Spain is wonderful! I am having such a fun time here, and I'm sad that I only have one month left! This two weekends ago, we were able to travel to Valencia. Here are some highlights for me from the trip.
Aquarium: We got to see the Valencia aquarium! I had never seen dolphins or sea turtles in real life before! We got to go to a dolphin show, and something that I really liked was how the workers stressed saving injured animals. I liked there was a huge focus on protecting nature and helping maintain its beauty. The aquarium was huge and had tons of animals! I loved the shark tunnel--there were huge fish and sharks swimming all around me. It was pretty incredible! I love aquariums because they help you to remember the importance each of God's creations.
Lladro factory: As a preface, LLadro is a famous sculptor. There are shops all around the world, but it originated in Valencia. We got to go inside the factory and see how each sculpture is made. First, they have artists that think and create the designs. Then, they have to make a mold for the new design. Because the designs are so intricate, they make the mold into separate parts. The mold can only be used so many times before a new one has to be made. After taking each part out of the molds, the pieces have to dry, and then the artists can begin the process of pasting each piece together. Then, the sculptures are painted--some can take months to just paint correctly. Also, there are artists that create the extra items that are attached to the piece (for example, flowers). We were able to talk with one of the flower designers at length about how she makes the each tiny flower. She has been working at the Lladro factory for over 40 years, just creating flowers! She had to train for awhile before she could start making the pieces. The Lladro factory created the Christus statue for the temple here in Spain. It was amazing to see all of the different sculptures as well as the creation process!
Beach: Need I say more? :) The water was beautiful and warm (but very salty), and we were able to enjoy a few hours there.
Holy Grail: There is a church in Valencia that claims that they own the holy grail, or the cup that Christ drank out of at the last supper. We got to see it, after a few priests were performing a ceremony in the room where its located. It is covered in jewels, and its a beautiful gold. I'm not sure if I believe that its the holy grail, but it was still cool to see it! As we were in the chapel, we got to participate in a knighting ceremony. You heard that right--the Catholic church still knights people! It was a huge ceremony; there were tons of priests, leaders, and people about to get knighted. It was a long ceremony, so we didn't stay for long. Its amazing to live in a country where practices that have existed for hundreds of years are still happening! It feels like you have been transported back in time at points. I love that aspect of Spain!
That was my week basically! I just got back from London, so I'll make sure to share my stories from there as well soon! :)
Photos: Dolphins, Fishes, Shark tunnel, Aquarium, turtles, holy grail, beach, local market, Christus, Aquarium
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