So after going on a couple excursions and partaking in some big events in Spain, I thought I should finally post a blog about it. So to start off I will talk about Valsain.
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| Hike to Valsain |
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| John, Katie & Me in the Valain Forrest |
Valsain is a town in the "afueras" (outside of Segovia). It is about a thirty minute bus ride to get there. A big group of us went there a couple weeks ago because we wanted to check out the beautiful hiking paths and forrest that Valsain is known for. We headed out at around eleven and made it to La Granja (a town right next to Valsain). This was unintentional, but we ended up taking a beautiful scenic hike to Valsain through an amazingly lush and beautiful area. Once we got to Valsain, we ended up eating our bocadillos that our parents (Olympia in my case) packed for us in the park. Amy and I went to a local bar to ask for directions to the best trail to walk through and this very nice gentlemen told us where to go. Once we made it to the start of the trail, we took about an hour long hike through the snow (note to self--don't EVER wear tennis shoes in the snow. All of us did because we didn't really expect the snow and all of our feet were just soaked by the end--it was worth it). Once we were done with that short hike, we went and got cafe con leche to warm up and then headed home for Segovia on the next bus.
The next thing I need to mention is Carnaval in Spain. Carnaval is the equivalent of Mardi Gras in the U.S., but to the EXTREME. Carnaval started almost a week before Ash Wednesday. Here are some ways you can tell it is Carnaval around here:
- People of all ages are dressed 24/7 in their disfraces (costumes)--it's very typical for boys to dress up as girls (that's my host mom's favorite costume to see). The most creative one that I saw were little girls dressed as "Barbies" but they made cute little boxes to look like Barbies that were still in the box.
- There is a parade every other day, if not every day (with people parading around in their costumes..instead of throwing out candy to the children, I got handed a single peanut..bahaha)
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| Live band in Plaza Mayor |
- Live bands in the Plaza Mayor (this was the best, so much fun just dancing around with the Spaniards)
- The churros stand is open 24/7 because we all need to indulge a little before Lent!
As a group, we all partook in the festivities! The boys all dressed up as sailors with mustaches and us girls got pretty masks to wear! It was the best time ever!
Besos, xo
Katie
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| Noah, Amy, Me & Travis |
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