Los Pirineos

So in case you didn't guess from my last post, I took an overnight trip with my group to the Pyrenees - the mountains that create the border between France and Spain. It took us a five hour bus ride to get there, which was pretty uneventful considering it was raining and I was sleeping most of the time. So that's all I'm going to say about that. Once there, we found ourselves in the cutest little mountain town, called Taüll.

Doesn't it just look like the perfect ski town?

View from our hotel room

 It was pretty cold and rainy (especially compared to the beach weather of Barcelona... yeah, we're spoiled), so we just wandered around the (very small) town and visited the Sant Climent de Taüll, a church famous for its Romanesque architecture. The church was consecrated December 10th, 1123 - I can barely wrap my head around the fact that I was standing in a building that old!

Betsy outside of the church with the resident geese

The outside of the church - when it was in use, the outside would have been maintained and painted white

Art inside the church

Another church within the town square

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon staying warm in a cute café near the church.

My roommate Lindsey, and a friend AK in front of the café

The next day, we went for a hike up into the mountains. We took jeeps up to the base of the trail, and then walked along a pretty relaxed trail up to a pasture and a mountain lake. It was beautiful! The park we were in was known for its picturesque water features, so there were lots of waterfalls and lakes.

Roommates before the hike: Me, Lindsey, Betsy, and Megan

Jeeps we took to the hike

Aftermath of an avalanche

Rest stop

The first lake we went to - the water was so clear!

There were SO many cows

Cows loungin' around in the pasture

This was about as close as I wanted to get...

Betsy and I at the first lake

Part of our group continued up a little more rigorous hike to another mountain lake that had a fabulous view. Our guide was pretty much a mountain goat and not a big fan of using the trails - we kept taking "shortcuts" - so it was not the easiest hike! The extra effort was definitely worth it, as we could see more of the gorgeous landscape at the top.

The second lake we went to

View from the top

Our lunch spot

Betsy borrowed our guide's hat and jacket... she probably has lice now.

After enjoying our lunch at the top, we hiked back down to get back on the jeeps to our bus. We got really lucky with the weather, because although it was cold and cloudy while we were hiking, it didn't start raining until we got back on the bus! It was nice to change into some nice warm sweats on the bus, and we all pretty much fell asleep immediately for most of the ride back. A quick trip, but very fun! I was really happy I got to do a hike with my group because it probably would not have planned something like that on my own.

In other news, I started my intensive Spanish class this past week. My professor is really fun, and I know I'm going to enjoy taking class with her this semester. She really wants us to become more fluid in our speaking, so we do a lot of debates and talking in class. With class and daily conversations in taxis, at the market, and in stores, my Spanish is already improving! It's very cool to be an exchange student at the University here sitting along with local Spanish students in the library. Next Monday I start my other classes - literature & cinema, Quijote philosophy, and oral expressions (all in Spanish) - so I'm excited to see what those will be like!

I also applied this week to volunteer at a local children's hospital. Our program coordinator said it was a great way to connect with the community (instead of feeling like an outsider) so I'm really hoping I can do it for a few hours every week. There seems to be a pretty intense application and interview (you have to speak decent Spanish to communicate with the families and nurses),  so I will keep you posted on how that goes! In the meantime, I have an essay to write tonight and my first test on Thursday. Looking forward to the Mercé festival this weekend!