"Let's just get gelato for dinner"

Day 33
Sunday was our last full day in Spain and I fully intended to squeeze in every last thing that I needed to do. In the morning, we went to the Rastro, the huge, open air market downtown to buy some last minute souvenirs and see one more facet of Madrid. The Rastro was packed with both people and interesting things to be bought. I had already bought all of my souvenirs at this point so it was challenging to control myself and not buy anything. But I avoided the temptation and made it out of the Rastro with my wallet happy. After the Rastro we headed to Sol to grab lunch at a place called Cien Montaditos, a chain restaurant that offers one hundred varieties of small sandwiches. It's kind of like the Spanish equivalent of Jimmy John's but the sandwiches are three inches long and they're filled with Spanish tortillas (egg+potatoes) or chorizo (Spanish sausage in thin slices). One of my friends accidentally ordered the wrong sandwich and got stuck with an anchovy sandwich. I tried it, since apparently anchovies are a delicacy in Spain and because my dad told me to try anchovies while I was here, and it was interesting but I felt like I could have had a similar experience if I had taken the anchovies off and just poured straight salt on the bread. But now I can say that I have tried Spanish anchovies!

After lunch we stopped to buy some flowers for our señora as a thank you gift and headed back home to pack. I was hopping to pack quickly and leave the house to go visit the major park in Madrid one more time, Parque del Retiro, but it ended up taking me about an hour and a half to pack. So after packing I had a little time to take a breather in our apartment before we had to leave for the bullfight. The bullfight started at 7:00, which in America would be the point in the day when it starts to cool down and become comfortable. Not in Spain. So it was a little toasty at the bullfight but it didn't hamper the excitement of the show. At the fight, we saw six bulls, each lasting about 20 minutes. It was rather gruesome since every time, the bullfighter - el torero - kills the bull by stabbing him through the heart with his sword. But before the torero comes out, several others provoke the bull by placing smaller sharp objects in his back between his shoulder blades. It was very interesting to see this antiquated part of Spanish culture but it was shocking as well; it would never be publicly accepted in the States to brutally kill animals for entertainment. It's a testament to the duality of culture: some parts are beautiful and some parts are ugly and are hard to understand.

After the bullfight, we headed to Sol for the very last time to grab some dinner and our last gelato. It was a beautiful evening and I was grateful that the last bit of Spain I got to see was the very heart of the Madrid, a city that sits in the heart of Spain.

Day 34
Time to say goodbye. On Monday we all parted ways with Spain. After twenty or so hours of traveling, I made it back to Katy, finally back at home after an amazing month abroad. Now I'll make a new post for my overall thoughts!

Carrie

"Did that Spanish man just call me Lebron James?"

Day 32
Last Saturday and the beginning of our last weekend. On Saturday morning we took our finals and finished up our classes in Spain. They went pretty well so we had the rest of the day to relish in the fact that we were finished - some of us finished with Spanish classes for good. After lunch, I headed to Sol, the center of Madrid, to explore with one of my friends and buy about a million souvenirs. We meandered over to the Plaza Mayor, the beautiful, large plaza that we saw on our walking tour nearly thirty days ago (woah). The Plaza Mayor was very tranquil, especially because we were there mid-afternoon on a Saturday when most Spaniards are taking it easy, usually with a café con leche. Near the plaza is the world's oldest restaurant : El Botin. Unfortunately we didn't get the chance to eat there because you have to make reservations. But we saw the menu so maybe that counts for something? After walking around this older part of town, we found an interesting little market with many delicious looking sweets; I had to restrain myself from buying anything else. By this time it was after seven so we decided to head home to start packing (nope, didn't do that) and eat dinner before we went out for the night. We decided that for our last real night in Spain - I have to get up at 6:00 AM on Monday so I will be hitting the hay early on Sunday - we would try out a bar that we heard was really cool. The bar is called El Chapandaz and is modeled after a cave: faux stalactites hang from the ceiling and when a song everybody loves comes on, they turn on the mist. It was pretty amazing! Also, when you order the house special, some secret ingredient in the drink is poured from one of the stalactites on the ceiling. Oh, to explain the title of this post, some friendly Spaniards were talking to us in the bar and one noticed that I was very tall so he said I was like Lebron James. He then said I was very pretty but that I was serious and bored...haha, not exactly how I would describe myself! But the bar was definitely unique and a great way to celebrate finishing finals and surviving for a month in a foreign country. But now I actually do have to get back to packing. Boo.

Carrie

"Does just being in Spain count as studying...?"

