London, Cuenca, Teruel, & Albarracin

I have lots to talk about this week! First off, the time has just flown here. Looking back, it has been incredible to see all that I have done and accomplished in such a short time. I am super grateful that I am able to be here and to experience all that I have done! Here are some of the highlights of the four cities that I have visited in the past two weeks.

London: We had a free weekend, so a few of us decided to go to London. I knew that I was going to love it, but I didn't realize just how much! We tried to see as much as we could in 48 hours, and I'm honestly impressed by all that we did. What I loved about London was the mix between modern and history. The architecture of London is beautiful, and it seems around every corner you find something incredible. I really loved Tower of London Bridge and Westminister Abbey. Of course I had to visit Sherlock's house and Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter ;) We were also to see a performance of Les Miserables, which took my breath away. All I could think while I was in London was how incredible my life is! I can't believe how blessed I have been to be able to travel to all of these places. I can't wait to visit London again!

This weekend we got to visit three beautiful cities: Cuenca, Teruel, and Albarracin.
Cuenca: There were two major sites that we were able to visit while there. I really enjoyed each of them! The first was the Cathedral of Cuenca. Its a beautiful cathedral, and I felt that it has been kept as close to historically correct as possible. A while ago, the stained glass in the cathedral were lost to a fire. Instead of trying to recreate the originals, the city decided to let local artists create modern stained glass. They were beautiful, and I loved that each was unique. We were able to climb up the cathedral and see the view of the city--something I loved about Cuenca was all of the colors! No two buildings were the same. We were able to visit the Casas Colgadas, or hanging houses. They are modern art museums that hang over a cliff! Its pretty incredible seeing these houses that are literally hanging! No one knows exactly how long they have been there, or how many of these houses there were.
Teruel: In this city, we spent most of our time in the Mausoleo de los Amantes. The story goes that there were two lovers (Juan and Isabel) in Teruel. Like most medieval love stories, the two lovers were unable to be together in this life. They both died of broken hearts, and so the family buried them together. The lids of tombs have carvings of the couple's bodies, and the hands of the lovers are reaching to touch, but do not. It was a beautiful story, and I thought it was interesting being able to see the actual bodies of the couple. We went into the cathedral that had originally held the bodies, and then climbed a tower that had an incredible view of the city. We then got to walk through some secret passageways around the cathedral--those were really fun to walk around. I don't think they were ever really used, but it was fun to imagine people escaping through the tunnels. Teruel isn't a big tourist city, so it is interesting to see the influence of the amantes throughout the city. I really enjoyed being able to tour the Mausoleo and see the evidence of a story!
Albarracin: One of my favorite cities so far! Albarracin is located in the mountains, and has been almost untouched by tourism. All of the buildings are made with a pinkish rock, and are uneven. I loved the streets because they were crooked, and were unique. We got to do a hike all the way above the city. The view was incredible, and I can only imagine what it would look like at night! From the opposite side of the city, there was a view of the farmlands, which honestly looked like Yakima! haha! At the end of the hike, there was a castle! I love that about Spain--there is always something interesting to find. We walked up and down the castle walls for a few hours. I could have stayed there forever. I loved that the city wasn't overrun with people. I also felt like I had been transported back in time while I climbed the castle walls. I wonder why they built those walls, and what people might have experienced in those days.

I loved all of the cities that I visited! I especially enjoyed this last excursion because it was like a trip back in time. I enjoyed being able to visit historical sites that weren't cathedrals or museums (not that I don't enjoy those places). It was a fun and different trip for me!

Pictures: Cuenca, stained glass in Cuenca, colors in Cuenca, casas colgadas, Graves of Amantes, outside of Cathedral in Teruel, Cathedral in Teruel, the rest are Albarracin!