So, back in good ol' Segovia. In some ways, this week was eventful and in others not. For the purpose of my storytelling and to help me keep things better organized, I'm going to narrate differently. Instead of going through day by day, I'm going to go class by class and describe anything interesting from M-Th, then come back for Friday, which is just our excursion to La Granja. Ready?
Grammar class this week was fairly challenging. A lot of homework, and none of it was easy. The topics weren't conventionally difficult (Imperative, Pronouns, Past), but I realized this week that pretty much all of my Spanish classes up til now have just been the warm up, have just scratched the surface of Spanish grammar. Which makes sense, since it takes us a good 12 years to get a solid hold on English, and even then we still have problems from time to time. Also, I think I'm disappointed in Spanish education in the states, though it may be similar to my disappointment with elementary education. The vosotros form is *so* undertaught, and they don't even use nosotros commands in Spain. I guess you could sum it up with a strong preference for Latin American Spanish, which I think is a shame, especially for college level Spanish when the academics of the language should be at its highest. As the original Spanish-speaking country, the grammar and usage in Spain is important, even if it's less used than the Latin American version. Also, we never really thought of the present perfect as a past tense, which is actually the pretérito perfecto, not presente perfecto. Almost makes me want to be a Spanish teacher again :)
UE class was pretty cool. Tuesday and Wednesday were devoted to country presentations. Each of us was assigned 2-3 countries, and had to give a presentation over the basic facts of each, and then something interesting about them. I had Greece, Cyprus, and Malta and I discovered that Cyprus has hardly any recognizably famous people and Malta has none. Learned some interesting things though, like that Big Ben is technically the bell inside the clock tower. On Thursday, our class was once again substituted for a mini-excursion. We finally visited the cathedral in Segovia!! Oh my goodness, it's as beautiful as the one in Salamanca. I've decided that gothic cathedrals are my favorite. They're so majestic and awe-inspiring. We visited a few of Marian's favorite capillas, and then walked out around the patio and in a couple of other rooms attached to the church. There was one capilla that was much larger than all the others, and very Barroque--the alter area was all golden! It was all so pretty. Then we went back to another little capilla that had a legend associated with it. Apparently way back when there was a couple to be married. But, the day before the wedding, the groom disappeared! The bride came to this capilla, placed her right foot on the stone that is said to have been placed last and without which the whole cathedral would fall (it's in the floor, and sunk in a little), and asked for her fiancee to return, then spun around in a circle, prayed, spun again and left. A week later her fiancee returned and they were married. Legend has it, that anyone who places their right foot on the stone, thinks of the person they wish to marry, spins in a circle, prays, then spins again will one day get married. Guess who was one of the people from our group to do just that? Can't tell you who I was thinking of though, or it violates the whole ceremony ;)
Art class was.....interesting. We spent two days on Picasso and two days on Dalí. I have only this to say for Picasso: his paintings totally made me appreciate Goya more, who I was less than impressed with after seeing all of Velazquez's awesomeness. Dalí was pretty cool too, if a lot of his stuff is super weird. And, learned waaaaaaaaay too much about his sex life/sexual preferences. The painting we have to study for him is called Gran Masturbador. Not even kidding. But other than that, he sounds like a very crazy interesting individual. I kinda wanna see what his autobiography is like. I can see why Dad liked him so much. The poor kid was pretty much doomed to have something wrong with him though, from the day his parents named him after their son who had died 9 months before, the original Salvador Dalí. Talk about messed up.
Friday was our excursion to La Granja, which is pretty close to Segovia (like 20 minutes away, probably less). We visited the royal palace, constructed by Felipe V and which served as their summer palace. It was pretty neat. There was a whole section of tapestries, and in some of them you could still see the gold gleaming! Apparently a lot of the gold strands are mixed with silver, and they don't survive age as well so they don't sparkle anymore. Some of them were super huge, as big as some apartments according to Elena (our art teacher and tour guide). The really cool thing about this palace is that all the rooms are all lined up in a row, so if you look at one end all the way down to the other, it looks absolutely huge. Elena said this was an optical illusion to make it look larger than it really is, but walking through it, it seemed pretty big to me! Besides the royal quarters, we also visited the lower level, which was right next to the royal gardens. It was full of windows and sculptures and was said to be an extension of the garden. It allowed people to take walks without having to be in the direct heat of the summer.
After the palace, we walked over to the attached church. Interstingly, both Elena and Edu (another prof with the school) had been married in the church. It was really pretty. We also saw where the "theoretical" resting place of Felipe V and his wife. It's theoretical because back in the 20's there was a giant fire that ruined a lot of the palace. When they were renovating it, they discovered the actual bodies of the King and Queen located elsewhere, hidden away. I guess during wars and uprisings and stuff, it's not uncommon to deface graves, so they wanted to protect their bodies.
After lunch we went and explored the royal gardens. What's really special about these gardens is that they're only half garden. The other half is pretty much a big ol' forest, with a transitional space in between. They were all really pretty, and it was full of fountains. Apparently the fountains are so super old that they don't work on automatic pumping or anything, and must rely on the height difference between the reservoir that is the water source for the fountains and where the fountains are located. We hiked up to the reservoir as well, and it's a very pretty little lake. There's also a little hedge maze called the labyrinth, but it's kinda lame because there's only one entrance. We all made it out! While we were waiting for everyone to get out (because some people decided to make it more interesting and go explore), Marian taught us the Spanish equivalent of tag, called pilla pilla. You tough someone, say te la queda! and run away because I have no idea how to say no tag backs in Spanish and otherwise they'll just te la queda you right back. It was pretty fun, cuz it was a small space without obstacles and the accompanying professors joined in.
Friday night, I went out to watch a show being put on near the school and to hang out with Javi and Rúben, a couple of the Spanish guys I'd met previously. The show was really cool. I'm not exactly sure what it was, other than a random exposition of music and dance. There was a lot of percussion, and it reminded me a bit off the Spanish version of Blast! At one point, they played musical clay pots, like the kind you plant flowers in. That was awesome. Then there was a guy playing flute who did things with it that I've never heard anyone do before. It was sooooo cool. We also saw a man dance a bit of flamenco, though I think it would've been way cooler to see a woman. At that point, the girls I was with got sick of all the smoke and they left, so I went to hang out with Javi & Rúben. We went to San Miguel, a bar on the "street of the bars" where pretty much everyone ends up at some point in the night if they're out in Segovia. Unfortunately, this bar sucks because they didn't have Eristoff Black! Just Absolut, and I'm not sure if I like that stuff. So, no drinking for me, just a lot of fun conversing with Spaniards who are learning English. I did learn that apparently publicity majors (Oh yeah, need to ask Javi wtf that means) are the bottom of the ladder for university students because you only need a score of 5 in high school to get into the program (it's the lowest score for any program, and some range as high as 16...dunno what a perfect would be though). You can apparently tell who they are just by looking, which Javi pointed out to me. It was pretty amusing.
Today I've had a pretty lazy day. But, I'm finally all caught up on my blogging, woohoo!! Pictures are next on the list, though a lot of the places I visited did not permit pictures and thus I don't have any. If I mention a place and you don't see any pictures for it, that's why!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Santiago de Compostela
(Parte Dos)
I made it to the bus station in plenty of time, and got to Principe Pío with enough time before my train to stop at that awesome Chinese restaurant for dinner. Super tasty! Kind of expensive though, will maybe stick with the 2€ rice in the future. Hopped on the metro, wandered around the train station awhile trying to figure out where in the heck I needed to catch my train, and eventually got it all figured out.
Let me say this though: I should've taken a freakin' plane or the bus. The train was *not* more comfortable than a bus--less so. It was absolutely freezing, I had just as much leg room, and I couldn't lean back my seat. They kept the lights on past 1am, and there was no helpful signery or announcer saying where we were everytime we stopped, so I was a little panicky. I got some sleep, spoke with nearby passengers, and managed to get off at Santiago. Whew! I got something to drink, then prepared to head out to Santiago.
The problem was, the directions I printed out sent me to my hostel, which I was pretty sure wouldn't be open for checkin at 7:30am. Luckily, there was a giant map near the bus station, and I more or less figured out where to go. I first headed for the Office of Tourism seeking a map, and with the help of a nice policeman found it. Of course, it didn't open until 11, and I was there around 8....so I headed for the cathedral which I knew must be close by because I could see the towers. I wandered around a bit and found it!
It was really pretty. Unfortunately, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get into the darn thing. The gates at the front were all closed, since it was so early. I wandered about the square, saw the crazy flagstone thing being set up (which I didn't figure out until later what exactly that meant), and then wandered off to find something substantial to eat, since the ibuprophen gives me a stomachache ache if I don't eat enough. I wandered until the shops went away, then backtracked up a hill. I ended up in this little plaza, and saw a church with its doors open. I was like heck, might as well stop and see the pretty church...
...and it turns out it was the entrance to the cathedral! I was pretty pumped about that. I looked around for a bit, and it was really pretty. I saw a sign that I thought said no photos (it's was a picture of a camera with a line going through it, don't look at me like that), so I only wandered. There was like no one there, so it was really cool to have the place practically to myself. Have I mentioned I really like churches? They're just so peaceful. I sat for a bit too, cuz I was kinda tired.
Then I got up and trudged on in search of breakfast. I stopped at a few places, but they pretty much only served pastries and such. Then, I made it to another plaza and there was a little pub right on the corner. And lo and behold, it served eggs and french fries (okay, sounds weird but was awesome)! So, I went in and had a very lovely breakfast. I somehow managed to get a free churro and tarta de Santiago, which I guess must just come with all the breakfasts? I'm still not sure how that happened. The pub was warm though, so I stayed and read for a couple hours so that everything would be nice and open by the time I left, and hopefully a little warmer.
