Good 'Ol Ryan Air

So here is a picture of the plane that got me to Santiago de Compostela... Although I was stressed out about all the trouble at the Airport in Madrid, I was happy to be safe and on the ground at my destination!

Vacation Updates!

Sorry it has been a few days since I've been able to post anything.  I got really bust with traveling and now I'm working hard on a school project.  Hopefully over the next few days I will be able to upload photos and stories about my weekend in Galicia!

Santiago de Compostela, Ribeira, Las Dunas de Corrubedo, y Corcubión

Today was a truly incredible day. I decided to sleep in until 9:30 this morning because I was exhausted from all of the walking yesterday. After a good breakfast, I was off to the airport to get my car! I was really excited not only because I knew it would be a manual (dorky I know), but also because it would give me the freedom to travel wherever I wanted.

After I acquired the silver stallion I sat in the car wondering where I should go. My friend Juan had recommended many places for me to see, but I hadn't the slightest idea as to which places I wanted to see most. They all sounded amazing. On a whim, I decided to go to the coast near Ribeira. Once I hit Ribeira, I knew that Las Dunas de Corrubedo were close by.

I finally found a national park that, at the time, I thought would lead me directly to the dunes. To my pleasant surprise I found a very long walking trail surrounded by pine trees. After walking a few minutes, I discovered a boardwalk that lead straight to the Atlantic! It was gorgeous!

There was one other man on the beach that was just about to jump in the water... But I was in jeans! Anyone that knows me well, knows that when I see an ocean, I can't resist jumping in it. Especially when the weather is nice like it was this afternoon. (This was lucky because it was raining all morning. Now it was as sunny and warm as could be.)

Anyways, I ran to my car and grabbed my sweet neon board shorts and headed straight for the coast. I took off my shoes and ran into the ocean. I caught a few small waves and then continued my journey.

As I headed back to the board walk, I met a older man named Jose who seemed like he wanted someone foreign to talk to. After an awkward introduction, I told him I'd walk with him to keep him company. It turns out that he has lived in this little coastal town all of his life and that he walks along the beach everyday to see the beauty that surrounds the area. We talked for a long time (in Spanish of course!!) And he told me all about the region. We walked together on the beach for about 30 minutes and then he had to go. I am so glad I decided to say hi to the man who looked like he wanted to talk!

After I returned to my car, I drove to Las Dunas. They were really pretty because they were so big. I guess they'd look like those very hilly sandy desert pictures that we have all seen.

After I left, I headed for Corcubión, where I am now. I found this really nice hotel for 40 € with breakfast. My room has an amazing view of the ocean!

The reason I chose this city is because it is very close to Finisterre (the Romans name it this because they thought it was the "end of the land" or "end of the world"). It is the point furthest west that they had ever seen when they found it. In fact, they couldn't see anymore land, hence the name :)

The main goal of this trip was to get to Finisterre and to be there at sunrise. So tomorrow I am waking up early to see this beautiful part of the world wake up!

(PS- I wrote this on el Gato Negro (my Blackberry))

Desayuno de la Abuela

This morning I had a wonderful breakfast at mt hostel with fresh orange juice and hot chocolate! Weird combo, but if was good.

Right now I'm at the bus station waiting to catch a bus to the airport where I will rent a car so I can cruise the coast!

Casa Camilo

Right now I am enjoying red wine, good bread, and steak! Perfect place after a long day :)

Por Fin! Estoy aqui!

I think I would have lost this leg of the race (if we are keeping with the Amazing Race theme)... I just spent two hours wandering the city by foot trying to find my hostel, but I am here now and ready to explore!

The Amazing Race! (I hate RyanAir) :)

Last night I spent 2 hours trying to check-in online for my flight to Santiago. If you don't check-in online you have to pay 40 € just to print your ticket at the airport, so it was important that I do it online. Anyway, I wasn't able to do it so I decided to get to the airport 2 hours early to figure it out. I was sent from desk to desk and supervisor to supervisor and after 1.5 hours, I had a ticket without paying the 40 €!

But that wasn't the end of the journey... Ryanair's carry-on bag size limit is the smallest in the airport. Of course my bag didn't fit so I had to go to another loooong line to pay 20 € for the bag. The line was filled with people all panicking because the flight was supposed to take off in 30 minutes!

I was freaking out, however, I couldn't help but laugh... :)

After I paid, I secured my ticket and had 15 minutes to run through security and get to the gate. So I ran like I was on Amazing Race and barely made it to the plane.

Now I'm on the plane, happy and ready for the adventure ahead!

Travel Plans for the Weekend

I just booked a trip to the Northwestern region of Spain, Galicia.  I'm sooooo excited! I am starting the trip by flying to Santiago de Compostela and then making my way all around the region until I reach La Coruna where I will catch a bus back home.  I will leave Friday morning and return to Madrid on Tuesday :)

 

Rainy Sunday

It rained for the first time today!  The last two weeks were really hot, so it was a nice change.  It has been a pretty lazy Sunday, but I guess that is what Sundays are for.  I've spent most of the day deciding what I'm going to do next weekend.  There are sooo many options.  Rachell (the girl I met at the airport) asked if I wanted to go to cinque terra with a bunch of Florence kids.  It sounds really fun, but the flights don't really coordinate really well.  So I thought about going to Oktoberfest, but the flights are really expensive... Tomorrow I'm going to go to the train station after class and check out departure times and fares to see if it'd be worth going.  I hear the Oktoberfest opening weekend is amazing! So I hope to find a way to get there.  If not, I'll definitely be traveling somewhere within Spain :) So many decisions... 

