Sunday, September 30, 2007

Estoy mui bien!

Hola amigos! Hoy es domingo y camine mucho.

This morning, I awakened to Kaylene rustling through her pack to find her flashlight and realized my watch alarm did not ring as it was set for 7 am this morning. Oh....what are vacations for if you can´t sleep until the last minute, throw on some clothes and head out for the day. Actually, it didn´t matter much given my backpack had not yet arrived at the hostal. So, yes, I did wear the same lovely attire for another day..

Our group gathered in the coffee shop; we enjoyed our European breakfast of prociutto, cheese, bread and cafe con leche, then took a brief walk to the metro. We caught a train, then bus to Toledo, an ancient city of coexisting religious groups - Catholic, Jewish and Muslim. Toledo is also the home of El Greco, the famous painter, who has many art pieces throughout the city. On one corner, there is a simple synogogue with a striking interior with elaborate gold carving on the walls., A few meters away, the alcazar (mosque)piered above all other structures, but was unfortunately closed for renovation. The most phenomenal structure was the Catholic cathedral filled with extraordinary El Greco, Velasquez and other art pieces. Other previous pieces included gold, metal, alabaster, and walnut wood. Somewhat hidden an altar was literally carved into the ceiling to allow more light into the holy structure. While walking through the cathedral, red hat were hanging from the ceiling. Interestingly, these hats were located just above the burial place of bishops who passed over the years. The hats are expected to remain in place until they rot and fall.

On to lunch....I was so proud of myself for putting my Spanish to use. I ordered delcious championes and calamares (mushrooms and squid)and each was tasty. Of course a little tinto vino from La Mancha perfectly completed the meal. Delicioso!

After spending several hours in toledo, the group headed back to our hostal for a break. A shower was in order as to prepare us for the next shift of site'seeing....more tapas...actually this time I enjoyed paella, while others enjoyed octupus, pigs ears and potato omelete....an OF COURSE VINO TINTO!

OK.... I plan to abruptly end this evenings blog, as Kaylene and I head back for some rest before our long day of travelling to sevilla. I´ll write more later.....
Chao!
LeeAnn

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE paella - at least the paella I've had in restaurants in the States, and as they taught how to make it at the Disney Institute - served with gazpacho as a first course & some grappa! Yum! I usually get sangria with paella at a restaurant. That would be so cool to have it in Spain - you go, girls! - Sooz