Day 31
Last Friday and last day of class. That's one last I'm not so sad about! After class ended, I was hit by the realization that I had 21 hours left before my finals began and I had barely started studying. So I hit the metro, rushed through my lunch then sought out the best study spot possible. Of course the weather was perfect on Friday; whenever I have to study, beautiful weather enjoys mocking me. But luck was on my side in my endeavor because our neighborhood in Madrid is very quiet and our apartment building has plenty of courtyards for the stressed out college student to utilize. So I packed up my books, sunglasses and Nutella (can't study without some motivation) and studied for a few hours in the peacefulness of my urban oasis. I also realized - this is random - that this was the first chance I have had in Madrid to be barefoot outdoors! I had forgotten how nice it is to be able to kick off my exhausted sneakers and relax without most of the stresses that characterize city living. The rest of my day was taken over by studying but the fact that I'm currently in Spain eased my stress. Also, my classes are pretty interesting/useful. I'll take a minute to talk about my classes since I don't think I've mentioned them very much.

Grammar Class
One of the classes I'm taking here is an intermediate grammar class. In this class we've learned more thoroughly topics that are covered in the first two years of Spanish. This class was probably one of the most helpful classes when it comes to learning the language. And it was barely a class; it never felt like work. Everyday we would learn one grammar topic, review our homework from the night before then present and discuss articles from Spanish newspapers. And since there were only eight of us, it was very informal and basically just an hour and a half long discussion on things that were actually relevant and interesting to us. If any of you readers are Baylor students and need to take a lower level Spanish class, take Dr. Spinks. You don't have any other options. He is the coolest professor plus he's hilarious. You won't regret it, he's a boss!

Culture Class
Our culture class was also very interesting. I couldn't imagine not taking it in Spain because everything we read about in our textbook we got to see on our trips around Spain. As a big history fan, I always want to study more about the world but learning a very thorough history of a country isn't an everyday opportunity. Learning a very thorough history of a country while being IN that country is even more rare. The class was a lot of work at times but I'm coming away from it with a pretty great knowledge of Spain, a country I knew almost nothing about before coming here. Opportunities like these are so special; I'm very fortunate to have been able to take these two great classes in this great country! If any of you are on the fence about doing a study abroad program, I very highly recommend doing it. I'll never forget my time here in Spain with Baylor in Madrid and I know I'll cherish these memories and experiences for many years.

Now I'm off to explore Madrid some more!!

Carrie

"Wait...it's Thursday??"

For my last few days, I've decided to write a post everyday! Or at least that is my intention. I guess we'll see how that goes!

Day 30
Last Thursday in Spain. But it was a pretty great Thursday. We had perfect weather: sunny, absolutely no humidity and in the lower 80s. I guess the great weather we're having this week and through the weekend is one of Spain's little miracles, one last blessing for our very fortunate Baylor group. After class, we were given one last assignment in the culture class to go visit the third of the three major museums in Madrid, the Thyssen. Once a private collection from the Thyssens, the family that owned the steel company that supplied Hitler and the Nazis, the Thyssen museum is an impressive, eclectic collection of art ranging from 13th century Christian art to 17th-18th century portraits of nobles to the beautiful Impressionist and post-Impressionist pieces of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This museum had a little bit of everything to please everybody. My favorites were by far the Impressionists' works; I could gawk at those Monets for hours. And Van Gogh too, but there were only a few of his paintings there. While browsing the museum, one of my friends brought up how ridiculously wealthy the Thyssens must have been to have owned all of these paintings before they sold them to Spain. I guess supplying steel to Nazis was a well paying job!

After our last museum visit, our small group headed to the center of Madrid to grab some gelato. Now what I should have done after finishing my gelato was get on the metro, go home and study for my finals on Saturday. What I actually did was spend several hours shopping... priorities. I had a lot of success, knocking quite a bit off of my never ending list of souvenirs I need to get. The part I liked most, however, was being on my own in the heart of a heavily populated city, doing whatever I want to do, living life the way I want and having real options for things to do. It's a rare opportunity for me; Waco and the suburbs in Katy are a far stretch from city living. So I wandered around Madrid, got a little lost in the endless shops and street fairs, enjoyed one of my last free afternoons. My most interesting purchase of the day was definitely Dr. Pepper, a thank you gift for my señora for housing us for a month. The little diamond in the rough was found in the gourmet food section of the Spanish mega department store, Corte Inglés. We'll see what our señora thinks of a truly American soda!

After my enjoyably busy afternoon/evening, I hopped on the metro and went home to eat dinner and study a tiny bit for those finals. I definitely don't have the same end-of-semester mentality in Madrid as I do in Waco. Hmm, maybe I should get back to those books...

Carrie

"So little time, so much gelato to be eaten"

Day 27
On Monday, we entered our last week here in Spain. I didn't think the end of our trip would ever come but I guess time flies when you're having fun! Part of me is ready to be back in the States, surrounded by family and familiar foods, places and beds. But I'm still enjoying everything Spain is throwing at me and I will continue to do so until I board that plane in a few days! Now I have to start narrating all of my "lasts" in Spain, oh dear.

