Vacaciones navideñas

It's hard to know where to begin writing after spending just over two weeks living out of a suitcase in five very different countries. I can't believe that my long-anticipated reunion with the majority of my family has already come and gone and that the trip that I had been planning virtually since my arrival in Spain in mid-September is now just a memory. It feels like a lot longer than it actually has been since I left Sevilla on December 23, probably because it has been a very full, fast-paced couple of weeks. For those of you who have stuck with reading my blog through the past four months, here is a small disclaimer--this is going to be a very long, but hopefully painless, entry. I was going to include pictures in the post but I have so many from this trip that I can't pick which ones to put here. So, if you haven't seen them already, look at my Facebook album by clicking on this link. Now, with that out of the way, here is what I have been up to since I last posted.

The moment I had been waiting for since last summer finally came on Tuesday December 21, when my dad, Shelley, Martha, Little Julia, Wardie, Jeanie and Bill arrived in Sevilla after spending one night in Madrid. I was anxiously waiting for them on the platform at Santa Justa and couldn't wait to give them each a big hug. I was excited to show them my new life in Sevilla and give them an introduction to Spain, a country which only my grandparents had seen before. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about how they would like it here. Spain is very different from any other European country I have ever visited and the way of life certainly takes some getting used to. However, my fears were put to rest in the taxi from the train station to their hotel as they commented that Sevilla was one of the most beautiful cities they had ever seen. I can't say that I disagree!

After helping them get checked into their hotel, we set off to grab some lunch. I wasn't sure how Spanish cuisine was going to go over with them. Countless varieties of jamón and fried foods aren't exactly things that they normally eat. Luckily, they all arrived with an open mind and were ready to sample some local delicacies. I decided that for our first meal we would go to Los Coloniales, a very typical Andalusian tapas bar and one of the most popular restaurants in Sevilla. As I had thought would be the case, the place was packed and we had to wait for close to an hour for a table. In the meantime, I went over the menu with them and told them what I thought they would like. To my relief, the meal was well worth the wait, as everyone enjoyed their food, especially the chicken with almond sauce (my personal favorite)!

We spent the rest of the day walking around el centro and ended up in my neighborhood, La Alameda, where I finally got to show them where I have been living. Everyone was especially happy to meet Jamón, the giant Rottweiler that resides on my rooftop terrace. Jamón quickly struck up a friendship with my dad, planting all 200 pounds of his canine glory on my dad´s foot and enjoying lots of male bonding.

That night, we met up with my friends Pam and Briana for dinner at a little place at the entrance to Santa Cruz that Pam had recommended. We enjoyed lots of delicious food and even more vino tinto. I was thrilled that my friends got to experience the Cammack clan firsthand and that I got to see both of them before we all dispersed for Christmas break.

On my family's only full day in Sevilla, I was determined to show them as much of the city as possible. We met up for breakfast and then set off to see the main sights in some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen. The first thing on our agenda was the Alcazar, the huge palace in the center of the city. Despite the rain, everyone was able to appreciate the beautiful architecture and I even got to put on my tour guide hat as I explained the history of Andalucía, the Moorish occupation, and the Reconquista. After lunch, we went to the Cathedral, the highlight of any visit to Sevilla. I even made everyone climb the Giralda belltower. Even though it was quite a workout, the view was well worth the hike up, especially as it had temporarily cleared off. Our final destination of the day was Plaza de España and Parque María Luisa. I was glad that they had a chance to see both of those places before the rain started again. I only wish that their time in Sevilla had been longer... there were several more places on my list that I wanted to show them! I guess they will just have to come back in the future.

On Thursday the 23rd we left bright and early for Rome. Somehow I managed to fit everything I would need for two weeks into a backpack and small duffle bag.. quite an accomplishment for a chronic overpacker like myself! After arriving, we met up with Alice at our hotel and went out in search of lunch before we started our sightseeing. That afternoon we went to the Colosseum and then split up so that everyone could see what they wanted to. Alice, Little Julia, Martha and I went to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon and, at my insistance, stopped for gelato on the way back to the hotel.

We got off to a running start on Christmas Eve as we were scheduled to take a guided tour of the Vatican. Our guide, Francesca, was very knowledgeable about the history of the Roman Catholic Church and its art. Unfortunately, I think that her knowledge and her enthusiasm to share it with us were a little too much for our group, especially first thing in the morning. By the end of the tour, we were all tired, not to mention more than a little over-saturated with art history. Still, it was cool to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter´s in person and I was grateful for the opportunity. That said, we spent most of the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel as I think we had had enough of crowds and being tourists for one day.

