Here are the last few days in a nutshell:
This past Thursday, I did a little more exploring in Madrid. I spent the majority of the morning reading Harry Potter and then went to the Palacio de El Pardo around 3 after lunch. It was the first time that I used the bus system here in Madrid and fortunately for me I did not have to make any changes in order to get to my final destination. All I had to do was walk about 2 minutes to the metro/regional and city bus station. El Pardo is an interesting little suburb about 20 minutes from Madrid. The palace was another one of the Bourbon's hunting lodges surrounding Madrid. The building itself has had a very interesting role in Spanish history as it was more recently the residence of Franco for 21 or so years. It was particularly interesting to visit Franco's bedroom. There were two small twin beds next to each other and what appeared to be a desk in the corner was actually a small altar. The lid of the desk opens up and reveal a rather large Christ figure, whilst a small stool flips over for a place to kneel and prayer.
This past weekend, I went on another planned excursion with Hamilton this time to Salamanca, the towns of Castillo de Rodrigo and Almeida of Portugal, and Avila. The towns were really very incredible.
Salamanca is a vibrant college town with students not just from all over the Spain, but from all over the globe. There is a relatively interesting cathedral and a number of old university buildings that date back to the 12 or 14 the century. I cannot remember exactly. After a tour of the town Friday, my friends and I went out for tapas later that night. I had found what seemed to be an interesting bar in my Spanish guide book. The Bar was MoMo and the food was unbeatable and not too pricey. A sliced egg plant, proscuito, and parmesan cheese over a toasted slice of bread was probably the best tapa that I have had.
The next day, we visited Portuguese frontier and two very charming border towns. It was interesting going to Portugal in order to see a part of Spanish culture. Since Portugal was part of the Spanish kingdom there are many sights - castles, convents, and church - paid for and built by the Spanish. The first town was Rodrigo de Catillo. As suggested by the name, there was an old Castle. What I found more interesting in this town was the small chapel dedicated to the pilgrams making there way to Santiago de Compostela, the location of Saint James´s tomb. It was additionally interesting that I could actually understand a little bit of what our Portuguese tour guide was saying. Portuguese, while it may look similar to Spanish on paper, is completely different from Spanish in pronounciation. Next, we went to Almeida. The town itself is not too exciting, however the fortress surrounding the town is incredible. The fortress itself makes a shape of a star, which is pretty neat.
The next day, we visited Portuguese frontier and two very charming border towns. It was interesting going to Portugal in order to see a part of Spanish culture. Since Portugal was part of the Spanish kingdom there are many sights - castles, convents, and church - paid for and built by the Spanish. The first town was Rodrigo de Catillo. As suggested by the name, there was an old Castle. What I found more interesting in this town was the small chapel dedicated to the pilgrams making there way to Santiago de Compostela, the location of Saint James´s tomb. It was additionally interesting that I could actually understand a little bit of what our Portuguese tour guide was saying. Portuguese, while it may look similar to Spanish on paper, is completely different from Spanish in pronounciation. Next, we went to Almeida. The town itself is not too exciting, however the fortress surrounding the town is incredible. The fortress itself makes a shape of a star, which is pretty neat.
After returning to Salamanca later that afternoon, a few of us went out for tapas. This time we discovered a slightly cheaper bar in the heart of the Plaza Mayor. To start, I asked for a caña or a beer on tap and then chose my first tapa, a toasted piece of bread laden with squid legs and shrimp. I had a few more tapas and a few more beers and left having paid something like 3 euros. Another interesting thing about the bars in Spain is that when you've finished using a napkin you are more than welcome to throw it on the ground. It's not uncommon to walk into a bar and see the floor almost entirely covered by napkins. While I'm on napkins, I want to mention that the paper napkins here are less like paper and more like wax paper. None of us Americans seem to understand it as the napkins really don't do anything.
The following day on our way back to Madrid, we went to the town of Avila, one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe. The old wall surrounding Avila still protects the town. Unlike what happened in other medieval cities throughout Europe, the townspeople of Avila decided to keep the walls intact, which has paid off in a age huge from a tourism perspective. Avila is the only city in Europe to still have all of its town walls intact as they were in medieval times, which puts Avila's fame second only to the Great Wall of China. I also had the opportunity to try one of the region's typical sweets - egg yolk and sugar. The part candy - part desert really did look just like an egg yolk in its paper wrapper. To no surprise, it was a little gummy and the flavor was a little eggy too. I liked it and will be trying to find a box of the sweets to bring home to the States for Christmas.
I'm waking up tomorrow at 5 to fly to Brussels. This weekend should be crazy (and safe). No worries. I'll be headed to Brussels, Cologne, Dusseldorf, and Amsterdam. You'll have to check back Monday or Tuesday for another post.
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