Traveling from Madrid to Toledo

1/7/13

Madrid – Toledo, Spain

Today was another early morning! Wake up call at 7:45, except I was up a little earlier to shower and pack though. Breakfast was the same as yesterday. And before I even had time to wake up completely, we were on the bus to Toledo. The ride was short; maybe an hour. The cool part though, is that we traveled from Madrid, the new capital, to Toledo, the old capital. And let me tell you, this place is OLD! We started off with a bus tour around the “old city”. The old city was built in medieval times and is surrounded on three sides by a river, which acted as a mote, and the fourth side is protected by a wall.  We were able to get a closer look at the city when we did a walking tour.  The old city of Toledo is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The detail that went into the structures at that time is truly amazing. I don’t understand why every building can’t look this way! I guess if it did, then I wouldn’t appreciate times like these though… Anyways after the tour, we had lunch and time to shop before we checked into the hotel.  For lunch I got a three-course meal for ten Euros... bargain shopper! I got Spaghetti Bolognese, followed by a chicken thigh with thick potato fries, and finally my first tiramisu! After lunch and shopping, we checked into the hotel and took a siesta! I actually slept this time. I think it’s the only way I can keep my hunger under control in between lunch and dinner! At 6:30, we had another meeting, but this one was regarding our classes and home stay. This got me even more excited for Bilbao… to think that was even possible?! After the meeting, we went back into the old city (because our hotel was in the new city) to get dinner. We found a small Mediterranean place, where I got chopped chicken with a sauce on top, hummus, falafel, and a sort-of beef quesadilla. Not my favorite, but not bad.  It was an early night though. We were all really worn out from the tours… plus we had a six-hour bus ride ahead of us the following day! Before I went to sleep (and since we were leaving early the next morning), I had to try out the bidet. I don’t like it. Also, I think I used it wrong…

Pictures from Madrid

1/5/2013-1/6/2013

Madrid, Spain

The above pictures are lights that were put up for the Christmas celebrations

La Puerta del Sol

The above are just miscellaneous pictures that I thought were cool

The above are buildings (and the inside of buildings) throughout the city

The Royal Palace

The Egyptian temple(1), the sunset seen from the Egyptian temple (2), and "love padlocks", which are locks that were fixed onto the fence to symbolize the everlasting love of those who put them there (3),

Madrid, January 6

1/6/13

Madrid, Spain

We had a wake up call bright and early today (8:00 am) because we had a big day ahead of us.  But before we left, we ate a buffet breakfast at the hotel.  I had a churro, coconut yogurt, some ham and cheese, a roll, and a few other things that I can't really describe... all with some mango juice. Yum! Then we were off to have a walking guided tour of the city. It was absolutely freezing… and even as the sun went up, it stayed cold because the streets are so narrow and the buildings are so tall that the sun doesn’t even reach the ground below in many places. Despite the cold, the tour was interesting and informative. We saw all of the important buildings, including the royal palace, a few churches, the Prado museum, and Puerta del Sol… but not in that order. Puerta del Sol means "gate of the sun" and it is the center of Madrid.  And since Madrid is the capital of Spain, Puerta del Sol is therefore the center of Spain.  Puerta del Sol is simply a big circular open space containing statues and fountains, and surrounding it is buildings of all the same height.  After the tour, we had free time to each lunch, then explore the city.  For lunch, I got a pork, Brie cheese, caramelized onion, and spinach sandwich… and of course café con leche.  This meal was fantastic! Best thing I have ever eaten! After lunch, we took a siesta (I blogged instead… I think it’s going to take me a little while to get used to the schedule here). At 4:30, we met up and started walking to the Egyptian temple, which is the best spot in the city to watch the sun set. Of course we got sidetracked both there and back, so the trip took us about 3 hours! But the view was amazing! On the way back to the hotel, we stopped and got churros (since the gap between lunch and dinner is so large). I got a chocolate covered churro… now that’s the second best thing I’ve ever eaten! At 9:00, we went out to dinner. We actually tried out a Cuban place! I ordered seafood and chicken paella (rice dish).  I figured while in Spain, I should broaden my horizons! I took one look (and smell) of my dish and couldn’t do it. There were little squids (the size of a finger nail) looking back at me! Thankfully, one of the guys switched meals with me… so I ate a beef dish with (thick) potato chips instead. I think I’ll slowly try seafood, and maybe by the end of the trip, I will have a better experience.  After dinner, we weren’t quite ready to go to bed, so we found a small bar. I had my first gin and tonic… not too bad. And 4 of us got tequila shots, with salt and a slice of lime! I skipped out on the second round of tequila shots though… no thank you! But at least I know what I’m in for, for the rest of the trip! I’m sure its only going to get better from here!

Traveling to Madrid + first day in Madrid

1/4/13 – 1/5/13

U.S. - Madrid, Spain

These two days blended together, so I don’t think I can separate the events out on here.  Flying for my first time alone went swimmingly.  My first flight was delayed a half-hour, but that was okay because I had a five hour layover. The first flight was shorter than I expected, although I did get some reading done.  I had a window seat with nobody sitting next to me. It was cushy. My second flight was not as pleasant.  However, don’t get me wrong, it could have been worse. I had an isle seat and sat next to a man that didn’t have a great sense of personal space and his daughter had to get up and pee about fifty times. Now obviously it wasn’t fifty, but it seemed like it.  Dinner was kind of yummy considering it was on a plane. I got chicken with rice and vegetables (equaling about the size of my hand altogether, no exaggeration), a small salad (small as in literally ten pieces of lettuce), a roll, and a brownie. I watched one movie, started a second, and fell asleep! Overall though, it was a good experience and I found it very easy to figure everything out. Airports are sort-of idiot proof.  Going through customs in Spain was also very easy.  All they did was stamp my passport and send me on my way.  While looking for the meeting spot for my ISA group, I found two of the girls that were actually in my group. We went to one of the airport cafés and got food while we waited. This is where I tried my first “café con leche” coffee with milk and loved it! I got an egg and pepper baguette as well… which I didn’t love as much. Later, we met up with the rest of the group as well as our director. I truly love all of them! We traveled to the hotel in Madrid via bus, got our rooms, and we all passed out until the tour/meeting at 5:30.  At 5:30, we took a guided bus tour. BUT… it was really difficult to do since many of the roads were shut down. Why you ask? Because it was a very special night… It was the last night of their Christmas celebrations, which is the night that the three kings come to the city to bring children gifts (like Santa)!  Later that night, after the meeting, we had free time to explore the city and get dinner. The streets were all lit up with Christmas lights and everyone was buzzing around the city. It was magical, indescribable with words, and even the pictures don’t do it justice. As a group of eleven, we went to dinner at a restaurant that our director suggested. We ordered all the “tapas”, which are basically appetizers, on the menu. I really can’t even describe what I ate, sorry! I tried… not working. But I can tell you what we drank. We ordered one bottle of wine and 3 pitchers of sangria. Best sangria ever! And we only paid around ten Euros each! Anyways, everything was fantastic. So fantastic that I was sure I would be sick from not being used to the food, but I feel great! After dinner, we walked around, looked at the different shops, and simply took in the whole atmosphere of a Spanish Christmas night. Again, something I cant even put into words! Wow… and it’s only been two days!