corpus christi

today we went to a teeny tiny town about an hour away called Camunas to celebrate Corpus Christi. the festival consisted of dances, music, and traditional garb all dating back many centuries. the purpose of this holiday is to reflect on good and evil, which is portrayed by the red masks that the dancers are wearing (some masks represent "las virtudes"--good and some "los pecados"-- evil). the process consists of a mass, followed by the dancing, and then a processional through the streets of Camunas. it is really interesting to see how these long standing traditions hold up in a small town setting

my friend got interviewed on a spanish news station.. that was funny...

always room for more

here are some more random pictures i had floating around from spain--my little sister, cousin, and grandmother, the women from morocco that we are getting to know, and the royal gardens

barcelona

i had a fantastic time in barcelona this weekend. when we got there on friday it was a bit rainy, but it cleared up enough to get some decent pictures! it was amazing to walk down by the water and watch fishing boats, kayaks, and grotesque yachts go by. we also walked around and took note of the beautiful, old (and new) architecture. i spent most of the day with my friends Whitney, Athina, and Carly--we eventually met up with other people and experienced barcelona nightlife. wish i had gone to the picasso museum... maybe next time...

toledo

on wednesday we went to Toledo, which is about 45 minutes away from Aranjuez...on the way there we stopped in a small village and visited the house where Cervantes wrote part of his famous story Don Quixote. we also drove by the comical "molinos de viento" (windmills) that play a large role in Cervantes' epic...

now i'm in barcelona!