Productivity

Okay so let's catch up since the last time I wrote on 19 October.

-I streamed the Swiss movie I've been trying to watch for a year, Der Verdingbub. (I'm not usually one for films so this was big).

-A bus whisked me away to Leon, near the Picos de Mampodre, where I nearly broke my ankles and fell off the cliffs. These were two hard days of hiking, well worth it.

-Gloria, my travel buddy, visited me for three days!! After her Academic Travel through Andalucia, we explored Salamanca. It was a gorgeous few days, much needed. We were exhausted on our last day together and ended up taking a three hour siesta...

-Saturday morning, bright and early, we departed for Madrid. We had three solid hours of crowded Spanish renfe train, loud people, and lost American tourists. Our paths parted when she headed toward the airport and I took a bus to the Autonomous Community south of Madrid, Toledo.

-It was only meant to be a weekend trip, but it took so long to get to Consuegra (south of Toledo), my final destination, for the Feria de la Rosa de Azafran (Festival of Saffron).  !!! eek!! Yeah, locals made fun of me for being a tourist, but it was still my best weekend. Did I mention that I bought a baby jacket handmade? And the Peruvian guy that sold it to me gave me a head massage afterwards??  The windmills are stunning, though, and sky always sunny. It reminded me a bit of Cheyenne. That Saffron Festival was the equivalent of Cheyenne Fronteir Days...Spanish style. A little quirky, but still reminded me of home (in some twisted way I guess). Consuegra is much smaller than Cheyenne and well, maybe a lot of the people aren't so different...

-After  that, I spent that monday in Toletum, better known as Toledo. I hoofed through the city with my huge green backpack filled with all kinds of fun stuff picked up from Consuegra. I even found space to bring back some famous marzipan from Toledo and some handmade/handpainted earrings. They're dark blue painted hoops with some lighter flower embellishments. Oh! I even found a traditional Syrian restaurant! Um, highlight of the day? A good change of pace from empanadas and oatmeal.

-Because I had Gloria here and I had taken a day off, planning for my four day weekend was stressful. Really, I tried to go someplace far and wild, like Albania. I just looked at a map of europe and for some reason, Albania was calling. Well, flights were more expensive than I liked, so I found a bus to Vitoria, Pais Vasco the night before I was set to go. It wasn't that easy, though...I'm much more knowledgable about the ways of European airlines.

-In Vitoria, life moved pleasantly slowly. I bought a handmade dress. (Now I know where that Spanish style comes from!) It was  on sale, so  I had to. San Sebastian was definitely more hmm, eventful. Awesome hostal, Australians, seafood, swimming in the Bay of Biscay, bar hoping in huge group without a definite common language, Wyoming style uggs, traditional band, camera broke down. More lively than I imagined, perfect place for students. Arquitecture was a curious detail there...


My three weeks in a nutshell.

Okay, your turn.