Madrid

I've officially survived my first foray into the big Spanish world outside of Toledo. Friday morning our school-sponsored bus tour started out at about 9 AM. Only one person missed the bus, but we found him wandering along the road outside the Toledo walls a few minutes later so all was well (although he wasn't too happy). An hour later we arrived in downtown Toledo and were dropped off at the Palacio Real for an AMAZING tour. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures on the inside, but if I were to sum it up in a few words it would be the following: frescos everywhere, gold lions everywhere, Greek gods everywhere. If you ever get a chance to go here, do it. Here's a few photos from the plaza.

After the tour we were taken to Museo de Jamon (Museum of Ham) for lunch. If you ever have the chance to go here, DO NOT DO IT. I'll spare you the pictures and just say that the only cooked part of the chicken they served was the breading on it. Not an exaggeration. This was the end of our school sponsored activities.

The hostel we stayed at (and by we I mean essentially everyone from the Fundación) was called Cat's Hostel. The building was originally a 17th century palace, so the common area and the walls were covered in beautiful tiles and Muslim influenced patterns. It's located in a pretty touristy shopping area, so there was a high population of prostitutes and street performers. A very eclectic people-watching experience. I also was unaware of Spain's obsession with shoe stores. Every other shop for about half a mile is a shoe store. The plan for the evening was to head to a club called Pachá, but after splitting off into who knows how many groups, wandering for 2 and a half hours, not finding the club, and hearing that it cost about 15 euro to get in anyways, we headed back home and called it a bust of a night. This was essentially the same situation for almost everyone from our group. I think we are getting too accustomed to the 4-5 places in Toledo we are now all regulars at.

I won't say Saturday was a breath of fresh air because everyone y su madre smokes in Madrid, but it was a great day to explore some of Madrid's famous sights. We went to El Retiro, the Central Park of Madrid. It was really beautiful even with bare trees. I can't wait to visit again further into the spring. Perhaps take out a rowboat when Jack visits.... 

Saturday night was by far the highlight of the weekend. Liz and I met up with our friend Meghan, who's been studying at the University since August. She took us out to Javier Bardem's restuarant, La Bardemcilla, for an AMAZING dinner. Delicious wine, calamari, and 2 shared desserts = perfection. Especially after the Museo de Jamon fiasco. Javier's sister stopped in too, and she looks just like him. After dinner we walked back over to our hostel (it was only a few blocks away) for some sangria and free paella at the bar in the hostel's basement, and managed to convince Meghan to come with us to Kapital, the largest and probably most touristy club in Madrid. 7 stories of Euroclub craziness, complete with "artfully nude" pictures in all the stairwells, beefy male dancers in glittery jeans and sunglasses, and watered down drinks that cost about as much as a bus ride to Toledo. Sarcasm aside, it really was a fun experience. I'll be spending at least one more weekend there before the semester is over. I can't leave without seeing this.

After a hectic weekend we all feel relieved to be back in our relaxed corner of Toledo. I can't stay that way for long though... on Thursday I leave with my roommate for Valencia! Our top agenda item is to visit L'Oceanogràfic! Hola sea creatures!!