Back to Monday. After class, we took our second to last group excursion in Madrid to visit the Palacio Real, the Royal Palace. This palace was beautiful, ornate, elaborate, regal in every sense. Just like the cathedrals in Spain, every palace has its own identity as well even though they serve the same purpose. From the simpler, more modest "palace on a budget" of Aranjuez to the heavily Moorish influenced, tranquil Alhambra, every palace stands out on its own in my mind. The Palacio Real in Madrid felt more European to me than the other palaces with less specifically Spanish details. I guess that goes along with the city; to me, Madrid feels like the most European city as well without a heavy Spanish influence. In southern Spain, the Moorish influence is everywhere. In northern Spain, you can see the French influence in the architecture. Being in the center of Spain, I guess Madrid is just the median on that gradient. After the visit and a quick statue scavenger hunt in downtown Madrid to take pictures for homework in my culture class, I headed home to catch up on homework and prepare for our last trip.

Day 28
On Tuesday, we departed from Madrid and made our way up and to the east to Salamanca. Salamanca, Santander, Segovia, San Sebastián, Sevilla...hard to keep them all straight! We got to Salamanca in the early afternoon, just in time to take an always needed siesta before we went out to tour the city at five. Our first stop in the city was the cathedral. Well actually cathedrals! There are two cathedrals, one built about three hundred years before the other, that are conjoined. First we viewed the older cathedral. You could tell it was older because of the simpler design: less windows for a stronger structure, less elaboration. However still beautiful! The later cathedral was larger, more ornate with more stained glass. After the cathedral, we walked to the adjacent Universidad de Salamanca, the second oldest university in Spain (founded in the 13th century) and we toured the classrooms and looked at the library, one of the most important libraries in Spain. To go inside the library, you have to get permission which is very exclusive and not an easy task. My professor told me today that if you were caught in the library without permission, you were excommunicated from the Catholic Church, meaning you would go to hell when you died. I won't be taking that risk anytime soon! We were let loose after the university to explore Salamanca on our own. After being granted freedom, a few of us decided to go up the tower of the cathedral to see the panoramic view of Salamanca and to see the inside of the cathedral from the upper level. Now I can check being on top of a cathedral off my to-do list. After our cathedral scaling adventure, we hunted down some dinner, walked around Salamanca a bit and headed back to the hotel.

Day 29
On Wednesday, we had our last hotel breakfast - they're always amazing with endless pastries - and left Salamanca to visit Ávila, made famous by Santa Teresa. In Ávila, we first saw the cathedral, the small courtyard where she did all her work and the finger of Santa Teresa. Now I can check seeing a several hundred year old finger off my list too... After the cathedral, we scaled the walls surrounding Ávila. Ávila is a medieval town and is still protected by the ancient walls that were built many centuries ago. It's one of the few preserved medieval towns that still stands in Europe. After the wall, we visited our last cathedral of the trip; this cathedral was very interesting and made unique by the red and white stone on the interior walls and ceilings. Then we had lunch and were surprised by an unexplained fifteen minute blackout. There were no problems, we simply opened the windows to let the sun shine in but everybody was secretly a little frustrated that the wifi in the restaurant went out. College students will be college students. After lunch, we boarded the bus to visit El Escorial, the palace-monastery-boarding school-royal mausoleum on the outskirts of Madrid. The most interesting part of El Escorial was the royal mausoleum. It housed all of the Hapsburg kings and most of the Bourbon kings, so basically ever Spanish monarch since Ferdinand and Isabella. Our tour guide told us that there is a myth that the ghosts of these monarchs leave their tombs at night and dance in the freezing cold, rounded room. So I know where I will NOT be going at night. We left El Escorial to shuttle back to Madrid and we reached the close of our very last trip in Spain. But maybe that's not a bad thing! Now I have an excuse to go explore every last corner of Madrid, which I verymuch intend to do before I leave on Monday.

Carrie

"The Spanish Influenza strikes again"

Day 24
On Friday, we packed our bags and hit the road to make our first group trip to northern Spain! On the way up to Santander, we stopped for a few hours in Burgos to visit what some spaniards consider the most beautiful cathedral in Spain. The cathedral was very beautiful - as they all are - but I hesitate to pick a favorite because they're all so outstanding to me. Overall, the cathedrals have many similarities: soaring ceilings, elaborate altars, beautiful stained glass, an aura of solemnity and peace. But at the same time, each cathedral has its own personality. While they all serve the same purpose, no cathedral is exactly similar to another. I think we may have one or two cathedrals left to visit on our trip and I look forward to them because each time, it's a brand new experience for me. And you'll never see cathedrals like these in the States so you really have to soak it all in while you're there. After the cathedral and another great café con leche, we got back on the bus and made our way to Santander. Santander is a small beach town on the northern coast, similar to San Sebastián but a little more industrial. From the beach, you could always see a barge or a ship in the near distance. But the industrial influence doesn't dominate in any way, it's more of a slight presence that only adds to the personality of Santander. Before we left Madrid, our humorous trip director told us that we were staying in a camp ground about a mile away from the beach. So we all had lowered expectations and were shocked when our bus stops in front of a hotel directly on the beach in Santander. Oh Baylor, how you spoil us! Even better, my roommate and I get up to our room and what do you know, we have a beachfront view. It was an amazing surprise! I still can't believe how fortunate we've been this entire trip; this hotel was an over the top treat! We had a great dinner which for most of us was a pick-a-random-item-on-the-menu-because-I-have-no-idea-what-any-of-this-means game. I got lucky and picked some sort of beans and meat dish that was very rich and tasty. After dinner and a walk on the chilly beach (I would come to regret that...) we went back to the hotel to hang out and relax after a long, busy travel day. I should add at this point that nearly everybody was coming down with sore throats/cold-like symptoms but I had held it off all week. Then my throat started hurting...

