I went to Segovia on Saturday with my program! I tried to film a vlog, but I did a terrible job. It's a ton of clips that are even more all over the place than the first time. I sent them to Liam, so we'll see if he can work his magic. But it will be a ton of work and time for him, and if he can't do it, that's on me. Everyone say thank you to Liam for even spending a second on it.
Anyway, since I recorded a vlog, I focused more on that on Saturday than on taking pictures. I thought I wouldn't have that many, but I just downloaded them all to my laptop and there's actually a ton.
This is the first thing we saw when we got off the bus. Pretties! This is a convent, so we didn't go in. Vibes though.
Here is a castle. Europe is bonkers.
Pic creds to Larissa. Me and the girls looking at the castle.
Here is me in front of the castle. Actually, this is the back of the castle, so here is me in front of the back of the castle. I love a castle.
Ryan took screenshots of all the pictures the @wipmadrid Instagram account posted from this day and sent them to me for the blog. I asked him to do it for me once on the first day and he's been doing it every time they've posted since without me asking. He's real for that. Honestly, new Social Media Intern alert. I'm promoting Ryan to team member. Anyway, we're not really in great lines, so I'm just going to go leftish to rightish. This is Yonsoo, Alexia, Izzy, Jisenia, Ben, Elsa, Jason, me, Larissa, Noah, Lauren, Bernadette, Addie, Lauren, Sofía, Alondra.
I'm going to humble myself on the blog and share this picture. I look ridiculous but it's so funny that I have to post it. I am a terrible jumper. As shown.
Ben, Jisenia, me.
Selfies from Larissa. Addie, Larissa, me, Jisenia :)
After stopping around the convent/back of the castle, we went into the center of Segovia.
I've been to Segovia twice before: once when I was 11 and once during my IUHPFL program. Each time was just for a day or two, and since I was so young the first time and the second time was definitely just a quick stop on our way to Madrid, I didn't think I would really remember anything. But I remembered a ton, which was really surprising to me. I feel like every time I looked around, I unlocked a new memory. I know that's how memory works, but it was just funny because I didn't expect it. I was convinced it'd be like I was there for the first time, but the second I saw the aqueduct, it all came rushing back.
Here's a list of things some things I remembered:
I was looking at the mountains around the city, and I was like, "When I was here when I was 11, someone told me that those mountains look like the outline of a dead woman." And then half an hour later our tour guide told us that so I knew I wasn't imagining things.
I looked at the aqueduct and remembered the spot where Liam and I climbed on it together.
When we walked up to the palace, I remembered that the last time I had been there was with IUHPFL, and we were playing a game called "If you were a princess, which country would you be princess of?" The game entailed picking a country to be princess of. I picked Italy. I told my friends about the game and we all played it again. I picked Italy again, but then I thought about switching to Greece, since I picked Italy last time so I've been the princess of Italy for four years, but I think I stuck with Italy.
We walked past a door in the alcazar and I remembered that the last time I had walked by the door my teacher had made me stop and take a picture in front of it because the door was a pretty deep green and my outfit went well with it (I was wearing a yellow dress/romper).
We had to take a really quick tour of the alcazar because we were running late, so we were booking it through this castle and didn't really get to hear a ton of info. But anytime we entered a room, I remembered what I learned about that room on the tour I took with IUHPFL. Like we entered this room and there was a painting on the wall, and the tour guide was like "This is a very cool and important and interesting painting. That's all I have time to tell you. Moving on." But I remembered the painting and what it was about.
Anyway, right after we got to Segovia, we stopped for a cafecito before the walking tour. I was starving. I feel like this is probably pretty obvious from the content I've been putting out, but I am ravenous all the time here. I was on the bus and I told Larissa, "I am so hungry. When we get there I'm going to get like three pastries." I was kinda exaggerating but also not. Like ahah jk... unless. Then the cafe we went to was selling three pastries for like €3.40, and I was like, "It's a sign. I'm about to go off." Here are my pastries.
Napolitana.
Braid.
Bretzel (I know we say "bretzel" instead of "pretzel" as a joke sometimes, but this is actually a bretzel. Its little sign in the display case called it a bretzel.)
Again, for a second I was worried I got too much, but, literally, no crumbs.
I took these pictures at the meeting spot for our walking tour.
Views from the walking tour.
Our tour guide said that the decorations like this on the side of the buildings are very typical of Segovia. Checks out, they were everywhere.
I think that building in the back is the alhóndiga built during Isabela y Fernando's reign.
Another old church.
Statue of Juan Bravo.
This used to be a jail. Now it's a library.
Sofía saw me taking a selfie and jumped in. I don't know if she just wanted to be in it, or if she noticed I was taking a selfie in front of the poster promoting the beer festival in Segovia and wanted to block it.
Going in the Jewish District.
Group picture from Ryan from the @wipmadrid Instagram. As per usual, I'll say the names in the picture in the way that makes sense to me, and if you feel so inclined you can try to play the matching game. Lauren, Jason, Bernadette, Jisenia, Izzy, Bernadette, Elsa, Noah, Ben, Yonsoo, me, Alexia, Lauren, Addie, Larissa, Mar (our tour guide), Alondra, Sofía.
In Plaza Mayor. Addie, Larissa, me. Honestly Larissa is almost another Elizabeth in Madrid intern, she's providing a lot of pictures.
In the Plaza Mayor, looking at the back of the cathedral. As with the Salamanca cathedral, it looks less impressive in pictures. I feel like you can't really get a sense of how giant and detailed it is. I was losing my mind when I saw it.
