Earlier this week, our CIEE program decided to offer a day trip to Murcia, which is a little less than an hour from Alicante. I'm a big fan of the day trips. I don't mind sleeping on the bus, and it's nice to not have to worry about packing a suitcase or catching a flight or waking up too early to get somewhere or any of that nonsense. Also, I want to see as much of Spain as I can, so I signed up.
There was a very small group of us – about 10 girls – but that made the trip all the more enjoyable. We didn't have to wait for people to catch up and it was actually very possible to hear and understand the tour guide since we were all much closer together.
Our first stop was La Catedral. Murcia, just like every other Spanish city, has their one Catedral which is usually pretty centrally located. We got all the history, including the information about the cathedral's relics (which allegedly includes some of the Virgin Mary's breastmilk. Questionable.). After that, we walked into the Baroque style castle right next door, basically to see the impressive staircase. After a quick snack break, we reconvened at Murcia's Casino. It wasn't the casino like we think of it, but rather a social gathering place that struck me more like a country club. There were rooms strictly for members' use, but also rooms to view and tour. I kind of missed the point of it, but it was cool to walk through anyway.
After that, we broke for lunch (pizza and helado...mmm) and then met up one more time to head over to El Museo Salzillo. Salzillo was an artist who is most famous for his "pasos", lifelike and life-size religious figures representing Semana Santa (the week leading up to Easter). These pasos are carried by several hundred Murcianos in a procession on Easter morning. Although I was exhausted for this part of the tour, this was probably the coolest part, especially because you could see how much it meant to our guide, who was Murcian.
Then we got back on the bus and pretty much instantly passed out. I slept the entire way back to Alicante, and when the bus dropped us off at my stop, I thought I was at one side of the traffic circle but was actually on the opposite and walked about half a block in the wrong direction toward what I thought was my house. I was very confused for a moment when I turned the corner expecting to see my apartment building and instead saw one of Alicante's most beautiful government buildings. Awkkkwwarrrddd...
The next day, Allison and I decided to head over to San Juan's beautiful Costa Blanca via TRAM. It was a little windy for my liking, but the sun was shining so we definitely caught some rays. I can't wait to head back that way when it gets a little warmer. Maybe I'll even take Jack and Joann when they come visit me in ONE WEEK!
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