Adiós Amigo

***Side Note***
Go read "A Fun-Filled Weekend" before you read this post! They got switched around, sorry!

Overall my biggest two observations while I was in Spain were these.

1. I am an anxious flier. I don’t like to travel alone and I get really panicked the day before I leave for a flight or train ride alone. I discovered this on Thursday, May 5^th as I was crying at the thought of taking a taxi to the airport and how afraid I was at the thought of missing my flight. This revelation continued on through the night when I woke up several times to check my phone and make sure I didn’t oversleep, and I had a dream that Ardena, Ana, and Carmen were all helping me pack because I was running late and was going to miss my flight. Thank goodness I only have one more train ride alone after this trip.

2. The Spanish are very passionate people. They are passionate about their country, their soccer, their food, and each other. The term “PDA” does not exist in Spain. Couples didn’t care where they were or who was watching, they were all about getting as close as possible. I also think they are super humans and don’t need as much air as the rest of us because they didn’t come up for air EVER. So to all you Spaniards, thank you for letting me experience that aspect of your culture. Sincerely, a girl who is missing her boyfriend even more.

My last few days in Spain were a blast. Toledo is another world heritage city and on Monday, Paulette and I made the drive there. It was a beautiful city! I think out of all the ones I saw, Toledo was my favorite. I was able to see a cathedral which was amazing (they always are) and I saw two mosques. Yes, you did read that correctly, a Catholic cathedral in same city as an Islamic mosque. How is this possible? Believe it or not Toledo was the religious center in Spain for many years, it was even considered for the capitol of Spain. Three religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism lived in harmony in this city. Queen Isabel wasn’t having any of that though, and expelled the Moors and later the Jews from the city. Many of the old mosques and synagogues have been transformed into small churches. I also got to go on a bus tour of the whole city and it was just beautiful. The city is tucked away in the mountains and there is a river that runs by it. I had a great time.

Toledo

The big cathedral in the back

Part of the old wall of the city

On the train/car ride

It was a tad windy on the tour

Can you see the aqueduct?

The ceiling of a mosque

part of the mosque

...more of the mosque

Toledo

Kate arrived the past weekend and was staying with a friend of hers in Madrid. On Tuesday I met Kate and Katy in the city and we walked around, went to the park, el Retiro, and went back to the restaurant Katy and I had been to the week before. (Can you tell how much I really loved those potatoes? No, it was not just the wine!) We all had a great time and it was great to see Katy again after our picnic in the park cancelation day. After dinner, I said goodbye to Katy for the final time and Kate and I went on an adventure to find this bar her friend had told her about.

Now I may have mentioned this before, but a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl sticks out like tall Asian woman. So here Kate and I are, in some back alleys of Madrid, looking for a bar. We were no longer in touristy areas and I was a bit sketched out. When we finally find the bar, there is not one person that speaks English. Of course there’s a soccer game on and the entire place is hoppin’. We just grabbed two beers on tap and sat down to enjoy ourselves while trying not to be bothered by the feeling that people were staring. On the plus side, the beer was good and we got some pistachios. When Kate went up to pay for our drinks, the bar tender was so busy he didn’t seem to notice. We waited for a few minutes and realizing that the place was just too busy, I told Kate to leave and we got out of that bar before we had to pay for our drinks! Call it dine and ditch, but the man should have asked us to pay when we first ordered. I think he just wanted to give it to us for free!

***Side Note***
I don't have many pictures of this day. I think I was trying to call less attention to myself being a tourist by doing my best to blend in. It never really worked.

Wednesday, I met up with Kate again and this time her friend Danielle came along. We went to see the Royal Palace. It was a cool palace; it was modeled after Versailles so I had flashbacks to Paris. There was an old pharmacy where they would basically store, create and distribute medicines and drugs. It was exciting to see and the science part of me loved it. There was a room to distill and extract different chemicals and that was awesome. I must say, the distillation equipment they used is a bit outdated…

The inner courtyard of the Royal Palace, looking at the cathedral

The Royal backyard

 After the palace Danielle took Kate and I to this restaurant that on Wednesdays, everything is a euro! We each got three sandwiches, two orders or fries, and these fun drinks. The drinks were a mix of sprite and wine and were really good. They didn’t have much wine in them but that was completely okay with me. I loved it. Needless to say we got full fast. Danielle left for work and Kate I headed to see the royal gardens and then go look at some souvenir shops. I must say, for the men in my life (and by that I mean my Dad) it is really hard to shop for you! I want to get something you’ll like but that is also practical. Mostly I just see nicknack stuff that you’ll never use. Kate feels the same way with her dad.

Anyways, after our disappointing shopping experience, we went to find chocolate and churros! I had been waiting for this since I first got to Spain. We found a little place that Katy had told me about and we ordered some. The chocolate was good, but the churros weren’t very hot. I think it could be a really amazing, delicious dessert or snack, but ours just wasn’t the best quality. We then went to Templo de Debod, an Egyptian temple was given to Spain from Egypt as a gift. Kind of a strange gift if you ask me but no one is so I’ll keep my mouth shut. We had a beautiful view of Spain and an amazing sunset. It was a perfect ending to our day, my time with Kate in Madrid, and to Spain itself.

 
***Side Note***
After knowing Kate for over half my life, it was such an amazing gift to be able to experience Europe with her. Kate has been there through all my embarrassing teenage years, my middle-school crushes and heart breaks, my triumphs and failures (but there's not been many of those ;)) and has been one of the best and truest friends through it all. I cannot tell you all enough how amazing and special it was to have three different trips that we will always cherish together and that I can look back on with the fondest memories. Kate, if you are reading this, I love you and am so thankful and blessed to have you in my life.

Thursday I just got ready to go back home. Paulette made a delicious dinner and I tried some Spanish white wine which was as good as everyone says it is. Paulette was amazingly kind and woke up at 4:45am to take me to the airport. I didn’t have any trouble with my flights and everything went smoothly for my journey back to Graz.

When I was flying out of London to get back to Graz I happened to look out of the window and I saw water! Now don't laugh at me, but for a moment I panicked and though I might have gotten on the wrong flight and it was taking me somewhere other than Austria. (I actually had this feeling the entire time I was on my way back to Graz.) But then I realized that I was flying over the English Channel.
!!!!!!!!
For some reason, this is an amazing thing to me! There were boats and I was wondering if people were swimming. I also was wondering if you stood on one side and looked toward the other, could you see the land or is the channel too big? Not sure, but it was pretty amazing to me and I just looked out my window for the 10 minutes we spent flying over it. I was just in awe.

It was actually nice to be back in Graz and back to my room. I realized I missed everyone more than I thought I would. My time in London and Spain was absolutely amazing and two trips that I will never forget. Kate and Paulette were wonderful hostesses and I appreciate all they did for me. I loved Spain and definitely want to go back there someday. It’s so beautiful and has such a rich culture.

If I haven't already expressed my feelings of gratitude, I want to say how thankful I am to Paulette and her family for taking me in. They made it that much more special to be in Spain and have them help me out and show me around. I simply loved it. 

Adios Spain, until we meet again.

Sara