Fuentes, Puentes, y Plazas

                Well, I’m back home after a weekend in Spain! I actually did a couple of other things last week, but I don’t want this post to be too long, so I’m just going to talk about my travels in Europe. I had a wonderful time in Spain. It felt almost like home; it was extremely hot, and everyone spoke Spanish. I had a hostel in the city center, and I spent my days roaming the streets in search of tourist attractions.

                After a relatively smooth combination of bus, plane, subway, and walking, I reached my hostel in Madrid at around 3 pm. I’d done a little touring around the city before the hostel opened and managed to see a lot of the main fountains and architecture, and one of the parks, that were on my list.

                Spain, I should note, is really fond of statues and fountains. They’re also really fond of plazas. Now, in case anyone is wondering, a plaza is basically a large stone courtyard with no shade anywhere, unless you want to try to fit into the shadow of a lamppost. I took pictures of a lot of them, but I didn’t stay very long, and I was glad I’d brought multiple water-bottles with me on my travels.

                However, there are also a bunch of gorgeous parks in Spain in which I spent a long time wandering and ate a couple of meals. I used to think gardening wasn’t an art; I know better now. I’d been reading Tolkien on the plane over, and you can almost picture mythical creatures playing in the royal garden or the public park.

                Anyway, once I’d checked into my hostel, called my parents, and rested a little (I’d sprained my ankle slightly a couple of days before, and although it was a very good sport, it needed the break) I headed back out to see what I could see. As usual, things didn’t go exactly as planned. For one thing, a lot of the sites weren’t open exactly when they said they were, and I had to keep going back. This meant I got pretty well acquainted with center city Madrid – I probably know my way around about as well as I know my way around Cambridge. Still, I saw most of the sites I wanted to visit.

                However, I did make it into a few places the first day. First I went to a monastery, which had a beautiful art collection, but was only available through one-hour guided tours in Castilian Spanish. Fortunately, I found my Spanish still perfectly intact, though I had to get used to interacting in a foreign language and a foreign accent this time.  I had hoped to get a chance to sit and meditate, but it was more like being in a museum than a monastery, albeit a museum with an overabundance of crucifixes and pictures of the Virgin Mary.

                After the monastery, I saw the Almudena Cathedral, but it was too busy to let me concentrate, so I moved on fairly quickly. I had time for a few other things before grabbing some food from the supermarket and heading back to the hostel. The hostel, by the way, was adorable; I had my own tiny room, bathroom, and shower, and even a TV over the bed. I’m not claustrophobic; I kind of like small spaces. They make me feel secure, as if they’re my space. So I was very happy with my petite, quiet little room.

                The next morning I headed out early to see what I could see; I wanted to see the second monastery, a few historical sites I’d missed, two museums, and hopefully go to mass at the Cathedral, whose museum I hadn’t been able to get into earlier. Due to logistical issues and misleading signs, I didn’t get to the monastery tour or the mass, but I did see the historical sites, wander in the garden for a while, and see the two museums.

                The Prado Museum is amazing; I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Madrid. Their art collection is fantastic; I especially enjoyed seeing El dos de Mayo and El tres de Mayo, which I’d studied back in high school. I don’t really need churches for reverent meditation; a quiet room full of beautiful things has the same effect on me, especially when a lot of art uses religious stories or imagery. The constant stream of people made it difficult to concentrate, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

                I spent quite a bit of time in the museums, which turned out to be free, and then stopped by the Imperial Gardens, which were breathtaking as well as quiet and peaceful (I immensely enjoy musing and meditating when alone, if that isn’t clear yet.) On the second night I did have a Spanish dinner ordered in Spanish at a sit-down Spanish restaurant.

                On the third day, I visited one other museum; it housed Guernica, which I was very happy to finally see in person. I also visited a few other parks and plazas and then finally made it into the Cathedral museum and the view from the top of the Cathedral. By this time my camera had run out of space for pictures, so I had to switch to my phone.

                Finally, in the half-hour before I needed to leave for the airport, I visited the Crypt attached to the Cathedral. This was, in fact, my favorite part of the whole visit. I know I’ve used a lot of synonyms of ‘beautiful’ in this post, but the crypt really was beautiful. It was also almost empty, and silent, and contained rooms solely for silent prayer and meditation. I spent a while drinking it in and praying, and I was very thankful to have finally found the still, beautiful place I’d been hoping for.

                That was probably my favorite part of Spain, but my second favorite moment was my first night in the hostel. I had been walking in the sun all day; I was sweaty, tired and famished. I had promised myself ice cream, but for logistical reasons had ended up buying an entire pint of lemon gelato. When I got to the hostel, I started to get ready to shower, but decided I needed to eat the gelato before it melted, since I didn’t have a refrigerator. That’s when I discovered I didn’t have a spoon.

