New Adventures, New Blog!

For those of you who were unaware, I will be joining ~8,500 people who have made a commitment to Teach for America.  I will be teaching in South Louisiana for the next two years, and hope that my new blog will help me sort through my experiences, and also keep in touch with some of you.

What I learned quite quickly while in France was that telling the same great stories is dreadful, but guilt-tripping people into reading a blog so you don't have to say the same things over and over is great!

With that in mind, I invite you all here: http://mary-latola.blogspot.com/

There's not much there now, but hopefully it will be better soon!

Barcelona!

I arrived in Barcelona in the early evening.  I took the aerobus from the airport to Plaça de Catalunya, and then walked the rest of the way to my hostel, which was off of the main and famous drag, La Rambla.  On my bus ride in, I saw probably one of my favorite sights in all of Barcelona, Plaça de Espanya.  I have no pictures of it, and I never got to see it not from the Aerobus, but it was breathtaking.

Upon arrival at the hostel, I was reunited with my good friend from Bordeaux, Kellyann, and we waited patiently for our other good friend, Harmony.  We were in a room with a Frenchman from Salsbourg, who was ever so happy that we spoke French, as his English was not very good.  After we all made it to the hostel, we had a lovely tapas dinner at a restaurant recommended by Linden.

The next morning, Harmony's sister arrived, and we started to take Barcelona by storm.  We first started with the Picasso Museum.  It was AWESOME. No photos could be taken inside, but I got to see Picasso's works from when he was 10 all the way through to the end of his career and full blown Cubist expression.  I particularly enjoyed looking at Picasso's intensive study of Las Meninas by Velasquez.  I was so excited.  I had just seen the original in the Prado!  Again, amazing.

We also spent a late morning/early afternoon on the beach.  It was sooo crowded, and there were people selling tattoos, massages, scarves, sunglasses, beers and water walking around the beach.  It was madness.  In my haste to get a tan, I was not very liberal with my sunscreen application, and I ended up burned.  As I write this, however, the burn has faded and I am slowly but surely becoming tan.

(Side note:  Sunscreen is incredibly expensive in France/Spain/Greece.  After my burning in Barcelona, I ended up giving in and buying some before my landing in Greece.  I bought the most cost effective/spf effective sunscreen.  It was 15€ for 200ml, with the added bonus that it has plankton extract in it that protects against jellyfish, apparently.  I have yet to try out this feature, but I will just trust them on it.)

After some time in the sun, we went to La Sagrada Familia, "the world's most visited construction site!"  It's the slowly but surely being realized "temple" designed by Gaudi (unofficial architect of Barcelona).  It was AMAZING.  Gaudi was greatly influenced by nature, and all the forms seem to erupt naturally from the architecture, furthermore, his manipulation of light is spectacular.  At the tops of all of the steeples are vegetal forms, and there are turtles supporting the massive columns that support the intricately decorated façade.  Another night, we went to Park Güell, another creation of Gaudi's where we walked and wandered, entranced by the undulating tiled bench and rocky columns.  I am now a huge Gaudi fan.

The last big event  was going to Saint Joseph's Market.  It was filled with tropical fruits, fresh fish, meats, candies, bread, pastries, tapas, anything really.  It was so much fun to wander through.  I also had amazing mango, pineapple and dragon fruit in my fruit salad.  I went a little overboard, and I had a whole meal of fruit and bread.  It was so satisfying.  

And now for some photos:

The entrance to our Pension in Barcelona

The beach where I burned tanned

LA SAGRADA FAMILIA by GAUDI

The interior was amazing, and the way that light bounced around was mesmerizing

The windows were amazing

The views of the towers from the walkway between them

Light and construction

Me in front of the façade

Park Güell

The columns were amazing

The famous frontside

Candy in the market

The table of fruit where I bought multiple snacks and dinner

Madrid with friends

Soooo, this is quite late, but I finally have some free time as I leisurely make my way through the Greek Isles.  I am currently in Tinos, after 3 days in Myokonos, and I will be traveling to Syros tomorrow.  Also, my account might be a little hodge-podge, but I will do my best!  And off we go...

