Xàtiva

Yesterday I went on a trip with the International House to a town outside of the city called Xàtiva.  The city is positioned on the side of the hill and at the top is a castle and its fort.  They were built in the 13th century.  The town speaks the dialect of Valenciano.  The town is older and has cobblestone streets.  It is the capital of its county.

Once we climbed the mountain and entered the castle, we watched a twenty minute movie of the castle and then we ate a small lunch.  After, we were free to roam the castle as much as we wanted.  It was amazing, we walked through the ruins, taking pictures and breathing in the fresh country air.  Every now and then there was a plaque saying what used to be there.  I walked into a room that used to be a jail and saw an outline that used to be the stable.  We saw old chapels and archer towers.  I climbed higher than Nancy and I am proud to say that after a lot of huffing and puffing, I made it to the tippy top.  I have never seen a man made thing that was that old before.  It was absolutely amazing.  I kept imagining how it might have once been with all of the knights and lords.  Those men must have been in great shape cause I could barely make it up the hill and they were wearing metal armor.

Fun Fact:

It is common to see rivers that are dried up.  They can remain dry for many years and then all of a sudden be full from a heavy rain.  The river in our city, that was redirected, is currently dry.  I heard one story of a village who's river was dry for ten years.  They began to plant gardens and then eight years later, a heavy rain came and filled the river back up.