finalmente, estoy en Valladolid!

Wow, the past few days have been such a whirlwind! We spent four days in Mardid doing so many different things. I don't quite remember all of the places we went and the things that we saw, but I will ask Dr. Hilpold and I will write them down here so that all of you at home can know more about our different adventures.

The first full day in Mardid, we actually left Madrid and went to Toledo. It was absolutely beautiful and we had so much fun touring around the old town and seeing different things. The city is almost exactly the way it was in the 14th century (and maybe before.. my recollection is a little hazy considering I have been hit with so much new information within the past few days). It was a great little day trip and it helped me to get to know a lot of the girls on the trip. They are all super sweet and I can't wait to get to know them better!

Me with a view of Toledo in the background

 The girls in an alleyway in the city 

Natalie, me, Dalia, and Kelsey in “La Plaza Mayor” (pronounced with a lisp). We were all very tired and decided it would be a good idea if we didn’t go out on the town that night. We went and got ice cream, hot chocolate, and café con leche instead! Kristen had a surprise when her hot chocolate was really just… well… melted chocolate!

 The second day in Madrid we went to the Prado museum and saw lots of famous paintings by artists like Velazquez (and his famous painting Las Meninas), Goya, Raphael, and el Greco. We only had a short time for our tour, but after we were done with our tour guide and we’d all been refreshed by tapas y café con leche, a few of us decided to go back and tour through it a bit more. It was cool to hear different people’s perspectives of the artwork. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum (how come I was allowed to take pictures in the Louvre but not in the Prado?), so I don’t have very much to show for myself, but it was still very exciting.  After that, a bunch of us went to Parque Retiro which is right next to the museum.  We had fun taking pictures, getting to know each other, and messing around.

Most of the group  outside the Prado.  

Me in the Parque Retiro

Once again, on day three in Madrid, we left the city. First we went to El Valle de los Caidos, it was slightly overwhelming. There was a huge basilica that Franco had built into a mountain and it has a huge cross on top of it (the biggest cross in the world). The basilica was a HUGE domed church and since we went on a Sunday, people were getting ready for worship so throughout our tour we had organ music playing in the background. Once again, I wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside the building, but take my word for it, it was breathtaking. After that, we went to a beautiful little town called El Escorial de San Lorenzo for lunch and toured one of king Philip II’s residences, we also bought some freshly baked bread which was absolutely fantastic. There was a huge monastery with lots and lots of rooms, and another beautiful basilica.

 

Franco’s Basilica up close, and the same Basilica from further away 

Entrance to the residence of King Philip

The fourth day in Madrid (yesterday) was kind of a free day. We didn’t have anything planned until 4 that afternoon, so some of us walked around Madrid, looked in to getting cell phones, and then went down to the same park we went before and studied. We have a lot of reading to do for classes so this was the perfect place to study. The weather was wonderful, and everybody focused on what they were supposed to be reading. That afternoon we went to el Museo Reina Sofia which is a modern art museum. This is where Picasso’s “Guernica” is housed as well as many paintings by Dali. They were very interesting to see, but I definitely enjoyed the Prado more. After we went to the museum, we all went to a phone company called “Yoigo” and got cell phones for communication while we’re here. It was a very long and tedious process, but in the end it worked out and now the stress is gone. That night we had a blast going out with a lot of people in the group. I think everybody had fun, but we got back very late and I was exhausted when I woke up this morning!

Reading in the park

Guernica by Pablo Picasso

Some of us with our "Yoigo" phones

Finally, today was the big day! We got to Valladolid. Unfortunately though, you will have to wait until some time tomorrow or the next day to hear about our trip here because it is about 11 p.m. here and I am exhausted. I still have reading to do, and classes start MAÑANA! I will say, however, that "mi madre" is very nice and I feel very comfortable here.

There are not enough hours in the day for me to fill people in on everything going on in life!! Tonight I am missing home a lot. I am online, checking Skype and what not, but everybody is in school or at work. Oh well. At least if you all read this you will know that I miss you and love you! However, for now, hasta luego!