Mi familia in Sagrada Familia and other Spain adventures
Dec 15th, 2015, 06:55 PM
#21
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Sorry for the gap - going on with the trip report....
Day 6: Prado and Palace and Pintxos, oh my!
The next day I'm feeling a bit better and we want to try to make up for lost time, but - Oh no! - younger DD has now come down with a bad cold! She feels pretty awful.
Our plan for the morning is the Prado and, as I mentioned, she is not a big fan of art museums. We agree she could use some sleep, and then could get some schoolwork done (she has quite a bit, due to missing several days of school for the trip). Study-abroad DD heads off to class, DH and I head to the Prado, and younger DD goes back to sleep. I tell her to communicate with me by email from her computer when she wakes up.
I think we are going to find the major works in the Prado, look at work by particular artists that interest us, and then move on to other things. DH has other plans. He wants to walk through every room on our way to the major works, so we can stop whenever any other pieces catch our eye. I think this could take us all day - or maybe all week! - but he is not to dissuaded, so I go along, and I have to admit I saw some pieces that I really loved and would have missed using my approach. I really like the Prado - it reminds me of the Met in NY. It's large and airy, well lit, well laid out, lots of information available on the works and artists. Of the major works, I am completely enamored of Las Meninas, especially after seeing Picasso's deconstruction of it in Barcelona, and I'm starting to feel it was a mistake for DD to miss it. We consider bringing her here later.
DH's "stroll through every room" approach takes a few hours, and by the time we finish I'm wiped out and actually feel like I might faint. Although I'm better today, I'm definitely not at 100% - after several hours in the museum I really need some water and something to eat. We had thought we might get lunch at Estado Puro near the museum, but it seems a little too ambitious for me food-wise, and also younger DD is not answering my emails. I suspect the alarm has not gone off and she is still asleep. We walk back to the apartment and, lo and behold, although it is now 2:30 in the afternoon, she is sound asleep! She is really not feeling well.
But she rallies quickly and we decide to grab a quick bite back at Vi Cool - they have other items on the menu that we didn't have on the tasting menu the night before, they are things that I think my stomach can handle, and it's near by.
We are in and out fairly quickly, and next on the agenda is the Palace. To save time we take the Metro, arriving about 4pm. The prior day we had walked by the Palace at about the same time and there was an enormous line to get in. Study-abroad DD had said this was probably the line for the free-entry hours. When we arrive this day we see the same thing - huge line. I go to inquire and, sure enough, that is the free-entry line. If you want to pay you can go right in. We opt for that.
The Palace is quite a spectacle - beautiful and a bit overwhelming. I'm starting to find that the day's agenda is a bit ambitious for me - I feel like I need to sit down periodically, but there is nowhere to do that. I'm glad we didn't try to do this yesterday.
We finish up just as the Palace is closing at 6 and check in with study-abroad DD. She is still at school and has plenty of studying to do if we want to continue our sightseeing. We do - I've got a second wind now and both the Prado and the Reina Sofia have free entry hours in the evening. We decide to take younger DD to the Prado to see Las Meninas, then all go on to the Reina Sofia to see the Guernica. We agree to meet study-abroad DD back at the apartment between 8 and 8:30.
We start out for the Metro, but when we come to Calle del Arenal we see literally throngs of people out for an evening paseo. I love this! And we haven't really experienced it yet on this trip. We decide to join the crowd, as least as far as Sol. We wade into the river of people and are swept along.
When we get to Sol it is a bit of a zoo, and the usual human statues and people in ridiculous Mickey Mouse costumes are there. We push through, but wait! There is a mime! This is different so we stop to watch. He's very good! He's clowning, miming, interacting with the crowd and very funny! We watch for quite a while - I want to give him money but there's no hat or box to put it in and he never stops the performance. We take pictures to show study abroad DD. Later in the week we see him again, when she is with us, and again have no way to give him money. Then later, after we are back home in the States, I get a text from her: "Watching the mime again! Finally was able to give him money!" Hooray! Also, I love that now when she tells me things she's doing I can actually picture it, because I've been there with her!