After a lot of debate and going back and forth, we ended up spending Christmas Day in Viterbo with Alice's host family, who had graciously invited our group of 10 to lunch. At this point, Alice's friend from EHS, Jenny Ward, who is spending the year in France through SYA, had also joined our party. Alice's host mom, Alessandra, prepared a huge meal, which lasted over 3 hours! All of the food, from the pasta course (homemade lasagna with pumpkin) to the meat (pork with chestnut sauce) to the traditional panetonne, was amazing. And somehow, despite the significant language barrier, we were able to communicate with a mixture of the Italians' limited English, Alice's developing knowledge of Italian, and my Spanish.

The day after Christmas the group split up a bit as my dad, Shelley, and the 5 girls departed for France and Jeanie and Bill prepared to go back to the States the following day. We flew into Paris, where we picked up a rental car (or should I say huge van) and then drove to Normandy. We stayed in the charming town of Bayeux, which was centrally located to see all of the important D-Day sights.

On our one full day in Normandy, we had a wonderful tour guide, Rose, who drove around with us from place to place and explained the history behind what we were seeing. Even though it was very cold as compared to Sevilla and Rome, Normandy was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and I enjoyed learning more about its historical significance.

One of the coolest moments of the trip came at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. As we were taking a look around, one of the National Park employees approached us because he had heard our American accents. Since they were about to close down for the day, he asked us if we wanted to help take down and fold the flags. How could we say no? So, with all eyes on us, the 5 Cammack girls along with 2 Mormon boys (fulfilling a 2 year post in France) participated in a very somber, patriotic rite. Even though it seems a little cheesy, it was an experience I will never forget and one that I am glad to have had.

The following day we left Bayeux and headed to Paris, where we were to spend our last days as an entire group. Before leaving Normandy, though, we stopped for lunch in an adorable town called Honfleur. I have to say that, while I love cities, there is something about small French towns that never fails to charm me. I've resolved to learn French so that I can visit many more in the future... we'll see if that ever comes to fruition, though!

I will take this part of the entry to put our time in France into perspective and to take a little trip down memory lane. In the summers of 1999 and 2000, my dad, Shelley, and what were then the 4 girls spent 2 weeks in Provence. On each trip we rented a house and basically soaked up everything we could about French village and country life. It was a very formative experience for everyone involved, first and foremost because it marked the beginning of our life as a blended family and secondly because for us kids it was our first trip to Europe. Needless to say, being back in France as a family brought back a lot of memories for everyone and things really seemed to have come full circle. Of course, now we have Wardie along for the ride, which only made this trip all the more special!

Anyways, when we got to Paris, we headed straight for Hotel Montalembert, the same hotel that we stayed in all those years ago! I am happy to say that not much has changed about the hotel. The one thing that has changed over the years is my opinion of Paris. On my first trips to France, I have to say that I was not a fan of the City of Light. In fact, I hated it. Back then, Paris seemed a lot dirtier and I have a very vivid memory of a naked homeless man sleeping in a metro station. Luckily, things have changed, or at least that has been my impression. Two years ago, while studying abroad, I went back to Paris, where I stayed with a friend from Nashville who was living there and was able to give me an insider´s view of the city. During that trip, I started to come around to the idea of Paris. This time around, I fell head-over-heels in love with it.

The first step in my journey to re-acquainting myself with Paris was dinner the first night at Brasserie Balzar, a restaurant we went to several times in 1999 and 2000 and that we have all talked a lot about in the interim. Although it has become a lot more popular and thus more expensive in the last decade, Balzar did not disappoint as the quintessential Paris brasserie. The highlight of the evening was hands down the profiteroles (puff pastries filled with ice cream and covered in chocolate sauce) that we had for dessert. Add those to the list of things that haven't changed in 11 years!

On our first morning in Paris, Martha and I decided to branch out on our own and do the Sandeman's free walking tour, which I have also done in Munich and Edinburgh. Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience as we had a great guide who was informative and, more importantly, entertaining, throwing in pop culture references throughout our walk through the center of Paris. Among the highlights of the tour were Place St. Michel, Notre Dame, the Louvre (well, the outside of it anyway), the Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées, and Les Invalides.

