Lisboa + Pastéis = Best Weekend Ever!

¡Hola a todos! It has been such a hectic week trying to complete everything since the semester is ending this THURSDAY, I know the time has flown by. But I guess that I should do some catching up…

First of all, Lisboa was amazing! The weather was perfect, the trip well organized, and the food was incredible, making this one of the best weekends this entire year! The city is located along the Tagus, Tajo, or Tejo River (Depending on which language you speak…English, Spanish, or Portuguese) and is also the current capital of Portugal. While there we visited several important sites including the Castelo São Jorge, Torre de Bélem, Monasterio de los Jerónimos, as well as many other sites including a nice theatre where we were able to watch a fado show while enjoying a delicious meal. During the trip we also traveled to several other surrounding cities like Sintra & Cascais, two lovely beach side towns where we had a lot of free time to relax, walk around, or simply lay on the beach. We also traveled to Cabo de Roca, which is the most western point of mainland Europe! It was so nice there and the view was incredible (as you can see from the foto above). Needless to say the trip was a great sucess and to top it all off, we ate some Pastéis de Bélem, some heavenly desserts that are famous from that area by locals as well as tourists alike, making the weekend end on a wonderful note. The bus ride was about eight hours, but I guess that is what you have to pay to reach some of the nicest places on earth...

¡Hasta Luego!

Some Students at Cabo de Roca

A view of Lisbon from El Castelo São Jorge

El Otoño – Fall

While walking down the lovely streets of Madrid today I realized something, it’s fall! Having grown up in the Boston area, I always thought that the leaves changed in the beginning of October, but as I saw today that is not always true. When you mix falling leaves, fresh air and a light jacket you get the perfect day for a walk in Madrid, so that is exactly what I did. While walking from my host family’s house to El Parque del Buen Retiro, one of the largest parks that Madrid has to offer, I was able to visit some of my favorite places around the city such as La Plaza de Colón and La Plaza de Cibeles. La Plaza de Colón is one of my favorites because it is a very relaxing place equipped with fountains, murals, an underground theatre as well as an enormous Spanish flag! Not only that, but the entire plaza is dedicated to Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus) with a statue in his honor and about four or five murals that depict his voyages to the new world. As for La Plaza de Cibeles, it is simply an enormous building like none I have seen before…and on top of that, it’s the post office!!! Anyways, getting back to El Retiro, the park is a very relaxing place where I usually go to walk around. There are flowers, a small lake where you can rent rowboats (They cost about €4), El Palacio de Cristal (Where normally they hold different art exhibitions throughout the year) and an abundance of trees and fresh air with pathways (So I do not get lost)! Normally on Saturdays there are tons of people in the park, either selling crafts or taking advantage of the fresh air and you can go and partake in this small piece of Spanish culture. My friends and I usually end up in the park during the weekend to walk around and get some fresh air instead of being cooped up inside all day, but that’s just us!

As for now I have to go finish packing for the school trip to Lisbon this weekend…

¡Hasta Luego!

Buenos Días ~ Good Morning

Hi Guys, I guess I should start off by introducing myself a little bit. My name is Greg and I am a freshman here at Suffolk University Madrid Campus or SUMC as some like to call it. At the moment I am a Spanish Major, which I guess is one of the major reasons that I chose to study here, even though they offer classes for everyone! As we are getting closer to the end of the fall semester (also known as my first semester of college) everyone is trying to get all of their work together before going home for the holidays. So far this has been a great semester filled with excursions, bake sales, holiday parties, self defense classes and even movie nights!(My favorite events…Thanks Amy & Karyn). At the beginning of the semester, for orientation, the entire school traveled to Salamanca. Salamanca is a small town about two hours north of Madrid, where the oldest university in Spain is located. We spent four days there visiting different areas and trying to get a feel for the Spanish culture as well as meet new people & staff. Everyone is so friendly and I feel that there is always someone to talk to when you need them. I think that my favorite part about living in Madrid has to be the fact that there is so much to do here. The city is filled with fun things to do as well as great cultural events! This weekend I am going to the Sorolla Museum (Museo Sorolla) with the school and cannot wait because the paintings are shown in the Madrid house of Joaquín Sorolla Bastida, the artist, but I´ll let you know about that later on when I return....

As for now I have to meet some friends for some Tapas, but I´ll tell you more soon....

¡Hasta Luego!