California to Madrid

Photos from David's Surprise Visit in Madrid

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:18:05 -0500

Photos from David's Surprise Visit in Madrid

David's Visit in Spain

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:16:17 -0500

Monday, November 23rd to Sunday the 29th

Sunday we went to Amistad Cristiana, the church I’ve been going to during the semester. I was still really tired and sick, and did not feel like myself all day. After church we went to the Retiro park and ate lunch. We tried to just relax in the park but it was cold and I wasn’t feeling any better, so we ended up going back to my house.

David was planning to get something at the grocery store to eat for dinner, but Any invited him to just eat at the house. It was so nice of her, he ended up eating dinner there all week, which was very helpful and much better food than if we had eaten out.

During the week I had classes, but we found things to do. Monday we went to bible study I worked on homework so that tuesday we could spend the afternoon in Madrid. On Tuesday we saw more of the Retiro park and visited the Prado museum. I was surprised how much David enjoyed it, he had learned about some of the paintings in a class so that made a difference. I think we are a good match for museum visiting, we both enjoy going to them but don’t need to spend a lot of time there.

Thursday we went to Aranjuez and saw the royal palace and gardens. They had a tour in Spanish, but since it let us see more of the castle we went and I translated the interesting parts (which were few, mostly the guide talked about dates when the wallpaper, curtains and furniture were added). We got back a little later than intended and hurriedly got dressed for Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner was for our group but I brought David along. We had it at the oldest restaurant in the world (also one of the most expensive…). It wasn’t home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner with the family, but it was good and David was there so I couldn’t ask for more.

Friday we did more stuff in Madrid. We went to the Naval Museum, the Royal Palace (where David got a hold of my camera and took lots of candid pictures of me), the Cathedral, saw the sunset over the Temple of Debod, went to theplanetarium (unfortunately we were too late for the last show), and hadsangrias and tapas.

Saturday we had planned to go to Segovia, but in the end we were tired and just didn’t feel like doing more stuff. So we hung out at my apartment and celebrated Any’s birthday (she had family over). David decided to try out the piano and Any asked me why he hadn’t played before, because of course he plays beautifully.

Sunday he had to go back home :(. I was sad to see him leave, but there are only four weeks between the time he left and when I get to see him again! (Now down to one week!!)

Saturday, November 21st 2009 After getting back from Santiago de...

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:30:00 -0500

Saturday, November 21st 2009

After getting back from Santiago de Compostela and still getting over being sick for the second time this semester, I decided I wouldn’t go to a picnic that I had been planning with some friends on Saturday. I just felt like staying inside and resting. So I told Eric, and as I expected he would do he tried to pressure me into coming anyway. He even went so far as to offer to bring the picnic to my neighborhood, bit that seemed a bit extreme and the guilt worked, I could tell he was serious about coming and I didn’t want them to go to the trouble. We did move it to another park closer to my house that was more convenient for the majority.

We got there and then had to wait about 20 minutes for half the group to get there. Then we walked to the park, supposedly looking for the perfect spot. I was getting annoyed because we passed plenty of perfectly good spots to sit at and I though Eric should be more conscience of the fact that I was sick and tired. Before eating, Fernando and Eric said they had a skit for us that had to do with two super heroes with silly powers. It was slightly ridiculous but I wasn’t surprised, it was Eric and Fernando. Fernando’s power was to freeze people, and of course I was the one who got to be frozen. I was really starting to wonder if there was any point to the whole thing.

Eric started looking around for someone to “save” me. Suddenly I hear someone yelling and look up to see some blond guy running towards us. “Ok, now this is just ridiculous”, I thought. This “play” is not worth having arranged someone to hide in the bushes, who the heck is that I don’t know any blond guys here in Spain, OH MY GOSH. I couldn’t do anything bit stare as I realized it was my amazing boyfriend standing in front of me. “Yo la salvo.” “I will save her.”

I honestly didn’t recognize him until he was standing right in front of me. Even when I realized it was David, he still didn’t really look like himself. I continued staring in complete shock as he sat beside me. He felt like an impostor, my mind hadn’t really accepted that he actually there. I stared at him for another couple of seconds and poked him a few times to make sure he were real.

We did eventually eat and talked for a while. As far as being sick and tired, I was feeling much better! After a few of us went to Sol, walked around a bit and got some tapas for dinner.

Santiago de Compostela

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:23:00 -0500

Friday, November 20th 2009

Everyone thought Lisa and I were crazy for going to Santiago de Compostela for just one day, but since we took the night train there and the night train back it was a full and worthwile day. The night train wasn’t so bad, it was long (nine hours) but supposedly being asleep makes it seem shorter (though I didn’t sleep much on the way there).

