Budamalts!

The end of my time abroad is quickly approaching and the last few weeks have been a blur. I had finals in six classes over a two-week period, finishing last Friday. This was a little nerve wracking, as finals are a much greater percentage of one’s grade here than at USC. However, I also found the finals to be somewhat less challenging than at USC, so everything balanced out.

After my last exam, I packed up my travel bag for a five-day vacation to Budapest and Malta (affectionately referred to as Budamalts) with my two good friends Erin and Megan, and Erin’s friend Robert, who did his exchange at her school. We took the overnight bus to the Madrid airport, flew to Budapest, caught the bus and finally rode the metro to arrive at our hostel. The hostel was located on the top floors of an awesome old building right in the city center. We dropped off our bags and walked around the city for a little while before getting ready to go to Sparty, a party in the famous Hungarian Szechenyi baths. This party was an experience unlike any I have ever had.  It was unbelievable to spend time swimming around a UNESCO World Heritage Site with people from all over the world.

The next day we hiked up a mountain to see a view of the entire city, and visited many of the popular tourist sites like Parliament and Heroes’ Square. We also visited Gelarto, a gelato store famous for its flower shaped desserts. After a busy day we headed back to the hostel to pack for our early morning departure to Malta.

The next day we arrived in Malta around noon and took a cab to our hostel. In Malta the people drive on the left side of the road at speeds I have never seen. It was nothing short of terrifying, but we did get to the hostel very quickly. We spent the day relaxing on the beach and exploring the downtown area, as well as planning our remaining two days.

Our first day trip was to Gozo, one of the larger islands in the Maltese archipelago. It’s a somewhat rural island, and the only effective way of getting around was on Hop-On Hop-Off busses.  Our main stop for the day was the Azure Window, which Game of Thrones enthusiasts will be interested to know is where Khal Drogo and Daenerys get married in the first season. We took lots of pictures and went swimming in one of ocean caves before returning to the main island.

Our second day trip was to Comino, the third largest island in the archipelago. This island is uninhabited but famous for the Blue Lagoon, a popular swimming beach with the clearest water I’ve ever seen. You could easily see your feet on the ocean floor and everything around you, which was comforting to someone with a phobia of sharks! We spent the day lounging on the beach and swimming before taking a quick boat tour around the Blue Lagoon caves and boating back to the main island.

After an amazing vacation, it was sad to return to Pamplona to a very much diminished group of study abroad students. People are heading home every day, and it’s hard to say goodbye not knowing when or if you will ever see someone again. I’m trying not to get too caught up in the sadness - I have 10 more days of adventures left and intend to make the most of them! Adios until next time!