....It wasn't. Warm that is, was open. Did I mention that it had been misting since I set foot? And there I was, in a tank top and shorts. Sigh. I would've been fine if it weren't for all the wet. So, I walked along the street back towards the Office of Tourism and saw a rain coat in one of the windows!! I immediately went in and bought it (5€) and was sooo much more comfortable after that :D I made my way to the Office of Tourism, stood in line in the tiny office for awhile (and suddenly had no problems being cold), and finally got my map, along with a list of suggested places to visit. Ahhhh, success! I immediately set off for the one located furthest away, intending to hit other things on my way back.
So, I have I mentioned that the streets in Santiago are absolutely insane? Spain has no never heard of right angles or a grid. Finding the first museum was intense, and I got turned around in this one little square for a good five minutes, walking back and forth across it until I finally figured out where I was. Whew! Also, maps really don't take into account elevation, which can be really mind-boggling when your'e lost and trying to get somewhere. Maybe I'm just too used to flat Central Indiana...Luckily, Santiago is pretty small (at least the center is), and even with all my walking in circles it didn't take too long to get to the first stop: Museo de Pobo Galego.
When I got to the Museo de Pobo Galego, the receptionist was really nice and helpful (yay discounts for students!) and gave me a map, explained where everything was, then gave me a key and took my backpack. The whole museum was in Gallego with papers in English on the exhibit, but I wasn't in the mood to read that much, so I just did a lot of looking. I think Pobo Galego must translate to something like the Gallego People or something, because it was dedicated to basically various aspects of life in Galicia. The first floor was kinda boring, because was mostly how everyone worked and made a living way back when (sorry, old farm equipment just isn't exciting). The upper levels were pretty cool though, especially the spiral staircase!! They had exhibits for clothing, musical instruments, art, all sorts of things. The museum was also connected to this really old church as well, which was pretty, but kinda of in a former way. Like, you knew it used to be gorgeous once, but had now fallen into disrepair. I don't think they even hold mass there anymore.
Right next to the Museo de Pobo Galego was the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, the contemporary art museum. This one I enjoyed much less, probably because I'm not a huge art or old TV fan. Because that's what a lot of the museum seemed to be dedicated to--TV. I just don't do black and white. They did have some other contemporary art, and all of it was pretty weird to say the least, and kinda disturbing at times. One that stood out to me was a series of photographs of little girls posed in "sex kitten" outfits. Very unsettling. I didn't stay long, and headed back out to Santiago.
By this time, it was getting to be lunch time (by Spanish standards), so I headed in the direction of my hostel, with the intention to stop at a yummy-looking restaurant on the way. I didn't find one until I was back to the neighborhood around the cathedral, but I'm so glad I stopped there. The food was phenomenal. I had the menu of the day and chose a house salad, chicken with cream sauce, and water. The service was almost morbidly slow, but the woman serving me was really nice and I wasn't in a hurry, so I didn't mind. The house salad had tomatoes, lettuce, AVOCADO (*insert rapturous face here*), and what I think was squid, some sort of shellfish anyway and an oil dressing. The shellfish was easy to pick out though (I don't do creepy seafood), and did I mention it had avocado? I also had a nice basket of super tasty bread to go with it, was delicious. Have I described the bread I encountered in Santiago yet? No? Well, it was amazing. Most of the bread I'd had up to that point was typical french bread, like what you put bruschetta on. This was...different. In a way I can't really put into words, because I'm not even sure how to describe it. It was darker, and the bottom was all super floury. And totally tastier. Anyways. The chicken was in a mushroom cream sauce, which was perfectly supplemented by the tasty tasty bread. Finally, I chose my dessert--flan. It was...nothing like I expected. Imagine if pudding and jello had a baby--it'd taste like flan. It was topped with chocolate syrup, surrounded in whipped cream, and was pretty tasty.
By this time, I was all sorts of full and getting to be a bit tired. I walked the last several blocks to my hostel and found it without much issue. Got checked in without issue as well, and then climbed two giant flights of stairs to my room (*pantpant*). Got settled in, then laid down to take a nice little nap before exploring the rest of the items on my list (since they close for siesta anyway).
...uhm, maybe slept a little longer than anticipated. Not super long though, so no big deal. I dragged myself from the (sorta) comfy bed and ventured back out into Segovia. First stop: Igrexa de San Martiño Pinario.
Heh, heh. So, about that. I couldn't figure out how to get into the freaking building. The guy in the Office of Tourism put an arrow on my map telling me how, but he either put it in the wrong place or the map was just that confusing. I finally gave up since I thought the list said it closed at 6 and it was after 5:30. So, I went to the next stop, Museo Sacro, which was much easier to find. It was in this really pretty church, and had a whole bunch of art and "articles of mass" (dunno what else to call them as a group--vestaments, chalices, the thingy they use for Adoration, etc). No pictures, and it wasn't super exciting, but was neat enough.
Next, I set off for the Museo das Peregrinacións e de Santiago. This one was tucked away a little, but I managed to find it okay because it was pretty close to the main plaza I'd been visiting. Once again, not overly exciting. Was pretty neat though. My favorite was an exhibit at the top that had a bunch of different pilgrim's notebooks...I think there must've been some sort of contest, because they had first and second place marked. They were all pretty cool, and really creative.
As I was leaving, I decided to take a different way back, and guess what I stumbled upon? The entrance to the Ingrexa de San Martiño Pinario!! The entrance was really pretty, and I made it with just enough time before they closed :D It opens into a church, which is absolutely beautiful, with little capillas on the side. And then off to one side of the church, it opened up into the museum aspect of the monastery. There were all kinds of neat exhibits, and the rooms were all situated at various levels, so it was an interesting journey. One of the coolest exhibits was an old laboratory from way back when. I really like the idea of science and religion coexisting peacefully :) There was also an animal exhibit which was honestly kinda random, a bunch of paintings of cardinals and popes (I really enjoy Pope Portraits, dunno why), and then it went across to the choir that looked over the church. It was so elegant and beautiful.
After visiting San Martiño, I decided to stop by the cathedral again on my way back to the hostel to see when mass would be held the next day. As I was reading the signs posted, I noticed something--everyone else was taking pictures! I looked at the sign more carefully and realized that it showed a camera with its flash lit up, most likely indicating that pictures must be taken sin flash. So, I whipped out my camera and started taking pictures of the beautiful cathedral :D One of the most interesting thing about it was all the confessionals. There were these little wooden boxes along the sides of the cathedral, some of them occupied by priests. Confessors could either kneel in front or sit beside to receive Reconciliation, and priests unoccupied sat serenely reading their Bibles. It was pretty cool, if a little odd. The cathedral was filled with people though, so after walking around a bit, I left for my hostel.
Back at the hostel, I got online to say hi and check my email. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long--in the middle of a sentence, it died and never came back. I was tired and it wasn't time to eat yet, so I decided to rest a bit and read.
Once it got to be about dinner time (by Spanish standards), I headed out seeking food. I stopped by the plaza in front of the cathedral, and saw that the flagstone competition was just wrapping up. It was kinda crazy, cuz I had seen them earlier in the day, 24 stonemasons chipping away at 24 giant slabs of rock (flagstones), and wasn't sure what they were doing. I'd had a sneaking suspicion though, and it turned out I was right. Were they sculpting it into anything cool or interesting? Nope. The goal seemed to be simply to make the very top all smooth and level. They even had prizes, though I couldn't have told you had they decided that. They all looked pretty smooth and level to me!
I set off for a restaurant, and was majorly craving some tortilla española, so I stopped at every restaurant along the way to see if their menú del día included a tortilla española. Found one, and immediately went in, which was blessedly warm. I wasn't feeling super hungry, so I chose a hamburguesa to go with it. The tortilla was everything I'd hoped it would be, but I was pretty dang surprised by the hamburguesa. I'm not entirely sure what it was to be honest, because it tasted kinda like chicken (before you freak, one of my classmates had mentioned earlier that week that hamburguesas were weird in Spain, and that she'd had one made from chicken with her host family...so this is apparently a normal occurrence in Spain, not a freak out they're a yucky restaurant occurrence) and was definitely not beef. Didn't have a bun, just lettuce, tomato, and onion off to the side with some french fries. Was tasty enough though. For dessert, I decided to chance the tarta de Santiago, figuring it was only appropriate that I try the city's dessert. Took one bite, discovered the cake was absolutely FULL of some sort of chopped nut, and didn't eat the rest. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.
Went back to my hostel and upon discovering my internet was still out, decided to go to bed a little early so I could get up early and see a really pretty park which is apparently amazing for taking pictures of the cathedral from. The bed wasn't very comfortable, though luckily they provided nice heavy blankets to keep warm :) Yeah, totally didn't get up as early as I'd wanted, so pretty much had to go straight to the cathedral for mass. I was worried it would be crowded, so I got there fairly early...I definitely needn't have worried. Maybe 10am is just too early, but there was hardly anyone there, given that it was this giant cathedral. A nun led a bunch of the singing, and let me tell you, cathedrals are meant for singing. No musical accompaniment, but it was really pretty. One thing that struck me as pretty odd and that I have yet to figure out, is that mass was not presided over by a bishop, just a regular priest (well, and like 6 others, a few who did small translations during the Consecration). Towards the end of mass, tourists just walked in and out, taking pictures, which was thoroughly unsettling and a little upsetting. They were generally hushed by the guardians of the cathedral, priests dressed in blue and gold (no idea what order they're from though). Was a nice mass though, overall.
