Hasta Luego, España

My bags are packed, but my heart aches.  As I sit here staring at my packed bags, double checking my flight departure times for all three legs of my journey home, I still cannot fully process that I will be leaving Spain tomorrow.  These past three months have been so surreal, so dreamlike...and yet I have never felt so alive.

Just to recap on this past week: Sunday we went to our last church meeting in our beloved Spanish branch of Alcalá.  Luckily for us, our last sacrament meeting was the primary program! I could not have picked a more perfect sendoff than a chorus of small Spanish children singing primary songs and reciting scriptures in the Spanish language, it overwhelmed me with joy.  As I said goodbye to Marisol and Anita, two of the adult women I had grown very close to over the semester, we exchanged emails and promised to write each other in our second languages (I will write them in Spanish, and they will write me in English).  We also said goodbye to Annabel, Profe Meredith's wife, and enjoyed a wonderful evening of treats and shared memories of the semester.

With my "diploma" and my Chilean
literature teacher, Ana

Monday was our last religion class, and rather than having a final exam we were sent off with a heartwarming lesson about our impact that each of us has in the history of the gospel.  Tuesday and Wednesday we took our finals, which were difficult but didn't prove to impact our grades too harshly.  Our professors love us, and they seemed to take into consideration that we have been studying in a foreign country in a completely different language for the last three months.  Thursday we had our graduation ceremony and each received diplomas for completing our semester successfully.  It was slightly cheesy, but anyone who knows me knows how much of a sucker for cheesy things I am, so I ate it all up.  This graduation ceremony was also the last time that our entire study abroad group was officially together, so a lot of hugs, heartfelt goodbyes, and besitos were exchanged.  Spending three months together in a foreign country can bring together even the most polar opposite personality types, and although it will be fun to run into people on campus and have reunions in the future, things will never be the same as when we were here as eighteen college girls studying in Spain.

I took advantage of every opportunity I could to go to Madrid this week, anticipating how much I would miss it and not wanting to waste a moment of the precious time I still had left.  The only thing that stopped me from going to Madrid every day this week was the strike on Wednesday afternoon, and I made the best of the lack of public transportation availability by going to our favorite tapas bar right here in Alcalá with a big group of friends.  I did some last minute souvenir shopping, I stocked up on my favorite candies, I pondered "La Guernica" in the Reina Sofia, and I saw "Lo Imposible" in the Spanish movie theater Callao.  Lo Imposible is the Spanish version of "The Impossible," a movie that depicts the true story of a Spanish family that experienced the tsunami in Thailand in 2004. The family is depicted as English, but the family that it really happened to is Spanish and the director Juan Antonio Bayona is Spanish as well.  This movie won't be coming out until December in the United States, but when it does, WATCH IT.  It is one of the most enlightening and heart wrenching movies I have ever seen; it was extremely well written and instilled a surprising amount of fear, nausea, sadness, and pain within me that completely opened my eyes to the true meaning of the phrase natural disaster.  

As I exited the theater and walked down the streets of Gran Via and into the metro entrance of Puerta Del Sol for the last time, a slight panic suddenly gripped my heart.  I wanted to freeze this moment in time, enhance my hearing, my vision, my sense of smell...anything to ensure that I would never truly forget the city of Madrid.  This past week has given me many opportunities to contemplate the sights I have seen, the things I have done, the foods I have tasted, and more than anything, the person I have become.  I would not trade the experiences and education I have gained in my study abroad experience in Spain for the world.  Traveling to Europe has forced me out of my comfort zone, tested my courage and commitment, and molded me into a better woman.

There are many Spanish customs that I long to embrace for the rest of my life, but right now I have a special appreciation for this custom in particular; Spaniards never say goodbye, they only ever say see you later.  From the shopkeepers in Barcelona to the tapas bar cooks in San Sebastian to our loving and caring professors at Alcalingua, nobody once ever said "¡Adios!", it was always "¡Hasta luego!"  It is with that, my friends, that I bid my dear Spain a heartfelt "hasta luego," for I know that nothing can stop me from coming back.