Jog to Retiro

Today I did my normal jog (I think it's pronounced yog)... Anyway... I did my normal jog through Retiro, but this time I decided to jog the perimeter of the park instead of zigzagging through the middle.  IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL! I found a bunch of waterfalls, rose gardens, statues and monuments.  I will have to take photos next time :)  Well, the jog lasted 6 miles so I'm off to take a siesta...

That party last night

So I decided not to go to Valencia because my class got out too late.  (We had the final... Can't believe it went by so quickly.)  Anyways, I decided to go to the Bar of the Week which was at the soccer stadium.  It was so cool at night!

Random Photos from the Busy Week

This is an awesome building that I walk by almost every night.  I don't know the name of it yet, but will update you when I figure it out!  Hope you like them :) Miss you all!

The Wine and Cheese Party from the Free Anta Wine!

School!

My life over the past few days has been completely school oriented! (I know, surprising right?) What else could I expect from Grad School... Anyways, I've been working on a few group projects for various classes. They have been interesting, but I cannot wait for the weekend :)

Right now I'm writing from my blackberry as I wait for this guy named Christian who asked for my help on a case write-up for a negotiations class. Apparently the teacher told him to ask me. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing??? Anyways, if the teacher likes the case, he will use it in future classes. Apparently I'd be semi-published by IE lol

Quick Update

Just giving a quick update about what I've been up to lately. School is getting busier so I spent the majority of last night reading articles and preparing for a group meeting that we had today. During the meeting we discussed our upcoming presentation on Google and their role with Linux, Microsoft, thematic, and semantic web. It's all really interesting, especially because the people who I am working with are geniuses. In an hour or so I have a debating the world economy class which will last from 7 to 10 pm.

I'll post some fun pictures and more info tonight!

Random Photos From Last Week's Madrid Real Game

Party at the Penthouse!

So last night was the first night out since I've been here.  It started at an Irish Pub, Bo Finn, and ended at the top of a hotel at a club called the Penthouse in the center of Madrid!  Let's just say it was a fun night with a lot of partying.  :) Sorry mom and dad lol...

¿Vino en Clase? Beat that Pdine!

In negotiation for entrepreneurs we were simulating a negotiation that had taken place between Anta Vineyards and a hotel.  Sitting in on this simulation was the actual CEO from Anta, a local Spanish vineyard whose recent partner is Antonio Banderas.  Long story short, he left us a present which we received the following day... A bottle of Anta wine... for each student!!!

You Mean I Have To Hang Dry My Clothes???

Let's just say that I was treating my clothes like they were worth more than my life... This was the first time that I have ever had to hang dry my clothes. As a result, I was taking it very slowly to ensure that the articles would fall down 7 stories! LOL Manelay was making so much fun of me...

The Day's Events!

Wednesday was a busy busy day. I woke up around 6:30 in order to pack up and meet Manelay and the Jefe in the Lobby of our hotel by 7:30. I had to pack up all of my things because today was move in day!!! We packed about six suitcases in a small taxi and we were off to 140 La Gasca- my new home :)

As I may have mentioned before, you have to walk up seven flights of stairs to get to our floor. So carrying my 60 pound or more suitcases up the stairs was not a fun experience. After a hard work out, all of our bags were up and we were off to school.

We had Digital Marketing today. The teacher is entertaining. It is really amazing to think how far we have come in the area of technology and multimedia marketing over the last few years...

After class Manelay and I went directly to Zara Home. We figured that the prices combined with the cab ride there and back were about the same as those from Ikea. We measured our bed sizes before we left, but soon realized that that was no help when it came to picking out sheet sizes. An employee saw that we were confused so he came over and helped us all out... To further demonstrate just how confused we were... Manelay and I almost bought children's sized sheets that would have covered half of our bed!

The walk back was pretty tough. Towels, sheets, pillows, and comforters aren't exactly light when you have to carry them all at once through the city. Not to mention another trip up Mt. Everest (the 7 flights of stairs)

After we made our beds we decided to grab something to eat. We ended up in what we called a Man's Club because there were about a dozen old men packed around a bar drinking and socializing. We sat in the back corner of the restaurant and had amazing sandwiches that were fairly inexpensive...

A trip to the papeleria, starbuck's, una siesta later, and a couple hours of homework later...

We are about to job about two miles to McDonald's for a sundae :)

Back to school!

Yesterday was orientation... IE School of Business is so professional and amazing. The classroom they sat us in had movie theater seats and the speakers were placed in front of us as if they were a panel speaking at a conference. I met several very nice, very interesting classmates; one of which is my roommate John from Iceland. The students are literally from all over the world. They are from Australia, Paris, Canada, Brazil, India, Spain, Germany... All over! Manelay and I are definitely the youngest by at least 5 years. I would say the oldest student there had to have been 40.

Right now I am in the library preparing for class. I will let you all know how the first day goes tonight!