After mass, I walked around the shops near the cathedral and did a bunch of souvenir shopping. I started looking for one particular gift, and was helped by the woman who had sold me the raincoat the day before :D Found something for everyone on my list, though I think some people are gonna be surprised. Is a secret though! :D Afterwards, I stopped back at the pub that I'd had breakfast in the previous day because I really enjoyed the place and the servers, and had myself another tortilla española. Was divine :D Oddly though, no churros and cake. Wasn't bothered though, tortillas make every situation happier :D I left for the station afterwards, because I was maybe paranoid about missing my train. Got there with plenty of time though, then had a nice freezing cold ride back to Segovia. Sigh. Never taking the train again, unless it's the Ave!! All in all, a wonderful visit to Santiago, easily my second favorite city in Spain (is hard to beat Segovia)! :)
I made it to the bus station in plenty of time, and got to Principe Pío with enough time before my train to stop at that awesome Chinese restaurant for dinner. Super tasty! Kind of expensive though, will maybe stick with the 2€ rice in the future. Hopped on the metro, wandered around the train station awhile trying to figure out where in the heck I needed to catch my train, and eventually got it all figured out.
Let me say this though: I should've taken a freakin' plane or the bus. The train was *not* more comfortable than a bus--less so. It was absolutely freezing, I had just as much leg room, and I couldn't lean back my seat. They kept the lights on past 1am, and there was no helpful signery or announcer saying where we were everytime we stopped, so I was a little panicky. I got some sleep, spoke with nearby passengers, and managed to get off at Santiago. Whew! I got something to drink, then prepared to head out to Santiago.
The problem was, the directions I printed out sent me to my hostel, which I was pretty sure wouldn't be open for checkin at 7:30am. Luckily, there was a giant map near the bus station, and I more or less figured out where to go. I first headed for the Office of Tourism seeking a map, and with the help of a nice policeman found it. Of course, it didn't open until 11, and I was there around 8....so I headed for the cathedral which I knew must be close by because I could see the towers. I wandered around a bit and found it!
It was really pretty. Unfortunately, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get into the darn thing. The gates at the front were all closed, since it was so early. I wandered about the square, saw the crazy flagstone thing being set up (which I didn't figure out until later what exactly that meant), and then wandered off to find something substantial to eat, since the ibuprophen gives me a stomachache ache if I don't eat enough. I wandered until the shops went away, then backtracked up a hill. I ended up in this little plaza, and saw a church with its doors open. I was like heck, might as well stop and see the pretty church...
...and it turns out it was the entrance to the cathedral! I was pretty pumped about that. I looked around for a bit, and it was really pretty. I saw a sign that I thought said no photos (it's was a picture of a camera with a line going through it, don't look at me like that), so I only wandered. There was like no one there, so it was really cool to have the place practically to myself. Have I mentioned I really like churches? They're just so peaceful. I sat for a bit too, cuz I was kinda tired.
Then I got up and trudged on in search of breakfast. I stopped at a few places, but they pretty much only served pastries and such. Then, I made it to another plaza and there was a little pub right on the corner. And lo and behold, it served eggs and french fries (okay, sounds weird but was awesome)! So, I went in and had a very lovely breakfast. I somehow managed to get a free churro and tarta de Santiago, which I guess must just come with all the breakfasts? I'm still not sure how that happened. The pub was warm though, so I stayed and read for a couple hours so that everything would be nice and open by the time I left, and hopefully a little warmer.
....It wasn't. Warm that is, was open. Did I mention that it had been misting since I set foot? And there I was, in a tank top and shorts. Sigh. I would've been fine if it weren't for all the wet. So, I walked along the street back towards the Office of Tourism and saw a rain coat in one of the windows!! I immediately went in and bought it (5€) and was sooo much more comfortable after that :D I made my way to the Office of Tourism, stood in line in the tiny office for awhile (and suddenly had no problems being cold), and finally got my map, along with a list of suggested places to visit. Ahhhh, success! I immediately set off for the one located furthest away, intending to hit other things on my way back.
So, I have I mentioned that the streets in Santiago are absolutely insane? Spain has no never heard of right angles or a grid. Finding the first museum was intense, and I got turned around in this one little square for a good five minutes, walking back and forth across it until I finally figured out where I was. Whew! Also, maps really don't take into account elevation, which can be really mind-boggling when your'e lost and trying to get somewhere. Maybe I'm just too used to flat Central Indiana...Luckily, Santiago is pretty small (at least the center is), and even with all my walking in circles it didn't take too long to get to the first stop: Museo de Pobo Galego.
When I got to the Museo de Pobo Galego, the receptionist was really nice and helpful (yay discounts for students!) and gave me a map, explained where everything was, then gave me a key and took my backpack. The whole museum was in Gallego with papers in English on the exhibit, but I wasn't in the mood to read that much, so I just did a lot of looking. I think Pobo Galego must translate to something like the Gallego People or something, because it was dedicated to basically various aspects of life in Galicia. The first floor was kinda boring, because was mostly how everyone worked and made a living way back when (sorry, old farm equipment just isn't exciting). The upper levels were pretty cool though, especially the spiral staircase!! They had exhibits for clothing, musical instruments, art, all sorts of things. The museum was also connected to this really old church as well, which was pretty, but kinda of in a former way. Like, you knew it used to be gorgeous once, but had now fallen into disrepair. I don't think they even hold mass there anymore.
Right next to the Museo de Pobo Galego was the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, the contemporary art museum. This one I enjoyed much less, probably because I'm not a huge art or old TV fan. Because that's what a lot of the museum seemed to be dedicated to--TV. I just don't do black and white. They did have some other contemporary art, and all of it was pretty weird to say the least, and kinda disturbing at times. One that stood out to me was a series of photographs of little girls posed in "sex kitten" outfits. Very unsettling. I didn't stay long, and headed back out to Santiago.
By this time, it was getting to be lunch time (by Spanish standards), so I headed in the direction of my hostel, with the intention to stop at a yummy-looking restaurant on the way. I didn't find one until I was back to the neighborhood around the cathedral, but I'm so glad I stopped there. The food was phenomenal. I had the menu of the day and chose a house salad, chicken with cream sauce, and water. The service was almost morbidly slow, but the woman serving me was really nice and I wasn't in a hurry, so I didn't mind. The house salad had tomatoes, lettuce, AVOCADO (*insert rapturous face here*), and what I think was squid, some sort of shellfish anyway and an oil dressing. The shellfish was easy to pick out though (I don't do creepy seafood), and did I mention it had avocado? I also had a nice basket of super tasty bread to go with it, was delicious. Have I described the bread I encountered in Santiago yet? No? Well, it was amazing. Most of the bread I'd had up to that point was typical french bread, like what you put bruschetta on. This was...different. In a way I can't really put into words, because I'm not even sure how to describe it. It was darker, and the bottom was all super floury. And totally tastier. Anyways. The chicken was in a mushroom cream sauce, which was perfectly supplemented by the tasty tasty bread. Finally, I chose my dessert--flan. It was...nothing like I expected. Imagine if pudding and jello had a baby--it'd taste like flan. It was topped with chocolate syrup, surrounded in whipped cream, and was pretty tasty.
By this time, I was all sorts of full and getting to be a bit tired. I walked the last several blocks to my hostel and found it without much issue. Got checked in without issue as well, and then climbed two giant flights of stairs to my room (*pantpant*). Got settled in, then laid down to take a nice little nap before exploring the rest of the items on my list (since they close for siesta anyway).
...uhm, maybe slept a little longer than anticipated. Not super long though, so no big deal. I dragged myself from the (sorta) comfy bed and ventured back out into Segovia. First stop: Igrexa de San Martiño Pinario.
Heh, heh. So, about that. I couldn't figure out how to get into the freaking building. The guy in the Office of Tourism put an arrow on my map telling me how, but he either put it in the wrong place or the map was just that confusing. I finally gave up since I thought the list said it closed at 6 and it was after 5:30. So, I went to the next stop, Museo Sacro, which was much easier to find. It was in this really pretty church, and had a whole bunch of art and "articles of mass" (dunno what else to call them as a group--vestaments, chalices, the thingy they use for Adoration, etc). No pictures, and it wasn't super exciting, but was neat enough.
Next, I set off for the Museo das Peregrinacións e de Santiago. This one was tucked away a little, but I managed to find it okay because it was pretty close to the main plaza I'd been visiting. Once again, not overly exciting. Was pretty neat though. My favorite was an exhibit at the top that had a bunch of different pilgrim's notebooks...I think there must've been some sort of contest, because they had first and second place marked. They were all pretty cool, and really creative.
As I was leaving, I decided to take a different way back, and guess what I stumbled upon? The entrance to the Ingrexa de San Martiño Pinario!! The entrance was really pretty, and I made it with just enough time before they closed :D It opens into a church, which is absolutely beautiful, with little capillas on the side. And then off to one side of the church, it opened up into the museum aspect of the monastery. There were all kinds of neat exhibits, and the rooms were all situated at various levels, so it was an interesting journey. One of the coolest exhibits was an old laboratory from way back when. I really like the idea of science and religion coexisting peacefully :) There was also an animal exhibit which was honestly kinda random, a bunch of paintings of cardinals and popes (I really enjoy Pope Portraits, dunno why), and then it went across to the choir that looked over the church. It was so elegant and beautiful.
After visiting San Martiño, I decided to stop by the cathedral again on my way back to the hostel to see when mass would be held the next day. As I was reading the signs posted, I noticed something--everyone else was taking pictures! I looked at the sign more carefully and realized that it showed a camera with its flash lit up, most likely indicating that pictures must be taken sin flash. So, I whipped out my camera and started taking pictures of the beautiful cathedral :D One of the most interesting thing about it was all the confessionals. There were these little wooden boxes along the sides of the cathedral, some of them occupied by priests. Confessors could either kneel in front or sit beside to receive Reconciliation, and priests unoccupied sat serenely reading their Bibles. It was pretty cool, if a little odd. The cathedral was filled with people though, so after walking around a bit, I left for my hostel.