Inside the cathedral.
In the cloister of the cathedral (featuring Lauren taking a picture too). I love a cloister. They're vibey.
I like that this has a seashell.
There was a little art museum in the cathedral. I took this because I like her vibe. Also, the detail of the veil is crazy. In my art history class I'm learning about different painting techniques and types of paint etc., but it's still crazy to me that someone did this. Like, I know how they did that... but how'd they do that.
We came out of the cathedral through the front. I'll say it--it's not as cool. Our tour guide was telling us in the Plaza Mayor that it's pretty weird that the back of the cathedral is what's along the plaza. The Plaza Mayor is the most important part/center of every city, and the cathedral is a big deal too, so usually the main cathedral entrance is right along the Plaza Mayor. But because of the history of the city's development and the order of how things were built, that didn't happen. But I approve. The back is clearly way better and should be what's featured.
Here's basically the same picture twice of us outside the cathedral after the walkthrough. I will followish the kinda lines: Jason, Ben, Bernadette, Noah, Jisenia, me, Elsa, Alexia, Izzy, Lauren, Addie, Larissa, Lauren, Alondra, Yonsoo, Sofía.
Views from lunch. This is the only picture I took during lunch. I took videos though, so if the vlog happens there will be more lunch content. Also I put a little video Larissa made at the bottom of this post that features us at lunch.
This is me after lunch trying to climb the aqueduct like I did when I was 11. This is as far as I got. Later I did a little better. There's a video of that attempt, but not a picture. I'm realizing that I'll need to post some of the videos I took even if the vlog doesn't work out. I can't have this picture be the last word on my aqueduct climbing.
Aqueduct selfies :) Me, Larissa, Jisenia.
Ice cream after lunch. Jisenia and I both got rasperry sorbet and mango sorbet.
After we met back up after lunch, we started walking back to the alcazar for a tour. On the way we stopped by a famous writer's house. I didn't take any pictures of it, because why would I do that when there were cats. That orange one always had his tongue out :) Someone who I think works at the writer's house came out of the house and told me the orange cat's name is Marty.
Walking in the castle. I didn't take a ton of pictures because, again, I was taking videos instead. (After the last vlog, Liam requested I take more b-roll for the next one, and I really went crazy doing that. Lots of b-roll.)
Cool ceiling.
This is the painting I was talking about earlier that I remembered.
Don Pelayo moment (Asturias!).
Me in the palace.
Views from the top of the castle.
They based the palace in Snow White on this castle. Also, very important, they filmed Wheel of Time here. I don't watch that show, but that means Rosamund Pike was here.
Larissa took this picture of me while I was taking the last picture.
Sword with a seashell in the armory on the roof of the castle.
Group selfie :) Noah, Ben, Larissa, Lauren, Elsa, Bernadette, Alexia, Addie, me, Jason, Jisenia.
Me and Elsa looking out a window on the way down from the castle.
Leaving the castle :(
Outside the alcazar :) Me, Larissa, Jisenia, Bernadette.
View from where we took that selfie.
Here's another picture from the @wipmadrid Instagram. This is us reegrouping after the castle. I'll go down the line: Noah, Izzy, Jisenia, me, Sofía, Alondra, Mar (our tour guide), Larissa, Addie, Alexia, Jason, Lauren, Lauren, Bernadette, Elsa.
Jisenia's BeReal. Mar, Alondra, Sofía, me, Jisenia.
After the castle I didn't take another picture until this. We had like 20 minutes to hang out before we left on the bus, so I went here with some people.
This is where I had my second, better (but still pretty bad) aqueduct climbing attempt.
Group picture on the way out of Segovia, from Ryan from @wipmadrid. We're actually in two lines this time so I'll follow those: Bernadette, Alexia, Larissa, Noah, Ben, Elsa, Izzy, Addie, Lauren, Jisenia, me, Lauren, Jason, Alondra.
Rome statue on the way out of Segovia.
Finally, for Segovia, here is a video Larissa made with clips from the day :) She says it's supposed to have music but it wasn't working, so everyone just imagine your own soundtrack. I recommend a Pride and Prejudice (2005) beat.
After Segovia, most of the other kids were going to a club, Kapital. It's a famous club in Madrid. It has seven stories and every floor has different music. I am not a club person, but since everyone else was going, and I pinkie-promised on Tuesday, I went. It was fine, for what it was. Again, not my thing, so it will probably not be a repeat event for me. But I'm a person who's clubbed in Europe now, so that's cool. I had an experience, and again, as Ryan says, there's no such thing as a bad experience. So I'm glad I went, but this will most likely be the last Elizabeth in Kapital content on the blog.
Me, Larissa, Jisenia. Shoutout to Larissa for doing my eyeshadow. You can't see it very well because of the club lighting but it was a serve.
Me, Lauren, Jisenia, Bernadette.
Me with a vodka lemonade. Usually my drink of choice is an amaretto sour (got this one from my mommy, it's her favorite, she's so right for that). But I wasn't sure how to say it in Spanish and everyone else was getting a vodka lemonade, so I just went with it rather than be inconvenienced. I looked up how to say "amaretto sour" after though and the internet says it's literally the same, so that was silly of me. Anyway I'm posting this because I think it's funny. I didn't like this drink. I wasn't having fun in this moment. Why did I take a selfie of it, and why did I smile. Really makes you think about the nature of truth.
Don Pelayo sigma af.