Toledo

So I really know that my time in Spain is almost over because today we had our last group trip to Toledo, which is a town in the community of Castilla La Mancha. Again we stopped for coffee before starting the tour because we are all exhausted and Maria Jose now knows she needs to caffeinate us in order to get us moving. The first stop on the tour was the Cathedral San Juan de los Reyes, which was built to be a tomb for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel but then they were buried in Granda because Spain finally regained control of the region. The church had many symbols of eagles, which represent power and also the letter Y and F were found throughout the cathedral as representations of Ferdinand and Isabel (which is sometimes spelt with a Y in Spanish). The cathedral is mudejar style, which means it was built by Muslims in a Christian kingdom so there were may Arab influences. After this Maria Jose bought us Marzipan, which was first made in Toledo by nuns in the 9th century and is a typical dessert in the area. We even saw this amazing Marzipan replica of the cathedral that was insane.

View of the City

Following this I went to go see the famous painting by El Greco that is located in Toledo that is known as the El Entierro del Senor de Orgaz or the burial of Count Orgaz. This painting representing the typical style of El Greco because is uses dark colors and represents both heaven and earth with clear separation between the two worlds. Then I got lunch at a sandwich place with some people. I am looking forward to coming home because I am getting bored of Spanish food because they are obsessed with ham but not ham that like in the States and it is just okay and I am getting tired of it. After lunch I went to the Cathedral of Toledo, which is massive. I got an audioguide to help me understand what I was looking at. The cathedral was not just a religious place but there are some rooms inside that serve as a museum and are home to many painting by El Greco. There are several smaller chapels in the cathedral that are dedicated to various saints. The main alter piece was beautiful and covered in gold and depicted various scenes from the Bible. After touring the Cathedral I got on the bus for the last time to head back to Alcala after a trip, which was a bittersweet. Also, on a side note even though I talked to her already I just wanted to wish my Mom a Happy Mother’s Day. I can’t wait to see you in a couple of days.

Altar in Cathedral

Segovia

On Saturday I finally was able to go to town of Segovia, which is located 1 ½ north of Spain. This was the trip I was supposed to go on when my Mom was here but it was canceled because of the snow. First we stopped at a place of coffee before the trip and Loyola paid for our coffee because our time in Spain in winding down so we have to use up all the money we pay for tuition and such. Then I went to the palace of La Granja, which used to be a palace for the king during the hot Madrid summers but now is a museum. We walked around the garden and saw all these amazing fountains that only run in the summer months because they are supplied water from the snow that melts in the mountains and is then collected in a lake and funneled into the fountains. Also, the gardens go for a while and as you walk closed to the mountains there are less fountains tot symbolize getting closer to nature.

Example of Fountain in the Gardens

Next we took the bus into the town of Segovia to see the Aqueduct. This particular structure carried water from the mountains into the town and was built in the 1^st century and is still standing today. The Aqueduct is made out of granite and because of the arches the granite pieces have nothing holding them together and are just held in place because of gravity.

Aqueduct

After marveling at this structure I headed to the Alcazar, or fortress, of Segovia. A fun fact about this Alcazar is that the castle in Cinderella is modeled after this because Walt Disney was actually born in Spain but adopted by an American family so upon visiting Spain as an adult he saw the Alcazar and decided to incorporate it into Cinderella.

Alcazar

Then Maria Jose, our program director, gave us 10 euro for lunch so me and a bunch of people went to a local restaurant and got the Menu del Dia, which is basically a pre-fixed menu where you choose a drink, 1^st course, 2^nd course, and dessert. For dessert I had a cream filled cake that was typical of the region of Segovia and it was delicious. Then the whole group meet again to go inside the Cathedral in Segovia, which is gothic style, before getting on the bus and heading back to Alcala while enjoying Sherk 2 to entertain us.

Mallorca

This is my last entry about a longer trip because I am leaving Spain in 11 days to head back to the States. For my last plane trip a group of us went to Mallocra, Spain, which is party of the Balearic Islands. One of the girl’s has a timeshare at home and her parents were able to move the timeshare to Cala Pi, Mallocra for the week, which was great because it made the trip really cheap. I arrived in Mallorca on Monday and was a little upset because the weather was not suppose to be great. When I got there it was raining but I was like at least I am near the beach. Also, we all had papers to do so it was okay that it was raining for the day because it forced us all to finish our work because there was nothing better to do. Also, that first day we went to the supermarket and got groceries because the timeshare was more like an apartment so there was a kitchen and pots to cook with. The following day it was still rainy in the morning but in the afternoon it cleared up so we ended up hanging around by the pool and exploring the small town we were in. My friend Courtney and I ended up walking down to the beach and hiking around the mountains over there because the beach was kind of in a canyon. That night the hotel was supposed to have a magic show so we thought about checking it out for the night. However, for some reason the show was canceled so instead there was some type of game show where men competed against women and 2 of my friends were in the competition. Obviously the women won and it was a lot of fun.

