David: Spain Trip - Day 11

Inside the cathedral in Salamanca

Sorry everyone, but I didn't take many pictures today. I'll try to explain everything with the few pics I have though.

To start, we walked around downtown Salamanca and checked out the cathedral, some of the monuments, and the university. The tour was okay, but it was very windy and kind of cold this morning so it was kind of a distraction when we were outside. It seemed like we had stepped into our 50th cathedral while we've been on this trip too since I've seen or been in so many. Besides the cathedral, the monuments, and the quick stop outside of the university though, we stepped inside a cafe where we ate churros and drank hot chocolate. Definitely the highlight to my morning that's for sure.

Another picture inside the cathedral

After our morning festivities Manu, Connor, and myself, met up with a friend of mine who I met on a bus named, Kata. She's also here for an exchange program with a group of American students, but she'll be here until June... so she'll definitely be 10 times better at Spanish by the time she leaves compared to me haha. All of us met in Plaza Mayor and went to a bar for a little bit. We hung out and talked and just chatted about whatever happened to come up. We also started the beginning celebrations for Connor's 18th birthday. After the bar Manu, Connor, and myself had to head to our friend Fermin's house who was having people over. Everyone from the exchange was there and once again I ate way too much to handle. It's been such a struggle over here when it comes to food haha.

The birthday boy Connor enjoying his 18th

After Fermin's Manu and myself went downtown to meet up with Kata again for a quick second. We were only able to walk around for a few minutes before we had to go though. We ran home... and by the way TKFV readers I recommend you never run in two jackets, a t-shirt, skinny jeans, semi dress shoes, and a beanie in low 50 degree weather. I felt like asthma when I got back. And since I still feel like asthma I'm going to get some sleep. I've never been so tired in my life haha. Goodnight!

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David: Spain Trip - Day 10

Segovia

Lazy Sunday wasn't so lazy today. Manu, his family, and myself all went to Segovia and Ávila for the day, both different provinces in Spain. First we drove about an hour and a half to Segovia where we spent the first half of the day walking around town, checking out El Alcázar (a castle in the city), and finished off the rest of our time there at a restaurant. I've eaten a lot this trip, but I think I ate the most today. I started with lamb and a salad accompanied by bread and finished off the meal sharing two desserts with Manu. When I'm back in the United States I think all I'm going to be eating is salad for about a month or two.

Another view of Segovia

Manu & myself 

Manu, Myself, Manu's dad, and Manu's sister Claudia

Claudia, Manu's mom, and myself

The cathedral

Another view of Segovia

The menu (I ordered the cordero lechal asado with Manu)

Myself & Manu

Lamb

After Segovia we drove about 30 minutes to walk around in Ávila for a few minutes. We were only there for a little bit because we had to get home, but Manu's family wanted to show me another area of Spain. I enjoyed the views and watching the sun set for the few minutes we were there. After Ávila we got back into the car and went back to Salamanca.

Ávila

Another view of Ávila

When we got back to Salamanca Manu and myself met up with our friends Sofia, Alyssa, Santi, James, Amanda, and Lucia. We hung out for about an hour and then Manu and myself went back home. We ate dinner (and I don't know how I did after all that food I had for lunch) and now I'm about to head off to bed. Goodnight TKFV! 

P.S. - For those watching the Oscars tonight can you let me know how they are?

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David: Spain Trip - Day 9

Breakfast

Right now I am extremely tired, but I cannot go to bed without doing a blog post. So, excuse me if this one is a little short haha.

This morning I had churros with hot chocolate. I really love Spanish food I can't get over it. Everything that I've had out here has tasted amazing. It's kind of weird though. America is well known for being fat, but I've eaten so much more while I've been here. For breakfast I had everything that's in the picture above and for lunch I had a potato soup, bread, some egg dish, and then a dessert. I swear my stomach was about to burst.

For most of the day, Manu and myself just relaxed. We played Pro Evolution Soccer on his computer and I beat him every time until our last game where he beat me by one goal at the very end... So lucky haha. Afterwards we went with our friends Santi and James to a DJing/breakdancing event. We were all expecting something a little different, but I was able to itch my scratch for a bit and get my craving out of my system.

Turntables

Santi

Immediately after we went downtown to meet up with all our friends. Unfortunately it was too dark to get any pictures and I only took one that came out really bad which you can see below. We went to a few bars and clubs in the area and just had a good time. I was a little mad since my good friend Connor couldn't stay that long and his birthday is on Monday so I wanted to celebrate with him early. I guess we'll have to figure something else out and I'm sure we will. We are in Spain after all haha. 

Horrible picture in one of the clubs

Anyways I am really tired so I'm off to bed. I'll be heading out of Salamanca for the day tomorrow! Adios!

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David: OFWGKTA on MTV

Taco & Tyler, the Creator from OFWGKTA

For those of you that are not following OFWGKTA I think it's time you do. It's crazy to think after knowing them for one year and seeing them the weekend I was out for the Grammy's in Los Angeles how much of a buzz they have generated throughout the whole United States. From Kanye West tweeting Tyler's "Yonkers" as the best music video of 2011 (which recently hit over 1 million views in just one week), to the Jimmy Fallon performance, and now MTV. OFWGKTA has made more than a name for themselves and continues to keep pushing their music into the minds of America and even the whole world. They are here to stay and from the looks of it, it'll be for a long time.

Below is the full MTV Interview of OFWGKTA featured on television two days ago (2/24/11). Check it out below and see why these kids are the next big thing in all of music:



Hit the jump to see the video footage from Jimmy Fallon and the Yonkers' music video.




