Sunday, June 26, 2011

Toledo 25/6


Our last night in Madrid most of our ISA Valencia Group went to a discoteca called Kapitol, which is a 7-story club in Madrid. It is really well known and a popular nightlife spot. I didn’t even know that those existed… After going out at 2 am and coming back when the sun rose, we were all exhausted the next morning when we had to leave for Toledo. Honestly, I wasn’t ready to leave Madrid.


Allison and I before going to el Kapitol.

But little did I know that I would fall in love with Toledo and like it so much more than Madrid. I’ve never been to Greece, but it reminded me so much of what Greece or Venice would be like. This quaint town is filled with cobble stone streets and gorgeous buildings. After capturing breathtaking photos with our cameras, there would be no need to buy a postcard. Toledo is right next to Spain’s largest river – Rio Tagus. This special city shows the combined history of 3 different religions – Christian, Muslim, and Judaism.


The view of Toledo.



We visited the Cathedral, Iglesia de Santo Tomé, Sinagoga de Santa María la Blanca, Plaza Principal y más.



Later we decided to go back to Toledo for dinner. Toledo is one of the oldest – if not the oldest – city in Spain. We decided to go all out with a 3-course meal for a friend’s cumpleaños. Toledo recently celebrated the festival of Corpus Christi, and the natives of the town continued to celebrate this festival for the rest of the weekend. With 2 concerts in different places in Toledo in the same night, the entertainment was endless. And we topped off the night with wine and Sangria.

Our hotel right outside of Toledo is gorgeous. Hotel Beatriz has a pool and over a 1,000 rooms. It’s crazy. We went swimming and just relaxed. Off to Valencia tomorrow for the majority of my time in España. I’m so not ready to take classes though… ¡Vamanos!


The pool at our hotel in Toledo.

Things to Note:
1.   There is absolutely NO personal space in Spain! Many people talk with their hands and love to touch your arms when they talk to you.
2.   The dilemma with air conditioning… Most places don’t have it! Definitely don’t take that for granted.
3.   Most food and drinks aren’t refrigerated in Spain... What?!! Definitely don’t expect ice cold water – even if it is bottled.

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