Reunited and Reminiscing Part 2

Now for the second half of my trip with Paige. On St. Patrick’s Day we took a six hour bus ride from Sevilla to Madrid, arriving around 4:30 in the afternoon. We took the metro to our hostel and it was weird because our room was right next to the reception desk/outside door and the walls were super thin so we could easily hear everything going on outside and vice versa. However, it was really affordable lodging for right in the center of Madrid so we got what we paid for. Since it was St. Patrick’s Day we had to do something a little bit Irish besides wear green, so we met up with Rachel (who previously visited me in Cartagena) and went to an Irish pub for a little bit. It was really packed, and was the second one we found, since the first was even more crowded. We didn’t stay long and decided to find a place to eat supper that was less populated and ended up at a place called The Good Burger, and I have to admit that they do have good burgers there. It wasn’t exactly Irish, but I hadn’t had much in the way of beef in awhile since it’s not all that big in Spain, so it was a pleasant change. 

Puerta del Sol, Madrid on St. Patrick's Day

The next day, Paige and I caught a bus to Toledo a city in Castilla-La Mancha, the region in which Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote takes place. It was raining when we arrived which put a bit of a damper on things and we had to catch a second bus up to the city center rather than walk in the rain for twenty minutes. However, once in the heart of the city, the rain began to let off and by the time we had finished a late breakfast the rain had completely stopped. We were able to see the most important things which included a Jewish synagogue, El Greco’s greatest masterpiece, “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz”, and the cathedral. The cathedral was gigantic and really impressive. We gave in and paid the eight euro admission fee and since it came with an audio guide we had quite a thorough visit which made the cost worth it. One of my favorite parts of our visit to Toledo was just wandering through the streets and taking pictures with random but interesting things. Besides things like life-size knights or Don Quixote figures, we came across other unusual things like an opportunity to put ourselves into El Greco’s painting. After arriving back in Madrid, we had a couple hours of daylight left so we walked to Retiro Park and had a blast taking photos and videos. We ended the night with supper at 100 Montaditos because it was Wednesday and everything on the menu is only one euro on Mondays and Wednesday which is pretty hard to beat. 

 12th century synagogue

 View from the city

 Just because

It's blurry but it'll have to do (El Greco's painting)

Posing with some fine-looking suitors

The intricate altarpiece of the Cathedral

On Thursday morning we were up bright and early to catch a bus to Ávila, as in St. Teresa of Ávila’s Ávila. We really made the most of the hours in the day because we were able to see the most important things all before lunchtime. We started off with a visit to the walls of the city which we were able to go up on and enjoy a nice view of the city and cathedral. Unfortunately, it started to rain a bit but didn’t downpour at least, so we were able to get some nice pictures. Next we visited the church that was built over St. Teresa’s house and in a side chapel there was a window looking into the room where she was born. We also visited a little gift shop that had a separate room with relics of St. Teresa which included a finger if I remember correctly as well as a sandal and some other things. There was a museum right next to the church that had a ton of writings from the great saint as well as writings from St. John of the Cross and information about the convents St. Teresa founded. We made it back to the bus station with a plenty of time to spare before our bus to Segovia took off, so we went to the grocery store across the street and bought tortilla de patata and bread for an excellent and very cheap lunch. We encountered a problem though when we settled down in the bus station to enjoy our lunch and I realized that the plastic in which the tortilla was sealed was not going to open with just my hands. So I had to go to the cafeteria in the station and ask for a knife. I didn’t feel right asking without buying something, so I bought a chocolate covered flaky pastry and our lunch became complete with a dessert. 

 Ávila (this is the first thing we saw walking out of the bus station)

 Up on the wall

The garden where St. Teresa and her brother played as children

The second half of our sightseeing began once we got off the bus in Segovia. Since it was around 4pm, we weren’t able to do a whole lot, but we saw the most important things. First of all, we went to see the aqueduct. It was extremely impressive and the biggest attraction of the city. Once we’d snapped a sufficiently extreme number of photos, we saw the cathedral in passing and made our way to the castle. It was a really cool looking castle and if it wasn’t about to close we would have probably paid to go in because it looked like it would have been worth the entrance fee. Later I was told by a friend that had been there that it was even more incredible inside, so I guess I’ll just have to go back sometime and see it for myself. However, it was enjoyable just seeing the outside of it and it was the type of palace that brings to mind Disney. I half expected to see Cinderella wave from a window. We left the happily ever after land behind (that sounds more depressing than I’d intended) and arrived back in Madrid around 8pm. We wound up at 100 Montaditos again since it was our last supper together before Paige left early the next morning and it’s just a great place to eat at. Then, despite a chill in the air, we topped off the evening with frozen yogurt. 

