Bonjour-Mundo!

Our trip to Spain has finally come to an end and all finished up well. The last day in Toledo was just Alex and I, and we had a nice time just wandering the city. We spent a good amount of time searching for a clock for Alex’s dad, and did manage to get rained on as well. We also found ourselves a really nice painting in this cute little shop that we thought was a great deal. This might have been cancelled out however by our having to ship it home, but oh well.

After our time in Toledo, we trucked north a few hours to the town of Salamanca. Alex was really interested in the University there, and I was up for anything. It turned out to be a great choice for us as we could see most of comfortably in a day or so, and it was a lovely city. Quaint streets, gorgeous cathedral (new and old), interesting old university, a house decorated in conch shells, an old roman bridge, really nice square, and perhaps best of all (at least for a hungry boy named Alex’s stomach) an all you can eat chinese buffet for under 6 euro. 🙂 The only bad part was that the streets for some reason acted like wind tunnels at Moose Towers, and it got pretty chilly at night.

We departed Salamanca in the afternoon the following day and headed back to Madrid for our last night in Spain. All in all a successful trip.

This morning we took off for Prague and so far have had an awesome time. It’s such a pleasant city, really nice to walk around. All the people we’ve met have been incredibly sweet, and so far all seem to speak English, which is a bonus for our severe lack of Czech. Everyone really seems happy for the most part, and the atmosphere of the city is great. The city has banners hanging from the light posts that declare “Life’s Good.” I’d have to agree.

So far we just spent our first day meandering through the cobblestone streets taking in all the sights. Old bridges, row boats on the river, towering clock spires, an incredible old castle, and super green countryside. We had a great time enjoying delicious czech beer (even though Alex got the last dark one, boo) for a little more then a dollar for a .5 liter glass, and had a hearty dinner of goulash (a beef stew of sorts) and dumplings, very tasty.

The only downfall is it’s COLD. I was thankful I had my mittens walking back from dinner tonight. Hopefully it’ll warm up a bit tomorrow. 

We have finally made it back to Alex and my “hometown” so to speak…and it´s great. Everything just as I remember, just a little extra construction here and there. We made it in yesterday late afternoon after lots of bus rides from the north of spain. After finding our hostel, we headed straight for Bar La Boveda, one of my favorite places when I used to study here. It´s a little family owned hole in the wall, but has the best sangria and hamburgers in all of spain, as far as I´m concerned.

After a healthy amount of wonderful sangria on the patio, we wandered all over to work off our meal. The weather here is beautiful, it´s great just to enjoy the sun and some warmth. After losing some calories, we went up to the fundacíon, where Alex and I used to study. It´s same as always, although there is a fancy new computer lab on the top floor. We managed to catch the sunset from the top tower, which made for some wonderful photos. Then we headed to Enebros, for my all time Toledo favorite, free tapas with every $1.30 drink purchase. A great way to finish off the night.

Today we took the Zocotren, a cheezy tourist train, but a great way to see all of the city. We also explored the cathedral, one of the most beautiful in all of europe. Lots of stain glass and incredible architechture. After a nice siesta, we also managed to hike the bluffs around the city and get a beautiful view of all of Toledo.

Oh! And before I forget, our time in Cangas finished up well also. Canyoning was awesome, I think it was even a longer course then what I did in switzerland. Lots of rappelling, jumping into pools, sliding down waterfalls, and climbing through the rocks and streams. Alex had the best time of all cannonballing from the highest jump. We all looked extremely good in our head to toe wetsuits as well. 😉

Emily and I will be parting ways after this for a bit, as she heads with her mom on a tour of budpest, croatia, and other parts of eastern europe. Alex and I are off to Prague on the 30th, and will reunite with em in mid may in vienna.  

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