The long-awaited post I'm sure you all have been longing for is finally here! Finals took all energy from me for about 2 weeks. Literally, for 2 weeks, I would wake up, shower, go to the library, open my books, and study for 8-10 hours per day. Only 3 finals, yet they to be so much more fate-determining than the finals I took in undergrad. I wasn't alone at least - my two best friends here, Emily and Meg, joined me in my misery as they too studied for their finals. We had a good bonding experience of studying over multiple cups of hot tea (you know, it's a British thing), breaks of chat sessions (supposed to be 5 minutes but would sometimes turn into 45 minutes), and cups of coffee when we decided we needed to treat ourselves to the 1 pound sterling coffee that a nearby coffee shop offers for 2 hours in the afternoon!
After getting back from our trip at Christmas, my friend Meg and I knew that we wanted to travel to Spain during the break between finals and the second semester (which is 3 weeks long). However, we were so busy studying for finals, we really couldn't plan much of our trip. The day after I finished finals (two days before we wanted to leave for Spain), Meg and I sat down and planned out the trip. We just decided to tour southern Spain, the Andalucia region, which turned out to be perfect. Spain was absolutely gorgeous, and I already want to go back again! The sunshine and warmer weather was a nice change from the cold, wet, dark days of St. Andrews. We flew into Malaga and took a bus to Granada where we immediately fell in love with the city. The first night we went on a tapas tour that our hostel hosted, and we met a lot of really nice people staying in our hostel as well as had amazing tapas! The next day, we visited the Alhambra, which is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada . We enjoyed Granada so much we decided to rearrange our original itinerary and stay another night there. The next day, we took a bus to Cordoba, where we continued tasting many different tapas dishes, as well as visited some sights there. La Mesquita was the biggest attraction in Cordoba that we saw. Originally built as a church, after the Muslim conquest the building was confiscated for use as a mosque and greatly expanded until it became the second-largest mosque in the world. It is regarded as perhaps the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad dynasty of Cordoba. After the Spanish Reconquista, it was returned to its original use as a church. It was an amazing historical sight that both Meg and I really enjoyed. After one night in Cordoba, we continued to trek west across Andalucia to Seville, where we stayed for two nights. In Seville, the weather was the best we had had since arriving in Spain, and we both really enjoyed just walking around taking in the sights, sitting outside at outdoor cafes, and enjoying the weather! We saw the Cathedral in Seville, the still-royal family's living quarters the Alcazar, and many others. To finish up our last night in Seville, Meg and I went to see a flamenco production. Flamenco is a Spanish dance genre characterized by its audible footwork. It was a great show, and an amazing dance! We then headed back to Malaga in the late afternoon to catch an early flight the next morning. We found a great tapas restaurant the last evening and really enjoyed one more night of Spanish tapas. We had a lovely trip, and weren't ready to come back to St. Andrews!
We arrived back in St. Andrews to what seemed like a ghost town. No one is here, and of 50 people that normally live in Deans Court, only 10 are here right now. It's totally dead, and the few people that were here when I got back are bored to tears! I'm off again on Monday morning to fulfill one of my life-long dreams - skiing in the Alps. I'm flying to Munich where my German friend will pick me up, and we will drive down to Austria to the St. Anton am Arlberg ski area. Another American friend who lives in Deans Court will also meet us in St. Anton, where we will ski for 3 days, and then head back to Munich. Irene will go home to her family for a few more days while my American friend and I will tour Munich for 2 days before heading back to St. Andrews to start the 2nd semester. I can't wait for next week! Hope everyone is well back in the States. Know you are missed!! Sending my LOVE...
After getting back from our trip at Christmas, my friend Meg and I knew that we wanted to travel to Spain during the break between finals and the second semester (which is 3 weeks long). However, we were so busy studying for finals, we really couldn't plan much of our trip. The day after I finished finals (two days before we wanted to leave for Spain), Meg and I sat down and planned out the trip. We just decided to tour southern Spain, the Andalucia region, which turned out to be perfect. Spain was absolutely gorgeous, and I already want to go back again! The sunshine and warmer weather was a nice change from the cold, wet, dark days of St. Andrews. We flew into Malaga and took a bus to Granada where we immediately fell in love with the city. The first night we went on a tapas tour that our hostel hosted, and we met a lot of really nice people staying in our hostel as well as had amazing tapas! The next day, we visited the Alhambra, which is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada . We enjoyed Granada so much we decided to rearrange our original itinerary and stay another night there. The next day, we took a bus to Cordoba, where we continued tasting many different tapas dishes, as well as visited some sights there. La Mesquita was the biggest attraction in Cordoba that we saw. Originally built as a church, after the Muslim conquest the building was confiscated for use as a mosque and greatly expanded until it became the second-largest mosque in the world. It is regarded as perhaps the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad dynasty of Cordoba. After the Spanish Reconquista, it was returned to its original use as a church. It was an amazing historical sight that both Meg and I really enjoyed. After one night in Cordoba, we continued to trek west across Andalucia to Seville, where we stayed for two nights. In Seville, the weather was the best we had had since arriving in Spain, and we both really enjoyed just walking around taking in the sights, sitting outside at outdoor cafes, and enjoying the weather! We saw the Cathedral in Seville, the still-royal family's living quarters the Alcazar, and many others. To finish up our last night in Seville, Meg and I went to see a flamenco production. Flamenco is a Spanish dance genre characterized by its audible footwork. It was a great show, and an amazing dance! We then headed back to Malaga in the late afternoon to catch an early flight the next morning. We found a great tapas restaurant the last evening and really enjoyed one more night of Spanish tapas. We had a lovely trip, and weren't ready to come back to St. Andrews!
We arrived back in St. Andrews to what seemed like a ghost town. No one is here, and of 50 people that normally live in Deans Court, only 10 are here right now. It's totally dead, and the few people that were here when I got back are bored to tears! I'm off again on Monday morning to fulfill one of my life-long dreams - skiing in the Alps. I'm flying to Munich where my German friend will pick me up, and we will drive down to Austria to the St. Anton am Arlberg ski area. Another American friend who lives in Deans Court will also meet us in St. Anton, where we will ski for 3 days, and then head back to Munich. Irene will go home to her family for a few more days while my American friend and I will tour Munich for 2 days before heading back to St. Andrews to start the 2nd semester. I can't wait for next week! Hope everyone is well back in the States. Know you are missed!! Sending my LOVE...
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