand in mere seconds!

2)      An inflatable pillow

This one I also really have to insist on (trust me on this… this will be the best $20 you’ll spend). Think about all those trains, planes, and automobiles that you’ll be using to get to and fro. Now think about the discomfort of trying to sleep on them as well as airport floors. Waking up in a beautiful new location feeling like my neck muscles just went through a brutal WWE fighting match is a major travel buzz kill. My personal recommendation is one by REI. I preferred simply pressing the air out to make it flat like a pancake instead of trying to roll it up (the former took up a lot less space).

3)      A good pair of walking sandals

Yes, you can do with a good pair of walking sneakers too but sandals, in my opinion, are far more versatile. Get a good pair of sandals that can be worn with shorts, dresses, jeans, during day and night and packing will be much easier. My recommendation is the Gizeh sandal from Birkenstock. These go with almost any style of dress. They have great arch support and walking around all day in them doesn’t put too much of a toll on your body. Sorry guys, these are ladies shoes but any type of Birkenstock is highly recommended! Mine are in Antique Lace, though the color isn’t the important thing ( I loved them because they went with everything and you couldn’t tell if they got a little dirty)

4)       A pair of ear plugs

Ya never know. Those trains, planes, and automobiles can get noisy especially if you’re tired, cranky and trying to get some shut eye. You also never know who is a snorer in any given hostel. They’re cheap and tiny so grab a pair and bring them along just in case.

5)       Lightweight underwear that dries quickly

Many homes don’t have dryers so you shouldn’t count on them while you travel either. You can re-wear the same 2 shirts and pair of jeans for days but clean underwear is a must. Pack a little container of Woolite or any type of detergent and you can wash up a pair or two in a sink, hang them to dry, and they’ll be ready by the next day! 

6)       A sturdy water bottle

Staying hydrated is very important especially when you’re traveling. Your body probably isn’t ingesting the healthiest of foods nor are you probably getting enough sleep. My personal favorite is a Nalgene wide-mouthed water bottle. You can drop those things all over the place and they’ll never crack. They also hold a nice 32 ounces of water. Along with the water bottle, I’d recommend a splashguard. There were countless times that my body got a drink of water before my mouth did. Spend the extra 6 bucks and save yourself the unexpected shower.

7)        A good rolling carry-on bag

Originally, I stuck to using my NorthFace backpack to travel with. It worked just fine and had plenty of room (with careful packing of course) but then I discovered the rolling carry-on. There is more room, less back pain, and more ease. Gals, just pack a purse inside and once you get to your destination, use the purse to hold your things to get around. Another plus? It’s easier to secure with a little lock to protect your things while you’re in a hostel. 

                My luxury item: A journal

                Now this one isn’t officially on the list because it’s not something that is absolutely positively necessary in my eyes but it’s a personal recommendation. I was gifted a journal before I left by a dear friend and I used it throughout my trip to record thoughts, feelings, drawings, everything! Even if you aren’t a huge journal writer, it’s really cool to look back after traveling at different entries from different trips. A plus? This isn’t one of those Language Arts journals from high school being graded. Huge long essays aren’t  necessary—no word count, double-spaced requirements whatsoever. Like I mentioned before, draw a picture or simply jot down a few words that summed up that trip or day. If you have the spare room, I’d bring one along.

Un beso
x

Home :)

After an exhausting 20 hours of traveling, I am finally back home in Media, PA.

      Thank you all for following my blog this year, I really appreciate it. I hope you all enjoyed it! Keep tuned because I will still be posting some stuff on here while I'm home about past trips that I haven't been able to write about yet and some other odds and ends. Hopefully about some current traveling too :)


         I'll leave you all with one of my absolutely favorite quotes ever that definitely sums up a lot of what I had to do this past year and what I want to keep doing in my future, even in everyday life.

 Twenty years from now

you will be more disappointed by the things

that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore.

Dream.

Discover. 

Hasta pronto,

Katie

Taking a year abroad

      I remember around the exact moment that I made the initial decision that a year abroad would be right for me. Study abroad was always in the cards, if you will. When I went college hunting, the two big things I looked for were a good music department and a good study abroad office. I knew that I was going to definitely study abroad after my two week exchange experience to Valencia with my high school-- it was when I first fell in love with Spain.

    Okay now with that mini history section done, we're back to the 2009-2010 school year at the University of Pittsburgh where I had just gotten back from a study abroad fair in the William Pitt Union with a stack 1.5 ft tall of study abroad program books. I entered the university with the mind track that I was going to be a Political Science major with a Spanish minor. At around this time, I had just changed those majors all around and was now a Spanish and Business Dual Major.

