Holy Toledo I Just Ran a Half Marathon!

 Last weekend my study abroad group took our last over-night trip to Toledo. Toledo is about two hours southeast of Segovia and I have no idea if the expression "Holy Toledo" originated there or not. The title seemed fitting, however. We left Segovia around nine and spent the day discovering yet another city's religious establishments. Since reaching our threshold of cathedrals, alcazars, etc oh about two months ago, I have felt a bit bad about the fact that we students tend to rush through each experience. These places are REALLY starting to look the same though and most of the time I remain unaffected by what I find inside of them. Don't get me wrong, the artwork, statues and arquitecture are all amazing and beautiful, but I realized this phenomenon throughout the first five or so trips, now it is safe to say, "enough is enough!"

Between one of our tours we had lunch time. The weather was a gorgeous 60 degrees and after I scarfed down my bocadillo (sandwich) you can be sure that I laid out under the Toledo sun catching any rays that my yoga pants and long-sleeved shirt allowed. (The transition from living with my father who so graciously would tell me the weather for the day or maybe more importantly what the weather feels like and hence the appropriate clothing is still continuing as my choice of clothing related to the weather is still a hit and miss.) So the yoga pants and long-sleeved shirt wasn't the best option, but the sun glorious nonetheless. After our last tour of the day, we boarded the bus which then took us to our hotel on the outskirts of Toledo.

Upon arrival and after discovering the hundred or so Spanish "band members" staying in seemingly all the rooms below ours, a few of us girls grabbed our swim suits and laid out again. I think the hotel personnel thought we were crazy in fact I know for a fact they did because it is still considered winter here and we didn't arrive back at the hotel until after four. Far beyond any type of quality sun deserving of full on bikinis and sun-glasses. Well, true to our crazy American stereotype, we laid out for a couple of hours next to the outdoor pool which was closed for winter and all of the trees where picnic tables in the summer are sure to be found. A few Spanish men tried coming to talk to us, but I think were intimidated by the large group of us girls. I am sure these men were nice, but after a few of them tried entering our hotel rooms and introducing themselves randomly we deemed them as a bit on the creepy side.

On Saturday night we went back into town to grab a bite to eat and check out the night-life. Colin's girlfriend, Joanna, is studying in Toledo this semester so she was able to show us around. She is studying through the University of Minnesota and there are over ninety of them all in Toledo! We met a few of the students, but eventually took an early cab back to the hotel in order to get some quality sleep for another day of tours the following day.

Some of my friends hanging out in the plaza mayor, soaking up the sun!

We saw a synagogue, church and a museum and then baked in the sun for a good three hours--it was wonderful! I made sure to flip and not burn too badly, other people were not so smart and fried like an egg! Toledo is famous for guns and weapons and things and also marzipan. Some of the guys bought swords and things but you can be sure I headed in the direction of the tasty almond flavored pastries. There are many different kinds and I ended up buying some triangle-shaped ones with nuts on the top, yummm!

Can't complain about this running view, half marathon or no half marathon!

This past week was filled with lots of homework as the final projects are really starting to pile up! Also I spent  the days where I hadn't run with a guilty conscience knowing that I had a half marathon to run today (Sunday)! I was able to start some of my final projects, but it is safe to say that I was a bit nervous for today's events as I am still not completely acclimated to the hills and high-altitude of this beautiful city. Oh yeah and the part where I am supposed to run for 13.1 miles/21.3 kilometers straight or in less than two-and-a-half hours--I definitely didn't think I was prepared for that hurdle. Well to prove myself and a few of you wrong, I finished in two hours and...19 minutes! It wasn't the best two hours of my life, per-say, but I felt awesome and proud especially during the last kilometer when many of my friends were on the sidelines cheering me on and I was running through the city towards the magnificent view that is the roman aqueduct. It was pretty special!

Segovia was chaotic, especially the morning of the race!

Before the race, was a show of its own! There were tons of people (4,000 runners, their supporters and marathon staff) some of which could be found in the sky parachuting in for the run. Now, I am unsure if these people ran the race, but it was cool to witness regardlessly! The race started at 10:30, but we needed to get to our meeting spot an hour before in order to take our IE University picture. We made up the majority of the runners, in fact, there were nine of us and one of them, but we all received gear from the school and we clearly needed a picture of us in our matching shirts! We hung out and warmed up before the race and then about ten minutes before start time we went to line up. The cannon was shot at exactly 10:30 and we were off! I ran almost the whole thing alone except for when I caught up with Jaisa for a little bit. I didn't mind and I actually prefer to run alone. There were people along the entire route screaming, "venga" (let's go), "animo" (energy!) and other somewhat helpful phrases. I always got the most motivation from the elderly folk yelling these motivational advices at me because it made me appreciate the fact that I am young, vital and still able to run something so strenuous. To the young adults, I wanted to yell, "Get your ass out here," but didn't have the energy to translate that while I was running. Ok so I wasn't exactly thinking that, but I wasn't in the best of moods as the kilometer markers slowly passed and the hills seemed to become higher and higher. As I sit in my bed writing to you all, I can honestly say it was a great experience and incredible feat for myself. Tomorrow as I will probably wake up much more sore than I am today, I may not think it was one of the best ideas to sign up for the half marathon, but the soreness will pass, right?!

