A Trip for adolescents from International Schools

A Trip for adolescents from International Schools The roots of Spanish culture:

Heritage, art, tradition and gastronomy Spanishnonstop.com

Madrid, Toledo, Avila, Salamanca and Segovia World Heritage Cities in Spain (+ Seville option)

We propose a different and enriching trip for your IB students. A very special cultural experience, combining urban spaces, local culture and universal knowledge. Dreamt up to see, learn and understand and, at the same time, to stimulate exchanges and conviviality between your group and Spanish families.

Your students will visit various cities replete with architectural and artistic jewels that are at the very beginnings of the Spanish nation: from the origins of the first populations, passing through the remains of Roman civilization; the luxurious civil architecture of the Renaissance and visits to centres of learning dating back to the 13th century.

Our journey is based on a highly communicative method where the Spanish language is present from the beginning until the end of your visit. The activities have been conceived to integrate the essential skills of the language. The framework in which they are taught is appropriate and relaxed. It combines visits to cities with a series of multicultural leisure activities. All of it is thought out so that the students gain fluency in the language while living an educational experience, making friends and enjoying their time in Spain.

At Salamanca: Language conversation classes.

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3 daily language and cultural lessons in the morning. And cultural activities in the afternoon. Special focus on oral and conversation skills. We will do our best in order that the students will practice their new knowledge as much as possible outside the classroom.

Free internet access. 24 hours emergency phone. Each student will receive a certificate of an official accredited center of the Instituto Cervantes.

Afternoon and evening activities Visits to the city museums (Casa Lys, with its splendid collection of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, the Film Museum, the Antique Car Museum, among others). Introduction to local folklore and cuisine.

Host families Students stay with a family carefully selected. Accommodation consists of a single or double room (you can choose), three meals per day and laundry. Host families provide students with a healthy Mediterranean diet, high in fruits, vegetables, bread and other cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds, olive oil, dairy products, fish and poultry. Host families also can cater to special health, accommodation and dietary needs, such as vegetarians.

OPCION 1: (6- 14 June 2015/9 days-8 nights): Ávila-Segovia-Salamanca-Toledo-Madrid 1st day (6 June): Madrid Airport-Ávila: Ávila visit programme. We will sleep in Ávila. The hotel is right in the middle of the city center and it is run by very nice people. Here you can have a look: http://www.plaza-zurraquin.com We will have lunch and dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. There is no problem if there are students/teachers who are vegetarian or any other particular needs; in all the cases we will advise the restaurants and families in advance.

2nd day (7 June): Ávila-Segovia day trip. Segovia and Palacio de La Granja visit programme.

We will have lunch in a good restaurant at Segovia. After visiting Segovia we will arrive in Salamanca towards 19:30. Students (and the two Indian teachers) will meet their families and have dinner with them. Sleeping in Salamanca.

Days 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th (8-11 June): Spanish Language and Culture course at Salamanca (3hours in the morning + activities in the afternoon -City tours, cultural workshops, conversation, games, etc.-). Sleeping in Salamanca.

7th day (12 June): Toledo day trip. Toledo visit programme. We will have lunch and dinner in a good restaurant in Toledo. *If at lunch time we had a guided visit It might be more convenient to have packed lunch. In this case it would be a healthy one with veg or meat sandwiches, pieces of fruit, water… Sleeping in Madrid. We will tell you the hotel in advance. We only work with good and safe hotels placed in the city centre.

8th day (13 June) Madrid visit programme. We will have lunch and dinner in good restaurants.

Sleeping in Madrid.

9th day (14 June): Flight to India (depending on the flight time we can take advantage and visit Madrid some more hours in the morning)

Price: 1325 euros *Accommodation with Spanish families and 2 or 3 star hotels. Everything is carefully selected. *Breakfast, midday meal and supper including local regional dishes. *Free entrance to monuments and other installations.

OPCION 2: (6- 16 June 2015/11 days-10 nights): Ávila-Segovia-Salamanca-Toledo-Sevilla-Madrid 1st day (6 June): Madrid Airport-Ávila: Ávila visit programme. We will sleep in Ávila. The hotel is right in the middle of the city center and it is run by very nice people. Here you can have a look: http://www.plaza-zurraquin.com We will have lunch and dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. There is no problem if there are students/teachers who are vegetarian or any other particular needs; in all the cases we will advise the restaurants and families in advance.

