Vive la rana (desnuda)!

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Buenas noches! This is officially the first night I've stayed in this entire week (and it's Saturday...how ironic). But, I'm feeling a little tired and I want to wake up early for mass at the Catedral de Toledo in the morning. This has been quite a fun couple of days. On Thursday night I finally gave the nightlife of Toledo a try and spent the WHOLE NIGHT (until 7am) hanging at La Bove for sangria and then dancing the night away with some of the Puerto Ricans and Don Juan (my fellow party-going domer) at the Circulo del Arte (a club in an old church) and Ciclo (or something like that). Both were lots of fun and I think that my newest favorite form of exercize is discotecas. 😊 I was up late enough to take the first morning bus home (loco!) but it was totally worth it.

Unfortunately, due to the previous night, I woke up un poco late for the Fundacion excursion to El Escurial in the morning. After a frantic sprint to a vacant bus stop and several unsuccessful phone calls, I returned to my bed and left late that day around 1pm to travel alone to Salamanca to catch up with my amigas (plus Pat) after they finished up the school trip. It was quite an adventure travelling by myself, although I prefer to travel with friends. I was so proud that I was able to find everything on my own (the right buses, the metro stations, I even used a map!) and I made friends with the girl next to me on the 3 hour bus to Salamanca. My spanish is definitely improving (although I have a loooong way to go before I'm fluent) and it was nice to have a long conversation with someone who could actually somewhat understand me. It turns out I talk as much in Spanish as I do in English (imagine that...).

I arrived in Salamanca around 8pm...more than 2 hours before the rest of the group. Thus, I had time to do a little exploring in the FREEZING night air, although I must admit that I have fallen in love with the city and am extremely jealous of all the students who study there (aka Nellie). The Plaza Mayor is gorgeous (even more so than the one in Madrid) and there are so many young college kids there it's ridiculous. I amused myself with some helado y cafe at the nearby McDonalds and explored some of the smaller side streets until my friends arrived. Then it was time to get down to some serious party business. We played a quick game of Kings (and have since then dubbed Patricio as the man of "desnuda") and were off to a shot bar named Chupiterias, known for cheap and creative shots. The shots weren't very strong but they tasted great and Kaila and I met a few CUTE Spaniards before the rest of the group decided it was time to move on (what a shame). After another bar it was off to a discoteca called "Camelot" and I bet you can tell from the name that it's not your average Spanish bar. Quite the contrary, it was completely void of Spaniards (save a few sketchy 40-something year old men) and, though it was lots of fun, very much a tourist joint. But we danced the night away and retired somewhat early (3am) to get some shut-eye.

In the morning we hit up the 2 Catedrals (Vieja y Nueva) and I fell in love with the beautiful streets and buildings all over again. My travel book (Let's Go Spain...yes, I am the epidome of a tourist, camera and book in hand at all times) said that Salamanca is like the Emerald City of Spain only yellow instead of green. All of the buildings are made with the same type of stone that seems to shine in the sunlight. SO beautiful! Jax and Ashley and I felt like quite the rebels after sneaking up a stairway in the Catedral...until we realized that the "No Subir" (do not come up) sign was only because it was meant to be a downwards only staircase. Oh well, we're still rebels in my book. 😊 We grabbed a very cheap bite to eat at a Jamon store (jamon, or ham, which is typically cured and not actually "cooked" persay, is EVERYWHERE in Spain and it is well-established that Salamanca has some of the best jamon in Spain) and then took an abundance of pictures at the river. I can't wait to finally get my album rolling (soon I promise!). We had a delightful ride home and now I am just chilling on the computer before heading to bed so I can make an early mass (since apparently waking up is not my forte). I forgot to mention that in addition to sleeping through the school trip, I missed a class (already!) because my alarm did not function correctly...actually, more along the lines of I did not function correctly because I turned it off and went back to bed. Oh well. I'm going to put my alarm on the other side of the room from now on so that I am forced to actually get OUT of bed to turn it off. I'll let you know how that pans out.

And now, to sleep. Adios mis amores!

yours in desnuda,

Laura 😊

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Comments

[Dave Sheehan]

Whats up!!
Hwy Laura! It sounds like everything is going well for you over in Spain...getting the local flavor from a couple of different bars!!LOL Anyway, I am glad to hear that you are able to travel around by yourself. This always seems to be the most fearful thing to get over and it seems like you aced it Congrats! Thank you so much for the chocolate and the rosary, I ate the chocolate bar, and pray with that rosary- very thoughtful-thank you. Well I guess just keep us posted and I will be praying for you!!! Your American Friend Dave