Week Two: Travel

On January 21^st, our group took its first trip together to Segovia, Spain. We loaded onto a small tour bus and, with our guide Antonio, drove about two hours until we reached our final destination. I knew virtually nothing about what we were about to see, nor how incredible it would be, and was overjoyed to learn of how beautiful Segovia is and what we were able to see. Our first stop was the Segovia aqueduct. I honestly never thought an aqueduct would interest me, but the structure was absolutely incredible. The town was quaint and at one point came to a large open space that met the gigantic aqueduct. The weather, although beyond freezing, was beautiful as the skies were perfectly blue, and the contrast of the sun and the blue sky on the centuries-old structure was amazing. We went on to see the Catedral de Segovia and also the Alcazar Castle. The group climbed the tower of the castle and came out on top of the roof for a beautiful view. We learned of the history of the kings and queens and saw how they lived. The cathedral was also so beautiful and ornate, and the ceilings were soaring. Naturally, I was secretly identifying various elements of the cathedral that made it gothic, like the pointed arches, stained glass windows, groin vaults, etc that I have learned in my days of studying Humanities. What makes these structures so incredible is the amount of history that they have and the fact that they are so architecturally profound. I have lived here for just two weeks and have been able to see beautiful structures in El Escorial and Segovia, visit museums such as the Prado where I saw Las Meninas, The 3^rd of May, and Garden of Earthly Delights, and take a stroll through Retiro Park. There is so much to do here and I am lucky to have about nine more weeks here in Spain to soak it up. On another note, Abby and I have discovered a new favorite of ours: ARROZ CON LECHE. Each time Andrea feeds us this incredible dessert, we literally dance with joy. It is essentially whole pieces of cooked rice in milk (yes, the kind that we drink that isn’t always refrigerated and expires months later) with cinnamon. Much more appetizing than it sounds. AND one more thing, my brother NEXT WEEK! Heaven!

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