Friday: After waking up from a nice 10 am sleep-in, I got up out of my bed and threw on the outfit I had planned the night before. With my full bag of clothes, and the yummy bocadillo (sandwich) that my mom made me, I headed for the bus station. The travel was long and included an hour bus ride to Madrid, a two-hour train ride to Seville, and lastly a thirty-minute walk to our hostel.
Traveling to Barcelona has always been a dream of mine, so I was incredibly excited on the days leading up to our excursion. The travel day was very long and tiring. We were on a bus heading to Madrid by 10:30am, dashing on the metro to the “Renfe,” or Spanish train service, station as soon as we arrived. The train flew through the Spanish countryside and about three hours later we were in Barcelona. After another sweltering hot, sauna-like metro ride, we were within walking distance to our hotel. Exhausted, we took the 45 minutes of free time to do absolutely nothing — and I was totally happy that.
A Morning in Segovia - Tuesday, January 14th
Tuesday, January 14th was such a nice day and super fun. I started off in kind of a scramble waking up at 8:45 and needing to meet Ngan downstairs at 9. Luckily I had packed my bag and laid my outfit out for the day. I quickly got dressed and ready for the day and dashed down the stairs. I made at 9:00 am on the dot, and we walked out onto the beautiful street. Ngan and I live in the same apartment building; I live on the top floor and she lives a floor below me. It has been nice having someone in the same boat, trying to get used to everything in Segovia and navigating a new small city. As we walk to school we pass a couple of little city squares, one by the aqueduct which constantly seems to have people hanging out, talking, and listening to music.
Thursday morning we began our long journey to the province of Andalucía in Southern Spain. A bus, metro, and train ride later we got to the city of Granada. We had just enough time to shower and change before being thrown into the Andalucían culture in one of the most traditional ways, a flamenco performance.
Our trip to Barcelona commenced on a sunny Wednesday morning. We boarded the bus, which shuttles travelers and commuters between Segovia and Madrid. Once we arrived in Madrid, the crowded and confusing metro brought us to the train station. The journey to Barcelona was easy, although we were all slightly anxious about what lay ahead.
Our first trip to Madrid was a success! An eventful day of history lessons, fútbol games, bus rides, and lots of laughs. The day began mid-morning when the group met at the bus station where we were greeted by Ryan and Laura. We discussed the itinerary and the game plan for our excursion. We had an action-packed day ahead of us. The whole group was so excited we could barely sit still for the hour-long bus ride from Segovia to Madrid. When we arrived we were instantly introduced to the long confusing metro system. Julia ‘21 and Ollie ‘21 were in charge of navigating our paths to get to the center of town. Through the process of elimination, we successfully arrived!
Last week, the Proctor en Segovia group walked part of the Camino de Santiago, a little under forty miles to be exact. The Camino de Santiago is a path that starts in France and ends on the coast of Galicia. The journey across Spain is walked for many reasons. Some people do it as a physical challenge and/or to take time to reflect on an aspect of their lives, but, traditionally, the Camino de Santiago is walked as a religious pilgrimage.
As week one in Segovia comes to a close there is so much to look back on already. It still feels like we just got off the plane from Boston, not sure as to what time it was or even where we all were. The first few hours after our arrival seemed like a blur. The group had been up for almost 16 hours straight and then immediately thrown into a new culture.
