TRAVELLING

Around the world 

IN THIS SECTION I WILL BE WRITING ABOUT PLACES I HAVE VISITED AND THINGS I CONSIDER INTERESTING FOR YOU.HOPE YOU LIKE IT! 

     THE WORLD IS A BOOK AND THOSE WHO DON'T TRAVEL
                   READ ONLY ONE PAGE  

SAN FRANCISCO

I loved SFO. A lot of people had told me that I was going to fall in love with this city and so I did. Charming, welcoming, big, interesting and different, San Francisco surprised me for the cold weather in July. It was freezing. As an old woman told me in the streets "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" by Mark Twain. Oh, he was so right! However, despite the cold, I was able to enjoy the beautiful views, monuments, areas and many curious things that made of SFO a very lively and interesting city. I really liked Fisherman's Wharf, packed with people, shops and even animals! I enjoyed the landscapes of Golden Gate Park. I couldn't miss the famous and well-known Golden Gate, difficult to see due to the intense fog those days. Little Venice, downtown, Chinatown... beautiful neighborhoods that were worth visiting. Steep streets that were perfect for exercising a bit :). All in all, a wonderful place to spend some days at least once in a lifetime! 2016 

OHIO (U.S.A) 

                                                       

Every time I say I've been to Ohio, people say:"Ohio?? Why Ohio??" It seems that  it's quite surprising that you stay in Ohio when you go to The States. It is true that every time we think of that country, other places like New York, Chicago, Boston, S. Francisco, L.A.....como to our mind. Nobody would consider Ohio as an option to spend his/her holidays. However, for personal and working reasons, I ended up in Ohio ten years ago and I lived one of the best experiences in my life. In Ohio you cannot visit the Empire State, you cannot walk around glamourous streets like in L.A...but you can experience REAL AMERICA. Everything you've seen in films is in Ohio: residential areas, big houses, beautiful towns, a lot of parks...etc. It is a place where you can see how Americans live and where you can learn about their traditions and habits. You can visit big cities like Cleveland (where I enjoyed my first  baseball game) and you can also enjoy nature. I lived in a small town called Cuyahoga Falls, with an amazing family in an amazing house and I just can say that I would go back there again and again... 2005, 2010 

MALTA

Touristic destination mainly for teenagers and English students, Malta is a small island located in the Mediterranean sea. In fact, the place looks Mediterranean: the beaches, the atmosphere, the people, the food... English is spoken everywhere in Malta with a curious accent. Maltese people are very nice and friendly. What I liked most about the place was the fact that everybody used English to communicate. However, I thought that the place was going to be much nicer! It is so famous for the beaches that I expected paradisiac places to lie down and relax ... However, beaches were not as I expected, places were a bit dirty due to the intense nightlife and few things were there to be visited. St. Julians (where I lived) was plenty of teenagers that were supposed to be studying English. However, party was a fundamental part of their daily lives there. Anyway, I enjoyed my fortnight there, I learned a lot of new things, I met nice Maltese people and I had a great time! 2012

LONDON

This charming city is a mixture of history, politics and tradition. The heart of the Anglo-Saxon world is plenty of monuments, magnificent buildings, green areas and beautiful places.We find people always up and down, finishing off their coffees as they take the underground; visitors taking photos of the Big Ben, Buckinham palace, Trafalgar Square or River Thames; young people lying down in the gardens looking at the sky to check if it is going to rain soon; red buses, red telephone cabins, red flags everywhere. A charming city. 2006,2007,2011 

WASHINGTON D.C 

The white city: white buildings , white stairs, white statues, white columns. White everywhere. I would say that Washington DC is a relaxing city. A city where you can walk, lie down and relax. It is also the political centre of the United States . In fact, all the buildings that you can see there show that politics and history are found in every single corner. Washington is the capital of a country that yearned for freedom , identity and recognition whereas Europe had already achieved this. The American history has witnessed difficult moments such as the wars, the war between North and South, the war for independence. All these difficulties were overcome in order to make the American dream come true. And Washington shows this perfectly: the Senate , where important decisions were made;  the Library of Congress,  where important people such as Jefferson kept his valuable books;  the Washington Monument making the citizens remember the first American president George Washington;  Memorials of personalities whose decisions were essential for the country such as Lincoln, Roosevelt or Washington himself. American history is plenty of contrasts: light and darkness, blacks and whites, North and South, masters and Slaves. This city is the perfect depiction of what Americans' whished and what they achieved througout the years.
2010 

EDUCATION IN BRITAIN: OXBRIDGE 

The first picture was taken in my first trip to Cambridge and the second picture in my third trip to Oxford. As everyone knows, Oxford and Cambridge are the best and the oldest universities in Great Britain. They are famous for their superior social status and for the high education students receive. It is difficult to describe them separately because they are similar but I would say that Oxford is famous for arts and Cambridge for sciences. Both of them are located in amazing landscapes surrounded by gardens and nature. The word Cambridge comes from “Cam Bridge”. The river that crosses the city is called Cam and you can see a lot of bridges all over the city. Visitors take boats to visit the university while they enjoy the pleasure of travelling by boat as the guide tells them about the city. King’s College is one of the most famous colleges there. Oxford is similar to Cambridge. Bikes and students are found everywhere. Big buildings and shops make of this university a lively community.

