Segovia y Cercedilla

For those of you who have not figured it out yet....one of my best friends from high school was able to stay with me from Wednesday night until 5am Yesterday morning. It was absolutely amazing to have her here with me in Spain. We had done more in the last few days together than I have done combined in the last two-ish weeks. Her native-spanish speaking ability helps move the pace of our sight seeing adventures. Therefore we did not get lost on the way to every site. Those of which include a perfect mix of hitting up every touristy MUST-SEE monument/area of Madrid, as well as authentic cultural experiences, such buying tickets to see a flamenco dancing performance (the traditional Spanish dance) at a tiny theatre in the back of a gorgeous little restaurant. But I would still have to say that our spontaneous/unplanned trip to Cercedilla gets awarded with my favorite adventure from this past weekend!

Right now I think I will talk about Segovia and Cercedilla. So lets start with Wednesday: 

I had my biggest independent moment so far in this trip that day. It was a great boost of confience to get from school to the airport via the metro all by myself AND find Brenda at the right Terminal (and be in a foreign country that speaks a foreign language...just had to add that factor in)! It was an awesome reunion, followed by bringing her back to my host home and introducing her to mi familia nueva en la casa de Maria y Cortes, my host parents!

And then we went dancing! Even though this girl had been up since 7am...she never stops:)

And I tried my first mojito! I expected it to taste awful, but it wasn't at all!

 Then it was Thursday; Brenda, Erica, Casey and I's exciting day in Segovia, Spain! I was so happy that I was able to introduce two of my closest friends in college to my friend from home in Naperville. Mixing worlds is a time and a half! I think it allowed the house to see where a lot of my crazy quirkiness and extemporaneity comes from.

 

We got there and were sooo hungry. So we were very thankful that a man was walking around promoting a cute little restaurant that gave us a plate of tapas(croquetos con jamon y queso and what i think was cured ham on bread), 2 courses, a bottle of wine to share, and even a dessert!

The place was adorable!

I loved this city. 

Well how could I not when it holds the castle that inspired the design of the Disney castle???!! :O It was unbelievable!

I was thinking of my sister, Katelyn, the whole time and how I need to go back sometime in my life with her! That's my newest goal! She would have cried I think. 

But that wasn't the only pretty view..

And then there was the next day where we went in search for waterfalls but ended up in Cercedilla with a friend we made on the train. He was from a small town in Arkansas, and all three of us were somewhat confused about the day's plans...so it worked out! 

And we found this hiking trail:

Just a casual gorgeous hike in the mountains of Cercedilla!

Hope everyone is staying safe and warm in the US! Love you all!

Much needed update!

Well it has been a few days since I informed you all of my latest adventures. Haven't ventured outside of Madrid since I visited Toledo but I have still been keeping busy...there is so much to see just in this city alone! Oh and theres also that thing called school that I go to on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. I had to get checked off on the proper way of hand-washing as a nurse the other day. That was quite exciting. And our first two Medication labs are coming up already on Monday...kinda scary! So I am doing a lot of studying this weekend in between exploring different areas of Madrid.

On Friday, January 17th , I went to the much talked about "Parque de Retiro" which was only a few metro stops away!

The Park was near a beautiful downtown area of Spain...

...that included the "Museo del Prado." It was an awesome museum that we got entry into for free with our Student ID's. I absolutely loved all of the religious art. There were numerous that reflected crucial points in the lives of Jesus and Mary...it was amazing to see the different perspectives of all the artists.

 Because studying in a Spanish speaking country has always been a dream of mine, I never thought about how adjusting to a different culture could possibly be a little difficult. But I decided that I am going to embrace these differences because without challenges there would be no path to growth...

Terrific Toledo!

So get ready for scenes from the beautiful town of Toledo! My favorite part of Spain so far (granted I've only been here 5 days).

It also was a bonus that I got to travel with these beauties: 

And that we got to start the day off right with our favorite beverage that Spain offers: "Cafe con leche"

So I decided to show the town some affection...

Because its views are incredible!

its chocolate con churros are delicious (churros to dip in a very rich and thick hot chocolate):

its streets are unbelievable:

and its Cathedral is breathtaking:

I tried to capture this religious monument's immense beauty... but these pictures do not even begin to give it justice. Hope you enjoyed :)

The travels have begun!

Well...I made it to Madrid! And beyond! This is me in Aragon, Spain on Saturday, January 11th, at "El Monesterio de Piedra" where there was a beautiful old monastery that now functions as a hotel, accompanied by these gorgeous waterfalls. My favorite view here was seeing this waterfall from  behind while in a cave:

By the way... this was all after going inside this awesome/extremely ancient monastery:

Soon you will here about my trip to Toledo, Spain. My new favorite town!