Valencia

Monday, October 8, the school took us to Valencia. Thirty minutes from the school, Valencia is Spain's largest city. Just how many people that actually is, I have no idea. Go google it if you really feel the need to know; I'm feeling lazy right now. :) In fact, you're lucky enough just to be getting this post two weeks after the event. Lame, I know.

Anywho, on to the actual details of the event. We left around 9:30 in the morning, got there at ten, and proceeded to have a bus tour of the city. Mainly our professor Ana was just pointing out different commercial sections of the city, neat buildings built in modern styles, the plaza de toros, and different monuments.

Plaza de Toros:

After we got off the bus, we walked a little ways through the downtown area to the city's cathedral. Like most old architecture in Europe, the cathedral was beautiful!

We walked around it first to look at the different sides that were in different architectural styles (gothic, baroque, and romantic for those who really want to know). While we were looking at the romantic doorway (which was enormous with a smaller pair of doors cut out of the bigger ones that I know I wouldn't want to have to open), we saw two files of nuns come around the corner and enter the building. It was amusing to watch about 90% of the ACA group oggle the nuns and say things like "It's Sister Act Valencia" or "Wow! Real, live nuns!" Yeah, a little pathetic yet still amusing. Here's a model of the cathedral so you can get a feel for what it was like.

After that we went inside the cathedral and up the "Torre de Micalet," a tower named for Michael the archangel, I believe. And boy was it a hike up. A total of 206 steps, if this math major can still count.

But the view from the top was definitely worth it.

And as an added bonus, it turned twelve noon while we were up there and we had the privilege of having our ears blasted out as the bell sounded twelve times.

After we left the tower and the cathedral (ooo, sidenote: supposedly one of the possible "Holy Grails" is in this cathedral. Nifty, huh?), we went walking around the city again. We would have gone in another museum but since it was a festival week, the museum was closed. However, we did go through an "ancient" market and saw some other cool architecture and fountains. Yay!

Then it was free time for us to go shopping (Woohoo. Can't you just hear the dripping sarcasm?). After walking around for a suitable place to eat lunch, we ended up on the closed museum's steps. After that, we went through the open air market and then went for ice cream. On the way, we saw the post office and had to stop to take pictures. If only all post offices in the US were this pretty and orderly inside.

After ice cream (mmm, mmm good), we went shopping. Boo!!! Oh well, I survived and was intrigued at the current fashion/prices in Spain. When we finally stopped and made it back to the park near this arch/monument/thing where we were meeting to go back to school, it was time for me to take a snooze in the somewhat green grass (no, not the grass next to the arch. I only wish)

Speaking of which, I'd have to say that's one of the things of my top things I miss about Union. Green grass that I can sit on to do homework. Honestly, there is no good grass on this campus except for in front of the boy's dorm/church and the soccer field (of course). And I'm not about to go sit down in front of the boy's dorm to do my homework on a regular basis. Poo.