España: Toledo, Córdoba, y Madrid

FYI this is a long one--- sorry, but there was just so much to share! 

You know those two insanely weird customers or random strangers you come home to tell your family and friends about?  Well those two weirdos were Anna and I the past week as we got numerous looks and laughs as we attempted to communicate with the locals of Spain.

First off, our airport adventure was already a definite culture shock even in London.  Actually going through security was much stricter than back in the states which we were not expecting.  But once you got through security everything else was much calmer and way to easy going in my opinion.  You did not know your gate number until 30 to 20 minutes before your flight took off.  So everyone in the airport was gathered around the departure screens with their eyes glued to see the gate number appear and then make a mad dash in hopes of making it on their plane.  Funny thing is the signs next to the departures reminded you to “allow enough time to get to your gate so you are not late”. 

The appearance of the airport was also shocking to me.  Hardly any restaurants and food anywhere!  Instead it was a big “posh” mall: Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Dior replaced the food and tourist shops you see in American airports.  On the plane, a total 2 hour trip, we were served a big ol’ sub sandwich with any beverage of choice.  The flight attendants also made announcements about charities and walked around for donations.  Surprisingly the seats were also much larger even though I have yet to see one obese European.  So many different things!  Anyway, when we landed I was immediately captivated by the beauty of the Spanish landscape- it was actually much different than I was expecting.  It reminded me of a desert, but yet there were so many different elevations and mystery to it.  Welcome to Spain: the guy through customs of course had no idea how to speak English, even though he was in the international booth and all of the signs were listed in English that we came across so far. 

Finally we were greeted by our lovely host family, Debbie and Juan Carlos.  Debbie is the aunt of my best friend from college, Becca.  They live in the beautiful town of Toledo which is just outside of Madrid.  I felt at home right away with their warm welcome, driving on the right side of the road, and ‘Kiss FM’ radio station playing.  Toledo has to be my favorite place I have been so far on my travels and adventures outside of London.  The town is built up on a hill and is completely surrounded by water and castle like buildings; out of a fairytale basically.  Even though it was after 10 before we finally got to their home they still had yet to eat dinner.  Next culture shock: Spaniards basically eat 4 meals a day; a light breakfast when they wake up, light lunch around 10-11, the big meal around 3 which everyone gets off of school and work at least 2 hours to go home for, and dinner around 11 at night.  So at 11 we walked our rumbling stomachs to a little bar down the street to eat dinner.  The waitress about had a fit when Anna and I said we wanted water to drink and not alcohol.  Debbie and Juan Carlos ordered ‘tapas” for us all the share, which is common for dinnertime here.  We had salad with oil, vinegar, white asparagus, and tomato, delicious shrimp, and Spanish tortilla: eggs, potatoes, and onion (my new favorite food).  It was all SO good.  The best food I have eaten so far in Europe and by midnight that night I was already in love with Spain. 

 The adorable house we stayed at.

First official day in Spain was started off by Debbie taking us into the center of Toledo and giving us a brief tour of the breathtaking city. 

We then went back to have lunch: mangos, pork, rice, sautéed mushrooms, more tortilla, salad, mussels, fresh tomatoes, and I can’t even remember what else, but YUM!  Anna and I then decided to be a bit touristy and hop on the train that takes you all around the Toledo and it was actually really cool because the train drove around the outside of the city and stopped for us to take pictures. 

We also learned a bit about the local landmarks, which was informative to help us plan out our next couple days here.  Toledo is known as the place of “undiscovered secrets” in the fact that whenever the ground is dug into in attempt to build something they always find a new treasure from years ago.  It was then time for some gelato considering there was that and frozen yogurt on every corner here.  While enjoying our refreshing mint chocolate chip we wandered the streets and came across a Leonardo Da Vinci museum.  I honestly did not realize how beyond brilliant this man was.  How one person can form the ideas and outlines of how so many of our machinery and products used today work is just crazy to me. 

Monday was absolutely gorgeous outside!  What a great day for exploring Toledo!  The town does not have a single straight or even large road.  It instead consists of very narrow, winding, cobblestone pathways, so it is very easy to wander and get “lost” which is just what we started our day off doing.  We came across a quaint park with a yet again spectacular view. 

After falling even more in love with Spain it was time for lunch: fried eggs, Spanish ham, fries, and of course more gelato!  It was then on to San Juan de los Reyes, which is a historic monastery in Toledo that was built by the Catholic Monarchs in the 1500s.  It was SO beautiful and peaceful here!  Anna and I just sat there in awe for a good couple of hours. 

We were then so very privileged to have the opportunity to attend mass at the gorgeous cathedral of Toledo.  It is only supposed to be for Spaniards, but we were able to make our way in and attend.  This was hands down my most favorite thing we did in Spain.  The mass was such a breathtaking experience, words can’t even describe it.  Even though the entire service was in Spanish I still knew what was going on basically the entire time, which was exciting to me.  It brought tears to my eyes being here and having the time to praise God and be so thankful to him for watching over me, protecting me, and guiding me on this amazing journey in my life.  I am so overjoyed to be feeling and doing as well here. 

