Wednesday, May 30, 2012

El Alcázar de Segovia


Today we went to the Segovian Alcazar for an excursion. An alcazar is an Arabic fortress constructed in Spain or Portugal during the twelfth century, and which has an architecture based on defense. This alcazar in Segovia has been the home of many important monarchs. It has been used as a state prison, and then it was later converted into a Royal Academy of Artillery until a fire destroyed it. Now it serves as a museum and important cultural center in the city of Segovia and still contains General Military Archives.
            It was built in the shape of a bow of a ship, originally to put enemies at a disadvantage, but today it contributes to pretty photos. Throughout history it has been occupied by a series of royalty, so the fortress has a lot of rooms with different decorations that include paintings, statues, murals and stained glass of Rome, Austria, Germany, and more. One of the rooms is called ‘the pineapple room’ because it has decorations that look like golden pineapples hanging down. The courtyard also has some walls from the original construction by the Romans.
            After we enjoyed the decor inside the Alcázar, we climbed many stairs in the tall tower to see a magnificent view. In all, the excursion was very interesting and it taught us a lot about the history of Segovia and the variety of cultures that have touched it. 

Guest bloggers Veronica and Katie

El Alcázar

Interior de un patio


Sala de Piñas

Stained glass windows are found throughout the castle

Monument to the Kings / Los Reyes

One of several gardens

Military museum inside the castle

View of the Cathedral from one of the towers

Some of our group!

Hoy fuimos al alcázar de Segovia para una excursión. Un alcázar es una fortaleza árabe construido en España o Portugal en el siglo XII y mucha de la arquitectura de uno enfoque en la defensa. Este alcázar de Segovia ha sido el hogar de muchos monarcas importantes. Ha sido usado como una prisión estatal, y después se convirtió en el Real Colegio de Artillería hasta un fuego lo destruyó. Ahora sirve como un museo y centro cultural importante de la ciudad  y todavía contiene un Archivo General Militar.
Fue construido en la forma de una proa de un barco, originalmente para poner los enemigos en desventaja, pero que hoy contribuye a las fotos buenas. Por la historia ha sido ocupado por una serie de realeza, así que la fortaleza tiene muchísimas salas con decoraciones diferentes que incluyen los retratos, las estatuas, las murales, y las vidrieras de Roma, Austria, Alemania, y más. Una de las salas se llama “sala de las piñas” porque el techo tiene muchas decoraciones que parecen como piñas doradas y colgadas. Además, el patio tiene algunas paredes originales de la construcción de los romanos.
Después de disfrutar la decoración adentro del alcázar, nosotros subimos muchísimas escaleras a la torre más alta para tener una vista magnífica. En total, la excursión fue muy interesante y nos enseñó mucho sobre la historia de Segovia y la variedad de culturas que la ha tocado.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Palace and Gardens of La Granja! / ¡El Palacio Real y Los Jardines de La Granja!


The Palace and Gardens of La Granja!  By Becah and Mariah

¡Hola!  Today we saw our first royal palace (of La Granja) and the gardens that surround it.  The hike through the gardens took us all about an hour to complete, and we didn’t even get to see all of it!  Therefore, it was a massive amount of land and contained over 12 fountains and numerous sculptures, all representing events from Greek mythology.

After walking around the garden and taking a ton of pictures, we arrived back at the palace where we were able to take an inside tour.  Unfortunately, they do not allow photos to be taken inside the palace, but we got to take pictures of the exterior.  The tour consisted of walking through the rooms of the palace and one by one learning the history of the artifacts inside.  First, we learned that the giant tapestry rugs are worth millions and millions of dollars (in Euros).  Also, they are all hand stitched and have gold, silver, and rubies intertwined.

Next, we got to walk through the living rooms of the king and queen and viewed restored paintings.  Each one of the artifacts in the palace tells a story.

Salamanca Day 2

Salamanca and Avila by Addison and Jackson

Saturday started with a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We loaded our bags into the bus and began exploring more areas of Salamanca. First, we passed La Casa de las Conchas (The House of Shells). This historical building was built by Rodrigo Arias who was a knight of the Order of Santiago. The shell was the symbol of this order. Next stop was one of the largest, most well-known universities in all of Europe, La Universidad de Salamanca. (A few of us had to buy Universidad sweatshirts.) Another fascinating part of the Salamanca trip was visiting some museums. One in particular housed an extensive collection of Art Deco and Art Nouveau pieces. A Spanish style lunch downtown concluded our stay in Salamanca. We boarded the bus and rode towards Avila. This city is famous for being completely bordered by a tall stone wall known as the Muralla. We were granted access to walk a path on top of the wall which offered many scenic views.


Today's bloggers - Addison and Jackson

Starting off the day with a great breakfast from the beautiful hotel!


La Casa de Las Conchas

Universidad de Salamanca



Universidad de Salamanca

Museum


Luis, our Spanish professor, giving an explanation to the group

Stained glass at the entrance of Casa Lis, and Art Deco / Art Nouveau Museum

View of the city from La Casa Lis

A fantastic spanish style lunch

Most of the group ate paella, a very popular dish of Spain


An old Cathedral that was turned into a modern store, Zara, in Salamanca


Avila, a completely walled in city

Group photo to finish off the day on la muralla (the wall that surrounds the city)!