Back at the hostel, I got online to say hi and check my email. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long--in the middle of a sentence, it died and never came back. I was tired and it wasn't time to eat yet, so I decided to rest a bit and read.
Once it got to be about dinner time (by Spanish standards), I headed out seeking food. I stopped by the plaza in front of the cathedral, and saw that the flagstone competition was just wrapping up. It was kinda crazy, cuz I had seen them earlier in the day, 24 stonemasons chipping away at 24 giant slabs of rock (flagstones), and wasn't sure what they were doing. I'd had a sneaking suspicion though, and it turned out I was right. Were they sculpting it into anything cool or interesting? Nope. The goal seemed to be simply to make the very top all smooth and level. They even had prizes, though I couldn't have told you had they decided that. They all looked pretty smooth and level to me!
I set off for a restaurant, and was majorly craving some tortilla española, so I stopped at every restaurant along the way to see if their menú del día included a tortilla española. Found one, and immediately went in, which was blessedly warm. I wasn't feeling super hungry, so I chose a hamburguesa to go with it. The tortilla was everything I'd hoped it would be, but I was pretty dang surprised by the hamburguesa. I'm not entirely sure what it was to be honest, because it tasted kinda like chicken (before you freak, one of my classmates had mentioned earlier that week that hamburguesas were weird in Spain, and that she'd had one made from chicken with her host family...so this is apparently a normal occurrence in Spain, not a freak out they're a yucky restaurant occurrence) and was definitely not beef. Didn't have a bun, just lettuce, tomato, and onion off to the side with some french fries. Was tasty enough though. For dessert, I decided to chance the tarta de Santiago, figuring it was only appropriate that I try the city's dessert. Took one bite, discovered the cake was absolutely FULL of some sort of chopped nut, and didn't eat the rest. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.
Went back to my hostel and upon discovering my internet was still out, decided to go to bed a little early so I could get up early and see a really pretty park which is apparently amazing for taking pictures of the cathedral from. The bed wasn't very comfortable, though luckily they provided nice heavy blankets to keep warm :) Yeah, totally didn't get up as early as I'd wanted, so pretty much had to go straight to the cathedral for mass. I was worried it would be crowded, so I got there fairly early...I definitely needn't have worried. Maybe 10am is just too early, but there was hardly anyone there, given that it was this giant cathedral. A nun led a bunch of the singing, and let me tell you, cathedrals are meant for singing. No musical accompaniment, but it was really pretty. One thing that struck me as pretty odd and that I have yet to figure out, is that mass was not presided over by a bishop, just a regular priest (well, and like 6 others, a few who did small translations during the Consecration). Towards the end of mass, tourists just walked in and out, taking pictures, which was thoroughly unsettling and a little upsetting. They were generally hushed by the guardians of the cathedral, priests dressed in blue and gold (no idea what order they're from though). Was a nice mass though, overall.
After mass, I walked around the shops near the cathedral and did a bunch of souvenir shopping. I started looking for one particular gift, and was helped by the woman who had sold me the raincoat the day before :D Found something for everyone on my list, though I think some people are gonna be surprised. Is a secret though! :D Afterwards, I stopped back at the pub that I'd had breakfast in the previous day because I really enjoyed the place and the servers, and had myself another tortilla española. Was divine :D Oddly though, no churros and cake. Wasn't bothered though, tortillas make every situation happier :D I left for the station afterwards, because I was maybe paranoid about missing my train. Got there with plenty of time though, then had a nice freezing cold ride back to Segovia. Sigh. Never taking the train again, unless it's the Ave!! All in all, a wonderful visit to Santiago, easily my second favorite city in Spain (is hard to beat Segovia)! :)
El Escorial
Hi :D So yeah, has been awhile. We excursioned to El Escorial on Friday, then there was literally an hour between when our bus got back and when I had to catch my bus from Segovia to Madrid, and then I was in Santiago until Sunday, and then I had a sizeable project due Tuesday...so yeah. I apologize, and prepare yourselves for a nice long post! (EDIT: Okay, it's gotten to the point of ridiculous, so I'm going to break it into parts so it's not quite so much at once. Parte Uno!)
So, El Escorial. It's really close to Madrid and is the largest building in all of Spain. It's a palace. And a basilica. And a library. And a museum. And a monastery. Is kinda crazy, but also pretty cool. The overall shape of El Escorial is a grille, in reference to San Lorenzo who was apparently matyred that way. This is because Felipe II's first major battle was won on San Lorenzo's feast day, so he's like the patron of El Escorial, and the little town where it's located is named for him. The unfortunate thing about El Escorial is that they wouldn't let us take any pictures inside :( So I have a couple of pictures outside, but really not much.
So, first we went through the museum of tapestries. Spain has like the best collection of them, by quality (preservation) and quantity. One interesting thing is that they were originally woven with strands of gold, and would pull out those strands when they needed it...so there are sorta blank spots in most of the tapestries now. There were also some paintings in the same area...no idea why. There was one by El Greco, and it was super huge! It was neat to see, because in class we never saw anything bigger than what was projected onto the chalkboard :)
Next was the museum of architecture. There was a tiny scale model of El Escorial, which was pretty awesome. It also showed a lot of the tools that had been used to build El Escorial, which was built all super fast for its time. Overall, it wasn't super exciting, and we didn't stay long. We quickly passed through another set of paintings, but nothing too interesting.
Next, we saw the palace section of El Escorial. What's really neat about the living quarters for the King and Queen is that they both have windows that go right to the basilica--which came in handy when Felipe II got really sick and was bedridden for awhile. And there were of course, bunches of cool paintings everywhere.
Next we ventured up some stairs to the Room of the Battles, names so for the two giant murals on either wall that portray battle scenes. The murals are painted to look like tapestries, and at the doorways are all wrinkle from being pulled back. It looks really cool. The room is really long and skinny, with one wall featuring one of the battles where the Christians pushed back the Muslims in their conquest, and the other one facing it featuring Felipe's first victory over the French.
After that, we went down and saw the tombs of all the Kings and Queens (well, since some of them had more than one, only the Queen to bear the next heir got to be burried in the special area) since Felipe's father Carlos something or other (which, it turns out, what the whole original point of building El Escorial--a resting place for Felipe's dad), with the exception of Fernando V (I think?), who was buried elsewhere with his wife--he's also the only King to sleep with his wife. There were only two empty ones there, which are slated to go to the current King Juan Carlos I's parents, who he believes should've been King and Queen, but Franco beat them out of it. Where will Juan Carlos and his Queen be buried when they die? No one knows (well, probably Juan Carlos and his Queen)--being buried in El Escorial isn't a requirement though. After that first mystical chamber, we went up some steps to the other burial area, for all the wives who didn't produce heirs and all the kids who didn't become King for whatever reason (brothers, sisters, heirs that died prematurely). There was this one giant cake looking tomb that held a bunch of bitties that had died, and their tombs were all tiny :(
Next stop, the Basilica! In the entranceway there's a dome, but it's flat. When the second architect was auditioning to become the architect, he built the flat down with a paper column in the middle to give the appearance of holding up the ceiling. Then he invited the King to see what he had created, and the King was unimpressed. So he took out his sword and cut through the column and the King freaked out. The ceiling didn't fall or anything though, so he got the job! The basilica was super pretty, but we unfortunately didn't get to stay long. By this time a lot of people were getting grumpy and bored, but it was soooo beautiful!! I love giant pretty churches :D
Our final stop was the library. It was a long skinny hall with bookshelves on the side, and they were all super old! They have a few on display, but I couldn't read anything. There were also a bunch of globes and other map like objects along the center of the hall, and it was really neat to see the drawings of the world from the 16th century and such.
Finally, our trip ended, much to the relief of many of my classmates. We all went and ate lunch in town, which wasn't super exciting. What was really cool was listening to two of my classmates talking, because they came from Spanish backgrounds. I swear, every couple of words, they switched languages! It was kinda hard to follow and I think if I'd tried for any length of time I'd have gone crazy, but it was really cool.
Next stop was the Valley of the Fallen. This is a highly controversial monument and was closed until a couple of years ago. The only way we were allowed in is because Elena told the gate people we were there to pray (the only excuse to visit). You see, it was build by Franco after the Civil War by the Republican prisoners (who had lost to the Nationalists) to be a giant basilica (I think? Maybe it's just a church...a mighty impressive one though!) where all those who had fallen in the war were buried, and he eventually was also buried there. Currently, the Republicans have power, and a lot of people are really upset about it and think it should be destroyed. There was a terrorist bombing in there at one point too--like I said, hugely controversial. However, for all that, it was absolutely beautiful. It's carved right into the mountain, and that giant cross I saw on my first bus ride to Segovia stands above it. It was so tall and majestic--very awe-inspiring.
After we got back, I had literally one hour between the getting off the bus at the Aqueduct and when my bus to Madrid left--so I booked it home. I had packed everything the night before, so all I had to do was grab it and some snacks from my madre and I was good to go!
So, El Escorial. It's really close to Madrid and is the largest building in all of Spain. It's a palace. And a basilica. And a library. And a museum. And a monastery. Is kinda crazy, but also pretty cool. The overall shape of El Escorial is a grille, in reference to San Lorenzo who was apparently matyred that way. This is because Felipe II's first major battle was won on San Lorenzo's feast day, so he's like the patron of El Escorial, and the little town where it's located is named for him. The unfortunate thing about El Escorial is that they wouldn't let us take any pictures inside :( So I have a couple of pictures outside, but really not much.
