Today was our last full day in Madrid and we went to the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial. It was about an hour drive from where we were staying, but it was well worth the commute. The Royal Monastery was constructed between 1563 and 1584 under the order of Phillip II. All Bourbon kings and queens of Spain have been buried there since its completion, with the exception of the first two Bourbons. It is a royal palace, as well as a monastery and a school. It also houses the private library of Phillip II, which contains some of the oldest books in the world.
My favorite part at the Royal Monastery was the church or la iglesia. The architecture and murals in the church were nothing like I have ever seen before. I was astonished by the meticulous detail and couldn't even fathom the amount of work that went into creating such a beautiful church.
Today I had a very big lunch at an italian restaurant called "Gino's." I had ensalada con angulas, un pizza, y el helado chocolate. The last two things I ate are probably pretty self explanatory, pizza and chocolate ice cream. My ensalada con angulas was even a mystery to me. I knew that ensalada was salad, but had no clue what angulas were. When I saw them on my salad they resembled very skinny white and grey worms--not very appetizing, but I figured I'd try a few anyways. Once I got back to the hotel, I pulled out my dictionary to discover that "angulas" are baby eel. YUM! I guess now I can say I've tried baby eel, but I don't think I will ever again! So, if you ever come to Spain, don't say I didn't warn you about the angula!
I was able to meet up with my friend Alex from Miss Hall's tonight. It was so great to see her and catch up on our lives since graduation and she's doing so well! A couple of other girls from Miss Hall's will also be in Spain this semester, so we're going to try and plan a nice trip for all four of us to go on--which I think will be really fun!
Tomorrow we head to Toledo for a few hours and then have a delightful 7 hour bus ride to Seville. I am so excited to meet my family tomorrow and finally be able to unpack all of my belongings and get organized! It's not so fun living out of suitcases! Everything has been going really well so far, and I have met a lot of nice people. I know my time spent in Seville will go by very fast, so I want to make sure I enjoy every moment of it and make sure I live each day to the fullest!
I was able to talk to all members of my family today, which was so great and I found out that Sam is a huge fan of my blog--so I'm going to do my best to write on this as often as possible. I think that's about all for tonight! Hasta luego!
Besos,
Lindsay
 |
| At the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial |
No comments:
Post a Comment