Córdoba, Sevilla, y Granada: The First of Many Lasts

If it wasn’t clear from the title of this week’s blog post, this excursion was our last excursion of the program as an entire group.  I will try not to get too cheesy or mushy and save all the warm fuzzies for my very last post as I leave Spain, but I can’t make any promises. 

La Mezquita de Córdoba

This “weekend” excursion began on a Wednesday, making it our longest trip of the program besides our trip to Northern Spain and France.  It was only fitting that we devote the same amount of time and commitment to Southern Spain, starting in the city of Córdoba.  We paid a lengthy visit to the main attraction of this historically Muslim southern city by visiting La Mezquita de Córdoba, one of the most well preserved mosques in the world and by far the most famous in Spain.  Construction began in the 700’s shortly after the Muslim’s arrival to Spain in the year 711 and was finally completed in the 1100’s, or at least in the eyes of the Muslims.  Later on in the history of Spain when the Muslim population was at the mercy of the ever-spreading Catholic religion and harsh reigns of the Catholic monarchy, they constructed a cathedral within the walls of the mosque.  I cannot imagine the pain that the Muslim people must have felt as they watched one of their most sacred buildings become a meeting point for an entirely different religion.  Even later kings of Spain lament the precious pieces of this mosque that were lost and torn down in order to make room for the interior cathedral.  I must admit, it was rather surreal being inside a building where the Muslim and Catholic religions were coexistent, but it also was comforting to think of La Mezquita de Córdoba as a symbol of religious tolerance and the ability for hundreds of religious denominations to coexist, although this was not exactly the message that the Catholics had in mind in the 1700’s. 

Muslim on the left, Catholic on the right

We continued our tour of Córdoba by walking through the historically Jewish neighborhood, where we visited an ancient synagogue and admired the white stone buildings absolutely covered in flowerpots in full bloom even in the beginning of November.  These picturesque and windy streets also led us to some lovely small shops full of ceramic plates, fans, and other essential souvenirs typical to Southern Spain. 

Inside the gardens of La Alambra de Sevilla

That evening we drove the rest of the way to Sevilla, ending a day full of new knowledge and too many hours cramped into a bus with some Doner Kebabs, which are called shawrmas in Sevilla and most parts of Southern Spain due to the heavy Arabic influence.  The following morning (Thursday) we started out tour bright and early, facing the downpour of rain with determination in our hearts and plenty of umbrellas over our heads.  First we toured the Alcazar de Sevilla, a palace built in Muslim style but later used as a palace for Catholic kings.  The intricacy of all the mosaic tiles within each room and the Arabic carvings on every wall gave me a much better grasp on just how devoted these people were to making every inch of every wall of their buildings nothing short of a masterpiece.  Stepping outside into the palace gardens only solidified my awe and respect for the Muslim people even further as we admired the endless amount of greenery, red stone walls, and orange trees that surrounded us in an oasis of natural beauty. 

Yup, we climbed all the way to the
top of this sucker!

Next stop was, you guessed it, the Cathedral of Sevilla. According to our guide, this cathedral is the third largest in the world, after the Vatican in Rome and a certain cathedral in London who’s name escapes me.  The gothic style was extremely apparent as we approached this religious building from the outside and was only emphasized once we entered and I was immediately speechless due to the immensity and overall height of the walls that surrounded me.  The ideology behind gothic-style buildings is that the buildings were made as high as possible in order to be closer to God and the heavens as well as to invoke the feeling of insignificance and vulnerability in any human being that entered.  Believe me, entering into any cathedral is a humbling and wonderful experience, but especially the Gothic ones.  This cathedral also contains the tomb of Christopher Columbus, although several other cathedrals throughout the world claim to have portions of his remains as well.  Columbus was originally buried in Sevilla, but it only seemed fitting for him to be buried in the Americas that his famous expedition led him to discover, so his body was moved to a cathedral in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.  However, as we all know, Spain did not maintain control of the Dominican Republic for long, in which case his body was shipped off to Cuba.  When the last of the Spanish empire was dissolved, the remains of Christopher Columbus were sent back to their starting point in Sevilla.  Each of these locations claims to keep at least a portion of Columbus’ remains, but only the remains in Sevilla have been scientifically proven to belong to Columbus (which are about the size of a McDonald’s Happy Meal, according to our guide Ana).  At the conclusion of our tour, we did what every tourist that goes to Sevilla must do: climb the famous bell tower.  We climbed up all 34 ramps and the last flight of stairs to reach the top, and the view was more than worth every step we took. 

