Sr. Peeper en España

Avila, Segovia and Salamanca

It's hard to believe but our trip is already at the half-way point! Time is going so fast. I don't have a lot of Internet time, as we're eating dinner in about 30 minutes and then meeting up with the students to take them to the plaza so they can see Avila at night. But I wanted to write a little about Wednesday and Thursday, as I'm a day behind.

We met everyone Wednesday morning and did a walking tour of Avila, the city in which we are staying with our host families. As I mentioned earlier, a portion of the city is surrounded by massive walls that were built to protect it from invasion. The walls are home to nine gates, 88 observation towers and more than 2,500 turrets. Most of the walls are still in their original form from the end of the 11th century. The walls are nearly 40 feet tall and cover a distance of about 1.5 miles. Only nobles used to live within the city's walls and the rest of the population lived outside; however, the entire city would enter the walls when there was danger or an attack. For about 300 years, Avila was led by either the Muslims or Christians -- until the fall of Toledo in 1085.

We also visited a 12th century cathedral, a basilica and the Convento de Santa Teresa. Saint Teresa was a very important woman in Spain's Catholic church and she was born in Avila.

Our host families prepared us packed lunches, so we took a break in the plaza and had lunch together.

After spending a couple of hours exploring Avila with our guide, it was back on the bus to head 37 miles northeast to Segovia, the place that inspired Walt Disney's creation of the Sleeping Beauty castle. Both Avila and Segovia have been named World Heritage sites because of their beauty and monuments.

We arrived in Segovia and immediately walked to the Roman aqueduct. Segovia is home to about 60,000 people and is located about 3,300 feet above sea level. Its claim to fame is that it is home to the best preserved Roman aqueduct in the world.

Built in the 1st century, the aqueduct in Segovia is more than 2,000 years old. The aqueduct took water from the mountains down to the city for hundreds of years. It is some 9.3 miles long but most of it is underground. Only the part closest to Segovia is above ground. About 2,360 feet of the aqueduct is above ground. It has 166 arches and a channel that runs across the top that transported the water. It was absolutely stunning. The Romans did not use mortar and they did not use cement to hold the almost 20,000 granite blocks together! And, it worked until 1950!!! Its highest point is 92 feet from the surface. We climbed as high as we could to get the best view but it was not possible to walk across the aqueduct.

We next met our guide, who took us on a walking tour of Segovia and then on to the Alcazar -- a word that means fortress or castle but implies that it was the home of a king. The Alcazar looks like a fairy tale castle. It was built in the middle ages and became one of the favorite residences for the king. This castle was used by the kings between the 12th and 16th centuries. Felipe II was the last king to use it. Afterward, it was used as a prison, artillery school and today a place to visit. A fire destroyed the castle's roof and damaged the framework in March 1862. A lot of it was reconstructed.

We returned to Avila around 8 p.m. and walked back to have dinner with our host families and call it a night. It was a great day and the weather was perfect ... very sunny and warm!

Today (Thursday) we made a day trip to Salamanca, located about one hour away. Salamanca is a city of 156,000 people. The architecture here is absolutely amazing. There are a plethora of sandstone buildings, awe-inspiring churches and one of the oldest universities in all of Europe!

We met our guide soon after arriving and she took us on a tour of the city which included stops at two of the churches and the Plaza Mayor. First, we saw a Roman bridge from the 1st century that has 26 arches. Fifteen of them are from the Roman time while the other 11 were reconstructed in the 17th century. Nearby we also saw a statue of the blind man and Lazarillo from the classic Spanish novel "Lazarillo de Tormes," one of many short stories I had to read in my Spanish 401 class at Ball State: History of Spanish Literature ... and a story I will read with my students this fall!

Next, we saw Salamanca's Catedral Nueva (new cathedral), which was constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was built in Gothic style and has a tower that is 341 feet high. The church's dome is visible from almost anywhere in Salamanca. Located nearby is the Catedral Vieja (old cathedral) from the 13th century, which is Romanesque style. It has some 53 panels that show the life of Christ and Mary.

We also walked through the University of Salamanca. The university here was founded in 1218 and famous Spanish author Miguel de Unamuno was even the school's rector in 1900. The university is the oldest in Spain and one of the oldest throughout Europe. Today, about 40,000 students take classes there. Many students from the United States come to Salamanca to study. In fact, there is even a program here for Spanish teachers who want to get their master's degree in Spanish.

We ended our tour in the Plaza Mayor, which was built between 1729 and 1755 and some say it's Spain's most beautiful plaza. I would agree. We had lunch in the plaza and then spent the next four hours shopping and walking through the city. Most of us bought gifts to bring home ... and made a stop for ice cream! We also bought some post cards and stamps to mail home. I think we might arrive home before they do. It was a great day again ... sunny and warm.

We returned to Avila around 7 p.m. and had dinner with our host families. We leave Avila tomorrow for Sevilla, located in southern Spain. It is about a five- or six-hour bus ride, I believe, so we'll have a busy day of traveling and sightseeing once we arrive.

Gracias por leer ... thanks for reading! I'll post some pictures from Wednesday and Thursday below.

Buenas noches,

--Justin