Today, Tish, Tash and I left Madrid at 8:30 a.m. for Toledo. We thought the bus ride would be about an hour from here but it took a little longer. There are buses that have direct service to Toledo (i.e. no stops) and those that don't. The direct buses leave about every hour on the hour but the ones that make stops along the way to pick up and drop off people tend to leave every 30 minutes on the half hour. So, it was about a 90-minute trip and we saw a lot of little towns along the way.
Since we were all hungry, we had a snack in the bus station cafeteria. I've been surprised just how good the bus station food has been since I arrived. I ordered a tortilla espanola and it was the biggest one I've had since I arrived ... and one of the better ones! From there, we walked uphill into Toledo to the Plaza de Zocodover. Tish had read in her guide book that there was a 45-minute sightseeing tour of Toledo on a tourist train. We decided to ride the train and had a great time winding through the streets of Toledo's old town and later seeing views from La Cornisa area, as well as the banks of the Tajo River. The weather was ideal here again today, sunny, warm and a nice breeze all day. It was a perfect day to be out exploring a city.
After the train ride, we walked through the Old Town and I did my first shopping since I arrived. I found gifts for my two nieces and am planning to do the rest of my shopping in Barcelona so I don't have to carry everything around with me. Tish and Tash also did some shopping, and we all bought a few things. Tish also found out that there is an outdoor market in Toledo every Tuesday, so we walked over there for a while to explore. It was an interesting place and the vendors were selling everything, from boots to belts to bras to beach towels and more. It's always an adventure to walk through an outdoor market!
From there, we found a place for lunch outdoors and then made out way back to the bus station to catch the 3 p.m. direct bus back to Madrid. I met up with Tish, Tash and Tish's friends later in the evening for dinner. Tish studied here in college and lived with a host family for 10 months, so her Spanish sister Paloma and some of her friends joined us for a dinner of tapas near the Plaza Mayor. One of her friends writes a blog in Spanish about U.S. politics, among other topics, while the other friend translates videogames and other items from different languages into Spanish. It was one of the best nights so far, as we really had a good time sampling a variety of Spanish foods and talking. We talked about everything from Cuba to politics to riding donkeys through the streets of Granada, a city in southern Spain. It was great to use Spanish to talk about politics in both Spain and the United States and really gave me a chance to practice talking about more complex topics. If you're reading this Tish ... thanks for inviting me to come along! Tomorrow, Tish, Tash, Paloma and I are going to the Juanes' concert. Can't wait!!!
We walked around the Plaza Mayor and Gran Via after dinner to see Madrid at night. The Plaza Mayor is an interesting place at night. There are restaurants all around the plaza, and many people were still enjoying dinner as we made our way around the square around 10:30 p.m. There were also a lot of people out selling everything from small toy dogs that barked to bubbles. After walking around a little more, I returned to my hotel and they made their way back to Paloma's house.
It was a terrific day in Toledo and a wonderful evening in Madrid, spending time with an old friend and meeting several new friends. This is the Spain I have wanted to experience since I arrived here, and I finally discovered it tonight, with friends.
Hasta luego!
--Justin
I'm so glad you were able to come with us, Justin!
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