So, first we went through the museum of tapestries. Spain has like the best collection of them, by quality (preservation) and quantity. One interesting thing is that they were originally woven with strands of gold, and would pull out those strands when they needed it...so there are sorta blank spots in most of the tapestries now. There were also some paintings in the same area...no idea why. There was one by El Greco, and it was super huge! It was neat to see, because in class we never saw anything bigger than what was projected onto the chalkboard :)
Next was the museum of architecture. There was a tiny scale model of El Escorial, which was pretty awesome. It also showed a lot of the tools that had been used to build El Escorial, which was built all super fast for its time. Overall, it wasn't super exciting, and we didn't stay long. We quickly passed through another set of paintings, but nothing too interesting.
Next, we saw the palace section of El Escorial. What's really neat about the living quarters for the King and Queen is that they both have windows that go right to the basilica--which came in handy when Felipe II got really sick and was bedridden for awhile. And there were of course, bunches of cool paintings everywhere.
Next we ventured up some stairs to the Room of the Battles, names so for the two giant murals on either wall that portray battle scenes. The murals are painted to look like tapestries, and at the doorways are all wrinkle from being pulled back. It looks really cool. The room is really long and skinny, with one wall featuring one of the battles where the Christians pushed back the Muslims in their conquest, and the other one facing it featuring Felipe's first victory over the French.
After that, we went down and saw the tombs of all the Kings and Queens (well, since some of them had more than one, only the Queen to bear the next heir got to be burried in the special area) since Felipe's father Carlos something or other (which, it turns out, what the whole original point of building El Escorial--a resting place for Felipe's dad), with the exception of Fernando V (I think?), who was buried elsewhere with his wife--he's also the only King to sleep with his wife. There were only two empty ones there, which are slated to go to the current King Juan Carlos I's parents, who he believes should've been King and Queen, but Franco beat them out of it. Where will Juan Carlos and his Queen be buried when they die? No one knows (well, probably Juan Carlos and his Queen)--being buried in El Escorial isn't a requirement though. After that first mystical chamber, we went up some steps to the other burial area, for all the wives who didn't produce heirs and all the kids who didn't become King for whatever reason (brothers, sisters, heirs that died prematurely). There was this one giant cake looking tomb that held a bunch of bitties that had died, and their tombs were all tiny :(
Next stop, the Basilica! In the entranceway there's a dome, but it's flat. When the second architect was auditioning to become the architect, he built the flat down with a paper column in the middle to give the appearance of holding up the ceiling. Then he invited the King to see what he had created, and the King was unimpressed. So he took out his sword and cut through the column and the King freaked out. The ceiling didn't fall or anything though, so he got the job! The basilica was super pretty, but we unfortunately didn't get to stay long. By this time a lot of people were getting grumpy and bored, but it was soooo beautiful!! I love giant pretty churches :D
Our final stop was the library. It was a long skinny hall with bookshelves on the side, and they were all super old! They have a few on display, but I couldn't read anything. There were also a bunch of globes and other map like objects along the center of the hall, and it was really neat to see the drawings of the world from the 16th century and such.
Finally, our trip ended, much to the relief of many of my classmates. We all went and ate lunch in town, which wasn't super exciting. What was really cool was listening to two of my classmates talking, because they came from Spanish backgrounds. I swear, every couple of words, they switched languages! It was kinda hard to follow and I think if I'd tried for any length of time I'd have gone crazy, but it was really cool.
Next stop was the Valley of the Fallen. This is a highly controversial monument and was closed until a couple of years ago. The only way we were allowed in is because Elena told the gate people we were there to pray (the only excuse to visit). You see, it was build by Franco after the Civil War by the Republican prisoners (who had lost to the Nationalists) to be a giant basilica (I think? Maybe it's just a church...a mighty impressive one though!) where all those who had fallen in the war were buried, and he eventually was also buried there. Currently, the Republicans have power, and a lot of people are really upset about it and think it should be destroyed. There was a terrorist bombing in there at one point too--like I said, hugely controversial. However, for all that, it was absolutely beautiful. It's carved right into the mountain, and that giant cross I saw on my first bus ride to Segovia stands above it. It was so tall and majestic--very awe-inspiring.
After we got back, I had literally one hour between the getting off the bus at the Aqueduct and when my bus to Madrid left--so I booked it home. I had packed everything the night before, so all I had to do was grab it and some snacks from my madre and I was good to go!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Alcazar
So today started kinda bleh. Grammar class has turned into a giant waste of time. Seriously, today's lesson started with, in what situation would you use the imperative form? *facepalm* I learned about imperative and how to conjugate it like 6 years ago, this was a joke. Tomorrow doesn't promise to be much better--our homework was to copy a recipe, using the tú form of the imperative. Also, she totally ignored the nosotros form, saying only the second and third person forms were really used much--she needs to be introduced to Dora! Ahem. Anyway, will stop complaining now, I promise.
Instead of UE class today, we went and toured Alcazar!! It was all really pretty. The tower had like 150+ steps though, and they were all like double-size...which really puzzled me because they were all short back then, so how'd they manage it?! I'm glad Marian took us, cuz she told a bunch of neat stories. I think we'll be going to the cathedral at some point before we leave, and I can't wait for that! Pics and stories can be found on FB:
Instead of UE class today, we went and toured Alcazar!! It was all really pretty. The tower had like 150+ steps though, and they were all like double-size...which really puzzled me because they were all short back then, so how'd they manage it?! I'm glad Marian took us, cuz she told a bunch of neat stories. I think we'll be going to the cathedral at some point before we leave, and I can't wait for that! Pics and stories can be found on FB:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100176803875618.2515278.20718294&l=2d6745ad9f
After siesta, I went with my hermana (cuz my madre wasn't ready yet) to the pharmacy and wow am I glad I went with her! She explained everything to the pharmacist-dude and made it a lot easier. The ankle-sock thing they had was the same size as I'd tried to put on back at la casa without much success, so I'm going to try again tomorrow. I bought special cream (no idea what's in it :s) and ibuprophen though. Their ibuprophen comes in pills of 600mg--I was like whoa. Hopefully it'll help with the inflammation though!
After siesta, I went with my hermana (cuz my madre wasn't ready yet) to the pharmacy and wow am I glad I went with her! She explained everything to the pharmacist-dude and made it a lot easier. The ankle-sock thing they had was the same size as I'd tried to put on back at la casa without much success, so I'm going to try again tomorrow. I bought special cream (no idea what's in it :s) and ibuprophen though. Their ibuprophen comes in pills of 600mg--I was like whoa. Hopefully it'll help with the inflammation though!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Un Día Interesante
So today has been an interesting day, despite being what would seem a regular Tuesday. It started out with grammar class. I was a few minutes early, or so I thought--turns out our regular professor is going to be gone for the next few days, if not the rest of the week, and the other professor starts the class 15 minutes early because she leaves 15 minutes early. Honestly, class today pretty well sucked. I miss our regular professor, she's awesome! There's a pretty big gap between the levels of the two grammar classes, and conducting them together (the current solution) is not all that helpful. But, meh.
UE class dumped two projects in our laps, one for next week and one for the week after. Is nothing too major, we just were all a little blind-sided, given the absolute lack of work this class has required up to now. Oh well. We talked a bunch about money, which was kinda fun cuz Euros are so interesting.
Then at lunch, I totally dumped water all over the table. They have a pitcher with a water filter, and as I was pouring my glass the top popped off and water went everywhere. We had damp bread for lunch today! I had such silly timing too, cuz Miguel had been crying for a good half hour and Diego was insisting on watching the TV, and then I dumped water everywhere. Sigh. I'm much more careful about pouring water now!
About halfway through lunch, the most amazing thing happened: it finally stormed!! Okay, by Indiana's standards was a weak storm. But rained!! In fact, it was raining when I went to take my siesta, and still raining 3 hours later (oops) when I walked to class! I can't guarantee it rained the whole time, but was a bunch of rain! I was glad I brought my umbrella, cuz a bunch of people forgot and either had to borrow from their host family or get pretty wet. Was pretty awesome :D
Art class was pretty standard, and then dinner was interesting. Any time the boys eat with us (they sometimes go to bed first) is interesting, because there's lots of yelling and deal-brokering, and Jorge really only has one volume: very loud. It's totally adorable and hilarious. Today, though, they bought this special dessert that's typically eaten on the Feast of the Three Kings (because that's when they do the majority of their Christmas celebratin), but you can get it year-round. It's basically a giant bagel (though fluffier, more pastry like) with cream where you'd put the cream cheese and eaten like a sandwhich. Additionally, there are surprises in the cream! One is a toy, the other a bean. Whoever gets the bean has to buy the next (whatever this dessert is called, everyone said it too fast and excitedly). Guess who got the bean? They joked I should come back with JP in the RV (cuz I told them about my plans after I get back). Also, there's a cardboard crown a la Burger King in the middle under the dessert, that of course the boys fought over. It was pretty cute though.
UE class dumped two projects in our laps, one for next week and one for the week after. Is nothing too major, we just were all a little blind-sided, given the absolute lack of work this class has required up to now. Oh well. We talked a bunch about money, which was kinda fun cuz Euros are so interesting.
Then at lunch, I totally dumped water all over the table. They have a pitcher with a water filter, and as I was pouring my glass the top popped off and water went everywhere. We had damp bread for lunch today! I had such silly timing too, cuz Miguel had been crying for a good half hour and Diego was insisting on watching the TV, and then I dumped water everywhere. Sigh. I'm much more careful about pouring water now!
