Each Day is Better than the Last

The first day of class was not what I expected. I got to the CLM building a little before 9am, when my class started. My class only had 10 other people in it. Our professor seems nice and spent 2 hours having us get to know each other and then she left. I was confused and thought class was over for the day, cuz I knew I had one 4 hour class. We had a 10 minute break and then another teacher came in. I guess it's 2 classes for 2 hours each. This teacher was late; it seems like everyone is Spain runs late. We went over grammar. I was falling asleep; sitting in class for 4 hours is so boring. But I do understand what is going on in my classes, so I'm happy. We unfortunately get homework. Then me and some other girls in my class had to rent the book for the class for the library, so we went to the library, found out we needed a card, went to the secretary, and then we were told we had to go to the CEA Office, and they said we could pick them up at 5. We did get our books. Then Angie, Lindsay and I stayed in the CLM to use the computers and plan our trip to Italy!! We figured it all out and then walked home for dinner. I loved dinner, it was tomatoes, bread, lasagna, yogurt, and water. I went to sleep shortly after because I was exhausted.

Today was amazing. After class ended at 1 and I had lunch, Lindsay and I walked to the post office to meet up with Angie at 4. We walked to the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) and Catedral (Cathedral) downtown. We went into the Capilla Real first. We walked into the lobby. There were paintings that belonged to Queen Isabel of Spain, and there were paintings of her and King Ferdinand. For those of you who don't know, they were the King and Queen of Spain in 1492 who funded Christopher Columbus when he sailed to America in their name. The Capilla Real was built by their grandson, Carlos V, in their honor. Isabel decided that she and her husband wanted to be buried in Granada when they took over the city and saw how beautiful it was.

(La Capilla Real)(Queen Isabel's stuff)

We walked into the actual Chapel. It was so beautiful!! It was big, with pretty ceilings and lots of paintings on the walls. Ferdinand and Isabella were known for being Catholic, so there were paintings of Jesus everywhere. Then we walked into this huge room with 4 huge tombs. 2 were for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel, and the other 2 were for their daughter Juana and her son Felipe. Then we walked down these stairs and we saw the actual caskets that they were in. Queen Isabel's crown and scepter were in there too!! It was so exciting. Then we looked at the wall in front of the tombs that was all gold. It had sculptures of Jesus, Mary, and some saints as well as the King and Queen on either side. Then the next room had artifacts from the King and Queen, like the King's sword and the Queen's Bible (in Spanish). There were lots of pictures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and angels and saints. Then we left and walked right next door to the Cathedral.

(us in front of the Cathedral!)

The Cathedral was built by Queen Isabel. We walked in and went to a room on the right side first. Lindsay said I would love it because there were a lot of mirrors. It was kinda pretty, but then we went left and walked into the actual Cathedral. It was sooo beautiful, I was like speechless. It was HUGE!! The floors were white, the ceilings were white and gold, and there were tons of little blocked off like rooms off the sides. Not only was it big, but it was tall. There were paintings of Jesus on the walls and organ pipes high up on the pillars. There was more gold on the walls too and in the middle. The middle was like a church, but bigger and prettier. There were pews with people praying. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was. Angie and I were soooo excited!! I had never been in a Cathedral before and it was so amazing.

(statue of Columbus and Queen Isabel)

Seeing the more tourist-y stuff made me feel more like I'm on vacation. I had a lot of fun today. I feel like every day I see something new or do something that makes it better than the last day. And today was awesome! =]