British Adventure Part 1

My trip to Britain got off to a bumpy start. Due to storms in Madrid and London, my flight came in about two hours late, and I didn't get to Hatfield until about 1:00 AM. I was glad to find Tim at the train station, and the two of us went home and crashed. The next morning, we got up and Tim made me a full English breakfast, which turns out to be almost exactly like breakfast at IHOP. Yum.

After Tim got back from class, we had some tea and crumpets and took a bus over to St. Albans, a nearby town. It's a cute little place, full of half-timbered buildings and a nice clock tower. We visited the St. Albans museum, where I learned about everyday English life from Medieval times up to today. We then headed over to the cathedral, which was really pretty spectacular, even as cathedrals go. I especially liked how it was situated on its own grounds instead of surrounded by other buildings; it made it seem even bigger than it was. Near the cathedral, one finds Verulamium Park, so named for the Roman city that used to be there. You can still see a bit of the walls, but it started raining pretty hard, so we didn't explore too much.

To get out of the rain, we stopped into Ye Olde Fighting Cocks Inn, which holds the Guinness World Record for oldest pub in England. Whether it's the oldest or not, it is a very nice place: low, cozy ceilings, a crackling fire, and lots of comical artwork on the walls. Tim got a Guinness and we sat for quite a while just enjoying the atmosphere and the dryness. When we left the pub, we decided to go home, although I did do a bit of Christmas shopping before we took the bus back.

Something odd about Britain: the sun sets at 3:45! Ugh!! I don't know why anyone decided it was a good place to settle, but I couldn't live with so little sunlight.

The next day, we got up early and headed to the train station, only to find that we would save a ton of money if we waited an hour and a half to go. British train schedules are funny that way. So, while we waited, we wandered around Old Hatfield. We found out that apparently Elizabeth I was living there when she found out she would be queen, and that's kind of neat. We also found a pretty church with an old churchyard. It was a little sad; people used to die really young.

When we got to Oxford, it was just about lunchtime, so we stopped at a park by the river and ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies! :-)

Oxford is absolutely gorgeous. I would love to go to school there (provided their sunset was later than 3:45). The town seems to be composed of about 45% colleges and 45% churches, with a few markets and pubs sprinkled in. First we wandered around town, admiring the "dreaming spires" it's famous for, and then we headed over to Christ Church college and cathedral. The cathedral was nice, but I'll admit that my favorite part was, as per usual, the grounds. Lovely grass. Just lovely. Also, we learned that many scenes from Harry Potter were shot in the college (yay Harry Potter!), and that Lewis Carroll worked there (Alice was the Dean's daughter).

After we got tired of looking at colleges, Tim and I grabbed a Cornish pasty (pronounced PAST ee, not PASTE ee, like what I thought). I do not understand why people think British food is bad. It was delicious.

As we were walking down a road, Tim noticed a giant sign that said STEAMPUNK. This was fortuitous. The Oxford science museum was housing the first-ever Steampunk Art exhibit, which was probably the coolest thing I saw in Oxford. For those of you who don't know, Steampunk is a cultural movement that adds a Victorian twist to futuristic technology. In art, this means some very interesting combinations.

The last stop on our agenda was the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford's art museum. They had quite a lot of neat Egyptian art, including all four layers of a mummy/sarcophagus. We walked around until we were too tired to think about any more art, and then headed home on the train. It was an excellent day.

Cordoba

On Saturday afternoon, I took a bus from Granada to Cordoba, with the objective of seeing the grand Mezquita. Upon my arrival, I was struck by two things: first, Cordoba is very compact, and second, everything in Cordoba seems to be under construction. It's like Spain is trying to create jobs or something. I didn't do much sight seeing, as it was already dark, but I did get some dinner and headed to bed early so I could get up at the crack of dawn.

In the morning, I was greeted with rain. And not just rain. A driving, Noah's ark, Tapico-style inundation.

