Valencia

This last weekend we went on a FREE, two-day trip to Valenica. Valencia is a city on the east coast of Spain. We left early on Thursday morning (7:15 bus) and embarked on a 4 hour bus ride. We stopped at around halfway in order to eat breakfast in this town in the middle of nowhere. We ate in a castle. Yes, a castle. There was a great spread filled with bread, croissants, fruit and chorizo. It was so good. It was a great way to really start the morning. From there we made our way to Valencia and once we arrived, we went to our rooms for a bit, at the hotel, (it was a very nice hotel) and were granted a few hours of free time. What to do, what to do?..BEACH. We couldn't get on that bus fast enough. As soon as we got there, we ran right into the Mediterranean. It was warm and salty with great waves. We hung out in the water and on the beach for a while. Later, we went on a walking tour of the city (super cool) and saw many important/interesting landmarks and buildings of extreme architecture. I took so many pictures this weekend. After the tour, I was so tired from the night before that I just ended up in the very comfortable hotel bed watching a movie in Spanish. The next day (very well-rested), I ate breakfast in the hotel with my friends (another great spread). We then checked out of the hotel and boarded a bus headed to an aquarium. It was so cool. One of the best aquariums I have been to. They had all kinds of fish, penguins, dolphins, beluga whales, sharks, seals and sea lions. We jhung out there for a while and then went to a nearby science center in order to watch an IMAX movie about the hubble telescope. It was amazing. Afterwards we were all having deep conversations about space, life out there and life itself. It was great. We headed back home for another 4 hours on the bus. (Everybody was knocked out for the first half of it) Once home, I skyped my mom and dad, watched some of the shows that I missed while I was in Valencia, ate some food and went to bed. Today was very relaxing. I woke up around 10 (with a nice 10 hours of sleep) and went for a 4.5 mile run. After I showered, my roommate and I went shopping for a bit. I bought 3 new shirts for a good price so I was excited for that. I ate a hamburger, changed and then went to the pool for a couple of hours with some people from the program. (I love it here) I am currently watching the 49ers game on a website that my friend gave me. I am so glad to be able to watch the game (since my direct tv doesn't work here in Spain) I also am loving the image of my mom yelling at the tv back home. It comforts me whenever something bad happens during the game to know she is just as upset. Tonight I don't think I am doing much but continuing to watch this game, eating, skyping and doing whatever homework I have to do. Other than that, the theme of today is: Relaxation.

Luke