Yesterday was our last day in Spain. Although I’m glad to be coming home for some
things, like jumping back into training again, I’m going to miss Spain. On our
last morning, we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel and piled into a tour bus
for the hour’s drive to Toledo. Even though I had a decent night’s sleep, it
wasn’t hard to sleep the entire way.
panoramic view of Toledo
Toledo was a beautiful city. Before beginning our walking
tour, we drove up the hill to see a panoramic view of the city. We got lots of
good pictures! Then we went to a jewelry/sword making place where we watched
them make local crafts by hand, and had a much-appreciated opportunity to go
shopping in the gift shop with a 30% group discount. This is where I bought
most of my souvenirs for y’all!
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| Parrott Seniors |
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| group photo overlooking Toledo |
My first impression of Toledo was that it was a gorgeous
city, although hilly (not that I minded of course). Like most other Spanish
cities built during this time, the streets are narrow and paved with
cobblestones; however, unlike Rhonda and Cordoba, the buildings aren’t
whitewashed to keep out the heat. Instead, most of the buildings have
incredibly thick walls for insulation. It’s become a tourist trap in that
everywhere you turn, you’ll either see a restaurant or a place to buy touristy souvenirs.
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| cobblestone, and hilly streets of Toledo |
After seeing several cathedrals, they all start to blend
together. However, the Cathedral of Toledo stood out to me in that it was home
to a good collection of El Greco’s works. Of course some are housed at the
Prado, and the burial of some guy (along with that guy’s coffin/body, surprisingly!)
is housed at La Iglesia de Santo Tomes. Anyways, the Cathedral of Toledo also
had an awesome skylight that at exactly 12 noon, the rays of light would hit a
sculpture of a sun to reflect light throughout the cathedral.
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| here's a Bible from the 1200s! all the pages are like that-- amazing! |
cathedral group picture
After that, we walked into La Iglesia de Santo Tomes and the
Jewish synagogue. The synagogue had Islamic arches and mosaic tiles, yet there
were Christian crosses decorating the walls to accompany the traditional Jewish
decorations. What a wonderful example of religious tolerance!
Lunch overlooking Toledo was freaking nasty. The soup was
incredibly oily and looked downright disgusting, and I didn’t think it was
possible for the main dish to be any more unappetizing. Unlike other meals, I
wasn’t served a vegetarian meal-- instead; a waiter loaded my plate with chewy,
overcooked pork roast, deep fried French fries, and frozen vegetables and
promptly smothered the entire thing with beef droppings. My lunchtime
entertainment was Henry trying to convince Arden to eat an olive. She just
wouldn’t chew it! She’d get it in her mouth, bite down, and then spit it right
back out. That happened several times until she got the not-so-brilliant idea
to cover the olive with salt and then try to eat it. Her repulsed face was
priceless; after that, she decided a couple Euros weren’t worth it.
on the way to lunch overlooking Toledo
Next was the uneventful bus ride back to Madrid spent
sleeping and anticipating our much-deserved free time to finish shopping. Some
of our group went to the Modern Art museum, but Arden, Kimia, Alex and her
parents took us shopping on the Gran Via. I only bought a black and white
tribal print rain jacket with a coral lining that Arden picked out for me.
Before heading out for dinner, a couple of us decided to go real tacky tourist
souvenir shopping. I bought the replica Real Madrid jersey I had been wanting,
as well as a couple other knick knacks.
Dinner was super!! We were free to go where ever we wanted
as long as we were in at least pairs and returned to the Plaza Mayor by 9:40.
My friend Karina and I immediately made a beeline for the market, where we
decided to buy different snacks from different vendors instead of sitting down
for another three course meal. I bought a few slices of open faced smoked
salmon and basil mini-toast to accompany a large bowl of fruit, while Karina
sampled pizza, fruit and chocolate. I thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity
to pick and choose what I ate! That’s one of the things I’ve missed the most in
Spain. I’ve had to be more flexible than usual in dietary choices and timing
this week, and it was fine, but it’s always nice to be able to walk to the
refrigerator and pull out some fruit or whatever whenever you want.
Back to yesterday night, churros and chocolate afterwards
was rather interesting. The entire group attended a restaurant that solely
served churros (aka fried sticks of refined carbs) and hot chocolate (which is
more like molten chocolate than traditional American hot chocolate). After eating what we wanted, there was
left-over chocolate, and a few friends got into a hilarious yet messy chocolate
fight. Since the Parrott seniors didn’t misbehave, Mrs. Piner let us 4 go hang out
with a couple of the Cali kids for an hour longer before subjecting us to go
pack (since we weren’t going to pack anyways). It was fun! We headed back to
the market which sold virgin drinks so we could say we had tapas for dinner. I went
to the place that put real fruit in it— at least it was mildly healthy?
I don’t remember how thoroughly I’ve described tapas in this
blog, so if I already have, you just get to read it again. Spaniards typically
eat a large lunch and nibble for dinner. That’s where the concept of “barhopping”
for tapas comes from—purchasing little “snacks” from one place (usually
accompanied with a beverage), and when you want a change, going to another
nearby place for a different food and drink. There were lots of people in the
market, and it was fun to be a part of Spanish culture!
churros and hot chocolate  |
| senior privileges |
Then we just headed back to the hotel to pack, an uneventful
ending to an adventuresome day (minus 2:30am room checks).
And now, the next day, I’m on the way home, somewhere
between Madrid and JFK at the moment. Getting through the Madrid airport was
ridiculous; we had to check most of our bags in because the weight limit
changed for carry ons (10kg coming back as opposed to 44lbs going). Pain in the
butt, let me tell you! Mine was 11.1kg but the lady made me check it anyways,
when I could have easily put a couple things in my backpack to make weight.
Then it was just a trek to get to the gate, but what made it horrible (b/c I
didn’t mind the walk at all) was that you had to check in before entering a
waiting area before boarding. It was irritating that you were unable to leave
because said area had no good shops, and Arden and I saw a Starbucks a little
while before entering. Whatever. We’re planning to hit the restaurants in JFK
hard as soon as we go through customs. I can already taste the Subway on my
tongue accompanied by some fresh fruit. I’ve missed guacamole this week!
Anyways, I’m thankful I had the opportunity to travel to
Spain over spring break. I’ve wanted to go to Spain ever since I started taking
Spanish, since I love to travel. It’s awesome experiencing new cultures and
seeing that Greenville isn’t the only little corner of the world. Sounds cliché,
but traveling abroad is incredibly eye opening. Not only was this the second
time I’ve been in a foreign country without my parents, it was the first time I
felt like I was solely responsible for myself and others. Although I had to use
more English this week than I would have preferred, as my group’s tours were
only in English, but when it was necessary to use Spanish, such as for asking
for another room key after locking it in the room or even asking what a menu
item was, it handy to feel confident enough in my abilities to perform a given
task. I fully intend to come back to Spain sometime, and really explore the
cities by running, as well as spend time in Barcelona and other cities we didn’t
have the time to visit. But for now, I’m glad I had the opportunity to get a
glimpse of Spain- one that will have me coming back for more!
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