Day 25
On Saturday, I woke up with a pretty bad sore throat and I felt a little achy. After eating breakfast, I went back upstairs to rest and was dismayed to find that I still felt sick after my nap. So I bit the bullet and accepted that I would have to pass on this great beach day to recuperate and get better. I'm pretty sure that in that 24 hour period between Saturday morning and Sunday morning, I slept a good 21 hours haha. I don't know how I did it but I definitely needed it! Our trip has been so go-go-go that my body had to tell me to stop! So on Saturday I fought the Spanish influenza (and won, don't worry I'm fine now!) and reenergized for my last week in Spain.

Day 26
On Sunday, we said adios to Santander in the morning and drove directly east to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim, a modern/contemporary art museum. You might recognize the name from the New York museum. I promise there's one in Spain too, we didn't teleport to NYC for the day. Some of the art was really interesting and thought-provoking. I will concede that not all modern art is crazy and nonsensical. But some definitely is! Maybe it just went right over my head but there were a lot of pieces I did not understand or enjoy. It was an experience to say the least. We ended our stop in Bilbao with a picture in front of the giant, 20 foot puppy made of flowers and a delicious lunch. Bilbao is known for its gastronomical delights and I was glad we were able to enjoy some of the food that characterizes this small port town on the northern coast. After Bilbao we got back on the bus to regress back to Madrid. It was quite a long bus ride - we left Santander at 9:00 and got in to Madrid at 8:30, oof - but we don't have any more super long rides left so I won't complain. On Tuesday, we'll take our last trip up to Salamanca and Ávila. I can't believe that we have less than a week left! Our time has flown by so fast. So many things I need to squeeze in with so little time! I better get hopping!

Carrie

"Vale! Vale vale vale!"

Day 20
On Monday, we all begrudgingly went back to class after our amazing free weekend. After class, we all went to the Prado to check another major museum off our list. The Prado was amazing! It was interesting to see what all of the Spanish nobility we've been learning about actually look like. The most interesting paintings were of Carlos III, also know as Carlos el Feo (Charles the Ugly). He was a great king and he did many great things for Spain but his nose looked like it belonged in the Pyrenees. The other interesting painting was Velzquez's Las Meninas. I've seen this painting many times in textbooks and I've even seen Picasso's interpretation of Las Meninas but truly nothing compares to the original. I think I may be turning into a little bit of an art fanatic! After the Prado, I went home to study grammar grammar grammar for my test the next day. I've found it quite a bit harder to find motivation to study while in Spain compared to back in Waco. Hmm I wonder why...!

Day 21
After finishing our grammar test, some of us decided to go celebrate and get lunch at El Tigre, my favorite restaurant in Madrid. El Tigre was showcased on the Travel Channel for its amazing deal: you order any size cider you want then they bring you plate after plate of tapas, including paella, mmm! You get all of this amazing food for 5 €. We all love going there because its the perfect solution for hungry, broke college students. After El Tigre, we got some delicious gelato (I picked cookies and Nutella and it was an excellent choice) and headed on home to take a siesta and prepare for our trip the next day to Segovia!

Day 22
On Wednesday, we left Madrid in the morning to visit a palace and then a castle in Segovia, about an hour and a half north of Madrid. First we went to La Granja, a beautiful palace that was constructed by the Bourbon kings. It is easy to see the difference between the palaces built by the Hapsburg kings and those built by the Bourbons: these French monarchs always choose extravagance and elegance. I noticed that La Granja was very similar to Versailles, right down to the beautiful gardens that took up most of the estate. After La Granja, we drove down to the heart of Segovia to see the Roman aqueduct, the beautiful cathedral and the Alcázar, the castle/fortress. The Alcázar stood in stark contrast to La Granja: cold stone floors and walls, dark shades of tapestries and furniture, an emphasis on protection rather than showing off the wealth of the country. At the Alcázar, we got to see the thrones of Ferdinand and Isabella: they were completely identical, showing the equality of the two monarchs. The more I learn about Ferdinand and Isabella, the more impressed I am. They were definitely very unique, powerful monarchs. After exploring the castle, we climbed up the tower to see the bird's eye view of Segovia. So beautiful, like all of Spain. After we left the castle, I stopped to buy what I thought was a Spanish cupcake. It wasn't! It was a small thing of some kind of cream, sort of like mousse, with sprinkles on top. I was surprised at first but it was delicious so I was glad I got it! Back on the bus and back to Madrid for one last class day before another great weekend trip.

