Pretending to be Queens

Hey guys!

Thanks to the wonderful programs provided by our school, Maya and I were able to take a day trip to the city of Segovia, just 1.5 hours outside of Madrid. The town is known for its 2,000-year-old aqueduct (made with stone–nothing more!), as well as being the heart of Queen Isabelle’s Castile-Leon kingdom. We even got to visit the castle in which her and Ferdinand ruled during their badass matrimony (seen below).

Segovia is very much like Toledo, Tarragona and Santiago–narrow streets, plenty of cobblestone and age-old architecture. It’s quite a charming little town, with its own unique beauty and history. The professor that sponsored the trip was very knowledgable, and made the tour a lot of fun and interesting.

The above photos are of the castle, Isabelle and Ferdinand’s throne room, and a sort of council room next to that. Once I found out we were visiting this castle, I got really excited. Ever since learning about this famous power couple, I’ve become increasingly interested in them. They ruled Spain during a monumental point in its history–which cascaded into so many more influential points in history. Cool, right?

After Segovia, we took a detour to visit the “Spanish Versaille” (actually called La Granja or, farm). This was Phillip V’s palace during his reign as the first Bourbon king of Spain. It was stunning! The architecture and gardens were very formal and French-like. It was too easy to feel like a princess while there.

And that, my friends, is Segovia in a nutshell. Gorgeous, right? I can’t get enough of this country.

Love,
Maddy

 

Una corrida de toros

Hey readers,

This post contains just a couple photos of Maya’s and my first bullfight. We had some exciting expectations going into it. Bullfights are considered a sport, an art form and a cultural spectacle in Spain. Yes, less and less Spanish citizens agree with it, but Maya and I wanted to experience a centuries-old tradition and get to know this wonderful country just a little bit better.

The reason there aren’t as many photos as usual is because I didn’t feel comfortable posting them. Bullfights are graphic and violent, and I was shocked by the reality of it. As Americans, we are raised to believe this kind of thing is wrong. Therefore, it was hard to accept that what I saw was once considered a very popular past time.

Six bulls came out to fight three matadors (two bulls for each one). A collection of detailed movements, quick thinking and fearlessness results in a dead bull and a cheering crowd. Dont’get me wrong–there is much more to learn about bullfights. Signs of bravery, triumph, strength and pride are prevalent throughout the process, which bullfight-goers recognize and understand. For us, it was a little too much to grasp.

As Americans, we’re simply not used to the graphic nature of it all. Maya and I viewed it as an unjust fight and killing of an animal for sport. Yes, this is not the Spanish mindset we should have used, but it was hard to ignore. We stayed for all six bulls and are very proud of ourselves for doing so, but probably won’t go back. For the record, it really was a fascinating and intriguing experience, and one I will surely remember for a long time.We’re happy to say we experienced this side of Spain, and don’t regret it.

Tomorrow, we are headed to Segovia for a day trip! We’re both excited to see the famous aquaduct.

Have a good weekend,
Maddy

Exploring the Wild West: Day 4

Hello and welcome to Day 4 (the last) of Maya’s and my western adventure.

At the end of Day 3, we arrived in Salamanca, Spain. Salamanca is an old city, but is know for its youth culture. The famous university resides here, but so do thousands of young Spaniards looking for a good party. I can best compare it to the city of Syracuse, where the school is the city’s main source of fun/money and young adults are scattered all around. For dinner that night, I tried my first plate of Spanish Chinese food. It was cheap and very delicious!

The next morning, we began our tour of the beautiful city of Salamanca. We walked through the city’s Plaza Mayor (which looks a lot like Madrid’s) before arriving at the original university, built in 1248–making it the third oldest university in the world, the first in Spain. It was originally a cathedral, but the school was built into it, making it very religion-centric in terms of studies, etc. Many of the rooms are still in tact, including the “auditorium” and “university chapel,” where students got married, pictured below.

