Update! Especially for you Fath and Paula! :)

I´m typing on this really weird Spanish/Castellaño keyboard, so you will have to excuse me. :)

Since I last updated we have gone to the caves of Urdax, the winery/vineyard Otazu and San Sebastian.

This is me and Cortney during one of our breaks at school. We love breaks, because about 12 I start getting really sleepy. Lol

This is a group of us at the Bistro in front of the Catedral again. It´s a really fun place, especially because it´s on the corner and in a very busy place. 

This is one of the houses in one of the towns we stopped in on the way back from the Caves (Cuevas). The whole town was really quaint, and apparently really old. Also, we were on the border of France and Spain, which was really cool. 

This is the medusa in the cave. It was pretty cool. My camera didnt let me get a lot of pics, but I´ll steal some from others and post them! It was soooo cold in the cave. I loved it!

This is Elena, our tour guide and one of my teachers, and Alex, telling us about the town we were in. 

These are little kids who were playing in the fountain when we got there. They all had cups and were soaking each other. It was hilarious to watch. Also, the fountain water was really clean, mountain water, and we were encouraged to fill up our waterbottles there. Yum! 

I don´t know what is up with Spain and Spiders in the toilets, but this is the 3rd one I have found. They are stickers? Idk whats going on.

This is a pull chain toilet. All the toilets also flush differently here... its kinda like a game every time you use a public restroom. So far, none like the U.S. but unlike the Idiot Abroad, I have found toilet paper in every bathroom. :)

This is the vineyard/winery Otazu. It was so gorgeous. No, I did not get to stomp grapes like in the movie, A Walk in the Clouds, but I did ask. :( Maybe another day, somewhere else! 

This is me and Lupe at the beach at San Sebastian. Yes, I do already look like a lobster. It took me no time at all to get totally burned. Awesome. 

 This is Lupe and I at the winery. We went into the chapel which was really cool and as people were leaving we were thanking them for coming. It was funny when we were doing it, because the people from the other schools (alabama and auburn and clemson) didnt know that we were actually on the tour.

 Another shot of the river where the water was running into the fountain. Gorgeous! I loved the town. I love the narrow streets.

I hate the coffee here. Its tiny. lol and really strong. And they always give me sugar with it, even when I dont want it. But I hear there is a Starbucks in Madrid! :)

cuevas

We´re about to go the Caves of Urbax. Promise to update my blog in full in a couple of days with more pictures!
I want a hamburger. :) lol

ARRIBA

Yesterday was quite the day... 

We took a tour of Pamplona, on foot, and it was pretty fun. We got to see a really old cathedral, a really neat view of Pamplona, the old city walls, some perritos as we walked through the streets (the dogs here are weird, not at all like american dogs), the Plaza del Toros which is where the Running of the Bulls ends which was really awesome, and other stuff. 

I thought it was really cool that everyone loves Pamplona and the Festival de San Fermin so much. It´s kinda like Stephenville and Larry Joe Taylor. lol Kinda. 

Here is the really old Cathedral, I believe it was called the Santa Maria Real, it was soooo beautiful!

This is Cortney. We were taking her senior pics at our school during one of our breaks. 

This is a view of the courtyard where I attend school every day. It´s not a monastery, but its like a church, and there are friars there. Its different. :)

 This creepy man is outside our classroom. I don´t know who he is, but we call him a vampire. I think he´s probably holy.

 This is one of my teachers, Sonia. She´s nuts, but very animated and has taught us alot.

This is the inside of the main part of our school down the road from where my classes are. Its pretty :)

Stairwell in my school. 

Gates at my school. Sorry, Tarleton, these are much better. :) lolz. 

the sign outside my school

 A really old government building (edificio de gobierno) near the center of Pamplona.

El Banco de Espana. Me gusta! 

This is a sign at the Plaza de Toros talking about the Running of the Bulls.

This is the countdown clock to the Running of the Bulls during San Fermin.

This is ham hanging up in a restaurant. Disgusting. 

Really pretty ornate decorations at the Cathedral. 

 Los chicas de Tarleton hanging out in front of the Cathedral at a really cute little cafeteria.

days 1-3.

Hola!

Well we made it to Pamplona. We've been fighting off jet-lag, but other than that we are having fun. Oh and we stopped in between Madrid and Pamplona to eat because we were all starving, and I got a shrimp sandwich. It was definitely different.

The first night we were here, Pamplona had a huge partido de futbol (soccer game) and we didn't go to that, but our host mom told us we had to go to the Plaza del Castillo and hang out with all the locals. And when I say all the locals, I mean ALL the locals. There were thousands of people peppering the plaza and everyone was drinking sangria and cerveza and dancing. And playing Lady Gaga. With strobe lights. Oh and grown men in white tutus.

It was interesting.

We've been eating lots of food that we can't identify. But our favorite has been the tortilla (not the kind you get at Rosa's, its actually an omelet) con papas. It was SO freakin good. Probably because we haven't eaten much of anything else.

We're taking a tour of Pamplona this afternoon, so I will have tons of pictures to update my blog with in the morning.

Miss all you people, but don't feel bad for me, I'm living the good life in Pamplona. :)

--C

this shall be interesting.

Being the worrywart that I am, i checked flight details as we were driving down I-30 to DFW airport, and guess what... FLIGHT CANCELLED!

We've been here at the airport for almost an hour, but we will be in Madrid by tomorrow! We luckily got two flights so we're divying up the group and getting there within 3 hours of each other.

More at the next stop. :)

El dia uno.

Okay, let's be honest.

I'm probably not going to get up early enough to post my first post on my way to Espana in the morning, so I figured I'd do it now. :)

We leave tomorrow at 1:30. I will be arriving in Spain on Saturday (aka The Rapture day for those of you following the radicalistic view of family radio).

I look forward to jet lag, paella, fun times with friends, seeing where the bulls run, and oh, of course, escuela y tarea!

Adios America, HOLA ESPANA!

ESPANA

11 days and counting til I leave for the Spanish countryside. Or city. Or wherever it is I am going. :)

Stay tuned for posts about my trip! I'm so excited! :)

And nervous. And I think it would be funny to type all my posts in Spanish, you (the reader) can always use google translate.

Okay, I gotta study for finals.