Day 23
On Thursday, we had class again but had the afternoon off! I decided to take a short siesta during my break to catch up on some very needed rest. Then after my nap, I went into the center of Madrid, Sol, to explore with one of my friends and to do some shopping! It was a great afternoon and it was nice to get to see more of Madrid. This next week, since its our last week, I have told myself that I don't need to take any siestas; I'm going to spend all my time soaking up every last bit of Madrid while I can! After shopping, I went home to pack for our weekend trip back up to the northern coast of Spain: Santander!

Carrie

"Little bit city, little bit country...Basque Country that is!"

Day 16
Now to my favorite Spain experience so far! On Thursday, we got out of class in the early afternoon then headed right to the bus station to kick off our free weekend. A group of eleven of us decided to spend our weekend in San Sebastián, a beautiful beach city in northern Spain (Basque Country). San Sebastián is known as one of the best beach towns in all of Europe; I can vouch for that! After our six hour bus ride (oof!) we made it to San Sebastián and caught a taxi over to what I thought would be a hotel. I made a reservation for half our group at a place called Pension San Vicente. Word to the wise: pension doesn't mean hotel. Not even close. It's a boarding house haha. So we get dropped off in the middle of a busy alley in San Sebastián at 10:00 at night (oof!) and we don't see anything that looks like a hotel. Amidst bars, restaurants and a giant church, we see a little door with "Pension San Vicente" marked on the third floor. We get buzzed in, climb up a narrow staircase in almost complete darkness and walk in to somebody's apartment. The pension consisted of just our two rooms, two tiny bathrooms and a hallway (oof!). We're all confused but manage to nod and grin through everything the manager is explaining. It was far from luxury but for five broke college students, it was more than enough. After a late dinner, we decided to hit the hay.

Day 17
On Friday, my weekend roommate, Hannah, and I woke up earlier than the three guys staying with us so we went out to find some cafe con leche, figure out where exactly the beach was and track down a supermercado. It was pretty chilly, in the mid-60s, so we were worried it would be too cold for the beach but the sun prevailed and made for a perfect afternoon! But before we woke up los chicos (at 11:00, how lazy!) we bought some groceries to stave off our hunger. I think that's when I became the mom for the weekend haha. We got back and announced we brought them food; they were elated. We ate our food on the floor in Hannah's and my room - the "dining room" - and left for the beach around noon. The beach was beautiful, right on the edge of the city with chilly but clear blue water. After two hours or so of beach shenanigans and wishing we had brought more than three towels for the nine of us (we meet up with other chicos from our group), we got lunch and explored the town a little before returning to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. For dinner, the half of us that liked seafood decided to find a restaurant on the water and splurge a little. I'm almost completely certain our dinner was caught less than an hour before it was served because I have never had such fresh, delicious seafood in my life. San Sebastián is known for its gastronomical delights; I can now vouch for that too. After dinner, we joined the rest of our group and the now eleven of us explored el Parte Viejo, the old part of town. It was a great night!

Day 18
On Saturday, it stayed in the 60s and was cloudy so we were grateful we had our perfect beach day on Friday. We decided to hike up one of the two hills that surrounds the crescent shaped beach at the center of San Sebastián. After about fifteen minutes of hiking, we were at the top of San Sebastián with a perfect view of the town, the beach and the Atlantic. We stayed for a little while then decided to head back down to get lunch before four chicos had to get back on the bus to go back to Madrid. After we ate and said hasta luego to the chicos, Hannah and I took a pass on our siesta and went shopping in downtown San Sebastián. All I needed was an H&M and I got what I needed! Now I have some cute Spanish clothes to wear back in the states, including one awesome pair of pants that I will have to control myself not to wear every day. For dinner on Saturday, we ate at a delicious Italian restaurant then had the best gelato of the trip so far. After dessert, we walked down to see the sunset on the nearly deserted beach, around 10:00-10:30. After taking in the gorgeous view, we were hungry again (not surprising) and decided to get some pinxtos, the Basque version of tapas. My favorite was sort of a Spanish "sushi": a small slice of bread with crab and salmon on top. So good. Soooooooooooooooo good. It's making me hungry right now! We were all pretty tired at this point so we went back to our little pension and called it a day.

