Spain 2002 - Road Trips

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While I was in Spain I took some big trips but I also took many one or two day trips. I loved these trips because it gave me a reason not to do homework on Saturday, they were great ways to see many cities with a guided tour (Jesus) and every time my Spanish mom would prepare me a tortilla espanola in a bocadillo. This was serioulsy the greatest sandiwch of all time. I might go back to Spain some day just to eat one of those awesome sandwiches. But seriously the day tours were a lot of fun because our good friends Jesus and Rodrigo went with us and not only were they great tour guides (Jesus is the Spanish version of Indiana Jones) but they also were a ton of fun to spend time with. And when we returned from our day trips we would always go out for a few beverages at Cafe Jazz. Anyway, if you are a student who is going to study abroad I would look to see if your program includes day trips because they are a very beneficial part of a study abroad experience. Our one day trips included Salamanca, Segovia, Madrid and Avila. I included some pictures from these day trips and also my trip to Leon and a bigger trip to Palma de Mallorca in the Medeteranian.

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Photos

Plaza Mayor en Salamanca
This is me in the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca. Salamanca is a beautiful city with a lot of unique art and architecture to see. Another aspect of the city is that on sunny days the city shines in viberant red as that is the color of many buildings. The day that I went there it was real clowdy so it was not very colorful but it still was a great city to see.

Catedral en Salamanca
This is a cathedral in Salamanca. Much of the city boasts some of Europes best Gothic art which is characterized by fine details which is a portrayed on this cathedral.

Catedral en Leon
This is the big Catherdral in Leon. I took a day trip there between my 2 weeks of spring break. Leon is a typical northern city in Spain but one of the things that the city boasts is that it is a stop on the Camino de Santiago. One of my life goals is to complete the Camino.

Parque en Palma de Mallorca
This is a park in Palma de Mallorca. Palma is the capital of Spain's Baleric Islands which are located in the Medeteranian. I went there with a group of friends . . . and coincidently the trip coencided with my 21st birthday. As the Balerica Islands are basicly considered to be the party capital of Europe I figured it would be a good place to turn 21.

Avila
This is the big fortress in Avila. As you can see it is in a great defensive position. This is a very scenic area as it is one of the higest points of Spain. There also was a vinard very close to this castle that we visited. Avila is located just north of Madrid.