2nd day (7 June): Ávila-Segovia day trip. Segovia and Palacio de La Granja visit programme.

We will have lunch in a good restaurant at Segovia. After visiting Segovia we will arrive in Salamanca towards 19:30. Students (and the two Indian teachers) will meet their families and have dinner with them. Sleeping in Salamanca.

Days 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th (8-11 June): Spanish Language and Culture course at Salamanca (3hours in the morning + activities in the afternoon -City tours, cultural workshops, conversation, games, etc.-). Sleeping in Salamanca.

7th day (12 June): Toledo day trip. Toledo visit programme. We will have lunch and dinner in a good restaurant in Toledo. If at lunch time we had a guided visit It could be more convenient to have packed lunch. In this case it would be a healthy one with veg or meat sandwiches, pieces of fruit, water… Sleeping in Toledo. We will tell you the hotel in advance. We only work with good and safe hotels placed in the city centre.

8th day (13 June): Trip to Seville. Sevilla city programme from the afternoon. Sleeping in Sevilla. We will tell you the hotel in advance. We only work with good and safe hotels placed in the city centre.

9th day (14 June): Morning visit in Sevilla. Trip to Madrid. We will have a healthy packed lunch with veg or meat sandwiches, pieces of fruit, water… We will sleep in Madrid. We will tell you the hotel in advance. We only work with good and safe hotels placed in the city centre.

10th day (15 June) Madrid visit programme. We sleep in Madrid.

11th day (16 June): Flight to India (depending on the flight time we can take advantage and visit Madrid some more hours in the morning).

1650 euros *Accommodation with Spanish families and 2 or 3 star hotels. Everything is carefully selected. *Breakfast, midday meal and supper including local regional dishes. *Free entrance to monuments and other installations.

Days 1 and 2 Arrival at Madrid Airport. 1st night: sleeping in Ávila

AVILA: spiritual fortress (1st-13th century).

The city of three cultures –Islamic, Jewish and Christian- is the starting point for a journey through art and tradition. Its Vettone past presides over the culture of this city that is at once one and many. The mystic Saint Teresa of Jesus still walks the streets, her habit trails past the façades of the historic buildings of an old town that walks in a sober and audacious manner towards modernity. Of all the cities of Castile and Leon, Avila is one of the oldest. The Celtic culture was the first to leave its traces: the granite boars are there, nearby the Castro de las Cogotas, epicentre of the Vettone culture. Rome also passed through and the Arabic culture occupied its land until it was finally reconquered by the Christians.

A walk along the walls and visit the Cathedral Visit to the courtyards of different palaces: Serrano, Verdugo, Bracamonte and Polentinos Visit to the Caprotti Palace art gallery / The Basilica of San Vicente / The House of Los Dávila The Royal Monastery of Saint Thomas / The Convent of Saint Teresa / The House of Los Dávila

Dating back to the 11th century, the construction of the city walls took nine years and its design is attributed to the Frenchman Florín de Pituenga and to the Roman, Casandro. Around two thousand people participated in its construction, the majority captive Muslims. Hence, although the walls are of Romanic design, they have important Arabic features. Contemporary in its construction with the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, it is two kilometres and a half long, has nine gateways and over 2,000 merlons.

Of interest are the Romanic churches of Saint Peter, Saint Andrew, Saint Stephen, Saint Segundo, Saint Nicholas, Saint Martin and the imposing Royal Monastery of Saint Thomas. Its Cathedral-like temple is considered a shining example of Spanish gothic architecture, with its outstanding main altarpiece, cloister and nave.

Representative of the medieval and the renaissance periods in Avila are its palaces: Velada, Valderrábanos, Núñez Vela, Polentinos and Davila. Its noble homes are those of Águila, Bracamonte, Almarza, Superunda, Verdugo and Los Guzmanes. An evening stroll to contemplate them illuminated with spotlights is highly recommendable.

