This is the stadium of the best fútbol team in the world: REAL MADRID of course! I was able to go to one of their games a few months ago (see previous post). My classmates and I returned to the stadium in Madrid this past Saturday to visit their official store and get some Real Madrid gear. That being said, I post this picture to share some information I learned this weekend about the stadium itself. The stadium has housed the Real Madrid team since 1947, just three years after it's construction began. When the stadium was first built, it was named after the previous stadium, Estadio Chamartín. However, the stadium obtained it's current name after it's previous president on January 4, 1955. It holds nearly 80,000 spectators!
This is a picture from our group excursion this past Friday to the city of Salamanca. This is one of the many buildings of the University of Salamanca. Probably the most reputable fact about this university is that it is the third oldest university in the ENTIRE WORLD. It was founded in the 1200's! This school was in existence over 500 years before the United States even became a country! Wow! The rich history of the campus was quite impressive. Our guide was very knowledgeable of the university. One story she told us specifically I found very interesting. After the university was well established, around the 14th and 15th century, they had a specific tradition for its graduates. In order to receive your degree from the university, you had to pass a final exam that covered everything you had learned throughout your time there. The night before the exam, you were required to spend the night in the city's cathedral by yourself. After spending the night in the cathedral, the oral exam was administered in the cathedral by a panel of scholars and professors. If you passed the lengthy exam, you exited out the main entrance of the cathedral where a huge celebration would commence with the entire city. Graduates would then paint a red symbol above their door in the form of a 'V', signifying they were victorious in their studies. However, if the student failed the exam (it only took one professor to vote 'no' for you to fail), then you were required to exit the cathedral through a side door. At this door, the citizens would be awaiting you in order to throw tomatoes, lettuce and other items at you as a form of humiliation! It was neat to see how the education system has definitely changed throughout the years! I am very glad EKU is not like that!
This is a picture of the beautiful Alcázar in Segovia. We got the opportunity to tour the inside of the castle with my Spanish Culture class last week. It was amazing on the inside! If you think you recognize this castle from somewhere, it's because you probably do. My teacher informed us the castle in the Disney cartoon movie Sleeping Beauty was modeled after this castle! Also, at the beginning of every Disney movie, the symbol used for Disney was modeled after this castle too! It was this castle and one in Germany that Walt Disney himself liked and used for models. I think he made a great choice! This castle was built sometime during the 12th century and enlarged during the 13th and 14th centuries. Something very interesting to me was the many uses the castle has had over the years. Some of these uses were for: a royal palace, the wedding site of Philip II, a military academy, and even a state prison at one point! Now it is just used as a tourist attraction for the many visitors to Segovia.
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