Hola de Toledo: Primeras Impresiones

      Well, I have once again failed to write for the past few days! (oooops). I'll share some of the most memorable moments of first impressions in Madrid and Toledo. Two days ago, I met up with the group in Madrid. My roomie, the awesomely vintage and spunky Gracie Ramsdell, was sound asleep in her bed when I came in to the room. I walked into a dark room, saw the outline of a body in the bed, and then clumsily fumbled for a light switch that wouldn't turn on the main light. As I slowly unpacked my bags, I pondered whether I should wake her, or awkwardly wait on the bed next to her (the twin beds in most hotel rooms are pushed right next to each other) and stare at her face like a creeper until she got an eery feeling and woke up. Sparing me much psychological trouble, she woke up before I finished organizing my things, with a bright and cheery "Hello, I'm Gracie! What time is it?". That was 2:30 p.m., and she had just woken up for the day. 

     Gracie and I then wandered near the hotel and sat for some coffee to kill time before the tour. On the way back in from the panoramic tour of the city (again going with the theme of awkward first impressions), we got into the elevator with a Spanish man and were talking about our plans for that night. Gracie asked me "Oh, do you hear that beeping?", I replied "no", and continued to tell her that we were going to go grab Camila for snacks and the man goes, "your purse". Of course, that whole time the elevator wasn't moving and the beeping was because Gracie's purse was blocking the elevator doors from closing (stupid Americans!). That night, a group of about ten of us went out to dinner at "La Lola Loca", and we were probably the most complicated group ever, because every time the waitress suggested something for the whole table, we all looked at each other and discussed for ever before deciding what to order. We settled on sharing some Sangria and nachos, and then ordered our own plates. I had "Macarrones al horno", which was basically Mac & Cheese, but with a twist - buffalo sauce! It was muy rico! 

Day 2 with ISA: August 31st (MADRID)

     Today, we went to el Museo del Prado (again...this time with a guided tour though! AKA no interpretation mistakes for me like the one with the "sickly" Jesus) and el Museo Reina Sofia. Definitely discovered a love for Salvador Dali's work. In the afternoon, Corinne, Megan and I went and explored the city a bit, walking to La Puerta del Sol, El Palacio Real y los Criptos Neorrománicos. Let's just say we also "explored a little bit" after getting off at the subway station that we were told was the nearest to our hotel. It's crazy that I have stayed in three different zones of Madrid and has been really interesting to explore it, each time from a different starting point, and each time discovering something new and unique to the city. 

     Last night for dinner, we (Corinne, Megan, Gracie and I) went to an Asian buffet and the food goes around on A CONVEYER BELT! Coolest thing ever. 

Day 3: Madrid ------> Toledo
     
     Today, the bus departed at 9:15 a.m. from the hotel in Madrid (NH Zurbano) for Toledo. On the bus, some of the kids in the Valencia group (needless to say, the ones that only speak English and haven't made an effort to speak Spanish since they got here) could not get over how cool they were for having gone out and getting hammered the night before, and made sure that they spoke loud enough for the whole bus to hear as they said the same things over and over again (ie: "oh, floor one was such a RAVE!" "I'm still drunk", "wohh, all the double shots!!", etc.). I took it upon myself to make them a meme (see below). 

**END RANT HERE**

 After arriving, we went on two tours (1st, on a bus; 2nd, on foot). The city has really antique architecture, lot of cobblestone roads and is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Blogspot is being really slow downloading my pictures, so I might put them up later (either here or facebook). 

Un abrazo,
Katie