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.