La Muralla



Sábado empezó con un desayuno delicioso en el hotel. Pusimos nuestras mochilas en el autobús y continuamos a explorar más sitios de Salamanca. Primero, vimos La Casa de las Conchas. Este edificio histórico fue construido por Rodrigo Arias quien era un caballero de la Orden de Santiago. La concha era el símbolo de este Orden. La próxima parada fue en una de las universidades más bien conocidas por toda Europa, La Universidad de Salamanca. Otra parte fascinante del viaje a Salamanca era visitando unos museos. Uno en particular tenia una colección de obras de Arte Deco y Arte Nouveau. Almorzamos en un restaurante español en el centro de la ciudad y eso concluyó nuestro viaje a Salamanca. Luego nosotros tomamos el autobús hacia Ávila. Esta ciudad es famosa por estar completamente rodeada por un muro de piedra, La Muralla. Nos concedieron el acceso a caminar por un sendero en la parte superior de la pared que ofreció muchas vistas panorámicas.


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Cooking Class / Práctica de cocina

Sorry chicos if some of you were planning on doing this blog but I got to it first! ;)
We can still add your photos later.    This is me being the guest blogger: 

Photo credit goes to Jessica Johnson


Friday was our cooking class so we hopped the bus to "Nueva Segovia" and went here: 

Spain does a good job of offering professional development for people outside of the university and this brand new building houses a cooking school, a business school and a "beauty school" which also includes massage therapy.  In addition they offer degrees in things like music, dramatic arts, conservation and restoration of cultural artifacts, design and visual arts with an emphasis in glass works.  However we were just there for the cooking.

The director, Bernardo, made us arroz con sepia en su propia tinta and surprisingly the group enjoyed it.  What is in it?  Look at the photos and you will see. 
A video can be found here too:  http://youtu.be/707zBfPugQE
Peppers, garlic, green beans...

Tomato, chopped squid...


Clams...

Stir it up Emily!
Squid before cutting it up


Langostas a.k.a prawns


Bernardo checking consistency

It looks vile but tastes good!

Voila!  The final product.
















Helmantika or rather ¡Salamanca y las catedrales!

Hola a todos!  We had our first overnight last Friday in Salamanca so Jamie and Molly are going to tell you all about it.  Want to know more?  Go here: http://www.tourspain.org/salamanca/history.asp  You can also find out why it says Helmantika in the title of the blog.  Disfruta or rather, enjoy!


                     


On Friday, May 25th, we had class in the morning and ate lunch in our host homes. In the afternoon, we went on another excursion, this time to Salamanca. Once we arrived in Salamanca, we dropped off our luggage at the hotel (La Corona Sol). Then we visited Salamanca´s two cathedrals and their museum. We saw both the old and new cathedral, and they are gigantic and impressive! The construction of the old cathedral began in the 12th century. The Romanesque style can be seen in the floor, the columns, the capitals, and the exterior arches. However, the Gothic style can be seen in the interior arches and the vaults. Also, the altarpiece of the high altar is a good example of Renaissance work. It has 53 panels that depict the life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Also, there are tombs of many people that were important to the cathedral between the 13th and 15th centuries. Later, in 1513 (16th century), the construction of the new cathedral began. Although the Gothic style was disappearing in the 16th century, el Cabildo (the people in charge of the construction) decided to maintain the Gothic style for the new cathedral. However, the influence of the Plateresque and Baroque styles can be seen in the ornamental details. In 1755, there was an earthquake that destroyed the Gothic ceiling, and it was replaced by a Baroque ceiling. 

After we visited the cathedrals and the museum, we went shopping, saw the “plaza mayor,” and ate dinner. Later we went out to watch an important soccer game in Spain: La Copa del Rey and Barcelona won 3-0.  It was a long day but it was fun!



Molly y Jamie




Plaza Mayor

Inside the cathedral
  
Painted Ceilings

Inside the original cathedral

Magnificent Altarpiece

Cathedral from outside

Our happy group!  Well, most of it!









¡Salamanca y las catedrales!

El viernes, el 25 de mayo, tuvimos clase en la mañana y comimos en nuestras casas. En la tarde, fuimos a Salamanca para una excursión. Cuando llegamos a Salamanca, primero dejamos nuestro equipaje en el hotel (La Corona Sol). Entonces, fuimos a las dos catedrales de Salamanca y el museo de las catedrales. Vimos ambas catedrales, la vieja y la nueva. ¡Son grandes e impresionantes! La construcción de la catedral vieja empezó en el siglo 12. Se puede ver el estilo románico en el suelo, las columnas, los capitales, y los arcos exteriores. No obstante, se puede ver el estilo gótico en los arcos interiores y las bóvedas. También, el retablo en el altar mayor de la catedral vieja es un buen ejemplo del trabajo del renacimiento. Tiene 53 paneles que muestran la vida de Jesucristo y la Virgen María. Además, hay sepulcros de muchas personas que eran importantes a la catedral vieja entre siglo 13 y siglo 15. Luego, en 1513 (siglo 16), la construcción de la catedral nueva empezó. Aunque el estilo gótico estaba desapareciendo en el siglo 16, el Cabildo decidió mantener el estilo gótico para la catedral nueva. Sin embargo, se puede ver la influencia del estilo plateresco y el estilo barroco en los detalles ornamentales. En 1755, hubo un terremoto que destruyó el cielo gótico, y fue reemplazado por un cielo barroco. 

Después de visitar las catedrales y el museo en las catedrales, fuimos de compras, vimos la plaza mayor de Salamanca, y cenamos. Más tarde salimos para ver un partido importante en España - La Copa del Rey y Barcelona ganó 3-0.  ¡Fue un día largo pero divertido!



Molly y Jamie

Friday, May 25, 2012

VALOR

¡HOLA!  I will keep this short because we are leaving for 15 minutes to head to Salamanca for the weekend but I wanted to get one last blog up until tomorrow.   Something Spaniards love to eat, and the students haven't had yet, is chocolate con churros.  On Wednesday after class we remedied that with a stop at Valor, a famous chocolate chain.  They loved it.  Here are some photos for proof.