The view from the top of the tower, courtesy of my iPhone camera

La Plaza de España en Sevilla

Next we made our way over to the Plaza de España.  I am aware that I have already referenced the Plaza de España in Madrid as well as other cities, but I must say that this Plaza de España is more than worth mentioning, especially for Star Wars fans.  The Plaza de España en Sevilla was used in the filming of Episode II: Attack of the Clones in the first scene where Anakin, Padme, and R2-D2 arrive in Padme’s home planet of Naboo to pay a visit.  After watching this clip in the movie and comparing it to the pictures I took at this breathtaking location, it was impossible to contain my nerdy and possibly slightly over exaggerated enthusiasm. 

As if all this sightseeing wasn’t enough, after an extremely wonderful siesta we got all dressed up to go to our first FLAMENCO! Yes, FLAMENCO!  I had been feeling rather unfulfilled not having seen one yet since my arrival in Spain, but I can testify that this flamenco dance we attended was more than worth the wait.  After meandering down a few windy streets, we came upon the small venue where the flamenco was to be held, which is always a sign of the flamenco’s authenticity.  The smaller the venue, the more truly accurate the flamenco dance will be.  We filed in about ten minutes before the show was scheduled to start, and we were already hard pressed to find seats.  Two rows of chairs surrounded three sides of the small platform stage, making for an intimate audience of about fifty people total.  My seat was in the back right corner, but apart from a few Asian tourists sitting on the front row ahead of me, I had a perfectly clear vision of the stage and the three chairs placed directly behind it.  First entered the cantante and the guitar player, two extremely essential characters to the flamenco dance performance, although the flamenco dancer usually receives the majority of the praise and attention.  For this reason, the first couple songs were without any dancers, and I was immediately floored by the passion that these two men exuded from their performance.  I am fairly accustomed to seeing passionate guitar playing, whether live or on film, but I had never heard or seen such a passionate vocal performance.  The cantante’s eyes were closed the entire time he was belting out the passionate Spanish melody, eliminating any visual distraction and allowing him to put every ounce of his energy into the music he was creating.  Next entered a rugged Spanish man with his long, dark hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, who’s very being was the definition of spicy.   After walking gracefully onto the platform and dazzling us with his elegance as he tapped his flamenco shoes on the platform only twice, he took his seat in the third chair on the other side of the cantante and began to clap rhythmically and offer an occasional “¡Olé!” 

The man on the left is Señor Caliente.
This photo does not do him justice.

At last, the woman we had been waiting for entered the room, clad in a black flamenco dress with a solemn look on her face: the flamenco dancer.  She took her place on the stage platform and silently we waited for the music to begin once more.  In an explosion of music, song, rhythm, and dance, the passion was awakened within the flamenco dancer as she stomped her feet, methodically rotated her wrists, and let the music move her body.  Rather than maintaining a smile plastered on her face throughout the entire performance, an action typical of American dancing performances, her face was serious, almost anguished, as she concentrated on every move she made, invoking a sense of connection between my soul and her dance that I had never felt before.  After a few songs, there was a sort of intermission where the spicy man with a ponytail, the cantante, and the woman flamenco dancer stepped outside for a break and we were serenaded for a few minutes by the guitar player.  Next came my favorite part of the entire show; when the female flamenco dancer and the attractive Spaniard switched roles.  At first I was surprised when the female dancer reentered the room and took her seat next to the cantante, but my confusion was soon replaced with utter shock and awe as the man I had previously admired for only a brief moment entered, this time with his dark, wavy hair cascading down onto his shoulders.  As I tried to keep my jaw from dropping, he took his place on the stage.  The music and singing began again, and he began to dance.  Never in my life did I think that I could be so attracted to a man wearing platform shoes, but as soon as he started dancing I was completely enraptured.  Not only was his male flamenco performance shockingly masculine, it was downright sexy. 

