Beauty Sleep

As we sit back on our freshly made beds (thanks Isabel) and reflect on our weekend we realize how exhausted we actually are. Our time here has been a constant go go go in the best possible way. On Friday, we made plans to meet up with some SLU friends at a local Starbucks to explore the city on foot. Of course, we were lost within five minutes and our stubbornness was prompted by the knowledge of how American we would sound by asking for directions to a Starbucks. After a momentary lapse in direction and quick consultation with a Yankee Candle boutique employee, we were (somewhat) set on the right direction. Finally, we saw the gleaming green letters and our friends sitting outside. The six of us (us three noobs and our friends Lauren, Kaleigh, and Meghan) made our way to Plaza de España where we continued onward into the city, being the most obnoxious tourists to live, ever. After Plaza de España we headed to Retiro Park and Sol. In Retiro Park, we stumbled upon a hidden art museum and a crystal palace.

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At Retiro Park... what you might call "stunning"

 Suddenly we realized it was cinco (working on my Spanish, guys) o’clock and decided to head back. Of course, not without getting a little lost and enjoying some free churros con chocolate. Much to my and Renatta’s excitement, we spotted a hot dog stand that was in no question a required stop. Considering we get lost every time we step out of this apartment, it’s no surprise that we haven’t managed to relocate the bliss of the hot dog stand. However to our (Renatta’s) amazement peanut butter IS in fact sold at a local market. If you know Renatta you know that this means two things:

1. she completely disregarded the price and 2. she isn’t sharing.

Saturday morning, we were suddenly awoken by Izzy as she quickly clapped and uttered words that of course I didn’t understand. However, my lack of Spanish didn’t matter when I saw the look of horror on Renatta’s face and realizing that, once again, we had slept through our alarms and were late for our trip to Monasterio de Piedra. As we scrambled to get our things together and get ourselves out the door, Isabel tossed us some breakfast and shoved us out the door (as demonstrated by the following video at around 40 seconds, but substitute the snowballs for muffins).

With a LOT of luck we somehow made our fifteen minute walk to school in less than ten and climbed on the bus. Our journey to the Montaserio was a two-hour bus ride aka nap time.

Mal keeping Renatta warm on the frigid bus ride

  This trip included a too long tour of the monastery but was followed by a hiking excursion equipped with waterfalls! Being on a trip with fellow tourists really makes all of us way too camera happy, and Laura, the Queen of Candids once again exhausted her camera batteries. Thankfully, Renatta and I both had ours. Collectively I believe our picture count to be shamelessly high but we continue on nonetheless. That night, we ventured out to an Irish pub and grill, Dubliners, where we were graced by the coincidental presence of Ellen (our previously mentioned girl crush) and met some more SLU students and got an insider’s take on our new home J

The best part of our Monasterio day trip

 As our day trip to Toledo approached, our uncertainty about the voyage increased as well. We remarkably managed to wake up on time and grudgingly made our way to meet the bus with a few minutes to spare… until we reached the door to the outside and realized we forgot our umbrellas, resulting in yet another mad dash to the bus. Sensing a pattern here?

We hopped on the bus (last ones of course) and proceeded to take a mid morning siesta. As we arrived in Toledo we woke up in a fog. Literally. The acclaimed “breathtaking” views of the city were completely blocked by a thick cloud and freezing temperatures. As everyone in the group shivered uncontrollably (Laura currently continues to do so) our tour guide recommended grabbing a coffee to battle the weather. We gravitated to the McDonalds (typical Americans) and then back to the best tour guide on the planet. Minus the fact that his English wasn’t particularly spot on considering he thought that “elaborate” meant to produce. The group of us, 52 to be exact, was guided through the twists and turns of Toledo’s insanely small streets where we learned about the history and culture. Our tour guide stressed that the city housed (relative) peace to groups of Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Also, Toledo has the second most monuments in the world, second to Rome (naturally). We were taken to the Cathedral, mosque, synagogue, and even an underground well-ish thing. Fun Fact there was indeed a reason why we thought that the entire city looked like a movie set. Every Lord of the Rings movie, something yaya and more were filmed exactly where we were. Thankfully, the Sun slowly crept out and the fog lifted to reveal the beauty of the ancient city.

Cathedral Primada in Toledo

 After about two hours of the tour (and Renatta and I literally chanting for food) we said our goodbyes to the guide and were allotted a few hours of exploring time. This meant getting lost again, and with my lack of expertise at reading maps, I decided to document the map reading by taking too many pictures of the girls looking embarrassingly touristy.

This is not fake.

We managed to find our way back to the bus in time and claimed the back seat, the best for napping. The three of us came home to Izzy and yet another dinner where I understand 50% of the conversation (VERY generous percentage).

After the unbelievable past few days, we return to a somewhat reality of classes and schoolwork tomorrow. Here’s to the inevitable “getting lost on the way to the first day of school” post to come.

One last view of Toledo