Day 19
Today, Sunday, we slept in a little (for me that means 8:15 according to my internal clock) and we headed to the bus station around 11:00 to catch our 12:00 bus back to Madrid. We weren't so sad to leave because we're coming right back to the northern coast on Friday for our weekend in Santander, another beach town very close to San Sebastián. The weekend was a huge success, made even more enjoyable by the fact that we had to organize it on our own, find our own means of transportation and some form of shelter to stay in for the weekend. And we didn't have any problems at all! That's all I have to report on for our weekend! Now to start that homework...

Carrie

"That's not art. It's literally just a chair"

Day 15 (probably)
Wednesday! I'll keep these Madrid summaries short because most of the interesting things happen on our trips. I'll build up a little suspense now, our trip this weekend has been verrrry interesting. But back to Wednesday, we visited the Reina Sofia, the contemporary and modern art museum in Madrid. I'm not a huge fan of modern art because it's so..."unique"...so the first half of our visit to the Reina Sofia was just kind of weird. One piece was an entire room with a giant bird cage, two parrots and sand on the floor. Is that really art? Sounds more like a zoo to me. Another strange modern piece was a chair with an orange sitting on it. What? But I digress.

After the modern art exhibit, we ventured upstairs to see what really came to the museum for: Picasso, Dalí, cubism, etc. You know what I'm talking about! The crème de la crème was Picasso's Guernica. Painted during WWII after an unexpected, brutal bombing of a small village in northern Spain, this painting was used to show the cruelties of Hitler's regime. It was a really moving piece and looks quite a bit better in person than in my little textbook.

After the museum, I went home to pack for our free weekend to San Sebastián! Expect an awesome, long post tomorrow about that!

Carrie

"Another palace? I could live here"

Now to the rest of our weekend in southern Spain!

Day 12
On Sunday, we left Sevilla in the morning and drove over to Granada, another town heavily influenced by the Moors. We arrived in Granada and checked into one of the most amazing hotels in have ever stayed in. The whole hotel was decked out in the Moorish style which is quickly growing on me because of how intricate and beautiful it is. Seeing all these examples of Moorish design may be one of my favorite parts of Spain so far; I can't wait to decorate my apartment with all of these beautiful pictures I've taken of all these gorgeous patterns! Our hotel was located on a hill that overlooks the city of Granada and we had the most amazing view. I'm sad we could only stay one night. I would sit out on our balcony for hours with all of Spain spread out at my feet if I could! After gawking at the hotel's beauty for a little bit, we walked over to the Alhambra, another royal palace built around the 17th century. Now I think about it, I can't remember a great deal of details from our tour. I guess I was too mesmerized by the beauty of it all! The Alhambra also had a great view of Granada since it is located on the same hill as our hotel. After touring the palace, we went over to the gardens. Oh. My. Goodness. I have never seen such vibrant, perfectly flourishing flowers in my entire life. And the fragrance! I wish I were a queen just to get to live in the Alhambra and sit in the gardens everyday! That would be the life.

After the Alhambra, we went into Granada to see the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella. It was eery but amazing: we were in the same room as some of the most powerful monarchs in history. The tombs were beautiful but they didn't actually house their remains. Their bodies are kept right below the tombs in simple lead caskets that don't seem to match the greatness of the two monarchs that unified Spain. But I guess when you're that powerful, you don't really need to remind people! Somebody should tell some other rulers that! After the tombs, we were released into Granada to find dinner on our own which inevitably lead to getting some delicious gelato. Mmmmm it was a good night.

Day 13
Monday was mostly a traveling day for us. We had a six hour bus ride from Granada to Madrid but luckily halfway through, we stopped in Consuegra to visit the famous windmills from Cervantes' Don Quijote. In Don Quijote, Don Quijote, a semi-insane caballero, sees the windmills, mistakes them for giants and attempts to fight with them. The windmills are located at the top of hill with a great panoramic view of Consuegra. If I were Don Quijote, I wouldn't have fought the windmills, I would have claimed one for my own and lived in this beautiful area! But to each their own.

The next few days are class days for me but on Thursday, I leave for San Sebastián, a beautiful beach town in northern Spain. My señora told me that San Sebastián is one of her two favorite towns in all of Spain (there other is Sevilla) so that will be awesome. I'm getting pumped!

Carrie

"So this is one of the world's third largest cathedrals"

So I have learned that days seem to blend together in Spain. Maybe I should try and get more than 5 hours of sleep a night...nah! If I remember correctly, the last day I wrote about was Tuesday when we went to Toledo. Wednesday was pretty uneventful, just spent cramming for our midterm. On Thursday we took our midterm in our Spanish culture class, exactly a week after starting class! After class, we saw a flamenco interpretation of the opera Carmen. Flamenco is fascinating and I couldn't get over all of the cool costumes and complicated footwork. After the show, we went home to pack for our four-day weekend to Córdoba, Sevilla and Granada!

