Eurostars Toledo

Last night, for the first time on the trip, we could not get access to the Internet. The hotel's router was down and the pay-as-you-go sign-in screen was a frustrating and unassailable barrier.

We spent this morning at the Toledo Cathedral, considered one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe. Chris went before dawn to photograph and I made the 30-minute hike from the hotel about 10 am. The ...

... to our bus. We were then taken to a shop where they make a lot of gold inlay souvenirs that are sold throughout Toledo. We got to watch a master make some stuff. We then went to the showroom and were given a 10% discount on the man-made jewelry and a 30% discount on the machine made stuff. I bought some really pretty man-made pendants.

Then on the way back to Madrid, I slept. When I woke up the father and son Brazilians were talking to ...

... its design and architecture. We stepped out of the train, took our bearings, bought a map and started walking towards the walled city. Optimistically, I had dressed for spring -- sports capris, a long-sleeve sports shirt, running shoes and a thin running wind-breaker. Ha! The wind and temperatures in the low teens were a little more than I'd bargained for, but there was little I could do about it but grin and bear it (my nickname ...

... der Vorschlag gemacht, dass wir jedes Mal wenn wir Kochen, den Herd mit Alufolie abdecken, damit wir ihn danach nicht putzen müssen. Klar doch, ist ja voll bequem! Ich schlug trotzdem vor, dass ich mich opfere den Herd zu putzen. Wir sind schon soweit, dass ich nur noch "Greenpeace" sagen muss und sie wissen, dass ich anders denke. Da sieht man auch das Konversationsniveau, dass ich bis jetzt habe.;-) Den Bezug den die Spanier zum Abfall haben werde ...

... I initially thought that I could try all the local Spanish Specialities for just 9.7 euro.... Well, it turned out that the only special stuff was Gazpacho (spanish soup? cold and sour, not sure if it had ...

... in my throat, and my black shirt was COVERED in white and grey cat hair. So I make my way to the kitchen to confront Pilar. In English, our conversation went something like this: Pilar, I thought there were no cats in this house. (Pilar points to the two cats, which are now sunning themselves on the porch) They're outside. Yes, right now, but my bed is covered with their hair. (Pilar looks at my shirt) Oh, yes, yes, well they were inside yesterday because I went out. So ...

Amaneció lluvioso y feo en Madrid, por lo que mientras desayunaba lo que el albergue proveía (café con leche, galletita dulces y pan con mermelada de frutilla) deliberaba sobre qué hacer. Ya sabía de antemano que ése iba a ser mi último día en Madrid así que estaba definiendo el destino de mis actividades para el remanente de la jornada. Yo ya había reservado alojamiento en Barcelona para el Martes 29, con lo ...