After touring the school, we got to explore the inside of the actual Catedral de Salamanca. It’s massive, gorgeous, intricate and breathtaking. After getting a one-of-a-kind view looking over the inside of the cathedral, our group was lucky enough to scale the roof of it, too, allowing for some pretty amazing sights. I sort of felt like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, climbing all over the top of it. It was amazing!

After taking in pretty much all of Salamanca from the top of the cathedral, we came back down to earth for lunch. Salamanca is quite the little city, and we really enjoyed walking around the small, cobblestone streets and enjoying the interesting (and cheap!) souvenirs. Turns out the University of Salamanca’s mascot is the frog (la rana). Before students went inside to take their exams, they would search for the frog sculpted into the school’s architecture over the entrance. If they found it, it meant good luck. Cute, right?

P.S. The tower you see in the background of the above photo–we got to climb all the way to the top! Maya and a few of our friends are already planning to come back. I think we all just appreciated the small-town-cheap-price feel, especially after living in Madrid for so long.

In the late afternoon, we left Salamanca and returned to Madrid, where our school/social schedules returned to normal. I love Salamanca, but I was glad to be back in the big city. I’ve always been an urban girl.

Buenas noches,
Maddy

Exploring the Wild West: Day 3

Thought yesterday’s post was beautiful? Wait until you read about Day 3. I still can’t believe a country can be this breathtaking all the time, and that I’m living in it. I try hard every day to soak up what I can because I know a time will come where I can’t be immersed in it. Thankfully, I have this blog and some amazing stories to keep stunning views like this from ever leaving my memory.

This is me (Maddy) standing atop a 15th-century castle, but I’ll get to that later. To start the day, our group explored Santiago de Campostela, the capital of the region of Galicia and the final destination of Patron Santiago’s Christian pilgrimage. The weather was pretty gray, making for a slightly eerie walk throughout the town. The architecture, of course, was incredibly detailed and all the more beautiful with dark clouds and ringing church bells. All around us were modern-day pilgrims finishing their personal journeys. We passed lots of stands selling walking sticks with Santiago’s signature symbol.

Above is the inside of the Catedral de Santiago, where every pilgrim yearns to be and where Santiago himself is buried. When we arrived, a service was going on and we were lucky enough to explore and listen in. At one point, a few priests hoisted up a giant lantern filled with special incense and began to swing it across the church (until it almost touched the ceiling!). This is now a tradition, but used to be use to freshen up the church after all the un-showered pilgrims had entered!

The cathedral really was beautiful. For someone who is not very religious, it really was breathtaking to witness people who dedicate their lives to it. Along the walls sat mini-confessionals with priests inside, ready to listen to anyone’s problems. I enjoyed it a lot.

After the cathedral, we headed to lunch at a pulpateria, where octopus is the menu specialty. We got to try a bit, and I actually liked it! It tasted sort of life calamari. The best part was dessert–leche frito! Literally, fried milk, they came served in squares that tasted a bit like very bland flan. I loved it.

Our day ended in the town of Sanabria, a small town that is known for the castle that sits overlooking it (named Castillo del Pueblo Sanabria). We got there a little late in the evening so we were the last group to take the tour–which really meant a bunch of teenagers running around a 15th-century castle pretending they were royalty. The top photo is actually me pretending to be a princess. The photo below is what I meant when I talked about Spain’s beauty. Where in the U.S. would you get a view like this?

That’s all for now. Look out for Day 4: Salamanca!

Paz y amor,
Maddy

 

 

Exploring the Wild West: Day 2

Hey guys! Maddy again, back with more photos and enchanting tales from Day 2 of our adventure to Western Spain. This day was probably one of my favorite seminar experiences. The sights we saw, the things we ate and memories we made were quite unlike anything else in the entire world. That’s pretty cool to think about.

