Blogs from District of Madrid, Spain, Europe - page 172

Today we ventured to Segovia with the school. An hour and fifteen minute trip, during which I was sleeping, north of the city. The beauty and history of the city is not only long traced, but very rich. The city has moorish or middle eastern influence. This can be seen in Alcazar, the fort and other architecture such as this. Also, this castle was the inspiration for Cinderella's castle in Walt Disney World. The city also holds the best remains of any Roman Aqueduct system. Can you believe that there is no cement holding it together! Just the blocks. The cathedral was also beautiful, but didn't have very good staied glass. The alter is crusted in gold. The ceiling is a tower of gothic inspiration. Segovia is also known for having the best suckling pig and ... read more

The last orientation language and culture sessions today. I had to go in extra early to sign up for one of the 3 free excursions. I chose Andalusia, and it was the most popular one, so I'm happy I got there early enough. We had tapas again for lunch with some friends. Afterwards we went to our first tour of a musuem, the Reina Sofia, named after the queen. I liked our guide, so I might change my class to be in hers, not sure yet. There were lots of Picasso's and I loved the Dali's. There were no cameras allowed, so no pictures. After that, I went home, took a nap, then we went out with some friends again. Basically the group consists of 5 guys and 3 other girls, but because 4 of those ... read more

Went to orientation again today. I love my Spanish class, the teacher is great! Went out for Tapas with friends in La Plaza de Sagrados Corazones. They were delicious. My favorite was mushroom with mayo and cheese melted ontop of tostada! SO good. We also had a walking tour of Old Madrid. It was amazing! We saw the Royal Palace, Madrid's Cathedral, and Plaza Mayor. The tiny streets are fun to walk through. We went out to a cafe after and got hot chocolate. Maria made whole wheat pasta with salsa de tomate. But you have to have some meat, so there was also some beefish side. I declare that NY get a lesson on how to run a subway system from Metro Madrid. There is a train every 5 minutes, and it is so easy ... read more

Lindsay and I are not accustomed to the meals here. Breakfast is so small! Our stomachs were growling until lunch at 2:00. It's so funny! It rained a little today and people say its "so cold" but compared to New York, it feels like Miami. We started our intensive culture and intensive language class today. My Spanish teacher is so nice! She gave us a tour of the neighborhood and showed us where we will be able to pick up our course packets and go to the pharmacy. We went to a popular Spanish sandwich place for lunch called Rodillo. It was real bad, like a McDonald's with processed cold cuts. I'm really glad we tried it because it is a very popular thing. After reading what I wrote it sounds like I had a bad ... read more

Orientation started today, and the main building is only like a 10 minute walk. We heard presentations and our schedules for the rest of the week. Ate a free lunch at some restaurant, then filled out forms, took pictures for IDs, and bought cell phones. My number for you guys is 011-34-607-252-213. Check your rates and check the time(6 hour difference) before you try calling. Then my suitemates and I fixed the housing problem, found out it was Conchita's birthday, and headed home. We bought Conchita chocolate and we bought more groceries at a cheaper place and even bought some wine. I hate alcohol so I hope I get acustomed to that stuff. We dropped the food off and the gift. We then went out to eat at a Chinese place. It was interesting because even ... read more