Jennifer Fontanella Summer Update
6/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Synchronized Skating
June 22, 2011
Hey everyone!
I'm writing to you from my host mom's apartment in Oviedo, Spain. I am studying abroad through a program offered by the Miami University Spanish Department that is located at the University of Oviedo. Oviedo is in northern Spain and in the valley of the surrounding mountains.
I have been here since May 13 and so far it's been an amazing experience. I met my host mom for the first time at the bus station and she greeted me with a kiss on each cheek. We live in an apartment with her dog, Brai. She informed me on my first night that in Spain dinner usually doesn't start until 9 p.m., with only the "old" people eating then. She usually eats dinner at 11 p.m. Waiting this late for dinner is still hard for me, but what makes it easier is that we don't have lunch until 3 p.m.
We have class Monday to Thursday with long weekends to travel. My friends and I took trips to Gijon, Bilbao and San Sebastian the second weekend here. These cities are part of the Basque country and are on the shore with some beautiful beaches that we made sure to visit.
The next weekend we decided to go further, to Barcelona. We arrived at the Barcelona airport at 1 a.m. and got to the hostel by 2:30 a.m. The next day we woke up and started exploring this big city. Barcelona has a lot to see, but my favorite things included the Guell Park, the view from Mt. Tibidabo and the Palau Nacional.
 Jennifer Fontanella at the fountain in front of Plaza Espana  | |
The Guell Parks are filled with Gaudi's works. There were several trails that I was able to explore and found some great views of the city. Next I went to Mt. Tibidabo which is said to have the best view of Barcelona. I first took a trolley and then I had to take another incline, which is the only way to get to the top of this mountain. As I stepped off the incline I saw a spectacular church and to the right was an amusement park. With the Mediterranean as the backdrop, the views from Tibidabo were spectacular. Lastly, I went to the Palau Nacional which houses art exhibits which, unfortunately, I was not able to visit because of my time constraints. The Palau was beautiful and the views from there were great too. The last day we had in Barcelona we decided to go on a Catalan jazz cruise. The boat gave us a view of the city from the sea. After three days of intense sightseeing, the boat ride, with live jazz music, was very relaxing.
I recently got back from a five-day weekend in which my friends and I decided to go to Mallorca, Seville and Salamanca! The trip was intense and we didn't have much time in each city, but we made the most of it. We left Oviedo by bus on Thursday night and arrived in Madrid on Friday morning for a flight to the island of Palma Mallorca. Once in Mallorca we took a bus to our hostel that overlooked the beach.
After unloading our things and checking out the beach we headed to the center of the city. Mallorca, although known for their beaches, also has a wonderful cathedral and lots to explore in the center of the city. The next day in Mallorca we decided to spend on the beach, and later that night headed back to the airport for our flight to Seville. After arriving to Seville and finding our hostel by 2:30 a.m., we went straight to bed and the next day took a three-hour walking tour of the city. We finished off the walking tour by getting some delicious tapas. Tapas in Spain are appetizers of sorts; usually a table of friends will share several different tapas. Seville's architecture was gorgeous and the Muslim influence was very evident.
The next day we woke up and caught a 9:30 a.m. bus headed for Salamanca. We arrived in Salamanca at 4:30 p.m., found our hostel and got ready for another great dinner in Spain. After dinner we decided to get ice cream and hang out in the Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor is said to be one of the most beautiful plazas in Spain. At night it is all lit up and crowded with foreigners and locals alike. The next morning I woke up early to do some sightseeing before our bus headed back to Oviedo at 2 p.m. I went to the Parador Hotel, where the best view of the city is. To get there I crossed an antique Roman bridge that goes over the Tormes River.
My time here in Spain is flying by; I can't believe we only have one more week of classes until we leave for our ten-day hike towards Santiago de Compostela. The way of St. James is a pilgrimage that thousands of people do each year and our ending place will be Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrimage usually starts in France and ends in Santiago, but we will only do a section of it, starting in Aviles. I will be sending more updates after the hike is over!
(Throughout the summer a few of the Miami University synchronized skaters will be updating MURedHawks.com with what they are doing and where they are traveling.)
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