An important centre of spirituality in the 15th century is the birthplace of Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John of the Cross, two of the principal Spanish poets of all time and great reformers of the Catholic monastic orders. A contemporary of theirs, Tomás Luis de Vitoria, was one of the greatest composers of coral music of his age.

SEGOVIA: where kings and queens rest Segovia, a city with important Roman remains and a stronghold of kings. Segovia was populated many centuries ago.

A Celtic castro once stood at the place that the Alcรกzar now occupies. It was, even in Visigothic Spain, the episcopal palace of the Catholic Church. It is believed that the city was abandoned after the Islamic invasion. After the conquest of Toledo, the repopulation of Segovia began in 1088. Towards the end of the late Middle Ages it enjoyed a reign of splendour, with an important self-governing community of Jews living under Christian rule; laying the ground for a powerful weaving industry, it developed splendid Gothic architecture and was the court of the kings of the House of Trastรกmara. Alfonso X the Wise renovated the Alcรกzar as a royal residence and Isabel the Catholic queen was proclaimed Queen of Castilla, in 1474, in the Church of Saint Michael.

The aqueduct of Segovia, found in the emblematic Azoguejo square, is the distinctive symbol of the city; the date of its construction is unknown, perhaps at end of the 1st century, and it is the most important civil engineering work of Spain. It was built with 25,000 ashlar granite blocks without any sort of cement, has a length of 818 metres, over 170 arches and is over 29 metres high at its crest, its height in Azoguejo square, its most frequently visited viewing point.

The Alcรกzar of Segovia, a royal palace situated on a rock between the Eresma and the Clamores rivers, appears in documents for the first time in 1122, although it is possible that it existed at an earlier age. It was one of the favourite residences of the Kings and Queens of Castile, constructed in the transition of the Romanic to the Gothic, and in which the Mudejar decoration of its large chambers is prominent. The building was arranged around two courtyards and it has two towers. It was the favourite residence of Alfonso X the Wise and Henry IV of Castile, and Isabel the Catholic monarch departed from it on the way to her coronation as queen of Castile. At present it houses the General Military Archives of Segovia and the museum of the Royal College of Artillery.

Roman aqueduct.

House of the Picos.

Plaza Mayor.

Visit to the Alcรกzar.

Day 3, 4, 5, 6. Spanish course

SALAMANCA: cradle of renaissance wisdom (Golden Age 16th – 17th century).

Salamanca is a joy to the senses. All sorts of artistic expressions overpower its streets, it is home to the oldest university of Spain that is at present in existence, and people of all origins walk its streets, thanks to its student life. A city filled with history; always young, magic and enjoyable. The rich heritage is found at every corner in its historic centre; it is quite rightly the capital of the most embellished Spanish Plateresque style, which is found in the gilded stone of Villamayor, its principal architectural jewel. Romans, Visigoths and Arabs lived in the city before the university was founded in the 13th century.

Salamanca has two cathedrals, twenty-three monumental churches, five convents, twelve monumental houses, four historic university colleges and nine palaces. The astounding Main Square, today as ever the gathering place of the citizens of Salamanca. Neighbours, tourists and university students and staff frequent it every day as a place to walk around, meet up to talk things over, rest, enjoy and read. There you will find the traditional cafés of the city that stand next to the portico of the great square designed by Churriguera, defying the passage of time and hosting the literary life of the city.

Main Square, House of the Shells, The Clergy and the Pontifical University, Façade of the University, Historic library of the University, School Courtyard, Palace of Anaya and the Cathedral, Roman bridge, House of Lis, Small courtyard, Calixto and Melibea Gardens, Cave of Salamanca, Convent of the Poor Clare Sisters, Dominicans, Abrantes Tower, Palace of Orellana, Clavero Tower, Palace of La Salina, Abastos Market and the portico of the main Square, Casa de las Viejas and Casa de la Tierra (Regional Film Archive and Chamber of Commerce ), Palace of Saint Baudilus, Church of Saint Mark, El Corrillo Square, Maldonado Palace, Monterrey Palace, House of the Dead, Convent of the Úrsulas, Miguel de Unamuno, Convent of the most pure Saint Elizabeth and Fonesca Palace.