About halfway through lunch, the most amazing thing happened: it finally stormed!! Okay, by Indiana's standards was a weak storm. But rained!! In fact, it was raining when I went to take my siesta, and still raining 3 hours later (oops) when I walked to class! I can't guarantee it rained the whole time, but was a bunch of rain! I was glad I brought my umbrella, cuz a bunch of people forgot and either had to borrow from their host family or get pretty wet. Was pretty awesome :D
Art class was pretty standard, and then dinner was interesting. Any time the boys eat with us (they sometimes go to bed first) is interesting, because there's lots of yelling and deal-brokering, and Jorge really only has one volume: very loud. It's totally adorable and hilarious. Today, though, they bought this special dessert that's typically eaten on the Feast of the Three Kings (because that's when they do the majority of their Christmas celebratin), but you can get it year-round. It's basically a giant bagel (though fluffier, more pastry like) with cream where you'd put the cream cheese and eaten like a sandwhich. Additionally, there are surprises in the cream! One is a toy, the other a bean. Whoever gets the bean has to buy the next (whatever this dessert is called, everyone said it too fast and excitedly). Guess who got the bean? They joked I should come back with JP in the RV (cuz I told them about my plans after I get back). Also, there's a cardboard crown a la Burger King in the middle under the dessert, that of course the boys fought over. It was pretty cute though.
Monday, July 11, 2011
El Fin de Semana en Barcelona
So the manager finally got there and after listening to everyone's complaints, finally got to me. She said I wouldn't be able to check in until around 2 or perhaps later, so I went to explore the city first. She gave me a map and suggested several places to visit, highlighting them on the map and insisting I visit Parc Güell probably first since it was so far away. Made sense to me, so I hopped on the metro and took it most of the way to where I needed to be. Unfortunately, the nearest metro to the park is still a good 20 minutes away on foot, so I had to walk the rest of the way. Wasn't too bad of a walk though, that is until I got lost. I turned onto the wrong street and hiked up this huge hill, only to realize once I got to the top that it didn't connect over to the Parc, and I would have to trek back down to turn up a different street and a smaller hill. Oy. I thought about saying forget it, but I'd already taken the metro (more expensive in Barcelona than Madrid), and I wanted to see the freakin Parc, even if I had no idea who Gaudi was. So, I trekked on and made it to the park. It was really pretty, just as promised. Had a bunch of stairs leading up to this giant area (sorta like a building, but it didn't really have any walls to speak of) full of columns and pretty designs on the ceiling. I rested there a bit before realizing I had to go back down all those stairs, which was way harder than going up. Sigh. Got a bunch of pretty pictures though! Once I got back to the main street, I took a bus back to the metro.
Next stop, La Sagrada Familia! It was really impressive looking, despite still being under construction. I wonder if it holds the world record for the building with the longest construction time. It's not even expected to be finished until like 2030! As I was looking around the outside and trying to figure out how to get in, I saw a bunch of people standing in line. Figuring it was probably to get in but wanting to see the entrance, I followed the line....about halfway around the church! On top of that, it was 12,50 E to get in and I really didn't feel like waiting all that time to spend $20, so I just took a bunch of pictures. Will have to come back and see the inside after it's all finished! Explored a little park across from the church with the most pathetic pond ever. Was kinda cute in its patheticness though!
So, after walking around for several hours, I went back to the hostel to see if I could check in and siesta...turns out they still weren't ready for me :( Luckily they had a little lounge with a couch, so I totally crashed there for a few hours. When I woke up, I finally checked in and saw my room--was nice enough. I didn't get a top bunk but after sleeping there (they're super creaky), I wasn't upset. After I was all checked in, I left my stuff in my locker (which they'd actually given me as soon as I left the first time before I even paid for my room so I could go explore...I guess it pays to be the only one not complaining and being impatient!) and went out to find the Dow Jones Bar.
Luckily, the hostel was really close to the Passieg de Gracia (I chose well :D), and I was able to walk along it for quite a ways. It was pretty, full of people and shops everywhere. I stopped at a Subway for dinner (don't judge me!) then set off for the bar which I knew was only a few blocks from the Passieg. I found it no problem, and promptly took a bunch of pictures. Right after I sat down to consider ordering a drink, a group of like 30 obnoxious Americans who'd obviously already stopped at another bar came in. That was an interesting hour, mostly listening to them complain about not being served fast enough. It was interesting to see the bar tenders handle it though, as they were obviously used to obnoxious Americans and didn't take any crap. They actually refused to serve one guy who came in who had apparently not acted appropriately on a prior visit. Finally they all left and I ordered my Eristoff Black and Sprite (not on the stock market as far as I could tell :/). I enjoyed my drink in peace then left to walk home, enjoying the Passieg a second time. No pictures though because my camera batteries died (regular ones totally suck, I'm on my last set). Was a nice walk though.
Sunday on my way to the bus station, I stumbled upon a giant motorcycle parade. I think it was some sort of festival for motorcycles, and I saw flags from a bunch of different countries. It was pretty neat to see all the different kinds of motorcycles too. Apparently it is mandatory to either rev your engine or honk, so it was pretty loud too. Made it to my bus no problems after that though! Was a long ride and couldn't sleep the whole time, so lots of thinkin' time. Was nice, actually.
Made it to Madrid okay, and then was totally paranoid about missing my bus back to Segovia, because it was the last one of the night. Got there reasonably and found my gate, but then realized I was hungry and only had about 20 minutes until I had to leave. So I raced out of the station to the mall that was like 10 yards away and proceeded to look for something quick. Unfortunately, both Burger King and McDonald's had really long lines. Fortunately, some chinese buffet place offered to go stuff, so I got a box of amazingly delicious fried rice (without soy sauce, curiously. I'm dying to know how they seasoned it) for only 2E! Then I raced back and ate really quickly (because our art prof had said you're not supposed to eat on the bus in Spain) and got my drink and was all ready to go....and then the bus was like 15 minutes late. Sigh. Made back to Segovia all safe and sound though! Am still all tired, but it's good to be back. The heat in Barcelona is much more like Indiana (though I still think not quite as bad), and I'm enjoying the humidity-less heat of Segovia today :D
Next stop, La Sagrada Familia! It was really impressive looking, despite still being under construction. I wonder if it holds the world record for the building with the longest construction time. It's not even expected to be finished until like 2030! As I was looking around the outside and trying to figure out how to get in, I saw a bunch of people standing in line. Figuring it was probably to get in but wanting to see the entrance, I followed the line....about halfway around the church! On top of that, it was 12,50 E to get in and I really didn't feel like waiting all that time to spend $20, so I just took a bunch of pictures. Will have to come back and see the inside after it's all finished! Explored a little park across from the church with the most pathetic pond ever. Was kinda cute in its patheticness though!
So, after walking around for several hours, I went back to the hostel to see if I could check in and siesta...turns out they still weren't ready for me :( Luckily they had a little lounge with a couch, so I totally crashed there for a few hours. When I woke up, I finally checked in and saw my room--was nice enough. I didn't get a top bunk but after sleeping there (they're super creaky), I wasn't upset. After I was all checked in, I left my stuff in my locker (which they'd actually given me as soon as I left the first time before I even paid for my room so I could go explore...I guess it pays to be the only one not complaining and being impatient!) and went out to find the Dow Jones Bar.
Luckily, the hostel was really close to the Passieg de Gracia (I chose well :D), and I was able to walk along it for quite a ways. It was pretty, full of people and shops everywhere. I stopped at a Subway for dinner (don't judge me!) then set off for the bar which I knew was only a few blocks from the Passieg. I found it no problem, and promptly took a bunch of pictures. Right after I sat down to consider ordering a drink, a group of like 30 obnoxious Americans who'd obviously already stopped at another bar came in. That was an interesting hour, mostly listening to them complain about not being served fast enough. It was interesting to see the bar tenders handle it though, as they were obviously used to obnoxious Americans and didn't take any crap. They actually refused to serve one guy who came in who had apparently not acted appropriately on a prior visit. Finally they all left and I ordered my Eristoff Black and Sprite (not on the stock market as far as I could tell :/). I enjoyed my drink in peace then left to walk home, enjoying the Passieg a second time. No pictures though because my camera batteries died (regular ones totally suck, I'm on my last set). Was a nice walk though.
Sunday on my way to the bus station, I stumbled upon a giant motorcycle parade. I think it was some sort of festival for motorcycles, and I saw flags from a bunch of different countries. It was pretty neat to see all the different kinds of motorcycles too. Apparently it is mandatory to either rev your engine or honk, so it was pretty loud too. Made it to my bus no problems after that though! Was a long ride and couldn't sleep the whole time, so lots of thinkin' time. Was nice, actually.