We finished! 3373rd place, hold the applause..but really

All in all, it was another unbelievable week in Spain! This week I need to crack down on my final projects especially because Greta and her friend Della are coming on Friday! We will be visiting La Granja on Saturday and then many of us are going to Madrid on Sunday for some shopping and a bull fight. Also, I will add pictures from Toledo and the Marathon sometime this week. Hasta luego friends and family!

Can I Stay Here Forever?

Today as I was walking to class I realized just how Spanish I have become. We are experiencing some beautiful 60-degree weather here in our beautiful city and I was wearing my winter coat! It is common on these gorgeous days to see the Spainards wearing their far too insulated jackets, but never the warm-blooded Minnesotans! Today was a different story because I didn't even feel silly until half way through my walk when I realized how sweaty I had become!

Before we departed for Andalucia last week we celebrated Carnaval. Carnaval is a huge celebration in most of Europe that begins almost a week before Ash Wednesday and in Spain we dress up! Michelle and I went to a costume store that my actress host mom directed us to and purchased some pretty awesome costumes. I picked out a gypsy outfit while Michelle found a fire-fighter. On Tuesday after class we all went home to get ready and then met up again to see the parade through the city of Segovia. (It is important to note that I did not have time to pack my suitcase for the trip that we were leaving for at 6:30 a.m. the next day before I went out for the night.) Starting at a church on one side of the city the parade of people dressed up in everything from spools of thread to way too real looking zombies, walked all the way through the city to the plaza mayor where there was a concert and food! After the parade I went over to Michelle's apartment so that we could get ready together. We hadn't told anyone of our costumes and were pretty excited to surprise our group with our over-the-top carnaval costumes.

Our group loved our costumes and we even had a clown in the group. Kalleah's host mom always makes her students wear this ridiculous looking clown costume and it was great! We spent the night frequenting our favorite bars and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. I may or may not have arrived back to my apartment around 5 a.m., still unpacked and needing to head for the bus in about an hour. I spent some time chatting with my sister on skype and then much too late realized again that I hadn't packed yet. To solve this still existing dilemma, I essentially took the entirety of my closet and threw it in my backpack. (The next day I would realize that I had five pairs of jeans, five pairs of shoes and forgot my winter jacket which was needed because the weather was much colder than what is typical in Andalucia during this time of the year. Oops!)

On Wednesday for the first leg of our trip we drove to Granada. I slept for a good portion of the drive and we arrived in the beautiful city of Granada around lunch time. That day we visited a chapel that is situated close to our hotel that houses the bodies of the first Catholic Kings of Spain, Isabel de Castilla and Fernando de Aragon. After seeing the church we went on a walk through the city and saw the former Muslim quarter of the city. It was interesting to see this area of the city and be surrounded by the history that is so deeply rooted in this city. After the walk we had the rest of the night free, but seeing as how we needed to wake up very early the following day we decided to have a girl's night in Katee, Erin and Bridget's room.


We hopped on our bus at 7:45 so that we could make it to the Alhambra as it was opening. The Alhambra is a collection of Moorish palaces and gardens in Granada and they only allow a certain amount of visitors each day so our faculty director, Brian Larkin, wanted to ensure that we all were allowed in. And this place was so worth the early morning! It was gorgeous even during a day without much sun and a little rain. One could spend an entire day discovering new gardens and exploring all of the palaces.We were given two hours to walk around until we once again boarded the bus headed to Sevilla. We arrived at our hotel around lunch time again and had the rest of the night to do as we pleased! Luckily there was a grocery store really close to our hotel so many of us went there to stock up on food instead going out which obviously gets expensive. Also, I had been in contact with a friend from high school who is studying in Sevilla this semester for the past couple of weeks after we both discovered that our current country of residence was the same! That night a bunch of my friends met up with her and her friends and they showed us all around Sevilla. I was really glad to be able to see her and I believe she is coming to Segovia next week!

 

During the day on Friday we toured the Alcazar and the Cathedral of Sevilla, go figure. However both of these establishments in my opinion blow the Alcazar and Cathedral of Segovia out of the water! With that being said it is difficult to compare the two mainly because the cities themselves are so different. Segovia is much more Middle Ages while Sevilla I would argue is a bit more vibrant and colorful. Sevilla's cathedral even has a tower that you can climb to the top of and to see the tower bells and look out and see the entire city. After the tours that day a nap was a top priority to those who danced until the sun came up (literally speaking) and the three hour nap was heaven-sent! A few of us decided to have a low key night on Friday and went to experience one of the most popular tourist attractions in Sevilla: FLAMENCO! It was located in a quaint bar not too far from our hotel and was free. It was an interesting experience and I am glad I was able to see this part of the Andalusian culture.

