Sagunto, Comunidad Autónoma de Valencia

     Buenos Días!

    Ever since we arrived in Valencia we've had a pretty busy schedule— the Spanish life may be more relaxed, but there is always a festival to celebrate or a sight to see. Before I begin, it may be helpful to know that regions in Spain are divided into "comunidades autónomas," rather than "states" like we have in the United States. Spain is comprised of 17 comunidades autónomas and Valencia, the city we live in, is located in the "Comunidad Autónoma de Valencia."

     Since we don't have school on Friday, our TA, Nicole, set up a day trip to Sagunto, a small city on the Mediterranean also located in the Comunidad Autónoma de Valencia, just a short thirty minute train ride from our temporary home. We were all really excited to try out the train system since we've heard it's a great way to travel, and we were not disappointed! The national rail system here in Spain is RENFE, and they specialize in two types of trains, the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) and the general rail. The AVE, which is a very nice, high-speed train system, was originally set up in 1992 to help people travel from Madrid to Sevilla where the World's Fair was held. I hate to go off on a tangent but I find the history of the Spanish rail system to be so cool. For those of you who may not know the history of Spain (I sure didn't before this trip), around 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte convinced the king of Spain, Charles IV, to let him and his army pass through Spain in order to take over Portugal (the Portuguese Navy was too strong for Napoleon to invade from the sea). When Charles IV gave him permission, Napoleon actually invaded Spain and took over, placing his brother Joseph Bonaparte in power. The Spanish rail system was created later that century after the Spanish regained control of the throne, but to prevent future unwanted visitors, they designed the Spanish railroad track to have a different width than that of the French.

Our train station in Valencia

     Back to Sagunto, we arrived around 11 so we had a good portion of the day to explore. The primary attraction in the city are the Roman ruins, primarily the ruins of the Citadel on the top of a hill overlooking the city and the sea. Another attraction is the old Roman theater, which, unfortunately, has been restored and is now used for concerts and plays (it's a little too modern for my taste). Our program director came with us on this trip and recounted the history of this ancient city (built in the fifth century)—it is so crazy to think that we walked where the infamous Hannibal and his armies once invaded (Siege of Saguntum which triggered the Second Punic War). Although it was difficult to tell which parts of the Citadel we were in at the time, the ruins in general were pretty incredible to see and I totally understand why they picked Sagunto to defend their territory...the vantage point is insane!   

 

The restored Roman Theater in Sagunto

Ruins of the Citadel overlooking the Mediterranean 

Enjoying the view!

Sagunto, C.A. de Valencia

     Overall, I really enjoyed our day trip here. It was not as beautiful as Segovia, of course, but I really enjoyed learning all the history behind it!

Segovia, Castile y León

     For those of you who've seen The Princess Diaries, you may think of the Genovia National Anthem upon hearing "Segovia," and I can tell you from personal experience that the city of Segovia is exactly how I would picture the fictional European country of Genovia. About two hours north of Madrid, this colorful city is truly stunning and is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and evergreen trees.

Could this city be any more beautiful?!

      Each year, Segovia plays host to thousands of visitors taking a day off from Madrid. Aside from the cobblestone streets and incredible landscape, this historical city is famous for the Segovia Aqueduct, Alcazar de Segovia, and the Segovia Cathedral, and we were lucky enough to see all three of these amazing landmarks.

     Driving through the winding streets of the city, the first thing you'll notice is the aqueduct—almost 11 miles long, it's hard to miss. Legend has it, a young maid had to walk miles to fill a bucket of water for her master every day, so when she could bear it no longer she called on the devil and offered her soul in exchange for a "solution" before dawn. The maid fainted and was awoken hours later by a lightning bolt which illuminated the sky, showing hundreds of demons working on the aqueduct. When the maiden realized the severity of the pact she had made, she called on God asking him to forgive her and to break the promise. When the first rays of light arrived the following morning, there was still one stone left to be placed, signifying the devil's failure. When the maiden confessed this to a priest in a nearby church, he declared it a miracle and ordered a statue of the Virgin Mary and St. Stephen to be placed in the hole left by the "unplaced" stone. While this legend is truly entertaining, the more common history of the aqueduct is that it was built by the Romans in the first century—first century, how crazy is that! Even more amazing, the aqueduct, which is 93.6 feet high, was constructed without mortar...now that's what I call engineering.