      The idea of studying abroad abroad for an academic year instead of just a semester pretty much started growing in my mind after that fair. I started doing my research into various programs that offered a year program, talking to all my advisers (whose number had just grown due to the addition of my business major), and trying to work out, academically, the next 3.5 years of my life. I had to make certain that I could still graduate in 4 years, that I could afford it, and that my parents (heck, and myself for that matter) would be okay with me changing from 4 months abroad to 8.5 months. The easiest part of this? My parents. I was a little nervous to approach the "year abroad" topic, to be honest. Since I wasn't entirely sure yet if it could work out logistically, it was still this abstract dream of mine where I thought "How cool would that be if I could pull this off." As with sharing dreams in general, it was a bit touchy for me. But, when I brought the topic up and we all realized it could logistically work out with graduation, I couldn't have been happier with their reaction. They immediately were, and still continue to be, so supportive of me. To be frank, without this type of support from them, it would have been a lot more difficult to do what I'm currently doing. I am eternally grateful for everything they have done for me during this process considering, although it's not on the list of things to really prepare for during a year abroad, it is one heck of an emotional roller coaster.

      As my time here is wrapping up and I will be back stateside by Wednesday night, I am so full of happiness and every other type of emotion. In my short 20 years that I've lived through and as I look ahead to my life to come, this is possibly be the best decision I could have ever made for myself. I could not be happier with how everything happened this year and where I am now at in life.

      This will probably be my last blog post live from Spain. I'm off to have una cena de despedida -- a farewell dinner -- at my apartment with a bunch of my Spanish friends here as well as some other friends from API. I'm making pasta and homemade chocolate chip cookies :) Mmmmm. Can you believe that many Spanish people have never tried a homemade chocolate chip cookie? They think of Chips Ahoy! Tisk, tisk.. time to show them a bit of the baking culture that I love so dearly.

        Love to all and thank you all so much for following me and my traveling tales :)
        There will be many more traveling tales to come---

                 xoxo

                       Katie

What is a Journey?

A journey is not a trip.

It's not a vacation.

It's a process. A discovery.

It's a process of self discovery

A journey brings us face to face with ourselves.

A journey shows us not only the world, 

but how we fit in it.

Does the person create the journey

or does the journey create the person?

The journey is life itself.

Where will life take you?

             I've decided to share a quote that I encountered in the McDonald's in the Madrid airport after a week long trip to Switzerland in my friends' journal. Looking back, this quote really reflects for me these two semesters and especially this current one. This has been a journey that did not just start when my flight landed in Madrid, Spain about 8 months ago. This journey began long before that when my parents were wonderful enough to start letting me travel. First, to overnight camp, then to South Dakota and New Orleans with my church. Then the big step of coming to Spain for the first time 5 years ago and falling in love the country of Spain. This journey that I'm on continues after that first trip to Spain with realizing that I wanted to continue learning Spanish. I was then set on studying abroad for one semester while minoring in Spanish. As the journey continued, plans evolved and then I became a Spanish major going to Spain for an academic year to study. Now it continues its' evolution. Although I am leaving this city and country, those which I have fallen deep in love with, in a mere 10 days, I get the chance to go back home and live my life there with everything that I have learned here. Then I will hopefully return in year for yet another year or two living and working here as a teacher. Freshman year I remember trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life and study at Pitt. I was a Spanish major but hadn't yet picked up my business major. I was talking with my wonderful father and he told me something along the lines of, "Knowing what you don't want to do in life is just as important, if not more so, than knowing what you want to do in life". I then thought to myself, "Well, I know I don't want to be a doctor and I don't want to be a teacher."  Looking back, I can't help but laugh because as I said that, my past actions did not quite agree with the not-wanting-to-be-a-teacher part. I had already desired to be a camp counselor, I taught a class for Vacation Bible School at my church, and I love children dearly. It only took my coming to Spain and volunteering at a school here and teaching did I realized that I quite like teaching. Who knows if I will end up being a full-time teacher further down the road but right now, I know that I love teaching children. I also know that I can come back to Spain doing just that and I am over the moon excited that I have that opportunity to further explore this section of my life. I guess this is just a little rambling (and procrastinating since my exams start on Monday and I need to study) but I just want to put it out there that Never say never. Never in a million years, if you asked me while I was in my freshman year Spanish class, counting down the time until 1:23pm when we were released from what I considered my own personal prison, that if 7 years from now, I would be working my way up to fluency in Spanish, I would have just lived a year in Spain, and then I would have plans to come back for another 2 years to teach? I would have thought you went off the deep end and then I would have walked away to go to my study hall because I wouldn't have wanted to spend any more time than was necessary in that classroom. And look at where I am now. 




         Even though it's a very bittersweet feeling to leave here in 10 days and I know that many tears are to be shed, I cannot wait to see what my journey has in store for me this next year of my life. 










Never say never.

Besos y abrazos

xoxo