Whipping out the fans after the show

As the dancing of el hombre más caliente concluded and the audience erupted into applause we were given permission to snap some pictures, I was left with complete satisfaction from the performances I had witnessed, but also with a heavy heart that it was over and that the hour had flown by so quickly.  We had a mini photo shoot on the stage with all of the girls in our group who had purchased fans for the occasion, then we went our separate ways for a late night out on the town.  My friends Evelyn, Miriam and I found a local tapas bar and enjoyed a late night European-style dinner and a lovely walk through the wet cobblestone streets of Sevilla. 

El Patio de los Leones

Friday morning we were off again, this time to Granada, the location of the crowning jewel of the Muslim history in Southern Spain: La Alhambra.  La Alhambra is a series of Muslim palaces and gardens that were constructed in the 1300’s where many generations of Muslim kings dwelt in peace and tranquility before they were taken over by the Catholics, as I mentioned in my brief historical description of La Mezquita de Córdoba.  Our tour of La Alhambra was rather rainy and wet, but nothing could truly dampen our spirits as we viewed such detailed and historical architecture, including the famous Patio de los Leones.  We ended the tour at the Generalife, one of the most highly decorated palaces in La Alhambra as far as vegetation and flowers are concerned.  It was a pleasure to be in such a beautiful place surrounded by such a fun group of girls. 

The famous windmills

Late that night, we went off in search of the famous Arab market, and didn’t encounter it until later that night after enjoying an exotic dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant.  We got a little lost, but after using our charm and asking a few friendly locals, we made it, which is what travelling is all about.  Today, we set off on our journey back to Alcalá early in the morning, stopping along the way to visit the famous series of windmills in La Mancha that are so celebrated and essential to the grand story and adventures of Don Quixote.  We took a plethora of pictures then listened to Profe Meredith read the passage where Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho first encountered these windmills and proceeded to attack them since Don Quixote was so convinced that these windmills were, in fact, giants.  As I sit here among my friends on our bus as we journey back to Alcalá, I am overcome with a feeling of gratitude and simultaneous panic that I only have a week left in Spain before I head back to the United States.  This next week is sure to be, in a word, bittersweet.  Wish me luck on my final exams and, most of all, my final moments in this country I have grown to love so much.  

Valencia and the Lladró Factory

I will answer your first question right now; yes, the title of this post is eerily similar to the title of a film starring Jonny Depp, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”  It was intended to be so, I thought it was clever and my capacity to create witty blog titles is in short supply this evening.  However, Valencia is not a person with mental instabilities who employs hundreds of orange-colored servants, but rather a beautiful beach city on the southeast coast of Spain where we spent a lovely two days this weekend. 

Before I launch into this weekend’s adventures, I’ll give a quick recap of my week. Tuesday we saw a production of “Sonrisas y Lágrimas,” aka “The Sound of Music” translated into Spanish.  It was an interesting experience to be sure, and they remained true to the melodies of all the songs in the musical.  My favorite Spanish adaptation was “Tengo dieciseis, casi diecisiete…” which is a phrase I think even you gringos can figure out on your own.  ;)  Wednesday night was Halloween, and just because I am in Spain did not mean I was going to forgo dressing up on this American holiday.  My roommate Chloé and I dressed up as hunger games tributes and attended the Halloween party our professor threw for us at his humble abode.  Agreeing to accommodate eighteen overexcited college girls dressed up and ready to eat all the sugary treats they can lay their hands upon is no small feat, and he suffered through all of our craziness like a champ.  Once we woke up from our sugar comas the next day, we enjoyed our day off of school by visiting the Thyssen museum, with pieces dating from the 1400’s to present day displayed across all three stories of the museum in chronological order.  It was an absolutely brilliant layout, and it also helped me to pinpoint exactly which type of paintings and time periods I find most appealing.  For any who are curious, my favorite eras are Italian 17^th century paintings and North American 19^th century paintings. 