     

     Our second stop was the Catedral de Santa María de Segovia, a stunning Gothic-style Catholic cathedral. Upon entering the cathedral it became clear that it was built in the sixteenth century, before central heating...it was FREEZING inside! I will say that the incredible ceilings and "capillas," or chapels, provided a great distraction from the large goosebumps covering our bodies. The attention to detail in these cathedrals is just incredible, there is not a corner or stone without gold leaf or some sort of etching or engraving.

     From there we made our way to our last stop, the Alcazar de Segovia, or perhaps better known as "Cinderella's Castle" (apparently, Walt Disney was inspired by this incredible fortress and used it to build his model of Cinderella's castle). The Castle is located on top of a hill and is surrounded by two rivers, providing the perfect location for King Ferdinand and Isabella, el Rey y la Reina de Aragon.  The inside of the castle, like the cathedral, was freezing as well, but covered in tapestries which we learned were what retained heat back in the medieval days. It was so interesting to see the inside of a real castle, it was not as ornate or "magical," as I had expected, but then again it was still pretty insane for being built around 1122. I'd have to say my absolute favorite part of the castle, and Segovia as a whole, was the view from the bell tower— but man, good things sure come with a price. What seemed like 30 stories and a million stairs later (warning, these steps are not for the weak-hearted or claustrophobic), we made it to the top, and it was worth every moment of jelly-legs. 

Alcazar de Segovia/"Cinderella's Castle"

View of Segovia from the castle bell tower. The large structure in the center of the city is the cathedral bell tower. 

     If you have a day to spare, I would absolutely recommend a day trip to Segovia. The city is charming and  views could not be any better. If you're there in January I would suggest checking out the shopping as well, there are some really good deals on leather boots!

First stop—Madrid

     I must say, stepping off the plane in a foreign country, alone, is rather daunting. However, boarding this said plane, is even more terrifying. While the rest of my group flew in to the Madrid airport from Atlanta, Georgia, I made the decision to embrace my last few days of winter break (and postpone packing as long as I could, of course) at home in Austin, Texas before heading to Spain for the next five months. The first leg of the trip to New York was a breeze, I had a great book (Kill Shot by Vince Flynn—great way to start a trip abroad), a window seat and a fully charged iPod. The second flight of the trip, however, was slightly less glamorous. This completely full flight was actually composed of almost all study abroad groups— college students from Ohio, Massachusetts and even a group from Pennsylvania. While the majority of these kids had the fortune of sitting together and chatting about the exciting adventures to come, I had the misfortune of the seat everyone fears on a long, six and a half hour flight, the middle seat. To my right I had the typical foreign elder lady speaking to me in a language I couldn't dream of understanding, and to my left I had a long-bearded man who used my shoulder as his pillow to drool on. It took only moments for me to realize it would be a long flight, especially since I realized I had left my iPod on the last flight. 

     We landed in Madrid the following morning and after collecting my bags and spending 45 minutes or so attempting to make my way to the "old" section of the airport, I met up with my group from UGA and we were on our way to the heart of Madrid. Our hotel, 

Tryp Gran Via, could not have been located in a better part of the city—just minutes from la Puerta del Sol, great restaurants and even better nightlife. It was also here that we had our first experience with El Corte Ingles, a seven-story department store with anything and everything you could ever imagine. Also located just steps from our hotel was the largest and nicest McDonald's I've ever encountered, though at night it is more famous for "las prostitutas" who "greet" customers and tourists starting at 11 p.m. Did I mention the nightlife was incredible in Madrid? Promoters line the plazas trying to get you into their bar, "pub" or discoteca offering anything from "una chupita" (a shot), to a bottle of champagne in exchange for your presence—now that is something I could get used to. Coming from a school like UGA, we figured we would hold our own when it comes to Spanish nightlife, but man were we wrong. The saying here is, "En España, volver antes de las 3 no es salir. Es ir a cenar," and it could not be more true. Here, the party does not start until 3 or 4 in the morning and it continues until breakfast around 7 or 8 a.m., es loca.

     Although we were only in Madrid for three days, we had intense walking tours all over the city, averaging about 11 miles per day. We saw the Plaza del Torros, Templo de Debod, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Museo del Prado, Museo Reina Sofía, Plaza Mayor and the Palacio Real de Madrid, just to name a few. In general, Madrid reminds me a lot of Chicago or New York, a bustling city filled with history and excitement, a city I would love to return to in the future. 

Plaza del Torros

Plaza Mayor

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Cervantes Monument

Ayuntamiento de Madrid

Our group in La Plaza Mayor