Toledo, Spain

For my birthday we took a day trip to Toledo, Spain, mostly because we needed to get out of the city for a little bit. The trip was nice and Toledo is a beautiful old city, but the tour was a little odd. I think part of it was that I was incredibly tired, but the whole thing feels like a blur now. The tour guide had to do the entire thing in both English and Spanish, which meant there was a lot of down time where I wasn't sure what was going on, and all I could think about is how boring it must be to give tours in two different languages.

It was interesting to see the impact of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim influences all around the city and there were some truly beautiful sights to see. Since the town is so old some of the streets are very narrow and we saw some pretty banged up cars that obviously had a hard time getting through small alleys. None of the drivers seemed to mind though, I guess that is just life for them.

We saw a former synagogue that looked more like a mosque than anything else and learned a lot about Spain's tumultuous religious past. In general it seems like Toledo was a really nice place for everyone until the inquisition.

After our day trip, which obviously did not leave much of an impression, we drank sangria and watched life go by which was very nice. Then we left for the El Camino.

 

Madrid: Tapas and Hangovers

Basically all I did in Madrid was eat and drink, which is apparently completely acceptable by local standards. The trek into the city was painful, as usual, with a few different train rides ending in an overnight trip from Barcelona. It never fails that the longest train ride will always be the most uncomfortable, and with the lights on all night and a lady chatting away on her phone I did not get any sleep. This was particularly unpleasant because once I got to my hostel I had about 7 hours before I could check in and get some sleep- going over 24 hours without sleep is a lot harder the older you get.

Before my mom got into the city I hung out with a few different people I met from other hostels and of course we did the important things in life- we ate an impossible amount of Spanish food and drank as much as possible. Sangria is one of the greatest things on earth, but when on a pub crawl where you pay 13 euros for unlimited sangria for an hour the way it tastes holds surprisingly little importance. The day after that was not very cute for anyone but it did make me really happy when the Macarena played in one of the clubs.

The pub crawls in any city are pretty similar, but in Madrid I did do a tapas tour with a bunch of people from different hostels and that was a new experience. I was surprised how familiar most of the food was. There were little grilled cheese sandwiches, fried cheese balls, bread with meat and cheese, and potatoes with cheese sauce. Oh, and the best chicken wings ever, but nothing too different from what I eat normally. Not that it was disappointing, just unexpected. I will never complain about cheese.

Anyways after eating and drinking my way through a few days my mom got here! Needless to say we also drank a lot of wine together, but we did some sight seeing as well. We spent the first day catching up with each other and on sleep, but after that we saw some really beautiful sights. Near the museums in Madrid there is an amazing park with the prettiest little lake and a glass atrium, and right across the street was a peaceful little botanical garden where we spent most of a day before going to the Prado and seeing some art that we weren't very impressed with. I guess I am just not that cultured. I was amused to see tulips in the botanical garden labeled "Washington" though!

We also went to the royal palace in Madrid and I have to say it was the most impressive palace I've ever seen. If you are ever in Madrid you need to see this place, there is a room where the walls and ceiling are completely covered in porcelain, and another room with embroidered walls. It's absolutely incredible.

The best part about Madrid was that we stayed in a hotel, after over a month in hostels it was a really welcome change of pace. Plus there is something about Spain that makes you feel so laid back, all you want to do is have a drink, eat, and take a nap, and it is glorious. Sitting on the street sampling wine every day is definitely something I could get used to, especially since they give you food any time you order a drink. If I ever moved here my liver would be so sad.

We did spend my birthday in Madrid, but I will get into that later.

Lyon, France

Lyon is one of the most incredible cities I have visited so far. The entire center is a World Heritage cite, so the city is incredibly old and full of culture. Every corner you turn there is an amazing monument, statue, or fountain that puts the cites in other cities to shame.

I only stayed in Lyon for two days, and unfortunately my hostel was a bit out of the way, but there were so many beautiful places to visit while I was there. On my first day I walked around one half of the city and checked out the main square. I went and got picnic materials and ate in the square while I watched life go by for the locals. There was an amazing local market down one of the rivers that runs through the city, and so many beautiful squares nestled between shops that it's hard to explain. I ended the day in the public park, one of the biggest and most impressive parks I've ever been to, and took a sunset walk back to my hostel.

The next day I hiked, so many stairs I can't tell you, up to the Roman ruins in Lyon and they were breathtaking. The ruins are in amazingly good shape and they give you the most incredible view of the city below. I sat on a nice patch of grass in what used to be a Roman room and took everything in. The ruins consist of two sites, both of which look like amphitheaters, one bigger and one smaller. There are also some artifacts of old columns and stonework. The way so much of it is intact is just awe inspiring.

Next to the ruins is the church, which is so simple on the outside but so ornate on the inside, and surrounded by beautiful gardens and walking paths. I sat in the church for a while to take it all in, and on my walk back down I got to just admire the views. Downhill from the church is the old part of Lyon, although all of it is old this part is particularly historic, and here I enjoyed so many wonderful side streets and shops while I hunted for the troubous, which are secret tunnels that connect streets. Lyon is famous for them, but those things are hard to find. I did come across a couple of them and they are amazing, I plan to come back here at some point and hunt for more.

From Lyon I had an epic train journey to Madrid, but that will have to wait for another day.