Toledo, Flamenco, y El Rastro

Toledo was in a word: breathtaking. This city, which used to be Spain's capital, is hilly and filled with streets so narrow I was shocked to see cars on them. We had to take about 6-7 outdoor escalators up and up until we finally reached the top of Toledo. Mind you it was an absolutely windy and freezing day! But well worth the trip.

View of Toledo

Streets of Toledo

In Toledo we went into the oldest cathedral in Spain. Unfortunately they didn't allow us to take photos, but trust me when I say it's breathtaking on the inside. El Greco was commissioned to paint for this church, and they had a mini-museum on the inside filled with his paintings. El Greco always was my favorite in art history class so this was a nice surprise! Next we had a 2.5 hour break during which we ate lunch and shopped around the beautiful city. Then we saw an old Jewish temple and took some last photos before it was time to head back to Madrid.

Overlooking the river

Following our trip to Toledo I went out to a tiny hole in the wall Cuban restaurant for dinner where we didn't eat until past midnight. I felt like a true madrilena. The food was kinda bad-my yellow rice that I was looking forward to was cold by the time it got to me, but at least the daiquiris were good!

The next day I met up with my friend Kristely for what turned out to be the best shopping day in my life. Here in Madrid they're having huge sales and I bought some really nice new Spanish clothes for very cheap. Talk about traveling on a budget! To top off that great day, we decided to see a Flamenco show. It was there that it finally hit me that I'M IN SPAIN! Where the hell else would I see this? Flamenco isn't really my scene but I'm glad I saw out because of the cultural significance here in Spain. And boy do they stomp their feet. After flamenco they had just a piano player and a singer and I said, "Hell no. I gotta get out of here." That was really not my taste. So it was off to the pub with some friends after that.

Flamenco!

 This morning I woke up before 9am to go to El Rastro! It's this market that happens on Sundays when pretty much all the other stores are closed and you can find anything there. It was a little overwhelming but I rested assured knowing that I can come back any Sunday.

This continues pretty much indefinitely. You can find anything at El Rastro

Now I wait for the short but somewhat dreaded school week to set in before heading to Prague on Thursday morning!

xoxo

P.S. I just realized I forgot to include my visit to Madrid's royal palace! I honestly don't know why this place doesn't get as much attention as Versailles, if not more. Napoleon was actually jealous of his brother who got to live in the Madrid palace-that's how awesome it is. Being in the same room where centuries of royalty used to sit just gave me goosebumps.