Some places I went, some pictures I took, and some thoughts I had while traveling around the world.
117 posts
Justinemiranda - Justine Miranda - Tumblr Blog
(Barcelona, 11/25/11)
Las Ramblas. The heart of Barcelona tourism. Still beautiful!
(Salamanca, 12/09/11)
Plaza Mayor and the moon. The Plaza was hardly ever vacant. In the wee hours of the morning (madrugada, as they say), the cleaning crews come in to keep up the tidy appearance so that students like me could sit on the ground.
(Salamanca, 12/02/11)
When my friends and I realized that our time in Spain was limited, we made a Salamanca bucket list.
The Convent of San Esteban was a beautiful church/grounds we walked by fairly often but always assumed we'd go in later. When we finally shelled out the 3 euro entrance fee, this is what awaited us.
(Salamanca, 10/27/11)
Iglesia Redonda.
Literally, "Round Church". I walked by this church on my way to school every day. It struck me as particularly beautiful on october 27th with the light reflecting through the clouds and the fountain.
Just so you know
I'm not posting until I get back to America (December 17th ish). To better enjoy my time in Salamanca, and all that.
(Manarola, 08/27/11)
We made a point to sit outside for meals whenever possible. Upside: you can watch the sunset and smell the ocean. Downside: smokers. (Hasn't Europe been informed about lung cancer?)
Luckily, we found a (cheap) cafe on the water just as the sun was setting on our first night in Cinque Terre. I sampled their delicious pesto lasagna. In fact, pesto was invented in that region. Probably in that very cafe.
My next few posts
will be about Italy. It's finally cold in Spain, and remembering some of the hottest days ever will give me perspective.
(Corniglia, 08/27/11)
I encountered the blue door halfway down a steep, winding staircase that eventually led to the Mediterranean. Had I opened a door, I would have seen a house perched upon the rocky cliff, maybe with a leathery old Italian man watering the flowers and his wife picking lemons out of their tree.
Instead, I continued on and took too many pictures of the pristine teal sea.
(Salamanca, 12/02/11)
The city is going all out with their Christmas decorations. This is a small sampling of the lights draped over every street in the old part of town.
The most difficult aspect of talking to Spanish people isn't the vocabulary, necessarily, but the cultural differences.
For example, I use "creepy" and "awkward" very often, it turns out. These words don't exist in Spanish, and I've failed to explain either one adequately.
(San Sebastian, 10/15/11)
These trees lined the waterfront park in the old part of San Sebastian. From far away, they look like an impressionist painting. Up close, they look like any old coniferous tree but they feel silky.
(Barcelona, 11/27/11)
The sardana, a typical Catalonian dance. After sunday mass at the cathedral, the people of Barcelona take to the streets and perform. Though a lot of tourists stop to gawk, I was assured they dance only for their own amusement.
It reminded me of this.
(Salamanca, Fall 2011)
Salamanca's a conservative city, but that doesn't stop the liberal-minded people from speaking up (loudly).
The first poster includes pictures of almost every European politician, including both spanish presidential candidates and the pope. Fascism is an incredibly touchy subject here, as Spain's only 30ish years removed from Franco. In fact, you're considered fascist if you fly the national flag if there isn't a soccer game that day.
The second picture says "Cancelled because of animal cruelty".