Miércoles 18 octubre 2006

Wednesday I had my first exam for my Language class. I think it went alright but we still haven’t gotten it back (to my knowledge) so I don’t know for sure.

Jueves 19 octubre 2006

Thursday, I went to the Museo del Traje near Complutense, the largest Spanish university. The Museo del Traje is a museum on the history of fashion in Spain and has a lot of really interesting examples of fashion through the ages. Unfortunately, photography is not permitted in the actual gallery part of the museum so I have no photographs of the amazing collection. There is a smaller part associated with the museum that is more hands-on. You can try on things like bustles, ruffs, and corsets (all done with Velcro and not anything more…sturdy). The picture to the left is one of me trying things on. It also had some interesting information on the process of making dye, which colors come from which objects, and the differences between fabrics. I really wish I had been allowed to take pictures of the collection because that was the most interesting part but, oh well.

Viernes 20 octubre 2006

Friday I went with a group of my friends from the program for Korean food for lunch, which I had never tried before. It was really very tasty (not that I’m surprised). It’s funny to me how much more adventurous I’m being with my food here that I am when I’m at home but I supposed it’s not that strange. After lunch, I went with Aniela to get her haircut and decided to get mine cut at the same time. It was a rather terrifying experience since I wasn’t really sure what I wanted as long as it was still long but it turned out great! I actually like it more and more basically every day. It’s layered and angled towards my face and just not quite as long. It’s really much more stylish that the uniform length I had before and it brings out the natural curl in my hair. I chose this picture because it also shows how much weight I’ve lost (although the pounds continue to fall off of me).

Sabado 21 octubre 2006

Saturday I finally got to take the trip I’ve been waiting for since junior year of high school when I got sick the day we went. We went to visit Toledo, which was the first capital of Spain. The city itself is gorgeous, surrounded on three sides by the river Tajo and still walled in the old part. Toledo is especially interesting because it is a mix of the three religions of Spain-Christianity (of course), Judaism, and Islam.

We started off by going to La Sinagoga de Santa María la Blanca. (Yes, a synagogue named after the Virgin Mary). It was originally a synagogue but when all the Jews were expelled from Spain, it (along with one other synagogue) was converted into a church. There is only one Star of David in the entire monument but it conserved the separation of the women (on the top floor) from the men.

Next, we went to the Iglesia de Santo Tomé. It was a tiny church but famous because it houses El Greco’s most famous work-El entierro del Conde Orgaz. Pictures were technically against the rules but I snuck a couple anyway because the painting is so interesting that I really felt it should be seen by you guys (and because I wanted it). It reminded me of AP Euro when I wrote a paper on El Greco.

After that, we continued on to the cathedral (do you see a pattern?). The cathedral was pretty but I must admit that it really wasn’t that special-mostly like every other cathedral I’ve seen. It did have some pretty amazing frescos in the part off to the side and it is where all of the Spanish Archbishops are buried (Toledo is where they work too).

Our final stop before we were set free for lunch and a little bit of shopping was La Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz (yes, a mosque named after Jesus). Like the Synagogue we had visited earlier, when the Muslims were expelled from Spain, the mosque was converted to a church, complete with a fresco of Jesus (I never thought I’d see Jesus in a mosque but I was wrong!). Supposedly it had some beautiful gardens too but they were blocked off because they’re doing restoration work there.

After that, we had some free time to have lunch. Margaret and I went to this great Italian place with lots of atmosphere. The food was definitely worth it (we’d had to wait a while). After that, we did some quick shopping before meeting back up with the group. We continued on to a amazing viewpoint where you could really see the whole city (see the picture at the beginning of this day’s section).

After that, we went to a damascene and sword workshop. It was really cool to actually be able to see how the damascene jewelry is made, especially since we were watching a master craftsman. Unfortunately, since we were there on a Saturday we didn’t get to see any sword making but it was still really interesting. Toledo is where most of the swords from famous Hollywood movies (including but not limited to Lord of the Rings) are made so it was pretty cool to get to see a workshop like that.

Domingo 22 octubre 2006

On Sunday, I finally made it to the Rastro-the giant flea market that takes over an entire neighborhood in Madrid every Sunday. They really do sell everything there if you take the time to look. Unfortunately, it’s also a good place to get pick-pocketed because there are so many people in such a small area. I was one of the unlucky people who lost something to the mysteries of the rastro-my cell phone. Other than that though, it was a pretty interesting experience.

Lunes 23 octubre 2006

Monday, I replaced my cell phone because you really can’t be without one here in Madrid. I had hoped to be able to get my old number back but so far it just hasn’t worked out.

Martes 24 octubre 2006

Tuesday, I went to a shop that specializes in Flamenco gear to buy the shoes I needed for my class. It was really cool to see the variety of stuff-from skirt and shoes to shawls, fans, and hairpieces- that was offered there. I bought the cheapest shoes available because I’m really only using them for the class (although I might use them as regular shoes at some point in the future).