Santiago de Compostela (Santiago = James in english) is the end of the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route that starts in the south of France. According to tradition, the apostle James traveled through Spain and evangelized to a Spanish queen, and died in Santiago de Compostela. People now take the month-long trek and end up there, but we just took a train and skipped the long walk.

First we went to a market will all sorts of fruit, fish and meat. The fish was extremely fresh, there were shrimp that were still jumping around, big (whole) fish and slimy squid. They had whole pigs hanging with the heads at the bottom and skinned hare.

After that we went to the cathedral, the main to-do in Santiago. We wandered around the cathedral somewhat aimlessly for some time, noticing the mystic feel of the place. I was looking for the Portico mentioned in Rick Steeve’s book and we meandered into something we thought was the cathedral museum. We asked how much it cost and they said it wasn’t the museum but they had a free tour in about five minutes.

Not being in a hurry to get anywhere we sat down and watched a film about the restoration of the portico. After that she said we were going to see the portico and opened a case full of hard hats. We had no idea what was going on, but put the hats on and followed. We went back into the cathedral and up scaffolding to the portico. Being under restoration its impossible to see from the ground, but up on the scaffolding we were about 5 feet away from the carvings of musicians and religious figures.

After that we saw the carving of Saint James that pilgrims traditionally hit their head against to gain wisdom from the saint but is now closed off to protect from wear. Then we went back outside we met a pilgrim! He asked us to take a picture and told us that he had done the whole walk and it had taken him 32 days.

We were hoping to see the Botafumeiro during the pilgrims’ mass but knew it was a ritual done only 20 something times a year. But we got lucky! The botafumeiro is filled with incense and swung across the cathedral. It was incredible and lucky to see it!

After lunch we realized there wasn’t really much left to do. We wandered around various museums, none of which were particularly interesting and which for the most part were primarily in the gallego language… But we did find a triple spiral staircase and raced cars down the virtual streets of Santiago.

We took the night train back and I tried calling David, unbeknownst to me that he choose not to answer because he would be able to explain the noise of the airport…

Photos from Santiago de Compostela

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:23:00 -0500

Photos from Santiago de Compostela

Photos from my Parent's Visit

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:07:49 -0500

Photos from my Parent's Visit

Finde con mis padres

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:05:00 -0500

Wednesday, October 21st - Monday, October 26th

We were a bit worried that not everyone would get on the flight, but both my parents, Emily (my sister-in-law) and her mom all got here without a hitch. They arrived Wednesday and were tired, so we just had dinner. It was miserable and rainy but fortunately we had great weather for the rest of the time.

Thursday they picked me up from campus (they rented a car, qué bien ¿eh?). We stopped in Ávila for the best meal we had while they were here, finished with an amazing chocolate mousse. We walked by the cathedral and go back in the car.

We got to Salamanca around 7:00. We didn’t end up doing or seeing much in Salamanca, but we were staying in a hotel right on the Plaza Mayor which is the main attraction. We wandered around for a bit and had some tapas and sangria.

The next morning we woke up, got some breakfast at McDonalds an left for Segovia. I’m not really sure why we went to Salamanca, but we didn’t want to take away time from Segovia just so we could see more.

We really liked Segovia. The cathedral from the outside was gorgeous, very gothic. We didn’t pay to go in because we were more anxious to see the CASTLE. The castle was a lot of fun, my first caslte in Spain. I would really like to see more castles but I don’t really think there are that many, Spain has cathedrals, and it would be hard to get to them by public transportation.

The original plan was spend the weekend in Madrid and let my family go without me to Toledo and El Escorial since I’ve been. But then flights booked up and they decided to leave monday.

So Saturday we went to the Prado art museum, got kebabs for lunch, Reina Sofia Modern art museum (we didn’t spend long there but had to see Picasso’s Guernica), Retiro park, and then went downtown. We saw Sol, el Palacio Real (royal palace), plaza mayor, and had sangrias, tapas and chocolate con churros. Quite a successful day!

Sunday we went to Toledo, and although I’d been before I went back with them. It was even more fun the second time being with my family. An I saw a couple things I hadn’t before; we found a place where you can go up the wall and went in a costume museum that my mom especially enjoyed.

Emily got out Monday and the other three managed to get back Tuesday. It’s too bad they didn’t see El Escorial but I think they got to see quite a bit in the time they had!