Now, the rain wasn't all bad. Some positives:
1. I got to see some gargoyles doing their job.
2. Free food! Cordoba is absolutely filled with orange trees, and the rain was heavy enough to knock off some of the ripe ones, which I pocketed and ate with lunch. Yum.
3. My shoes got a bath.

Determined to still see the city, I went ahead and slogged over to the Alcazar of the Christian Kings, which turned out to be pretty cool. They had a large collection of Roman mosaics, as well as more Arabic baths and a small dungeon.

After that visit, I went to the Mezquita-Catedral to hear Mass, which put everything in perspective. It was the first Sunday of Advent, so the cathedral was decked out in purple, and just splendid. I could finally understand everything the priest was saying, and he gave a nice sermon about how we should let the weather remind us to stay awake and always be watching out for the ways God touches our lives. He also told us not to be concerned with the little petty problems of this world, like the rain, since they don't matter in the scheme of things. And he was right - who cares about the rain when I'm SO LUCKY to get to be here at all?

The old Mezquita part of the cathedral is amazing as well. I knew there were arches, but I didn't realize there would be so many; it is a veritable forest in there! I can't wait to get the pictures unstuck from my camera's internal memory so I can show you.

After Mass, the rain had mostly subsided, so I made a quick jaunt to some of the city's historical attractions: a Roman temple and bridge and some really old water mills, which were pretty neat. I didn't have a whole lot of time, though, before I had to get on the bus for the long ride home.

Good weekend.

Toledo

Today our Spanish Civilization class took a trip to Toledo, home of mazapan (marzipan) and Spanish steel. When we arrived, we first took in a beautiful view of the city from across the Tajo river. We crossed a Roman bridge into the city, where we began our exciting learning adventure.

Now, I really do like history, and I really do like Carlos. But our trip was an awful lot of both. We visited el Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, which was quite beautiful, and learned about the different crests of Spain (pre-Reyes Catolicos, post-Reyes Catolicos). Next we headed over to a converted synagogue. This was actually interesting because the Catholics did a really abysmal job of redecorating when they moved in. You can see a clear division between the original synagogue and the new Catholic altar.

From there, we visited the door of la Posada de la Hermandad. Let me show you how enthralling it was to sit and listen to Carlos talk outside the door of la Posada de la Hermandad.



At least Antonio looks happy.

We then had some free time, which my friends and I used to go see the Alcazar. It was pretty sweet, and on the way we went shopping to find mazapan (marzipan) and swords! I didn't try the marzipan, but I did have an interesting discussion about knives with the owner of one of the sword shops.

Weirdest happening of the day: after free time, Antonio was excited about a "treat" he bought for us. It turned out to be Eucharist bread. I did not eat any. I just don't think that it belongs out of church, and it's not exactly a tasty snack. However, it did seem to represent rather well the way the Spaniards feel about religion. Hardly anybody really practices anymore, but it's a strong part of the country's collective memory.

La Ruta de los Castillos

Yesterday, our Civilizacion y Cultura class went to see two Spanish castles. We left at 9:00 am on a bus and set off for Manzanares el Real, a tiny town in the mountains with a large medieval castle. The countryside reminded me of Scotland; it even had heather on the hills!


As we pulled up to the castle, a huge arco iris (rainbow) appeared in the sky and didn't go away until after we left over an hour later. It was magical!

After spending a little time wandering around the outside of the castle, we went inside, where we saw old tapestries, suits of armor, and a giant "king sized" bed. However, it was never a royal castle; only lesser nobility lived there. After a tour of the inside, we climbed up to the roof, where we had a great close-up view of the towers. It was also cool to see the slits used to shoot arrows and the holes that allowed boiling oil to be poured on intruders.

Bidding the rainbow goodbye, we climbed back on the bus and set off for Segovia. When we arrived, we saw the giant Roman Aqueduct, which was built 2000 years ago. The aqueduct was absolutely mind-blowing. This structure is immense, and it is held together entirely by the force of gravity - not an ounce of mortar was used. The stones were leveled and balanced perfectly in an amazing feat of engineering.

