Churros, Smooy, and Santiago de Compostela

MY FIRST CHURROS!

Historic moment

Chocolateria San Gines

 Yes it is true, I tried churros for the first time last week. At the tapas night Silvia had pointed out to our group the chocolateria in Sol, so my friend Chi and I wisely made note of the spot and returned for churros. The hot chocolate is very thick chocolate and we were given 12 churros! We could not finish all the churros, but they were delicious.

 But, let´s not forget my trip to Santiago de Compostela! I did not realize until Thursday that I was signed up for the trip, so it was a bit of a scramble to get myself sorted for the excursion. The bus ride was incredibly long, but we all made friends which helped pass the time. While in Santiago we noticed a Medieval Market/Festival in the town (kind of hard to miss) so we walked around there a good portion of the first day. I fell asleep as soon as we got back to the hotel. In our free time, my friend Rachael and I found a frozen yogurt place called Smooy. I got a peanut butter flavored yogurt and Rachael had caramel.

Medieval Market!!

Santiago de Compostela

My new obsession

Preparing the delicious peanut butter yogurt

Bizarre topping

Various toppings

 One of the main attractions of Santiago de Compostela is the Cathedral. We were very lucky with the weather, because it did not rain, which is common in Santiago. There were lots of very old churches, but we all wanted to see the Cathedral. Santiago de Compostela is the endpoint of a pilgrimage for Christians who want to have their sins to be erased or forgiven. For hundreds of years people have made the pilgrimage and then burned their clothing to symbolize the end of their journey and a renewed commitment to God. The reason why people do the pilgrimage is because the remains of St. James or Santiago were sent from far away (around France) and carried to Santiago.

At the Cathedral

Purgatory, depicted on the front of a church

Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

 These photos were taken on the first day, before my camera died, so I have no photos from the the roof top of the Cathedral, which we saw the second day :( The second day we went to a small beach in Cambados (a seaside town) and I swam on the other side of the Atlantic! If you look at a map you can see how far away it was from Madrid. Even thought the bus ride was long, I am still very glad I went on the trip. Santiago de Compostela is a place I would have never gone on my own, but I had a lovely time. I also made some great friends on the trip, my room mate Erika and Soraya (a fellow blogger) to name a few. I had such a great time and I strongly recommend the trip, especially if you are religious, it may convince you to make the pilgrimage yourself!

Hasta luego readers!