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Updated photos and pictures of the Seville, Granada and Salamanca, the latest events in the school, the students, their trips and the activities!

 

From Salamanca to… Segovia and Avila!

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

A group of students studying Spanish in Salamanca enjoyed a trip to the beautiful cities of Segovia and Avila this week – a great chance to see a bit more of Castilla and Leon, mix with fellow students, practise Spanish and get a greater idea of Spanish culture and history!

Segovia's main attraction - the aquaduct!

Armed with their cameras and picnics, the students headed to the aqua-duct of Segovia – a stunning monument well photographed and famous throughout Spain.  This huge structure – which has a Virgin Mary statue in the middle  – is situated in the heart of the city, which is predominantly built with the same type of brick as the aqua-duct, making for great photos and stunning scenery.  Whilst Salamanca’s brick is typically golden, Segovia’s typical style reminds of the red-brick buildings of Victorian England.

Typical Segovian dish - Cochinillo!

Another highlight of the Segovia trip was the food!  The “cochinillo” (roast piglet) is a popular dish here (so popular you can find Segovian style bars in Salamanca selling this speciality!).  The students enjoyed the typical food – a warming meal on a blustery day!

Next stop was Avila – the beautiful walled city you pass through on the way to Madrid from Salamanca (or vice versa).  A little like Chester, England, this city is surrounded by a wall, protecting the city and its famous castle (of which the students couldn’t take enough photos!).  Though a lot smaller than cities such as Salamanca, to pass a half day, the students found plenty to do and it’s a great place to go for the day (by train, by bus, by car…) for a lunch and a spot of tourism.

Mester’s Spanish school do many excursions as part of their activity programme – why not check them out? It’s a great way to interact with fellow students, to see a new side of Spain and to change your scenery for a day.  Ideal for students who come to Spain as a group trip (taking the pressure off the teachers to organise activities!).

Inside the stunning castle!

If you can’t travel so far for whatever reason, then don’t doubt that there’s not enough to do in Salamanca!  See our activity programme for inspiration – be it a film night, an art conference, a cookery class or a language exchange in the Erasmus Cafe, there’s no excuse for being bored!

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The sweet taste of “Chocolate con churros”.

Friday, October 9th, 2009
Evelin loves churros, isn't it?

Evelin loves churros, isn't it?

I am sure that during your stay in Spain you have heard about “chocolate con churros”.Most of you have experienced the crunchy taste of “churros” tipped in a hot chocolate.But why is “chocolate con churros” that populare in Spain?

The tradition of eating “churros” started way back in XIX century, in Madrid. The most important reason why “churros” spreaded all over the Spain was the low cost and the huge amount of energy that was perfect for the workers to start a hard day full of physical work. In that time “chocolate con churros” was called as the fruit of the pan.

There are many different ways to eat ” churros” . You can tip it inside your coffee or if you want to experience more extreme taste you can try tipping it into cognac or anis. But the most popular way of eating “churros” has allways been with hot chocolate.The perfect way to serve out “chocolate con churros” is to serve it in a porcelaine cup full of resent made chocolate. The chocolate is served out with six to eight “churros”, including a class of water and sugar in case of somebody wants to have a sweeter beginning for the day.You can eat “churros” while they are still hot or you can eat them cold, it does not matter, they will maintain the crunchy taste. It is common that hot “churros” are served in north Spain and cold “churros” in south Spain.

The place where you can eat “churros” is named Churreria . Usually it is a place where tables and the floor

Serving churros to the students

Serving churros to the students

are decorated with marmol.Also there are “Churrerias” that offers you a take away service.The opening time of the Churrerias is usually at 5 or 6 am.Why so early? So that the workers could have a decent breakfast before starting a hard day. Nowadays the costume has changed a little bit, in the early hours “Churrerias” are also visited by young people that have just finished partying and are looking for a memorable way to end a night out with their friends.Also “Churros” are served in a normal terrace or a coffee place. So that whenever you get hungry for a cup of chocolate with churros you can enter to a first coffee place, that gets on your way, without looking for a “Churreria”. Also you may see booths on the streets that offers you “churros” with various size, shape and taste, so you do not even have to look for it, just follow the warm flavor of “Churros” mixed with a sweet smell of Chocolate.

The students enjoying their Spanish breakfast.

The students enjoying their Spanish breakfast.

It is known that Spanish people love to communicate . Many of the times the reunions are accompanied with “Chocolate con churros”. What could be better than enjoying a cup of hot chocolate with”churros” while telling stories to your friends, shatting with your nabours, or sharing your concerns with your parents. Eating “Chocolate con churros” is not only a way to aliment yourself it is also a good way to communicate with people and to brighten up your day whenever you feel blue.

Posted in Activities, in Salamanca, Photos and Pictures, Salamanca, Salamanca School, School | 2 Responses »
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Italian Group enjoy their last week in Spain!

