Domingo

Sunday brought a little bit of a rest, which was well received. We packed up our things and took Jesus' car toward Segovia (which is where I'm posting these from). On the way, we stopped in La Granja, a pueblo just outside of Segovia. This place is absolutely beautiful. There is a Palace, which of course is nice; but even more impressive are the gardens surrounding the palace. At times, it felt more like a small forest than a garden. Sculptures and fountains meet the eye at seemingly every turn; swans gracefully swim in the ponds and lakes found on the grounds. This would be the place to be for young royalty, perhaps playing "Caballeros y Indios" or "Españoles y Mexicanos" to run around and release their "huevos" (anyone whose seen Nacho Libre will appreciate that last line). We stumbled across a sculpture of Perseus saving Andromeda, which is perfect for me because I can show this to my class when we read the Perseus myth.

Around 7:00pm, we got back in the car and continued on to Segovia. Ok, I'm not sure if I can really explain how amazing Segovia is, but I'll try. It's an old Medieval village, with a Templar Church built down in a valley. With around 60,000 residents, it feels more homely than Madrid does, especially for a kid from Sulphur. But most importantly for me, there is an intact Roman Aqueduct. I can't really describe the feeling I got when I saw it from the car. Imagine being a kid on Christmas morning and finding EXACTLY what you asked for from Santa. This may help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFlcqWQVVuU. But just seeing it from the car was the beginning. We walked down to the square where the Aqueduct is located and I was surrounded by 2,000 years of history. When I touched the stones, I honestly felt the history running through my body. That may sound cheesy, but for someone who loves history, especially Roman history, and a Latin teacher at that, it was pretty incredible. So now we are in the library in the University of Valladolid, Segovia Campus. I haven't had internet access for a few days, so that's why there are so many posts from Monday. I'll keep them coming as much as I can. Keep checking. Until then, ¡Viva España!