travel, travel, travel

 

As so much traveling has occurred since I last wrote, I will give a relatively short review on my destinations.  In March, I was lucky enough to have Bryan come visit me one more time in Spain during his Spring Break.  We decided to rent an apartment for the week in Barcelona thinking that it would be nice to be by the sea and enjoy what we thought would be Barcelona’s good weather.  Unfortunately, the weather has been rather abnormal in Spain this year (as everyone feels a need to tell me every time it rains) and it decided to snow in Barcelona while we were there for the first time in five years.  Bryan and I were both wishing we would have brought extra layers.  Despite the cold, we were  able to enjoy the sights from the Picasso and Joan Miro museums to all of Gaudi’s attractions and the famous Mercat de la Boqueria.  There were plenty of cañas to drink and really good food to be had.  I mostly loved the unique and colorful buildings that are situated throughout the various neighborhoods.  It really is a beautiful and vibrant city, and I would definitely live there in another life.  Oddly enough, it also had the best street performers I have ever seen.      

During Semana Santa in April, I decided to take advantage of the extra long week and take a trip to Prague, Czech Republic with my friend, Heather, who is teaching English in  Barcelona this year.  Semana Santa is the last week of lent and the week before Easter.  It’s Spain’s religious holiday that celebrates the last week of Jesus’ earthly life.  This week is also celebrated in other predominantly catholic countries.  I had a couple of days before and after my flight to and from Madrid so I also decided to take day trips to Segovia and Salamanca.  In Segovia, I went to see the castle that is supposedly the inspiration for Disney’s fairytale castle.  I don’t know why they even bother to make that claim since it’s obviously not true.  Especially after you’ve seen Germany’s Neuschwanstein castle.   Besides the castle, Segovia has an amazing Roman aqueduct that really demands a “wow”.  I was told it is one of Spain’s most well preserved Roman structures.  

In Salamanca, I was able to watch the traditional Semana Santa processions that usually  involve men in purple KKK looking robes and Mary and Jesus statues (taken out of the churches) being paraded through the streets for hours.  The statues looked extremely heavy and were taken to a finale in the Plaza Mayor.  It was completely full of people snapping pictures while the statues were made to dance.   Salamanca is filled with old, well preserved buildings that are still used today for the oldest university in Spain, the University of Salamanca.  There is an intricately carved side to the entrance of one of the University buildings.  If you find the famous frog hidden on this wall without help, you will supposedly get married within the year.  One of Spain’s many superstitions.  I was never good at "Where’s Waldo?".  The weather was  nice in Salamanca.  I spent a good amount of time sipping a caña (a Spanish beer) and munching on some tapas in a sunny plaza while I watched young boys play “fútbol” and almost knock down a few tourists. 

To be continued . . .