 Segovia's Aqueduct

 The overcast sky added a neat effect

 The Cathedral

The Palace

4am the next morning found us standing outside where we thought the airport bus was supposed to come. But 4am came and there was no bus. Then a lady walked by and asked if we wanted the airport bus and that it was across the street. Now it would have been obvious to us that the bus was across the street if it was a normal street. But it was actually a huge intersection with multiple rows of bus stops blocking our view of the other side and the next couple minutes saw us racing to the other side to catch the bus. We made it, out of breath, but we made it. Once at the airport it was adios time and then I did the unthinkable. I went to McDonalds for breakfast. Now this isn’t such a problem except for the fact that I’d had a clean record of not eating at a single McDonalds in Spain this whole school year and I’d been planning to keep it that way. However, it was cheap and I was too tired to care just as long as there was coffee in the deal. Fortunately I felt a lot better about myself when I saw that I could get a traditional Spanish breakfast of tostada (toast) with jam and butter along with my beloved coffee, so it wasn’t such a crime. Once the metro opened at 6am I journeyed to the bus station and dozed for a few hours until my 9:30am bus took off for Murcia. In Murcia, my friends Tania and Sandra picked me up from the bus station and I had lunch with them before getting back to my flat to crash in exhaustion after an amazing but somewhat tiring week away. 

Reunited and Reminiscing Part 1

I had a full week of travels when my good friend Paige came to visit me from the States. It all began with an overnight eight and a half hour bus ride to Sevilla. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep for a good portion of it (probably about five hours) so it was better than anticipated. I arrived at six thirty in the morning and waited an hour for it to become light before heading out. My first stop was to the Opus Dei center that Tania had given me the address to, in order to leave my luggage with them since it was much to early to check in to the hotel. After meeting the nice ladies there, we went to Mass together and then I met up with Ean, a fellow BC grad, to get a late breakfast. After filling up on cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and tostada (toast), we walked around Sevilla for a few hours. Some of our stops included a church that had it’s statues for Semana Santa on display, a shop that had mini Portuguese custard tarts, Plaza de España, an Archeology Museum and 100 Montaditos, where we had a delicious lunch of multiple little sandwiches. Ean recommended the goat cheese, bacon and honey mustard sandwich and I’m so glad he did, because it is an unbelievable combination. 

 Plaza de España

 Murcia got a spot in the plaza

In the evening I checked into the hotel and later met Paige at the train station. We met up with Ean for supper and ate at a fun Spanish restaurant chain called Lizarran. I went to one in Murcia once and it is kind of neat because it consists of tapas that have toothpicks in them and you select the ones you want and pay based on the toothpicks. After a yummy and filling meal, we went to a place that had a flamenco band and while the entrance to the performance was technically free (although you had to be early to get a seat) the juice I ordered cost seven euros. We were all expected to get a drink of some kind and it seemed like everyone around us also had to pay seven euros per drink so my juice cost the same as other people’s alcoholic beverages. Talk about the most expensive juice ever. However, the pricey drink was worth it because it was an extremely legit Sevillano flamenco show with locals getting up and dancing and “olé” ringing out left and right. When the singers were still going strong and it was after 1:30am, Paige and I decided to call it a night and walk the twenty plus minute walk back to our hotel. Considering I’d spent the previous night on a bus and Paige was dealing with jet lag, I was pretty impressed that we were able to stay up as late as we did. 

The next morning, after sleeping in and going to a noon Sunday Mass at nearby St. Peter’s Church, we grabbed napolitanas (chocolate filled rolls) for breakfast on our way to the Plaza de España. Once at the plaza, we met up with Ean and rented a rowboat at a total cost of five euros to go from one side of the plaza to the other for thirty minutes. Ean did most of the rowing, but Paige and I both gave it a try for a little bit. I may have attempted rowing before, but honestly can’t remember it if I did, so it was kinda of a struggle. I am ashamed to admit that I  sort of crashed into a couple of boats in the process. After the rowboat adventure, we found a nice restaurante for lunch in the old neighborhood known as barrio santa cruz, that is right next to the cathedral. I had a delicious lunch of tortilla de patata with a vegetable sauce, croquettes, salad, bread and sangria. You can’t get much more Spanish than that. We then went to Plaza de la Encarnación that is also known as las setas for the mushroom structure that can be found there. For a small price we were able to go up to the view area on top and just like our visit three years ago, the views were very nice. Then we said farewell to Ean who was returning to Toledo, and Paige and I spent the rest of the afternoon getting some ice cream, walking around for a bit and visiting the Opus Dei center. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Plaza de España to see it at night and relive our first time seeing it when on our second day in Spain we had an evening walking tour of the city that included the incredible plaza. Finally, we had a delicious supper at 100 Montaditos and that was also a nostalgic moment for us since it was at the first 100 Montaditos restaurant we ever went to and where we first fell in love with chocolate sandwiches.

