Longwood University General Education Summer Abroad in Spain and Greece May 15-June 16, 2013

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1 Longwood University General Education Summer Abroad in Spain and Greece May 15-June 16, 2013 Wednesday, May 15 Meet at Richmond Airport Delta Airlines check-in area at 12:00pm. No later! After check-in and going through security, we will meet in the gate area for our homework session. We will fly to Atlanta, where we ll board our overseas flight to Madrid; onboard we ll have dinner, movies and breakfast before arriving. The best advice is to eat the dinner, but sleep during the movies. It s morning when we arrive (8:35 AM). May 16 Arrival in Madrid about 8:35am. You may use the ATM machines to withdraw some Euros from your debit account, before boarding our private bus for the 3 ½ hour ride to Valencia (one rest stop on the way). We will arrive in Valencia about 1:30 pm, and our host families will be there to greet us and take us home. Have lunch, un pack, rest. Afternoon options: Beach, explore, rest. Make sure to tell your host mom today that you would like to take a lunch on Saturday s excursion, so she has time to buy necessary items. 9:00 pm (ask to make sure what time dinner will be): Be home for dinner. Then get a good night s sleep! May 17 Your host mom will take you to the Institute, so that you can see (and remember) how to get there. You must arrive by 9:30 am. Please be punctual! 9:30-10:45 Orientation: Meet Institute staff and professors; practical info, safety info, etc. Info for Saturday s excursion to Peñíscola. 11:00-11:45 Spanish class. 12:00-12:45 English class. 1:00-1:45 History class. You will be accompanied to an estanco to learn how to buy a bonobús during your free class time. 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Make sure to ask your Pregunta del Día, Cómo llego a casa desde la Plaza del Ayuntamiento? Free afternoon until 6:00. 6:00 pm: Explore the city on our private bus tour of Valencia. Meet at the corner of Jaime Roig and El Bachiller (where we met our families yesterday). We will board our tour bus with Profesora Laura, who will show us the highlights of the City of Valencia and explain some of the history of this beautiful seaside city. We ll see the Royal Gardens (Jardines del Real), within walking distance of the Institute; the Río Turia gardens; the lively port; the spectacular arquitecture of the museums designed by Calatrava; the beach; the house/museum of novelist Vicente Blasco Ibáñez; and more. After seeing all of the important sights, the bus will leave us at the fifteenth-century Torres de Serranos (on one of your free afternoons, for 2 euros you may climb up to the top of the Torres de Serranos towers overlooking the river and the city). We will begin our walking tour of the old town: from the Towers we ll walk up Candy Street (Calle de los Caramelos) to the Cathedral and Miguelete tower, and the Roman Ruins. From there we ll walk to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Post Office Palace. From here, you will go home following the instructions you received when you asked your Pregunta del Día. 9:00 Dinner with host families

2 Saturday, May 18 10:00 Excursion to Peñíscola. Bring lunch to eat at the beach, or plan to eat in a beach restaurant. Meet at corner of Jaime Roig and El Bachiller by the farmacia at 10:00am (again, the same corner where we met our host families). Be punctual, please! Visit to Castillo de Peñíscola; see the interior of the castle that belonged to the Spanish Pope Papa Luna and was used in the filming of the movie El Cid. Hear about the stories of intrigue, murder, and the ghost that still haunts the castle. Afternoon at the beach. 6:00 Meet back at the bus 7:30 arrival in Valencia. 9:00 Dinner. Sunday, May 19 Free day! Options: 12:00 Mass in Valencia Cathedral. And you can begin your Cultural Activities for History and/or Spanish class / or go to the beach / or explore the river parks or the Jardines del Real. 1:30 (or ask what time): Be home for Sunday Lunch/Dinner. Don t miss Sunday dinner if you can help it: they will normally have a very good dinner, sometimes Paella, Valencia s famous rice dish. 9:00 pm: Be home for dinner and get a good night s sleep! Remind your host family that you will not be home for dinner on Monday evening and ask them for the best way to get to the Plaza de la Virgen, where you will need to meet the group on Monday afternoon for our Tapas dinner outing. May 20-June 11 General Weekday Schedule 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families Afternoon accompanied class activities, site visits, etc. See each day s details. Monday, May 20 7:15 pm we will meet at the Plaza de la Virgen (behind the Cathedral) to go to La Rotonda in the Plaza Redonda (8:00 reservation) to sample a variety of tapas for dinner. No dinner at home this evening; make sure to tell your host mom! Tuesday, May 21 Meet your Spanish conversation friend ( Intercambio ) today. Exchange contact info and set up your first meeting. You will be having conversation for half the time in English to help him/her practice English, and half the time in Spanish for your practice. This can turn out to be a great opportunity to interact with Spanish people and make new friends. 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families Tarde libre. Actividades Culturales, etc.

