Weekend has come, Aranjuez, Toledo

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Hello to all!
The weekend has come! It was a pretty laid back week, I just got over a pretty horrible cold, which has been going around here like the plague. I'm feeling much better now, though, and am able to sleep all night without waking up with intense coughing. Last weekend me and a few friends were able to make it out to Aranjuez, a small town located south of Madrid city. It didn't take long to get there, and there was a really cool palace that I was able to tour. Luckily since I have my student card I'm able to do things like this for half the price as an adult. The coolest part of the adventure, though, was seeing the royal gardens. Wow, the park was so huge! There was even a river that ran along with it, and that's where we spent most of the day. I'll admit, the palace and gardens in Madrid makes this one look like a miniature model, but believe me, it's very nice to get out of the huge city and see some smaller things. Everything in this town was still very pretty. I've posted pictures, too, for everyone to view.
This weekend there are several things my roommates and I have discussed doing, but I'm still not sure what's going to happen. I think that it's very likely I'll be taking a trip out to Toledo this weekend. Everyone says that Toledo is a must see while you are here in Spain. It's a very old city like Segovia and Avila, and the landscape is amazing. There is a river and mountains and some really pretty things to look at. The good news is by bus it only costs a little over 5 euros to get there and come back, and it is about an hour away (far distance for a small country).
My roommates and I have also discussed either going to Parque Warner Madrid (Warner Brothers theme park) or Faunia, which is a very famous zoo in Spain. In the zoo they have created several various replica habitats where you can view animals as if they would be in their natural home. Well, maybe not as BIG, but they really do an exceptional job recreating tropical forests with many exotic natural plants, and recreating a south pole type environment to view penguins. I think there are about 8 or 9 habitats plus an aquarium you can view, and a student of mine really reccomended me going. In madrid there is also "parque de atracciones" (attraction park) which is a city run theme park with rollercoasters, etc. and "zoologico madrid" (madrid zoo) which is also city run. These are a bit cheaper, but if you spend more and go to commercial parks like Parque Warner and Faunia, you get a bit fancier experience from what I've been told.
Morrocco is right around the corner, and my friend and I are still making initial plans for that trip. Also, there is beginning talk of making plans to visit Poland with my Polish roommate. While I'm there I'll be going to the mountains, lakes, and even Auchwitz, which will be emotionally powerful I know. It's somewhere I've told myself I would go while I was here, because someone once told me you can never in your life understand what the holocaust was until you actually go and visit one of these sites where it happened.
My students have told me that my Spanish has gotten a lot better since I first got here, and I'm continuing to learn more every day. Other than that, not a whole lot is new from this dirrection! I hope all is well back home
Love Dave

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