 A little BC reunion...

Lunch 

The setas 

Chocolate sandwiches yum

The next day we didn’t have too much planned, which always makes for a relaxing day. We visited the church right next to where Paige lived, Jesus de Gran Poder, and then wandered around for a bit before ordering the menú del día (menu of the day) for lunch. We got soup, croquettes (yes, again), bread and for dessert in typical Spanish fashion, fruit. Later in the afternoon we made a frozen yogurt stop at the setas, then trekked out to the walls of the city to see the Basilica de la Macarena which has the famous Mary statue known as la Macarena. Sadly, the church was closed when we arrived and as it was an hour long wait and we had plans to meet up with our host families, we had to miss it this time around. At 6m we met up with my host mother, Concepción. She invited us out for churros and chocolate along with her current exchange student, who is a junior at Benedictine College. Such a small world. 

yogurt at the setas

After a nice visit with Concepción, we said goodbye and Paige and I headed to the Triana neighborhood to go to Mass and also see the statue of Mary known as La Esperanza de Triana. We went to one church, the church that the statue is normally at, but it wasn’t there, so we left and found an even bigger church about a block away, and sure enough the statue was there as well as a huge crowd of people. We knew something special had to be going on to draw such a gathering, and when a bunch of young men rushed to the statue as soon as the Mass concluded, we realized that they were going to process out with the statue and bring it to the other church. It was like old times, the two of us together in Sevilla and watching a procession similar to the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions, complete with candles and a band. After watching the statue leave the church, we headed back across the river to visit Paige’s host parents, Rosario and Josemaría. We had a fun time talking with them and didn’t leave until around 10:30pm. Rosario remembered me from when I’d come to visit Paige, but Josemaría had no clue who I was until I told him that I’d studied in Sevilla at the same time as Paige. It was definitely the hair. That crazy curly permed hair of mine. Speaking of my past hair style, Tania saw some pictures of the glory days and came right out and asked me why none of my friends had told me it looked bad and that I should change it. Ouch. I do have to admit I’m glad to have the permed days behind me. 

 La Esperanza de Triana (Triana's Hope)

Processing to the other church

To end the night, we had a quick supper of pizza at Buoni’s, the first place we went out to eat in Sevilla when we studied abroad. This is rather random, but the pizza guy resembled the actor James Franco. Paige and I both thought the same thing upon seeing him, which just goes to show that there was actually a resemblance. Sadly I didn’t sneakily take a picture of him so I’ve got no proof to support my statement. The next morning, St. Patrick’s Day, we picked up napolitanas for breakfast en route to the bus station and caught the 10:30 bus to Madrid to begin the second part of our vacation. The second half will have to wait till I get back from Rome since I don’t have time to finish writing before leaving tomorrow. Wishing you all a Blessed Holy Week and (early) Happy Easter!

Road Trip to Aragón

The first full weekend in March I traveled with Tania and another Opus Dei member, Ana, to the region of Aragón in Northern Spain. It was about a seven or so hour drive and we didn’t arrive to our lodging for the night until after 9pm. While the temperature wasn’t extremely cold for being up north, our apartment for the weekend was an icebox. Even though we turned on the two heaters to warm up our rooms as soon as we arrived, I was still super chilled a few hours later after we’d eaten pizza and watched a movie. The movie we watched was a Japanese film about a guy who reluctantly finds himself an assistant to a mortician. We all agreed that it was an extremely strange film to say the least. 

At a rest stop we had to get a picture with the flock of sheep (Tania's photo)

The next day we went to the sanctuary known as the Shrine of Torreciudad, which was the main purpose for our trip. The shrine was built by St. Josemaría Escriva and dedicated to the Virgin of Torreciudad. The saint was miraculously healed when he was two year’s old and his parents brought him on a pilgrimage to the hermitage where the statue of the Virgin was originally located and years later he built the shrine next to the hermitage. The shrine sits on the top of a huge hill or small mountain in Torreciudad and overlooks a reservoir. It is located next to the Pyrenees and the view of the snow covered mountains was absolutely incredible. 

