May 26, 2007 -- Toledo (day trip from Madrid)
Last night, a new girl moved into the room. Her name is Francisca and she's from Santiago, Chile. She's been to Florianopolis 5 times! Today, Francisca, Will (her friend from Vancouver) and I took a short bus trip to Toledo. When we got there, it was warm and sunny (finally!) We walked up to the old town, a medieval walled citadel perched high on the hill.
The narrow, maze-like streets cross each other at random like the vines of a blackberry bush left to its own devices. Between the mess of cobble-stone alleys and the hundreds of gift shops selling "unique, hand-crafted" ceramics and gold jewelry I was instantly reminded of Prague. The three of us explored the town and stumbled upon a small wedding reception. The bride and groom were gone, but the guests lingered in front of the church.
Said Will: "Do you think they'd be offended if I started humming the 'Godfather' theme?" Haha, Will. Funny.
After that, dark clouds started gathering and we ducked inside a bar for some coffee to wait out the rain shower. When it cleared, we went to a pretty lame pirates museum. Just as we were leaving, the sky dumped again and we had to wait about an hour for it to subside. You see, we were so happy at the sight of sun that none of us had brought an umbrella. 
Got back to the bus ok, and rode home to Madrid. It was very fun hanging out with Francisca. Her English is decent and my Spanish is getting better, so we would teach each other both languages. We are going to try to meet up in Rome, as she is traveling for nearly as long as I am.
Last night, a new girl moved into the room. Her name is Francisca and she's from Santiago, Chile. She's been to Florianopolis 5 times! Today, Francisca, Will (her friend from Vancouver) and I took a short bus trip to Toledo. When we got there, it was warm and sunny (finally!) We walked up to the old town, a medieval walled citadel perched high on the hill.
The narrow, maze-like streets cross each other at random like the vines of a blackberry bush left to its own devices. Between the mess of cobble-stone alleys and the hundreds of gift shops selling "unique, hand-crafted" ceramics and gold jewelry I was instantly reminded of Prague. The three of us explored the town and stumbled upon a small wedding reception. The bride and groom were gone, but the guests lingered in front of the church.Said Will: "Do you think they'd be offended if I started humming the 'Godfather' theme?" Haha, Will. Funny.
After that, dark clouds started gathering and we ducked inside a bar for some coffee to wait out the rain shower. When it cleared, we went to a pretty lame pirates museum. Just as we were leaving, the sky dumped again and we had to wait about an hour for it to subside. You see, we were so happy at the sight of sun that none of us had brought an umbrella. 
Got back to the bus ok, and rode home to Madrid. It was very fun hanging out with Francisca. Her English is decent and my Spanish is getting better, so we would teach each other both languages. We are going to try to meet up in Rome, as she is traveling for nearly as long as I am.************************************************************************************
May 25, 2007 -- Madrid
Raining. Again. In the supposedly sunniest city in Europe. REALLY???!! I walked with Kate, Molly, and creepy Justin (a tag-a-long from the hostel) to the Palacio Real. Not too impressive, but a nice view of the city. We then walked across the city to find some Let's Go-recommended tapas place, only to find it and not be too interested in the menu. Thanks a lot, Let's Go. I went back to the hostel and took a nap. (Siestas are becoming a daily thing for me now, I love it!)
In the evening, the four of us went to a bullfight. Amazing! I guess it was a special fight because the toreros were on horseback, wearing chaps and jackets, but their assistants (in traditional matador garb) were on foot with the hot pink capes to lure the bull. We saw six bulls killed. I was fine at first, but the third fight was very sad. After stabbing the bull with the six javelin/pike things, the torero stabs the bull through the heart with a long sword. This one must have gone very deep though, because blood instantly started gushing out of the bull's mouth. He then stumbled, fell to his knees, wobbled some more, and collapsed, blood still pouring past his limp tongue. He was then dragged off like a piece of meat.
It was difficult to watch, and I can see how easily people are opposed to the bullfights. However, it's a tradition and a huge cultural event. I am so glad I got to see it.
Later that evening, we all went to the Plaza Mayor and found a place called Maoz falafel. According to the girls, it's a European chain and it was so delicious. To top it off, Eric took us to a place that serves churros with dipping chocolate....mmmmm.
