1/17/13

Yesterday was a very relaxing day and Taylor and I were able to get some rest and do some homework as well. This morning we had our last classes for the week and finished our homework before we left school! It’s kind of weird being so studious, maybe I will continue these good habits. Then we went to the Knapp’s house and hung out for a while and I was able to FaceTime with Mom and Dad!! They were so awesome and got up at 5 in the morning to talk to me since that was the only time I would be able to talk with them. It was nice being able to finally talk with them I have missed them. We then went back to Blanca’s house and had a nice big lunch before meeting at the train station to head down to Madrid. We went to the chapel of Saint Antonio because today is Saint Antonio day and everyone brings their pets to the religious leader of the church, I’m not that sure if he was a priest or bishop or what. So we saw all the people lined up and we got there right in time for a parade led by the police on motorcycles, then those walking the K9 units, then those on horses, and then all those that had Seeing Eye dogs, and then everyone who just got their pets blessed. It was so fun to see all the animals!! They were all so cute, and it was nice seeing pets and animals because there aren’t that many around here. There were big dogs and small dogs, and I saw a guy with a ferret, and a couple guinea pigs. It was kind of a fun place to be! It was bustling I really liked it. After the parade we walked up further and watched the priest putting the holy water on those that brought their pets up to him to get blessed. I thought it was kind of a cool thing! The next thing we did was go and see the Gates of Toledo, which was very similar to the Gate of Alcala. Still beautiful nonetheless. After that we went t the Catedral de la Almudena and we were able to go inside. It was so beautiful; at first from the outside we thought it was the palace! It was a fairly new building; finished in 1993 it had some more modern architecture. The stained class inside was beautiful and the works of art inside and the altars were amazing. We walked around and just sat in their for a while because it was just so grand and beautiful it was a lot to take in. It reminded me a lot of the basilicas and cathedrals we visited in Italy. On our way home 5 of us got stuck on the wrong train so we got off at the next stop and had to turn back around and get back onto the correct one so that was fun! Haha we had some bonding time. Getting back to Alcala was definitely a blessing. And our roommates are so awesome they were waiting for us at the train station:] when we got home Blanca asked us about the blessing of the animals and laughed because she thinks it’s kind of weird haha but I thought it was cool! I’m so glad we went and made it with perfect timing!