I am so excited that my mom is here in Madrid with me. She is here from October 31 to November 10. She has never been to Europe, so it has been great sharing her first European experience with her.
TOLEDO (Oct 31)::
My mom arrived at 6:35 am (Madrid time) Monday morning. After taking her luggage to her hotel, we grabbed breakfast, and headed off to Toledo for the day. Some of my friends already went, and they said that they had an amazing time. My roommate, Q, even sent me with 5 euros to buy her some more marzipan. We went with my friend Devon and his friend Tyler, who is studying abroad in Rome this semester and was visiting for the weekend.
Upon arrival, we began up a very daunting hill to get into the city from the bus station. I didn't realize how hilly Toledo was going to be, but it seemed as if we were always going uphill. We wandered around in small alleys that barely fit a car, climbing up hill and down, seeing the sights. We saw the outside of the Cathedral, but decided not to go in because of the high price and long line. We also saw the outside of the Alcazar, but in Toledo the Alcazar has been turned into a Military museum, so we skipped that. Toledo is famous for it's marzipan and it's swordwork. We all tried some marzipan, but it wasn't really that flavorful. Definitely an experience I am glad I have, but it doesn't jump to the top of my list of favorite foods from Spain. The place we ate lunch, however, could get pretty close. It was a really small little restaurant/bar, with only 8 bar stools. The only person working was an old woman behind the bar, and she cooked all of our food right in front of us. We each had a "plato combinado" that came with lettuce, tomato, a mixture of red and green peppers, french fries or fried eggs, and then some kind of meat. I had croquettes, one of my favorite Spanish dishes, and they were handmade by the woman who served us, using chicken and steak. She also sliced and cooked our french fries in front of us, and they were amazing. Really, some of the best food I have had here in Spain. It was great to have such a personal experience, and we got to talk to her and ask her lots of questions about the food.
The hills of Toledo definitely took a toll on us. My friends who had been before said that it was definitely worth it to stay until sunset, but we made it until around 5 pm. My mom hadn't slept on her overnight plane, and Devon, Tyler, and I got about 3 hours of sleep after a night out on the town. So we had an early night.
ARANJUEZ (Nov 1)::
The next morning, my mom and I met up in the morning, had breakfast at the same little cafe as the day before, and then headed off to Aranjuez. Aranjuez is about an hour outside of Madrid, and is famous for its royal palace and gardens. It was cloudy, which made the pictures great, and luckily it didn't rain. The garden next to the palace, Jardin de la Isla, was beautiful (and thankfully flat), and my mom got some amazing pictures.
We walked around inside the Palacio Real, which is decorated as it was when Isabel II rearranged it. Now it is set up as a museum. You can't take pictures inside, so I don't have any photo memories, but some of the rooms were so beautiful I don't think I will ever forget them. Particularly one room designed by the same man who helped in the restoration of the Alhambra in Granada. It was so intricate and geometric that you could get lost in the pattern. There was another room designed in an oriental theme, with 3D wall decorations. It was quite dizzying because of the patterns and designs that had been used, but it was very interesting.
For lunch we ate at a small restaurant, and then wandered around the city a little more. It is quite small, and we didn't have a map with us, so we stuck close to the Palacio Real so we would be sure to find our bus stop again. We went to the larger garden, Jardin del Principe. It was much larger, and featured a lot more open space with less sculpted greenery. There was also a museum that holds the Royal Barges from the time when the Palacio Real was used as a vacation home by the royals. Somewhere there was a Chinese Pond, but we were pretty tired so we decided not to hunt for it. For our dessert, we had Freson con Nata, a delightful dish of strawberries with fresh homemade whipped cream on top. It is a specialty in Aranjuez, which is known for its strawberries, and also its asparagus, though we didn't try any.
We went back on an early evening bus, and had dinner in my neighborhood. My mom got to try some Spanish standards, patatas mixtas (bravas and ali-oli) and croquetas de jamon, with a caña of beer to wash it all down. It was a great day, and a great evening.
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