Sandcastles in the Sand

So the next day we all woke up early and got on a bus for Peñíscola. It was an hour or two trip, and we actually passed Sagunto on the way there, so that was cool. And really, driving (or training) around Spain is a spectacular thing, because there is so much to see, and so much of it is just gorgeous. And we wound up having some really interesting conversations about what we would do if we could time travel, or if we knew we had a week to live, or which musician (living or dead) would we want to hang out with, and it was a lot of fun. I enjoy having those kinds of discussions. It’s fascinating to see what everyone else thinks and how it compares to your own opinion.

So we got there, and it’s this little beach town with a castle up on top of the hill, and the water is that color of blue that every other beach in the world wishes it had, and there’s rocks and cliffs and a lookout point sheltering a beautiful, wide beach, and it was really, really nice. Also, perfect weather.

Oh, and backtracking a bit, because I left this out of my last blog. But Friday after the museum and before Indian food, I went shopping with Elena. We went to a sporting goods store over by the movie theater, and she bought stuff for her hike this summer, and I bought a watch and a quick-dry towel, and, most importantly, sunscreen. Because I’d gotten burned last time I went to the beach. But now I have like, scary powerful sunscreen. It’s 50+ and water resistant and sports approved, and I wore it all day Saturday at Peñíscola, and I think I got paler. And then I had a skype planned with some of my friends at 6, but since it was broad daylight outside, I was at the sporting goods store at 6, and they texted me and were like, “Katie, where you be?” and I was like, “whoops.” And I apologized profusely. And then went home as quickly as possible.

But yeah, Peñíscola. So we all went up to the Castle together, and I mean, this place was almost unbelievably gorgeous. All white stone and blue water. And the cliffs looked out over this vast stretch of Mediterranean. So we went up to the castle, and they gave us the tickets, and basically let us go for the rest of the day. I spent a while exploring the castle, which was super cool. Not only was it beautiful, with a great view of the sea, but also historically significant. First it was a castle owned by the Knight’s Templars, which is automatically cool, BUT THEN one of the three Popes during the whole Avignon debacle wound up having to flee… wherever he was living at the time, and he came to this castle and lived out his days there. And it was actually kind of sad, because he had his study built in a room that looked out over the sea towards Rome. But yeah, the whole castle was very cool.

So then I went back down towards the beach through the town, and bought some souvenirs for various people, and enjoyed the view, and ate lunch on a bench looking out over the sea, and read, and it was great.

Then I actually went down to the beach, expecting to find some of the rest of the group there, but no one else was around, so I just sat and read and walked along the edge of the sea, and people-watched. And then I went out by this little road that ended in the sea, and crossed over it, and found another little beach that led to a bunch of rocks at the bottom of a cliff. So, like any intelligent, barefoot human being, carrying several bags, I decided to keep going over the rocks. It was so much fun. I spent probably an hour and a half climbing over those rocks under these cliffs with houses and hotels on them, and I actually got out to this piece of rock that sort of jutted out into the sea, and just sat there and enjoyed the view. And sometimes I would stop and read for a little bit (oh yeah, I restarted A Song of Ice and Fire. Because I had been reading them, and then I had to stop last semester, and then last weekend I decided to start over again, and I’m almost done with Game of Thrones and on to the second book.) and it was just fantastic to be out there with the rocks and the sea, and all.

 So then I decided that I probably should get back to the beach before the tide came in and stranded me on the rocks. So I went back to the beach, and I thought the group would be there, but they weren’t so, I went to the lookout point/lighthouse thing, and got the view from there. It was also very cool. When I got back to the beach I went and got something to drink and headed back to the bus, because, alas, it was time to leave. So we got back on the bus, and drove back, and almost everyone was asleep the entire time, which amused me greatly. It turns out that a bunch of them had basically spent the whole afternoon at a restaurant chatting and eating and enjoying the day. We got back to Valencia, ate dinner, I did some homework, and some planning, and then went to bed.

And now for some pictures: 

Starting with our walk over to the science museum

 Gulliver

 La Ciudad

 That's where we went to see the movie

 It looks like a spaceship

 Here I am, rock me like a hurricane

 The shadowbox thing. Because Charlie's Angels. I'm in the middle.

 Jess looking pensive

 2014

 Imitating Da Vinci

Those aren't connected, they are stacked, be impressed.

 Double helix

 BABY CHICKS!

 this is a plane

 I don't know if that is way more artsy than I intended or just upside down.

 The walls of Peñíscola

 Main gate

 The Mediterranean (and the wall I will later walk on)

 The bay.

 It's just a pretty town.

 Towers and such.

 I just thought this building was pretty

  But aren't they all?

 And the sky is nice too.

 It looks so... castle-y

I was having fun.

 And this castle was right up on the water too

 This is a beach, but not the one I went to.

 I don't even know.

 Ok. This might be my favorite picture I've ever taken of myself.

 Heading up the tower.

 The view from the tower

 It was a good day for sailing, that guy had the right idea.

 Long way down

 The town

 Another tower.

 THAT'S the beach I went to.

 Not that it was far away from the other one.

 It looks like a postcard.

 And it was even prettier in real life.

 LIGHTHOUSE!

 The courtyard below.

 The chapel

 Some important room.

 I like that they just casually keep weapons around.

 It was the perfect day for this.

 The Pope's coat of arms.

 Window on the sea.

 This is the one that looks out towards Rome.

 I mean, I was just exploring the castle, and it was gorgeous.

 There was a beautiful view everywhere.

 I climbed those stairs, because the Spanish want to kill tourists.

 The Pope who lived here was called "Papa Luna" so... Pope Moon

 I think this is a church.

 I think this is where I ate lunch.

 The city walls.

 I just sort of thought they looked hobbitish with the sand, and I was amused.

 I'm going to be there later today.

 And this is when I decide to go out over the rocks. See that point in the background? That's where I'm headed.

 That one.

 I also have a shoe tan line. Which I don't even know what to do with.

 And that's the city.

 And the castle.

 The cliffs.

 *whistles* I'm on my way...

Towards the cliff

 towards the city

 and towards the sea

 Pano!

 I'm not going that far out.

 That point again.

 It took me a while to get this far.

 And here I am, sitting and taking a breather.

 Listening to the waves

 And... I made it back.

 That's where I was.

 I really liked this city.

 So I went up on this wall, but there was a sign

 Of all the bad things that could happen. Good decisions!

 And that's where I'm headed now.

 It was later at this point, but still a gorgeous day.

 The one on the right, that's where I was.

 Zoom out!

 I think the people in those houses quite have the right idea.

 And my point again.

 It was such a postcard city.

 All of it.

 I don't know how those turned out.

 Panos are so hard.

 I don't know if this got washed up or what, but it was there.

 People fishing down on the right.

 Looking at the sea is just kind of daunting.

Oh, yeah, and then we got back to Valencia, and discovered that there had been a pillow fight in the square in front of the cathedral. A big pillow fight.