Chapter One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Eight: Hola de Espana: Parte Cuatro - El Fine

Hello America! As many of you know, I'm already back in the States, but I wanted to be sure to add a firm "bookend" to my month-long adventure in Spain! This post will be wrapping up my last moments in Spain, as well as some reflection about my time there. I would like to take a moment to thank you for putting up with my constant picture-taking, status-updating, and blogging. I have loved sharing this adventure with you, and I am looking forward to having many more in the years to come.

Anyway, back to Spain!

We were nearing our end in Sevilla, so it was time to buckle down and do everything we could in our short time. We finally went to a Flamenco show literally two days before we left Sevilla (which was an adventure in itself). The show started at 10:00 pm, but we get out of class at 9:00 pm. In between these times, we had to

• Walk home from school
• Change into nice clothes
• Eat dinner with our Host Mom
• Walk to the show

Keep in mind, while everything is compacted together in the city, walking everywhere still takes time. For us, it was about a 25-minute walk, so that didn't leave much time for eating, changing, and general leisure. Our 25-minute walk quickly turned into a running-down-the-alleys-of-Seville-and-praying-we-aren't-late sprint. 

It was stressful, but as we ran down the streets in our dresses, we were laughing. The sweat beaded on our foreheads, our feet hurt as we stumbled on the cobblestone, our lungs ached from running, but we had smiles on our faces. I think, in those fleeting moments when we are teeter-tottering on the edge of thrill and excitement, we have the option to become very aware of our surroundings. And, in that moment, I became very thankful. I was thankful that I had the opportunity to get strange looks from locals as we ran down the streets, our hair flying behind us, our laughter bouncing off the brick walls.

We barely made the show; as we sat down they closed the door and turned down the house lights. What we witnessed was beautiful and old art. The style of flamenco that we watched was one of its oldest forms - created and perfected in Seville itself. It's a creative blend of body percussion, simple instruments, and specified motions from woman and man. 

Each motion, sound, and blend all convey different emotions as the show tells a story. We were not allowed to take pictures or videos until the very end, so here is just a glimpse of what we were entranced with for only an hour. 

Our time in Seville came to end just a few days later. Our last dinner with Maria, our wonderful Host Mom, was full of laughter and also sadness. Despite the language barrier, we had connected as people, and leaving people you love is always a hard thing to do. 

The morning of our departure, we gave tearful besitos (kisses) and began our last travels of the month. 

Our final destination was Madrid, but we had a couple of stops on the way. We first drove to Consuegra to view a 12th-century castle and old windmills. It was very hot that day, so we very much appreciated the dark corridors of the castle with cool brick. 

We also viewed one of many windmills located on the high hills of Consuegra. These were nothing like the windmills in Lubbock! We got the whole description of how the operators would use the wind to optimize production of flour (while sweating in the top level of the windmill). While sweat rolled down our faces and the air got incredibly stuffy, it was hard to not think about how the people in the 12th century operated without AC. 

After our short and sweet stop in Consuegra, we traveled just a little farther to enter Toledo. Toledo is just a short distance from Madrid, so many people just make day-trips here. I ended up loving Toledo! It was more of a tourist trap than other cities we have been to, but I loved how it just looked like what I imagined Spain before traveling here - almost medieval with the cobblestone, quaint living flats, and the tallest buildings are the churches. We didn't get a lot of time in Toledo, so I made a point to explore a small portion of it on a morning walk the following day. 

The town was sleeping while I climbed the hilly roads, snapping pictures of every angle I found beautiful. In that morning, walking alone while the sun rose over the horizon, I fell in love with Toledo.

But we could not stay here forever! From Toledo we traveled to another Spanish city surrounding Madrid - Segovia!

Segovia is a city full of history and great views. We first visited the massive aqueduct that runs right through the city (where this picture was taken).

This was built by the Romans in the first century of AD! It is so impressive to see such old structures still standing - literally 2,017 years later. Also, according to my 5-minute internet research, this aqueduct is still used by the citizens of Segovia! It goes to show that this city (and Spain in general) really value maintaining the structures that define their history and their culture. 

We then visited one of my favorite places, the Alcazar of Segovia. 

Does it look familiar at all? "When you wish upon a star...." 

This castle is actually one of the many castles that inspired Walt Disney for the Cinderella Castle! I felt so joyful visiting a site in which Disney himself was inspired by.

Signature done by yours truly

For a small student-discount fee, we even explored some of the inside!

We all really enjoyed exploring the last castle we visited in Spain. The Disney lovers especially loved it (*ahem* that's me). 

After having lunch in Segovia, we all hopped on the bus to head to the Royal Summer Palace (of La Granja de San Ildefonso). This was a very pretty structure with French and Italian influences, mostly because some royalty who stayed here was pulled from those countries! We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but here's a shot of me accidentally capturing a guard yelling at me:

(She's all the way in the doorway). Yeah, smooth, I know. Well, hopefully, I won't get arrested by the Spanish government (who drug searched our bus by the way while we were driving close to Madrid!). Regardless, the Summer Palace was very beautiful and was a complete change of architecture and artistic style compared to what we have been witnessing all month. 

Next to me there was a sign that said "keep off the grass", 

so please don't tell on me

We then headed to our final destination: Madrid. Madrid is the capital of Spain, so naturally, it's a massive city. No matter how long we would have stayed there, it would be impossible to see everything. We tried to visit as much as we could, though!

First, we went to the Prado Museum. 

If you want to be completely overwhelmed with art, go here! I'm not kidding. There are multiple floors of art in every direction imaginable. Needless to say, we didn't even see everything in this museum, but we left feeling fulfilled and almost contemplative. 

Sometimes, we would walk around with no real destination in our mind - but just to explore. 

On Sunday, Mary and I attended our last Mass in Spain. We ended up at Our Lady of Lourdes. It was a very small chapel that had a homey feel. It was nice, and I loved it, but I was very excited to return to a place where I could better understand the homily! 

Unfortunately, not all of us had a lot of time in Span. The night before many left, we all gathered together and had dinner. We all know we will see each other in America again, but with a unique place comes a unique feeling - and as a community, we all had this shared feeling and memory to keep and treasure forever. 

Mi Corazon

Mary and I ended up having an extra day in Spain (mostly because we didn't carefully read the schedule), but we utilized it! We went to the Reina Sofia museum of contemporary art. We enjoyed viewing all of the art, especially because we could interact with a lot of it. A lot of it was not what we typically think of when we think of "art", but sometimes that's the point. 

Our last adventure was getting to the airport in Madrid. We were tired and ready to go home to see our families, but also very sad to leave this part of our lives behind. It's hard to remember sometimes that our memories are really the best souvenir of all - our experiences in Spain can never really be taken away. 

Spain was my first abroad experience, and a piece of my heart will always be there because of it. Spain opened, well, the world up to me. What seemed a huge distance away is now just at my fingertips. Traveling isn't as scary anymore. Language barriers, different cultures, and new places are what I experienced - sometimes it was hard, but sometimes it was the greatest. I really believe Spain helped me bloom into a better, more educated young adult, and I am forever grateful. 

Until next time, Spain.

See some other points of view from my classmates:

Caleb: calebdwright.wordpress.com 

Jordin: tinyjordinblog.wordpress.com