Now, back to Valencia.  Our first stop was the highly anticipated Lladró factory, and due to the fact that everyone arrived in a timely fashion to board the bus and the wonderful flexibility of the employees of the factory, we were able to take a TOUR of the factory as soon as we arrived!  We arrived a little later than expected, but we had only missed the group by ten or fifteen minutes, so we were able to join up with them no problem without having missed much.  For those of you who are unaware, Lladró is an extremely prestigious porcelain sculpture company that is known throughout the world for their beautiful and flawlessly crafted figurines.  You have most likely seen at least one Lladró in your life in the home of your mother or grandmother.  The Lladró company is based out of Valencia, Spain and they ship their pieces to various different countries, especially the United States. 

As soon as we were escorted behind the scenes of the Lladró factory, I was immediately overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of all the statues in the process of being created.  All around me were hundreds, if not thousands of porcelain statues various stages of completion.  As we were walked through the production area and walked through all the various steps it takes to make a Lladró porcelain masterpiece, I gained even more respect for these statues and the people who work so meticulously every day to create, in a word, perfection.  The statues are first made in various pieces in alabaster and later reproduced and pieced together in porcelain.  Once they are connected and assembled into the full statue, a small hole is made in the bottom to ensure that the air can enter and exit safely and without damage when baked in the kiln.  The pieces are then glazed by hand to add the various colors required for each and every part of the statue.  There are over a thousand differently colored glazes that Lladró uses currently, and there is constant research being done to discover new colors.  All of the workers know the colors by name so that they can be sure not to err in their color choice, especially since the physical color of the glaze is not the same as the way the glaze will look on the statue once the piece has been fired.  Figurines also lose 15% of their mass after they are fired due to the evaporation of water, so the final piece is often significantly smaller than it is during the construction process.  When painting the human faces of figurines, liquid porcelain is added to the glaze during the manual painting process in order to add volume as well as pigment.  This allows the artists to sculpt the ideal expression and skin tone of the piece simultaneously, all with the touch of a paintbrush. 

An artist adding glaze to a piece by hand

When adding flowers to a piece, the pigment is pre-added to the clay so that the artists can simply sculpt the flowers by hand without having to go back and glaze each petal individually later in the process.  The flowers are kept in a small box as the artists sculpt them in order to ensure that they don’t dry out before they are attached to the figurine.  Some figures have over 400 flowers, which can take the artist three of four days to complete.  We had the opportunity to watch some of these artists at work, and although I watched this woman’s every move I could hardly believe the ease in which she constructed these small and elegant roses, tulips, and daisies as we all hovered over her.  Not only did she commit no errors as we watched her, but she seems to be completely undisturbed by our presence and actually spoke to us a few times and answered some of our questions.  Talk about patience and foolproof concentration!  After all parts of a piece have been glazed with their appropriate colors, the entire figure is coated in a bright blue varnish, which appears as only a shiny clear coat once the piece is fired and allows the other glazed colors to shine through.  The pieces are then fired in one of the six large ovens for 24 hours: 12 hours of maximum heat, and 12 hours of cooler temperature.  Due to hygienic reasons, we were not permitted to physically see the ovens, but we were able to see all the other steps of the process I have just described. 

 

We were then walked through the shop, with every Lladró figurine I had seen on the online store, in my mother’s display cabinet, and many more.  Although the traditional Lladró style figurines are painted in light and simple pastels, many of their newer pieces are infused with bright and lively color, liquid silver, or even liquid gold.  Every figurine was absolutely breathtaking, and after such an enlightening tour of the factory my awe for these pieces had at least tripled.  As I walked around trying to keep my jaw from hanging permanently agape, I encountered this quote on the wall.  I liked the Spanish version best, but I will share the English one on this blog:

“We want our works to be elegant, expressive, to exude life and to have feelings.  We want them to reflect the good side of life, the positive values of all human beings, and all things which dignify life.” 

