Alright, so Manda requested that I write about what I did yesterday. Yesterday I had class at 9am so I woke up at 8:40 to eat breakfast and get ready. Then I went to a class then went home. Then I went to class at 12 and then came home after that. I had lunch and it was soup and then some meat and fruit for dessert. After lunch I went to my room, watched Mulan and did homework and then I went to bed. Oh, and I talked to Mia for a little bit. That would be all that I did.
Are you happy with that Manda?? :)
love you all!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
MADRID!!!
TODAY!
Today we woke up, had an awesome breakfast at the hotel, and then left right away to walk around a bit and then go to the Reina Sofia, which is a very famous museum. I got to see many paintings by Picasso, and I thought that this was so cool because he is one of my favorite artists. On the floor that we were on, we got to see the progression of modern art which was really cool seeing how things slowly changed over time. It was so amazing to be in the same room as Guernica (one of the most famous paintings of Picasso). It was so big and so detailed and it was amazing to see the brush strokes and everything in it! I loved it!!! After the museum, we went to a pizza place called Pinocchio's Pizza and there was a ton of really good food. We got to shop after that during our free time and while I still had the opportunity, I got Starbucks. I miss Caribou!
Anyways, I am now at my house in good ol' Segovia, and I am happy to be out of Madrid. There are way too many people in those crowded little streets and I felt like a sardine. And I saw a woman trying to pickpocket people in the clothing stores and stuff. It was very interesting. Now I have to do homework and eat! LOVE YOU ALL!!!
9.17.2011
Today was the first day of 2 in Madrid. Today we got on the bus to Madrid at 8 so i had to wake up at 6 and be at the bus station by 7:40. Right after we got to Madrid, we came to the hotel but we couldn't check-in yet because check-out for the other people wasn't until noon. So, we went to the center of Madrid and walked around a bit to get to know the city.
We had lunch after that, and then we went to a museum called "Museo Nacional del Prado" to look at paintings by Rafael, Tiziano, Goya, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Greco, and a bunch of other famous artists. It was really cool, but I like modern art more. After the museum we got to shop and get dinner. I, of course, got McDonald's because I could. I missed those fries so much!!! AND I didn't buy ANYTHING! Yet. Then most of us came back to the hotel and got our rooms. They are so nice! My Bethel tuition if finally paying off a little! :)
Everyone is so tired from waking up early and then walking around all day and my feet and ankle hurt really bad but hopefully that will go away by tomorrow! We'll see what tomorrow brings!
Phew! Two days worth of info in one! I miss you all! love ya mom, dad, andrea, amanda, and mike!
Today we woke up, had an awesome breakfast at the hotel, and then left right away to walk around a bit and then go to the Reina Sofia, which is a very famous museum. I got to see many paintings by Picasso, and I thought that this was so cool because he is one of my favorite artists. On the floor that we were on, we got to see the progression of modern art which was really cool seeing how things slowly changed over time. It was so amazing to be in the same room as Guernica (one of the most famous paintings of Picasso). It was so big and so detailed and it was amazing to see the brush strokes and everything in it! I loved it!!! After the museum, we went to a pizza place called Pinocchio's Pizza and there was a ton of really good food. We got to shop after that during our free time and while I still had the opportunity, I got Starbucks. I miss Caribou!
9.17.2011
Today was the first day of 2 in Madrid. Today we got on the bus to Madrid at 8 so i had to wake up at 6 and be at the bus station by 7:40. Right after we got to Madrid, we came to the hotel but we couldn't check-in yet because check-out for the other people wasn't until noon. So, we went to the center of Madrid and walked around a bit to get to know the city.
We had lunch after that, and then we went to a museum called "Museo Nacional del Prado" to look at paintings by Rafael, Tiziano, Goya, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Greco, and a bunch of other famous artists. It was really cool, but I like modern art more. After the museum we got to shop and get dinner. I, of course, got McDonald's because I could. I missed those fries so much!!! AND I didn't buy ANYTHING! Yet. Then most of us came back to the hotel and got our rooms. They are so nice! My Bethel tuition if finally paying off a little! :)
Everyone is so tired from waking up early and then walking around all day and my feet and ankle hurt really bad but hopefully that will go away by tomorrow! We'll see what tomorrow brings!