                Now, on the plane over I’d been reading Tolkien’s mythology, and part of me was entering Gondolin with Tuor son of Huor and defying Morgoth with Hurin, full of high and noble thoughts. Part of me was living the dream, adventuring in the wide world, and hoping and planning to use my life for a greater purpose. And part of me was sprawled out in my room half-dressed, listening to music and eating a pint of lemon gelato with my fingers.

                Which of those people was really me? I’m not sure there’s an answer to that. I think that, really, I'm whatever strange combination of those three things has led to. We all are, really. We all have a noble side, a practical side, a romantic side, and a – well, an eat-gelato-with-your-fingers side. What a piece of work is a man!

Pictures:

I actually took hundreds of pictures this weekend, so this only scratches the surface. The others I will get up on facebook in time, but my internet connection is questionable now, so bear with me.

This is Plaza del Sol, where my hostel was.

 These are fairly normal-looking buildings for the center of Madrid.

 Puerta de Alcala

 Plaza de Oriente, with the Royal Palace in the background

 Almudena Cathedral

 My cute little hostel

 The Royal Palace

 Palacio de Cristal in Buen Retiro Park

 One of the bridges in Buen Retiro

 Fuente del Angel Caido, still in the park

 Royal Botanical Garden

 If you can't read the subtitle clearly, this claims to be a 'tex-mex food company.' I didn't trust it enough to go in.

 Plaza de Espana (forgive my lack of accents on all these names)

 View from Parque del Oeste onto Catedral de la Almudena

 View from Jardines de Sabatini to the back of the Royal Palace

At this point, my camera didn't have room for more pictures, and I can't get the pictures off my phone for now, so the view from the top of the Cathedral will have to wait until next week. Hope you enjoyed what I could post!

Work and Play

            Church this morning was refreshing, especially since I didn’t get to go last week, being in Wales. The music was interesting; I didn’t know most of the songs, and the singers didn’t always agree on the pitch, but there was a small band and two saxophone solos, so I was happy. We also had communion today – they literally pass around plates with pieces of bread chopped up into squares.

            There was also a children’s sermon during the service, which was adorable. The man giving it sounded like he’d started off American and was slowly morphing into a British accent, a few words at a time. This was particularly confusing when he began to talk to the kids about ‘revising’ in school – it was a few seconds before I remembered that he meant ‘reviewing’ in American English. After the service I stayed for tea and ‘biscuits’ – cookies – and was able to speak with a few of the members; they were all very sweet. I’m very glad there’s a Baptist church here.

            Of course, there are lots of other churches as well. A little while ago I was able to look around St. Mary’s Church, which is only about a minute away from the college where I’m staying. Different colleges, I should explain, are kind of the undergraduate version of different graduate schools in one university. They’re a combination of dorms, classes, and affiliation, and when you apply to go to Cambridge as an undergraduate, you apply to specific colleges, not the university as a whole.

            I was also able to go to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. They have free admittance, which was nice, and a lovely collection of art, statuary, porcelain, and other things; I spent quite a while there, and I’ll probably end up going back at some point. I also took a stroll around a couple of the little parks they have here – they’re called ‘pieces’. The weather here is a little nippy and drizzly at times, but I find it energizing, and on the whole it’s nice to go outside.

            I still haven’t quite gotten used to eating here. They’re always having luncheons or banquets in the dining hall, so I’m never entirely sure it will be open, and you’re not intended to get all your meals there in the first place, only ten a week. So I usually end up wandering around town to find a sandwich shop or buy groceries.

            Luckily, walking is the way to go here. We’re close to a farmer’s market and lots of restaurants and shops. Close to the colleges it’s almost impossible to drive, although people manage it. You can usually walk in the middle of the street without much trouble, although there’s no telling what the bikes will be doing: on the sidewalk, off the sidewalk, left side of the road, right side of the road, makes no difference.  Today was particularly crowded because Race for Life was coming through; I felt very sorry for the few cars trying to navigate through the crowds.

            I have my first final a week from today, and after that I’ll only have two classes instead of three. My only assignments for my classes here are a paper and an exam for each class, which makes it easy to plan. I was going to do some touring yesterday, but due to logistical issues ended up staying home instead, so I took the time to write the first drafts of two of my essays. I’m making good progress toward getting my work done without being terribly stressed; I love it when that happens.