Day 10... I think...

On Friday, we left Madrid at 8:00 to journey to southern Spain, home to warm weather and Moorish architecture and art. We made it to Córdoba around 1:00 where we stopped to visit the cathedral. This cathedral was the epitome of juxtaposition. From the outside and when you first walk in, it looks like a magnificent mosque: bright, contrasting colors, geometrical design, horseshoe arches. Then you make it to the center of the cathedral and BAM! It's not a mosque at all but rather a stunning cathedral! What happened was when the moors were defeated in the 15th century, the catholic royalty came in and converted the mosque into a cathedral but left a good part of the original building intact, just kind of merging the two religions together. It's as if they went to the mosque, cut out the very center and dropped in an ornate, beautiful cathedral. It was remarkable to say the least and I would highly recommend it because it is a one-of-a-kind cathedral! After visiting the cathedral in Córdoba, we hopped back on the bus and made our way to Sevilla. We got there just in time for dinner and some late night exploration of the beautiful southern Spanish city.

Day 11

Saturday started out with a visit to the Roman ruins in Italica, very close to Sevilla. We saw the heavily eroded remains of a colosseum and the floors and a few columns of what used to be a town. After the ruins, we headed back to check out the cathedral in Sevilla. Our tour guide told us that this is the world's third largest cathedral. But he also said that several other cathedrals claim to be the third largest as well...somebody should really check on that. This cathedral seemed to never end; when you walk in you are engulfed in the sky high ceilings, bright stained glass windows and breath-taking art. This cathedral actually houses the remains of Christopher Columbus...well at least 120g worth of his remains. They don't seem to know where the rest of his remains are but hey, any amount of one of history's greatest explorers is still a pretty big deal. After taking in the cathedral, we climbed up probably 8-10 stories in the former minaret to view Sevilla from what used to be the tallest building in the city. If you look in my pictures on Facebook, you'll see that they're constructing a skyscraper. The view was amazing: we could see for miles and all of Sevilla stood at our feet, waiting to be explored. After the cathedral, we visited Alcázar, the royal palace in Sevilla. This palace was completely influenced by the moorish style and I think if I ever became a queen and had to build a palace, I would take a few things from Alcázar, mainly the beautiful symmetrical mosaics and the intricate geometric designs on all the walls. So that was my day today! I'm about to take my siesta then journey out again into the wonderful Sevilla before we leave tomorrow morning for Granada! ¡Hasta luego la familia y los amigos!

Carrie

"Toledo can't handle us"

Days 5 and 6 were mostly just class and homeworking so I'm going to skip ahead to our first trip...Toledo!

Day 7
Today, Tuesday, we took our first trip out of Madrid! We arrived in Toledo, about an hour south of Madrid, in the morning and went through the Cathedral (La Catedral). The architecture, art and environment were simply incredible. You seem to lose your sense of time and start to feel like you're actually living in the days when elaborate buildings like this are commonplace. La Catedral reminded me a lot of the amazing churches I saw when I went to Italy a few years ago; every time I visit such a magnificent building, it takes my breath away. I can't wait to see more! After La Catedral, we went into a shop and saw the first of the two major products of Toledo: amazing jewelry (the other is swords/knives). After a quick lunch in the park of bocadillos (sandwiches) prepared by our señoras, a small group of us wandered around Toledo. Toledo is fairly small, probably 1-2 square miles, and is characterized by VERY narrow roads. The best part? They still allow cars to drive in the city! So while we were exploring, we constantly had to jump into doorways to avoid being run over by cars with around 3-4 inches between their rear view mirrors and the walls of the buildings. While in Toledo, we visited the Visigoth Museum (the major Germanic tribe that conquered Spain after the Roman Empire fell) and la Iglesia de Santo Tomé to see the painting "El Entierro del Señor de Orgaz" by El Greco. Combined with spectacular weather, not a single cloud in the sky and 0% humidity (apparently it exists somewhere),  our trip to Toledo was perfect. We left around 4:00 to make a quick stop in Aranjuez.

In Aranjuez, we saw the summer palace built by the Bourbon kings in the 18th century. The palace was basically built on a budget due to the economic climate of Spain at the time: wood inlays on the ceiling, wood floors instead of expensive carpet, painted ceilings made to look as if they were actually three-dimensional. It was very different than other palaces I have seen, mainly Windsor Palace in England and Versailles in Paris. But it was still beautiful, full of great art, elaborate furniture and an intense attention to details. After Aranjuez, we moseyed on back to Madrid around 7:00, in time to shower and have dinner. Tonight we had paella and it was delicious! I was very excited because paella is the only Spanish dish I really knew about beforehand. It was a great dinner to complete a great day.

