Blogs from Salamanca, Castile & León, Spain, Europe - page 15

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Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca September 9th 2008

Well, I’ve been here for just over a week, but it seems like much longer. IES has packed in quite a bit for us to do in such a short period of time. I think I’ll start at the beginning. On the flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia I sat next to a really nice guy who was ultimately flying back to Pittsburgh to get back to med school. Funnily enough, though, he had been in Alpharetta for the weekend, and he went to Spain last winter (though not to Salamanca). Once the plane landed, I turned around, and guess who was sitting a row behind me?! Nisha! I went to middle and high school with her. We were really good friends in middle school, but we haven’t really talked for awhile. She was on her way ... read more
Three Flags
En Route
Wind Farm

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca September 8th 2008

Yesterday I attended mass at the Catedral Viejo - they sang in Latin and spoke in Spanish so I didn't get too much out of it, but it was basically the same as the English mass except with a lot more incense and 3 priests. The good thing about it was it only lasted 40 mintues since not very many people were there. After mass, I walked 30 minutes to the edge of the city to the Rastro (similar to a gigantic flea market, except with new items instead of used stuff). It was a fun atmosphere with lots of haggling and vendors shouting and people eating, talking and buying. I bought a purse for my laptop for 3euro, no haggling though they spoke way to fast! I also bought a pair of shoes for 5e ... read more
Cathedral during the parade
procession
DSC01128

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca September 3rd 2008

Hola everyone! Sorry it took me so long to send an e-mail, but I just found an internet connection, so here goes... Madrid was a lot of fun once I found things that I enjoyed doing there - going to the parks and plaza, visiting museums, the API excursions to Toledo and El Escorial. The food was a little different there (ex. whole fish and boiled broccoli yuck!) I was worried that all Spanish food would be like that but it turns out Aurea is a very good cook and prepares meals that I really like. Today for lunch we had green soup (she said it was calabaza which translates to calabash but I've never heard of that veggie in English, have you?) which was excellent (I thought it was broccoli while I was eating it). ... read more
What is this?
Yes, I really ate it
Independance Plaza

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca August 28th 2008

After spending a night in London and having some fun, I arrived in Spain and began seeing this well known country. My travels through Spain are all through the Castile area, or basically in the middle. It is important to note that here is where the boundary existed between how far the Muslim empire got, and where the Spanish kept their border. As time passed, the Spanish eventually pushed out the Muslims and regained control of their country. Within Castile, I was able to explore some of the castles and cathedrals that were created that represented the build up of this border region. To explore this region, I decided to see a new town each day, and rent a car to allow myself to go at my own pace. The transportation within this region, well, I ... read more
Cathedral of Salamanca
Looking up at the dome
Walking within the cathedral

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca August 17th 2008

Moved down into Spain and on the way stopped in the Pyrenees which was very like Barrington. In Spain our first stop was at Bilbao mostly for the Guggenheim museum. It is a fantastic building both inside and out. The photos do not do it justice. We spent one night out in the sticks at an old country (16th century) house. The owner had done a great job restoring it and the views across the valley were lovely. Down the road was another similar building proudly displaying a date 1777! We have had great fun in the tapas bars sampling the food and wine. Some surprises like embuchardo or lamb intestines which actually tasted quite nice when cut thinly. We ended up in a town, Lograno, which has been proclaimed by Lonely Planet’s Blue List as ... read more
Country house view
Guggenheim Museum
Guggenheim interior

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca August 8th 2008

So after leaving our unreasonably cold campsite, we headed into the city and got a hostel for the night. Gloria (the owner of the place) was awesome, and her place was way too nice for how cheap it was. We even got our own shower! AND she told me I sounded like a real Castilian!! (apparently Curtis' accent is pretty terrible). The first day in town we just rested up in the hostel for the most part drinking and eating, but then we met up with this guy Daniel who's putting us up now for a couple days. He's pretty cool: took us out to his favorite spots last night, and actually claimed to enjoy the barbeque hamburgers we made today (he wanted to try LA food and that was the closest we could think to ... read more
Keeping Hydrated 2
Salamanca
Cathedral de Salamanca

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca August 6th 2008

Hi all. We are in a hostel in Salamanca right now having a cheese and wine dinner. The hostel is great, has a view over a side-street downtown. It is a nice place to relax after our camping last night. The camp-site was not the best ever, and it turns out that even though Salamanca is very, very hot during the day, the nights are rather cold (I think that Jason will unpack a sleeping bag next time that I tell him to). We spent the day in Avila yesterday. It is a Gothic era town, with a city-wall that is in very good condition and very impressive. One of the cathedrals dates from the 11th century, as well as several other buildings. Day before that we went to Segovia for our last day with Manuel ... read more
Roman aqueduct in Segovia
El Torre del Alcazar de Segovia
Una mariposa simpática

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca July 27th 2008

Hello all! This week has been a fun week. Certainly filled to the brim with moments of feeling "ready" to return to the USA, but nonetheless a good time. I´m finally reaching that full immersion point. I´m not sure exactly how to explain it, but it´s almost like it takes so long to get to where you forget you´re in a different place. I walk among the streets now and it doesn´t occur to me that everyone around me is speaking a different language than my native tongue. I hear statements, and just know what people are saying without actually being in the conversation. It feels so good to be reaching that place. In some moments, I wish I could continue to stay in this place of language immersion... but the call to be home is ... read more

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca July 20th 2008

Hello all! Well, I made it through exam week! It was a rough go... and I´m really glad to have that done for a few days. I have one exam this coming week and then three the following week. Before you know it, I´ll be heading back to the states! I don´t have much news to report because the week was so full of classes and studying. However, I´ve been enjoying Salamanca a bit the last couple days. A lady that lives in my apartment building took me to a concert last night. It was a really neat deal... it was outdoors and the stage was on the front steps of this old convent. It was beautiful! I don´t have my camera with me to show a picture of exactly what it looked like lit up ... read more
!!!El Parque!!!!

Europe » Spain » Castile & León » Salamanca July 14th 2008

What a long week. We had classes 5 days this week, rather than the normal 4 to make up for a festival day we had off during our first week here. After classes Friday, we went on a little field trip just in town to learn more about Segovia. First, we went to the cathedral. It’s right in the plaza mayor. I’m sure I’ve posted pictures of the plaza with the cathedral in it. It was the last gothic style cathedral built in Spain. It took 200 years to complete (1500-1700ish). On top of all that, it is the tallest cathedral in Spain: not the biggest, the tallest. And boy is it HUGE!!! You really just wouldn’t believe how tall it is unless you saw it. Pictures do nothing. When you walk in, lining the sides ... read more
Ceiling of Cathedral
View of cathedral
Alcazar




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