We finally tear ourselves away from the mime and push on to the Prado. We zip in, make a bee-line for Las Meninas, admire it for a bit - particularly the 3D effect when you step back, which is quite dramatic - and zip back out. Younger DD admits that it was worthwhile. On to the Reina Sofia.
We don't especially care for this museum. I find it cold and unwelcoming in its layout, and there is no information about the art. Also, I don't really like Surrealism or Cubism, and that is much of what we see.
The guidebooks recommend we start on the 2nd floor so we do that, working our way around somewhat quickly and ending at the Guernica. It is the reason we are here and it is quite moving. I also was interested in the photographs mounted on the opposite wall that show its evolution.
At this point it's late and we have to go. We may come back another night, and we may not. As it turns out, we don't. I'm OK with that - there's a lot of art in the world and this wasn't my favorite.
Back at the apartment, we decide to go for a tapas crawl on Cava Baja. Study abroad DD leads the way. She's been there before but is interested in trying new places, so we go to Casa Lucas, which I've seen recommended here and elsewhere.
It's a Wednesday night, so not too crowded. We get a table and order a few things to share. I have my first Tinto Verano - I love it! Everything is very good but we leave before we're too full and move on to Txirimiri, recommended here by kimhe and also in Lonely Planet.
Txirimiri is hopping! It's getting close to 11pm on a Wednesday night, and you can barely push your way up to the bar to order!
We are here to try the pintxos. There are some in a glass case on the bar that you can point to and others listed on a blackboard that you can order. We do both. They are fabulous! We wish we hadn't eaten so much at Casa Lucas! We chat with other diners, ask them what they're having, order a few more things, have another Tinto Verano, and finally are too full to go on and reluctantly head back home. We discuss possibly coming back another time, with an empty stomach.
Again DD wants to show us the city, but it is very late and we are tired. Plus younger DD is not feeling great. We promise we will do the things she wants another night (we do, but just barely!).
Next: Thanksgiving Day! Also known, outside the US, as "a regular Thursday."
Day 6: Prado and Palace and Pintxos, oh my!
The next day I'm feeling a bit better and we want to try to make up for lost time, but - Oh no! - younger DD has now come down with a bad cold! She feels pretty awful.
Our plan for the morning is the Prado and, as I mentioned, she is not a big fan of art museums. We agree she could use some sleep, and then could get some schoolwork done (she has quite a bit, due to missing several days of school for the trip). Study-abroad DD heads off to class, DH and I head to the Prado, and younger DD goes back to sleep. I tell her to communicate with me by email from her computer when she wakes up.
I think we are going to find the major works in the Prado, look at work by particular artists that interest us, and then move on to other things. DH has other plans. He wants to walk through every room on our way to the major works, so we can stop whenever any other pieces catch our eye. I think this could take us all day - or maybe all week! - but he is not to dissuaded, so I go along, and I have to admit I saw some pieces that I really loved and would have missed using my approach. I really like the Prado - it reminds me of the Met in NY. It's large and airy, well lit, well laid out, lots of information available on the works and artists. Of the major works, I am completely enamored of Las Meninas, especially after seeing Picasso's deconstruction of it in Barcelona, and I'm starting to feel it was a mistake for DD to miss it. We consider bringing her here later.
DH's "stroll through every room" approach takes a few hours, and by the time we finish I'm wiped out and actually feel like I might faint. Although I'm better today, I'm definitely not at 100% - after several hours in the museum I really need some water and something to eat. We had thought we might get lunch at Estado Puro near the museum, but it seems a little too ambitious for me food-wise, and also younger DD is not answering my emails. I suspect the alarm has not gone off and she is still asleep. We walk back to the apartment and, lo and behold, although it is now 2:30 in the afternoon, she is sound asleep! She is really not feeling well.