It was difficult to watch, and I can see how easily people are opposed to the bullfights. However, it's a tradition and a huge cultural event. I am so glad I got to see it.Later that evening, we all went to the Plaza Mayor and found a place called Maoz falafel. According to the girls, it's a European chain and it was so delicious. To top it off, Eric took us to a place that serves churros with dipping chocolate....mmmmm.
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May 24, 2007 -- Madrid
I hardly slept my first night in Madrid, even though I'd basically been up for about 36 hours. The guys in the room all got back around 5 or 6 in the morning, when I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. It was raining quite hard, but I decided to make the best of it. My shoes didn't though; I guess I should have brought real shoes instead of flats made of suede or canvas...whoops! By the time I got to the Museo del Prado (Spain's "best" museum supposedly, though I disagree) my shoes were squishing with every step and my jeans were soaked up to my ankles. Ughh. I didn't see anything terribly interesting in the Prado, but then again I was wet, tired and hungry. What a great morning!When I (finally, after getting lost) got back to the hostel, this nice Spanish guy let me dry my pants with his clothes, so I didn't have to pay 2.50 Euros for the dryer. There's nothing better than putting on freshly dried clothes on a cold day...except maybe a huge plate of paella for 6 Euros. Yep, after a nap Eric (roomie from Wisconsin) and I found a place right by the hostel. Sooooo goood. I can't wait to get the "real" stuff in Valencia!
The room got two new girls, friends from Chicago (Molly and Kate) who just finished a semester in Verona, Italy. We all hung out in the bar downstairs (mmm, sangria) until 12:30 or so, then headed to another down the street. By the time we got back to the hostel, it was around 2:30am and we accidentally woke up Australia (David, just spent a month in South America, very chill) who had to wake up around 5 to catch a flight. Oops! He couldn't beat us, so he joined us on the roof until around 3:30. I don't think I could ever live in Madrid. Nothing even gets started until at least midnight!
May 23, 2007 -- Madrid
I arrived in London at 10:30am, dead tired already. I hardly slept on the flight. However, London (by the airport, anyway) was sunny and 68 degrees. Lovely. (On a side note, as I was writing this in my journal in Madrid, a guy sauntered down the street below my window singing, "Donde estan las inglesas? Donde estaaaaann??" Hmm.) I took a bus from Heathrow to Gatwick for my flight to Madrid. I did get a small nap, and drooled a little. Oops!
Ok, on to Gatwick. Waited for 3.5 hours to board my flight, during which I napped on a bench. When we finally boarded, I conked out almost immediately. EasyJet is a little janky, but I got what I paid for, a cheap flight! Plus, out of the 4 flight attendants we had one Ricky Martin look-a-like and one woman who may have been a tranny, but could have just been of Norse descent. To top it off, they had the most hideous uniforms--orange and grey workshirts and black pants or skirt with orange contrast stitching. Nice, EasyJet, very nice. And by "nice" I mean that I'll know where to go for uniforms if I ever decide to open a Halloween-themed gas station/Kwiki-Mart. Gross.
The Metro in Madrid is great--clean, efficient, comparable to the London Underground. I got a little lost on the way to the hostel, but no worries. Mad Hostel was an excellent choice--secure, close to Metro, lots of people, cheap sangria from the bar, and comfortable common areas.
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May 22, 2007
Flew into LHR on an overnight flight. It was, of course, hellish to sit in the dry air for 10 hours and I wish (as always) that I had spent the extra $500 and gotten a first-class sleeper. It would be nice, but I can't justify it. I mean, it's not a pair of shoes! For about a third of the flight, I had to deal with the excruciating screams of a toddler who turned out to belong to the head of the Fashion Design Dep't. at school, Ileana Something-something. There was never a good time to say hi though, as she was constantly trying to abate the wails of the hellspawn. Ok, I'm being a little harsh. Babies are supposed to sound annoying or we'd all ignore them.
I sat next to a quiet Israeli guy who turned out to be a sociology grad student at Berkeley, flying home to spend the summer with his parents. I read the entirety of the "Gutsy Women" book (thanks Gwen and Ken!) on the flight. Very good, a little self-help-y, but had loads of advice and calmed my nerves a bit.
