Spagna! Parte uno

Right after finals I took a much-needed trip to southern Spain, compliments (with a miniscule fee) of the Communications Faculty at my Universita! The trip could not have come at a better time. Finals left me frazzled, and I was more than ready to leave Roma and experience new places and culture. Our trek took us to Avila, Granada, Cordoba, and Fatima (Portugal).


There were quite a few blessings along the way. For instance, the airline catered to my heritage's needs:



And the scenery leaving Madrid was lovely . . .



. . . even though some of it did just look like a big pile of dirt.



We had a breathtaking view as we approached Avila, which made me fall in love with the city at first sight. Nothing really prepares you for a medieval castle town with cool jagged rocks on top popping up in your bus window. Those are the things that your child self-edition draws in the background of your wedding to Prince Charming, not stuff that you actually plan to see. I was able to take it in stride. We had a lovely visit in Avila to the convent that St. Teresa of Avila originally entered, as well as the first one that she founded when she began reforming the Carmelite order. Blogger is being tempramental so I'll have some more photos from the convents in a later post.



Monika (best travelling and bus partner ever!) and I outside of Conception Convent, the convent that St. Teresa entered and then left.



Late afternoon view from the ramparts of Avila to the valley below.



Monika with the "mono" (that one's for you, dude!).



And finally, enjoying yet another carved Alhambra Palace doorway with Monika. Situated overlooking the city of Granada, the Alhambra is known for its intricate and mysterious stucco carvings in ivory, blue and green. We were appropriately wowed by the level of craftsmanship and the countless number of patient hours it must have taken to cast and chisel such detailed designs. The best part were the ceilings; they looked like honeycombs!



Alas, that's all the pictures for now. More coming soon with even better descriptions! On a side note, today was my first day of the new semester, and I'm praising God on my knees for how well it went. Thanks to actually studying and reading my textbooks during Finals, and spending 5 days hearing and speaking lots of Italian and Spanish, understanding my teachers was a breeze and I have have fantastic notes from my first classes. I couldn't be happier!