But she rallies quickly and we decide to grab a quick bite back at Vi Cool - they have other items on the menu that we didn't have on the tasting menu the night before, they are things that I think my stomach can handle, and it's near by.
We are in and out fairly quickly, and next on the agenda is the Palace. To save time we take the Metro, arriving about 4pm. The prior day we had walked by the Palace at about the same time and there was an enormous line to get in. Study-abroad DD had said this was probably the line for the free-entry hours. When we arrive this day we see the same thing - huge line. I go to inquire and, sure enough, that is the free-entry line. If you want to pay you can go right in. We opt for that.
The Palace is quite a spectacle - beautiful and a bit overwhelming. I'm starting to find that the day's agenda is a bit ambitious for me - I feel like I need to sit down periodically, but there is nowhere to do that. I'm glad we didn't try to do this yesterday.
We finish up just as the Palace is closing at 6 and check in with study-abroad DD. She is still at school and has plenty of studying to do if we want to continue our sightseeing. We do - I've got a second wind now and both the Prado and the Reina Sofia have free entry hours in the evening. We decide to take younger DD to the Prado to see Las Meninas, then all go on to the Reina Sofia to see the Guernica. We agree to meet study-abroad DD back at the apartment between 8 and 8:30.
We start out for the Metro, but when we come to Calle del Arenal we see literally throngs of people out for an evening paseo. I love this! And we haven't really experienced it yet on this trip. We decide to join the crowd, as least as far as Sol. We wade into the river of people and are swept along.
When we get to Sol it is a bit of a zoo, and the usual human statues and people in ridiculous Mickey Mouse costumes are there. We push through, but wait! There is a mime! This is different so we stop to watch. He's very good! He's clowning, miming, interacting with the crowd and very funny! We watch for quite a while - I want to give him money but there's no hat or box to put it in and he never stops the performance. We take pictures to show study abroad DD. Later in the week we see him again, when she is with us, and again have no way to give him money. Then later, after we are back home in the States, I get a text from her: "Watching the mime again! Finally was able to give him money!" Hooray! Also, I love that now when she tells me things she's doing I can actually picture it, because I've been there with her!
We finally tear ourselves away from the mime and push on to the Prado. We zip in, make a bee-line for Las Meninas, admire it for a bit - particularly the 3D effect when you step back, which is quite dramatic - and zip back out. Younger DD admits that it was worthwhile. On to the Reina Sofia.
We don't especially care for this museum. I find it cold and unwelcoming in its layout, and there is no information about the art. Also, I don't really like Surrealism or Cubism, and that is much of what we see.
The guidebooks recommend we start on the 2nd floor so we do that, working our way around somewhat quickly and ending at the Guernica. It is the reason we are here and it is quite moving. I also was interested in the photographs mounted on the opposite wall that show its evolution.
At this point it's late and we have to go. We may come back another night, and we may not. As it turns out, we don't. I'm OK with that - there's a lot of art in the world and this wasn't my favorite.
Back at the apartment, we decide to go for a tapas crawl on Cava Baja. Study abroad DD leads the way. She's been there before but is interested in trying new places, so we go to Casa Lucas, which I've seen recommended here and elsewhere.
It's a Wednesday night, so not too crowded. We get a table and order a few things to share. I have my first Tinto Verano - I love it! Everything is very good but we leave before we're too full and move on to Txirimiri, recommended here by kimhe and also in Lonely Planet.
Txirimiri is hopping! It's getting close to 11pm on a Wednesday night, and you can barely push your way up to the bar to order!
We are here to try the pintxos. There are some in a glass case on the bar that you can point to and others listed on a blackboard that you can order. We do both. They are fabulous! We wish we hadn't eaten so much at Casa Lucas! We chat with other diners, ask them what they're having, order a few more things, have another Tinto Verano, and finally are too full to go on and reluctantly head back home. We discuss possibly coming back another time, with an empty stomach.