 The lovely view (Tania's photo)

 the Shrine

Look at those mountains

Upon arriving to the shrine the first thing we did was go into the visitor’s center and watch an introductory video about the shrine. Then a very nice tour guide took us through some of the grounds, the church and up to the top of the bell tower. While Tania and Ana had both been to the shrine multiple times before, they’d never been up in the bell tower so it was an exciting and new experience for us all. Needless to say the view was great so we spent some time taking pictures. I don’t remember how many bells were in the tower, maybe thirteen or so, but the neat thing was that they all were given Marian names. 

 The bells! (Tania's photo)

At the top of the tower (Tania's photo)

 Looking down at the reservoir

Another view of the Pyrenees

After Mass our tour guide returned and talked to us about the impressive altarpiece in the church. It takes up an entire wall and consists of carved scenes in the life of the Virgin as well as a place for the tabernacle and for the actual statue of Our Lady of Torreciudad. Off to the side there is a life-size statue of St. Josemaría in a praying position facing the altar. Next we went down into the crypt level of the church where there are multiple rooms full of statues of Our Lady brought to the shrine from all over the world by pilgrims. It was really interesting to see the different depictions of Mary from different parts of the world and all the different titles given to her.

 The impressive altarpiece

Our Lady as depicted in different parts of the world

 Our Lady of Athletes

 Immaculate Conception (from Chicago)

Our Lady of Knock, Ireland

After lunch we went down to the hermitage and then later in the evening we drove to a small city called Aínsa which is about a half hour from the border of France. There we visited the ruins of a castle and watched the sunset. Later we found  a place to get supper, which in order to keep it affordable was pizza again. Once back at the apartment we watched a French movie that in Spanish is called Bienvenido al Norte (Welcome to the North). Very appropriate considering we were in the north. It was a comedy about a postman who gets sent to the north of France, which seems like a death sentence to him due to what he’s heard about the region and the people who populate it. It was entertaining and rather familiar. I’m pretty sure that I’d actually seen part of it while on a train or bus three years ago in Spain. 

 The Hermitage

(Tania's photo)

 Sunset at the castle in Aínsa

In the courtyard of the castle (Tania's photo)

The next day, Sunday, we went to Mass at the shrine before taking off on the return trip to Murcia. On the way back we stopped in the city of Zaragoza and walked across the bridge over Río Ebro, the longest river in Spain. We visited the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar which is famous for it’s very tiny statue of Our Lady of the Pillar, who is the patroness of Spain and of the Hispanic World. The basilica was the first church in history to be dedicated to Mary. The story is that the Virgin, standing on a pillar, appeared to the Apostle St. James at the current site of the church and promised that a church built there would stand until the end of time. And it remains to this day, despite being bombed during the Spanish Civil War. Miraculously the bombs didn’t explode and are on display in the church. Our Lady wasn’t kidding when she said the church would be under her protection. We ate lunch in the sunny plaza right next to the basilica and then resumed our journey to Murcia, arriving back in the early evening. 

 With the river and basilica in the background (Tania's photo)

 Our Lady of the Pillar

Basilica

Weekend Viaje to Valencia

This past weekend I went on a viaje (trip) with Tania to visit Valencia, the third largest city in Spain. Valencia is about a two and a half hour drive from Murcia and is located in the autonomous community of Valencia. Besides speaking Castilian (normal) Spanish the people also speak Valencian which is basically the same as Catalan, the language spoken in Catalonia, Spain. Tania’s friend’s parents had an empty flat in Benifaió, about twenty minutes from the city, where we were able to stay for free. We didn’t get to the flat until around ten at night on Friday, so we had supper and watched a movie called Premonition and called it a night. 

On Saturday we headed into the city and after finally parking (we spent a good half hour looking for an available free parking spot with no success) we went to St. John the Baptist Church for Mass. The Mass ended up being for an anniversary, so it was rather long but the neat thing was that it was in English. The priest and lectors didn’t speak the best English, but it was still cool that it was in my native tongue for a change. I had no idea it was going to be in English, Tania found out about it and decided to surprise me. After Mass we stopped into a tourism office to pick up a map and were informed that at 6pm there would be a mascletá at the river. Mascletás are like firecrackers but a lot more powerful than anything I’ve seen in the US. So we decided to do some sightseeing and later go to the mascletá.

