Exams and Excursions

As someone brought to my attention the other day, I've let this blog go for awhile. Honestly, it's because nothing interesting has really happened. I'm just going to classes, eating lunch, taking long siestas or surfing the web during the afternoons, then spending time with friends in the evenings. This week marks the end of the month long intensive program, meaning finals are tomorrow and Wednesday. That's going to be a huge ball of fun, but I'm not too worried about it. Next week my literature class starts. I'm a little worried, I've never taken a lit course in Spanish before, but I really miss the lit courses at CC so this should be a nice compromise. :)

I did finally do something exciting and worth writing about Saturday. I finally got to go on an excursion! Some advice to any CC students who may be reading this and thinking of coming to Salamanca, memorize the International Office's hours and show up a week early to buy your tickets, otherwise they'll either be closed or sold out. This excursion was to Segovia and La Granja. Segovia is best known for the roman aqueduct that runs through part of the town, as seen here:

There's also a beautiful cathedral:

And a pretty awesome palace:

Segovia was absolutely beautiful! Something I've noticed about the few places I've been to in Spain is that there's a lot of buildings crammed together in a small space, but it's not overwhelming like some places--New York, for instance--because there are also a lot of small parks. The cities are nice, and I really appreciate the different architectural styles, but the parks are my favorite parts. They're all so peaceful, and each one is completely different and unique.

While in Segovia we saw the aqueduct, the cathedral, the palace, La Plaza Mayor, and a few other things. We also had some free time to explore whatever part of the city we wanted to. My friend and I discovered a small stairway close to the palace that seemed to lead to the outside of the wall surrounding this part of the city. We decided to go down and explore, and I was convinced I was going to die.

For those of you who know how terrified of heights I am, and how chronically clumsy I am, you understand why this was so scary for me. For those of you who may not know that about me, just take my word for it. But the view from that side of the wall was beautiful and totally worth it. I couldn't get any good pictures because of all the trees, but it was definitely something I'll never forget! At the end of our free time we met everyone back at the aqueduct and made our way to La Granja. This is a small town about 20-30 minutes away from Segovia. We didn't have much time there; all we got to do was check out the church and the palace, but both were so beautiful!

We had to go on a guided tour of this palace, which wasn't quite as fun as when our personal tour guide from the university showed us stuff, but it was still beautiful and totally worth it. I just wish they had let us take photos so I could show you the elaborate paintings on the ceilings and the most beautiful sculptures I've ever seen! Once the tour was over we had a few minutes to explore the front part of the private gardens.

That's pretty much the extent of my exciting adventure. This week I plan on having my nose in my notes so I can pass these exams, but you can expect another update this weekend. I'm going to visit a friend in Madrid and he's going to give me the grand tour over the course of two days. I can't even begin to articulate how excited I am! I'm not sure what I'm more excited about: the palace, the park, the library, the southern food that his mom is gonna make me cause I'm slightly homesick, or the fact that I'll actually have someone to banter with face to face! It should be interesting, so I'll keep y'all updated!