That afternoon Martha and I had grand plans to go back to the Champs-Élysées to explore the Christmas market, which more than 1 person had told me was a must. However, on our way there, we had a bit of a situation when an ATM ate Martha's debit card. She headed back (in tears) to the hotel to call our mom and rectify the problem while I decided to continue exploring. I headed straight for the Christmas market, which was a little too crowded for my liking. Afterward, I walked over to the Eiffel Tower and then back to the hotel, which was quite a hike. It felt good, though, especially after consuming my fair share of Italian and French food over the previous several days! I was glad to learn upon returning to the hotel that Martha had talked to Suntrust back in Nashville and was able to recover her card from the ATM. Lesson, which most of us have to learn the hard way: always tell your bank when you are going to be out of the country!

On our last full day all together, we made the trip to Versailles, the famous palace (built by Louis XIV) just outside of Paris. As you can probably imagine, it was packed with tourists like ourselves. Luckily, we got tickets almost immediately after getting off of the train and only had to wait in a short line to get in. Although the palace was beautiful and is certainly historically significant, it didn't live up to my expectations... which could probably get me thrown in jail in France! After a while, all palaces and fancy houses start to look the same. Unfortunately, the gardens, which I am sure are beautiful in the spring and summer, were covered in snow. I guess I will just have to go back under warmer conditions!

After returning from Versailles, Martha and I embarked on a whirlwind lap around Paris so that we could see all of the places we had missed thus far. I think I nearly killed her as we walked a huge loop around the city and spent very minimal time on the metro. We did go to the Eiffel Tower (or at least walk by it), as well as the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, the site of the Bastille, and Notre Dame.

On the morning of New Year´s Eve, Alice and I said goodbye to the rest of the family. We switched to a different hotel and then did some last-minute exploring. We finally got crepes (which were just as good as I remembered them being), walked through the Luxembourg Gardens (only because Mary Kate & Ashley went there in "Passport to Paris"), and visited the Pantheon, where Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie, among others, are entombed.

To ring in the New Year, we met up with one of Alice´s friends from SYA Italy and went out to dinner with her family. Unfortunately, because we had to catch a semi-early flight to London the following morning, we didn't have a wild and crazy night. Still, it was a good end to a great stay in Paris.

Upon arriving in London, we headed straight from Luton Airport (about an hour outside of the city) to our hostel, near King's Cross. Since our room wasn't ready yet, we dropped off our stuff and headed toward Westminster to see the Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliament and to grab some lunch. We found a very typical English pub, where Alice had some sort of meat pie and I had steak and eggs (minus the steak). We wanted to tour Westminster Abbey but it was closed for the day already, so we headed back to the hostel, where we hoped we would be allowed to go to our room.

Unfortunately, we soon discovered that our hostel room (which we were sharing with 3 other girls) left a lot to be desired and that maybe we shouldn't have been looking forward to getting into it. The room and bathroom were not exactly sparklingly clean and whoever our roommates were had mountains of clothes and suitcases piled up everywhere. Still, because it was Alice's first hostel experience and I didn't want to worry her by saying, "This might be the worst hostel I have ever stayed in," I tried to remain positive and continually assured her that it could be much worse... which it could have been (remember our airport hotel in Glasgow?). By the following morning, though, we had both had enough of the hostel, between the conditions already mentioned, our roommate's noisy and disruptive middle-of-the-night return, and the stench that had overtaken the room. I don't think the other girls showered once while we were staying there. After getting dressed, I immediately got online and found a hotel for us to stay in when we got to Berlin. The hostel was already putting a slight damper on our time in London... I didn't want the same thing to happen in Berlin too!

After getting over our less-than-stellar accommodations, we finally set off to explore the city. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, where we got the only picture of the two of us in London. Afterward, we headed towards Notting Hill, an area I had loved two years ago. The colorful townhouses were still as adorable as ever and we found plenty of shops to keep us busy before going to brunch at a cute little cafe. Later on, we visited Harrod's.. it was only appropriate, as Alice is one of the biggest shopaholics I know! That night we broke down and went to see "Little Focker's". We figured we owed ourselves a little piece of America as we hadn't gone home for the holidays!

