This is a picture of the most famous monastery in Lisbon called Jerónimos Monastery. We found this in the Belém neighborhood of Lisbon after enjoying a picnic lunch in the Jardins of Belém. Today, this monastery is home to many different things including an archeology museum, the Santa Maria Church, and a ship museum. I was able to see the first two, but unfortunately the ship museum was not open on Saturdays. The church reminded me a lot of the Cathedrals that we saw in Toledo, Salamanca, and Segovia. It is built in a gothic style, with high rising ceilings and an abundance of detail in the columns, walls, and alters. I was also able to venture into the archeology museum that contained artifacts from all over Europe, Asia, and Africa. There was a great exhibit of different coins, jewelry, and armor from the days of the Roman influence in the Iberian Peninsula. There was also a roomed filled with artifacts from Egypt, including sarcophagi, and metal moldings of Egyptian gods and Pharaohs. In a room that focused on the Oriental, there were paintings and early photography that came out of China and India. There was a device in this room, that when you look into it with two pictures on the other side, it combines the two photos to create a 3D image. I really enjoyed this monastery and was impressed by how they had used the space inside to house so many different museums and places of interest. 

 

This is a picture of Praça de D. Pedro IV in Lisbon, Portugal. Sarah, Gabe, Trevor, Shelley, Hannah, and I went to Lisbon this past weekend to soak in a little bit of the Portuguese culture. Lisbon is truly an enchanting city, and in my opinion is one of the hidden gems of Europe. The Praça de D. Pedro IV contains two fountains, a McDonalds, and an enormous statue. According to Wikipedia, Praça de D. Pedro IV, also known as Rossio, takes it’s namesake from both Pedro IV and from the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro I. This enormous statue is actually that of the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro I.  After the earthquake of 1755, all of the buildings within the Rossio had to be rebuilt; the only building that was not destroyed was the Palace of Independence*. Therefore, today all of the buildings existing in the plaza, except the Palace of Independence, date from the late 1700’s and forward*.  This plaza has been an important meeting place for the people of Lisbon for centuries*. Even its alternate name, “Rossio”, means “common” in English*. The plaza is called “common”, because it is a place owned by the common people*. I saw for myself while being there that this is still a bustling scene, filled with people of all classes and social backgrounds. It seems to be a place that every one in the city flocks to, also because it is in the center of many other popular destinations within Lisbon, such as Avenida da Liberdade, Pombaline Downtown, Praça da Figueira, and it even holds a beautiful view of the Castle of São Jorge.

 

*Information gathered, and reworded from Wikipedia.

This is a picture of Avenida da Liberdade. After we walked through the Rossio, we came upon this avenue. This avenue is full of clothing shops, cafes, both indoor and outdoor, street venders, and artists. Also, on this street you literally cannot walk two yards with out being approached by someone trying to sell you drugs. It was definitely an interesting experience. The Avenida ends under an arch at the beginning of a ship port, where you can then find numerous different modes of transportation including: trolleys, the metro, and a train system a few blocks down. One of my favorites, which unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to make use of, was the trolley. Everywhere one looks in Lisbon, there are trolleys and the electrical cables above the streets that the trolleys run on. It was actually the first city that I’ve been to, European or otherwise, that had an extensive trolley system. After looking at a map of the metro system and seeing the trolleys, the trolleys actually reach more of the city than the metro does. One of the most interesting things to me about this avenue, were the artists that set up shop towards the end of it, just before the arch and the seafront. From oil paintings to watercolors, this would be an art lover’s paradise. Each independent artist had multiple works of their interpretation of different hotspots within the city. I was lucky enough to be able to watch a few of the artists as they created their works of art.

On our latest excursion we not only visited Salamanca, but also the little city of Ávila part of the Castille y León region of Spain which is also the capital of the province of Ávila. Avila, a beautiful city, is situated 3665 ft above sea level. At this height, compared to the other capital cities in the country, it holds the highest altitude. Ptolemy wrote a manuscript entitled "Geographia", where he mentions a city called "Abula", while no one is certain, it is a possibility that this city is present day Avila. Abula is supposedly one of the first christianized cities of the Iberian peninsula, but it is also thought that Ávila is actually the city of Obila, and that Abula was what is now Abla. A medieval wall containing eighty-eight towers and nine gateways surrounds the city. The city was great. I loved visiting it. I wish I knew more about the city, but we didn't have a guide to tell us anything, so unfortunately I don't have much information. I do know however, that it was named a UNESCO world heritage site, just like the cities of Toledo and Segovia. 

This past Saturday Chadwell, Gabe, and I visited the Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid. 