Phew! Two days worth of info in one! I miss you all! love ya mom, dad, andrea, amanda, and mike!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Una cruz, El Escorial, y Valle de los Caidos
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while! I can't believe I have already been here for two weeks!!! Basically my week has consisted of wandering the city, doing homework, dancing, and more homework. I really haven't done anything worth mentioning this week, except for today. We went on our first "excursion" to El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos which are really close to Madrid. El Escorial was the first place we went and it was so cool! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside which I thought was stupid, but I followed the rules unfortunately.
Here is some of the outside of it:
To the left of this picture is the entrance to a school for children, and to the right of this is the entrance to the Monastery:
This is the side that has the Monastery:
El Escorial is a palace, bacilica, and Augustinian monastery. The bacilica is so pretty! I walked in and it really looks a lot like Westminster Abbey when Will and Kate got married. It was so beautiful! AND! the good news is that they have weddings there for the cheap price of about 2,000 Euros. We actually saw a wedding there today, not the actual wedding but after when they were taking pictures in front. We got to go inside about an hour before the wedding and it was so pretty. I loved it. The ceilings were all hand painted by Cambiasso and Giordano and they were so cool! I can't imagine being on scaffolding and looking straight up to paint, and doing it well. The palace portion of it has not been used in many years and is now a museum basically. The only thing that I really thought was interesting was a room that has all of the coffins of the Kings and Queens because they have two requirements you have to meet to be in this room if you are a woman. First, you have to have been married to the King that is ruling, and second is that you have to have had an heir to the throne. I thought that their rules were interesting because many of the Kings had multiple wives but for all of them, only one wife was in this room because there is only one heir basically. Anyway, there was one King and Queen that basically had their roles reversed. Queen Isabel (Elisabeth) II was the ruler and her husband was not. So, in this room with all of the coffins and stuff, they have her with all of the men who were Kings, and him with all of the Queens. We were told that people suspected that he was gay because he was very feminine, and wouldn't "have sexual relations" with Queen Isabel. But, they both had other people they went to for that..........
On a different note... we went to Valle de los Caidos (translates to Valley of the Fallen), which is the HUGE cross that is near Madrid.
It is as tall as 1.5 football fields if they were standing up. We didn't get to get close to it today but we got to see the "church" that is literally inside the mountain right under the cross. I put church in quotations because this was a place that Fransisco Franco ordered people to build, and was later buried there along with Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Every year on the day that Fransisco Franco died (October 20th) people would gather at this "church" to celebrate his life and basically worship him. There was a law passed that makes this illegal now, but people still go there to pray to him and such. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside again which really annoyed me. It was beautiful, but really intimidating because all of the sculptures were of archangels, but they were really dark and creepy basically. There wasn't really any sign of warmth in there which was odd to me. But, the one thing I thought of that I couldn't stop thinking about was that this would be the perfect place to sing with a choir! The acoustics were AMAZING!! Valle de los Caidos also happens to be a Benedictine Monastery so they are basically the choir that sings there during the Sunday church service. It was really cool to learn about and to go see, but I don't think I would want to go back to the "church" because it was so creepy. I really hope we get to go back and climb all the stairs to the cross though because that would be amazing to see up close. It is so cool to see, even at a distance. I'm really excited for this week because we get to go to Madrid for the weekend and I can't wait. I am really hoping for a McDonalds over there cause I need some fast food. HA! Who knew I would miss that!
Anyways, I can't wait to get my package of food from my momma! I miss you all and you better get skype so we can talk! Love you!
