Segovia

The entire group of Cal Poly students in Segovia!!

Yesterday was a wonderful day (besides the fact that I only got 4 hours of sleep and had to get on a bus at 9 in the morning).

We had our second excursion to another city in the region of Castilla y León. This time we went to Segovia. Luckily I was able to sleep most of the one hour bus ride to the city. It was very cool to drive up to the city because the first thing you see is the huge Roman Aqueduct that runs through the city

Different views of the Roman Aqueduct

The aqueduct was built at the end of the 1st century by the Romans. They didn't use any sort of adhesive to hold the huge boulders in place. The huge wall holds its shape purely by pressure. If you stand next to the aqueduct, it is huge! Each of the stones has a hole or an indent in it. Our tour guide, Alfredo, told us a cool tale about how the holes got there. It had to do with a girl and the devil. Supposedly the devil built the wall in 24 hours and each of the holes were made from his claws.

Dalia, Me, and the aqueduct

We have had Alfredo show us around a few cities, so we are getting used to his speaking style and it is becoming easier to listen to him each time I travel with him. He speaks in Spanish the entire time and it is really exciting to be able to stand there and listen to him speak and understand what he is saying to us. I don't understand everything that he says, but I think I do pretty well considering the level of Spanish I'm at. The things that he tells us are fascinating, he is so knowledgeable. I really wonder how tour guides retain all the information about every single place they go to! I am finding that I love listening to him talk and I feel as though I am learning so much from him not only about the history of the beautiful cities we visit, but also I am learning how to listen and retain information in a different language.

I always have so much fun with these girls

The beginning of our tour was pretty short, and eventually we had a few hours of free time. A group of us walked from la Plaza Mayor (every single city in Spain has a Plaza Mayor... I have come to expect it) up to the start of the aqueduct. We got an awesome view of the aqueduct from up there. I had fun just hanging out and taking pictures with my friends. I also got to hang out with some people I don't normally get to spend too much time with, so that was really cool for me. I want to continue hanging out with those people because I have so much fun with them (as with every other person on the trip).

Dalia, Laura, Stephanie, Kristen, Jessie, Me, Helena

At the end of our free time a group of us stopped at a little restaurant in the Plaza Mayor and got tapas and drinks. Maryn and I ordered shrimp cakes which were okay, but not the absolute best. From there, the whole group reconvened and we walked over to the castle. From the outside, the castle looked like it belonged in a Disney movie. It was pretty awesome. Alfredo toured us around the castle and told us what each of the rooms were for (some had very interesting histories... like the "consummation" room). It was beautiful but a little chilly.

The Castle

Aubrea, Kristen, Dalia, Me, Tiffany, Hanna, and Natalie in front of the castle (thank you to Mr. Payne for taking this photo and for being such an inspiration!)

View from inside the castle. I just liked the picture.

 All the Poly girls (and our friend Jasmin from Germany) at the top of the castle tower

In the castle we even got to climb one of the towers which had a beautiful view of Segovia. I love standing on high look out spots in old cities like that because you get a wonderful view. It is so picture perfect. It was really cool to be able to climb the tower, but the spiral staircase was very high and very steep. It was definitely worth the climb, though.

View of Segovia from the top of the tower. I just wish you could see the aqueduct from there!

After we left Segovia and got back to Valladolid I only had a little bit of time to rest before heading out for my next event. Natalie's dad was visiting for a few days so he took a few of us girls out to dinner. I was honored to be invited and he was so generous to buy all of us our delicious meals. We treated him (and ourselves) to a delicious dessert, but it was the least we could do for all of his generosity. The dinner time conversation was absolutely amazing. I think I can say that the conversation I had at that meal will stick with me for the rest of my life. I am still reeling from it; it was so thought provoking and such a wonderful mixture of learning, talking, listening, experiencing, and just being together. It is way too much to add to this post, but I promise I will write about it at another time. I will probably add it to my other blog, though, so you might want to check that one for some of my thoughts on that conversation

Natalie and her dad. Seeing Mr. Payne and Natalie made me very excited to see my dad in Switzerland this Friday!!!

It is 12 in the morning now so I should be going to bed, but I just want to thank you all for reading my blog. I love hearing what you all have to say about it and I enjoy reading everybody else's blogs as well. I love relaying what I have been doing while I've been on this life changing adventure. If you have any further questions beyond what I have written here, feel free to comment or to e-mail me! Also, I sent out an e-mail to people who asked for my mailing address. If you were not attached to that e-mail and want to have my address, let me know and I'll message it to you. E-mail me at: rhegan@calpoly.edu

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