On Friday evening, after our afternoon in the internet café, the PRESHCO group met and had an extended, pre-dinner meeting about how things will go for the remainder of our pre-Cordoba trip, and a bit about the agenda for our arrival in the south. It lasted a long, long time, but luckily dinner wasn't nearly as long as the night before since we had no surprise visit from a mariachi band. After dinner most of the girls went out to a bar and had mojitos and checked out some of the Salamanca nightlife. It was fun, but the (small) city definitely didn't have the vibe that I've been hearing about in some of the larger cities. We didnt get home too late, so I made a point of getting up early yesterday morning and going for a quick 4 mile run. I got up at 7 and went down to the hotel lobby, it was still dark outside (it gets light really late here), and I didnt think it would be safe to run alone yet, so I waited for a bit before heading out. To my surprise there were still a significant number of people out in the streets (I assume since the bars were just closing), and I got a few drunken cheers of "corre rubia!" (Run blondie!!). One guy even tried to run with my for about 10 seconds, beer bottle in hand, until he gave up. Thank goodness. It was nice, however to be out and running along the river for the sunrise. The Rio Tomes and Puente de Enqique Esteban are about half a mile from the hotel. I usually don't stop while running, but the view from the bikepath was so incredible in the morning light that I had to take a picture.
After running, I ate a quick breakfast and packed up my things for the drive to Segovia. The city has a huge aqueduct, and after taking a few pictures, we walked over to Palacio de Alcázar de Segovia, the home of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand, who ruled Castile y León during the time of Christopher Columbus. I'd actually been to the castle before, so the entire tour was a repeat for me, with the exception of the TOWER. We got the climb a stone, spiral staircase to the highest point on the castle and look out over the Segovia Cathedral and the entire city- very cool!
Aqueduct
Palacio de Alcazár
At the tower of Alcazár
After Segovia, we hoped on the bus (nap time) and drove to La Ciudad de San Lorenzo del Escorial, the palace and monestary of King Philip II and his many wives. It is also the mausoleum for nearly all of the Spanish royal family. We actually walked into the palatial final resting place of a significant percentage of the Hapsburg dynasty- some dating back nearly 400 years. It was creepy, but also really interesting, so see the tombs of such important historical figures. And the art history nerd in me loved all the art, too. There was no photography allowed inside, but I did get to take a picture out of a window, overlooking one of the beautiful facades and garden.
So as if three cities in one day wasn't enough, we got back on the bus just in time for rush-hour traffic into Madrid. We're staying in a hotel right by the Puerta del Sol- the center of the city. Dinner was at a restaurant right next door, and we had a safety presentation from the head of security of one of Madrid's biggest clubs. It was pretty much a reiteration of everything I've been told before (ie. don't put your drink down) but it was good to hear it all again. The food, on the other hand, was... strange. It tasted weird to me, so I mostly picked at some bread all night, which is not like me at all. And as for the past 18 hours since then, I've been sick. So instead of going on a tour of Madrid today with the group (again, thank goodness I've seen a bit of the city in high school), I've been here in the hotel sleeping and trying to get better. At the very least it has been entertaining listening to the sounds outside my window, which inspired the song of the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJLyZqETuBU
There is an opera singer who is stationed directly below my window, who sings all day. Yesterday, it was charming and felt so authentic. Today, however, her THREE songs over and over and over have gotten annoying. Thank goodness the past 45 minutes have been siesta, so she is resting her vocal chords somewhere.
I'm feeling better now, and tonight it a free night. My roommates, Morgan and Yanet, and I are about to go take a little walk and search out some plain, boring, semi-American food- YUM. And hopefully I'll feel better for a day trip to Toledo tomorrow.
Opera lady is back. Ave Maria. Adios.
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