The following information was gathered from Wikipedia and paraphrashed by the author of this blog:

Situated at the edge of the center of Madrid, the Parque del Buen Retiro is about 350 acres and is close to both Museo del Prado and the Puerta de Alcalá. Under King Philip II, the architect Juan Bautista de Toledo enlarged the park during the latter half of the sixteenth century. The park was again extended in the 1620’s by Gaspar de Guzmán. The park has not always been open to the public. It was not until 1767 that the park was accessible to civilians. Before this, the park was meant only for the royal family and the monarch’s court.

During the reign of Charles IV, Juan de Villanueva's Astronomical Observatory was built. Estanque del Retiro, located towards the northern entrance of the park, is a large artificial lake that was constructed next to the enormous monument to King Alfonso XII. A statue stands among the many rose bushes called the Fountain of the Falling Angel that was inspired by a passage from John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. Among all of the things within the park is a walkway known as the Paseo de las Estatuas or Paseo de Argentina where there are many sculptures of former kings sculpted between 1750 and 1753.

This is one of the two cathedrals in Salamanca, Spain. The two cathedrals are connected to each other, and we visited them both on our latest excursion. 

The following information was encountered by the author of this blog on Wikipedia. It has been interpretted and reworded:

It was built between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries in two different styles, both gothic and baroque. It was custom-made by Ferdinand the Fifth of Castile. In 1887, the cathedral was declared a national monument by royal decree. When the new cathedral was built, at the time the Gothic style of architecture was becoming less popular and began merging with the new Renaissance style. However, the authorities wanted the new cathedral to match the old one, so it still possesses a large amount of Gothic characteristics. In November of 1755, a devastating earthquake (referred to now as the Lisbon Earthquake) occurred that resulted in many structural and cosmetic damages to the Cathedrals. Repairs were made to the copula and the base of one of the towers. Again in 1992, repairs were necessary and an artist carved an astronaut into the outside of the cathedral as a symbol of the twentieth century. Every year on October 31 “Mariquelo” takes place when residents climb to the top of the copula to play music and commemorate the Lisbon earthquake. 

I really liked the Cathedral of Salamanca. It was beautiful and the history behind it is fescinating. Unfortunately, I don't understand Spanish as well as I would like, so instead of using strictly what the guide told me during the excursion, I had to use outside sources, such as Wikipedia. 

The Park Güell, too, is a work of Barcelona architect Antonio Gaudi. As a combination of a garden and architectural elements, walking through the park is akin to walking through Alice’s Wonderland. The financer of the park, Eusebi Güell, originally intended for the site to be a housing development because it was located on the top of a mountain, out of the way of the many factories of Barcelona. However, only two houses were actually built on the site, neither designed by Gaudi, and after they were unable to sell them, Güell encourage Gaudi to move into one of them. He did so, and this house today still sits at the entrance to the park. The park is free to tour, but there is an entrance fee the Gaudi’s house, which contains furniture designed by Gaudi himself. I wasn’t able to go into the house myself, but seeing the park was awe-inspiring enough. After experiencing both the Park Güell and La Casa Milá, I can agree that Gaudi, probably one of the most famous native Barcelona residents in the history of the city, was an utter genius. If this had been the only thing that I had seen in Barcelona I would have been happy with my visit. Seeing the park and La Pedrera makes me wonder how the inhabitants of the city interpreted these things during the tumultuous years of Franco, and the miserable reality that coincided. Obviously, I’ve never been in such a grim situation, but when I was surrounded by the masterpiece of an impeccable genius, I felt as if I didn’t have a care in the world.

This is a picture of La Pedrera, or better known as La Casa Milá, which is an apartment building built by architect Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona. There is not a straight line in the entire building. The apartment building was built for the widow of José Guardiola, who was an “indiano”, which is a Catalan term used to describe those who went to the Americas and returned with enormous wealth. The project was completed in 1912, however at the time, the city of Barcelona was not happy with many of the aspects of the building. It refused to allow Gaudi to add a huge sculpture on the top that is said to be his interpretation of the primeval earth goddess, Gaia and fined the owners for infractions of city regulations. We actually stumbled upon this landmark accidentally when we were looking for a Metro line to the Park Güell. As we were following signs for the Metro, all of a sudden we saw this magnificent work of art rising over the horizon. This was a nice predecessor to the Park Güell. After seeing both, it is easy to recognize the definitive style of Gaudi and I must say that if anyone ever visits Barcelona, it is imperative that they see these two sites.

