Since I have been in Spain, I feel as though I have been putting so much of my focus into scheduling trips to other countries, rather than taking a minute to explore the vastness of the country that I am currently living in. Going to Toledo, Spain, with my school’s program was such a relief. Prior to departing for the city within, I had heard different things about the quint town, yet what I heard varied immensely. One day, someone told me that it is such a fun // cute town, with lots to do, and lots to look at, and the next day, someone told me that it was boring and that I was going to want to come back to Madrid just seconds after the bus crossed into a new Spanish region.
To say the very least, the second person was wrong; however, I do not think I would be able to study abroad there… The bus ride was only about an hour and a half, and we stopped at the top of the mountain where we were given the opportunity to get out and soak in the view. It was absolutely beautiful. The entirety of the town was encircled by a large flowing river, and we got to walk across an extravagant bridge to officially enter the city. Every building was constructed out of a light color, due to the extremely hot summers {up to 125 degrees} and due to many of the houses not having air conditioning.
Because we our school goes through a secondary program, another school attended with us, so it was necessary that we split into two different tour groups in order to have the full experience. Our guide was a COMPLETE character. Dressed in red argyle pants, a red turtle neck, and topped with a beret. He was a sixty-something year old man who flirted with {almost} every girl in our group, but then would clarify that he has a wife that he loves very much.
He took us to a STUNNING cathedral, with an exquisite exterior and a beautiful interior. Granted I was dressed for a pretty chilly day, I was NOT expected the cathedral to be as cold as it was; however, I learned that the Spanish like to keep their cathedrals cold {yet I don't know the reasoning behind this}. The stained glass windows were amazing to look at too… Because the inside of the cathedral was only illuminated by the light coming from outside, it wasn't really bright, but the sun shining through brought out all the colors and details of the windows within. We walked around the city center and at the chance to look at the streets lined with stores and gelato shops, and we ended the tour which lead into free time, after a little less than two hours.
During free time, we were recommended to get food at a couple of locations. A few of us went to a place that looked good, while another group of people from our school went to another place. I gotta say though, whats read and sounds good on a menu can be SUPER deceiving. I ordered a glass of white wine {which came out warm}, a chicken breast {which came out uncooked and super pink}, and sautéed veggies {which was just soggy cabbage that was sitting in a puddle of water and soaking into my uncooked chicken}… granted I only paid twelve euros for all of that, it was janky. Once we were done with food, we met up with the rest of people and then began to walk around a little more.
We scurried up the busy streets to look at a couple stores just for fun; one being a leather shop {and yes I smelled their leather, and yes it still smelled foul, like mine that is STILL just hanging outside my apartment}. When streets started to get more and more crowded, we began paving our own trail and directing ourselves wherever we wanted to. Ultimately, we semi split up because not everybody was walking at the same pace. I ended up with the three boys, my roomies were behind, and the rest were getting gelato or already at the zip lining location. I have only zip lined one other time in my life {in Texas at someplace where theres a drop}, so when i started this one out just sitting and getting pushed, it was very anticlimactic. I had the opportunity to do it two times for only six euros, so I took my chances. I mean, who can say they zip lined on the “longest urban zip line in Europe”?! Sorry mama…
After a few of us had had our fun, it was time to head back to the main square where the rest of the program was meeting in order to embark on the bus ride back to Madrid. While we were walking, an old couple heard me talking to someone in English, so they proceeded to ask me where I was from. When I told them I was from the United States and studying abroad in Madrid they laughed at me and said “You know that you're not supposed to go to school in Spain. You can slack off in work and go drink and do whatever you want, but we take school extremely seriously. You should have studied abroad in Italy or London.” That being said, mama and dad, you have OFFICIALLY been warned about the possibility of some D{oder}s on my transcript this semester…
Now that I got the last statement out there {and hopefully clear to my parents}, personally, I thought it was a fun little getaway in Spain, and I would gladly do it again; but, I do not believe that Toledo is the place to go for longer than a couple of days {especially as a college student looking for fun night life or intriguing places OR amazing food}. Also, I am happy it was a short trip cause my mama flew out to me two days before!! CAN’T WAIT FOR LONDON WITH HER!!
Stay tuned for more updates!!
xoxo v