-Juan, José, and Vicente Lladró

If I had not already had my heart set on purchasing my mother a new Lladró figurine for Christmas, that quote would have convinced me to buy something from the company right there on the spot.  Could there be a more profound and captivating mission statement than that to accompany such splendid porcelain figurines? 

Next we went over to the discounted Lladró shop, which was truly a heaven sent blessing to people on a college budget, or any budget for that matter.  This shop is connected to the factory and filled with just about every piece displayed in the normal Lladró shop, all of them with what the staff of the Lladró factory had deemed as “errors.”  Most of these flaws are imperceptible to the human eye, making the almost half price discount definitely worth it.  Almost every girl in our group walked out of the factory with at least one Lladró box and, in my case especially, a beaming smile that always accompanies purchasing something for a loved one. 

We made a brief pit stop at our hotel and were soon back on the bus, this time with our guide, who gave us a lovely tour of the most famous parts of the city.  We got off a few times, firstly to see up close the modern architecture of the famous Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer by the name of Santiago Calatrava.  He was born in rural Valencia and is now known throughout the world for the miracles he can create with buildings, many of which are located in his beloved hometown.  We also toured the Lonja de Valencia, saw another lavishly adorned cathedral, snapped some pictures of ruins located underneath a fountain that were discovered during the construction of one of the cathedrals, and ended our visit at an Horchata restaurant.  I split a glass with Kensie, and I realized that Valencia did in fact live up to their reputation for the best horchata in the country.  However, Spanish horchata has nothing on Mexican horchata; I will stand by that opinion to the grave. 

Paella de Marisco...me hace agua la boca

Shortly thereafter, we went in search for the most famous dish of Valencia: PAELLA.  In a sentence, paella is a combination of mouthwatering rice cooked to slightly crunchy perfection infused with fresh vegetables, seasonings, and luscious forms of meat.  My personal favorite is paella de marisco, which is seafood paella.  I split a pot of this yummy goodness with one of my girlfriends and I savored every bite.  My mouth is watering right now just thinking about this popular Spanish dish.  For dessert, I had two scoops of gelato; a heaping scoop of cheesecake-flavored gelato topped a smaller portion of a subtle and tart scoop of pineapple.  Oh, it was a good night. 

After a fun evening of staying up until the wee hours of the morning chatting it up as only college girlfriends can, we retired to our separate rooms.  Today was not particularly eventful, but this morning I had time for a lovely morning stroll to the beach, where we found the coolest sandcastle I have ever seen in person and stuck our toes in the soft, damp sand and admired the ocean view.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here in Spain, and I can hardly believe that I only have one more weekend trip here before it’s all over.  Until we meet again, Valencia…

El Escorial: A Monastery, the Valley of the Fallen, and Another Castle

Laura and me outside El Escorial

Although our excursion this week was only a brief day trip, it was in no way less fulfilling or less educational.  We started off to the city of Escorial with three particular destinations in mind: El Escorial, El Valle de los Caídos, and El Castillo de Manzanares el Real.  As this study abroad program has progressed we have become increasingly skillful at touring all of the sights to see on our itinerary without feeling as if we are rushed or being bamboozled out of a visit because of something being closed for siesta.  I credit most of this improvement to our new director Professor Meredith, who has traveled through Spain various times before directing this program, but I also am proud to say that my 17 girlfriends and I are now very accustomed to the ups and downs of our Spanish travels.

