Arrival in Paris!

I know I have been MIA the past few weeks but it has been because I have been traveling all around Europe! First Paris, Prague, Brussels and this weekend I'm leaving for Amsterdam! I can't even choose my favorite city thus far because ALL have been absolutely amazing and so completely different. Our first trip at the end of February was to one of the most traveled places in the world, Paris, to visit our sorority sister Michelle who was kind enough to let us stay in her apartment and personally guide us around the entire city. We were in for a long fun-filled weekend with only about 3 hours of sleep to work off of. After arriving in Paris late thursday night we decided to take it easy in order to wake up early for a complete day of tourist activities.

Of course the first thing we had to do was go and see one of the most famous and recognizable structures in the world, the Eiffel Tower. However, before taking the metro there we stopped for the most amazing croissants and quiches I have ever had in my life! Because I'm only in Paris for a weekend and I could not choose between ordering a croissant or a quiche I decided to order both causing a chain reaction between al of my friends to order both a croissant and quiche. After an extremely satisfying breakfast we made our way to the Champ de Mars where the Eiffel Tower is located. It has 3 levels for visitors to climb or take the elevator  up to. Being the achievers that we are as well as after seeing the massive line for the elevator we thought we would just walk all the way up to the third level. After climbing over 600 stairs to the second level of the tower we decided we were high enough and would not make it walking all the way to the top. (The second level is still only about halfway) However, the view from the second level was still one of the most amazing I have ever seen and gave us one of the best views the city has to offer.

After an exhausting walk up and down the eiffel tower we made our way to the Champs Elysees and to the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe honors those who fought and died in France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic wars. After always seeing pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe it was amazing to be able to finally see these historical monuments in person. Paris is a city that must be walked because there is so much to see and you don't want to miss one second of the city. However, walking around the entire city created a large appetite among all the girls. We had lunch at Welcome Cafe, a small restaurant right outside the tuileries.

We all ordered an assortment of cheeses, my favorite being emmental cheese. I ordered a croque madam which consists of ham, cheese and an egg and although it may sound like a normal breakfast meal, Paris is known for their croque madams and croque monsieur's and I was nothing but satisfied after my meal. And to top the end of the meal off we stopped for crepes before walking through the tuileries. I ordered a nutella and banana crepe and although it was one of the most delicious desserts I have ever tasted I was unable to finish because the chocolate in Europe is so much richer than the chocolate in the United States.

The walk through the tuileries was a very relaxing and much needed walk after such a large and rich meal although most things were not in bloom you can tell how amazing it would be during the spring. The great thing about Paris is if you are studying abroad you are able to get into all of the museums in Paris for free with your visa! Our next stop was the Musee de Orangerie, my favorite museum during the entire trip to Paris. The Musee de Orangerie is known for holding Claude Monet's famous waterlilies oil paintings.



Monet's waterlilies consist of about 250 oil paintings which show the flower garden at Giverny where Claude Monet lived for a period of time. Monet contributed the last 30 years of his life to these oil paintings while suffering from an obstruction of life in his eye also known as Cataracts. The pictures I took while in the museum do not do the paintings justice but sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by these beautiful paintings not only relaxes you but puts you in a peace of mind that is so normally hard to achieve.





Although we were not able to visit Giverny or Versailles during our short stay in Paris, I hope to go back one day in order to fulfill these goals. The Orangerie Museum was built during the 1920's by the state of France specifically to hold the eight water lily murals by Monet in the white oval rooms. The exhibit opened a few months after Monet's death.







We had to make a quick turn around in order to catch the concert that Michelle bought us tickets for. After rushing home from the museum and getting dressed for the night we headed to the Airborne Toxic Event which included a bunch of small indie rock bands playing in a small venue in the middle of Paris. When we arrived to the venue we were actually able to run into the main band inside the bathroom due to the fact that our french is not very good and our english accents were taking over the bathroom. (Being abroad has shown me how loud and obnoxious we americans really are!) The Airborne Toxic Event is a small indie rock band from Los Angeles, California who travel around the world playing in different countries and cities every week. Their band consists of vocals, guitar, keyboard, viola, tambourine, drums and bass guitar. They are only a recently forming band but they put on an amazing show and were fantastic to watch live.

My classes in Spain

All of my classes are in complete spanish. We had to sign a contract the other day saying that anytime you are in the University (classes, hallways, lobby) you are not allowed to use English. A teacher will correct you when you start talking to your friends in the hallway in english. Although at times this gets annoying because it is 10 times easier to zone out in class in spanish than one in english it has been extremely helpful with my spanish thus far. 

