One week later...

Welp, I'm starting to struggle to have time to blog. Also, even though I speak english way too much here with friends/roommate, my english is faltering. Thus, it's probably best that I don't blog too much as to hide my fading english.

A week later, here's an update on what's been going on in my life in Spain.

This past week has been fantastic. I just can't believe it's all real. I'm in Spain... that's insane. This past weekend we went to Salamanca, Ávila, Torro, y Tordecillas. It was beautiful, fantastic... and at times, like a dream. Today we were standing in a monastery in Tordecillas, and I couldn't help but reflect on how incredible this country is. It's FILLED with history, so much history, everywhere you go is basically ancient and incredible.

This past weekend was a planned excursion with our Study Abroad group. We stayed in a nice hotel Friday night and had a blast all day Friday and Saturday. Okay, Friday morning I was kind of miserable because instead of the pictures you see below of a sunny beautiful day in Spain, we went to the mountains Friday morning where Ávila is. Ávila is such a cool town. It's surrounded by huge stone walls, and it has several neat places inside. The beauty of this city was ruined because of the weather. It. was. freezing. This is why I hardly have any pictures. I feel bad because it was such a beautiful city, but at the same time, my hands were numb and purple, my feet were soaked and frozen, and my eyes were watering because of the snow blizzard. Let's just say it felt a little too much like Rexburg. No bueno, pero nos quedamos por un tiempo corto.

After Ávila we headed to Salamanca, a city that was just beautiful. It actually reminded me a lot of Madrid. There was a similar Plaza Mayor and the shops were similar to the ones you'd find in Madrid. However, Salamanca had its own flare of juventud that Madrid doesn't quite have. There were kids everywhere. It was fun to see the university and walk around the shops at night. Our guide actually encouraged us to go to a "disco" one of the dance clubs near the plaza. Don't worry, Mom. We didn't go.

That's actually one of the toughest parts about being in Spain. Kristie and I were talking to Encarna the other night about how much we want to meet other people here in Spain. Encarna was telling us that that is the best way to improve your Spanish, meet Spanish natives. But she told us that every one drinks and smokes here. It's just part of life. She said that the young people stay out very late at night and they meet other people at parties. Being a Mormon, I have made the decision to not drink or smoke... thus, it's basically impossible for Kristie and I to really get to meet other people. But we are lucky enough to have an incredible host mom. We are able to talk to her daily and practice our Spanish. We also have a great ward here in Alcalá where we've met some great people too.

Today we went to Torro y Tordecillas. Two beautiful towns. The smells, the sights, everything about these two cute Spanish towns made me happy. The sun was shining, and the people in both places were so kind and welcoming. We even danced with the people in the Plaza Mayor en Tordecillas. How cool is that? They had some type of a celebration going on with a live band and everything. It was awesome.

Kristie took this during the bus ride. It captures how beautiful the sky was and the Spanish countryside.

 The bus drive to all of these places was also incredible. I know you think bus and you think sick... but actually we drove through incredible places in Spain. I LOVED sitting in the bus and looking out at the beautiful countryside. We haven't seen too much of the countryside yet, and so it was a breath of fresh air to be able to sit back and listen to some music while looking out into the beautiful Spanish countryside. 

Well, I've been writing in my travel journal more than I have on my blog. It's just easier to journal when I'm on the go. Sin embargo, here are a few of my favorite pictures of the beautiful places I got to see this weekend:

The courtyard at a monastery in Tordecillas.

Outside of the monastery, a beautiful river with a sweet bridge that I'm blocking.

LOVE these houses.

La Catedral en Torro.
 

Toledo, Spain.

Well guys, I got to go to Toledo. Was it as incredible as these pictures? No, it was ten times better. These pictures can't even come close to the brilliance of this beautiful city. Filled with masterpieces of Goya, El Greco, and many more, this city is rich with history. Toledo was the capital of Spain for hundreds of years before Madrid. Toledo was also known for it's tolerance of religions. It is famous for having people who practiced Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all in the same city. We were able to go to a cathedral, a mosque, and a synagogue.

All class on our bus ride to Toledo.

Holy Toledo!

Yup, it's a dream.

Is this real life?

Beautiful bridge on our way to Toledo.

Cathedral in Toledo

Bell Tower

Beautiful curvy streets

Inside the cathedral

The oldest building in Spain, notice the arches true to Cordoba's red and white arches.