Salamanca has been associated with Universal History through a series of events and personalities that came to mark the development of western society: the creation of the first Castilian grammar in 1492 by Antonio de Nebrija, the preparations of Cristopher Columbus for his first voyage of discovery to the Americas, the first woman universitarian in the world: Beatriz Galindo, “la Latina”, and also the first female university professor in the world, Lucía de Medrano in 1508.

Hernán Cortés studied in this city before leaving to conquer the Aztec empire and scholars from the School of Salamanca with him went who defended the rights of the natives of the New World for the first time. Mathematicians from the University of Salamanca were the ones who proposed the calendar in use today throughout the world to Pope Gregory XIII and the first salaried librarian of history in the old library of the University of Salamanca. The oldest conserved book on modern chess in print, Repetición de amores y arte de ajedrez [Repetition of Love and the Art of Chess], was published in Salamanca in 1496. And after his stay in the city, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the author of El Quijote, the work in which the Bachelor Sansón Carrasco appears, wrote other works in which the city features: La Cueva de Salamanca [The Cave of Salamanca], La tía fingida [The Pretended Aunt] and El licenciado Vidriera [The Lawyer of Glass].

Salamanca has an important architectural heritage, among which its two cathedrals stand out, the Old and the New Cathedral, the House of Shells, the Main Square and Saint Stephen’s Convent. Its Holy Week has, since 2003, been declared a festive event of International Touristic Interest.

The Main Square, built in the Baroque style, designed by the architects Alberto and Nicolás Churriguera, is the most important of its public spaces, at the heart of the city. The University is home to a set buildings that include the Major and Minor schools and the Hospital del Estudio (the current rectorate). These buildings are located around the square known as the Patio de Escuelas [School Courtyard].

Day 7. Sleeping in Madrid

TOLEDO: imperial city The Historic City of Toledo has recorded on the Official World Heritage List within the "Cultural Assets" since 1986 because of its landscapes, its geographic setting, the embedding of the river, the Cigarrales orchards, las Vegas lowlands, the location of the migmatite (ancient metamorphic rocks) city, its viewpoints (La Granja, Virgen de Gracia, Santa Leocadia, San Cristóbal).

The city of Toledo is placed at the top of a granite headland that the river Tajo, with a deeply embedded riverbed, surrounds and isolates on the east, south and west sides, while to the north it joins the Castile plateau along the district of La Sagra.

Its location is as original as Venice or Bruges.

In prehistory, there was a fall between the granitic rocks and clay and other soft layers which extend from the plain at the foot of the Guadarrama. The river dug the hard rock with an impressive cut. Thus was formed the rock squeezes and preserves the traditional city.

Toledo is known as the “The Imperial City” as it was the principal seat of the court of Carlos I of Spain. It was also called “the city of three cultures”, because it had been populated for centuries by Christians, Jews and Muslims.

Among the places that we will visit, we may highlight the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes –Isabelline Gothic of the 15th century-, the Cathedral of Santa Maria –Gothic style of the 13th century-, its walls and the numerous palaces that surround it. The Alcazar, a fortress from the 16th-20th centuries, the Mosque, from the second half of the 21st century, constructed on foundations of Roman origin and with the peculiarity of having two storeys, etc…

Cathedral.

Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca.

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes.

Church of Santo Tomé.

Church of Jesuitas.

Mosque of Cristo de la Luz. Church of Salvador.

Days 8 and 9. Day 8: Sleeping in Madrid; day 9: flight to India

MADRID: capital of Spain In the year 1606, Madrid became definitively the seat of the Court of the Spanish kings during the reign of Felipe III. Carlos III, who was the fourth Bourbon king of Spain, was inspired by the Enlightenment spirit, as well as by erudite despotism, with the aim of imposing his great fulfilments. He achieved the cleaning of the city as well as the reform of streets, squares and avenues. Industry, culture and the inhabitants of Madrid were going to the first to benefit from his rule.

