The Start of June & Santander

Sunday night, after I wrote my blog, Kelly and I decided to go on a walk to pass some time and venture out of our apartment for a bit. We originally planned on getting ice cream, but ended up entering a little café we always pass but never enter. We both ordered gofres, which are basically Belgian waffles. They have three different types. I ordered mine with chocolate and whip cream and it was absolutely incredible. I also ordered orange juice, which is freshly pressed right when you order it. There is nothing sitting in a container all day, and Tropicana doesn’t exist here. Everything is fresh, and I have decided that my family needs to buy a juice press so I can make fresh orange juice every morning. Orange juice has been my new favorite drink to order at restaurants and cafés; I mean who wouldn’t want to literally drink a fresh orange?

On Monday, instead of going to classes at school, we all went to el ayuntamiento, which is the town hall, in the Plaza Mayor. We had the opportunity to meet the mayor, which was really cool – he told us that he once studied abroad in the United States and he wished us all the best; he hopes that we see Valladolid as our second home. After our tour inside, our classes split up and we all went to different places. My class went to the library in Plaza de Santa Cruz. We weren’t allowed to take any photos besides one class photo at the end. It was intriguing to learn about the history of how these books were created, and it was absolutely amazing to be able to see and learn about books from the 9th and 10th centuries. We always have conversation partners on Monday nights, so afterword, Morgan, Kelly, Emily and I went out for drinks and tapas, our new Monday night tradition.

On Tuesday, Morgan and I went to the beach while some of the other girls went to an event after school. It was really nice to just relax for a few and write down my thoughts. This week, I have been reflecting a lot on how much this trip is impacting me as a person and as a student. I have scribbled down notes everywhere: my phone notes, in my journal and my agenda. The beach also is somewhat of a reality check for me: every time I am there, I always laugh and say “wow, I’m on a beach in Spain.” Half of the time, this trip truly doesn’t seem real. The beach is along a really dirty river, so we only go there to lay in the sun. I am finally getting somewhat of a tan, which is really exciting.

After school on Wednesday, our group from Akron met up with the students from Colorado to go on a scavenger hunt in Burgos, which is slightly north-east of Valladolid. While there, we were put into partners to find different attractions in the city. First, we went to the Cathedral. It was absolutely incredible – there were so many chapels filled with gothic architecture and art. After the cathedral, we made a pit stop for smoothies before we climbed up this giant hill to find the remains of the Burgos Castle. The view from the top was definitely worth the climb, but I was definitely drenched in sweat. Burgos by far has been my favorite excursion. I love nature and just experiencing something so pure. One of my favorite things I saw in Burgos was a piece of graffiti that said “sol,” which means sun. I think that truly captured the essence of the city. I have never seen a sky so blue and clear. Pictures cannot capture the beauty of these cities and their art properly. The buildings there were multiple different colors, instead of just neutrals, and all of the people there just seemed to be really happy and content.

On Thursday, my roommate had her excursion to Avila, so after class, I went home for lunch and a siesta. I didn’t want to stay in our house all night, so I went to an excursion with our university here. We went to La Casa de Zorrilla, which was the house of José Zorrilla, a writer (I wrote an entire blog in Spanish about my experience, here). One of the things I found to be really cool was that the tour guide acted as José himself, instead of as a tour guide. He was really enthusiastic about us participating and asking questions too, which I liked. The house was amazing – everything here is so well preserved. José spent almost all of his life in that house, and all of the ítems inside are still the same, even the desk chair he passed away in. Apparently, his grandmother’s room is one of the most famous bedrooms in Valladolid: supposedly, her ghost still is inside of the room!

After my excursion, I went to a coffee place called Coffee Charger to knock out some homework. We had a lot of things going on this week, so it really flew by. I spent a few hours there, and it was really nice to finally have some alone time (even though some of the boys in our Akron group were sitting with me). I met up with Kelly after at the train station and we walked around for a little bit. It is so incredible to me that we finally can navigate our city on our own here. In the beginning, we were always lost and had to use GoogleMaps to figure out how to get home. Now, we know how to get to and from all of the main plazas and the beach.

On Friday, I had my excursion to Avila with Morgan and Nichelle. To get to Avila, we had to take a train by ourselves about an hour and a half away. For the first 20 minutes, I swore we were on the wrong train. In Spain, we use RENFE, and it actually is really simple and accommodating. Avila was a pretty cool excursion: there is a wall that surrounds their city and for 3 euros, you can walk around most of the wall.

We had a scavenger hunt to do for class, and one of requirements was to create a new clue. We decided to leave our mark somewhere here in Spain. Along the wall, there is a piece of wood where many people sign their names. So, we did. After our scavenger hunt, we grabbed tapas and drinks at a small café before heading home.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, we headed to Santander, a beach town located on the northern coast of Spain. Some of the girls and I decided to stay the night in a hostel there in order to spend more time on the beach. Sadly, Sunday morning was rainy and cold, so I’m really happy we spent Saturday night at the beach.

I cannot believe that I will be home in my bed in two weeks. This program is flying by – especially this week and next. We have so many excursions and activities planned, so I probably will not be able to write until I am on the plane home! How crazy. See everyone soon!