Hey dear reader, it's the tenth day now - I've kept this going for longer than I thought I would already! =P Today was unique in that we got up whilst the sky was still dark. I got up at seven and was just in time and ready to answer the knock on the door when it came. Didn't have as much sleep as I would've liked, but I'm always fresh in the morning, especially when the weather's nice and the air's brisk! We made for the Metro station ahead of the Hos as we were looking for breakfast.
Had a rather uneventful trip to Atocha Renfe station from Tirso de Molina, but Mum was nagging that we should take a cab because the Metro'd be be crowded and we'd be in danger of pickpockets due to rush hour. But we still took the Metro, and contrary to our expectations, it was quiet at that time! When we got to Atocha Renfe, we spent some time at the Eurorail information/ticketing counter awaiting our turn to enquire about our train since it didn't seem to be under any listing on the information boards. Meanwhile, Mum constantly said that we should've waited for the Hos because we wouldn't have any of this trouble then, and that by the time we were done, there wouldn't be time to eat because it was crowded and we wouldn't be able to get a seat anywhere... So on and so forth. I'm an expert at tuning it out with my immense reserves of nonchalance and patience, but Dad certainly got more than a little annoyed as far as I could tell. =/ He didn't really let on very much though, so that's good! Anyway, we got our answer - the lady said that we should head in a certain direction to be near the expected platform when the train arrives (no, it's not anywhere as exotic as nine and three-quarters!) and wait for the announcement to be made regarding exactly which platform we should hard for. So we made towards a cafeteria near there and had a bite to stave off our hunger till lunchtime at least. We're getting pretty good at ordering our food in Spanish, though I didn't really have any concrete idea of what I was having! Although the Fanta Limon was refreshingly welcome!
We boarded the train at nine twenty and half an hour in a pretty quick train brought us to Toledo. When we stepped into the train station from the platform, we were a little taken aback. Though the station was relatively new, there were ten stained-glass windows in the main hall. It was beautiful! Wish our MRT stations above ground could be made up of brick and stained-glass windows too! *scowls* After some enquiries at the Tourist Information Counter, we took a public bus (bus number ninety four, if my memory dorsn't fail me!) to the "tourist attraction" part of Toledo, which was sited up on a hill as it used to be a fortress. It was cool up there and as I said before, the cooler the weather is, the better my mood will be lol! Mr Ho even had to buy a cool jacket from Pull & Bear up there because he hadn't thought to bring one! I finally got the chance to wear my furry jacket which I'd only worn once before during this whole trip. Oh I put on this impressive jacket that I'd never buy and a hat and posed for two pictures there that I'll upload on Facebook. The second one's better!
Apparently though, it was the wrong day to visit Toledo? Most of the tourist attractions are closed on Mondays there. And I might add that many food places were closed too! Only the tourist shops and bigger boutiques were open for business, not to mention the main cathedral. We didn't go into the paying part of the cathedral though, because when we got into the free part, we saw that it was more or less the same as the other cathedrals that we'd been to save for the Cordoba one - that was something special. We went to visit the synagogue there, apparently the oldest in Spain (not too sure about that though!) and it was closed. Indeed the security guard seem to specialise in saying "it's closed!" in English! We went to visit the birthplace of El Greco, a famous painter based in Spain. It was closed too! But I wasn't fussed by any stretch of the imagination - as long as the air was cool, Rayson had a vast reservoir of good-naturedness to draw upon!