Beach at the Hotel

The next morning we had decided to rent cars from the hotel so that we could drive into Palma for the day to go shopping since it was sunny out but not exactly warm enough for the beach. Driving into Palma was so much fun because it was the first time I was in a car other then a cab since being in Spain and it was like a mini road trip. When we got to Palma we just walked around for a bit, got lunch, and did some shopping for pearls and such. Also, we saw the cathedral that was massive.

Cathedral

It was a great day. I went back to the hotel for dinner and we just all hung out for the night. The next day it was finally perfect weather for sitting outside so I woke up early to sit by the pool all day. I bought a book at one of the department store, which was great for sitting by the pool. That night we drove into Palma again for dinner. We went to this great restaurant for dinner that had all these pasta and salad dishes that were delicious. We had a long dinner and then just headed back to the hotel and went to bed. On the last day we just sat outside all day and just enjoyed the last day in the sun. I did not have a flight till 11:30pm so I had a complete day hanging around the pool and time to just relax. I had a great last long trip because it was nice and relaxing and a great time to regroup. I have two more day trips to Toledo and Segovia, which is the last trips before heading home.

Asturias

This weekend we went on our also long weekend trip as a group to an area in northern Spain known as Asturias. This trip was great because there is nothing really to see in Asturias it is mostly a beach area but is cool because mountains also surround it so you are able to get both beach and mountains. We arrived on Friday to the small town of Ribadesella were we had free time to walk around and get a late lunch. Then we go on the bus and headed to the town of Olvedo, which is where are hotel was located. That night myself and a couple of the girls decided to go in the hot tub and sauna to relax for a bit. That night we went to a Italian restaurant for dinner that was right by the hotel. I am turning into a real Spaniard because I did not even consider going out to dinner until 10pm, which is a typical dinnertime in Spanish culture.

Chapel in Cavadonga

The next morning I woke up and had a buffet breakfast before taking the bus to an area known as Cavadonga, who cave of the Virgin Mary. We took mini buses up the mountain to see these two beautiful lakes and breath taking views. Also, on the way up we passed tons of cows that had bells on them, which I found to be hysterical. After going up the mountains we went down to the town and visit and cathedral and a chapel in a cave. The chapel is suppose to be the site where the Virgin Mary talked to one of the men in the town stating that this town would be a holy place and today the town is part of a pilgrimage that people can take throughout Spain. Then we took the bus to a hotel that was right on the beach for our group lunch. For lunch we had this bean and sausage stew that was typical of the area and was actually really good. It was my friend Callie’s birthday so we sang happy birthday to her at lunch. After lunch we just hung out on the beach and some of the guys even went swimming and threw some of the girls in the water…thank god no one threw me in the water. Next we just headed back to the hotel ordered room service for dinner and went out for Callie’s birthday that night.

Chapel in the Cave where the Virgin Mary Appeared

This morning I made sure to eat a large breakfast because we were going kayaking that day, which was an adventure to say the least. We showed up at the place and all go wet suits and life vests to wear. We were in a two-person kayak and given some sandwiches to eat for lunch. The guy showed us how to paddle and told we bridges to use as land marks for where they were going to pick us up and then we were off. In order to get into the water our kayak was put on this chute and pushed into the water, almost like a long flume. Kayaking was really nice and it was so peaceful and beautiful. There were some rapids, which were fun because it meant we did not have to paddle. Unfortunately it started raining part way through the trip so when we stopped for lunch we told a van that was from the place we used for kayaking so they sent more vans to pick us up. Following this we all just headed back to warm up and shower. Some of the boys decided to continue the rest of the journey on the river in the rain so we had to wait a while for them to get back. When they finally got back I got on the bus and headed back to Alcala. Tonight we are going to have a cake for Callie’s birthday and I am going to need to pack because tomorrow I am heading to Mallorca, which is an island on the coast of Spain.

Beach in Asturias