 We first went to La Lonja (commodity exchange building) built in the fifteenth century. La Lonja is a world heritage monument and considered the most emblematic building from the Valencian civil gothic style. It consists of a large hall, tower with a spiral staircase, a couple of elegant rooms and a pavilion. We walked through and took some pictures, but sadly weren’t allowed to go in the tower. After that we stopped in a huge market, which had all sorts of food and sweets and was located in a pretty impressive building. Then we made our way to the cathedral and climbed the tower (I thought we’d never reach the top) and stayed up there for about a half hour or so. The view was amazing and definitely worth the workout it took to get there. We picked up empanadillas (sort of like a calzone and typical of southern Spain) and little pizzas for lunch and ate in a plaza right next to the cathedral. The weather was glorious (in the seventies) and so we sat out in the plaza for awhile and Tania had me read in Spanish so that she could help me improve my pronunciation. Then we went into the Capilla de la Virgen (Chapel of the Virgin) which is right beside the cathedral and is a beautiful church dedicated to Mary. After that we went to the Torres de Serranos (the gate to the city once upon a time) and paid the entrance fee only to go around to the entrance and see there was no one there actually checking tickets. Oh well. So we went up and took some pictures of the view and I went to one of the towers that had the flag of Valencia while Tania took my picture from the other tower, only to find out after that the flag never made it in the picture. Bummer. Next we walked in the park that was once a river around the city, but has since been drained and filled with parks and fields for sports. It was really pretty and a quite neat idea. 

 La Lonja

 The Market

 View from the Cathedral Tower

 At the top of the tower

 The flag at the old gate to the city

Me minus the flag

At six the mascletá began and it was fifteen minutes filled with flashes and explosions. It was okay at first but nothing that incredible, then the grand finale happened and the sky looked like an atomic bomb had dropped. It was insane. The whole sky was lit up with fire, the noise was deafening and there was ash raining down upon us. Tania turned to me and said that Valencians are pyromaniacs. It’s so true. Even kids of about three or four years old were throwing around little firecrackers and I believe these mascletás happen every day for more than two weeks straight. Then the grand finale is the festival of the fallas which comes to a conclusion on March 19th, where a ton of large and small sculptures made from a cardboard type of material are set on fire. There is no doubt about it, Valencia has a slightly unhealthy love for fire.

River turned Park

After finally escaping from the crowds after the mascletá we stopped in a cafe for merienda (afternoon snack/tea) and then went to the university Opus Dei club for the Saturday night meditation. After the meditation we went to 100 Montaditos, one of my favorite places to eat due to it’s amazing array of chocolate sandwiches. Tania had never tried the chocolate sandwiches, which is practically a crime if you are a native Spaniard in my book, so we had to rectify that immediately. She agreed that they are incredible and then with our stomachs happy we headed back to the flat for the night. We munched on skittles (which I introduced to Tania and she loves) and watched the Spanish movie Eva which was about robots and very weird. Then we crashed around 1am resolving to sleep in a bit the next day. 

Now to summarize the events of this past Sunday. After the noon Mass we ate an early lunch before making our way to the plaza del ayuntamiento (government square) to see another mascletá. This one was not as impressive as it only lasted for five minutes and from where we were standing, buildings blocked our view of most of the action. The crowds were insane and it was a good thing I wasn’t claustrophobic because people were pressing in from all sides. After finally making our way out of the madness, we went to an exhibition hall to see the ninots on display. Ninots are the cardboard sculptures that will be set ablaze on March 19th. There were larger than life sculptures and and smaller-sized ones and each one was created by an association in the region of Valencia. I’d say there were a couple hundred sculptures for both categories. While a lot of the sculptures were caricatures making fun of government leaders and policies some were just for fun, such as my personal favorite, Olaf the snowman from Frozen. After viewing the ninots, we were able to vote for our favorite large and small sculpture to save from being burned. Needless to say, Olaf got my vote. Our last stop of the day was to the beach to relax and enjoy some sun. Tania told me that Valencia is famous for it’s beverage known as horchata (almond flavored drink), so we got some to enjoy while lounging in the sand. While I can’t say that I loved it, I had to at least try it once while in the region known for it, and it wasn’t a bad experience. After a brief siesta, we bid farewell to the beautiful Mediterranean and the city of Valencia and arrived back in Murcia in the early evening. Valencia was full of great sights and things to do and my only regret is that we didn't have time to visit the city of arts and sciences which is a very cool looking area recently added to the city. Overall though, we fit quite a lot into a couple days and I had an amazing time.

The ninots

 Tania and I with a butcher ninot

 Hello Olaf!

Charlie Chaplin :)

 the sea

city of the arts and sciences (it sure looked cool driving by it)