Let me say one thing, I have been soooooo soooooo soooooo busy over the past month or so that I really have not had the time to just sit down with a clear head and just blog. Usually when I blog I like to have lots of free time ahead of me and nothing really stressing me, thus allowing me to just sit down, calmly, and write without any real rush or anything, and that’s really when I produce my best work.
In the past month, lots and lots has happened, so I’ll start off by just drafting a brief list of what this past month has consisted of:
- Trip to Marseille, Nice and Monaco
- Return to Madrid and end of semester deadlines (projects due, papers to turn in…)
- Samo’s visit for one week (remember him?)
- Many of my friends leaving Madrid and returning to Canada (lots of parties and goodbye events)
- Exams (three in three days at one point)
- Trip to Granada to visit my cousin Paola from Italy (she’s doing an internship there)
Finally, today, after returning from Granada last night, I feel I can finally take a moment and breathe easy, though don’t get me wrong this lull will be short-lived. This Wednesday is my birthday (22!), and this Thursday my mom and sister are coming to visit me in Madrid, so I will want to invest lots of time in cleaning the house and making sure they can have a comfortable stay in an otherwise small and tight apartment. But hey, who doesn’t like a challenge? Finally, the three of us will head off to Barcelona and London before they go back home to Montreal and I come back to Madrid for what will not be too much time before I have to take off as well…………. (#sad) More on my summer plans in a bit.
So for now, let’s give a brief rundown of my trip to the South of France and Monaco (which is a separate country btw). This trip did not lack heart-stopping adventure, and not the good kind.
So my first stop was Marseille, and interestingly when I landed I actually didn’t even have any accommodation for the night. I was making countless requests for airbnbs (for one, since I was alone, long story), and everyone was rejecting me. Finally, upon landing I made another request and got accepted at this Airbnb literally at 2 PM the same day for the upcoming night, so that’s stressful in and of itself having that looming uncertainty as to where you’re even going to sleep. Regardless, my host was nice and she even showed me around town a little, I was very thankful she accepted.
So, Marseille. This is a big city, a port city, and one very busy day there was enough to see it all, but needless to say I had to move my ass in order to see everything. The city featured a nice harbour and even a cool museum about the Mediterranean.
Perhaps the nicest part of town, however, was the big Cathedral overlooking the city, Notre-Dame de la Garde. The cathedral itself was very nice but the view from it was even more stunning.
Next we go to: Nice! Well, not really. What I did was that I went to Nice, where I was spending the night, I dropped off my stuff at my hostel and I went straight to Monaco, which lies near the end of the French Riviera and even the ride there features stunning scenery. The city/country itself is also quite impressive; despite being less than two square miles large, it boasts an old town, a new town and a really nice port. And, of course, we all know Monaco is quite the fancy place, right?
After taking in the Old Town and observing the stunning views of the Riviera from the lookout, it was time to head to the Monte Carlo Casino and that area of town, which was also quite stunning. But before I arrived, I stumbled into what was, for me, the main allure of Monaco:
Yes, I, Daniele Iannarone, walked in the pit lane of the most historic Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit. And I saw the most historic chicane that surely everyone recognizes. Needless to say I was like a kid in a candy store.
And, ah yes, despite the heavy rain that day I was most certainly able to appreciate the elegant casino and it’s adjacent square.
It was ridiculously expensive though, a three-course meal at the casino during Grand Prix weekend costed a minimum of 75 euros a head… imagine.
Bon, after Monaco it was time to head to Nice for a couple of days. Lucky for me the weather was much sunnier in Nice so I was able to bask in the sun and enjoy the views and the Promenade des Anglais.
Sights in Nice included a nice lookout, a huge main square, nice gardens and the largest Russian-Orthodox church in the world outside of Russia (pictured above). Really interesting. I even manage to take advantage and take a day-trip from Nice, to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a small village on top of a mountain. The village itself was cute and the lookout also quite impressive.
So my trip to the South of France/Monaco concluded quite dramatically I’d say. So my return flight to Madrid was once again through Marseille, so I had to get from Nicce to Marseille on the day of my flight. Luckily I had planned ahead, for a 3 PM flight I had booked a 9 AM Blablacar, so I would have had ample time. However, this Blablacar never showed up (although the driver claims he did…) and so I needed to find another way to get to the airport. It just so happened that on this day there was also the general strike of all public transit in France… so public transportation was not an option due to that, which was a pain in the ass. At the end of the day, I ended up getting another Blablacar and when I got to the airport I zoomed passed security and passport control and made the final boarding call to get on my flight. Needless to say I did make it, but Jesus was it stressful…
Moving on. So a mere two days after I returned from this trip, Samo came to visit and he stayed at my place. Remember Samo, my roommate from the first semester? It was really nice to see him again and we went out nearly every night when he was here. It was funny because he had NEVER seen the Royal Palace before, and he lived here fore five months!!!!!!! Regardless, we had a really good time together and even made wine ice cream from that bottle of wine we forgot in the freezer one night… We made good food and even ate on my stunning rooftop terrace (yes, it’s amazing! I do have one of those!!).
Perhaps the best thing that came out of Samo’s visit, however, was the creation of summer plans. Samo and I, and some other people, will embark on a ROAD TRIP from Madrid to Slovenia this summer in the month of July. Of course, this means crossing through Northeast Spain, the South of France and the North of Italy. It will be so amazing!!
Following Samo’s departure came the period in which many of my friends were going back to Canada. They were leaving May 12, a mere 11 days ago, and for literally an entire week before they left we found ourselves going out either clubbing or to bars, it was a lot of fun to say the least, but goodbyes are always hard…
Some of our final meals together was at this place called Takos and at this burger place near Sol. The food was so delicious. We even went to the ‘Oldest Restaurant in the World,’ this place called Botin, where I ate the best lamb I’ve ever had.
Moving on. It was exam time at school and I had to cram for a week straight to be completely ready for my three exams in three days. I think, in the end after spending days at the municipal library that I managed to pass, and perhaps even ace, these exams. Quite proud of myself to speak frankly.
Finally, just this past weekend I went to visit Paola, my cousin from Italy. She messaged me a few weeks back saying that her internship was moved from Brussels to Granada, just a couple of hours South of Madrid, and so it would have been a crying shame had I not gone and visit. Even though I’d actually been to Granada before, the lifestyle there is so chill and the tapas are so delicious that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to return, and this time I was even there during a ‘feria.’
I think that’s about it for what’s been going on with me lately, it has been quite an active few months and I’m greatly looking forward to the next few months, despite the little time I have left in Madrid. New adventures and new experiences surely do await and let’s face it, that is what I live for.
Dan.
Studying Abroad in Madrid!! 