Spanish Grammar: Generally easy so far we have just been doing basic reviewing and learning about the different parts of Spain. It seems more like a history of Spain class than a grammar class so far so hopefully that will begin to change. 

Almodovar Movie Class: This has been my favorite class so far not only because we just watch movies and talk about them during the class period but because of how crazy his movies are. If you have ever seen an Almodovar movie before you know what I'm talking about. His movies are unlike any American movie you will ever watch because they include A LOT of sex scenes, A LOT of drug scenes, and A LOT of abnormal situations. For example; nuns snorting coke throughout their day and falling in love with girls they bring into their convent to help. He is mainly known for showing all of his women characters as very strong and independent women. 

History of Spanish Architecture: This is class is my easiest one to zone out in unfortunately. A lot of the architectural words used in this class I'm not familiar with in spanish therefore making it extremely easy for me to not pay attention. However, thank god our teacher writes down the important facts of what she is saying on the board and I'm learning the spanish architectural words it is just taking some getting used it. 

Spanish Contemporary Film: Again, I love my movie classes because we are able to just watch a movie in class and then talk about it. However, in this class there are no subtitles for the movies which has made it much harder to follow especially because the characters in movies speak much faster than our teachers. 

Greco, Velazquez, and Goya in the Prado Museum: Another one of my favorite classes because this one actually takes place inside of the Prado Museum, one of Spain's most famous museums. During each class we look at one specific painter and learn about all his paintings and the techniques in which he uses. Having a personal tour every other day of all the paintings has been a great learning experience. While we wear headsets to this class our teacher speaks through a microphone into the headset so that we are not disrupting the other onlookers. 

Day trip to San Sebastian

During our short stay in Bilbao we took a day trip to San Sebastian, a popular beach resort and get away for wealthy spaniards being compared to the Hamptons in America. San Sebastian is an absolutely beautiful place however, upon arriving to the town to our dismay it was raining and an extremely gross day outside but that did not stop us from checking out the amazing town anyway. To the right is what San Sebastian should look like during the summer on a gorgeous day.... The bottom picture is what San Sebastian looked like they day we were able to visit....definitely not as nice :-(

However, it was still interesting to walk around and learn about the town. San Sebastian is a great surfing area for those who love huge waves. Standing on the edge looking over the water several feet up you will still get splashed by the force of the water and the large waves crashing into the rocks. Although the waves were not as big as normal when we visited here is a picture of what the waves have looked like and what they looked like when we visited. You get the idea of how forceful they can be any day of the week!

Although it was raining during most of our trip to San Sebastian we still made it out to be a great trip. I tried my first gelato here, flan flavored gelato, definitely one of the best things I have tried in Europe so far.











San Sebastian's City Hall








                                                                                
                                                                                    




All of the trees in Bilbao and San Sebastian look like this!

Weekend trip to Bilbao

Bilbao is located in the North of Spain about 4 hours from Madrid. It's biggest tourist attraction is the newly designed Guggenheim Museum located in the center of town. Designed by North American architect Frank O. Gehry, the museum has created some of the most groundbreaking architecture and design of our time. The building was made out of titanium metal replicating what looks like fish scale tiles. Due to Bilbao's economic failures the museum was built in order to lure tourists into the city regaining the elegance the city once had in the 16th centuries.

Upon arriving to Bilbao after an extremely early bus ride we were able to settle into la jardin hotel located 5 minutes down the road from the Guggenheim museum. After staying in my first hostel in Lisbon it was nice to stay in a great hotel with friends. We then took a walk around the entire city which we were able to conquer in about an hour and a half mainly looking at old banks, churches and beautiful bridges located around the city.



The Campo Volatin Bridge in Bilbao is a tied arch footbridge across the Nervion River in Bilbao supported by steel suspension. It was built by Santiago Caltrava in order to link the right and left banks together. The nightlife in Bilbao does not compare to the nightlife in Madrid however, we were able to stumble upon one extremely fun night club although unlike Madrid night clubs in Bilbao actually close at a decent hour: 3:00 am leaving all of us used to the Madrid clubs stunned and wanting to rage longer!

Penn State in Lisbon!

Penn Stater's representing in Lisbon, Portugal!

Our view from the top of the palace!

Day Trip to Sintra, Portugal

Sintra is the perfect day trip for those staying in Lisbon, Portugal. It is only a 45 minute train ride that costs 4.50 euro round trip! They drop you off right by the bus stop thats stops at all the tourist locations! We were able to see Pena National Palace (one of the most beautiful palaces I have ever seen), the moorish castle, the palace of Sintra, and Sintra's amazing coastline. The Pena National Palace took most of the day because it stands on the highest hill overlooking all of Sintra and you never want to leave! Built by King Ferdinand II the palace would serve as a summer home for the royal family until his death when it was passed into the possession of his second wife. Although no pictures were allowed to be taken inside of the palace it ceilings and walls were some of the most exquisite architecture and painting I have ever seen!