            And of course, there are things to do besides work. This week I’ve gone out for dinner and ice cream, attended a birthday party, and watched fireworks from in front of my dorm for a Cambridge University celebration. It’s a nice balance between taking interesting classes, touring, relaxing, and spending time with friends. Time is going to fly by until I’m back at Harvard, but the summer seems as though it will be an immensely enjoyable one.

Pictures:

This is St. Andrews Baptist Church, where I went this morning.

 This is the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge:

 Fireworks (since I missed the Fourth of July again)!

 Here's Race for Life:

 Yup, this is me walking in the smack middle of the street, along with all these other people. I don't see how anyone can drive.

This is the dining hall. It would be like a mini-version of Annenberg Hall at Harvard if it hadn't been built about fifty years earlier.

 And now, for some idyllic scenery (this is all inside my college):

Wand'ring through Wales

                I know this post is a little late, but I was in Wales this weekend, and I wanted to wait so I could show you the pictures! It wasn’t that extensive of a trip – it was less than forty-eight hours, and a lot of that was driving – but I had a fabulous time, and I’ve now been to Wales.

                I joined a smaller tour group for the trip; there were only sixteen of us. We had people from the US, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Israel, and Australia, but the tour was given in Irish-accented English. I left Cambridge at 6:30 Saturday morning to meet up with the rest of the group in London (the company provided transportation), and we headed off to Wales.

                On our way, we stopped off in Chester and wandered around for ourselves for a while. I got lunch and then went to see Chester Cathedral. It’s an impressive building. We also took pictures of the Eastgate Clock, which is the most photographed clock in England after Big Ben. At the moment, though, it’s covered in scaffolding.

                After this we crossed over into Wales, which is full of misty, mountainous terrain and adorable little villages. We walked around one of these, saw the smallest house in Great Britain, and photographed a couple of castles, although we couldn’t go in anywhere. On Saturday night we stayed in an adorable hostel, where our host informed us that he didn’t go to bed until “all his lambs were back in the fold” (regardless of the fact that some of his ‘lambs’ were older than he was). We appreciated the homey atmosphere.

                On Sunday we woke up early for a full Welsh breakfast before driving to our next stop. This was the ‘village with the longest name’, which really consisted of nothing but its name and souvenir shop. Of course, the shop was fairly extensive. We finished off the sightseeing with a steam train ride through Snowdonia* before heading back to London. Everyone had a great time.

                Of course, by the time we’d driven back to London, and I’d taken the train back to Cambridge and walked back to my dorm, it was about 11:30 at night. Still, I managed to get unpacked, showered, and into bed before midnight, and then wake up at 7:30 to prepare for a presentation in my 9:00 discussion section (it went well). I’m planning on a nap later today, though.

                I’m having fun inside of class as well. I had all three of my discussion sections for class this morning, and they were fun. In “Good Life or Moral Life” we were discussing Plato’s dilemma.* It wasn’t anything like the first time I’d heard it, and I don’t consider it a particularly potent problem, but it made for an interesting conversation all the same.

                My mind is kind of in overdrive lately, which is exactly the way I like it. I’ve given up TV and Netflix for a while, and it’s amazing how much I can get done when I don’t waste time – and how much more interesting I find what I’m doing. I always do this during summer study; I get really excited about whatever subject matter I’m focused on. At the moment, that subject matter is philosophy.

                It’s been two weeks, and I’m now halfway through with one of my classes and a quarter of the way through my time here at Cambridge. It’s scary how fast things are going, but I’m certainly enjoying every minute of it. And now I have to go get my laundry and awkwardly carry it past all the tourists. Until next week!

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowdonia

**Simply put: is it good because God loves it, or does God love it because it is good?

God, as defined by the Judeo-Christian tradition, is a necessary being, and thus his nature could not be otherwise. In this case, moral values are absolute because they are part of God’s absolute nature. It's not a question of God loving the good so much as of God embodying the good.

Pictures:

(Thanks to all my fellow tourists who took pictures of me!)

This is the Chester Cathedral. As I said, impressive.

 On my way back to the bus.

 One of the castles we passed (I don't remember which one; sorry!)

 We got to walk around the city walls.

 The smallest house in Great Britain:

 Our very quaint hostel (our group were the only ones there).

 Fish and chips at the pub on Saturday night (I didn't order them).

 Walking on the beach.

 A full Welsh breakfast:

 I went outside on Sunday morning, and everything looked breathtaking. I got a little excited with the picture taking... I tried to trim it down for this post!

 On the road again.

 That's the name of the town; it's one Welsh word that means a very long descriptive sentence in English.

 Me with the Welsh flag; I really like the design.

 A little hiking in Snowdonia.