We were lucky enough to get a later wake-up call, which made for a much happier group. We boarded our bus and headed to a small port city called O Grove. There, we were shuffled into a pretty tourist-y boat that we thought was going to take us on an uneventful tour of the water. How wrong we were…

Instead, we got to see and learn about the dozens of mussel farms that dot this small, enclosed body of water. These farms have ropes that hang in the water, where thousand of mussels will latch on to be harvested to eat. To watch the process was cool, but we really thought that was it. That is, until a giant, freshly-steamed plate of mussels appeared before us. Not kidding, we were given a buffet of mussels to enjoy as we cruised along the water just outside of O Grove. The best part? Discoteca music began to blast over the speakers and we just HAD to dance. Free mussels and rage music? This company knew how to make me happy.

After our tour, we had a free lunch where I enjoyed some fresh shrimp. On my way to bathroom I spotted this sitting out to cool.

Yup! Octopus is a delicacy in Galicia. There are places called pulpaterias where they are sold and eaten every day.

After lunch, our seminar headed to the best, most beautiful place in all of rural Spain. We arrived at a pebble beach where, to this day, exist sone of the oldest forms of architecture in Spain: los castros. The remains of these houses are the circular stone structures in the photo below. This was a tiny pueblo manned by an immense stone wall, perfect for defending against other attacking communities.

Fortunately, we were lucky enough to get to explore and climb all over them. Maya conquered her fear of heights, and I was able to take some of the most stunning photos in my seven years of photo-taking. The ocean behind them is actually the Atlantic, which is weird to think about because the last time I traveled outside Madrid, it was to the Mediterranean! Nevertheless, I was the closest I’d ever be to home. Hey America!

After exploring these beautiful ruins for an hour or so, we were pretty beaten. We said goodbye to the end of the world and returned back to our bus, tired but totally fulfilled. To end what was a beautiful and fun day, here’s a photo of Maya, me and some of our friends with the Atlantic behind us.

Exploring the Wild West: Day 1

¿Que tal, amigas? Maddy hablando (What’s up, guys? Maddy speaking).

This weekend was quite the adventure, one that requires four different blog posts with lengthy explanations and TONS of photos! Our seminar group reconvened for one last time to explore the western coast of Spain. We drove through the province of Castile-Leon and into Galicia–all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Pretty cool to say I’ve tasted both Mediterranean and Atlantic ocean water in the matter of a month!

At 8:30 in the morning we were off and out of Madrid. I’ll have to admit, it was weird leaving a city I had come to call home. I have easily gotten used to life here and love every piece of it. If I was this bummed about leaving Madrid for 4 days, imagine leaving it at the end of the semester. Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.

Anyway! Our first stop was to a little town called Astorga in Castile-Leon. It’s famous another piece of Gaudi work: El Palacio de Gaudi: El Museo de los Caminos, as well as a beautiful cathedral and lots of pastry shops. This trips involved a lot of pueblo-hopping, where we visited small towns just to explore the simpler life of the western country side. I’ll tell you, it’s much calmer than anything I’ve seen in Madrid. Below is a photo of the Gaudi piece and the Astorga town hall.

After Astorga, we drove to the smallest, quietest little town in Spain. It’s called el pueblo de Castrillo de los Polvazares and was covered with gorgeous red brick and brightly-colored accents. We stopped here for lunch and had a giant FEAST of meat to enjoy, apparently typical in this part of the country. With food in our bellies, we were able to happily take in the stunning color and environment of this itty-bitty town.

Our final stop could not even be classified as a town but more a collection of hostels, homes and cafes. This place is a stop on the famous Camino de Santiago. Santiago, or St. James, was one of the first Christian missionaries to make a pilgrimage through Spain (correct me if I’m wrong!) and now, thousands of people take the same trek to this day. Hikers will stop in to rest for the night or grab a bowl of soup before continuing on their merry way. Below are some STUNNING views of the mountains just outside this pueblo. Behind me was the town, but I think the lighting over these babies made for a much better photo.

While there, we also learned about los castros, one of the earliest forms of architecture used in Europe. You’ll see more photos of those in the next post. But all in all, our first day was quaint and beautiful. The tiny towns were a fun change and we got to appreciate a different side of Spain.

Look out for day 2!
Maddy