My travels to Madrid were somewhat eventful, as it took me 12 hours of travel to finally reach my location.  The actual distance between Bordeaux and Madrid is approximately equal to the distance between Bordeaux and Paris.  To (cheaply) travel from Bordeaux to Paris, I first took a train to Paris, and then flew from Paris to Madrid. My travels were a success, I arrived in Madrid tired, but with all my luggage.  After navigating the (spotless) Madrid Metro system, I made it to Sol, the center of Madrid, and happily met Linden (best friend from back home) by the horse-statue-in-between-the-two-fountains.

We spent the weekend with Linden's parents, traveling through the museums (the Prado and the Reina Sofia, OMG) and leisurely stopping for cafe (solo o con leche), cervesas, y vino.  It was amazing.  We also walked through Retiro, Madrid's equivalent to Central Park, where there was a huge mobile soccer museum filled with paraphenalia, boasting Madrid's impressive history with the sport.  Though we walked past that madness, we lingered in the Rose Garden.  According to my more botanically inclined travel companions, we were there about a week or two early, as a majority of the bushes were just starting to bloom.  It was still beautiful.  

We also happened to be in town for the weekend of Saint Isidro, the patron saint of the city of Madrid.  Everyone was dressed in typical Madrileño garb, and it was amazing.  Though, the women's outfits are a little ridiculous, as they have flowers perched inorganically right on the top of their heads.  In between a museum and a café stop, we were able to catch the end of a parade of traditional Madrileños. It was really fun.  

On top of it being the weekend of the patron saint of Madrid, it is also the year of the centennial celebration of Gran Via, a major road in Madrid (equivalent to Broadway in New York, I believe).  They covered the entire road in blue carpet and then there was a symphonic orchestra and famous Spanish singers.  They all were able to incorporate fan-dancing and flamenco-inspired movements into their operatic Madrid songs, that everyone around us seemed to know the words to.  The crowd was very interesting as well.  It seemed that everyone could sing along to every song that was being performed, they danced and swayed to the music, smoked cigarettes, and drank beer from the can.  This can be said for the 20 year olds, as well as the 50 year old Madrileñas. It was amazing.  

Guernica at the Reina Sofia!

Some more art in the Reina Sofia, to the right "Landscape" and to the left, "Bird in Flight"

The Rose Garden at Retiro

Again, the Rose Garden

And again, roses

And more in Retiro

Tasty foods in the market by Plaza Mayor

Chocolate con churros

Linden's favorite church in Madrid, and one of mine as well

The Madrileñas in the Traditional Madrileños Parade, note the UCLA colors

A little Madrileñita

Dancing Madrileñas

All for now! Barcelona and Greece posts to come!

loving life

I had an amazing weekend in Madrid with my good friend from high school, Linden, and her parents, and now I am in Bar(th)elona with Harmony and Kellyann (good friends from my study abroad program in Bordeaux)!  Everything is going well, and I am safe.  I will give you more later, but for now, I'm going to sit on the beach, potentially see the Picasso Museum, and then have some a lot a responsible amount of sangria.

noooooooo, don't make me leeeaaaaaaavveeeeeeeeeeee

OK, I write to you from the messiest my room has been all semester. Also, I write to you in a state of sheer denial at the prospect of leaving tomorrow morning early. My journey starts with a bus to the train to Charles de Gaulle to Madrid (barring volcanic activity). I have given myself 10 minutes to be nostalgic and emotional in a word-vomit/stream-of-consciousness post where I let you all know how sad I am to be leaving this amazing city. For those of you who are aware of my European summer, you know I will be back in Bordeaux on 2 more occasions. This is awesome, but it won't be the same. I have so loved living here. Seeing the people, dodging the dog poo, smelling the pastries. Simply walking the same streets, seeing the same sights, visiting the same cafés.... I have just said good-bye to my best friends in the program, and immediately walked back into the war-zone that is my room to actually begin putting clothes in my backpack. I walked home in a daze, fighting back tears, skin crawling, finally realizing, yes, this is actually the end. One of my close friends, Collin, summed it up by saying that this is the end of "one of the highlights of [my] life." It's so true. I have wanted to study abroad my entire high school career and even before that. Did I really understand what study abroad was then? No. Did I ever really know what was going to happen to me during the 5 months I live and learn immersed in a different culture? Certainly no. I was told by my roommate from Fall quarter (the quarter before I left) that study abroad would "change my life" that I would meet friends of a lifetime and comeback completely different. I have been told by close friends from back home that I have changed, that I seem different. I can't tell you how, but apparently it happened, (so, Hilary, you were right.) And in a second bout of clairvoyance, Hilary, I have for certain, met the friends of a lifetime. Jokingly, we discuss what we will say at each other's weddings, the toasts, who will be in the wedding party, but I truly hope to be there (if not planning the whole event.) It's sappy and ridiculous, but I'm really going to miss this place, these people, and this experience. I don't even know where to begin. This is a start. The 10 minutes are up, and packing is calling. I will have a more rational post with things in a more sensible order. Bordeaux me manquera! :(