Made it to Madrid okay, and then was totally paranoid about missing my bus back to Segovia, because it was the last one of the night. Got there reasonably and found my gate, but then realized I was hungry and only had about 20 minutes until I had to leave. So I raced out of the station to the mall that was like 10 yards away and proceeded to look for something quick. Unfortunately, both Burger King and McDonald's had really long lines. Fortunately, some chinese buffet place offered to go stuff, so I got a box of amazingly delicious fried rice (without soy sauce, curiously. I'm dying to know how they seasoned it) for only 2E! Then I raced back and ate really quickly (because our art prof had said you're not supposed to eat on the bus in Spain) and got my drink and was all ready to go....and then the bus was like 15 minutes late. Sigh. Made back to Segovia all safe and sound though! Am still all tired, but it's good to be back. The heat in Barcelona is much more like Indiana (though I still think not quite as bad), and I'm enjoying the humidity-less heat of Segovia today :D
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Viernes
Friday was kind of a crazy day. It started out by me missing the bus for the excursion by like 2 minutes. I got confused on the time we were meeting so I wasn't there until two minutes past the leaving time, and this was the excursion they decided not to make sure they had everyone...sigh. They probably weren't sure who all was going and who wasn't since half the group skipped out to go to Barcelona early...but, oh well. C'est la vie. I had plenty of time to relax and pack for my trip to Barcelona though. However, the steps leading down to the bus station were made of typical Spain rocks in concrete and were a bit uneven. I stepped wrong and twisted my ankle, and it immediately swelled up. Luckily, a random Spanish couple happened upon me and helped me out--God watching over me :) They got me a bag of ice and then helped me find my bus because it was leaving soon. Let me tell you, buses are not ideal for dealing with a twisted ankle cuz there's no space to prop it up. I made it okay though, thanks to some help from Aleve. The bus station in Madrid was connected to the metro, which I needed to take to the other bus station to catch my Barcelona bus. The metro was an interesting experience, because I've never been on a metro/subway before. The scenery is pretty boring cuz it's just tunnels. You see some interesting people though. There was one group with a kitty who wore one of those link bracelets as a collar, and a guy carrying around a bass drum pedal. The other bus station was kinda confusing, cuz they all have a zillion levels. But, I made it just fine and had plenty of time to eat and read a bit. Caught my bus, which apparently was not a direct trip because we stopped like a zillion times. Was not bad though, slept some. And by the time we got here and I woke up, my ankle was only swollen 1.5 times the size of my left ankle (the not hurt one)! The metro wasn't located in the same station this time, so I wandered around a bit because the area was under construction, but I eventually found it!! Then had no idea where I ended it up (though I did get off on the right stop at least), so wandered around some more and eventually found my hostel, yay!! They don't let you check in until 11 though which is when checkout is, so I'm resting and computering until the chaos settles a bit. Not sure how much of my original plan I'm going to do, but the hope is to at least see La Sagrada Familia and maybe the beach...don't think walking around and exploring is probably the best idea, but we'll see!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
La Tercera Semana
So yeah....has been awhile since I blogged. Most sincere apologies! It wasn't my intention to go so long, I just haven't had a lot of time nor in a huge writing mood. But, it has gone on too long, so here's what's happened in the past few days:
Monday was our excursion to Salamanca & Avila!! We had to be ready about the same time as I usually have class, so wasn't too early. Plus, we had a two hour bus ride of sleeping! The first thing we saw in Salamanca was the cathedrals. Yes, plural, Salamanca actually has two. One was built in Roman (ish? something like that) times, and then when the university was build (like, the oldest in the world) there were so many people there that the cathedral wouldn't hold them anymore. But instead of destroying the one they had, the just constructed another one right next to it (literally only a few feet away, if that....they may actually be connected somehow, it was hard to tell) and kept the old one. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the inside of the old one, but the outside was pretty.
The new cathedral is *amazingly* beautiful. The outside is so very majestic, and then inside....wow. It's beyond words. So beautiful and awe-inspiring. I think 20 of me or so could have stood head to foot and been comfortable in there. Everything was so pretty. There were like 18 capillas along the two sides, will little mini-churches inside, so very beautifully decorated. Interestingly, the architecture is gothic, but the interior decoration is more baroque/renaissance. Originally, the capillas were purchased by rich families to be buried in the cathedral, and are called capillas after San Martín who was buried with his half-cape (he gave the other half to a beggar cuz he didn't have anything else), called a capilla (capa=cape, capilla=bitty cape). Now though, they're like little chapels with themes of different saints. One other interesting thing about the cathedral was that it seemed to have very little seating for an actual mass. I guess when it was built they performed mass in the center and then everyone else stood and watched, but I'd guess you still need to get there early to get a seat for mass these days.
After the cathedral, we visited the university, and what I think was the oldest building, but I'm not 100% sure. On the outside was this incredibly intricate decoration, and there was supposedly this little frog right above a skull that if you found it you would have good luck on your exams. I'm telling you, I looked and looked and looked and saw the skull but couldn't find a freakin frog. Oh well, guess I'm doomed :p The classrooms were incredible, so elegant. I can't imagine having class there. There was also a chapel in the school where students always used to get married way back when, and was only used for super special occasions such as this, not for daily or even weekly mass. Now, the waiting list is apparently 4 years long to get married there! Someone joked that you would need to book the church before you met your future husband :) The library was also really neat, although the books are super old so they don't let people in there much anymore. You have to have a special pass and be researching something to go in there, though they are in the process of digitizing everything.
After the university, we walked to the plaza mayor (omg, is the same plaza as in Vantage Point!!) where we were left to our own devices to have lunch and walk around. Unfortunately, by the time I'd eaten not much was open on account of siesta. Was still pretty cool to walk around though, Salamanca is quite pretty.
Next was a bus ride to Avila, about an hour (little less) away. Once there, we looked at the walls (quite pretty), but didn't get to walk around on them, something I'm told is pretty awesome. We also visited the museum of Saint Theresa, which had one of her fingers on display. They wouldn't allow photos, and I wasn't about to look! Apparently it's common to chop up a saint's undecomposed body and distribute it to different places :s Seems a little creepy to me though...
Once we got back, I had to stop at the travel agency to fix my borked travel plans for Barcelona, cuz I totally made them originally for the wrong weekend. After that, I had enough time to dash home, drop off my stuff, and head out to el Oso Blanco for Intercambios. Unfortunately, Ryan and I were the only Americans to attend, which was kinda awkward especially at first. It got better though, especially when Chris came and joined us and we compared the three cultures. Apparently the word "obnoxious" isn't much used in Britain, something I learned when he was trying to translate the Spanish equivalent for obnoxious into English. Now I can call Nathan obnoxious in Spanish AND English, mwahahaha :p
Then, let's see. Tuesday after grammar class I did a little shopping, but only bought one thing. I think I'm going to wait to buy much else until the end of my trip, when rebajas reach their terminal velocity and I know how much money I have left after my two weekend trips. I left for school after siesta to talk on Skype with my favoritest person, and then after dinner got to Skype with my family. Was pretty awesome. Other than that and classes though, didn't do too much on Tuesday.
Yesterday, relaxed during my morning break and then got to school early again after siesta, this time to work on a class project for UE. After art class, a group of us tried to go to el Oso Blanco to play euchre, but it was closed!! I guess Wednesday is a bad day to visit el Oso Blanco :( But it was okay, because we went to Ven Ven instead! There were three teams and only one deck of cards, so we had to play one game at a time. The first game I played was with Shelby against the two boys, Jake and Nathan...they totally squished us. Who gets two loners in as many hands?? Was ridiculous. Luckily, the second time we played them (they beat the other team twice), we kicked butt! Well okay, the score was actually pretty close, 10-9, but we still won! Euchred them once or twice too, mwahaha.
So, now I'm all caught up. Today haven't done too much, though did hang out in the library during my morning break and talk a little politics (not my initiation, but I can't help myself when it comes up) and thus wasn't all that productive. But, got my blog all done during siesta, and hopefully my pics too!!
Monday was our excursion to Salamanca & Avila!! We had to be ready about the same time as I usually have class, so wasn't too early. Plus, we had a two hour bus ride of sleeping! The first thing we saw in Salamanca was the cathedrals. Yes, plural, Salamanca actually has two. One was built in Roman (ish? something like that) times, and then when the university was build (like, the oldest in the world) there were so many people there that the cathedral wouldn't hold them anymore. But instead of destroying the one they had, the just constructed another one right next to it (literally only a few feet away, if that....they may actually be connected somehow, it was hard to tell) and kept the old one. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the inside of the old one, but the outside was pretty.
The new cathedral is *amazingly* beautiful. The outside is so very majestic, and then inside....wow. It's beyond words. So beautiful and awe-inspiring. I think 20 of me or so could have stood head to foot and been comfortable in there. Everything was so pretty. There were like 18 capillas along the two sides, will little mini-churches inside, so very beautifully decorated. Interestingly, the architecture is gothic, but the interior decoration is more baroque/renaissance. Originally, the capillas were purchased by rich families to be buried in the cathedral, and are called capillas after San Martín who was buried with his half-cape (he gave the other half to a beggar cuz he didn't have anything else), called a capilla (capa=cape, capilla=bitty cape). Now though, they're like little chapels with themes of different saints. One other interesting thing about the cathedral was that it seemed to have very little seating for an actual mass. I guess when it was built they performed mass in the center and then everyone else stood and watched, but I'd guess you still need to get there early to get a seat for mass these days.
After the cathedral, we visited the university, and what I think was the oldest building, but I'm not 100% sure. On the outside was this incredibly intricate decoration, and there was supposedly this little frog right above a skull that if you found it you would have good luck on your exams. I'm telling you, I looked and looked and looked and saw the skull but couldn't find a freakin frog. Oh well, guess I'm doomed :p The classrooms were incredible, so elegant. I can't imagine having class there. There was also a chapel in the school where students always used to get married way back when, and was only used for super special occasions such as this, not for daily or even weekly mass. Now, the waiting list is apparently 4 years long to get married there! Someone joked that you would need to book the church before you met your future husband :) The library was also really neat, although the books are super old so they don't let people in there much anymore. You have to have a special pass and be researching something to go in there, though they are in the process of digitizing everything.
After the university, we walked to the plaza mayor (omg, is the same plaza as in Vantage Point!!) where we were left to our own devices to have lunch and walk around. Unfortunately, by the time I'd eaten not much was open on account of siesta. Was still pretty cool to walk around though, Salamanca is quite pretty.
Next was a bus ride to Avila, about an hour (little less) away. Once there, we looked at the walls (quite pretty), but didn't get to walk around on them, something I'm told is pretty awesome. We also visited the museum of Saint Theresa, which had one of her fingers on display. They wouldn't allow photos, and I wasn't about to look! Apparently it's common to chop up a saint's undecomposed body and distribute it to different places :s Seems a little creepy to me though...
