Hola from the other side of the world!
First off I'm sitting in the window of MY ROOM in Avila, Spain writing this for y'all!
I can't believe I am finally here and I feel so blessed to be. :)
So I guess I'll start from the beginning, all our bus and airplane adventures to even get to where I'm sitting now. Our group of 15 students, 2 professors, and 1 tag along (sorry Albert) left Lubbock, TX Friday morning at 9:00 AM by bus and began the first leg of our 24 hours of traveling. The bus ride was nothing much, but Page was generous enough to get us McAlister's for lunch- she couldn't let us starve! After arriving at DFW, the chaos of airport security hit full swing. Before I could think my 42 lbs bag was checked and I was on my way through security. BUT TAYLOR WAS SUPPOSED TO SEE ME OFF AT THE AIRPORT! Don't worry, she made it just in time to give me a hug and bag full of goodies before I made it all the way into the terminal. Now came the intense traveling- a 9 hour plane ride to London. I don't sleep very well in any kind of moving vehicle, so you can see how much I was looking forward to this. So I got all settled next to Kaitlyn (luckily I was sitting by someone I knew) and began browsing movies. I've never flown through British Airways before and I don't know if any of you have, but it was so nice. They served us coffee and tea periodically, and also a delicious dinner and breakfast just before we arrived in London- although my amazement at this could just be due to the fact that I've never flown overnight! London Heathrow was a whole new world for me- huge and full of SO many different people. We had about 4 hours there, and I wanted to explore but honestly I was too tired to do anything. I took about a 1 1/2 hour nap and the walked around to at least be see the airport while we were there. Our flight to Madrid was only 2 hours and the air was clear enough to see some land and ocean below us because yay I had a window seat! landing in Madrid was so exciting because we finally made it to our destination country and now all that was left was an hour bus ride to Avila. the driver met us at the airport , which was fun because I've never had anyone waiting to pick me up sign in hand and all. The bus ride was absolutely GORGEOUS. I had the best seat in the bus also; it didn't have a seat in front of it, so I could see out the entire window in front of me to all the Spanish countryside. As the last leg of our trip ended, we pulled up in front of the converted monastery that is our home for the next 3 months. Y'all would have laughed at us had you been there because honestly no one could believe this was actually our new home! All 15 of us students have our own room and bath (that's one of my favorite parts) and a beautiful view of the city. I couldn't have asked for a better way to bring such a long 24 hours of traveling to a close. (except there is no AC, what is that about??)
Sunday was our first full day in Avila and we spent it on a walking tour with a retired guide who was kind enough to show us around. Her name is Victoria and she has been so amazing to our group and in educating us on all aspects of Avila. She didn't take us to see much on Sunday- we were way too tired.
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| Our Dorm |
Not being on LCU campus has some losses and one of those is missing chapel and the community it provides everyday, so in place of that we have begun a tradition of a chapel/small group time on Sunday nights. Our first one was a great success and I am so excited to get to know everyone embarking on this adventure with me on a deeper level.
Monday was a Monday, but in the most exciting way possible- CLASSES IN SPAIN- what else?! Each morning we have a nice mile walk to school on the edge of Avila down some of the prettiest streets I've seen. This Monday the dean of the college, UCAV, and our international studies director met us and welcomed us to their university. From there we went on to Spanish and met our professor, who is the only on from UCAV who will be teaching one of our classes, and he showed us around campus. After Spanish everyday is Personal Finance and the Art History; I'm not in Personal Finance, so that gives me a couple hours of free time. Classes end at around 2:15 and we all go back to the dorm to have lunch together, which so far has been delicious. In Spanish culture they have a time
every afternoon of rest, siesta, which so far everyone has really enjoyed. I'm not a huge nap person, but I do love a chance to relax, maybe get a little homework done, write in my journal (thanks Carleigh), or just sit and enjoy the beautiful place we are in. After siesta a group of us went exploring, and just got to know each other a little better. It was probably one of the most fun times I've had on this trip because it was so simple and easy and we all got along so well. Fro-yo was a must, of course.