Here is some of the outside of it:
To the left of this picture is the entrance to a school for children, and to the right of this is the entrance to the Monastery:
El Escorial is a palace, bacilica, and Augustinian monastery. The bacilica is so pretty! I walked in and it really looks a lot like Westminster Abbey when Will and Kate got married. It was so beautiful! AND! the good news is that they have weddings there for the cheap price of about 2,000 Euros. We actually saw a wedding there today, not the actual wedding but after when they were taking pictures in front. We got to go inside about an hour before the wedding and it was so pretty. I loved it. The ceilings were all hand painted by Cambiasso and Giordano and they were so cool! I can't imagine being on scaffolding and looking straight up to paint, and doing it well. The palace portion of it has not been used in many years and is now a museum basically. The only thing that I really thought was interesting was a room that has all of the coffins of the Kings and Queens because they have two requirements you have to meet to be in this room if you are a woman. First, you have to have been married to the King that is ruling, and second is that you have to have had an heir to the throne. I thought that their rules were interesting because many of the Kings had multiple wives but for all of them, only one wife was in this room because there is only one heir basically. Anyway, there was one King and Queen that basically had their roles reversed. Queen Isabel (Elisabeth) II was the ruler and her husband was not. So, in this room with all of the coffins and stuff, they have her with all of the men who were Kings, and him with all of the Queens. We were told that people suspected that he was gay because he was very feminine, and wouldn't "have sexual relations" with Queen Isabel. But, they both had other people they went to for that..........
On a different note... we went to Valle de los Caidos (translates to Valley of the Fallen), which is the HUGE cross that is near Madrid.
It is as tall as 1.5 football fields if they were standing up. We didn't get to get close to it today but we got to see the "church" that is literally inside the mountain right under the cross. I put church in quotations because this was a place that Fransisco Franco ordered people to build, and was later buried there along with Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Every year on the day that Fransisco Franco died (October 20th) people would gather at this "church" to celebrate his life and basically worship him. There was a law passed that makes this illegal now, but people still go there to pray to him and such. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside again which really annoyed me. It was beautiful, but really intimidating because all of the sculptures were of archangels, but they were really dark and creepy basically. There wasn't really any sign of warmth in there which was odd to me. But, the one thing I thought of that I couldn't stop thinking about was that this would be the perfect place to sing with a choir! The acoustics were AMAZING!! Valle de los Caidos also happens to be a Benedictine Monastery so they are basically the choir that sings there during the Sunday church service. It was really cool to learn about and to go see, but I don't think I would want to go back to the "church" because it was so creepy. I really hope we get to go back and climb all the stairs to the cross though because that would be amazing to see up close. It is so cool to see, even at a distance. I'm really excited for this week because we get to go to Madrid for the weekend and I can't wait. I am really hoping for a McDonalds over there cause I need some fast food. HA! Who knew I would miss that!
Anyways, I can't wait to get my package of food from my momma! I miss you all and you better get skype so we can talk! Love you!
Friday, September 2, 2011
food, cafes, more food, and more cafes
HOLA!
So, I have been in Spain almost a week and it has been so much fun! I have been going cafes almost everyday and their coffee is so good! On Tuesday, the whole group went to Alcazar and got to take a tour of it. It is one of the castles that Disney got their design for the castle in the beginning of all of their movies.
It was so much fun. We walked up the center tower which for everyone was a struggle because there were 165+ stairs and they were about 1.5 times the size of normal stairs (in the second picture it is the tower that is the farthest to the left). Everyone was out of breath by the time we got to the top but the hard work was so worth it for the view that we got of Segovia and the landscape. It was gorgeous!
this is the Catedral from the top of Alcazar:
After that we just walked around the city and shopped a little bit.. You guys would be proud of me, I haven't even spent 100 doll hairs yet. Yesterday, I didn't have class but I woke up early and a bunch of us went to the mercado to shop. They only have it in La Plaza Mayor and it is only on Thursday mornings (and by morning I mean 10 until 2). It interesting seeing what everyone was selling and how cheap everything was. I got a really cute shirt there and a necklace. After that I went to a cafe with a bunch of girls from one of my classes and we did our homework there. It is such a different atmosphere here than in the US and I love it! Right as we were leaving, there was a big group of protesters that walked by chanting and drumming. They were protesting an amendment of their constitution I believe. It was pretty interesting and much more civilized and organized than I would have thought. That is basically all I have been up to lately. But I can't wait to travel around and learn more about the country.
Also, my family has 3 cats and the one that reminds me most of Bosco is named Bruno. He is adorable. Except, I am pretty sure that I am allergic to cats. YAY! This is Bruno :)
I hope all is going well at home! I miss you all! Love you!
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