Valladolid

So this weekend, Alyssa Katie and I decided to take an excursion to a town called Valladolid! It is the first trip we have done without our leader and group so it was exciting to be on our own! We took the bus from Segovia and it took about two hours. It was fun to drive through all of the small towns and see the different landscapes of Spain. When we got there, it was pretty much a free for all of whatever we wanted to do- so we just walked around and saw everything- calle de Jose Zorillo (a street with lots of shops), the house of the author Cervantes, several churches, the college, the cathedral, a beautiful park called “El Campo Grande” and many other things. For lunch we ate freshly made warm bread from the store and oranges under the Spanish sunshine in the plaza mayor. It was so fun! Later on that day when it was siesta time-we headed to a café and had some café con leche-which is amazing here! Walking around Valladolid is different than any of the other cities we have visited. It is a lot more modern than Barcelona or Segovia, but it still has a bit of antique charm to it as well. We went into a church that was the first modern looking one I have seen here, and it was lovely! It had a large peace painting in the front of the church and stained glass windows, as opposed to the older gothic churches, it was actually well-lit. One of the interesting things here in Spain, which I have seen in several churches, is that many of them will have a statue of Mary in the front and center of the church instead of a statue of Jesus or a crucifix, which is pretty much the norm in the US. It shows how the culture of a country influences the religion. We headed back to took Segovia on the 7 PM train that night and the town is absolutely breathtaking to drive into at night. The town in on a hill, and the Alcazar and the Cathedral are all lit up. It is definitely a sight to see, and I am so lucky to be living in this cute little storybook town.