On Monday, our last day in London, we tried to cram as much in as we could. I had always been curious to see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (or at least the replica of it), our first stop of the day. We had a brief tour and it was really cool to imagine plays being performed there hundreds of years ago. I would love to go back during the season some day and actually see a Shakespeare play performed. After we finished up there, we crossed the River Thames to go to St. Paul's Cathedral, something I missed on my trip two years ago. Even though I have become somewhat apathetic to cathedrals after seeing so many across Europe, St. Paul's was beautiful and probably one of my favorite religious buildings I have seen. Alice and I even temporarily got over our fear of heights to climb the stairs to the Whispering Gallery and then to an even higher outdoor viewing deck, which provided great views of the city. After lunch, we walked to Trafalgar Square and then spent a few minutes wandering around the National Gallery. Our plans to take a ghost tour that night were thwarted when we discovered that the Tube line we needed to get to the meeting point was closed for repairs. Luckily, we found yet another American movie to keep us entertained as well as a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Tuesday morning we ¨deuced out¨ of our hostel to catch our early-afternoon flight to Berlin. London had been fun but we were both looking forward to our quieter and cleaner accommodations in Germany. After some initial confusion as to which train we needed to take to get to the city center and our hotel, we finally found our way. That night we basked in the glory of our new sleeping quarters and also stumbled upon an Argentinean steakhouse for some red meat and baked potatoes with sour cream. It was almost like being at home! I think that by this point in our travels we had both had enough of sampling the local cuisine. Thus, we never did get any bratwurst or sauerkraut. I think that my waistline and I are fine with that.

On Wednesday morning, we woke up to beautiful blue skies, well-rested and ready to take on the day. After a quick stop at Starbucks (we caved when we discovered we could use the free WiFi), we headed toward the Brandenburg Gate to meet up with the free walking tour, which is becoming quite a habit. Our guide was a funny little Irish guy who is living in Berlin while he figures out what he wants to do with his life. Obviously, since Berlin is huge and pretty spread out, we couldn't see everything in 3.5 hours. However, we did see most of the highlights and got a good idea of the history of the city, mainly focusing on the Third Reich and the Cold War era. Some of the most interesting things we saw were the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the site of Hitler's bunker (where he committed suicide), the former Nazi and East German Air Force headquarters, remnants of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Gendarmarkt, the Berliner Dom, the Soviet-built TV tower, and Museum Island. I think that our guide was right when he said that Berlin was undoubtedly the most important city of the 20th century.

That afternoon, we decided to call it a day in terms of sightseeing. I failed to mention that the temperature was in the low-20's, with windchill much colder than that. By the end of the tour, neither Alice nor I could feel our extremities and we were literally jogging in place to stay warm.

On Alice's last day in Berlin before returning to Italy, we decided to take on some of Berlin's museums, which are said to be among the best in the world. First up was the Pergamon Museum, which contains rooms upon rooms of ancient artifacts, most notably the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. Alice in particular was excited to visit the museum as she has been studying ancient history this year. The collection was staggering and it was well worth waiting for close to an hour in the freezing cold and snow.

After lunch, we ventured to the German Historical Museum to check out a special exhibit that our tour guide had mentioned. "Hitler und die Deutschen" ("Hitler and the Germans") is the first exhibit in German history to focus exclusively on Hitler. For obvious reasons, the German people have been hesitant to do anything that draws attention to the him as an individual or perpetuates his cult of personality. However, this exhibit was very careful to focus instead on the relationship between Hitler and the nation, the Nazi regime's rise to power and the reasons why it caught on. Although it dealt with an incredibly taboo subject, this was one of the best exhibits I have ever seen. It really made you stop and think, both about this particular time in history and about deeper questions of human nature. It was a lot to digest, though, so it was our last stop for the day.

Friday morning Alice and I said goodbye as she had to return to Italy. I spent the day walking around and revisiting some of the sights I hadn't gotten to spend much time at during our tour. I also got on a tour bus which allowed me to see some of the places that were not included on the tour, especially in East Berlin. That afternoon, I went back to the German Historical Museum to take a look at the permanent collection, which is very interesting and well put-together but way too extensive to take in during one visit. It was a nice way cap off my time in Berlin and one of the most memorable Christmas breaks of my life.

On Saturday, it was finally time to go back to Spain and resume my routine in Sevilla. After a 3 hour flight from Berlin to Madrid, a frantic race through the Madrid metro system to the train station, and a 2.5 hour ride on the AVE from Madrid to Sevilla, I finally made it home around 8:30 on Saturday night. While I love traveling, it was time for my trip to be over and I couldn't wait for some down time.

Now that I am back in Sevilla for the second half of this adventure, I have a lot to look forward to between work, reuniting with my friends, and trips planned for February to Morocco and Belgium. There really is never a dull moment around here... except for Sundays!