Madrid y Toledo

November 9

Caitlin and I ran to the bank Monday morning to get me cash, and to pick up breakfast before we left. The bus ride was about 5 hours long, and we stopped halfway for lunch. We couldn't really eat lunch because it was only 11:30 and the place we stopped at didn't offer much. I ate trail mix and crackers, a very nutritious lunch. We had a couple hours of free time to explore the city before we had to meet back up at the hotel. My friends and I walked around to find Dara deodorant and get a little snack. We did an hour long walking tour, of the city, with a guide and then headed back to the hotel for a little while. Jacqueline, who wasn't feeling well, and I tried to nap, but that didn't happen because Brittany and Lia came into our room all hyped up and jumping all over our beds.

Dinner was in the hotel and it wasn't that delicious. They gave us croquettes and some weird "lasagna" like dish. It was nothing like lasagna, and it was gross. Croquettes are also not my style, they're mushy and they don't taste right...all in all it was very disappointing. After dinner Brittany, myself, and Dara walked with Jacqueline and Alicia (FSU-Valencia Assistant Director) to get Jacqueline drugs. It's very easy to get antibiotics and whatnot here and Spain, all you have to do is tell them what's wrong or hurting and they just give it to you. It was like a literal drug deal too! This must be how they came about. It was a 24 hour pharmacy,but you had to exchange and speak to the pharmacist through a gated door. We exchanged money and antibiotics through the holes in the gate...it was very entertaining.  We got back to the hotel around 10:30 pm and decided to take a walk.

Lia, Jacqueline, and myself walked together, arm in arm, most of the way, because that's how Lia likes it, but Dara and Brittany got left behind because they were taking too long talking. They ended up walking the other direction as us with other FSU students. We had a few great conversations. I felt like I was back in my AP English class with a few of them. Politics, poverty, gender, sex, race, fixing the world, etc. sometimes it got really serious and sometimes...not so much. It was great time. Walks like those let you learn a lot about your friends, in a good way, I promise.  We got back around 12:30 and called it a night.

November 10

TUESDAY WE WENT TO TOLEDO! I was excited. We took a bus there and we, the intelligent students we are decided to watch Shrek on our way there. We took a tour of Toledo, and walked up a lot of hills. We stopped at a cathedral, a synagogue, and a church, apparently, "Holy Toledo" didn't come from thin air. 

After the tour we were given some free time and Dara and I went off to explore. We found a place that took cheques and we ate there for lunch. On our way back to the meeting spot we decided to stop for chocolates. The guy working at the place was from Argentina and he spoke English very, very well. He told us he came for a ten day visit to see his aunt a few years ago and he decided to just stay. Somewhere along the way, Dara informed to man that I was from the "other Toledo," and he knew exactly where that was, "Ohio?!" Haha, yep! I was having a good time there. As we were leaving he gave us a free sample of marzipan, a specialty in Toledo. 

Started with 4

Ended with 5

We took the bus back to the hotel and decided that was the time to go for churros and chocolate. The tour lady from the day before showed us where the so called "best" place for churros and chocolate in Madrid was so we went there. I was not very impressed, neither were my friends. There was nothing super spectacular about them nor the chocolate. Actually, Jacqueline and I ended up adding peppermint to our chocolate and it became more of a peppermint hot chocolate, which was much more delightful. I still did not finish it though. Lia, however, had no problem finishing her chocolate, and Dara's, mine, Jacqueline and Brittany's, and even one of the lady's, who was watching her down them. It was insane. The lady was watching Lia drink all of ours and offered up the rest of her own, so Lia took that too. That's Lia. 

"Intervention"

We just walked and explored until we decided to eat. We went outside of the palace and there were flowers everywhere from a ceremony that had taken place that day. We had to take many upon many photographs, obviously, because we had all of these flowers. I don't have those, though, I'm sure they'll be on Facebook soon though. We walked to the Cathedral that was near the palace and had a friendship intervention. Lia and Jacqueline were getting on each others nerves so Dara staged an intervention in which we all had to partake. That was interesting. A lot of fun, nonetheless. 

After dinner we went back to the hotel and, being (basically) November 11, Jacqueline goes, "Rebecca, guess what?" 

"We have less than a month until we leave?"

"YES!"

Not that we don't love being in Spain and becoming friends with the people we have, but the countdown is on and we are definitely excited.

November 11 

We went to two museums on Wednesday, both of which we were at for an hour maximum. It was pretty lame, it definitely seemed like "filler" day. As though everyone at FSU was thinking, "we have to give them something to do," so we walked to the first museum Reina Sofia, the long way, I might add. We were there for all of 45 minutes before we were let go for lunch. Caitlin, Jacqueline, and I got KFC, because why not? Also-cheques. Then we walked towards the second museum. 

After the second museum we walked, with Nahee, who is wheelchair bound after her foot injury in Jaca, so we pushed her up and down the hills to get to the Glass Palace in one of the parks. It was about a half an hour walk there and back, and it honestly wasn't super spectacular, but the park was gorgeous. 

We went to dinner and a flamenco show with FSU and it was an amazing show! The one I saw last year in Barcelona has nothing on this one. Then we went back to the hotel and Dara and I set an alarm for 3:20 so we could catch our flight out.