Comillas y Santillana del Mar

Tuesday, 9:31 p.m.

I am writing this with my eyes half-mast – I know it’s early, but I am so incredibly tired right now! Today we went on an excursion after school to the nearby towns of Comillas and Santillana del Mar.

It should be noted that all of the following pictures are from my iPhone – I forgot my camera at home.

In Comillas we went to the Palacio y Capilla de Sobrellano. I think. I get confused sometimes – I usually just stick to figuring out the general idea of what is being said, and names seem to escape me.

This particular palace was another royal vacation home. Can you imagine?! I mean seriously, look at this place! It’s absolutely insane.

We had a tour of parts of several of the rooms (we weren’t allowed to take pictures in most parts of it). Here is the entryway – please note the arches. Or whatever it is I was supposed to be paying attention to for my culture class. See? Things just escape me.

Our guide basically told us she wouldn’t be looking at that if we wanted to take photos we wouldn’t get caught…so I snagged a photo of the library – obviously I loved this room.

After the palace we went next door and saw this cathedral (a “small” one by Spanish standards), but only from the outside.

Then we saw this building, El Capricho de Gaudí. Check out how crazy it is! Those are ceramic sunflowers adorning it. The architect, Antonio Gaudí, was a bit eccentric.

Then we headed back to the bus (I have named him Barney since he is large and purple) before heading to Santillana del Mar.

There, we looked at another cathedral:

And then we had time to explore the village before calling it a day. This is what Spain looked like in my head before I got here:

I bought presents for my sisters in this cute little town, then got back on the bus and headed home. After a nice dinner of tortilla con patatas (a cross between an omelet and quiche, but a little more potato-y) I took a shower and sat down here to write this before I forgot anything. Which clearly didn’t work, considering I forgot about half of what I learned today.

But I tried.

Right now I am hearing another procession somewhere in the city – it sounds pretty close! I’m beginning to really enjoy the sound of the drums.

Tomorrow is my last day of school this week. It’s a short day too, we only have two of our three normal classes and are finished for the day by 1:00 – a great way to start my weekend!

♥ abigail