I’m staring my last week in Spain in the face, and am already feeling nostalgic although I haven’t left yet. My classes are wrapping up with exams and presentations this week, but for some reason it feels like I was just arriving in Salamanca. The last week has had temperatures in the 100s every day, so I am looking forward to returning to air conditioning, something my apartment here lacks.
The last two weekends I have been lucky enough to do some exploring near Salamanca and where I’m staying. My roommates and I visited Los Batuecas, in the Sierra de Francia, and hiked the Camino de Los Rodales. The views of the mountains and surrounding pueblos were beautiful. The “road” we took to get into the mountains is an extremely loose definition of the word. After hiking, we drove a little farther, and visited una piscina natural. The water was extremely cold, but refreshing after two hours of hiking.
This past weekend, we drove to the cities of Segovia and Avila. Segovia is famous for its Roman Aqueduct, city wall, and castle which influenced Disney’s well-known Cinderella castle. The city was beautiful many historical cathedrals and interesting architecture. After leaving Segovia, we traveled to Avila, which is known for the historic walls that surround the city, along with having the most churches per capita in Spain. In both cities we walked around and took in the sights, checked out some of the local shops and art, and drank more cafe.
I’ve enjoyed visiting larger cities like Madrid, along with these smaller, historically-rich towns, and hiking in the Spanish countryside. The variation has allowed me to have many different experiences of Spain without having to travel far.