My weekend

Saturday:

By far, the best day I’ve had in Salamanca!! Stayed in Friday night, even though it sounds like everyone in our group went out salsa dancing. Meh, there’s always next week. I just laid in bed and read for a couple hours (Unbroken, fabulous book if anyone is looking for a recommendation!!), and then slept in Saturday morning. Just putzed around all morning, did some studying, organized my room, wasted time on the internet, got coffee with Angi, ate lunch and then we figured out how to take the bus to the local pool!! It was fabulous! It’s a huge pool surrounded by a nice grassy area with a gorgeous view of la Iglesia de San Esteban. I popped in my headphones, pulled out the kindle, and enjoyed a few tintos (chilled bubbly red wine) and for hours was transported into another world where I was able to forget that I am in the middle of a booty-kicking program. Rest and a big dose of vitamin D was exactly what I needed!!

Not a bad view from the pool, eh?

 Sunday:

Uggh. Another night of horrrrrible sleep, which made the field trip today a little rough. There were about 80 people in our group and we took a bus to two small towns. Our first stop was the town of Ávila, where Santa Teresa was born. Ávila is famous for having a very well preserved fortress wall around the entire perimeter of the city. We stopped by La Iglesia de San Vicente, La Catedral, wandered by the wall for a little bit, and finally ended up at the museum of Santa Teresa. She’s famous for being the first woman to receive the title of “Doctor” in the Catholic Church and for reforming the Carmelite order. We had one of our professors with us giving us the tour and telling us all sorts of interesting stories and facts. In the museum, there were a few relics of Santa Teresa, including her finger… it was a little dried up and crispy looking (she died in 1582 and her relics are not preserved in formaldehyde. Just in glass!), but still definitely a recognizable finger with a fingernail. We were given a few hours to wander around the city, take pictures and eat lunch. Afterwards, we went to Alba de Tormes, where Santa Teresa died. There’s a church dedicated to her that houses her tomb. You can also see her heart and arm (yep, they’re there behind glass, also pretty dried up and crispy looking). I don’t know why, but those morbid relics fascinate me. It was a long day. We left at 9am and didn’t get back until after 7pm. I’m beat! Just had dinner and am going to call it a day. We’re back in classes bright and early tomorrow. Overall, it’s been a good weekend!!

La Catedral en Avila

 

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