Again DD wants to show us the city, but it is very late and we are tired. Plus younger DD is not feeling great. We promise we will do the things she wants another night (we do, but just barely!).
Next: Thanksgiving Day! Also known, outside the US, as "a regular Thursday."
Dec 21st, 2015, 09:11 AM
#22
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With Christmas coming it's getting hard to finish this trip report! Better get on with reporting about Thanksgiving before the next holiday is here!
Day 7: Thanksgiving in Toledo
Our plan for Thanksgiving is to spend the day in Toledo (minus study abroad DD, who had class and has been there twice already), Skype with our family back home, and then go out for a dinner hosted by the faculty advisor of DD's program.
I've never been away for a major holiday before. It's odd, particularly if you are in a place that doesn't celebrate that holiday - it's just an ordinary day there. Also, I didn't think I'd mind missing Thanksgiving, but when we got home I really did. The other interesting thing is that although they don't celebrate the holiday, they do observe the day after Thanksgiving as the official start of the Christmas season. All the holiday lights are turned on that day, Christmas fairs open, and they have "Black Friday" sales (which they even call "Black Friday" in English). Why that particular day? In Spain, it's just a Friday in November.
In any event, DH, younger DD and I get a morning train to Toledo. I had not had time to plan this day ahead of time - completely unlike me, not to have done the research. But half an hour on the train was enough time - by the time we arrive I have the options all laid out, and had even read that there is a tourist bus for 5 euros that will take you to the overlook of the city - DD had said we had to see that and she wasn't sure how we were going to get there.
We get off the train and everyone is lining up at the Tourist office. Or what we think is the Tourist office. As we wait on the line I start to realize the woman behind the counter is selling tour packages. There are several packages listed on the wall, but as we get closer it becomes clear that she is selling everyone the exact same package, which she "recommends" for them, and it sounds overpriced for what it is. I go outside to check the bus situation - several buses are there waiting to take people to the overlook and then into town. We continue to wait on the line thinking we will get a map, get some information, and buy a ticket for the bus.
We get to the front of the line and tell the woman that we don't want a tour package, we intend to do our own touring. She gives us a sour look that says she does not recommend this. Can we buy a ticket to the bus, we ask? Oh no, she says, I don't sell those. I only sell tickets to my tours. Can we get a map? No, only if you buy a tour. Aren't you the Tourist Information office? No, I'm not. We are wasting her time and she's on to the next person. She does not tell us that the official Tourist office is a few feet down, but you don't see it because the door going into the station is propped open and the office is behind it (we don't see it until later when we leave). Whoever this company is, they are reeling in all the unsuspecting tourists getting off the train.
We go back outside to see if we can buy a ticket from the bus driver and are dismayed to see that all but one of the buses has left. Guess which one is still there? Right, the tour package one. Now I am really annoyed. The next regular tourist bus won't come for another hour, when the next train arrives. We certainly don't want to wait, so we go to check on the price of a taxi.
The taxi is a deal! (Relatively speaking). For 5 euros they will take you straight to town, for 15 they will take you on a tour of the bridges and miradors leading into town. 15 euros is the same price we would have paid for the three of us to take the bus, and the taxi driver takes us to multiple stops (rather than just one, which I believe is what the bus does, but I could be wrong)) and takes our picture for us at each one! The taxis should have a sign posted right where you get off the train!
We take our taxi tour and are very happy with it until the very end, when the driver purposely drops us directly in front of one of these shops that sell damascene, the hammered metal craft that they sell in Toledo. It is not a convenient place to stop and we are blocking traffic by stopping there. A salesperson is of course standing right in front of the shop, herding people inside.
We're not interested in buying, so we move on. I had read that the best way to see the city is to start at Plaza de Zocodover, walk down and see all the sights that interest you along the way, then take a bus back up. Our taxi dropped us by the Cathedral, though (because that is where his friend's shop is!), so we start there - later we end up having to double back.
