First Day of Fall in Madrid

It's a quiet Friday afternoon in Madrid; the perfect time to fill everyone in on my adventures over here!

Honestly I do not have a whole lot to report, since school has started, we've really settled into a routine and we haven't had much of a chance to explore much.

However, last Saturday, as the last part of our orientation, Middlebury chartered a bus and we all drove to Segovia, one of the oldest cities in Madrid. It was absolutely beautiful and a great way to spend the day. Everyone is really embarrassed of the cathedral in Madrid because it looks really French, but the cathedral in Segovia was incredible. Here are a couple pictures, but I don't know if my phone's camera does it justice (really wish I had taken your camera, Pops). The style is called Gotica Florida, which basically means ornate and flowery and renaissancy. Everything was gold and massive and the organ would have made Kevin drool.

There were about 25 side rooms, each one with something like this or artwork.

Nothing makes me happier than a castle, and luckily for me, Segovia has probably Spain's most famous castle. It was the getaway of Isabel and Ferdinand, amongst others.

Also, it was partly the inspiration for the castle at Disneyworld.

Knight; throneroom.

Segovia also has the best preserved Roman aqueduct in the world because the desert climate allowed it to survive perfectly:

Segovia's famous traditional dish is "cochinillo", which is suckling pig. We split one amongst 6 of us. Pretty delish. I ate the kidney and the tongue. Decided to stay away from the nose, eyeballs, brain, and tail.


School is going pretty well, the teachers talk pretty slowly so everyone can understand them, and although the homework takes a lot longer to do since it's in Spanish, there is a lot less of it. One of my classes is called Spanish Art of the 20th Century and half of our classes is just going to famous museums and looking at art, so that's pretty cool. I probably wouldn't be making it to too many museums if not for the class.

One of the most fun, surprisingly, part of living alone has been cooking for myself every night. Last night I made Tortilla Española for everyone in my apartment. It's the most classic Spanish tapas, and I got rave reviews from the natives, so I was pretty happy with the turnout.

I hate that I'll be missing Vermont fall for the first time. Here it's just more heat and sun and dryness. I would kill for some mountains and rivers right about now. Abby had a couple hiking suggestions for me that I am definitely going to try out before too long. In the meantime, feel free to send me some pictures of some foliage or other fall-y things I'm missing out on!

Love you all! Talk soon!


Few more pictures:

City hall in Madrid.

Lake in the middle of Retiro Park where I run everyday.

In Plaza Mayor, one of the bigger and older squares of Madrid.