July 9th, 2011

A new piece of Spanish culture was revealed to me today. Upon walking to the Plaza at 6:00 a.m. to catch my bus for Toledo, I realized something: it is more dangerous to walk around Salamanca at 6:00 in the morning than in the middle of the night. I really should not be surprised. At 6:00 the only people who are on the streets are the drunken partiers that are either still bar hopping (I passed some club on the way to the plaza and they were bumping with bouncers still at the door) or those who are stumbling back home. I even saw our friend Pachi Gomez and his gang roaming around still.

As entertained as I was by the revelation, it made me kind of home sick. Although I believe the United States should take the time to relax a little, I really love the morning people. Back home, there is no question that if you wake up early you will see people getting their coffee, reading a newspaper, or standing in line for some delicious breakfast. Here, people don’t really get started until 10:00 – and they are considered “morning people”.

All right, back to Toledo. So after a very long 2-mile hike to the bus station, we began our three-hour tour to Toledo. Wow, it was definitely worth the trip. Toledo used to be the capital of Spain way back when during the medieval times. The walled city is surrounded by a moat and the beautiful Catedrals can be seen from miles away. The city is much different from Salamanca – all of the streets are very narrow and it does not have the larger city feel Salamanca has. We went to see some artwork by El Greco (as well as his tomb) and other famous artists (I should know what we saw but I am in a café at the plaza writing this and I don’t have my map with me!!). Saturday also must be the day to get married in Spain because we saw at least three weddings. Spain is a great place to get married outside because you would never have to worry about the rain or clouds! Shout out to Sara Stencel, possible destination wedding?

We must have walked at least 13 miles yesterday because when we got back on the bus we all passed out till we came home. Looking forward to a relaxing Sunday tomorrow.

Adios amigos!

Katherina