We walk around a bit trying to find the entrance to the Cathedral. A man stops to ask if we need help. Something about him is too eagerly helpful (we weren't looking all that lost) and I am suspicious. He does point us to the entrance, though, and we're thinking that maybe he is just a helpful person. Are you planning to visit the Monastery today, he asks? Yes we are. Oh, he says, the Monastery closes at 1pm today - the Cathedral is open all day. Perhaps you want to go to the Monastery first. Really, I say? My books don't mention an early closing on Thursdays. Oh, yes, it's closing, he says. And if you go now, on the way there is my shop....
Seriously? Is this whole day going to be like this?
Luckily it is not. We spend the day visiting the Cathedral, which is quite impressive, Iglesia de Santo Tome and its famous El Greco painting, the Monastery (which is not closing early - big surprise!), and Santa Maria la Blanca Sinagoga. We are charmed by the narrow streets, the buildings, the old world feel. There is incredible art, especially in the Cathedral. We wander the streets a bit and stop to buy mazapan at a shop run by a convent - we need a little gift to bring when we meet DD's Spanish host family in a few days. At lunchtime we wander into a little shop across from the Monastery with a sign saying Produits Typiques. We step inside and are greeted by a lovely middle aged couple. They speak no English, but we manage to make out that the man is telling us he has various kinds of deer sausage typical of the region, and we should try some. Before we can reply he is slicing and setting out a small platter with samples of several types of sausage and urging us to try them. He can make a sandwich with the sausage or with jamon, with cheese, and a drink - 5 euros! We try the sausage and we like it, but opt for the jamon. He makes us lovely sandwiches with olive oil and herbs.
While he is making the sandwiches he suggests we sample the mazapan, which his wife makes by hand. We do. It is very good. She sells it vacuum wrapped for travel, so we buy a box to take home. We go out into the little plaza to eat our sandwiches in the sunshine.
One thing that surprised us in Toledo - given that it is very much oriented toward tourists - is how many people we encountered who did not speak English. Younger DD takes Spanish in school but it is not, shall we say, her strongest subject. But she was able to help a bit, and we always worked out a form of communication with people, who were more than happy to help us try to understand what they were saying. Looking back, we liked the non English-speaking people the best - they were all helpful and friendly and they were not accosting us in the street trying to sell us something!
After we've seen all the sights we want to see we walk up to the Plaza de Zocodover, we soak up the atmosphere a bit, and we still have time before our train, so DD and I decide we'd like to see the Goyas in the Museu de Santa Cruz. DH has had enough art for the time being, so we split up for a half hour, then meet back in the Plaza to catch a cab back to the train station.
Toledo was lovely and I'm glad we saw it, but I'm ready to leave after about 6 hours there. I did not love it as others have said they do, and it actually felt very touristy to me. I've read it is very different if you stay the night. I wish we'd been able to do that.
We zip back to Madrid on the fabulous high speed train, drop DD back at the apartment, and DH and I head out to replenish our breakfast supplies at the El Corte Ingles in Sol. It's that time of night - all of Madrid is out walking in the streets. We comment on how, back home, streets are probably practically empty right about now and everyone is at home or a relative's house preparing their Thanksgiving meal!
A week or two before our trip DD had told us we were all invited to dinner on Thanksgiving night hosted by the faculty advisor of her program. According to DD the advisor has taken the students out several times and it's always a fabulous meal. For Thanksgiving he has invited all the students and any visiting families. Dinner will be at Loft 39 in Salamanca.
Back at the apartment we get ready for the dinner and Skype with my mother, brothers, and niece and nephews, who are all together in Connecticut for Thanksgiving. We all crowd in front of our computer screens on opposite sides of the Atlantic to try to recreate some togetherness for the holiday. They are all excited to talk to DD, who has been gone since August, and we are excited to talk to my niece, who moved to Austin, Texas for her first job about the same time. I'm sorry to be missing seeing her! They tease us by showing us the apple and pumpkin pies so we will see what we're missing - we reply by showing them Madrid outside the window so they will see what they are missing!