The term “Oxbridge” is now used to refer to both universities, often with implications of superior social status. It is important to say that University in Great Britain is a completely different concept from the Spanish one. British students apply for the best universities no matter if they have to leave home early. They usually live at campus and yes, their lives are very well depicted in American movies. Entrance to Oxbridge is very competitive and students undergo a hard process of selection including exams and personal interviews.
2006,2007,2011 


STRADFORD-UPON-AVON 

To be or not to be, that is the question. William Shakespeare, one of the best writers of all times was born in Stradford-upon-Avon. For a person who has studied Shakespeare's works for many years , visiting the place where he lived is a pleasure. It is not a big town but it is so charming that it is one of the best places I've ever visited. Brown and white houses, water, green areas, boys and girls rehearsing a play, thousands of references to the best English writer and his grave make of this city a place of beauty, literature and culture.
Not far away you can visit Anne Hathaway's cottage. Anne was Shakespeare's wife, a woman that went unnoticed compared to the popularity of her husband. Shakespeare left his wife and children when he was 18 years old and he headed for London to start a new life as an artist. If he hadn't made that decision , he wouldn't have written what is now considered a masterpiece.
2011 


'A remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he is really good in spite of all the people who say he is very good' Robert Graves

NOTTINGHAM

Lively, cosy and British. Those are the three words that I would use to describe the city where I lived for a year. It is one of my favourite places not just because the experiences I had and the people I met when living there but also because it is a beautiful city. Neither big nor small, Nottingham is a city with parks, green areas, pubs, shopping centres and many other places that make of this city a very active place. Two universities offer students from all the UK the possibility to study a great deal of degrees. The student life is one of the most outstanding characteristics of this city: students everywhere enjoy university parties every night. It is a must to mention Robin Hood when writing about Nottingham. The city houses his castle , his statue and Sherwood Forest , one of the most emblematic places of the UK. Although for most people, there is nothing interesting in this city to see, I think it is s city to enjoy, to visit and a city where you can speak and listen to real English everywhere.  
2006,2007, 2008 

LIVERPOOL 

Industrial city mainly famous for the emblematic group of music The Beatles. They made the city famous in the 60s and monuments, places , museums and statues commemorate them everywhere. The accent is one of the most difficult accents I've heard together with the Scottish one. It is difficult to grasp at the beginning. 
2007 

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away 


Yesterday ...

BRIGHTON 

Brighton is a coastal city in the south of England. It is a mixture of a typical British city with the charm of the beach and sand that we do not usually find in Great Britain. I was lucky enough to enjoy a sunny day when I went there, so it was like being in a Mediterranean beach (up to a point). 
2011

EDINBURGH

I visited Edinburgh in November and the city was covered up with Christmas lights and garments. It reminded me of the typical medieval cities that we are used to seeing in movies: the castle, the paving, the people, the shops... It was like if we were living in the previous century. I really liked the buildings, the houses and the hills. I really loved the men playing the bagpipes wearing the typical Scottish skirt. The English spoken in the capital of Scotland was completely different from the one I was used to hearing in England. That is one of the most amazing things regarding the English language:  it is spoken differently in every place and although you think that you master the language, when you travel you realise how Englishes vary depending on the speakers and places. It is amazing! 
2006

NEW YORK 

What can I say about New York? Everybody knows things about New York: it is in the movies, in books, in songs... So there is nothing new I can say about New York. It is a magnifient , powerful, stunning and wonderful city. Lights, skyscrapers, buildings, people and monuments are found all over the city. I will never forget  when I arrived in NY. After leaving my luggage in a youth hostel in Brooklin, I took the underground to the city centre. When I arrived, I could not be more impressed by the colours, lights, images, sound and power that I saw in one single second. The streets were plenty of panels, advertisements, theatres, shops... It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. There were also many tourists and the scent of hot dogs, bagels, sweets and burgers remind you that you are still in America and not in a movie. 
2010

Empire State of Mind

CHICAGO 

When I visited Chicago I was with the best guide I could have had and she showed me the most important things in the city. When I visited Chicago I had not visisted New York yet, so for me the city was impressive with those tall buildings. We visited The Sears Tower , the tallest building in The States after the disappearance of The Twin Towers. We also saw the beautiful and famous lake Michigan and we also had the opportunity to see the musical of The Lion King. An unforgettable experience.
2005