Vacances de Paques! Aix-en-Provence, Arles and Marseilles, France and Frez, Morocco

Spring break this year was pretty incredible.  I traveled with two good friends and we went through Southern France and then traveled to Fez, Morocco for a completely different experience.  The itinerary is as follows: Aix-en-Provence (Day 1), Arles (Day 2), Marseilles (Day 3), Fez (Days 5-8), Marseilles (Days 9-10).  The weather wasn't awesome, but the company and experiences were fantastic.  Because I'm behind, it'll be mostly photos with just a little commentary....

First, we started in Aix-en-Provence.  The home city of Cézanne, we visited is Atelier (studio) and walked around.  The weather wasn't awesome, but the town was really cute.

A fountain in the main roundabout 

Some trees in a park

The same beautiful trees lining a road

Then we went to Arles.  Arles served as inspiration for Van Gogh and Picasso, among other great painters.  Again, small and quaint and better weather.  And the best ice cream I've had ever. 

The Amphitheater in Arles

The plaza by l'Hotel de Ville

A view of the Rhone

And then after Arles, we visited Marseilles, where we decided to explore Les Calanques.  They are gorgeous rock formations a 30min bus ride outside of Marseilles.  After the fog cleared, it was gorgeous.

A view of blue skies

The clear Mediterannean

After Marseilles, we went to a completely different place: Fez, Morocco. It reminded me of my travels in Malaysia and Thailand, in some ways.  But it was also a completely different experience.  I had an amazing time, though it took some adjusting, and would love to go back in the future.

This is a photo of the tannery.  On the far left are the white wells filled with ammonia and pigeon droppings. These are where the hides go first. Then they are put into the colored wells, dyeing the leather.  Then they are laid out to dry (right of the picture).  The leather drying in the sun in this photo was dyed with saffron. Generally, good quality Moroccan leather bags are made with camel, and then jackets/clothing is made from goat leather.

This is Seffarine Square, where all the copper workers craft pots, pans, and decorations out of metal. 

A shop of mirrors

The inside of a Medersa (theological school)

Beautiful tile work, carved wood, and carved plaster

A cat lounging in the tranquil medersa

Sooooo many cats everywhere

A closer look at some plaster carvings

Well-presented mint tea. (Moroccan mint tea is amazing. Everywhere.)

The Medina by night, as seen from the fancy hotel where we drank tea.  The medina is the center of the city, where all the shops are.  It's a completely disorienting and overwhelming maze of shops.

This is a view of the ceramics cooperative that we saw on our third day in Fez.  First they prepare the clay, and get it ready to sit in the sun in rudimentary tiles.

After the tiles sit in the sun, workers pound our any air bubbles and cut them into a regulation size before they sun again.

After the sun, the clay objects sit to be put in the oven, where they will be baked twice.  Once before the glaze, and once after.

Then they are turned into beautiful things.  Like these fountains.  The "guide" that showed us around insisted on taking a photo of me with these fountains.  I was not such a fan, but you can see my new bag.  The shoulder bag i brought with me to France was on its last legs.

Beautiful things in the ceramics exposition hall.

Fez is also known for it's fountains. Starting with this one, and going down, this is what a walk down the main boulevard near our hotel looks like by night.  First, this fountain in one of the large roundabouts.

Then a long fountain that runs along the boulevard

That breaks so people can sit and watch, or run through this area.

Then another large fountain

And the lights continue all the way to the next fountain

Which is the big one at the next big roundabout.  It changes colors and different elements turn on and off.  It was beautiful and calming.

And now we're back in Marseilles.  I walked with my good friend from high school along the beach for about 3 hours, in which time it was damp, then it rained, then the sun came out.

Water before the rain

Monument in the rain

The sun!

The trip was amazing.  I loved (near) every second of it. More later, I promise, but I just wanted to make sure I got you all somewhat up-to-date on my travels! A bientôt!