Finally we have to say goodbye to get to our dinner. We take the Metro up to Salamanca and when we get off we feel like we're in a different city! Wide streets, modern, commercial - we could almost be in NY!
Dinner is in two private rooms, with about 60 guests. We greet DD's friends, meet some of their parents, and meet the faculty advisor who I've heard so much about. It's so wonderful to join in DD's world in Madrid and get a feel for her life there. Dinner is not traditional Thanksgiving fare but is influenced by the season - pumpkin ravioli which is fabulous, chicken with some sort of stuffing which is a bit off, and lots of great wine. I think I've fully recovered from my stomach bug and eat and drink heartily, but in fact I think the food may have been more plentiful and rich than I was ready for. By the end of the meal I am not feeling well at all. I manage to last until it is a polite time to go, then whisper to DH that I need to go home, and we need to get a cab because I'm not feeling well enough to walk and navigate the Metro.
The plan on the way home had been to walk by some of the nighttime sights that DD has been wanting to take us to, but I can't do it. I really am feeling badly that we keep putting this off! The taxi takes us past one of the sights - the beautiful Plaza de Cibeles with its impressive fountain and Palace (now City Hall) lit up in colors that change every few seconds. It is quite lovely and I wish I felt well enough to really enjoy it. Luckily, we do finally get to do that another night.
Back at the apartment I'm feeling slightly better, but really the dinner was a bit of a setback and I'm wishing I had been a bit more careful with the eating and drinking. It's late and we have a lot planned for tomorrow, so we all head to bed.
Next: DD's classes are over for the week, and she finally gets to show us her city!
Day 7: Thanksgiving in Toledo
Our plan for Thanksgiving is to spend the day in Toledo (minus study abroad DD, who had class and has been there twice already), Skype with our family back home, and then go out for a dinner hosted by the faculty advisor of DD's program.
I've never been away for a major holiday before. It's odd, particularly if you are in a place that doesn't celebrate that holiday - it's just an ordinary day there. Also, I didn't think I'd mind missing Thanksgiving, but when we got home I really did. The other interesting thing is that although they don't celebrate the holiday, they do observe the day after Thanksgiving as the official start of the Christmas season. All the holiday lights are turned on that day, Christmas fairs open, and they have "Black Friday" sales (which they even call "Black Friday" in English). Why that particular day? In Spain, it's just a Friday in November.
In any event, DH, younger DD and I get a morning train to Toledo. I had not had time to plan this day ahead of time - completely unlike me, not to have done the research. But half an hour on the train was enough time - by the time we arrive I have the options all laid out, and had even read that there is a tourist bus for 5 euros that will take you to the overlook of the city - DD had said we had to see that and she wasn't sure how we were going to get there.
We get off the train and everyone is lining up at the Tourist office. Or what we think is the Tourist office. As we wait on the line I start to realize the woman behind the counter is selling tour packages. There are several packages listed on the wall, but as we get closer it becomes clear that she is selling everyone the exact same package, which she "recommends" for them, and it sounds overpriced for what it is. I go outside to check the bus situation - several buses are there waiting to take people to the overlook and then into town. We continue to wait on the line thinking we will get a map, get some information, and buy a ticket for the bus.
We get to the front of the line and tell the woman that we don't want a tour package, we intend to do our own touring. She gives us a sour look that says she does not recommend this. Can we buy a ticket to the bus, we ask? Oh no, she says, I don't sell those. I only sell tickets to my tours. Can we get a map? No, only if you buy a tour. Aren't you the Tourist Information office? No, I'm not. We are wasting her time and she's on to the next person. She does not tell us that the official Tourist office is a few feet down, but you don't see it because the door going into the station is propped open and the office is behind it (we don't see it until later when we leave). Whoever this company is, they are reeling in all the unsuspecting tourists getting off the train.
