El Escorial y Valle de los Caídos

On Saturday we had our rescheduled trip to El Escorial y Valle de los Caídos because we are now going to Paris when we would have gone to these places. We first stopped at this castle for about 30 minutes, which I just realized that I actually don't know anything about. It was cool though because it looked like a castle you would imagine in a movie or something.

Yay for Castles!

Annika and I found the perfect place to sit if you are really cold. You can sit right inside the fireplace. Perfect!

Kiersten and I with the beautiful view behind us:

So excited!

Then we got back on the bus to go to El Escorial. This is where Felipe II would come for his Summer home. He liked the simple style. We had a tour here and I learned that Felipe would be carried in a chair by four men from Madrid to El Escorial because he had a bad leg and it would hurt on a horse or in a carriage. It would take 7 days to walk there. Talk about dedication. He died here and all of the Kings and Queens from Carlos V's family are buried there as well. It was interesting to see.

We had some free time to wander around. We found this pastry shop and I got a palmera because I felt like I couldn't leave Spain without eating one. And it was delicious.

Then we got back on the bus to go to Valle de los Caídos, where Franco is buried. It is super gorgeous and built into this mountain surrounded by beautiful forests.

Right behind me is the opening to the Basilica that Franco had made for him to be buried in. It is really pretty, but at the same time it has a strange and intimidating feeling inside. Definitely worth seeing though.

Always gotta throw in a jumping shot!

Madrid por la tarde

Friday afternoon I went to Madrid with some friends from the group to see some things that I still had on my list that I wanted to visit. Here is me with another view of the Palacio. These are some gardens that are on the side of the palace. I remember visiting them with Jessie.

Leigh and I were trying to walk to El Parque del Oeste, but we actually ended up at Casa de Campo, which was something that we wanted to see, so it all worked out in the end. But here I am on the bridge leading to Casa de Campo, which is another huge park in Madrid.

We figured out how to get to Parque del Oeste and you have to walk up a bunch of steps because it is on a hill that looks out over the city. Also there is El Templo de Debod, which was a gift from the Egyptians, in the middle of the park. It is really pretty and here are Leigh and I at the Temple.

Jeannette, Me, and Leigh with the view of the Palace and Cathedral behind us:

Then we went to La Rodilla, which is a restaurant that Luisa and Leigh's host mom had recommended. I ate the turkey and apple sandwich, which was good.

Then we hit up the delicious pastry shop that they have in Sol. Unfortunately they were out of chocolate croissants, but I got one that they called "glass" and it was really delicious. Not quite up to chocolate status but still one of the best that I've eaten. I will definitely be returning before leaving to get a chocolate one.

We decided to check out La Plaza Mayor and lo and behold we found this gem. Una Feria de Jamón. A ham fair. The Spaniards sure love their ham. This huge tent was filled with different vendors of ham and you could buy a plate to eat with some wine. We didn't buy anything, but I enjoyed seeing so many Spaniards enjoying their favorite delicacy.

Leigh and I in the feria, so excited about jamón!

Then we went to the stake center that is right next to the Temple in Madrid for a stake Halloween dance. The Temple looked beautiful all lit up at night!

Leigh, Jeannette and I dressed up as cats for the dance and we had a great time dancing the night away with the group. It was kind of funny because whenever they played an American song we would all go crazy dancing and everyone else would just watch us, then when they played a Spanish song, everyone else would start to dance and we would attempt to dance slash just watch them dance. It was great fun.

gatos en la estación del tren:

Palacio Real y Churros

On Wednesday after school, we visited El Palacio Real and had a tour inside. Let me just say that it is super gorgeous. No one lives in the Palace anymore, but you could throw some serious parties in there. The rooms are all really ornate and beautiful. Very cool to see.

Here's Abby, Brian, Me, Leigh, Nick and Michelle being excited to visit the Palace:

Me in front of the cathedral that is just opposite of the palace:

The Palace:

Annika and I in front of Casa de Campo, which is some beautiful gardens/a forest next to the Palace:

After the tour, some of us decided to go get some chocolate and churros because we were a little chilly and we knew these would warm us right up :) Delicious as always.

The group outside of Chocolatería San Ginés:

Another fun day and I got to check some more things off of my list!