3 Wednesday, May 22 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families 4:30 pm: Meet at corner of Jaime Roig and Calle El Bachiller for visit to Museo de Historia de Valencia. Bring notebooks to take notes. May 23 Altered Class Schedule: 9:30-10:15 Spanish classes together. 10:25-11:00 History class/english class and Group Meeting (preparation for today s outing to the Tribunal de las Aguas). Everyone is required to attend this class/meeting. 11:00 Outing: El Tribunal de las Aguas, Puerta Gótica, Catedral de Valencia. Followed by Visita a la Plaza Redonda; La Lonja; Mercado Central. Scavenger Hunt en el Mercado. Wear comfy walking shoes; we will walk from the Institute to the Cathedral to see the Tribunal de las Aguas, and from there to the other sites. Bring Scavenger Hunt handout and notebook for taking notes. 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families Tarde libre: Actividades culturales or plan to meet with your Intercambio friend. May 24 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families Tarde libre. Actividades culturales or Intercambios. Saturday, May 25 10:00 Churros y Chocolate! Meet at Casa Valor in the Plaza de la Reina. Go upstairs to our classroom. You will enjoy fabulous churros con chocolate as you have your History of Chocolate lesson. Bring notebooks to take notes. 11:30 Visit to Roman ruins beneath the Cathedral. Bring notebook for taking notes. 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families Tarde libre. Actividades Culturales or Intercambios. Sunday, May 26 Monday, May 27 Día libre. Plan to complete a required Actividad Cultural and/or meet with your Intercambio. 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios.

4 Tuesday, May 28 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios. Wednesday, May 29 Altered Class Schedule: 11:10-12:00 English class 12:10-12:45 Group Meeting. All are required to attend. Preparation for excursion to Greece. 12:55-1:50 History class 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios. May 30 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios. May 31 Excursion to Athens and Delphi, Greece. Activities for History, English, and Español. 12:30 pm Meet at the Valencia airport. You can take the metro to the airport. Ask your host mom the day before for a lunch and dinner to take with you. You must have your passport, a photocopy of the passport, and ISIC card with you. Stopover in Zurich. See handouts for more details. Midnight arrival in Athens. We will be met by our private motorcoach to take us to our hotel. Go right to bed! You will need lots of energy tomorrow! Saturday, June 1 Before 8:45 am: If you are going to BUY breakfast at the hotel (as opposed to eating the included breakfast of boiled egg and toast), you must plan at least 30 minutes for your order to be ready (yes, this is true), and then plan for time to eat it. So in this case, you have to order your breakfast by 7:45 am. Alternatively, you can go to nearby cafés or bakeries to buy breakfast turnovers or pastries. Or you can eat the toast and egg breakfast provided by the hotel, which you have paid for. We will leave promptly at 8:45am so you must have finished breakfast before 8:45, use the bathroom, etc., and meet back at the entrance. We ll walk 2 blocks to meet the tour bus. Wear appropriate shoes and bring sunscreen, water and snacks this is very important. 9:00 am: Day trip to Delphi. We will travel to ancient Delphi, the most popular archaeological site in Greece after the Acropolis, where your History prof will conduct class as you explore the many treasures of Delphi: the Temple of Apollo, the Athenian Treasury, the Altar of the Chians, the Stoa of the Athenians, athletic statues and the statue of the Charioteer of Delphi, the ancient Theater and the mountain-top Stadium, and the Tholos at the base of Mount Parnassus. We will also visit the Delphi Archaeological Museum. Picnic lunch included. Dinner in Athens, on your own. Hotel curfew: 12:00!

5 Sunday, June 2 8:00 am: Breakfast: same deal as yesterday. We will leave promptly at 9:00am so you must have finished breakfast before 9:00. Wear appropriate shoes, bring snacks (granola bars, etc.) and water with you for the visit to Acropolis. We will be walking for approx. 4 hours in hot weather, so this step is a must. 9:00 am: Your History class will take place in the Acropolis; you will visit and learn about the Acropolis, the Parthenon, Monument of Agripa, Temple of Athena, Theater of Dionysos, Stoa of Eumenes, Theater of Herodes, the Agora, Plaka, Monastiraki Lunch on your own. Follow profs instructions. 6:00 pm: Optional visit to Acropolis Museum: Highly recommended (only 3 student rate); closes at 8pm so get there in time to be able to appreciate things. Dinner on your own; Profs will show you shopping and restaurant areas around hotel. Hotel curfew: 12:00! Monday, June 3 Breakfast at hotel (remember to allow time again!). Now is the time to buy a Greek pastry from a nearby shop to take with you for lunch before leaving the hotel area. Leave hotel at 10:30 am. Time in the airports and on flights for homework, diarios, and cultural activities. Evening arrival in Valencia in time for dinner with families.. Get an early night s sleep! Tuesday, June 4 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios. Wednesday, June 5 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios. June 6 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios. June 7 Altered Class Schedule: 11:10-12:00 English class 12:15-1:00 History class: Guest speaker, Prof. Isolda Alfaro. The history of Valencian oranges and how these oranges colonized California. All are invited to this special presentation. 1:15-2:00 Group Meeting: preparation for final tour. All are required to attend. 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios.

