Blogs from Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, Europe - page 13

Hola again! So almost two weeks ago I went to a fiesta! It was on a wednesday, which is weird but hey I just go with the flow here. These spanish people love to aprty. The fiesta was in celebration of Carneval which was that saturday. This aprty started at 5:30pm and ended at 4:30am! The whole residence hall was there because it was hosted by the school of sports science and most of the guys ehre are in that school. It was also conviently located across the street at a bar called "coyote". They served free drinks until 6:30pm so when we arrived around that time, the place was packed! Everyone was in these strange costumes for carneval and many of the guys where dressed as girls like maids or something. It was hizzzzzzzzlarious! I ... read more

Hey guys! Well this entry is a bit delayed. I arrived in Spain on Jan. 22nd so I have been here for awhile now. I will try to include some earlier memories I had when i arrived but i can't garrntee they are correct! lol. Well, the plane ride wasn't so bad. i am really scared of planes but it was soooooooo big and it didn't even feel like a plane! It was a very smooth ride and the food wasn't too bad either. I slept a little but they kept waking us up to eat! When we arrived in Madrid. We got all our lugage. When I say we, I mean me, Vania, and Cynamon. Two other girls from my university. We decided to take a taxi to the train station because with all of ... read more

Toledo was considered the religious capital of Spain and Europe during the reign of the Catholic Empire. It was a town in which Christian, Jewish, and Moorish people coexisted; that was until the Spanish Inquisition when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella kicked out or killed anyone who would not convert to Christianty. Our guild told us the real reason for the Inquisition was because the Monarchy had been borrowing money from the Jewish and Moorish people and did not want to pay back their debts; plus the Catholic leadership was pressuring the Monarchy to become a Catholic state. Toledo was also the town in which the famous painter El Greco lived. We saw what is considered his famous masterpiece: The Burial of Count Orgaz. The story goes that El Greco did not consider the painting his ... read more

Well, today was a big day. My friends and I got up very early (8am) to catch the bus to the AVE station in Toledo (the AVE is a high speed train that runs from Toledo to Madrid). It was my first time riding a train! We got to Madrid for our second day of exploring. First, we went to the Prado Museum, which is HUGE. We were there for about 3 hours (there are so many paintings and sculptures, but I only recognized 2). Then, we walked to the Puerta del Sol where we ate lunch (just so you know, if you eat at a restaurant, you have to ask for your bill, they won't just give it to you because they don't want you to feel rushed). Then, we had dessert at Ben & ... read more

After our little day trip to El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos, we had a 5 hour bus ride to TOLEDO!! I most definitely slept for that whole thing too. When we arrived in Toledo, we were all awestruck. Toledo is absolutely the most gorgeous place I have yet to see in my life! We were let out of the bus at the top of the hill, before going down onto the peninsula of Toledo to take pictures. It was amazing. But then came the hard part. We drove down the hill and to the billion year old bridge that crosses over to Toledo. The bus driver then informed us that the buses couldn't "fit" in the streets of Toledo and thus we had to walk....with our suitcases. Our leader, Christian, said that it would ... read more