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
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