The ceilings inside of the palace were so delicately sculpted and designed. The detail of the palace on the outside is almost as detailed as the walls and ceilings on the inside. Although Sintra was an overall amazing day I regret wearing leather boots in a completely hiking area. My friends and I did not realize how much we would be walking not only up hills, stairs, and dirt but on cobble stones and unpaved streets! My black leather boots are not necessarily the type of shoes you want to be wearing during these excursions. Note to self for our next trip!

The next site we were able to see was only a short walk down the hill from the National Palace and it reminded me of the great wall! It was probably close to as much walking as the great wall would be thats for sure! It was called the Castle of the Moors built by the Moors in the early 9th or 10th century! The castle was built as a wall for protection of the National Palace. It is easy to see that the walls of the castle provide complete protection and control over the surrounding areas.

Imagine walking all of this in black leather boots! Doesn't it really resemble the great wall?

Before entering the Castle of the Moors!

Our group on top of the castle!

Inside the castle!

After a long day of walking and hiking in uncomfortable shoes our last stop was the National Palace of Sintra. This palace is the best preserved medieval palace in Portugal. It has been inhabited continuously from the 15th century up until the 19th century. 

Recipe for Pastel de Nata

This post is specifically for my brother and dad (the best cooks I know) to try and make this portuguese dessert for when I return home. Because the pastel de Nata recipe is completely secret and heavily guarded this is the next best thing.

pasteis de nata
Source: www.algarvebuzz.com
Difficulty: easier than it looks and very rewarding

prepared puff pasty – defrosted but kept cold
1 ¾ cups whole milk
¼ cup cream
4 egg yolks
3 tbsp white sugar
pinch salt
2 tbsp plain flour
½ cinnamon stick
2 strips lemon peel
½ tsp vanilla extract

Pastry Cream Instructions

1. In a sauce pan add milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, salt, flour mix well with a whisk to ensure all the ingredients are well combined, do not turn heat on yet.
2. Once all ingredients are combined and there are no lumps of sugar or flour add cinnamon stick, lemon peel and vanilla.
3. Turn heat on to low stirring continuously and gently with whisk. *Note it’s very important to heat the milk slowly, if the milk is heated too quickly, egg yolks could coagulate like scrambled eggs and ruin the consistency of the custard.
4. Continue stirring until it cream becomes quite thick and resembles a rich pudding. Watch for thickening around the edges of the pan, you want a really smooth cream so make certain to get in the sides and bottom edges of the pan.
5. Let cool completely. When cooled, remove cinnamon stick and lemon peel.
6. To avoid milk skin from forming on custard you can place parchment paper on top of warm custard and it will lift out easily when you go to use it to fill puff pasty shells.

Preparing Pastry Shells

1. Preheat oven to 225F (107C) [update: 300 F (148C)]
2. Roll out cold puff pastry dough with pin on floured surface, until 1/4 cm thick.
3. Once rolled out thin, dusk off excess flour and begin rolling puff pastry like a long cigar. Roll pastry snugly but not tight, just enough to avoid a lot of space or air pockets in roll.
4. Place pastry roll length wise and cut in 4cm lengths
5. Then take each cut piece in hand and push down center of roll to meet center of opposite side, gently press pastry with fingers to spread out dough to create what will feel like half of a hallow pastry ball. Work in circular pattern and pastry will start to thin and from a cup shape. If dough gets sticky use a little flour to help it along. Finished shells should be about 1/4cm, thin but not enough to see your hand through. If you like puff pastry you can make the shells a little thicker, but a couple of tries of the finished version will let you know your preference.
6. Place pastry in muffin tray, and spread out to sides but don’t stretch dough upward, just gently press against side of muffin tin to ensure it won’t shrink too much when baking.
7. When all pastry shells are ready fill with pastry cream, do not fill to top. Fill to ¾ or a bit more but leaving 1- 1.5cm at top of pastry.
8. Place custards in oven and bake for 15min, but keep eye on custards as some ovens can burn top quite quickly, while others don’t cook the pastry quickly enough. If pastry around sides looks deep golden colour pastries are done.

Pasteis de Nata can be served warm or cold, but highly recommended with a good sprinkle of cinnamon on top. The Portuguese are very particular about their Pasteis de Nata, some people must have theirs more burnt on top, others like them just golden. Regardless of how you have them they are a wonderful addition to an afternoon tea or coffee and can also accompany a nice port or Madeira. They also make for a great breakfast treat or even on their own as dessert, enjoy!