We go back outside to see if we can buy a ticket from the bus driver and are dismayed to see that all but one of the buses has left. Guess which one is still there? Right, the tour package one. Now I am really annoyed. The next regular tourist bus won't come for another hour, when the next train arrives. We certainly don't want to wait, so we go to check on the price of a taxi.
The taxi is a deal! (Relatively speaking). For 5 euros they will take you straight to town, for 15 they will take you on a tour of the bridges and miradors leading into town. 15 euros is the same price we would have paid for the three of us to take the bus, and the taxi driver takes us to multiple stops (rather than just one, which I believe is what the bus does, but I could be wrong)) and takes our picture for us at each one! The taxis should have a sign posted right where you get off the train!
We take our taxi tour and are very happy with it until the very end, when the driver purposely drops us directly in front of one of these shops that sell damascene, the hammered metal craft that they sell in Toledo. It is not a convenient place to stop and we are blocking traffic by stopping there. A salesperson is of course standing right in front of the shop, herding people inside.
We're not interested in buying, so we move on. I had read that the best way to see the city is to start at Plaza de Zocodover, walk down and see all the sights that interest you along the way, then take a bus back up. Our taxi dropped us by the Cathedral, though (because that is where his friend's shop is!), so we start there - later we end up having to double back.
We walk around a bit trying to find the entrance to the Cathedral. A man stops to ask if we need help. Something about him is too eagerly helpful (we weren't looking all that lost) and I am suspicious. He does point us to the entrance, though, and we're thinking that maybe he is just a helpful person. Are you planning to visit the Monastery today, he asks? Yes we are. Oh, he says, the Monastery closes at 1pm today - the Cathedral is open all day. Perhaps you want to go to the Monastery first. Really, I say? My books don't mention an early closing on Thursdays. Oh, yes, it's closing, he says. And if you go now, on the way there is my shop....
Seriously? Is this whole day going to be like this?
Luckily it is not. We spend the day visiting the Cathedral, which is quite impressive, Iglesia de Santo Tome and its famous El Greco painting, the Monastery (which is not closing early - big surprise!), and Santa Maria la Blanca Sinagoga. We are charmed by the narrow streets, the buildings, the old world feel. There is incredible art, especially in the Cathedral. We wander the streets a bit and stop to buy mazapan at a shop run by a convent - we need a little gift to bring when we meet DD's Spanish host family in a few days. At lunchtime we wander into a little shop across from the Monastery with a sign saying Produits Typiques. We step inside and are greeted by a lovely middle aged couple. They speak no English, but we manage to make out that the man is telling us he has various kinds of deer sausage typical of the region, and we should try some. Before we can reply he is slicing and setting out a small platter with samples of several types of sausage and urging us to try them. He can make a sandwich with the sausage or with jamon, with cheese, and a drink - 5 euros! We try the sausage and we like it, but opt for the jamon. He makes us lovely sandwiches with olive oil and herbs.
While he is making the sandwiches he suggests we sample the mazapan, which his wife makes by hand. We do. It is very good. She sells it vacuum wrapped for travel, so we buy a box to take home. We go out into the little plaza to eat our sandwiches in the sunshine.
One thing that surprised us in Toledo - given that it is very much oriented toward tourists - is how many people we encountered who did not speak English. Younger DD takes Spanish in school but it is not, shall we say, her strongest subject. But she was able to help a bit, and we always worked out a form of communication with people, who were more than happy to help us try to understand what they were saying. Looking back, we liked the non English-speaking people the best - they were all helpful and friendly and they were not accosting us in the street trying to sell us something!
After we've seen all the sights we want to see we walk up to the Plaza de Zocodover, we soak up the atmosphere a bit, and we still have time before our train, so DD and I decide we'd like to see the Goyas in the Museu de Santa Cruz. DH has had enough art for the time being, so we split up for a half hour, then meet back in the Plaza to catch a cab back to the train station.
Toledo was lovely and I'm glad we saw it, but I'm ready to leave after about 6 hours there. I did not love it as others have said they do, and it actually felt very touristy to me. I've read it is very different if you stay the night. I wish we'd been able to do that.
