Days 10 - 13

Well it has been a while since I have been on here so I have quite a bit to write. So, fasten your seat belts folks, because this post is gonna be a long one.

Day 10:

Friday was our last full day in Barcelona and MiLeah and my last day with the group. We were free that morning so MiLeah and I scouted out the train station that we would have to be at on Saturday. We checked to see how you got onto the correct platform and noted the restaurants that were inside. After we figured everything out we went to Las Ramblas one last time. We walked through the curvy side streets and allies that branched off of Las Ramblas. It was a lot of fun to see the awesome architecture of the buildings which were products of the Gothic period.

At 4:30, we met back up with the group to go see the famous church, Sangria Familia. The details of the church were incredible! Every inch of the exterior was covered with symbolic statues. The interior was even more amazing. The columns that supported the building stretched upwards like trees and the light that filtered in through skylights looked like light through leaves. It was the best church I have been to on the trip, and the best part is that it isn't even finished yet. They have been working on the chapel for 130 years and they don't know when it  will be finished.

After we were done with the chapel, a small group of us went to a restaurant in the heart of Barcelona and then called it a night.

Day 11:

Saturday was an interesting day because we MiLeah and I were on our own after the group left at 7:30 to go back to the United States. We started off by dropping our bags off at a hotel close to the train station so that they would be easy to get before we left. We then took a trip down to the beach one last time to pick up some shells. When we got there, we were amazed at how beautiful it was. The weather was cold during our group beach day, but on Saturday the weather was amazing! There was hardly any wind, the sun was out, and, best of all, it was hot! We were so dissapointed that we couldn't have had that kind of weather during our beach day.

After we found a bunch of shells, we made our way down the beach to kill some time. We eventual walked up on a very expensive looking hotel and I saw something that still amazes me. In front of the hotel was the most incredible car I have ever seen: a Lamborghini Adventador.

(For those who don't care about cars, skip the next paragraph)

It was absolutely beautiful. The ridged lines combined to create a slick and stealthy looking car that could slice through the air like a knife through milk. The massive spoiler was no doubt necessary to keep the car from losing control to the incredible 720hp engine. The huge breaks (which were probably ceremic/carbon-fiber) were bigger than most car wheels. Just seeing it blew my mind, and I can't even imagine driving it. I hope to one day have an opportunity to drive one around a track, but I doubt I ever will. Honestly, it will probably be the first and last time I ever see that car, but I know I will never forget it.

After I looked at the car, we went back to the train station to grab a quick sandwich and find our train. The train station (which resembles an airport) was really run down. The floor was severely cracked, the chairs looked like someone used them as their bed, and clean was a word seldom spoken. Thankfully the train was beyond comfortable. There was more legroom than was necessary, which is a lot coming from this 6'4" dude. The seats were leather, and there was an in ride movie. This was a sweet train.

After we got off the train, we were met by Jorge's dad, Ignacio. He and his wife Rocio took us on a night tour of Madrid, and then took us home to chat for a bit and then go to bed.

Day 12:

Sunday was election day in Spain, so Rocio, Jorge's mother, was not with us because she had been selected to register citizens when they came in to vote. Even though she was gone, that didn't stop Ignacio, Jorge's father, from going and buying us a Spanish treat for breakfast: churros with a chocolate dipping sause.

After we finished the delicious churros, MiLeah, Ignacio, and I went to Jorge's sister's gymnastic dance compatition. Until this point we had not met Maria, but we had met Jorge's to other siblings, Jaime and Nacho. The gymnastic compatition was ok. It was interesting to see how many American songs are popular in Spain. Many of the dance groups did their routines to many current American songs.

After Maria's group took 2nd place in the compatition, we picked up Maria and went to the old town of Toledo. Toledo was N old city originally built by Romans, and then the Muslims took it over, and then eventually was inhabited by the Jews. Because of these different cultures coming into the city, there are a lot of different building styles. It was really interesting to walk down the cobblestone streets and see the amazing buildings that were built so long ago. Once we had seen enough, and found the car, we we headed home to just relax and enjoy the evening.

Day 13:

I am finally talking about today!! We started by drinking some freshly squeezed orange juice made by Rocio. The juice was incredible. It was really sweet and had way more flavor than anything you could buy in a store. I am really hoping to have some more later on this week!

After we finished breakfast, she took us into Madrid and showed us a lot of the major architecture, and government buildings of the area. We saw the palace that the king and queen used to stay in, and the City Hall.

At lunch, we caught up with Ignacio to meet his friend at a newer market for a taste of traditional Spain. We tried three dishes  (which I can not remember at this time. I will update this when I remember) which were incredible. I have loved everything I have eaten in Madrid so far. After the wonderful lunch MiLeah and I stayed in Madrid when Rocio went back to pick up the children from school. We shopped around for some clothes and grabbed some candy at a neat little candy shop.

At 7:00, we met Ignacio after work and he took us back to his home. MiLeah and I talked quite a bit to Nacho about the differences in the health care system in Spain and the United States. It was suprizing to hear that Spain has a more socialistic style of government, where the health care is "free". What is interesting however is that they have government and privately owned  hospitals. Everyone pays taxes for the government hospitals, but if you wish, you can pay extra to have insurance with the private hospitals. If you have the private hospital insurance, the waiting list for surgeries is much shorter than in the government hospitals.

After a while, MiLeah and  I started playing with Jorge's youngest brother, Jaime. We played ouside with a hula hoop and all counted on English and Spanish while we tossed the hoop to eachother. It was so much fun! I can't wait to try and speak to him in spanish more. Eventually we got tired of playing and MiLeah gave Jaime the Dr. Seuss  books that my mom sent to him. Jaime was so excited once he understood that the books were in English. He sat so quietly and listened to MiLeah read the first part of the book to him. Unfortunately, we got interrupted by dinner or else we probably would have finished the book.

Dinner was interesting, but delicious. Rocio fixed us a traditional meal from the south of Spain. (Again, I can't remember the name.... It's really late at night, give me a break, ok?) It was kind of like a thick tomato soup with ham and egg in it. After dinner we sat around with the family talking about cultural differences, sharing stories, and just enjoying each other's company.

This was my most favorite part of the trip so far because it was real life. It wasn't anything that was stressed for time or that was over crowed with tourists. It was my culture meeting their culture and we were all learning and becoming closer. I hope that I have more moments like this with this family because it really opens my eyes to a way of life that is different from mine and helps me respect the differences in culture.

Well, it is time for me to hit the hay, because tomorrow is going to be a fun day. Rocio is taking us to the mountains north of Madrid to see where Ignacio grew up. I hope to get you all an update tomorrow night because writing these long posts really sucks. My thumbs are numb from all this typing on my phone. Adios amigos!ď