In a short time the city saw new street lighting, a sewer system, paving and paper currency, thanks to the St. Carlos Bank. Great urban works and reforms were designed and finished: the Puerta de Alcalรก, Prado Street, the Botanic Garden, the Medicine College of St. Charles, the post office and customs buildings, and the Cibeles, Neptuno, Apolo and Artichoke fountains. Also, the Royal Palace was completed as a definite residence for the Spanish kings The Madrid de los Austrias, the Habsburg District, represents the expansion of city following the medieval layout under the reigns of Charles the First and especially Philip the Second that, in 1561, established the Court in Madrid. The buildings both from the 16th and 17th and from as the following centuries were all built when the Habsburg dynasty was reigning in Spain.

Place of residence of writers, the Literary District s is an exciting full of life area in Madrid. During the Golden Century of the Spanish literature, Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calder贸n de la Barca and many others shared more than their literary trades: they lived in the area that extends around the Calle de las Huertas. We can still imagine that literary neighbourhood, its low houses, narrow streets and historic buildings such as the Church of San Sebasti谩n.

Strollers can stop to read the pavement excerpts by Luis de G贸ngora, Francisco de Quevedo and Gustavo Adolfo Becquer who lived or worked in these streets. At Plaza Matutes we will see the building that housed the printing press of El Impartial, the newspaper, where Gustavo Adolfo Becquer worked. Past the junction with Calle Leon, we will see the Mentidero of the Comedians or Actors, a tavern where idle and unemployed people, especially comedians and writers, met.

Option 2 (2 more days in Seville) spanishnonstop.com

SEVILLE 2 days

Many different cultures have witnessed the History of Seville. According to legend, Hercules founded the City.

Seville has the largest historical centre in Spain, one of the tree largest ones in Europe. Some of the most representative sites are: the Cathedral (including the famous Giralda), the Alcázar (The old Moorish palace), the Archivo de Indias (the General Archive of the Indies) and the Torre del Oro (the Golden Tower). Three out of them were jointly declared World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO in 1987.

In the Archaeological Museum, you will learn about the Ancient History of the City: The battle between Romans and Chartagininans (206 BC.) or the foundation of the first Roman colony in the area: Itálica, thus called as an homage to the founders’ origin. You will also have the opportunity to remember the Visigoth period or the magical Moorish times (712). The city reached its time of greatest splendour during the Almohad Period (XII Century). The Great Mosque was built at that time. The old minaret became a symbol of the city. It started been called Giralda. En 1248, then King Ferdinand III conquered the City, which became part of the Kingdom of Castille. The mosques there became places of worship for Christians. In the XV century, the Mosque was demolished and the Cathedral was built. The place that used to be occupied by the old Moorish Alcázar became a Mudéjar Palace. In the XVI century, after Christopher Columbus’s voyages, Seville became the first port of entry for goods coming from the Indies. Trade with the Americas was monopolized. The headquarters of the Casa de la Contratación were located within the Alcázares and merchants had the Casa Lonja built. Some centuries later, this building became the Archivo de Indias. Many palace-houses were built at that time. A very important civil building was built as well, the “Cinco Llagas” Hospital, which became the current Andalusian Parliament.

During the XVII century, religious art gave birth to great artists, such as Montañés, Murillo, Zurbarán and Valdés Leal. Their work can be seen in the Museum of Fine Arts as well as in several churches throughout the city. Several churches were built as well: Caridad, Salvador and the astonishing San Luis de los Franceses. The new Fábrica de Tabacos (the tobacco factory), built in the XVIII century, will later be represented in the famous novella Carmen, by author Prosper Mérimée. Another famous location in the novella was built the following century: the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza bullring. In Seville, cast-iron Architecture is represented by 2 main examples. The Triana bridge was the first bridge built over the Guadalquivir River. The inspiration was the Carrousel bridge in Paris. The second example are the Naves del Barranco. The 1929 Ibero-American Exposition was the reason behind some of the nicest places in Seville: the Plaza de España and Plaza de América as well as the different pavilions of all the participant countries. The styles of the pavilions remind of the cultures that inspired them. However, travellers remember Seville for a different reason: Its light, the warmth and the vitality of its people. Seville is the birthplace of flamenco. Its wonderful cuisine, the beauty of the city and its welcoming people are some of the reasons why Seville has become so famous among visitors.

