Semana Santa

Hello, yes we are still alive and kicking. Our blogging game has definitely been off, but here we are back in action. It is April 23rd, we have been home from Spring Break or as the Spaniards call it, "Semana Santa" since April 7th and we now have 25 days left until our return to Boise.

Before we talk about anything else we would like to tell you about our AMAZING 17 day spring break of traveling Europe. Armed only with our backpacks we set off on a remarkable journey starting Friday, March 22nd. We won't bore you will all the details but instead paint a picture of the incredible time we had together for those 17 days.


Friday, March 22nd-Overnight bus to Paris

Saturday, March 23rd-Paris for the day, sightseeing, walking tour, Eiffel Tower, crepes for dinner.



Sunday, March 24th-Visited the Palace of Versailles, the "best ice cream in Paris," tried seeing the Arc De Triomphe, "French" French fries for dinner, outside of the Louvre.

 Monday, March 25th-DISNEY PARIS! and Walt Disney Studios. We came, we saw, we conquered. We have now been to two out of three of the happiest places on Earth. See you soon Florida!

Tuesday, March 26th-Flew into Milan, Italy. Met our friends Michael and Spencer for dinner and gelato. The coolest and best part of Milan was Milano Central Station.

 

Wednesday, March 27th- Train to La Spezia, in different compartments. Took another train to Levanto and met Michael and Spencer again for some sightseeing, dinner and of course, gelato.

Thursday, March 28th-Spent all day touring the five coastal towns of "Cinque Terre." Our other friend Lauren joined us midday. After seeing some of the most beautiful towns, more pizza and gelato we repacked our bags ready to leave the following morning.

Friday, March 29th- Took the train to Florence, saw the Duomo, the old bridge, statue of David, dinner, gelato and drinks at some really cool Italian bars.

Saturday, March 30th- Lauren rejoined us in Florence, had amazing sandwiches for lunch, I bought a real Italian leather purse, went on a wine tasting tour in Tuscany. More amazing dinner and gelato.

Sunday, March 31st-EASTER! Seperated for the morning. I went to a church for Easter. Tara and I had Easter Brunch complete with me trying berries and to Tara's great surprise I liked them! We walked around Florence, found a cool market, climbed a hill to see the famous view of the city and had another dinner and gelato.

Monday, April 1st- Happy April Fools Day! Too bad we were to busy going to Rome! Stayed in the worst hostel ever! Saw the Colosseum, walked around the area around it filled with other Roman Ruins, dinner and gelato. Michael had to head back to school in Madrid so we said bye to him as well!

Tuesday, April 2nd- Saw the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, delicious coffee shake, met another friend from USAC Sam and her new friend from here hostel. Dinner and gelato.

Wednesday, April 3rd- Went to the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, another great sandwich place, St. Peter's Cathedral, random castle, hung out with Sam and hung out by a street market and watched a free concert. Gelato Shakes! An amazing dinner and a night on the town.

Thursday, April 4th- Said bye to Sam and headed off to the airport. Caught our flight to the Netherlands. Landed in Amsterdam. Had mexican food for dinner. BED.

Friday, April 5th- Visited the Secret Annex where Anne Frank and 7 other people hid for over two years during WWII. Heineken Experience, rode ferris wheel, ate Wok to Walk.

Saturday, April 6th- Canal tour, Subway for lunch, shop that only sold fries, best bar in Amsterdam, has over 250 different beers, Ben and Jerry's and general city seeing which included a very beautiful park.

Sunday, April 8th- Home, Home At Last! We arrived in San Sebastian around 8:00 pm. Met with our roommates and went to bed hoping to prepare ourselves for the next day of class.





So, as you can see, our spring break was definitely a trip of a lifetime. Let's make something clear, whenever we said "ate dinner" in Italy it was ALWAYS pizza and/or pasta. Everyday that we were in Amsterdam we went to Starbucks. EVERYwhere we went EXCEPT Amsterdam, it rained.

Getting back into the swing of things was difficult. We both had eternal stomach aches for the first week, our theories ranged from drastic diet changes to our body missing the constant influence of gelato. Our lack of Spanish speaking through the trip did not go unnoticed by our professors. Tara started her surf class and is almost pro by now. We finished yet another class and are now in our final class of the semester.

Our new plans for the end of the semester are very exciting. Paul and Cindy are heading to beautiful San Sebastian on the 12th, just in time to wish us luck on our final exams. After a few days touring the city we will all head to Madrid for some more Spanish debauchery. On the 17th we take seperate flights back home, ours stopping in Seattle for the night. Tara gets to hang out with her dearly missed brother, Russell for the evening and I get to see my long lost aunt, uncle and cousins. We will join back up at the airport and be back in Boise by the evening of the 18th!

That's all for now.
It won't be this long before our next post, promise!

Until next time,

Tara and Taryn