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David: Spain Trip - Day 8

Salamanca at night

Today was by far the best day that I've had while I've been in Spain. The day started off kind of boring and slow, but it got a lot better as it went on. To start, we went to a farm where they raise bulls to be used in bull fights and cows to breed them or be killed for food. I probably could've phrased all of that a little better, but that's roughly a summary of what goes on at the farm. There were hundreds of acres and different sections where they kept different cows and bulls. Unfortunately the tour got a little boring after seeing the same animals, scenery, and poop piles for an hour.

Bullring

Bulls

More bulls

Cows

After the tour was finally done, Manu and myself rested a bit before we went downtown. Once we were done resting we met up a group of kids, both American and Spanish. We started off with our friends Sofia, Alyssa, Matt, Rachel, Lucia, Amanda, and James and just walked around for awhile checking out a little more of downtown Salamanca. By the end of the night we were easily with a group of 20 or more. And at one point it was 4 guys and 14 girls which was definitely a highlight to my evening :) haha. While we were downtown we began at our friend Alba's (who is a part of the exchange) father's bar. Afterwards we began to walk around and I was able to meet a lot of new people (which is always what I look forward to on any trip I go on). We stopped in a few other bars and just hung out and had a good time. At the end of the night I was talking to my new friends Maria, Celia, and Marta. They taught James and myself some dirty Spanish words and sentences and some Spanish songs. So parents reading this back at home... We are learning so much Spanish haha. Afterwards everyone left and Manu and myself got some pizza again and now I'm at his house watching the NBA All Star game that I missed while he's passed out on the couch. Adios everyone! Tomorrow should be the busiest day of them all!

The Cathedral

Lucia & Sofia

Rachel & Matt

Food at a bakery we stopped at

Manu eating pizza at the end of the night

P.S. - I am officially a part of the family :)

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David: Spain Trip - Day 7

The Americans at Pedro Nieto's ham factory

Today, Manu's sister, Claudia, accidentally set the alarm an hour earlier than we were supposed to get up... 6 o' clock. Manu woke me up at 6:40 after he was done getting ready thinking it was 7:40 and told me to hurry up, so without thinking I threw on some clothes and right as I was about to brush my teeth my alarm went off telling me it was 6:40... A great start to the day. Luckily I had plenty of time to get ready today though haha. 

When we got to the school, all of the American students had a class for one hour about Salamanca and the districts surrounding it. Since I got up so early today I was a little tired, so I had a little trouble keeping my eyes open. Plus it felt like that class was taking forever. After the class we got on a 45 minute bus ride, where I was able to sleep for awhile, and arrived at our friend Luis' family ham factory, Pedro Nieto (also the name of Luis' dad) in Guijuelo. We had a long tour around the factory and learned the whole process of what goes through making the meat ready to sell and eat. It takes almost 3 years for one single ham to be ready. After our tour we had some food that was prepared for us and then went to Candelario, a village about 20 minutes down the road.

Some ham and I

The meal prepared for us after the tour

Chorizo

Ham

Matt

Fermin

In Candelario we just walked around and ate lunch. Nothing too special, but we enjoyed the warm weather and the scenery that it had to offer us.

After Candelario we went back to the school to get picked up and Manu and myself went downtown to meet up with Luis, Connor, and our friends, Becca and Beth. We finished the day just hanging out in a bar downtown chatting and having a good time. We had other things planned, but unfortunately those plans didn't work out. Hopefully tomorrow everything will go a little more smooth. But for now I am extremely sleepy so I'm off to bed. Ciao!

Connor & Manu

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David: Spain Trip - Day 6

Myself & Sofia

Before I get into day 6, I'd like to write a personal message to my parents because the picture above is the first picture I've put of myself on TKFV while I've been out in Spain. So mom and dad I am alive and well with no scratches on my face as you can see. 

ANYWAY, we started the day much like yesterday (at least the going to school part). We went to school, I fell asleep in philosophy class, attempted to take a test that I couldn't understand, went to technical drawing class, had a brain fart in technical drawing class, and then we went to play a game called, padel (which is a game much like tennis).

Younger kids in the playground

Dani

Manu in technical drawing class

My friend James and myself were partners for the day and we tried to play our friends Matt and Connor two times, but kept getting moved around every time we tried to play them. By the end we finally got our match, but unfortunately we lost 21-19 thanks to James hitting the ball out of bounds. Way to go James haha. After we finished playing padel we all went outside to eat lunch... on the pavement while it was easily in the high 70s today. I had a ham sandwich (and by the way the ham in Spain is ten times better than the ham in the United States) and a drink, which was quickly made warm by the sun. And after that I played soccer, which made things even worse for me haha. But I was on the winning team with 5 Americans verses 3 Spaniards... not fair I know, but they are ten times better than us. After we played soccer I had to rush to the sink to drink the tap water to cool down and then we got on the bus to head back to the school to get picked up to go home.

Padel

Connor at lunch

A few hours later Manu and myself went to our friend Lucia's really big house to eat merienda (which is Spanish for snack and the meal between lunch and dinner). We brought a few pastries for the party and everyone else that came brought food too. I ate A LOT and now I'm sitting here poking at my stomach I built up tonight. On the bright side of things though all the food was good. I have to clap for all the vegetarians from America on this trip because it definitely is not easy to be one in Spain.

Half of Lucia's house

Cristina & Gonzalo

Some of the food from tonight

After Lucia's we went home, where I am typing out this blog post on Manu's couch right now. We ate dinner, which in Spain is a lot later than it is in the United States. We didn't sit down at the table until maybe 10:30PM and I had bread and palete (the front leg of the pig). Manu's parents are yelling at us now though, so I'm off to bed. Adios TKFV!

Manu and the palete

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