Thanks to Esther Ferguson and her late husband, James, who donated their beloved properties in Trujillo, Spain, to the College of Charleston in 1995, CofC students have had the opportunity of a lifetime. This past summer marked a milestone of more than 2,000 students participating in an extraordinary study-abroad program and building lifelong memories.

“We wanted to give students the opportunity to study abroad in a small, historic town in Spain that has not suffered the influx of foreign tourists and English-speaking students like other big destinations such as Madrid, Seville and Barcelona,” says Esther, who lives in Charleston. “Trujillo students have ample opportunities to build relationships with the town natives, practice their Spanish and learn firsthand the many traditions and cultural aspects of the region.”

And for a Game of Thrones fan, it gets even better: Trujillo Castle was the location for Casterly Rock, the ancestral home of the Lannisters, in season seven.

Photos by Leslie McKellar