On Saturday we took the bus to the outskirts of Sevilla to see some ancient Roman ruins. We had fun taking pictures on the mostly eroded buildings that the Romans built hundreds of years prior to our arrival. We were only whistled at once by the guard while climbing the various structures, success! After getting lost on the way back to the hotel for the seemingly millionth time on this trip a few of us girls went for a run along the river that winds its way through the city. After our run we dined along the river, soaked up the sun and enjoyed each other's company. We then headed to the esteemed Plaza de Espana were we took many pictures and rowed around the mini river in our very own (rented) rowboats. You can assume that we were singing Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat (round form)," and other boat/ship related songs the entire time. We eventually went back to the hotel to freshen up and hang out for a bit. I had also been in contact with a woman who studied abroad in Segovia five years ago. She is here in Spain and was in Sevilla that same  weekend. That night Michelle and I went to tapas with her and her friend, Angie and then danced the night away! I was really glad to meet up with them and hear their stories. They are also coming to Segovia next weekend!

On Sunday we left Sevilla at about ten in the morning and drove to Cordoba which was three hours away. We had free time for lunch and then we toured the famous mezquita/catedral. This establishment began as a Mosque and then during the Spanish Inquisition was converted into a cathedral which is how we find it today. After exploring cool red-and-white-striped arc after cool red-and-white-striped arc we climbed into the bus one last time, Segovia bound! We arrived in Segovia around 9:30 and I went home, had dinner, discovered that I lost my cell phone battery and went to bed!


This week has been rainy but still very much enjoyable here in Segovia. Too many people in my opinion have been mentioning how many days we have left in Spain and frankly I don't want to know. All I know is that it is much much much too soon! Also, the Spanish seem to celebrate every single other saint's day but for some reason not St. Patrick's day. That didn't stop us from making our own party and last night was quite enjoyable, today's early morning being quite the opposite. Tonight I am staying in to begin some of my final papers, clean my room and pack my backpack for our overnight trip to Toledo tomorrow. Until next time, much love!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

My dearest and devoted blog-followers, how I have failed you these past two weeks! Nothing too terribly exciting has happened since I wrote to you last besides touring yet another handful of cathedrals that if you can believe are all starting to look the same to me, visiting the beautiful cities of Ávila and Salamanca, and spending a significant time on my studies. (Yep, you read that last one correctly.) I know what you were all thinking, I thought it too, but yes I actually go to class four days a week and do have some homework to do from time to time. In fact, these past two weeks have been the worst for homework in my opinion and I am currently writing to you in efforts to avoid the 16 flash-cards sitting beside me just begging to be memorized. Tomorrow I have my first exam of the semester in my Cinema class in which I have to write two essays on the lives of two Catholic Kings of Spain which will be chosen at random from a total of nine kings and a define a few words used in the Middle Ages. Enticing, I know. Actually, each day I am finding the history of Spain more and more interesting. I'm no history buff by any means, but by being required to learn this material I have grown fond of yet another school subject, go figure.

Throughout the last two weeks Michelle, Libby and my post-trip plans are becoming more and more concrete. We have the basis of our first two weeks of travel mapped out and are still working on the last two weeks. We have decided to go ahead and purchase a Eurail pass which in my opinion will be a great and new way to travel. Some of the travel destinations include but are not limited to: Cinque Terre, Venice, Rome (for Easter) all in Italy, a few days in Greece, Interlaken, Switzerland and London for the royal wedding. Although super excited is an understatement about my feelings towards this European adventure, it simultaneously makes me so sad as to how close our departure day actually is from today. Which one of you said time could fly so fast?! I try not to think about the dwindling amount of days, but I suppose to every beginning there must be an end and therefore to every amazing four-and-a-half-month vacation there must be an excruciatingly painful brickwall of reality that will hit eventually...

As for this week in Spain and most of Europe there are festivals galore in honor of Carnaval. Carnaval is somewhat of a cross between the United States's Halloween and Mardi Gras. The main event of the festival happens on Tuesday, Fat Tuesday like we call it in the US, to celebrate the beginning of the Lenten season which begins on Wednesday. Everyone has been dressing up since Thursday night in everything from police officers, penguins, indians, etc. Our very own clever group of guys went and purchased sailor hats and proceeded to make sure everyone knew that they were Seamen. (Let's see if y'all get the pun, you can assume that the Spanish did not.) I have yet to purchase my costume, but I am running some errands after this "study sesh" to see what the costume stores have to offer me. Also, I am already half finished with my week of school as we head to Andalucia on Wednesday morning for the remainder of the week. With all of the festivities happening on Tuesday I plan to travel the "Spanish way" to Andalucia which means that I will celebrate until the wee hours of the morning, run home to shower, grab my bag and hop on the bus headed south. When in Spain, right?!

For all of you lucky enough to experience spring break in a warm climate, I hope you all are enjoying yourselves. For those of you stuck in Minnesota, well there's always next year and a still extended invitation for you to come here to visit the beautiful country of Spain! The invitation is always there, for the next five weeks that is. You can look forward to stories and pictures from Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada upon my return to Segovia early next week. Until then, hasta luego!

P.S. I want to give a little shout-out to one of my most special blog-followers. Grandma, HAPPY 86th BIRTHDAY! I hope it's great this year even without the endless amounts of scratch-offs with your name on them! Love and miss you, mucho!