6 Saturday, June 8 Sunday, June 9 TBA Actividades culturales/intercambios. Día libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios. Monday, June 10 2:00-4:00 Lunch with families. Tarde libre. Actividades culturales/intercambios. Ask your host mom to prepare a lunch for you to take with you on Wednesday. Tuesday, June 11 Altered Class Schedule: Classes, Presentations and Exams: 9:15-10:30 / 10:45-12:00 / 12:15-1:30 2:00 Farewell lunch at Restaurante La Clemencia. Afternoon: pack. Tonight: Ask your host mom to call a taxi tonight, to arrange for you and your roommates to be picked up with your suitcases to come to the corner by the farmacia for our final tour. You will need a taxi that can accommodate suitcases. If there are 3 of you, you may need 2 taxis. Plan your money accordingly. Dinner: 9:00 pm Early to bed! Wednesday, June 12 9:00 Tour of Andalucía. Today we leave for Granada. Meet at corner of Jaime Roig and Calle El Bachiller. Bring lunch from home. Please be punctual! We will travel by private motorcoach for about 6 hours through the beautiful countryside and mountains to Granada. This beautiful city sits at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains, as well as at the confluence of three rivers, and this important geography drew Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Moors over its long and complex history. 4:00 This afternoon we will visit the Catedral de Granada and the tombs of the Reyes Católicos, their daughter Juana la Loca and her husband Felipe el Hermoso; then stroll through the Alcaicería, a silk market in Moorish times, and now a kind of oriental bazaar with craft and souvenir shops. 7:00 Our Flamenco evening begins: we will be met by our own transport to take us to a Tapas dinner followed by a spectacular Flamenco show at 9:30. At 10:45 we will visit the Albaicín, overlooking the city for an evening view of the Alhambra from the Iglesia de San Nicolás. At 11:30 we return to the hotel. June 13 Granada: Visit to La Alhambra y El Generalife. 8:00 am(time may be adjusted; profs will announce any change): Meet in the hotel lobby. 9:00 am (time may be adjusted; profs will announce any change): Our own private guide will accompany us on a tour of the Alhambra, Spain s finest display of Moorish architecture. Set high upon a hill overlooking

7 the city and shadowed by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Moors built this city within a fortress as a symbol of power and strength on the outside, and of Paradise on Earth on the inside. Our visit will also include the Generalife, the country estate of the Nasrid Kings, where they could enjoy tranquility of their gardens and fountains high above the city, a little closer to heaven. In addition to our guide, our professors will explain what you are seeing and how this palace and gardens fit into Spain s history. 2:00 We will walk from La Alhambra into the center of the city to the Cathedral area. Lunch on your own. Have your Granada map with you so that you can walk back to the hotel. 5:00 We will leave for Córdoba, the capital of the Islamic Empire during the tenth century, arriving about 7pm. Dinner at the hotel in the quaint old town with whitewashed courtyards, patios adorned in hanging flowers, wrought ironwork, and narrow streets. Make sure to explore the Judería (Jewish quarter): stroll down the Street of the Flowers Calleja de las Flores, visit the courtyard Plaza de Maimónides, with its statue of the medieval Jewish philosopher and physician Maimónides. Hotel curfew: 12:00! June 14 Córdoba: 10:00 History lesson in the spectacular Mezquita de Córdoba, the mosque built during the 8th through 13th centuries, which now houses the Catedral de Córdoba as well. During our class/tour, we will marvel at the hundreds of carved arches, pillars, grillwork, and mosaics that fill this 1,200 mosque with a plateresque cathedral in the center of it. Recently, Spanish Muslims have campaigned to worship alongside Christians in the mosque-cathedral, but their requests have been rejected on several occasions. Free time to visit sites near our hotel: the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, a fortress and palace showing the evolution of architecture in the city, with gardens that match the palace's size and splendor; the Caballerizas Reales, royal stables where Philip II entertained his interest in horses, now a museum dedicated to Andalusian horse culture; the Baños Califales, once frequented by monarchs; the historic medieval Sinagoga de Córdoba, and the Posada del Potro, a medieval inn that is now a museum showing us what inns were like. Lunch on your own before leaving for Toledo. 3:00 Leave for Toledo, arriving about 7pm. Dinner at our hotel in this historic City of the Three Cultures. 12:00: Hotel curfew. Saturday, June 15 Toledo: 9:00 In this Ciudad de las Tres Culturas, once the capital of Spain, you will learn how three cultures (Christian, Moslem, and Jewish) lived together in relative harmony throughout the medieval Reconquest. You ll have history lessons in two historic synagogues, an eleventh-century mosque, and the Cathedral of Toledo, and you will view one of the most important paintings of El Greco, the Burial of the Count of Orgaz, in the St. Tomé Church. You ll also have some time for souvenir shopping and lunch on your own. There will be a final assignment due today and class time will be provided for completion of a final essay for History and Spanish classes. Hotel curfew: 12:00 Sunday, June 16 Returning home: 7:00 am: Our private bus will take us directly from Toledo to the Madrid airport for our 11:00 am flight to Atlanta. You will arrive at Richmond Airport at 6:55 pm on June 16.

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