Ávila

I'm falling behind on my blogging already! Yesterday we arrived in Salamanca, but on the way there we stopped in Ávila. Ávila is a historic city much like Toledo, famous for the walls that surround the city. We were only in Ávila for a few hours, so we didn't have a lot of time to explore. After taking a tour of the city, I ventured off with another ISA student to have lunch at an out of the way cafetería (basically a café or small restaurant). I think I'm starting to get the hang of ordering food here without making a complete fool of myself! After lunch, we each paid 3.50 Euros to climb the wall and walk along it. Probably the best 3.50 I've spent in Spain- the view was amazing!

view looking back at the city from the wall

view from the wall

Rodrigo, part of the ISA Salamanca Staff

Madrid, Toledo y Ávila all had giant metal Christmas trees (see photo below) around the city. Apparently the trees themselves are relatively new decorations. The reason that the decorations were still up is because they celebrate Christmas until Jan. 6, El día de reyes (3 Kings Day, or I believe we call it the Epiphany in the US). It's a national holiday in Spain, so they get off work to celebrate. Students typically don't have school from the middle of December until after this holiday. It also marks the beginning of after-Christmas sales, so people go out in droves to find good deals. It seems similar to Black Friday in the US. I'm sure Mom would be going crazy with all of the rebajas (sales/ discounts) advertised in almost every store.

la plaza mayor en Ávila

Most cities in Spain (and every city that I've been in so far) has a Plaza Mayor, or main square. There are usually lots of people standing around and hanging out at the shops and restaurants that surround the plaza. Usually the local government building is located somewhere on the plaza. The history behind the plaza mayor is that long before television, phones, and radio were invented, important news was shouted from the balcony of the local government building (pictured in the photo above, beneath the clock where the flags are hanging). Residents of the town would often hang out in the plaza mayor in order to stay informed. Today the plaza mayor is still a popular spot meet with friends, go shopping, eat, etc.

This post turned out much more educational than I anticipated. Sorry to boar you if you're reading along, but I have to cut out my adventures running away from the Spanish police so my Mom doesn't find out abou-- whoops! Oh well, adios!