Retiro de Amistad Cristiana (Church Retreat)

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:25:00 -0500

Friday, October 16th - Sunday the 18th

Pictures (along with some others of the sunset over Templo de Debod)

Before I came a friend who studied abroad last year told me about a church and Eric and I decided to check it out. From the first time we went I really liked it. The people are more friendly and welcoming than any church I have been to in the US, to be completely honest. They’re not tiny but they know each other and recognize when someone is new, and make an effort to greet them. We had at least five people tell us about Ignition, the youth reunion on Tuesdays.

Only the second time I went to church (and once to Ignition), I decided to go on their yearly church retreat. It was 65 euros, but definitely worth it (I slept there two nights and ate meals). Eric and Nick (who is in my class and came to church) also went, but I made an effort not to spend too much time with them and get to know more people.

The retreat was great. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more interaction or breakout groups (and often had trouble staying awake through the multiple two hour long sessions), but the guest speaker had a lot of good things to say.

I met quite a few people but really got to know one of the girls. She’s German and only added proof to my theory that all German people are amazing. (To be honest a part of me wishes I ha learned German and was studying abroad in Germany, but that’s another rambling blog post).

It was nice being out of the city. We were at some sort of retreat center in the mountains north of Madrid. There were trees and grass and the second night I laid on a bench for a few minutes and stared up at the vast sky full of stars.

Corrida de Toros (Bull Fight) Monday, October 11th I hadn’t...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:41:00 -0400

Corrida de Toros (Bull Fight)

Monday, October 11th

I hadn’t really thought too much about whether or not I would go to a bull fight while in Spain, but when Isabel told us we could go as a group and have it paid for and organized I decided it was an important cultural experience.

There was a presentation about the tradition before we went, but I was sick and didn’t go so I don’t have a lot of details about the meanings of it.

I thought before going that it would involve fighting one bull, but there are in fact six. Each one is basically the same series of events. The bull comes out and they play with him a bit with their cloaks, but because he’s still strong they just come out for a minute and hide behind their walls again. Then a Picador on horseback comes out and stabs the bull at the top part of his back/neck. (Supposedly the bull has no nerves there and it does not hurt him, but serves to make him bleed and weaken).

In the next part, which seemed most dangerous, banderilleros let the bull run past them and put colorful sticks into his back. “Banderilleros attempt to place the sticks while running as close to the bull as possible. They are judged by the crowd on their form and bravery.”

After that the principal matador enters with his red cloak and played with the bull for some time. When he (or the crowd) is ready he gets a new sword from the Mozo de Espaldas and ends the fight. The idea is that he’s not supposed to suffer and it’s bad he has trouble bringing him down with one try.

I thought it was sad to watch. I am glad I went though, but I don’t have any desire to go again. After seeing four bulls killed I decided I didn’t really desire to see another one and that I would rather beat the crowds to the metro than to see the final bull.

Sounds of Plaza Elíptica So without fail, whenever I get off...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:51:00 -0400

Sounds of Plaza Elíptica

So without fail, whenever I get off the metro at Plaza Elíptica (where I switch to the bus to get to campus), I hear keyboard music coming from the passage. An older man sits for hours at his keyboard, playing basic and repetitive tunes to the beat of an electronic metronome. Occasionally playing familiar sounds, occasionally tunes which rise and fall as hundreds of people walk past. Rarely have I seen the man smile, he always looks a little sad and a little bored (no wonder, he sits at a keyboard all day long).

Often when I return in the afternoon there is a younger (but balder..) guy sitting at the keyboard and playing the same sort of stuff. But, there never fails to be someone sitting at the keyboard playing music in Plaza Elíptica.

Comida (food)

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0400

The food in Spain isn’t anything too strange or different from what we eat. (Unlike France, for example. Eating in France was an adventure I don’t think I would want to have all semester). Here they eat a good mix of meat, vegetables, fruit and bread.

Spanish food is in some ways richer than ours but simpler at the same time. They cook all of their food with a good helping of olive oil, which is relatively healthy but when every dish is cooked in olive oil it can be a bit too much. At the same time the dishes are simple. Usually just meat or vegetables or a combination of the two with a broth or spices. And bread is only served with butter at breakfast, otherwise it’s eaten plain or with whatever is left on the plate.

In general I like it. I don’t think I could point out a favorite dish; I’ve liked just about everything Any has cooked for me.