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| K'Leigh and I at the 4 posts overlooking Avila |
So according to our art professor, Dr. Kraft, Trolly (choo-choo) tours are in most cities, so her and her husband, Albert, took us on the Avila version Tuesday night. It was so fun! and very educational ;) We made a picture stop at the 4 posts and had an AMAZING view of the city. I can't wait to hike up there and explore a little more!
The wall around the old city of Avila you can see in the picture is the best restored and one of the oldest in Europe. I can't believe I am living in a city with such a rich history. Avila is called the city of Stones and Saints, for the wall and St. Teresa of Avila, but it is also the city of three cultures or religions. It has been ruled and designed by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Sunday when we took our first tour of the city, we mainly learned the history of the wall around the city; it is almost 1000 years old and has seen so much history. Not only is it built with large granite stones, but when parts were being rebuilt in the 112th century many stones from old Roman buildings were used. you can even see that they used some roman tomb stones (the Romans cremated their dead and put their ashes in a hallowed out stone). Around half of the wall is actually in such good shape that today you can walk along the top, although I haven't had the chance to do that myself.
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| Roman tomb used as part of the walls |
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| St. Vincent's |
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| The empty tomb inside St. Vincent's |
On our 2nd tour around the city with our wonderful guide Victoria, we went inside the church of St. Vincent and in the Cathedral of Avila. St. Vincent's is a Romanesque era church and very well restored; it was so beautiful and a great start to all the Cathedrals and churches we will hopefully visit. The church was built on the location of the graves of martyrs, Vicente and 2 others, during Roman rule. There is actually a "empty" tomb or a faux grave above the spot where the martyrs are believed to be buried. This beautiful memorial has original 14th century paint and beautiful carvings. One of my favorite facts of the church is not about the church itself, but about its renovation at the turn of the 20th century; to keep the church is nearly new condition- considering its hundreds of years old- each stone of the outer walls was taken and turned so its inside was now the exterior of the church. I can't even imagine the enormity of that task. Some stones were even numbered so that whole sections of the walls could be taken down at the same time and constructed with each stone in exactly the same place. St. Vincent's was an amazing place and one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in Spain.
After St. Vincent's we walked inside the walls and into the Cathedral. This amazing structure is the first gothic style
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| St. Vincent's painted stone |
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| Natural quarry stone in the cathedral |
cathedral in Spain and still contains many influences from the romanesque period. The cathedral is built so that its apes (the rounded part at the end) is one of the wall's turrets. This is amazingly impressive from outside the wall to see such a beautiful strong structure defending its city. The cathedral is surrounded by stone lions, which used to be connected by chains as a kind of fence. Inside the cathedral is just as amazing as the outside. I don't understand how a space can feel so much bigger on the inside than looks possible from the outside, but this cathedral definetly does that. the ceilings were miles high and so ancient feeling. As big as the cathedral felt right then, there was so much more- you can't even see the main alter and worship space from the entrance. It is hidden behind a choir box decorated with gorgeous renaissance carvings added during the 16th century. One of the most interesting things to me about this building is the stone used to make the main alter; it is red and white stone from a quarry outside of Avila. Even more interesting is that inside of St. Vincents, the alter stone is painted to mimic the natural veins in the stone of the cathedral. It is gorgeous stone and adds so much character to the space and gives it an Avila touch- I love how unique that is. This city is becoming more and more amazing to me and this cathedral just adds to it!
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| Inside of Avila Cathedral |
It has been such an amazing first week and I still can't believe I am actually here. I do already miss TX, sweet tea, Rosa's, AC, and of course all you amazing people! Love y'all and don't worry I'll keep you updated on all our crazy shenanigans!
Adios!