Friday, July 31st, 2009

The Italian Group that we’ve had staying with us the last two weeks have now finished their Spanish Course with us in Salamanca! The group have been here for 2 weeks to improve their Spanish and to see Spain. They’ve joined in some fantastic trips and seen a few cities, including a trip to Portugal!

Salamanca at night

Salamanca at night

The group all together in Segovia

The group all together in Segovia

The group is made up of 9 students and their teacher Vania, who’s also taken part in a Spanish Teachers course with us, and have come from the Science school Belfiore in Italy. There’s more about what they got up to in their first week on our blog and about the Teachers Course that Vania, the group’s teacher, has been taking during their stay in Salamanca.

The Cathedral of Segovia

The Cathedral of Segovia

The Ancient City Walls of Avila

The Ancient City Walls of Avila

The group has taken part in the normal activities that we offer as a part of our Cultural Program, including cookery classes, Tapas trips, a guided tour of Salamanca and conferences in the school – amongst other things! You can read all about this in our previous blog post on the group.

The beach at Aveiro

The beach at Aveiro

The group in a Spanish Class

The group in a Spanish Class

This week the group have enjoyed a trip to Aveiro, a beach resort in Portugal, which was a great trip and the weather was great for everyone to enjoy the beach! They’ve also been lucky enough to take a trip to both Segovia and Avila, two local important and beautiful cities. They’re both old walled cities with loads of history and culture and important buildings to see. The Cathedral of Segovia is particularly impressive! You can see the walls and the Cathedral in the photos above.

Rubén and Asun, the group's teachesr, with Vania

Rubén and Asun, the group's teachers, with Vania

The Italian Girls and Vania at the door of our Salamanca school

The Italian Girls and Vania at the door of our Salamanca school

The group has some fantastic photos of their trip that you can see on Facebook in the album of photos that we have for them, of all their trips and of the group too!

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Tapas in Salamanca

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

For the last few weeks we’ve had with us 2 American girls, Kendall and Katie helping in the office.

They’ve been doing a research about Medical Spanish us and as well as taking a Spanish Language Course with us they’ve enjoyed most of our cultural activities. Kendall and Katie are from South Carolina and stayed in Spain for four weeks.

Travel and education Group

Travel and education Group

Tasting "jeta"

Tasting "jeta"

Group Picture

Group Picture

The girls studied Spanish and enjoyed the life and culture in Salamanca, taking part in the cultural activities like the Tapas trips that we organise! The Tapas Tour start with everyone meeting at the school and going by 3 or 4 local bars to try some of the best local tapas! The food is some of the best local food on offer and is a great way to try Salamanca specialities! You can read more about the Tapas in Spain on our other posts on the Spanish Language Blog.

We offer the Tapas trips to all of our students, not only those in Salamanca with us but also in Granada and Seville. The trips normally run on Mondays or Tuesday, but check out the latest issue of the School Newsletter for more information and sign up at reception so that we don’t leave without you!

Posted in Activities, Group programs, Photos and Pictures, Salamanca | No Responses »

Antique Photos of Salamanca

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Salamanca hasn’t always been a modern city and was always a typical beautiful Spanish city!!

We have some old photos of Salamanca for you to see how it was hundreds of years ago, interesting for those of you who know the city and those who don’t too!

Salamanca as seen from across the Río Tormes

Salamanca as seen from across the Río Tormes

This picture shows the city in black and white as seen across the River Tormes abut 100 years ago! The view hasn’t changed too much as the Cathedral has stayed the same! The big difference is that the new bridge crossing the River still isn’t bult!

The Plaza de Toros

The Plaza de Toros

In this photo you can see the Plaza de los Toros, the Bullring in Salamanca, that’s still there today. There are still bullfights in the Plaza, although not as many as before! Well worth a visit to the building, even if you don’t watch a fight. It’s about 15 minutes walking from the Main Sqaure, pretty close to the centre.

Plaza Colón

Plaza Colón

The Plaza de Colón is a small square on the road Calle San Pablo leading away from the Main Square down towards the river. The square is named after Christopher Columbus, Cristobel Colón, who has a statue there in the square! The square is still fairly green and very pretty, the perfect place to have a break when wandering around Salamanca!!

The Patio de Las Escuelas is a square in front of the Famous University Facade

Patio de Escuelas

Patio de Escuelas

with the frog! The buildings around the square are all the main important buildings of the University of Salamanca where all the main offices are, the classes for Courses for International Students that the University offers!! It’s right in the centre by the Cathedral. The statue in the middle still stands, but without the railings around it. The doorway right at the back on the left, the smaller doorway in the corner, leads to a beautiful green patio of the University. All around there are museums for you to find out about the University and the history of Salamanca.

Salamanca from across the River

Salamanca from across the River

The city can be seen here from across the river like in the first photo. Even when they invented cars the normal people of Salamanca were still going around on donkeys, “burros”!!

For more modern pictures of Salamanca you can have a look at our new photo gallery on the Spanish Language School website, have a look and compare how the city was and how it is today!

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