Tuesday we started off the day at a very interesting typical Spanish market.  It reminded me of a big outdoor department store.  I really don’t know how else to describe it.  Everything from clothes, to purses, to pillows, to blankets, to shoes, to socks, to rugs, to lamps, to undergarments… there was seriously everything and to top it off: each stand had someone yelling in Spanish about how they have the lowest prices and to come shop by them.  Such an interesting cultural experience I have to say.  

Today we decided to go back and eat lunch with Debbie and her family around 3, which left us hungry at noon and yes that means we made time for frozen yogurt with berries and chocolate nutella sauce.  Before lunch we also went to the Museo Del Greco, which was in his beautiful old house.  This famous artist lived in Toledo almost all of his life and painted and designed what is seen in most of the town.  

After lunch we went back to the cathedral to go through the audio guided tour.  It is seriously one of the most gorgeous cathedrals I have ever been too. 

Wednesday morning it was time to hop on a bus to Cordoba in southern Spain.  Four hours later we arrived to even warmer temperatures and palm trees, which was a surprise to both of us.  Wandering in a new and very different city we found ourselves at a traditional Spanish restaurant eating Spanish tortilla for lunch. 

 It was then off to the most famous attraction of Cordoba and something that I remember studying in high school, the Mezquita Cathedral of Cordoba.  This is basically an Islamic Mosque inside of a church.  It is really interesting and beautiful to see. 

One more stop that our day would not be complete without: more frozen yogurt with coconut and fresh mangos!

Thursday morning we woke up to more beautiful Cordoba sunshine.  I literally felt like I was on a tropical vacation here and everything was just so beautiful and lively.  Cordoba has numerous parks and plazas, which we spent most of our day wandering about.  Of course we also took in some shopping, but not too much because we were trying our best to hold out for Madrid.  There was another market we stumbled across, were good at finding those!  So many cute scarves and jewelry here I loved it all! 

 Palm trees :)

Friday morning I woke up to the familiar sounds of the hustle and bustle of a big city: Madird!  Debbie’s daughter, Lydia, offered to let Anna and I come stay with her for a couple days.  She is the same age as us and attends college in the center of Madrid, so of course we had to take up the offer.  Today was our much needed day of shopping!  Lydia walked us down towards the major fashion and shopping area of Madrid where Anna and I found ourselves in for the next seven hours.  Spain has shoe stores on literally every corner, so we decided it was necessary that we each come home with a new pair of boots… check!  Interestingly enough, for lunch we found ourselves sitting next to two American’s and on the other side of them was two Australians.  We all had one big English conversation with one another, which was very comforting and entertaining.  I was beginning to feel secluded with the difficulty of the language barrier, so it was nice to have a full out English conversation again.  One of the Australian’s was absolutely hilarious.  He seriously believed he could tell our fortunes just by hearing our date of birth and by looking at us.  My fortune: complete success in my future career, which I can’t really complain about that! 

I absolutely loved my week in Spain, even though everywhere we went everyone knew we were American even without us saying one word.  Both Anna and I actually began to find it really bothersome.  If there is one thing that I realized on this trip it is that we Americans are not nearly as close to being as culturally competent and aware as we like to think we are.  Honestly, we are so ignorant to the rest of the world and we carry so many stereotypes that are not remotely close to being true.  I was so embarrassed at how little I knew about Spain and the culture and that I had taken Spanish classes for many, many years, but yet I could not even begin to form a sentence and communicate with the locals.  Good thing every single sign, menu, museum descriptions, and pamphlets were listed in English!   

Again as you could probably tell I absolutely loved all of the food here in Spain!  So much rice, eggs, meat, potatoes, fruits, and veggies!  Basically my entire diet!  And yup don’t forget about the gelato and frozen yogurt!  Leave it up to Anna and I to find frozen yogurt or gelato every single day in Spain and even book a hotel with an ice cream shop, shoes, and chocolate right on the corner.  Yup we have some major sweet teeth.  Needless to say my food cravings have been fulfilled and completely satisfied here.  I think I gained my goal weight in just 3 days of being in Spain!   

I am so overjoyed to have been able to have the opportunity to travel to three completely different places in Spain, especially two smaller towns that are not as well known.  It was also so comforting to be able to go stay in a home environment and really get the cultural feel of typical day to day Spanish life.  I think it really made my experience memorable and more knowledgeable that it ever could have been.  Spain really exceeded my expectations and I can’t believe I am about to admit this, but if it wouldn’t be for the language barrier, I think my heart goes to Spain just as much, if not more, than England. 

I hope you all had a great week!  Sorry I didn't get a chance to post anything until now and that it was so long, but I hope you enjoyed hearing about all of my Spain adventures.  There are a lot more pictures on Facebook if you have access to that.  FYI you are also able to click on the pictures on here to make them larger :)

-Brittany