I’ve tried a few of the Spanish specialties. Paella is one of the most “Spanish” foods, and I’ve had it a few times. It’s a rice dish, usually made with seafood and/or chicken and lots of spices. A “tortilla” in Spain isn’t like a Mexican tortilla, it’s more like an American omlette with cheese mixed in, but fluffy and bigger. I really want to learn how to make a tortilla and paella, I’m hoping Any will show me some day.

And jamón! (ham). It’s a big deal here, and a couple times as a snack or light meal Any has served about six or seven different types of ham with bread and cheese. Also chorizo (sausage), but much richer than our sausage. It’s usually red or black, I’ve never had sausage like it before.

“Dessert” is generally just fruit. We’ve only had sweets once in my house. I do kind of wish they had some specialty desserts and that we had them at home, but I don’t really eat dessert often in the States either so I don’t miss it, and if I’m craving something I’ll just buy it.

I don’t really miss anything. Spinach salad perhaps; for a while I was missing wheat bread but then I disclosed that I prefer it and we now have a mix. I do miss being able to eat what I want without feeling bad if I don’t want to finish something.

Also I should talk about the eating schedule, which is unique to Spain. Many spaniards barely eat breakfast, but fortunately Any does and always puts out plenty of food. Lunch isn’t until 2:30 in the afternoon, so I usually have to eat a snack to hold me over. And then dinner at my house is on the “earlier” side at 9 or 9:30. Some people have told me they dint eat dinner until 11 at night, when I’m thinking about getting to bed. I don’t really like the schedule but it works and it really doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it might.

Magic Fountains in Barcelona. They did the show to music and...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:41:00 -0400

Magic Fountains in Barcelona. They did the show to music and this section has Lord of the Rings music!!! Amazing.

Photos from Barcelona

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:20:11 -0400

Photos from Barcelona:

I tried to cut down the number of pictures.. I really did.

Barcelona

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:19:00 -0400

Friday - Sunday October 2nd - 4th

We flew on Ryanair, which was only 60 euros round trip. Gotta love cheap European flights! We stayed in a youth hostel called Barcelona Mar, which was even nicer than I expected. It was very clean, not loud, centrally located and had free breakfast and wifi.

Barcelona is an incredibly modern and unique city. Gaudí was a huge influence and designed just about everything of interest (the Sagrada Familiar, Parc Güell, some houses). Also, they don’t speak Spanish (at least not by choice). They speak Catalan, and many say they live in “Catalunya,” not Spain.

We got there late afternoon on friday and didn’t really have time to do any of the big things (plus we were waiting for another friend to come the next morning. So we walked down to the the Magic fountain of Montjuïc. Every night the fountain puts on a show of music and lights and, well, water.

(Check out the video in a later blog post to see the fountain show with Lord of the Rings music - so awesome!)

After the fountain we walked down La Rambla, a rather touristy strip of stores, restaurants, and people thinking you’ll give them money for wearing weird costumes and making annoying squeaky sounds. We ate some paella for dinner and make jokes about the lobster.

The next morning we got up as early as breakfast was available and headed to the Sagrada Familia, a “new” Cathedral designed by Gaudí and still under construction since 1882. I would love to see it again some day when it’s finished, but its still beautiful as it is. Like the rest of Barcelona, its incredibly unique. The structure, decorations, statues, everything is unique any other catholic cathedral. (I can’t choose one picture to summarize so you’ll just have to check out the album).

After that we went back to La Rambla for a bit and then ended up splitting into two groups. Me and two other girls went to La Pedrera (aka Casa Mila), yet another Gaudí work. The inside wasn’t anything particularly interesting, just an apartment, but the roof was like a big play house of weird statues and neat views.

Then we checked out Parc Güell (you guessed it, Gaudí). It was a very appropriate thing for Gaudí to design as most of his architecture reflects nature. There were three houses in the park some other interesting structures.

By this time we were getting pretty tired, but we picked ourselves up and went to the Picasso Museum (nothing to do with Gaudí). It didn’t have a lot of famous works, but each room was a different period of his work and it was interesting to see the progression. He also did forty something paintings based on Valázquez’s Las Meninas, but with a Picasso flare, and the museum had a large collection of these.

That night we got free dinner from a coupon from the hostel. It wasn’t all that great but hey, it was the cost of a glass of fanta naranja so I can’t complain. I was pretty tired and after walking around for a little while and talking to David I went to bed. That night we also had an interesting experience due to Cassie buying a bull shaped bottle of sangria as a gift and then realizing you can’t bring liquids on the plane… so we drank it. It was awful.