We zip back to Madrid on the fabulous high speed train, drop DD back at the apartment, and DH and I head out to replenish our breakfast supplies at the El Corte Ingles in Sol. It's that time of night - all of Madrid is out walking in the streets. We comment on how, back home, streets are probably practically empty right about now and everyone is at home or a relative's house preparing their Thanksgiving meal!
A week or two before our trip DD had told us we were all invited to dinner on Thanksgiving night hosted by the faculty advisor of her program. According to DD the advisor has taken the students out several times and it's always a fabulous meal. For Thanksgiving he has invited all the students and any visiting families. Dinner will be at Loft 39 in Salamanca.
Back at the apartment we get ready for the dinner and Skype with my mother, brothers, and niece and nephews, who are all together in Connecticut for Thanksgiving. We all crowd in front of our computer screens on opposite sides of the Atlantic to try to recreate some togetherness for the holiday. They are all excited to talk to DD, who has been gone since August, and we are excited to talk to my niece, who moved to Austin, Texas for her first job about the same time. I'm sorry to be missing seeing her! They tease us by showing us the apple and pumpkin pies so we will see what we're missing - we reply by showing them Madrid outside the window so they will see what they are missing!
Finally we have to say goodbye to get to our dinner. We take the Metro up to Salamanca and when we get off we feel like we're in a different city! Wide streets, modern, commercial - we could almost be in NY!
Dinner is in two private rooms, with about 60 guests. We greet DD's friends, meet some of their parents, and meet the faculty advisor who I've heard so much about. It's so wonderful to join in DD's world in Madrid and get a feel for her life there. Dinner is not traditional Thanksgiving fare but is influenced by the season - pumpkin ravioli which is fabulous, chicken with some sort of stuffing which is a bit off, and lots of great wine. I think I've fully recovered from my stomach bug and eat and drink heartily, but in fact I think the food may have been more plentiful and rich than I was ready for. By the end of the meal I am not feeling well at all. I manage to last until it is a polite time to go, then whisper to DH that I need to go home, and we need to get a cab because I'm not feeling well enough to walk and navigate the Metro.
The plan on the way home had been to walk by some of the nighttime sights that DD has been wanting to take us to, but I can't do it. I really am feeling badly that we keep putting this off! The taxi takes us past one of the sights - the beautiful Plaza de Cibeles with its impressive fountain and Palace (now City Hall) lit up in colors that change every few seconds. It is quite lovely and I wish I felt well enough to really enjoy it. Luckily, we do finally get to do that another night.
Back at the apartment I'm feeling slightly better, but really the dinner was a bit of a setback and I'm wishing I had been a bit more careful with the eating and drinking. It's late and we have a lot planned for tomorrow, so we all head to bed.
Next: DD's classes are over for the week, and she finally gets to show us her city!
Dec 21st, 2015, 08:27 PM
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Yes, maitaitom, it is a great shower! Really nice apartment - we were very comfortable there and the location is terrific.
annhig, we were disappointed in our Toledo experience too! People so love it - I was also looking forward to loving it, but sadly I did not. But then, I loved Ronda and some people don't, so you never know.
The stomach bug really put a damper on the whole trip for me! But the worst of it was over by this time. And I reminded myself that the primary reason I was there was to see DD, so all was good.
She is in Rome now, by the way! Her semester ended last week and she's off on a month of traveling! Meanwhile, I'm still writing our trip report! Two more days to write about!
annhig, we were disappointed in our Toledo experience too! People so love it - I was also looking forward to loving it, but sadly I did not. But then, I loved Ronda and some people don't, so you never know.
The stomach bug really put a damper on the whole trip for me! But the worst of it was over by this time. And I reminded myself that the primary reason I was there was to see DD, so all was good.
She is in Rome now, by the way! Her semester ended last week and she's off on a month of traveling! Meanwhile, I'm still writing our trip report! Two more days to write about!