This is a picture of FC Barcelona’s stadium. I really hate to admit that I came here, because I’m a Real Madrid fan for life, but it was very cool to visit. The FC Barcelona was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English, and Spanish men, lead by Joan Gamper. While they have a better record than Real Madrid this season, they are only the second most successful team of La Liga, under Real Madrid (yay!!!). They have won 18 La Liga titles, 24 Spanish Cups, seven Spanish Super Cups and two League Cups. This stadium is actually the largest stadium in Europe, seating just fewer than 100,000 people. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid compete in what is known as El Clásico, which is a match between the two teams, which is played every year and watched by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Fans of FC Barcelona are known as “culers”, or in Spanish, “culés”. To be able to see both of the stadiums of the two most beloved fútbol teams in Spain was really exciting. I have noticed (because it isn’t hard to miss) that fútbol is a large part of Spanish culture and to be able to attend a game at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and see Camp Nou is extremely fortunate. 

The other day, I was at a bar in La Plaza Mayor and I saw this bottle of Duff beer on the shelf. I thought that it was just a novelty type thing since the television show The Simpsons is so popular here. However the other day, I went into a bar in Toledo and I looked into a room and saw four or five cases of the Duff beer. So, it turns out that Duff is actually a legitimate brand of beer here in Spain. When I was a kid, I used to watch The Simpsons every day with my family, but until recently I hadn’t watch it for a good five or so years. Once I got to Spain though, I discovered that The Simpsons is still extremely popular and I now watch it every day, at least once a day, at lunch. Watching The Simpsons in Spanish has actually helped to improve my listening skills. I can remember the plot lines from when I used to watch it as a kid, so I already know what is going on and I can listen for specific things while I watch it.

This is a picture of the inside of La Sinogóga Santa Maria La Blanca in Toledo, Spain. Toledo is in the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain, and during the rule of the Visigoths was the capital of the country. The architecture within the synagogue was spectacular. The type of art that is utilized in La Sinogóga Santa Maria is called Mudéjar and is a form of art that was created by Muslims living in Christian territory. In the eighth century AD, a period of time called the Reconquista took place in which the Christians systematically subjugated the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims. The Reconquista lasted for roughly 750 years until the final Muslim territory of Granada was taken in 1492. For the first one hundred years or so of the Reconquista, another period of time occurred simultaneously called the Convivencia when the three major religions lived together in relative peace: Jews, Muslims, and Christians.  During these years and the time of the Reconquista, the Muslims living in the territory of the Christians would create art out of cheap, bland materials such as brick, plaster, wood, and metal. The synagogue is a great example of this type of art. Something interesting to think about is that this synagogue was built by Muslims as a Jewish synagogue during the Convivencia, and then became a Catholic church when the Catholics took over. So, this one building has ties to the three major monotheistic religions of the world.

This is a picture of La Catedral Primada in Toledo, Spain. This was our first stop on our tour of Toledo, and I must say, it was pretty hard to top. The interior of the Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous. Enormous gothic arches, elaborate chapels, and spectacular paintings successfully made me speechless. When the Visigoths conquered Spain in the fifth century AD, they made the capital Toledo and built the Cathedral. During the rule of the Visigoths, this was the first time in the history of the Iberian Peninsula that Spain had been united under both the same ruler and the same religion- Christianity. Christianity came to the peninsula in the first century when the Romans finally conquered the peninsula after hundreds of years of battles. The reason that Christianity persisted after the collapse of the Roman Empire is because the Visigoths converted to the monotheistic religion. Along with Christianity, the only other things that remained after the Roman collapse were Roman laws and the language. Walking through the city, you really get a sense of being in a city straight out of the middle ages. I never get tired of visiting cities with cobble stone roads and breathtaking landscape.

This is a view of Segovia from the top of the aqueduct. I love this picture because you can clearly see the mountain range in the background. Segovia lies in the middle of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range in the north of central Spain. The highest peak of this mountain range is called Penalara and reaches an astonishing 2,428 m above sea level (and for the rest of us Americans out there, that is 7,965 ft). The entire range stretches in a southwest-northeast direction and spans 80 km in length. Segovia itself has been a great place to study, I could not have chosen a better city myself.  When the language is overwhelming, and the school work is frustrating me, I just look around me and remember how lucky I am to be in this amazing city (that just happens to be a World Heritage Site as well). From the aqueduct, to the alcazar, to the cathedral, Segovia never ceases to amaze me. No matter how many times I walk, or stumble, down the cobblestone streets, I can't imagine myself ever getting tired of the scenery around me. 

This is one of the castles that we visited on our last excursion. It is called Castillo de Coca and is located the town of Coca which is within the province of Segovia. It was constructed in the fifteenth century and is considered one of Spain's best examples of gothic-mudejar architecture. This was my favorite castle of the day (however Pedraza was my favorite place of the day, for the scenery rather than the castle). There were more hallways and passageways than I knew what to do with. Walking through this castle really made me feel like I had been transported back in time to the Middle Ages. It was the definition of what a Spanish/European castle should be. When I came to Spain, the first things on my list of things to see were castles. This excursion went above and beyond my expectations and enabled me to mark that off my list. As the first stop on our trip that day, it was quite hard to top this site. 