The next morning we woke up early in an attempt to see the sunrise over the beach. By the time we got there it was already over the horizon, but pretty nonetheless. And the color of the sky as we passed the pier was beautiful. We played in the water for a bit and then went back to the hostel and back to the airport.

Photos from Ávila

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:58:50 -0400

Photos from Ávila

Ávila

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:58:24 -0400

Friday, September 25th

Getting to Avila (a small walled city nothwest of Madrid) was almost a disaster, but we had a fun time once we got there. If you don’t want to read my detailed account of getting to Avila, feel free to skip down to the part labeled ¡Ávila!

We planned to take the 11:30 train and met at 11:10. However by the time we found each other and the ticket office it was after 11:15 and there was a long line. We waited about 10 minutes and then decided we would try the bus instead.

We got to the bus station at 11:40 and saw there was a bus to Avila at 12. We got in line and after waiting for a few minutes I realized there was a machine where you could buy tickets with a credit card. After making sure that our bus was there, the other two girls got out of line. But when I swiped my card, nothing happened. It didn’t tell me something was wrong, it just sat there. The same with Cassie’s card and another machine.

So we got back in line and got to the window with five minutes left. In a hurry to get to the train I didn’t think to ask for the number, but the bus number was on the ticket. So we ran downstairs and across the station to find number 21, but there was no bus. Then after some more running around we figured out bus number 21 leaves from station number 49. So… we went to 49, and there was no bus. It was 12:01.

We went back up to the ticket window to see what we could do. She said (at least I understood) that we could use the tickets on the 2:30 bus. So we hung out for a couple of hours and ate our lunches, and returned at 2:15. But when the bus came, the bus driver told us we had to get tickets for 2:30 (of course). So we ran back upstairs and talked with a different guy, who told us we had to buy different tickets. So… we did. (Also the guy tried to tell me I needed my original passport and not just a copy, which was ridiculous).

Then, finally, we got on the bus. Naturally, the bus went a different way that the Spanish guy sitting next to me who often travels to Ávila said it never goes. But once we got there, all was well.

¡Ávila!

We got to Ávila with four hours to travel and such. We went to the Covenant of Saint Teresa, and also saw her finger. Apparently it’s a Catholic tradition I wasn’t aware of to save relics of various saints. They also had some bone splinters from another saint.

Then we bought yemas! Yemas are a specialty of Ávila; a soft boiled egg yolk coated in sugar. It wasn’t as gross as it sounds, but I probably wouldn’t buy it again. But worth trying. After that we went up the wall that surrounds the city. We made the mistake of using our two tickets on the smaller sections of the wall (there are three). But a great view!

After those activities we realized there wasn’t really much else to do, and we’d only been there two hours. So we went outside the wall and sat in the grass for a while, and then went to the main plaza. There we sat down and had some sangria and yummy free tapas. I’m a really big fan of sangria… I don’t really like many alcoholic drinks but sangria is very refreshing and it isn’t all that strong as far as wine and alcohol goes and very fruity and sweet.

Fortunately we made it home without a problem! It was quite an adventure, hopefully big enough of one that we won’t have another one of this sort.

Granada Photos

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:45:22 -0400

Granada Photos

Granada

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:44:01 -0400

Saturday - Sunday September 19th-20th

Our second group trip was an overnight to Granada. It was amazing! I had such a great time; Granada is a fascinating city.

We took a bus and got there early in the afternoon. After lunch we headed off the the Alhambra (the reason everyone goes to Granada). It was built during the occupation of the Moors as a residency for the Sultan and many others. The decoration is unlike anything you can see in the rest of Europe, with colorful tiles and detailed fresco but a distinct lack of paintings and imagery.

The reason for this lacking is the Muslim thinking that images should not be displayed, less they become idols or distractions. Additionally, everything was done very simply. Unlike European castles and cathedrals, the Alhambra was not built to last. The floor is strong and made out of marble, but the walls are simple. The bottom halves of the walls are covered in geometric tiles and the top half with frescoes which were stamped rather than done by hand.

I took a lot of pictures of the colorful tiles. David gave me the idea to make and print my own papers, and so I took pictures of the tiles to use in my scrapbook. :)

After the Alhambra and dinner we went to the Arab baths. The baths are housed in the same structure where the Sultan and his family went to bathe, although most of it is reconstructed. It was incredibly relaxing, but at the same time I felt like I was having a cultural experience. The arab music, tea, subtle perfumes and decorations similar to those in the Alhambra perfected the experience. There were three baths - two warm and one cold. (Apparently its good for the skin to switch between the two). There was also a sauna, which was an interesting but somehow enjoyable experience (despite the difficulty in breathing).

