Thanksgiving in Spain!

Hey everyone! I know I have not written in a while but I've been working on so many presentations and projects for classes.  Can you believe November is just about over? I know I can't.  I am really happy that I've studied abroad and will make the best of my time left here, but I am pretty much ready to come home.  This Wednesday starts December and my countdown begins.  There are so many things that I am planning on eating when I get home already!

The Spanish do not celebrate Thanksgiving but because the program knows that we American students are missing such a big holiday normally shared with family and friends they gave us a huge dinner at a very nice hotel Thursday.  Before going, I was kind of scared of what the food would be like.  I thought it might be all Spanish food that we were going to eat or a Spanish attempt to make typical American Thanksgiving food.  It was a pleasant surprise though.  The hotel was beautiful and even though it was not quite the same as home, the food was very tasty, especially the appetizers.  To put it into perspective it was just as if you were to go out to eat at a nice restaurant instead of cooking what you normally have for Thanksgiving at home.  There had to be at least 200 people there, all the students in each different CIEE program, the staff, and professors.  Before dinner we had time to "mingle" and were served your choice of wine, beer, or refreshments along with "crab balls", fresh salmon, and artichoke kebabs.  Sooooo good! The actual dinner was pasta, salad, turkey leg, mashed potatoes, and apple tart.  My turkey was a little dry :(  All in all I had a great time with my friends and we all went out afterwards of course lol.

Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner, I have also added some food that my host mom had made that I do not remember if I posted previously or not, and me and Kristyn at the theater.  We went to see "Carmen" that is currently playing here, yes it was all in Spanish lol.

Delicious salmon

This is the wine I may bring home, so smooth!

Me and Miguel

Me and Curro

Tortilla Espanola...yummy!

Fried Fish

Did not eat this

mussels, yummy!

Did not eat this

Just like Dunkin Donuts

PARIS

I just have to say that Paris is one of the most amazing places in the world and I was able to go this past weekend!  The city is truly beautiful and it had a lot of similarities to the U.S.  Fall time in Paris seems more like home because of the way the highways are made and the orange color of the leaves on the trees.  The weather was colder than Spain, around 55 degrees, and it rained all day Saturday but I still loved being there.  It literally felt like I was in a dream because it was so surreal.    

We were only there for about 3 days but I would have to say that we saw many of the famous monuments, churches, buildings, etc. in such a short amount of time.  The Eiffel Tower is gorgeous.  I did not know how I felt about it at first.  It did not seem like what I had saw in pictures or movies in the beginning, but once I got to the main side it was wonderful.  The tower was especially pretty at night because it lights up and sparkles.  Among other things we experienced were the Seine River,  Le Lourve, Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame.

The fashion is out of this world.  It has all of the major designers of course, but the way the stores are displayed and the lay-out of the stores is a dream.  Furthermore, THE FOOD=delicious.  We ate a lot of pastries such as crepes, croissants, and tarts.  I had pasta, duck, and Thai (i know random, but I had a taste for it).  The Asian food to me is better in the U.S.  Everywhere you look you see a cafe or a restaurant.  Everything just made me feel happy and peaceful.  Next time I want to go to Disneyland-Paris too.  The people were nice, despite what they say, at least in our experience.  Paris was the best trip here in Europe so far.  I will definitely be back, probably right after I graduate.

the metro

our hotel

you can place your order here and get in the express line to pick it up

Eiffel Tower

Hello

Notre Dame