Much like LCU does, UCAV (Universidad Católica de Ávila) has a Fall Break mid-October. So, one early afternoon, everyone rushes from their final class to the train station to take a train to Madrid, where they will fly on to some destination for a week of break.

We were fortunate enough to have Luke come over from Lubbock so we all could spend the break together. We wrestled with where to go—any choice would have been fantastic—but picked Nice, France, which is located on the French Riviera, or Côte d’Azur.

Nice is a town on the Mediterranean Sea in the southeastern part of France, almost to Italy (although Monaco is situated between Nice and Italy). Nice is just up the coast from Cannes. The metropolitan area of Nice is home to nearly around a million people, but the town itself does not feel that large. Nice was founded as a permanent settlement in 350 BCE and most recently was an Italian city until it was re-annexed by France in 1860. There are portions of the town that feel very Italian, which adds to the uniqueness of the city. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, having received that distinction in 2021.

One of the main attractions for Nice is a large walkway along the ocean—the Promenade des Anglais—which stretches for 7 kilometers along the Mediterranean. One can walk along watching the beautiful blue water on one side and observe the ocean front buildings on the other. It is a place where people can walk, run, ride bikes, or just sit and watch the water.

The thing that I remember most about Nice was a sort of old world feel and a much slower pace of life. We had French toast for breakfast (we were in France obviously), ice-cream (Fennochio’s is fantastic!), ate pizza on the pebble beach, and generally just relaxed for a few days as family. It was a fantastic vacation!

I have posted before about the fast food found in Ávila and other cities throughout Spain. We committed to eating local to be able to really feel like we were a part of Spanish culture, but every now and then you just have to eat something “from home.” Of course, nothing tastes quite like it does back home. Ingredients are just not the same and the preference of the locals are different than they are in the States, but it is close.

One of the other reasons you must (or at least choose to) eat fast food is that when you are traveling, your options are more limited. The Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport is one of those places where it just seems easier to stop at a place you know, like Starbucks or McDonalds.

On this day a year ago, we had a late flight out to Nice, France for our Fall Break. After rushing from our final class to the train station then to another metro station to get to the airport, we had a few minutes to stop and catch our breath before continuing to France.

What I remember most about this stop is first, the joy of having the entire family together. Luke was able to come over for the break and both having him with us, as well as his experience having traveled around Europe the previous year was a blessing. The second reason this moment was such a joy is we ran into at least two other groups headed to their own places for the break. One was a family who had been in to see their daughter, the other group was some of our students headed out on an adventure of their own.

I don’t know if the food was better that specific day, but the memories of the day sure made it seem like one of the best meals we had our entire time there.

So, on this 83° day in Texas—a day which I am loving because it is so “cool” here—I am reminded that back in Ávila, one year ago from today, the leaves were already beginning to turn.

Not going to lie, that was pretty cool!

Every fall Ávila hosts a carnival, which if memory serves me correctly, is somehow related to a festival associated with St. Teresa. If you picture the South Plains Fair in Lubbock, you would not be far off from the one in Ávila. There is a midway, and booths selling all kinds of foods–similar, although not exactly like the food we find in the States–and carnival rides that, very similar to those in the States, I would not get on. They all look pretty suspect to me.

That’s not to say the say the students feel the same, as evidenced by the picture here. It was nice to experience a little taste of something so much like what we would experience at home … my children riding the rides and me refusing to join in!

Also one year and a day ago today

While there were a lot of great things about spending a semester abroad, the times in which Luke came to visit may have been some of the best. Luke spent the previous semester in Ávila and so it was a homecoming of sorts for him. But it also gave us opportunity to see the sites all over again from his eyes and the memories of his experiences.

One of the other cools things about his visit was that a friend joined him, so we got to not only hear the stories of a previous trip, but we also got to experience again the city as someone who was brand new would experience it.

As I mentioned in my post on September 16, while walking through

Ávila, we discovered a portion of the Camino de Santiago that ran through the city. I had been teaching about St. Teresa as part of my Christian Heritage course and Jana had been teaching books related to pilgrimages, so it made sense that we would combine our classes for a walk along the Camino.

Although we had information about the walk, it really made more sense just to follow either the yellow arrows, painted along the sidewalks, or the shells embedded in the concrete throughout the old city. Our path took us through the city from the south, by the church of St. James, then through the city walls and on the Four Posts.

The Four Posts are a site where four columns were built and were held together by an architrave. The site is said to have been constructed in 1566–perhaps on the location of a small temple during Roman times–and provides a great overlook of the backside of the old city of Ávila.

It is here where a pathway of greater importance begins or ends, depending on your direction of travel. The Path of St Teresa connects Ávila to Alba de Tormes, incorporating locations of Teresa’s birth, death, and where she spent time as a youth. While considered a part of the Camino de Santiago “feeder paths,” if you will, it has standing in its own right due to the connection to the Saint. You can find more information, including maps and where to stay here.

