My spine started to tingle a little like it always does when people play with my hair. She moved her fingers around my forehead a little and then behind the ears, tickling me a little as she treated my head like some sort of crystal ball that she could scry into. The sun was caged behind the leaves of the tree, giving them a silhouette look, and a soft light to the Retiro. In the background if you listened closely you could hear the bustling of cars, construction, and crying like white noise you just want to ignore. I tilted my head to the right and I looked at her: long black hair, a ring on every finger, and two little dimples that can only be described as ¨adorable¨.
Oh wait I'm sorry, you want to hear about Madrid and Toledo :D
And to all of you who were getting into that... is it good enough to be a part time writer? XD
Vips... it's like the Denny's of Madrid really
Thursday: It was sort of a goodbye party for some of the students that Sampere holds every week or so. It was a Karaoke bar called La Chocita Sueca (The little Swedish house) and I found out that I have a weird singing face. I said goodbye to all the friends who are leaving and I watched my German friends try to dance to Slim Shady.
Nadya and me... with my intense singing face.
Friday was pretty much a nothing day... I didn't want to miss out on Toledo so I made sure I slept that day.
Madrid checkerboard police car
Saturday: Toledo! All I have to say is: THE VIEW OF THE CITY IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! It looks a bit like an island due to the river flowing around the city and it has that old village feel that I know and love. We actually stopped the bus before we entered the city to take a ton of photos of just the city as a whole. It's times like these when I wish I had a professional photographer's equipment to capture all that epic land in one shot.
Toledo!
So we entered and Josune (professor and guide) started the tour off in the central plaza and explains the history of Toledo. How it was once the capital of Spain but eventually Madrid started booming and then gained the role of Spain's capital. Toledo also served as a sort of haven for all three major religions, a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived amongst one another and each one's history can be felt all over the city. Toledo is full of alleys, twists, turns, and all sorts of fun things that make owning a car here seem a bit odd.
Swords are VERY popular in Toledo (SPARTA!!!!)
Our first stop was the Cathedral and I have a theory... everything in Toledo has to be huge. The cathedral was enormous, I had to take a video of it to get the whole thing into perspective (also available on photobucket). Inside the cathedral (no photography allowed :( ) was the most elegant and beautiful work I have ever seen inside a cathedral. A sense of comfort floated around the room and the main hall packed with gold decor, amazing paintings,a skylight, and a crypt (I forgot why it was there but it was beautiful). In the back you could find a sort of museum covering the history of the Cathedral and artifacts behind glass.
Video of the front of the Cathedral
We stopped at another place to catch our breaths and take a look at the view of Toledo. No history, just the gentle breeze and the awesome view.
The Towel at Toledo
Afterwards we went to go look at an old Synagogue and although it wasn't as big as the Cathedral, it was huge in its essence. It had a courtyard to relax in, a grave site through another door, and a little museum about Jewish culture, history, and the religion.
The Synagogue from the outside
We got two hours to go and eat somewhere and then I finally had my first foreign McDonald's... for 3,40 € (That's maybe around $4.50 American) I got a Spanish Big Mac. I was actually disappointed really, it tasted the same really, but the flavor was actually a bit stronger in Spain. Ah well...
It even looks the same... :(
After lunch we all met at the St. Tomé church where we saw The Burial of the Count of Orgaz a classic piece by ¨El Greco¨ over the grave of Don Gonzolo Ruiz. The piece depicted his death as a tragedy, and included ethereal beings looking down on him with "El Greco's" signature style of deformed people and strange color choice. The group then started to complain about the heat, the long walks, and all other little things here and there that Josune got everyone on the bus early. Eventually we got back in Madrid and I planned out tomorrow as it would be my last sunday in Madrid.
Street in Toledo
Sunday I went to El Rastro for one last time, and the Retiro with a Russian girl I met on the trip to Toledo. She's only been here a week so she didn't know too much about the city and I gave her a tour of the two places for about seven hours. And I finally bought all the souvenirs for everyone back here in the states.
Another common thing in Madrid: smoking, these stands are everywhere!
It's now my last week in Madrid, I have to enjoy it as much as I can now. I still have to go see Guernica and make a trip to The Reina Sofia :D! I'll keep you all updated as much as I can.
The greatest souvenir in the world...
-Guillermo
If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go.
-Mark Twain
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