Holy Toledo!

On saturday, USAC took us on a tour of Toledo, which is one hour outside of Madrid. The story of Toledo is impressive because after Romans and other Christians conquered the area, Jewish and Muslims also laid claim to the city. Ever since, Christians, Jews and Muslims have been living in tigh proximity of one another and have managed to maintain their identity and some sort of peace within. I was absolutely shocked to hear of this, because as we know, Jewish and Muslims have one of the most prevelent conflicts in our world today. What is amazing about Toledo, is that it is basically a hodge-podge of each religion. Of all the many churches, especially the main cathedral you can see elements of each religion as well as gothic, rennaisance and modern architecture. The main cathedral is absolutely stunning (will post pictures) and is considered the main cathedral of all Spain, beacuase at one point it was the religious capital of Spain. Inside the cathedral there are old artifacts including a gold leafed Bible for one of the kings and a crown that Queen Isabella wore...Im pretty sure it was her. The Cathedral took 400 years to make so that explains the different styles of architecture and also why there are pagan carvings within (workers were sometimes unsupervised and put whatever they want). Also, the head cardinal of Spain lives right next to this Cathedral. Unfortunately, for all historical sites in Madrid, there are no pictures allowed, so all memories must be stored in my brain for review. T

Toledo is also known for its Mazapan (Marzapan) and sword making. The little city sits on a hill and consists of narrow cobblestone streets that are so authentic and historic looking you really feel like you were in the Middle Ages. I kept picturing vendors with their pushcarts and the people of the city bustling about. It was a truly beautiful and magical place that I would love to visit again, for more than a day.

Other than that, school has been intense to say the least, and the weather is pretty unusual. Its blustery and always looks like its going to rain but hasnt. Its quite the tease when we are trying to hang our laundry outside and are constantly paranoid that it will rain on our cloths.

The cockroach situation had seemed to be better, but last night we had a brigade attacking us from the toaster. Thank God we had a friend over who witnessed our situation so we are in fact not crazy and over-reacting. At this point I am convinced that the spray we were told to use is ok for killing those that we see but in fact is not penetrating the walls in which they are living. I am also sick of my apartment smelling like the spray and am pretty sure we have lost brain cells. We are going to talk to our housing coordinator again this week to see what the next step is.

I did find real milk since my last post so that was quite the relief...I am however still dissapointed in Spanish food. I love spice and flavor and Spanish food is kind of bland. Maybe beacuse my budget allows for only not very expensive restaurants but I also have not been living off bread and cheese. I have however, found great spanish wine by the bottle at our local supermarket for 2-3 euros each...quite the deal.

Tonight we may go to the museum and tomorrow see a ballet inspired by Flamenco. I think we are going to try a good tapas bar tonight and hopefully my dissapointment will be relieved, because the best meal ive had so far was at an Indian restaurant. wah wah...

Ok well I should probably get off the computer, as other spanish students are eyeing me down.

Love, Hugs and Kisses to all

Anna Maria

ps i have some pictures posted
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043474&id=23801844&l=dd82de6ba6
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043459&id=23801844&l=e2fe0f99d7