One of the oldest Roman Ruins in all of Spain

Over 700 stain glass windows were in the cathedral

In the main plaza

Incredible 3-D ceilings in the Toledo

Coolest girls ever.

Inside the cathedral- symbolic of the 3 religions brought together in Toledo.

Yeah, it's a little heavy. How would you have liked to wear that on your head?

These red hats were in random spots in the cathedral- the cardinals that were buried here have their hats placed directly above their tombs. The interesting part about this whole ritual is that they won't take the hats down until they've rotted away. The cardinal below this hat died in the 1800s.

Goya's Judas kissing the Savior.

There it is, folks. El Greco's famous Derobing of Christ.

The ceiling reminded me of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel

La Catedral de Toledo

I know I say it in almost every post, but I am in love with Spain. This trip was incredible, and I can't believe how lucky I am that I still get to see so much more of this amazing country. Today Kristie and I enjoy the warm sol (sun) and went out for a run around a track in our town. While running we got to watch some cute Spanish kids play futbol.

After getting some homework done, we were able to head into Madrid for the night and do a "walk" for our "Madrid Walks" class. I'm realizing that I need to write down more of my observations of the Spanish people:

1. Couples in Spain are not afraid to show public displays of affection. Not. one. 'bit. Every where you turn, you see couples that simply cannot keep their eyes off each other. I'd like to say, "It's nasty!" But honestly, it's precious. Not only do you see cute, young couples kiss in the middle of a street, but you see old, cute Spanish couples hold hands and kiss as if they were 16 again. It is muy linda.

2. Spanish men dress nice.

3. The Spanish love pastries. Maybe it's all of Europe...

4. My neighbor knows how to sing. (Our walls are paper thin.)

5. The Spanish people have no problem giving you directions. I've been amazed when Kristie and I have been lost and we've had to ask for help. Every time, they'll drop what they're doing and guide you in the right direction.

6. The Spanish people are very casual. Almost every class I have gets out 10 or 15 minutes late. If it's 6:10pm and you ask them what time it is, they'll say "Son las seis." Or it is 6pm. Americans are much more aware of time. I actually prefer how laid back they are.

7. They are beautiful.

... another great weekend in Spain. Life is good.

¿Quieres dar un paseo?

Well, my sister is a gem and she asked if she could be taken on a walking tour of 

my average day. So for my dear sister and anyone else who would like to 

see- this is what I do every morning. This is my walk to school:

We leave our apartment and head down the stairs in the lobby.

After going down the 2 person elevator, we walk into the main lobby.  The scent of smoke fills your lungs :)

We cross the street and head across this little sidewalk.

My mother would be so upset at this sight. Spain doesn't do that great of a job picking up after their little perritos.

We then begin our more scenic walk by cool looking old buildings.

This cathedral is beautiful, and yes, it stays there every day to greet us "Buenos dias"

One of the statues in front of the cathedral.

There is this whole fence painted yellow, who knows how old it is or why it is yellow.

The sidewalks here are pretty narrow.

Side note: I took these pictures down by my stomach in order to not look like a tourist.

The sun doesn't come up until around 9am, so our walks are a little dark.

Cool fence.

The Spaniards park wherever they want, and normally they drive tiny cars.

Pretty trees.

We totally creeped on this poor girl.

Yep, every day I get to see that beauty.

A church in Alcala? I honestly haven't asked what this is, I'm just assuming?

These bells sound 10x better than the bells at BYUI.

We then cross the street. Down there past the bus stop is the Plaza de cervantes where people love to walk.

You can kind of see the bird's nest on the roof.

Again, taken near my waist.

I skipped the entrance to the school, but just pretend you saw the door.

This is the classroom that we have both of our Spanish classes in. This is our cute Conversational Spanish teacher in the front. She is very sweet and patient with us American girls.

School's over after 2 classes (T/Th) or 4 classes (M/W). The sun is out!

Today we walked through the plaza for kicks. We were greeted by all of the adorable old men in Alcala that love to walk together. Literally, the entire plaza was filled with men 70+ with their cute little hats and coats.

Yep, they're adorable.

We then cut through one of the many cute alley ways to head back home.

We got back on the tiny elevator. (I'm really good at taking pictures).

Well, folks, there you have it. My average walk to school. NBD.

Yeah, I guess you could say I'm one lucky kid... living the dream.