How exactly does one get a free trip to Spain?
Very carefully...
I am leading a group of students to Italy this coming summer with EF Educational Tours.
They figure that the best way to train their new group leaders is to give them a taste of what they will be doing with their students.
SOOO they send all their leaders on a 5-day trip abroad.
They had a few different options... but I'd never been to Spain so I jumped on that one.
Five days in Madrid, Spain it was!
(More like three because two days were traveling...)
I flew out from Spokane on the 28th...
And arrived in Madrid on the 29th...
they kept us super busy that first day so we wouldn't zonk out before it was time to sleep.
I've never been so tired!
Train station
And into the Prado Museum...
Walking around a quiet museum while trying to get through jet lag was a little difficult.
Pretty church :)
Madrid by night
Yawning... in Plaza Mayor
Sleep was much needed!
Next day we had a tour around Madrid...
(this day was killer)
Bull fighting stadium-
fights are May through September, dang it.
Royal Palace
Me with my roomie-
I went on this trip not knowing anyone and felt mildly nervous about it.
My roommate was the bomb.com and made the trip so great!
Madrid was terribly cold...
hot chocolate was a must.
It was more like a melted Dove bar in a cup-
delicious!
Ok so I know this is Spain but I had pasta- and it was amazing.
After the fun-filled morning, it was out to Toledo!
Such a beautiful place!
It was declared a World Heritage Site and is the former capitol of Spain.
Pretty interesting as it was a place of coexistence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures for some time.
Little narrow streets.
Big ol' cathedral.
4th biggest in the world.
This other "cathedral" was once a mosque and a synagogue.
I don't care who you are- you hafta admit that it's beautiful!
We visited a "damascene" shop where they made swords and other... things :)
AND is the day over?
Oh no!
That evening we ate at a tapas restaurant... very Spanish...
and all I have is a pic of me eating this pepper.
Then on to a flamenco concert!
I loved every minute of it...
others fell asleep :)
Inigo Montoya anyone?
And THEN the day was over.
Phew.
Exhausting!
Our last day there we had meetings...
(put a group of jet lagged people in a room for five hours = awful)
and had a little free time to burn until we started our New Years Eve festivities.
Cute lil' used book shop...
To the chocolateria...
for chocolate con churros!
Delicious.
AND here we go New Years Eve!
First, we had dinner...
(as if we hadn't eaten enough already)
And got our New Years grapes!
Tradition has it in Spain that when midnight hits on New Years, you eat 12 grapes on each "dong" of the bell for the first 12 seconds of the New Year...
If you are successful in eating a grape every second
(try it... it's hard- especially if they have seeds!)
THEN you get good luck for each month.
The group wanted to hang out in a pub up until 10:30...
Everyone got a "free drink" from the tour company,
and I was the most popular because everyone wanted mine :)
At 10:30 we made our way out to the town square to ring in the New Year...
These crazy Madrid-ians and their wigs.
Weird.
Eating the grapes!
It was SOO cold!
And wet!
And rainy!
People in the square gave me a champagne shower...
and my coat still smells...
BUT it was a successful and cultural New Years.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