One observation I had today - along with a lot of my fellow compañeros - is that we find ourselves struggling to speak in English! We spend so much of our day talking/thinking/writing/dreaming/living in Spanish that our English skills seem to have been a little neglected. We stutter when we talk and can't think of common words we know that we know. We were joking that we can only be so good at languages: as our Spanish improves, our English has to get worse to maintain the balance. I really hope that's not true...!


Carrie

"I don't know what this building is...but it's a church and it looks old"

¡Buenos días de Madrid! Now where did I leave off...

Day 3
Friday was our first full day of class. It's really interesting but I will admit, it's difficult having three hours of class completely in Spanish, especially when you're talking about history! But I can already tell my Spanish is improving every day. After class, we went to our homes for the siesta. Adjusting to the Spanish daily routine has been quite interesting. Typically we eat breakfast around 8:00, lunch at 2:00 then dinner anywhere from 9:00-11:00 without any snacks in between. I thought going so long between meals and eating dinner practically in the middle of the night would be rough but I really like it! And it helps that in Spain, they expect you to eat all of the food they serve you - which is generous; I'm proud to say I have yet to leave any food on my plate. My new expanded appetite will probably give me some trouble when I go back to the States though! One last thing about food: the strawberries here are unbelievable. They are perfectly sweet and fresh; I fully intend to eat them every day. Our señora serves us the strawberries with a tiny bit of sugar and vinegar and it just blows me away how delicious they are. Ok, back to my day! After our siesta (during which I can never take a nap because I'm always too excited haha), I had to navigate the metro on my own for the first time to meet our Baylor group for a walking tour. I was doing well, no problems at all but luckily I ran into some other students from our group which was very fortunate because I would have struggled to find the actual building we needed to meet at on my own. Madrid is actually known for being a city of miracles, and so far I completely believe it, although I've only had milagros pequeños (little miracles). After a two hour walking tour of the heart of Madrid and churros con chocolate (deliciosos), we all went home for our dinners and to do homework for class the next morning. Such a great day!

Day 4
Saturday was a great day. The morning was the same as before except for an hour long commute due to the metro and the buses moving slower on the weekends. After class, we went home for lunch then had an hour break before we had to leave for the fútbol game. Buying the tickets for the game was another miracle for our group since it was 1. a last minute decision by our professor, 2. there were around 45 people that wanted to go and 3. you can only buy six tickets at a time. But I guess Madrid likes Baylor because it all worked out perfectly! The game was amazing, made even better by the fact that the team we were rooting for, Real Madrid, won! After the game, a small group of us packed into the VERY crowded metro to go explore the center of town more. After dinner we went out again and got to experience the night life in Madrid a little bit. The next few days are regular class days for us but on Tuesday we will take our first trip, to Toledo and Aranjuez! I'm excited for everything we have planned for us and for the weather to warm up. So far the days have been chilly, starting in the upper 40s in the morning then staying in the 60s for most of the day (it's basically a Texas winter here). But I'm having too much fun to really notice it! That's all for now, but keep your eye out for more!

Carrie

"Where's the classroom? Oh, we'll just use the kitchen"

Day One
Hello from Spain! My journey has been a success so far; time has flown by so quickly, I can't keep track of it! After landing yesterday morning (3:00 AM Texas time), we were shuttled through Madrid  and met up with our señoras (our house moms) and were served a delicious Spanish lunch consisting of eggs, cheese, potatoes and vegetables. After eating and a much needed nap, my roommate, Jordan, and I set out to buy our cellphones at the nearest mall. After an hour and a half of confusion, miscommunication and exploring a foreign "centro de comercial", we became the proud owners of our brand, new flip phones! By this time, around 9:00 PM I believe, we were ready to eat dinner and go to bed. On to day two!

Day Two
Our second day in Madrid commenced with our first trip on the Metro. Thanks to all the rigorous training I received from my dad on previous trips to Europe, Jordan and I had no problems with the foreign subways and we spent the day wandering around our neighborhood and the area around our school. After a low-key afternoon we began classes at 5:00 PM in a small - VERY small - baptist church downtown. Lacking a little bit in classroom space, my Spanish Civilization class met in the kitchen of the church. Not having a desk will certainly be interesting...oh well, it's Spain! After Civ, our Conversation and Composition class met up. Call me nerdy, but I'm super excited about my classes. I know I'm going to learn so much about Spain - both culture and the beautiful language - and I'm. So. Excited. Much more to come!

Carrie

¡Hasta luego Texas!

The day has finally arrived! Tomorrow I will be flying off to Madrid where I will be living and studying for five weeks. For those of you who do not know, one of the goals I set for myself when I started college was to be fluent in Spanish by the time I graduate so what's a better way to do that then to spend a month submerged in the Spanish world! 

I'll be updating this blog regularly so look out for those new posts! Thank you for taking the time to keep up with this exciting time in my life. I don't know exactly what Spain has in store for me, but I have a feeling it's going to be life-changing... ¡no puedo esperar! (I can't wait!)

Con amor,

Carrie