While we would have liked to have travelled this pathway … and perhaps if we return, we will … but we had not planned on taking a 117km walk, so finished our day at the Four Posts.

Group C.

Well, I think this is Group C. The semester we were in Ávila, students were divided into three groups and every Monday, they would rotate for supper at one of the faculty’s apartments. This is the third group to visit our house, regardless of what they were officially numbered.

Our first cycle through the three groups, we got pizza from the Domino’s just around the corner from our apartment. The young man who worked the counter and I would work through our limited Spanish (me) and English (him) and then resort to pointing and pulling out Google Translate to make an order. I’m not sure how much he enjoyed the process, but I grew to love the opportunity to perhaps get a little better at ordering something as simple as pizza.

One of the realities of food in Spain, particularly fast food was that something was just a little bit different. Ordering a Big Mac felt like home, because it looked and for the most part, tasted like a Big Mac, but something not quite “normal.” I feel like it was typically the cheese, primarily because Spain doesn’t have American cheese. (Well…duh!) But Domino’s was very, very close. To watch the students eat it, you would assume it was exact!

After a meal, we would often play games, our favorite being an adapted version of “Ransom Notes.” Using ideas I came up with for sentence prompts and a box of Poetry Tile Fridge Magnets, we would create “sentences” with whatever random words we had been given. The creativity of the students was amazing!

For instance, when asked to describe the weather for this day, one year ago, the result was…

And earlier in the semester, when asked to describe Ávila, someone wrote:

Those who have been there I think would agree.

The joy of getting together, eating, and laughing with all of the groups of students is one of the things we still think back on, a year or more later.

A year ago this afternoon, just before tapas time, we wandered out of the rain and into Restaurante Cocó, a small restaurant just off of Plaza del Mercado Chico. In one corner of the room was a man who appeared to be a local (good sign) and in the other a woman reading a guidebook of Spain. (I guess you could consider recommendation in the guidebook a good sign, as well.)

For us, it was an opportunity to get out of the rain and enjoy a quiet meal together. It was one of the better meals I had in Ávila. I did not write down what everyone has … I wish I had. I seem to recall a Ensalada César, Salmón al la plancha, Hamburguesa con queso, and Bastones de pollo crujientes con miel y mostaza, which actually was eaten by both young and old alike.

The highlight of the actual meal was the Coulant de chocolate con helado de galleta belga, pictured here. The presentation just added to the taste of the dessert—it would have been excellent served on a paper plate!

What really stood out, however, was just the opportunity to be in a small restaurant in Ávila, taking the time to enjoy the fellowship with one another and fully embrace the slower pace of life in Spain.

One year later, it is still the thing I miss most.

One of the things about Spain that we were aware of prior to arriving was the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage that begins–if you choose to do the full route–in France and runs along the northern portion of Spain until is reaches the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galacia, Spain. It is here that tradition holds that the remains of the apostle James are buried. While there is no question that James was martyred in Jerusalem in 62 AD, his remains were said to have been transferred by boat to the coast of Spain. As it was approaching the shore, legend has it, there was a wedding party and the groom, on horseback, saw the ship and his horse was spooked and ran into the sea. Both the groom, and the horse, however, were miraculously saved and came up from the sea covered in scalloped shells, which now represents the Camino. A modern rendering of the shells can be seen on the sign at the left.

While there are not as many pilgrims within Ávila, in some of the larger cities of Spain it is not uncommon to see someone wearing a backpack walking along, a shell attached somewhere on them, representing the pilgrimage they are either currently undertaking, or one that they have successfully completed. Many pilgrims purchase a credencial, which is something akin to a passport. Your credencial is stamped at the various towns in which one stays along the way and having a credencial gives you access to overnight lodging along the way. The credencial is also used as proof of your pilgrimage, used at the Santiago de Compostela to receive an official compostela, or certificate of accomplishment. One must travel at least 100 kilometers, be traveling for religious reasons, and have received a minimum number of stamps along the way to receive a compostela.

One this day, one year ago, we decided to take a walk through Ávila. We may have been searching for something specific, a restaurant, perhaps, but stumbled on to the sign above during our walk. While the main route (and there are many different routes for the Camino) goes east-to-west through Spain, there are a great number of minor routes that travel throughout the country toward Galacia. One goes through Ávila and travels the same route as the Way of St. Teresa, a saint who lived in Ávila. Later in the semester, we would take a group of students along the Camino, walking from the southern end of the city, through the town and the old town within the city walls, then out toward the northwest, headed toward Galacia. Perhaps one day we will return to actually walk the main route of the Camino itself.

Also one year ago today

During the fall, a market would be set up in the Plaza del Mercado Chico (the little market square). It was amazing to walk through the various booths and see all of the different fruits and vegetables that were for sale. In a town where eating out is not really the norm, it was easy to see how people would want to eat at home, with all of the fresh options available to them. We have farmer’s markets here, but there really is something interesting about shopping in an old city square!