Weekends in Paradise - Toledo and San Sebastian

¡Hola amigos!

I apologize for the loooong delay on my part.  I have been getting into the groove of Spain and actual classes (I unfortunately still have these here), the result of which has been limited computer time other than that which is absolutely necessary for homework.  Our program directors in Madrid want us to spend as little time on the computer as possible because, in their words, “we can be on our computers anywhere.”  Though a bit disorienting, I generally agree with their advice!

Okay – back to my new Spanish life.  Last Friday I went to the Prado for my first time.  It is ENORMOUS, so I think I may have to work my way through the museum in shifts.  They have free admission every weekday from 6-8pm, which is awesome for those of us on a student budget.  I saw El Greco (awesome), Velázquez, Rubens, Van Dyck, and other amazing artists.  It was also great to see Las Meninas after going to see Picasso’s renditions of the work in Barcelona.  

Me!...in an awkward tourist photo

On Saturday, my friends and I got up early to take a bus to Toledo.  Toledo is beautiful, basically everything you’d want from a tiny old Spanish town – stone streets too narrow to drive through, warm plazas filled with families drinking sangria (don't worry, not the kids), an gorgeous cathedral and convent, marzipan everywhere (a Toledo classic and one of my favorite treats), and breathtaking views from the top of the walled fortress.  My friends and I followed Rick Stevess advice to just “wander through the town and get lost in the tiny streets.”  We're discovering that Rick Steves is as cool as my mom says he is :).  We finished our day with El Greco’s house and museum, for he lived in Toledo and supposedly died there. 

Toledo!

On Thursday night, after our second week of classes, my friends and I piled into another autobús for a 6-hour journey to San Sebastian.  I may or may not have forced this trip upon the group – I am fascinated with the Basque region and absolutely had to go to the cite of Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises!”  We also met up in San Sebastian with some of my best friends studying in Paris!  Our hostel may have been a bit overwhelmed with the number of Stanford girls, but it was a blast.  San Sebastian is paradise.  We spent the weekend eating gelato, relaxing on the beach, and taking a glorious hike along the coast up to a statue on the top of a hill overlooking the city.  We literally couldn't pull ourselves away from the view for at least an hour.  To my future husband - I plan on honeymooning in San Sebastian.  Period.  End of story.

Tapas!  In San Sebastian, traditional tapas are called "pinchos" and are everywhere.  Basically you walk into a bar, ask for a plate, grab what you want, through your garbage on the floor (seriously, everyone does it), and then pay on the honor's system.  I had some of the best seafood I've ever had.  Crab, gambas (shrimp), cod, sardines, anchovies, and some people in the group even tried baby eels.

The beautiful walk along the water and then hike to the statue:

On Saturday, we went to a bar in San Sebastian to watch the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona football (soccor) game.  This is a HUGE DEAL.  Seriously, all of our host moms were in bars watching the game and probably had been praying for a week in favor of Madrid.  My host mom gave me the "real unbiased scoop," but then swore me to secrecy afterward.  Apparently Madrid used to always win because they have stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, but Barcelona recently got a new coach and now plays better as a team.  After watching the game it was really apparent how true it was that the Barcelona players play beautifully together.  That being said, I think we're all in favor of Barcelona (in particular, el jugador guapo #16)...but we're going to have to be sneaky about this back in Madrid.  

After the game, we all piled onto a bus at 12:30am (to avoid paying for another night at the hostel) and I returned home at 6am to find a juice box and dunkin donut on my desk as an early morning treat.  Our mom is so sweet!  After a much-needed nap, we woke up to go to Palm Sunday mass with our host mom, which we followed with tapas y bebidas (drinks) in a local bar and then lunch.  I am currently procrastinating having to read 50 pages of Cervantes in Spanish...let's just say it's hard to return to "real life" after a weekend on heaven.

I love you all and always love to receive updates, advice, suggestions, or general thoughts about life.  I'm think about every one of you all the time!

Annie