La Fuencisla

My entry for Le Pain Quotidien's photo contest

I haven't written it here yet, but I am doing an internship this summer. The Institute where I'm at has an exchange programm with RPI, Troy and 4 sweet americans came. I quickly connect with Y and guys are so fun. So J and I took them to Segovia to show them one of the oldest monuments in Spain: the aqueduct, which is basically more than two thousand year old, pretty cool hu?

Afer walking around Segovia and taking many picture with various monuments, we went on picnick down at "La Fuencisla". There is a beautiful view from the castle there. I took a picture for a photo contest: "Where would you like to eat a picnick?" from Le Pain Quotidien.

It was a lovely day with friends, watermelon, exotic salads, spanish tortilla, bread, hummus and a gorgeous castle. Can't wait to go back!

Great view from Madrid's City Hall

Have you ever been inside Madrid's City Hall? Have you been to the upper terrace? Y, R, J, M, L, S, B and I went there and enjoyed a fantastic overview of Madrid's most distinguished landmarks. It is a free activity to do and I think you can go there every day until 7 or 8 pm. Don't miss it!

Brussels

Parfait at Le Pain Quotidien

Finally, my exams are over until next semester. I thought it was never going to end, but it always does :) My classes start tomorrow again, they leave us no time to rest and relax. That's why a nice trip to Brussels is the best way to disconect and gain strength to start over again.

Our stay was short, but we saw the main attractions: Gran Palace, Manneken Pis, Jeaneke Piss, City Walls, Notre Dame, Belgian Waffles....

Big walks through great palaces and huge parks. Everything was very green, but it was also very cold. I had sure a lot of layers on, just like Shrek ;) We got lots of strength from a huge breakfast buffet and from the original "Le Pain Quotidient". It was founded in Brussels.

And of course, we couldn't leave science out of the trip. We visited Atomium, a gigantic iron atom situated in Laeken Park

Nearby, was also a Chinese Building and a Japanese tower.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and gained strength for the following week. I think I did, I just read from the guide book I brought with me and strolled  Rue Neuve alor que je tenais la main de J. 

Algarve, Portugal

Beach, sand, sun.

Dresden

Dresden was destroyed during WWII, and came to life from ashes like the Pheonix. Filled with museums, German Cuissine, very nice buildings and  fairytale castles.

The Elbe riverside is a great place to travel by bicycle to near by towns. For example, an 8 km excursion to Pillnitz Castles is very rewarding with the fantastic view.

Another nice place to walk around is "Grosser Garten". Part of it includes a zoo and very nice fountains. It is also nearby the "Hygiene Museum". No... it is not about toilet paper, it is about the human body.

The "Altstad" is a gorgeous part from this city. It may remind us of Prague because they had the same Emperor August for a period of time. Some famous building are the "Zwinger" and the looong wall mosaic.

 Another beauty is Frauenkirche. It has been completely reconstruted. The inside is very....girly? The walls and furniture are pink, light blue, light green and gold.

 This city has also suffered from flooding. This wave represents how hight the water got with some torrential rains a couple years ago. Al the paintings in the museums were moved so they didn't get ruined.

The background from the picture right under, is the sameone than the famous painting with "Augustusbrücke" by Canalleto (1721-1780). It is a must-take-picture :)

 Another intereting part of the city, is the "Neustadt". As its names implies it is the newst part of the city. Many young artists live here. It offers different bars and bookshops...and vegeterians! :) Yummy and cheap ;)

Somo, Santander

Somo is a small town near Santander. It has a very nice beach which is great for surfing.We took classes and hired the material from Escuela Cantábra de Surf. Ryanair offers cheap flights there, so it is a great destination for a weekend.

Córdoba

Córdoba is an amazing city with a lot of history. Any history buff would love visiting it.
The must-sees are : Córdobas' mosque, Álcazar de los reyes Cristianos, Medina Azahara, Julio Romero de Torres Museum and the Andalusian House.

Another recomendation is going to a Hamman de Al Andalus.They are the nicest in all Spain. Plus, it is very relaxing after walking the whole day throughout the city.

Also, don't miss out on Carbonell's factory. They have a free guided tour of the facilities, a small museum and a small oil testing.

Córdoba's Mosque

Álcazar de los Reyes Cristianos

Álcazar de los Reyes Cristianos

Andalusian House

Beautiful

Medina Azahara

Medina Azahara

Carbonell's oil tasting

Hamman Al Andalus

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