Back when I was a junior in high school (I know, it was
so long ago haha) I had the amazing opportunity to go on a trip to Spain with some of the upper level Spanish classes at my school - Prairie High School. During our spring break we went on a ten day adventure through a good portion of Spain: Madrid, Salamanca, La Alberca, Avila, Segovia, Seville, Granada, Barcelona and finally Costa Brava. Below is a map of Spain to help visualize all the places we went.
How did we do this? By starting the moment we got off the airplane and hopped on a tour bus that took us through Madrid. As you can imagine we were all pretty tired from the 8.5 hour flight from Chicago (in addition to the 4 hour bus ride to get to Chicago), so we weren't all that excited about being on yet another bus. Nonetheless it was a great start to our journey. Right away we were immersed in the culture and history of Spain, starting of course with Christopher Columbus and Miguel de Cervantes, author of
Don Quixote. Below is a picture of a monument in de Cervantes' honor, with a statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza... with a few tag-along students.
During that first day we also learned that in most major Spanish cities there is a statue of Christopher Columbus, or Crisobal Colon in Spanish, that is always pointing west to the New World. A helpful hint if we ever got turned around in the city. Our second day in Madrid found us in the expansive museum El Prado which is home to some of Velazquez's famous paintings and many other beautiful works of art. Unfortunately we could not spend much time in El Prado because we had to head out to Salamanca, which is through the mountains by bus.
Salamanca is home to one of Spain's biggest universities, and has some of the most beautiful old buildings and cathedrals. I loved walking down the cobble stone streets, where the buildings seem to crowd you from both sides; then all of a sudden, you turn a corner and looming above all the other buildings around it is an old cathedral with its spires and bell tower that seem to touch the sky.
One of the many places we walked by was the House of Shells, which as you can guess had shells on the outer walls. The immense detail that many of these cathedrals and monasteries had was incredible, and we hadn't even gone inside yet! Inside these buildings were even more elaborate decorations, many of them made with gold. This picture of a doorway demonstrates just how much detail goes into these "works of art."
And it even has a modern addition from a reconstruction phase...
I still can't quite figure out why this next photo intrigues me so much. It's not one of my best shots, but it reminds me of the natural beauty and history of this place, definitely a much older history than we find anywhere in Iowa.
One of the other great things about Spain is that in most major cities, they have plazas where there are shops, tables and chairs, fountains, a place for people to gather. They are a great place to sit back and just enjoy life, to watch other people come and go, often in too much of a hurry. Speaking of being in a hurry, already we must move on to the next town: La Ablerca, a much smaller town than any we've been to yet.
The entrance to this town is guarded by a very old statue with Jesus on the cross at the top. I remember in this place the buildings really did lean in toward the tiny streets, and there were a few blocks that smelled very strongly of the butcher shops they contained.
But one of my favorites, was this seemingly forgotten water trough located on the edge of town, away from all the bustle of the town center with all its shops.
On the fifth day of our journey, we went to 2 towns: Avila and Segovia. In Avila we got to see our first real castle! It looked like any castle I had imagined, with high walls and places for archers to shoot from. From this particular castle, you could look out onto a green valley with snow capped mountains in the distance. Aside from all the grandiose features, I loved the small alleyways and tight corners where buildings nearly touched, like this one:
Once we were done exploring Avila, we hopped on a bus and headed over to Segovia, one of my favorite cities (historically speaking). One of the most prominent features of this city in the foothills is the Roman aqueduct that was left behind, one of the only ones still intact today.
It was so amazing to me that this aqueduct has withstood the test of time, and that up until recently was still providing water from the mountainside to the city below. This is when I really started to feel the history of this place, knowing that people from a civilization that I had read about in school had built this huge structure (which was quite the architectural feat) with their own hands..... Wow..... And this was just the start of our tour through Segovia! Jumping ahead a few centuries, we saw some more modern homes and huge cathedrals like this one:
But what Segovia is really famous for, is its castle - Alcazar which was home to many kings of Castile.
Not only is the castle famous for its architecture, it was also home to Queen Isabella of Castile/Leon and King Ferdinand of Aragon who brought about the unity of Spain and also funded Christopher Columbus's voyage to the New World. It was so cool to be in the throne room where these historic people once lived and worked. It makes you wonder if they ever thought about the impact they were making on the world for generations to come.
On day 6 we traveled to Seville, where the influence of the Moors was still very evident. This was also one of my favorite cities, with its diverse architecture and history. For any Star Wars buffs, you might recognize this plaza from one of the newer movies:
Seville was full of beautiful cathedrals,
tall towers with great views from the top (34 stories up),
and the Moorish architecture of the Alcazar of Seville (royal palace):
The incredible detail they put on the interior of their buildings and rooms is amazing!
I also loved the beautiful gardens outside the palace:
This picture is possibly one of my absolute favorites from the trip. It was taken in a section of the town that was set aside for the Jewish people. I just love the white-washed walls and flowers growing from the windowsills.
As we start nearing the end of our journey, we headed to Granada, the furthest south we would go in Spain. Granada is home to La Alhambra, the last stronghold of the Moors and one of the most beautiful places we went to.
While the exterior doesn't look like much, the inside holds many beautiful pools, fountains, intricate designs and great views. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will let the photos do the talking...
One long overnight train ride later (thank goodness I'm a heavy sleeper), we arrived in Barcelona, the last city on our schedule. Since Barcelona is much further north, it does not have the same influences on architecture as Granada or Segovia do. It is home to large, somewhat plain castles like this one...
But it also has some more ornate cathedrals and white-washed buildings like other Spanish cities.
But what is truly Barcelona's claim to fame is the architectural genius of Antoni Gaudi who designed many homes and cathedrals in Barcelona and other Spanish cities. His most famous work, the Sagrada Familia, which is still not completed, is an amazing building. The elements of nature inside, the very ornate and symbolic features woven throughout. I am hoping that when it is completed I will be able to go back and see it in all its glory, for it truly is an amazing piece of art.
Not only did we get to spend our last day on the Mediterranean coast, it also happened to be my 17th birthday (golden birthday since I was born on the 17th). I remember going upstairs to play cards with a couple friends after dinner when we got called downstairs by a fellow classmate. When we came down, I opened the door to a dark room except for a few candles, and a mostly in-key Spanish version of "Happy Birthday". The candles had come from the cake they surprised me with, and it was one of the best birthdays I had ever had. So as we said adios to Spain, we all came home with the knowledge that we had spent 10 wonderful days learning about a new culture, seeing so many amazing sights, and a burning desire to come back again some day.
