Day 20, May 7, 2011

Today was our last day in Segovia. The last three weeks went by sooo quickly! I cannot even believe it!

It was a nice and relaxing last day. I slept in until 12:30, glorious! I had lunch with my host family and a girl who had been staying with them until right before I came. Megan and I went to our cafe for one last time and said goodbye to the waiters we had gotten to know. We did some last minute shopping, well more I did some last minute shopping!!! Then we hung out at Megan's house for a little, and then it was dinner time!

Off to Madrid tomorrow! Adios Segovia...

Day 19, Friday, May 6, 2011

Today we had out last class. We all did presentations about Spanish art/architecture.

This afternoon we had an excursion. We visited four churches and a monastery. The monastery was neat, and the church that is attached to the monastery is huge and very old. It was pretty neat! The other two churches were also very pretty. The one church was VERY small and polygonal shaped which was different.









Tonight we had a "good bye" dinner at Candido, a famous Spanish restaurant that my host mom's family owns! We all went with our host mom's. It was a TON of fun! We ate so much, I might be full until I get home! It was a little sad realizing our time here is almost done and we will soon have to say good bye to our families.



I can't believe our time here is almost up! Tomorrow is our last day in Segovia and then Sunday we go to Madrid!

Day 18, Thursday, May 5, 2011

Today I learned how to make a Spanish tortilla. Spanish tortilla is more like an omelet than what American's know as a tortilla. A Spanish tortilla includes: potatoes, onion, egg, oil, and salt. It is actually not too difficult to make, except for the part where you have to flip the skillet over and the tortilla goes onto a plate. Olympia, my host family's housekeeper taught me how to make tortilla today at lunch. I will have to attempt it once I get back in the states!

Day 17, Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Not much to report today...

We had our last class this morning and then had a free afternoon. Tomorrow we have our last test! And then we have presentations Friday. Spent most of today studying, although we did take a break for some ice cream, a little walk, and then some café con leche.

Barcelona won the soccer game last night, which made my host mom VERY happy! Cannot believe we have less than a week left before we head home. Friday night we have a farewell dinner with our host mom's and we live for Madrid Sunday morning. Time sure is flying by...

Day 16, Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Today we had a free afternoon. Yesterday, my mom and step-dad arrived in Segovia (they decided to take a trip to Spain, something they have always wanted to do, while I was here). Megan I showed them some of the different sights around Segovia both yesterday and today. We got to share some of the knowledge we have learned about the area and play tour guide! They treated me, Megan, and Caitlin to dinner last night and they also got to meet my host parents (and Kimba)!

Day 15, Monday, May 2, 2011

Today we went on an excursion to La Catedral which is the final of the three major sites in Segovia (The Aquaduct, El Alcazar, and La Catedral). The Catedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic church built between 1525-1577 by mason Juan Gil de Hontañón and the work was then continued by his son Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón. The Catedral was built to replace a church that was in front of the Alcazar but was destroyed during the Revolt of the Comuneros. The Cathedral was built in La Plaza Mayor, not in front of the Alcazar because the king did not want the new church to be destroyed during some other war (wars used to be fought from the towers of castles, such as that of the Alcazar).

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the Cathedral but I have included some photos of the exterior. It is an absolutely beautiful church. The inside is just amazing! The are a bunch of small chapels along all four walls with intricate and amazing altars and sculptures. Families could rent these out to use personally. The main altar is also beautiful as is the stained glass windows and the several organs inside of the building.

Day 14, Sunday, May 1, 2011

Today we hiked up La Sierra de Guadaramma, which is a mountain range near Segovia. It was about a 3 hour hike in all. We all made it up and down with no major problems! There were AMAZING views from the top of the amount, especially of La Granja! Enjoy the pictures!

Day 13- Saturday, April 30, 2011

Today we went to La Granja which is a town about 6 kilometers from Segovia.

In La Granja we visited a glassblowing museum that has been blowing class for hundreds of years. We got to see how the original glassblowers made items and the different materials and machines they used. We also go to watch some modern day glassblowers make different items!

We then went to the Royal Palace of La Granja which was so beautiful! This palace was far more ornate than El Escorial. It was so beautiful on the inside, again no pictures were allowed. Frescos covered the ceilings, painting were everywhere. It was very colorful inside, with amazing woodwork and curtains. The cathedral was absolutely beautiful and spectacular!

The gardens were absolutely breathtaking! There were fountains everywhere and the king and queen's bed, Phillip V actually preferred to share a room with his wife, overlooked the gardens! I would not mind waking up to that view at all!

The Palace was built by Phillip V in the 18th century. This palace was used in the fall while El Escorial was used in the winter by kings.

La Granja is my favorite palace we have seen so far!

Day12- Friday, April 29, 2011

Today we went to El Escorial.

El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which is a bout 20 minutes northwest of Madrid. It is one of Spain's royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school.

Phillip II commissioned Juan Bautista de Toledo to design El Escorial with him in the 16th century. Phillip II ended up spending a good deal of his time here, although unfortunately his wide died before she was ever able to live in the palace. His daughter ended up residing in the "queen's quarters" of the house. In these times kings and queens did not sleep in the same room or bed at night. In fact, they had their own complete living quarters!

El Escorial is not only a palace, but is also a school and monastery. Additionally there is an AMAZING basilica/cathedral inside the palace with the most amazing altar. The central part of the palace is the living quarters and cathedral, to the left is the school (which still functions today) and to the right is the monastery (which likewise still operates at present).






My favorite thing at El Escorial however, and in all of Spain so far, is the Pantheon. This is below the the altar in the basillica/cathedral and is were all but two of Spain's rulers since Phillip II and their wive's and in one case a queen and her husband, are buried. There are these giant like decorative caskets/tombs that line the walls and inside are the bones and ashes of the rulers and their wives/husbands. There are two "Rotting Rooms" downstairs as well. When a king dies, the body is kept in the rotting room for about 60 years until all that is left is ash and bone. Then the ash and bone is placed in a box that is placed inside of the decorative casket/tomb. There are currently 3 bodies in the rotting room. The wife of a ruler who is already buried, and Spain's last king, or who would have been king and his wife, has Franco not come along. You can't smell anything though! One body has been in there for over 30 years! The other two for 15 and 10 years!

Unfortunately you were not allowed to take pictures inside El Escorial, but I do have outside pictures and one shot of the basilica/cathedral that I got before they told us no cameras!

Day 11- Thursday, April 28, 2011

I have been so bad about updating the blog this weekend! ¡Lo siento! We had a very busy and tiring, but also fabulous weekend!

Today we visited the Jewish sector of town, la Judería de Segovia. We went to the Jewish cemetery as well. They use to bury them in caves and dig out graves in the rocks. They have only unexcavated a tiny bit of the area, but I did get some photos of the exposed caves and rocks where bodies were buried.

Then it was home to study for our big test on Friday!

A puppet festival is coming to Segovia in a couple of weeks as it does every year. They put up this carousel along with a bunch of stands for art shops in preparation of the festival. The carousel is soooo crazy! Totally different than the kind we have in the states! Enjoy the photos!

The cemetery is up on this big hill that is covered in pine trees!

This is an example of a grave...

The view of Segovia from the cemetery

There were a TON of caves in the Jewish cemetery. They have only excavated a small portion of the hill, so it is unknown how many graves and hills there may actually be!

Great view of The Alcazar from the cemetery!

The AMAZING carousel, check out the creatures/things that the children ride on! It's not just horses, in fact there aren't any horses at all!