We arrived first at the famous monastery El Escorial, which was built in commemoration to the famous Battle of St. Quentin, a Spanish victory against Henry II of France.  The floor plan was made to mimic that of Solomon’s temple and the overall layout of the building is a form of symbolic recognition of the death of San Lorenzo, or Saint Lawrence.  This saint was martyred by being tied down and burned to death on a grill, and when looking at El Escorial from an aerial perspective, the building as a whole appears similar to a grill.  The Battle of St. Quentin occurred on the day of San Lorenzo, so King Philip II of Spain commissioned the Spanish architect Juan Bautista de Toledo to build this monastery as an all-encompassing symbol of the religious and historical significance surrounding this battle. 

El Panteon Real
(props to Chloé for this illegal photo)

However, El Escorial not only serves as a monastery, but also as a royal palace and is home to the famous Panteon Real.  During our guided tour, we first viewed the Panteon Real, which is where the majority of the Spanish Kings and the mothers of Spanish Kings are entombed.  You would think that saying that all the Spanish queens have tombs in el Panteon Real would suffice, but the fact is that Spanish Kings often had two or three wives during the span of their reign, so only the most important queens are buried there; in other words, the queens who bore sons that eventually inherited the throne.  Although it was perfectly clear to us as we viewed the tombs in el Panteon Real as well as various tombs for princes, princesses, and infants of royal decent that there were rotting remains within all of these stone encasements, it was not nearly as eerie and spine chilling as a cemetery environment.  Rather, we felt privileged to be able to stand so closely to these men, women, and children who had passed on, an attitude that I want to try to apply to future grave visits I make in cemeteries. 

Yup, that's Evelyn on the right ;)

We also viewed some incredible paintings and plateresque architecture throughout the rest of El Escorial.  The furnished royal chambers, the palace library, and the church all located within El Escorial were simply breathtaking.  I was paying so much attention to the historical information that I neglected to notice the game that my friends had decided to play; more specifically, the let’s-see-how-many-stickers-we-can-put-in-Alex’s-hair-before-she-notices game.  Eventually, Evelyn’s guilt was triggered and she chose to enlighten me regarding the lovely green decorations that had adorned my hair for the about half an hour of the tour.  I couldn’t help but laugh at my cluelessness. 

Slightly ironic to take a smiling picture here,
but these girls just make me so happy!

Next we went on to El Valle de los Caídos, or The Valley of the Fallen.  This historical site is most well known for it’s huge stone cross, which can be seen clearly from the freeway since it is located high in the mountains and the contrast of the white stone against the green, lush trees is impossible to ignore.  However, there is much more to this seemingly glorious and religious cross and the basilica located beneath it.  This basilica was built by none other than Franco, a Spanish dictator who did a lot more harm than good during his reign.  He wanted to built the largest an most grand basilica the Catholic church had ever seen, but was forced to stop construction at a certain point due to the Papal decree that no basilica can be larger than the Vatican in Rome.  Franco stated that this basilica would serve as a sort of reconciliation for all of the horrible things he had done during his reign, especially his past treatment of prisoners.  However, during the construction of this basilica and the cross above it, countless slaves were used, abused, and killed to make this “reconciliation” of Franco’s become a reality.  Many slaves died of fatigue during the construction or fell off of one of the many precarious cliff edges and died upon impact, from which the name of this location originates.  Today, el Valle de los Caídos is an extremely controversial topic, and many professors refuse to take their students to this site in protest of Franco and his many horrible actions.  I am grateful that we had the opportunity to visit this historical site, and I hope to formulate my own well-informed opinion regarding the reign of Franco as we finish up our studies here in Spain.

 

Inside Franco's Basilica

Just another Friday afternoon in Spain

Luckily, our visit to El Escorial did not end on such a heavy and tragic note, and we ended with a wonderful visit to our second European castle, Manzanares El Real.  Since we did not have any sort of arrangements with a guide for this castle, we were free to frolic in this ancient structure of defense, taking pictures, laughing, and living our own fairy tale reality here in Spain to the fullest.  It breaks my heart to think that I only have two more of these highly educational and fun-filled weekends left in the country of Spain before I return home to the Unites States, and I am more determined than ever to make these last twenty days in Europe count.  ¡Hasta la fin de semana que viene!