we meant to do several things. first, to see some scenery. mountains, to be precise. second, to move around, because this week has been homework heavy. third, to leave toledo. it is lovely but sometimes small. my friend mahayla and i planned a hiking trip in the nearby sistema central of mountains, just two hours away. finally finally finally.
but we suck at planning.
not knowing exactly what bus to take from madrid to cercedilla (the mountain town), we left toledo at 8:30 hoping for the best. the best turned out to be a longish trip to the train station, only to find that the next trian to cercedilla didn't leave until 1. little time to hike at our leisure and then return for the last bus to toledo at 10. big fat sigh. big fat deal. we were tired anyway, we had prepped ourselves for a hard day's work. we had gotten up early to travel, and we both knew that meant making a lot of (well-worth) effort to squeeze every last bit of enjoyment out of our destination. we were strangely relieved at being thwarted.
that's ok, now we know what to do next time.
yeah yeah. next time.
that's alright, since we're already in madrid, we might as well take advantage of the park.
of course of course.
and while we're at it, let's check out that thai restaurant i saw last time i was here.
brilliant idea.
and damnit, let's have some wine.
claro.
holy crap! they have a starbucks here. let's give in and get a cup.
yeeesssss!
now for sweets.
how about nutella?
no day could be without.
sí!
and isn't that the plaza mayor?
let's sit here for a while.
a while...
a while.
while the sun is finally peeking out.
but the breeze
still plays around.
it was a great day. it was a day at the zoo for an 8-year-old. we stumbled on things we hadn't expected to find, like a handmade jewelry store where they offered you a flower when you walked in the door. like the picnic of old men and baguettes in the park. and a guy with pink shoes. and the caixa building with it's outer wall of funny vegetation. and a store that sold peanut butter.
it was great because it wasn't what we had planned. we got back to toledo before we were exhausted and we couldn't help feeling giddy whenever we looked at each other and remembered that we had spent the day talking and walking and feeling warm in the plaza for hours, with our jar of nutella on our welcoming stone bench.
today is cold and clear. cold for toledo, that is. the blue wind tried to blow through me when i stood in front of the window, and it felt good to wake up still satisfied.
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