Once we got back, I had to stop at the travel agency to fix my borked travel plans for Barcelona, cuz I totally made them originally for the wrong weekend. After that, I had enough time to dash home, drop off my stuff, and head out to el Oso Blanco for Intercambios. Unfortunately, Ryan and I were the only Americans to attend, which was kinda awkward especially at first. It got better though, especially when Chris came and joined us and we compared the three cultures. Apparently the word "obnoxious" isn't much used in Britain, something I learned when he was trying to translate the Spanish equivalent for obnoxious into English. Now I can call Nathan obnoxious in Spanish AND English, mwahahaha :p
Then, let's see. Tuesday after grammar class I did a little shopping, but only bought one thing. I think I'm going to wait to buy much else until the end of my trip, when rebajas reach their terminal velocity and I know how much money I have left after my two weekend trips. I left for school after siesta to talk on Skype with my favoritest person, and then after dinner got to Skype with my family. Was pretty awesome. Other than that and classes though, didn't do too much on Tuesday.
Yesterday, relaxed during my morning break and then got to school early again after siesta, this time to work on a class project for UE. After art class, a group of us tried to go to el Oso Blanco to play euchre, but it was closed!! I guess Wednesday is a bad day to visit el Oso Blanco :( But it was okay, because we went to Ven Ven instead! There were three teams and only one deck of cards, so we had to play one game at a time. The first game I played was with Shelby against the two boys, Jake and Nathan...they totally squished us. Who gets two loners in as many hands?? Was ridiculous. Luckily, the second time we played them (they beat the other team twice), we kicked butt! Well okay, the score was actually pretty close, 10-9, but we still won! Euchred them once or twice too, mwahaha.
So, now I'm all caught up. Today haven't done too much, though did hang out in the library during my morning break and talk a little politics (not my initiation, but I can't help myself when it comes up) and thus wasn't all that productive. But, got my blog all done during siesta, and hopefully my pics too!!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
El Domingo
Today I woke up around 12:30, not too bad given how late I stayed up. Didn't really do much until after lunch, when I met up with Daniel from Intercambios, as well as Meghan and Gurbaksh. We walked all over Segovia, it was pretty cool. Meghan and Gurbaksh ditched after a little bit, so Daniel and I walked through the valley around the edge of Segovia. It was really fun, we talked about amusement parks, precipitation differences, and even politics! We ended up at the aquaduct and chatted for a bit before he had to leave for a fiesta in a nearby village. I felt so undereducated when we started on politics though, cuz he knew all about what's going on in America, as well as Spain and the rest of Europe! Maybe I'll be inspired to read more BBC or something. Afterwards, came back pretty much just to check mass times and find a new church, then dashed off to mass. I went to San Miguel, and it was sooooo pretty. I would've taken pictures but I think they were having adoration as part of their novena after mass and I would've felt rude. They had an organ playing and singing and it was all really pretty. The priest was really hard to understand though, despite the decent sound system, because all his words just flew together. It was a good experience though, I enjoyed San Miguel. Pretty much have just been resting since then, after all the walking I did. Hopefully going to bed soon, because excursion tomorrow!!!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Ir de Compras
Today was definitely a shopping day. I didn't sleep in too late (only like 10:30), so had plenty of the morning to take advantage of. After breakfast (mi madre pretty much insisted, by way of Jorge, it was super cute), I went out on the town. First order of business: returning the earrings I bought yesterday to De Mil Colores. They were these really cute pink butterflies, but one popped off last night before my last class, and though I shoved it back on, I woke up missing both earrings. I was so mad. However, since I didn't have my receipt, they wouldn't exchange them. Officially never shopping there again, because I don't want to waste money on crap that's going to break the next day. Oh well. It actually worked out, because there's this really cute store by la catedral and I got a pair of shiny clear gemmed earrings there today that I like better anyway. Plus I think I found some other gifts for people. I also bought a new hair pretty to match my dress that I bought yesterday, because the dress is red and my other hair pretty was pink so it didn't work. I also stopped by the travel agency to book my bus ticket from Madrid to Barcelona for next weekend, so I have that much all set up and ready to go! Now just to get my ticket from Segovia to Madrid and find a freaking hostel!
After lunch and partway through siesta, Amie and I took the bus to the mall. It was an interesting experience (the mall, not the bus ride...the bus ride was pretty bus ride typical). It's more or less like any other mall, except half the first floor was a giant supermarket and it was open to the hall and there were shops along the side. I found a really cute pair of sandals for only 7E, and totally go them :D Also went to the supermarket section and got a bottle of Eristoff Black for only 9E, since it is not sold in the US. Then we ventured up to the second floor for Burger King! It was pretty tasty, though next time I'm definitely getting a Whopper cuz their cheeseburgers don't have any toppings on them! We rode the bus back and then stopped at this little store on the way back that was like a dollar store based on the crazy weird items that they had, but not quite on price. Amie found a really cute top and I got a bottle of nail polish (so my feet will look cute in my new sandals!).
After dinner, Amie and I met up with the group of Spanish students from Intercambios Monday night, because it was Daniel's (one of the Spanish students) birthday on Friday so they were celebrating and we were invited. And for the record, some of the Spanish students that we hung out with were female! It was a total blast though. Communicating when both parties know a little of the other language is a lot of fun, it's a lot of back and forth to figure out what's going on. I also had my first shot, which tasted like appley cough syrup. Wasn't bad. Time flew by and it's a good thing Amie had a watch, because I never would've guess it was 3am when we left!
After lunch and partway through siesta, Amie and I took the bus to the mall. It was an interesting experience (the mall, not the bus ride...the bus ride was pretty bus ride typical). It's more or less like any other mall, except half the first floor was a giant supermarket and it was open to the hall and there were shops along the side. I found a really cute pair of sandals for only 7E, and totally go them :D Also went to the supermarket section and got a bottle of Eristoff Black for only 9E, since it is not sold in the US. Then we ventured up to the second floor for Burger King! It was pretty tasty, though next time I'm definitely getting a Whopper cuz their cheeseburgers don't have any toppings on them! We rode the bus back and then stopped at this little store on the way back that was like a dollar store based on the crazy weird items that they had, but not quite on price. Amie found a really cute top and I got a bottle of nail polish (so my feet will look cute in my new sandals!).
After dinner, Amie and I met up with the group of Spanish students from Intercambios Monday night, because it was Daniel's (one of the Spanish students) birthday on Friday so they were celebrating and we were invited. And for the record, some of the Spanish students that we hung out with were female! It was a total blast though. Communicating when both parties know a little of the other language is a lot of fun, it's a lot of back and forth to figure out what's going on. I also had my first shot, which tasted like appley cough syrup. Wasn't bad. Time flew by and it's a good thing Amie had a watch, because I never would've guess it was 3am when we left!
Friday, July 1, 2011
La Valle Abajo del Alcazar
Didn't sleep well again last night, but didn't have trouble this morning getting ready (though I still didn't breakfast much...I want more than cereal for crying out loud) so worked out. Walked to school with Sarah and we were a little late, but promptness is a much looser term here in Spain. Since today was Friday, we had a very special class. The other grammar class joined us, and we all played Party Inc. This is a game very similar to Cranium, but in Spanish. It was kinda hard since it's all made for Spaniards and our vocabulary is limited, but it was a lot of fun. After class, I walked around and did some shopping. I found some of what I was looking for (no spoilers!), so it was a successful trip :)
UE class was also pretty cool. We took a little voyage through the valley on the edge of Segovia all the way around Alcazar to la iglesia de San Juan de la Cruz. It was a really pretty walk, and hard to believe such nature existed so close to the city! It was like a bitty state park nestled right next to the city. Unfortunately, it was quite a walk and while I like walks, my backpack was kinda heavy and we went over our class time. Totally worth it though. I ate lunch through a bit of a tired haze, and then collapsed into siesta. Luckily I didn't sleep too much, because my wonderful alarm clock started blaring a little after 5 right on schedule, and I ran out of the house.
Shopped some more on my route to class and was totally successful! I bought this cute red summer dress that actually doesn't look half-bad on me! I'm totally excited, probably gonna wear it tomorrow :D Looked at some shoes, but despite rebajas a lot of them were still super expensive so I'm holding off. Speaking of shopping...I've a few ideas and have already gotten a few things, but does anyone have any Spanish requests? Rebajas=crazy awesome sales, so I'm all about the shopping :)
Art class was kinda silly...we played a game to review, but she kept leaving the classroom for unknown reasons which was pretty silly. We divided into two teams, and then each team had to answer a question. If they got it wrong, the other team had a shot at answering. My team totally won, because Amie and I were on the same team and we either pay more attention in class to the less interesting bits or just have better memories. It was a fun class :) And then after class, I talked to Mr. Jon and figured out how to fix my computer and now it works and yay!!
UE class was also pretty cool. We took a little voyage through the valley on the edge of Segovia all the way around Alcazar to la iglesia de San Juan de la Cruz. It was a really pretty walk, and hard to believe such nature existed so close to the city! It was like a bitty state park nestled right next to the city. Unfortunately, it was quite a walk and while I like walks, my backpack was kinda heavy and we went over our class time. Totally worth it though. I ate lunch through a bit of a tired haze, and then collapsed into siesta. Luckily I didn't sleep too much, because my wonderful alarm clock started blaring a little after 5 right on schedule, and I ran out of the house.
Shopped some more on my route to class and was totally successful! I bought this cute red summer dress that actually doesn't look half-bad on me! I'm totally excited, probably gonna wear it tomorrow :D Looked at some shoes, but despite rebajas a lot of them were still super expensive so I'm holding off. Speaking of shopping...I've a few ideas and have already gotten a few things, but does anyone have any Spanish requests? Rebajas=crazy awesome sales, so I'm all about the shopping :)
Art class was kinda silly...we played a game to review, but she kept leaving the classroom for unknown reasons which was pretty silly. We divided into two teams, and then each team had to answer a question. If they got it wrong, the other team had a shot at answering. My team totally won, because Amie and I were on the same team and we either pay more attention in class to the less interesting bits or just have better memories. It was a fun class :) And then after class, I talked to Mr. Jon and figured out how to fix my computer and now it works and yay!!
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