At two, we could no longer resist the source of thunder emanating from our tummies - we settled on a fast food place named "Patata y Ole!", which served stuffed baked potatoes as their main specialty. I had a Patata Toledana, which was their special specialty because it had deer meat in it (we call it venison in Singapore isn't it?) and apparently, that's what Toledo is known for too - it's deer meat dishes. The dish came draped with a load of thinly sliced carrot and what seemed like diced raw onions. I pushed that all off. -.-" I may be born in the year of the rabbit but there's no way I'm starting on carrots anytime soon! Having done that, the dish was delightful! I love love love potatoes and this was no exception. The gigantic tuber was liberally doused with butter and minced deer meat was stuffed into it. It was tender and juicy, the only drawback being the tough and burnt tasting skin. Ever since my U.K. trip many years back, I developed a taste for crispy potato skins and this was not it! Sticky, drippy, nearly chewy chocolate caliente was my choice of drink. Mum had Fish and Chips. The chips were pretty good when they were hot - they were soft, warm, and didn't taste oily then. The fish was all of one piece and small, a perfect fit for her appetite. Both the meat and batter were unremarkable to my tongue though it wasn't by any means bad. Dad had a Perrito Caliente (hot dog) which I did not try. It was a relatively cheap meal and enjoyable to boot. Finally, as time was running out on the hillside, I spotted a shop selling hanging puppets, amongst other things. I spotted one that instantly reminded me of Jason, so I nipped in and got a new one that was nicely packed flat for convenient transportation in my luggage and then joined the rest in heading back to the bus stop - it was nosh on time to grab a bus back to the train station.
In the blink of an eye, I was back in Madrid at our hotel at five plus. We were slated to meet at six thirty, so I happily logged in to MSN and found a few people online to talk to. I also logged in to Facebook to reply messages and Gmail to clear emails. That (talking to friends) put me in a really cheery mood and I was pleasantly surprised to discover a chatty side of me as we made our way to one of the Loewe boutiques later on foot. Wendy was being picky at Loewe while we lounged around - I've no beef with that, she's right to take her time spending that kind of money on a bag! There was some guy's stuff there though not much, and all the ones on display were in black. I knew they came in other colours. I saw the bag that I wanted before, but in black. I purposely decided not to ask to see them in other colours so that I wouldn't tempt fate! I don't need a new bag just yet!
We left at eight something, after their closing time (which was eight!). On the way back, we stopped and had an al fresco dinner at a diner called Lalin, supposedly established in nineteen forty. We each had a value-for-money set meal (as far as value-for-money meals in Europe go!) for twelve euros. It consisted of a first dish (sort of like an appetiser), a second dish (the meat), a drink, and dessert. I had mixed paella for my first dish and so did Mum. We were all astonished when it came because it looked like the main meal, so huge were the portions! I was hungry though, so I gobbled it all down in a heartbeat. It was soft and sticky once again, and overly salty guess they didn't prepare it very well then because paella can actually taste good as I've experienced! Maybe it's nice to them, I wouldn't know. *shrugs* Dad had mixed salad - I tried the lettuce and it was nice and fresh - much lighter and more suitable than our heavily savoury fare... I had grilled beef for the second dish. I should've known better than to order beef at a place like that - it was like a coffeeshop steak, all thin and tough though it was quite nicely seasoned. Bad choice there! Mum had calamari. I tried one ring and it was tender but the batter had a weird taste that I didn't like at once though it was reasonably light and crispy. Dad wanted grilled pork but they'd sold out, so he had grilled chicken instead. It was pretty good - tender though thin and it was tasty enough. I was surprised because I was still under the impression that western-style chicken and pork was never to my taste! I shall repent and alter my opinion to a case-by-case analysis. =P Mum and I had red wine for a drink, and Dad had beer. The wine wasn't all that nice. It wasn't sweet for one, and it tasted more like grape skins instead of grapes. You know that kind of feeling when after eating ape skins, your mouth feels coated by a slightly bitter flavour? Yeah it felt like that. Dessert was caramel custard pudding for Mum and I, and strawberry ice-cream for Dad. Mine was far too sweet and the crust was sort of burnt but Mum liked it. *shrugs* The ice-cream wasn't spectacular, but I think I should've gone for that...
So! Checking out at twelve tomorrow, got some time to sleep in after a long day, but got to give myself time to pack too. Going to Barcelona via Eurorail tomorrow. I shall get most of the things for friends there I guess but even then it probably won't be anything very much. It's hard to buy gifts for people when you visit a county like Spain lol! Going to shower and then my bed beckons - adios amigos! ^^
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Location:Hotel Posado Del Dragon,Madrid,Spain
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