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| view from my window |
So I guess I'll start from the beginning, all our bus and airplane adventures to even get to where I'm sitting now. Our group of 15 students, 2 professors, and 1 tag along (sorry Albert) left Lubbock, TX Friday morning at 9:00 AM by bus and began the first leg of our 24 hours of traveling. The bus ride was nothing much, but Page was generous enough to get us McAlister's for lunch- she couldn't let us starve! After arriving at DFW, the chaos of airport security hit full swing. Before I could think my 42 lbs bag was checked and I was on my way through security. BUT TAYLOR WAS SUPPOSED TO SEE ME OFF AT THE AIRPORT! Don't worry, she made it just in time to give me a hug and bag full of goodies before I made it all the way into the terminal. Now came the intense traveling- a 9 hour plane ride to London. I don't sleep very well in any kind of moving vehicle, so you can see how much I was looking forward to this. So I got all settled next to Kaitlyn (luckily I was sitting by someone I knew) and began browsing movies. I've never flown through British Airways before and I don't know if any of you have, but it was so nice. They served us coffee and tea periodically, and also a delicious dinner and breakfast just before we arrived in London- although my amazement at this could just be due to the fact that I've never flown overnight! London Heathrow was a whole new world for me- huge and full of SO many different people. We had about 4 hours there, and I wanted to explore but honestly I was too tired to do anything. I took about a 1 1/2 hour nap and the walked around to at least be see the airport while we were there. Our flight to Madrid was only 2 hours and the air was clear enough to see some land and ocean below us because yay I had a window seat! landing in Madrid was so exciting because we finally made it to our destination country and now all that was left was an hour bus ride to Avila. the driver met us at the airport , which was fun because I've never had anyone waiting to pick me up sign in hand and all. The bus ride was absolutely GORGEOUS. I had the best seat in the bus also; it didn't have a seat in front of it, so I could see out the entire window in front of me to all the Spanish countryside. As the last leg of our trip ended, we pulled up in front of the converted monastery that is our home for the next 3 months. Y'all would have laughed at us had you been there because honestly no one could believe this was actually our new home! All 15 of us students have our own room and bath (that's one of my favorite parts) and a beautiful view of the city. I couldn't have asked for a better way to bring such a long 24 hours of traveling to a close. (except there is no AC, what is that about??)
The wall around the old city of Avila you can see in the picture is the best restored and one of the oldest in Europe. I can't believe I am living in a city with such a rich history. Avila is called the city of Stones and Saints, for the wall and St. Teresa of Avila, but it is also the city of three cultures or religions. It has been ruled and designed by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Sunday when we took our first tour of the city, we mainly learned the history of the wall around the city; it is almost 1000 years old and has seen so much history. Not only is it built with large granite stones, but when parts were being rebuilt in the 112th century many stones from old Roman buildings were used. you can even see that they used some roman tomb stones (the Romans cremated their dead and put their ashes in a hallowed out stone). Around half of the wall is actually in such good shape that today you can walk along the top, although I haven't had the chance to do that myself.
On our 2nd tour around the city with our wonderful guide Victoria, we went inside the church of St. Vincent and in the Cathedral of Avila. St. Vincent's is a Romanesque era church and very well restored; it was so beautiful and a great start to all the Cathedrals and churches we will hopefully visit. The church was built on the location of the graves of martyrs, Vicente and 2 others, during Roman rule. There is actually a "empty" tomb or a faux grave above the spot where the martyrs are believed to be buried. This beautiful memorial has original 14th century paint and beautiful carvings. One of my favorite facts of the church is not about the church itself, but about its renovation at the turn of the 20th century; to keep the church is nearly new condition- considering its hundreds of years old- each stone of the outer walls was taken and turned so its inside was now the exterior of the church. I can't even imagine the enormity of that task. Some stones were even numbered so that whole sections of the walls could be taken down at the same time and constructed with each stone in exactly the same place. St. Vincent's was an amazing place and one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in Spain.
Thank you for posting this wonderful story of your adventures. You are a good writer and make this all seem so real to us. Thank you. Hope each day is awesome and that you are making life-time memories. Love you and thanks for sharing your story!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog name--Texas Road Runner or Chaparral! You are so clever!!
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ReplyDeleteAudrey, what a lovely blogpost!! :)
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