An uphill climb

Tuesday, January 31st for real this time

I didn't tell you what I did, so here is a very short summary (it was a very full and tiring day).  We took a bus to El Escorial (a very old monastery/palace/school/library) outside of Madrid, and my favorite part was going under the church to see the tombs of past kings and queens of Spain.  Yes, I realize that this is slightly creepy and not something that I would generally like; however, I thought it was so cool that I was in the same room as the bones of Queen Elizabeth II.  Also, in the palace section some Spaniard (not in our group) threw up all over the floor on his way to the bathroom.  Yea, it was literally like five feet behind me.  Gross.

Me and two other girls went to a fast food restaurant for lunch, and I had a sub and mozzarella sticks.  Then, we were off to El Prado Museum (sort of like the Louvre of Spain), where we saw the works of Velázquez, Goya, and el Greco.  Afterwards, a group of us explored a nearby park and then braved the metro, as some of them really wanted to see the stadium where the Real Madrid soccer team plays.  Honestly, I didn't really care about seeing it, but I didn't want to be alone.  And the metro turned out to be really fun - we even had to transfer to several different lines, which is easier than it sounds ;)

After dinner, we went out to conquer a little more of Madrid, and I had yogur helado (frozen yogurt) with dulce de leche (caramel) and chocolate.  It had an interesting flavor because over here frozen yogurt is literally frozen yogurt - no sugar added or anything - so it has a bit of a tartness, which I did surprisingly enjoy.

Wednesday, February 1st

We left bright and early for Toledo, which is so much more beautiful than I thought it would be.  You should take a look at my pictures because they definitely convey this point more accurately than my words can.  My only complaint about this city is that the roads and sidewalks are so hilly and uneven, which can be very exhausting for semi out of shape fat people like me haha.

FINALLY!  We arrived in Sevilla.  It was like almost two hours from Madrid to Toledo and then another 4, 5, 6 something hours to Sevilla, I don't even remember.  I met my host family, and am now settled in - sort of.  The only saving grace in this whole situation is that they have wifi at the house, which is so fricking amazing.  I'll tell you about the host family more tomorrow or soon because it is like 1:30 am here, and I really need to get to bed, even though I probably won't fall asleep right away.  I can never stop thinking about how much I want to go home.  I'll let you know once I stop feeling homesick.  I'm taking bets!  I'd put your money on the very last day - when I get of the plane in Milwaukee.