This past weekend we went on our last group trip...tear...it was a good note to end on. We have grown so close as a group and it will be hard to leave the people I have become such good friends with. The towns we visited were more historic than anything, there wasn't a lot to do so we spend a lot of time just hanging out together and reliving our favorite moments. Our first stop was Salamanca, a city with a huge university and beautiful plaza. Walking into the Plaza Mayor at mid day and seeing hundreds of college students was probably one of my favorite moments. We got ice cream and sat in the plaza for over an hour. There was a big Cathedral of course, but mostly we just walked around. The city had a nice vibe to it. Santiago was our next stop, supposedly St. James is buried in a Cathedral there. Catholics make a pilgrimage to this city to touch a pillar where St. James saw a vision of the Virgin Mary. It was so cool to see pilgrims with big walking sticks coming from so far away and reaching their destination. We attended pilgrim mass in this beautiful church and heard really pretty singing from a tiny little nun. It was an awesome experience. Leon was the last city we visited, honestly no one is really sure why we stopped there. It was a small town with literally nothing to do! There is a church with a lot of stain glass windows that our professor wanted us to see. We had to take a tour lasting two hours in Spanish about the process of stained glass. I have to say it was not my favorite moment in Spain. We got back on the bus the next morning, the bus that we have hated for so long and realized it was our last long ride. We have had so many good/terrible times on that bus. Arriving home in Alcala is always a nice feeling, but this time it was bitter sweet. We knew our last week would be full of finals and soon we would be back in the states. Something we have been waiting for so long but now that its here we are not ready. I want to make the best of my last few days...I will always miss my trips here.
Castle in Coca, a stop on the way home, Oh and the castle was closed and our bus driver needed a 45 min break, the temperature suddenly dropped and we were freezing outside waiting to leave. All 24 of us went and stood in a gas station about the size of a bathroom. We saw one person in this town, the gas station worker, the whole time we were there!
Stained glass in Leon
The Holy Grail, a stop on the pilgrimage to Santiago
Santiago is known for some interesting seafood....
Cathedral in Santiago
Some pilgrims on their way to Santiago
Cathedral in Salamanca
Relaxing at Plaza Mayor
This pretty much sums up the best parts of Spain....helado!
Plaza Mayor
Some of the girls 
of course i can't wait for you to come home but even i am a little sad it is over. you will always remember your semester in spain!
ReplyDelete