Alojamiento en Familias y en Residencias Somos conscientes de que gran parte del bienestar de nuestros estudiantes y del éxito en sus estudios dependen de la buena relación que se establezca con las familias de acogida.

Nuestros estudiantes proceden de otras culturas con costumbres y peculiaridades propias.

Al principio, esto puede generar algunas dificultades en la convivencia diaria que suelen solucionarse tras un periodo de adaptación mutua durante el cual son necesarias comprensión y tolerancia por ambas partes.

Nuestras familias han sido visitadas y seleccionadas por profesionales para garantizar que se cumplen los requisitos que exigimos en cuanto a dotaciones y comodidades de la vivienda y en cuanto al carácter y personalidad de sus miembros. Elegimos siempre personas comprensivas, comunicativas y afectuosas. .

El afecto mutuo que nace con el tiempo y la convivencia diaria, crea, finalmente, vínculos estrechos que no desaparecen con el paso de los años. Nosotros deseamos que esto sea así y que os llevéis a vuestros países el recuerdo inmejorable de nuestra cultura, de nuestras enseñanzas y de la buena acogida que os dispensó la familia española.

Para que todo se desarrolle según lo deseamos, nos proponemos daros una serie de consejos y normas que ayudarán a conseguir los objetivos marcados: 1. Tendremos siempre en cuenta las preferencias sobre la familia y trataremos de ofrecer al estudiante la más adecuada con respecto a sus gustos y necesidades. Por ello es importante que recibamos cuanto antes el formulario de datos adicionales en el que se manifiestan dichas preferencias.

2. En muchas de las familias suele haber otros estudiantes alojados. El estudiante, por lo general, no estará solo en la casa. Encontrará compañeros que le harán más sencilla su adaptación. Para facilitar el proceso de inmersión en la lengua, es muy importante que en las relaciones con la familia y con otros estudiantes se use sólo el idioma español.

3. Nuestros estudiantes nunca deben compartir habitación con estudiantes de otra escuela o con miembros de la familia. Tendrán una habitación individual, o en todo caso, compartida con otro estudiante de su grupo siempre que se haya elegido voluntariamente esa modalidad de alojamiento.

4. Cada estudiante tendrá llave de la casa para entrar y salir a su gusto. Cuando se llega de noche, hay que evitar los comportamientos ruidosos y respetar las horas de sueño de los demás.

5. El estudiante no puede llevar amigos o compañeros para dormir en la casa, salvo que, por alguna causa muy especial, la familia lo permita.

6. La familia proporcionará al estudiante tres comidas por día: desayuno, comida y cena. Son las familias las que establecen los horarios para cada una de ellas. En España se sigue la dieta mediterránea, saludable y apetitosa. Probar de todo y adaptarse a nuevos sabores es una forma de enriquecerse culturalmente.

7. La familia se encarga del lavado y planchado de la ropa, de limpiar las habitaciones y cambiar las sábanas y toallas una vez a la semana. En la casa de la familia no está permitido el lavado de ropa por tu cuenta en el baño (por ejemplo), es la propia familia la que lavará tu ropa en la lavadora, una vez por semana.

8. La familia recogerá al estudiante en el sitio acordado por nuestra organización en el día de su llegada. Para ello el estudiante tendrá que comunicar con antelación la hora de llegada a Salamanca y el medio de transporte. De no ser así, el estudiante se desplazará por sus propios medios hasta el domicilio de la familia asignada. En cualquier caso, la familia se encargará de acompañarlo hasta nuestra sede el día siguiente.

9. Cuando los estudiantes vayan de excursión o viajen en fines de semana, la familia les proporcionará bocadillos y fruta.

10. Al finalizar el curso, los estudiantes cumplimentarán una encuesta donde valorarán el trato recibido en lo referente a comidas, higiene, horario e integración en la convivencia familiar. Estos datos nos servirán como orientación y guía para seguir asignando estudiantes en el futuro.

11. Si el estudiante desea abandonar a la familia por motivos personales, nos comprometemos a trasladarlo en el plazo más breve posible. ¡¡Gracias y buen viaje!!.