After the aqueduct, we split up for lunch. Mark and I went into a pastry shop to grab something to eat, but when we came out everyone else had left. That turned out to be okay, though, as we had a good time wandering around the small city's narrow streets, pretty parks, and old churches. We also saw the Cathedral, which is a bit busy but still very beautiful.

When we met up with everyone in the Plaza Mayor, it was time to head over to the Alcazar (fortified palace). This palace dates from the Reconquista and was home to Ferdinand and Isabel, los Reyes Catolicos. It also served as inspiration for the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty! It was cool to wander around the inside and see the thrones, weapons, armor, and tapestries from the Middle Ages. In the Sala de los Reyes, there were about 50 statues of all the Catholic Kings during the Reconquista up to Juana la Loca, the mother of Carlos V.

However, the best treat was still to come. We climbed the 156 winding steps to the top of the main tower for a fantastic view of Segovia and the surrounding countryside. Up there, we noticed graffiti from 1936, the year of the Spanish Civil War. I kept moving from one side to the other, as all the views were equally beautiful. No one really wanted to go down, but eventually we had to get back on the bus to Alcala. All in all, it was another great trip.

Cuenca

Yesterday our art history class took a trip to Cuenca, a small mountain town with a neat modern art museum. The museum is inside las Casas Colgadas, some of the world's first "skyscrapers." The buildings are up to 10 or 11 stories tall and built right into the side of a cliff, so that they appear to be hanging (colgada) over the edge. Since it's on a cliff, though, we got to hike up a small mountain to get there.

The museum was very cool, with lots of examples of modern art from various Spanish painters. The guide was really nice, too, and she actually got me to understand some of the art! Amazing, since I usually think that modern art looks like something that happened by accident. There was also an interesting exhibit about the human retina and colored light. Each white room was lit with an intense color. The color is shocking at first, but after a couple of minutes, the walls appear white again, until you go to the next color.

Ashley and I spent our lunch break exploring the town (all two roads) and eating the BIGGEST bocadillos in the world! Mmmmm...

I want to live in Cuenca when I retire. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous. Since it was fall, the trees had all turned a beautiful golden color. The town is flanked by a pair of rivers, the buildings are all old and traditionally Spanish, and there's a great view of everything because it's so high up. I love it!

After the break, we toured Cuenca's cathedral, which is decorated in a very eclectic mix of Gotico, Barroco, and Plataresco styles. It was pretty, and the stained glass was phenomenal. After the visit, though, it was time to get back on the bus. Hasta luego, Cuenca! I'll see you when I'm old!

Gardens and Cathedrals

The rest of my weekend was a little slower than the first half, but just as enjoyable. On Saturday I went to the botanical gardens across the street to walk around and read a book. It wasn't like botanical gardens in America; there was only one of most types of plants, and there weren't many flowers, just lots of bushes. However, it was still pretty in its own way, and very peaceful. I was there for 3 hours before I saw another human being. Plus, there was a raised platform that offered a great view of the mountains.

Sunday morning, I went to mass with my friend Joseph in Madrid's cathedral. It was strange hearing the service in Spanish, especially since there was no printed version of any of the hymns or readings. The whole mass was lovely, though, especially with the spectacular backdrop of the Gothic arches and stained glass windows.

After mass, Joseph and I grabbed a bite to eat at a cafe (goat cheese and tomatoes on toast, mmmmmmmm) and walked around the city for a bit. We checked out el Parque de Retiro, Madrid's giant public park (it's bigger than Central Park). I LOVE it there! The lake, the trees, the architecture; everything was beautiful. It also had a nice, relaxed atmosphere. There were people sleeping and picnicking in the grass, children playing futbol, and several groups of musicians giving free performances. All in all, it was a great day.