This is a picture from the Real Madrid game that I went to about two weeks ago. It was an amazing game, and (as usual) REAL MADRID WON!! This game was UNLIKE the Real Madrid-Liverpool game that was on this past Wednesday, where Real Madrid was unfortunately defeated. Anyways, back to this game...I almost felt like a real Spaniard being at this game. It was really cool to see the greatest futbol team in the world play. And that isn't just my opinion, they are officially the most successful futbol team in Spain and was voted by FIFA as the most successful club of the 20th century. Real Madrid has won 31 La Liga titles, 17 Spanish Cups, 9 European Cups, and two UEFA Cups. The team has played in it's home in Santiago Bernabeu Estadio, which has a capacity of 80,354 persons, since 1947. The player that you see in this picture is none other than Rafael van der Vaart that generally plays midfield. The most notible player for Real Madrid is Raul Gonzalez Blanco who broke the record for most goals scored for Real Madrid with 311 career goals. 

This was taken in the final city we visited on our excursion on Friday. The city was called Pedraza and it was similar to the other cities, only ten times better. From the other cities, Segovia included, you can see in the distance the gorgeous mountain ranges; however from Pedraza, the mountain ranges are literally right there. This city felt even more than the other ones, like a legitimate Spanish pueblo. The cobblestone roads, the stone, dirt-colored buildings, the castle, and the surrounding mountains gave the feeling of total relaxation and felt as if we were transported back in time 100 years (except for the fact that there were indeed cars in this town). In the story that we are reading in the 306 clase de literatura right now, San Manuel bueno, martir, it takes place in a small village. In my mind, this city was exactly like the city in that book. San Manuel could have been living in one of those houses for all I knew. 

These buildings were really neat. I saw them as I arrived in Madrid on the train on the way to the Real Madrid soccer game. I don't know the city that well, considering I've only been there twice, but from what I have seen these are the most modern-looking of any of the buildings I saw. It is an interesting comparison. These two, and the older buildings in downtown Madrid around La Puerta del Sol and Gran Via. The buildings that date back centuries have an obvious, elegant and aged kind of beauty. And it's because of those buildings that Madrid, and other European cities, are visted by residents of the United States year-round. There are buildings in Madrid older than our country. But sometimes it's overlooked that it is still a big city, a big, modern city that has the same technologies we possess in the United States.  So, when I saw these buildings, I wanted to take a picture because it showed that even the most modern of buildings in Madrid are still spetacular.

This is the Cathedral lit up. Segovia looks completely different at night, and is even more beautiful. Not only does Segovia look different at night, it feels different. The city comes to life at night, especially on the weekend nights. People go out for tapas and drinks, and to socialize. Even at 3:00 in the morning, this cathedral is lit up like this. This picture can be seen as a representation of the people of the town, and the country. Even at 3:00 in the morning, people are awake, and out. Originally, the cathedral was built even closer to the Alcazar. However, during the war of the Communties it was destroyed and rebuilt in it's current location. Architect Juan Gil de Ontanon began the construction in 1525, and finally after three other architects, it was finished by Juan de Mugaguren in 1615. This, and the Cathedral of Salamanca are some of the most impressive gothic style cathedrals in the country. It is incredible to think that this cathedral was built in the 16th century, before any sort of advanced form of construction equipment had been invented. I don't think we could build something this impressive today, even with all of the technology we have. 

This is a good representation of myself compared to not only Segovia, Spain, but the entire world. I am just one very small person when compared to the world. When one is absorbed in their everyday life for an extended period of time without anything new or different, it is hard to remember that we are each just a tiny piece of the puzzle. It is such a refreshing awakening to be reminded that the world is much more massive than my ordinary life back in Franklin, or Culleoka, or Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 

This represents my goals for speaking Spanish. I want to break the door down, and let myself in. It is going to be difficult, considering there are steel bars barcading it. But, with enough effort and time, I know I will achieve my goal. It's hard to remember that at times, but I try to keep telling myself this. Hopefully, within a few weeks, or months, I will look back at this picture and feel accomplished. 

  This is how I feel about the Spanish language right now. There is a wall and steel bars keeping me from getting in. I don't understand nearly as much as I would like. At a good moment, I probably only understand about 50% of what people are saying. I understand more when it is an American speaking Spanish. But, when I listen to the Spaniards, I get really frustrated because I can't understand very much through their accents. Frustration is even a bit of an understatement. By the end of the day, my brain is so overloaded with new words, and sounds, that it can't handle anything else. So, another interpretation of this picture, is how my brain is at the end of the day. Nothing else can get in.