So, with me being a such home-body and all, I´m definitely feeling a little homesick, despite Europe´s manifold charms. There have been two things that have reminded me of home and that have made it feel less far away. First, Ruth and I came across two paintings of St. Anthony´s Falls in the Thyssen art gallery, which made us stop and go, ¨Awwww.... Home!¨ Second, when we were on the train to Madrid from Toledo, we met a couple from Minnesota! The woman had been teaching in Morocco for a few years, and she and her husband were having a last voyage around Europe before heading home. It was so nice to have a conversation where we actually understood each other, and we even had the same accent! It´s funny how Minnesota has followed us to Spain.
In other news, we are in Salamanca, and it was a journey of somewhat epic proportions. We got up and out of our pension early this morning to head to the train station to make sure that we could get tickets, since trains have had a tendancy to fill up when we want to take them (and to escape the not-so-friendly eye of the pension owner, after the laundry incident). We got to the station, checked our big bags into lockers, since we´re just taking a little night trip to Salamanca, and then bought all of our tickets for the rest of Spain- to and from Salamanca, and then to Barcelona.
We spent our last few hours in Madrid wandering in the Puerta del Sol area and picnicking in the Retiro Park, which has a cute little man-made lake and great people-watching. We were a little late getting to our train to Salamanca, and, somehow in the frenzy of making the train, I lost our tickets. We have finally decided that there must have been a warp in the time-space continuum that caused them to mysteriously disappear, because I had the tickets in hand on our way down the stairs to the platform, but, by the time we were on the platform, they were gone. We searched like mad, tearing through all of our bags and pockets, but to no avail. We ended up having to reserve more tickets for a train that left over two hours later. We whiled away the time at the train station, only to have the train delayed several times. Finally, however, we got on our way to Salamanca.
The ride was very beautiful- up into the mountains, past some exciting wind farms, and then onto some plains that were very much like Nebraska, just with older buildings. When we left Madrid it was about 85 and sunny, and when we arrived in Salamanca it was about 55 and rainy. We weren´t quite prepared for the weather, so we got some University of Salamanca sweatshirts- practical souveniers. (I never thought that we´d be cold in Spain; I´ve always thought of it as a hot, dry place. However, since getting to Madrid, we´ve had more rain than sun, and definitely cooler temperatures than expected, with highs in the 60s often. Although it is nice to have escaped the heat, we definitely were not prepared for the cool weather. It´s not so cold that we feel like wearing fur-lined winter coats as we´ve seen some doing, but the sweatshirts are definitely appreciated.)
This evening we saw the Plaza Mayor, which is a beautiful plaza where the community gathers, had a nice supper (finally on Spain time- at 8:30), and then enjoyed a community orchestra concert on the plaza while the rain held off. Right now we´re in an internet cafe with a view over the Plaza, which is all lit up and lovely.
Tomorrow we explore Salamanca, and then we´re off to Barcelona for our last few days in Spain before meeting our family in Rome! I think I must sign off here. The internet cafe is a little interesting- not only do many of the keys not even have letters on them because they are so worn, but the screen itself is excessively, flamingly pink, and I am beginning a headache. Have a wonderful week, and thanks for tuning in!
In other news, we are in Salamanca, and it was a journey of somewhat epic proportions. We got up and out of our pension early this morning to head to the train station to make sure that we could get tickets, since trains have had a tendancy to fill up when we want to take them (and to escape the not-so-friendly eye of the pension owner, after the laundry incident). We got to the station, checked our big bags into lockers, since we´re just taking a little night trip to Salamanca, and then bought all of our tickets for the rest of Spain- to and from Salamanca, and then to Barcelona.
We spent our last few hours in Madrid wandering in the Puerta del Sol area and picnicking in the Retiro Park, which has a cute little man-made lake and great people-watching. We were a little late getting to our train to Salamanca, and, somehow in the frenzy of making the train, I lost our tickets. We have finally decided that there must have been a warp in the time-space continuum that caused them to mysteriously disappear, because I had the tickets in hand on our way down the stairs to the platform, but, by the time we were on the platform, they were gone. We searched like mad, tearing through all of our bags and pockets, but to no avail. We ended up having to reserve more tickets for a train that left over two hours later. We whiled away the time at the train station, only to have the train delayed several times. Finally, however, we got on our way to Salamanca.
The ride was very beautiful- up into the mountains, past some exciting wind farms, and then onto some plains that were very much like Nebraska, just with older buildings. When we left Madrid it was about 85 and sunny, and when we arrived in Salamanca it was about 55 and rainy. We weren´t quite prepared for the weather, so we got some University of Salamanca sweatshirts- practical souveniers. (I never thought that we´d be cold in Spain; I´ve always thought of it as a hot, dry place. However, since getting to Madrid, we´ve had more rain than sun, and definitely cooler temperatures than expected, with highs in the 60s often. Although it is nice to have escaped the heat, we definitely were not prepared for the cool weather. It´s not so cold that we feel like wearing fur-lined winter coats as we´ve seen some doing, but the sweatshirts are definitely appreciated.)
This evening we saw the Plaza Mayor, which is a beautiful plaza where the community gathers, had a nice supper (finally on Spain time- at 8:30), and then enjoyed a community orchestra concert on the plaza while the rain held off. Right now we´re in an internet cafe with a view over the Plaza, which is all lit up and lovely.
Tomorrow we explore Salamanca, and then we´re off to Barcelona for our last few days in Spain before meeting our family in Rome! I think I must sign off here. The internet cafe is a little interesting- not only do many of the keys not even have letters on them because they are so worn, but the screen itself is excessively, flamingly pink, and I am beginning a headache. Have a wonderful week, and thanks for tuning in!