Barcos y El Rey León

I'm watching the news with Luisa while updating the blog tonight. First of all, let me tell you what happened today. So I woke up at 7:30 to take a shower today before class. After getting out, there was some water on the ground and I didn't really think about it. I cleaned it up and continued to get ready for the day. Then when Lexy got out of the shower, there was water out into the hallway...we didn't know what to do. So we woke up Luisa and were telling her that there is water everywhere. And guess what?! Her floor was covered with water! It was out of control! We were cleaning up water for a while before going to school and her neighbor came to tell us that the water had come through the ceiling of their apartment. How horrible! Luckily another super nice neighbor came and helped us clean up the water. It turns out that the drain was broken in the shower so the water was just staying under the shower and came back up and filled the bathroom, Luisa's room and some of the hallway. It was a super stressful morning and definitely not what I was expecting when I woke up today. But luckily everything has worked out fine and it has been fixed. I'm glad that it wasn't any worse than what happened.

But yesterday, was a super GREAT day! After school and lunch, Lexy and I went to El Parque de Retiro to rent a boat to take out on the lake. It was some of the best 45 minutes. We had some trouble at first getting out of the dock, but we got out and had a great time rowing around and basking in the beauty.

The weather ended up being perfect because there was a nice breeze, but the sun kept us warm.

The ultimate relaxation...

Then the day just kept getting better because we went to see El Rey León in Spanish!!!

Right before we stopped by La Plaza de España, which happens to be one of the first places I went to in Spain with Jessie two years ago. It brought back great memories for me :) There was a market where we got some freshly made roasted sun flower seeds. Super delicious.

I got to sit by Leigh and Carolina for El Rey León. Every time I see this play, I am still just amazed by the costumes and talent of the performers. I loved it in Spanish, although some songs were better in English and some better in Spanish. So much fun overall!

Here are the roasted sunflower seeds. They were a great snack during intermission of the play ;)

The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plains.

Today is a rainy and cold day in Spain. The first that we've had. It's kind of nice because it makes me want to bundle up and read a book or watch a movie...in Spanish of course ;)

Kiersten had found a market with some delicious looking napolitanas de chocolate in it so of course she told me about it and we went after class today to eat them. They were delicious and they were a super deal as well. We got two for 1.50. Score! And they were still kind of warm so that was a double score. Then we had a good time walking in the rain talking about her exciting mission call. Life is good.

Toledo

On Friday we took a day trip to Toledo. I thin it goes down as one of my favorite cities because it's just so pretty and cute. I loved all of the narrow cobble stone streets and it is all up hill or down hill, which just adds a little bit of excitement to your stroll.

Here's Leigh and I at this lookout point that we stopped at. You can see the beautiful city behind us. Toledo used to be the Capital of Spain when the Musulmanes were in control, se we left the new capital to come to the old capital.

The city is pretty much surrounded by this river, Tajo, which makes it even more beautiful.

This was our Tour Guide, Mario. He was great. Super funny and interesting.

Inside of the Cathedral in Toledo: It was cool to see it because we had studied its architecture in our Civilizations class.

Here I am outside the Cathedral:

You can see the narrow streets and the cathedral in the background. Sometimes cars would come so we had to squeeze up against the walls.

Spanish potatoes!

This map of Spain was in the Jewish neighborhood of Toledo. It says "map" in Hebrew.

This is the oldest Synagogue in Toledo and it had a cool Art exhibit inside:

After our tour we all at lunch together at a restaurant that was super delicious. Then we had about an hour and a half of free time. Here's Leigh and I in front of another church in Toledo:

What a beautiful day and view in Toledo!

The view off of the bridge to enter the city:

So excited!

Toledo is also famous for its Marzipan and knives. So I bought some marzipan for the fam back at home to try. The lady at the store said it should last that long, so hopefully it will :) I didn't buy any knives, but I did get a little necklace from this old man that gave me a discount.

Other exciting news...one of my good friends on the group got her mission call last night so we all went over to her house to hear where she is called. She is going to the Los Angeles, California Mission, Spanish Speaking and she will be serving in the Los Angeles Temple Visitor's Center!!! We were all way excited for her, especially because it is Spanish Speaking! Kiersten is going to be such a great missionary and I am super excited for her!

Then later that night some of us went to a discoteca to dance the night away. It was great fun!