That night I decided to go out with a couple people. We went to a bar right down the street from our hotel and I decided I would give beer another chance (the only other time I’ve had it was in Germany, and I wasn’t a fan). I’d heard a popular thing here is “cerveza con limon”, beer with lemon fanta. I ordered one, and although it was better than plain beer I still wouldn’t drink it again. The group was moving on to some discoteca (club) further away, and I went back to the hotel. After spending $10 talking to David (he spent the $10, apparently calling a mobile from skype is not 2.5 cents a minute, that’s just for landlines), I went to bed.

After only six hours of sleep I woke up (I didn’t want to miss out on seeing more of the city) and went with some of the other girls to El Mirador de San Nicolas, a great place to see the entire Alhambra from a mountain next to it. We didn’t have too much trouble finding it, between the map and the signs and the fact that if you just keep going up you’re probably getting closer.

We met with the group at 11 or so to go to La Capilla Real (the Royal Chapel), where Isabel and Fernando are buried. As always, Isabel gave us a lot of interesting details. We had free time to eat, so we first went to see the Cathedral. We asked Isabel if there was anything else we had time to see, and she suggested La Plaza de Toros (bulls). Eric and I couldn’t find anyone else that wanted to go, so we took off by ourselves. The Plaza itself wasn’t terribly interesting, but in the area there are amazing tapas. Between the two of us we had four drinks and four tapas (the food comes free with the drink) for just over 7 euros. Each “tapa” was a small plate - I had a sandwich and potatoes with a fried egg and I was plenty full.

After that, sadly, it was time to head back. I spent almost the entire bus ride (despite it making me a bit car sick) reading something for class the next day that we didn’t end up going over, and were given another week to finish. But, it’s done.

What a great weekend! It’s thursday and I’m finally caught up on the sleep I missed, but that’s due more to staying up late talking to someone than the 2 hours I missed saturday night…

The Second Weekend

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:36:00 -0400

Friday, September 11th – Retiro

Pictures are at the end of the album Mas de Madrid

Friday afternoon we went back to El Parque Retiro to hang out and relax. We went back to the rose garden and I took even more pictures of roses! After that we got ice cream and found a nice place to sit down. We were just sitting in the grass under a tree for almost two hours, chatting and playing with a small plant that Cassie thought was absolutely fascinating. Especially living in a city we needed a break outside with trees and grass and beautiful weather.

Saturday, September 12th – El Escorial and El Valle de los Caidos (the Valley of the Fallen)

Pictures

We went to el Escorial as a group trip with our director, Isabel. These places are about an hour northwest of Madrid, in the mountains.

After driving for a while we stopped in a mountain, with no clear purpose for being there. Then we started hiking up a mountain until we got to the top and La Silla de Filipe II. I didn’t know we were going to be hiking, but I really enjoyed it! I haven’t gone hiking in so long, and there were so many pretty views along the way. La Silla de Filipe II was at the top of the mountain, and was the king’s seat for watching the construction of el Escorial.

Next we went to el Escorial itself. The word doesn’t have a translation, but the structure itself is a mixture of palace, basilica and school. It is also a crypt for the kings and queens of Spain after Fernando and Isabel (who are buried in Granada). Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures inside, so my album only has pictures of the outside. Again, since we were with Isabel, we got a lot of interesting details about what we were seeing.

We left el Escorial and went to el Valle de los Caidos, a memorial to the fallen in the Spanish Civil War. The monument is a basilica built into a mountain; you enter from a plaza on the side of the mountain and are inside the mountain as you walk through the basilica. Under the cross in the church is a huge cross on top of the mountain (an absolutely gorgeous view from the outside).

Sunday, September 13th – Toledo

Pictures

A group of us decided we wanted to go to Toledo together (eight total). We got on a bus (8 euro round trip) and got there around noon. The biggest thing to see in Toledo is the Cathedral; Toledo is the former capital of Spain and still the religious capital. It was gorgeous, but I especially enjoyed watching the others experience it. I’ve seen several european cathedrals, but they had never seen a cathedral before. And the in Toledo is probably one of the prettiest ones I’ve seen.

We walked around for a while (went in too many tourist shops) and then went to La Iglesia (church) de Santo Tome, which houses a famous painting by El Greco called “El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz” (the burial of Count Orgaz). I didn’t immediately recognize the name but I did recognize the painting.

Check out all my pictures from the first week in Madrid

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:38:48 -0400

Check out all my pictures from the first week in Madrid