Sábado - 21.00

Today was Aranjuez, Puerto Lápice, and Consuegra. All I think are considered La Mancha. The bus left at the same time as my first class, so I got up at the usual time and got to campus at the usual time. I was able to take pictures of the metro sign at Vicálvaro, the one right by campus. This caused both Gabriela and Alvaro (our chaperones and program directors) to comment on how nice my camera was. There were only 26 of us today, much less than Toledo. It was an hour ride to Aranjuez. Here, we saw the Palacio Real de Aranjuez (Royal Palace of Aranjuez). This palace was much smaller than the one in Madrid, because it was only a “spring home” for the royal family. It was still as gorgeous though. No photos allowed here either. Alicia, Julian, Jennifer, Irene and I all ended up in the English tour, though we all wanted to take the Spanish one this time. So did everyone else. The group was twice the size of the English one, so we switched. Our tour guide, while very knowledgeable, was pretty boring. I really enjoy history, but that was a bit too much history for me. I wanted to know about the palace and the rooms, but she seemed to talk mostly about the paintings that were on the wall. But it was still cool to see the palace. After that, we were given free time to go through the gardens and see a small part of the town.

I went with Alicia and Jennifer to explore. We went to the Island Garden first, which wasn’t very impressive, then to the main garden, which was beautiful. We took a lot of photos here. Then, we went to get Frescas con Nata (strawberries and cream), since Aranjuez is known for their strawberries. Alicia and Jennifer split one, and I had one of their strawberries. It was pretty good, but it was just like the ones in the US, not too spectacular; so said Alicia and Jennifer. I haven’t had enough in either country to be able to judge. But the whipped cream was yummy. We then went to some touristy shops along the way. I didn’t buy anything, but I was super jealous of Jennifer’s purchase. It was a photo album, handmade from 100% recycled material and paper. It was SO pretty. It had little blue paper flowers on it, and instead of the plastic inserts for photos, it had photo corners. It was beautiful. They only had one and it was a bit expensive for me anyway though. After that we headed back to the bus. We were early, so we stepped into another store very near the bus. There were two things here that I liked, but didn’t buy. One was another half mug, saying “I only have enough money left for half a mug” again, and then a plate that had different colors, almost metallic. But I wouldn’t know what to do with it.

It was another hour to Puerto Lápice, where we ate lunch at La Venta de Don Quijote (Don Quixote’s Inn). It was so good! We had four dishes of “regional food” to share with the table (which had 4 seats, but my table only had three people). The first was Queso Manchego, which was fried sheep’s cheese. It was actually REALLY good, and it made me think of Brandon and how much he would like it. The second was Migas de Pastor, which were fried breadcrumbs with sausage, garlic, grapes, and bacon. It was also pretty darn delicious. The third and fourth arrived at the same time. One was Pisto Manchego, braised vegetables. It was exactly like salsa, and delicious. The other was Duelos y Quebrantos, which was scrambled eggs with ham, chorizo, and bacon. It was also delicious. Jennifer, who was at my table along with Kristen, suggested eating the eggs with the salsa. It was also delicious.

 

Queso Manchego                             Migas de Pastor

Duelos y Quebrantos                           Pisto Manchego     

We had assumed that was all we were getting, because that was all that was listed in our information packet for this trip. Then the waiters brought us chicken legs. They were huge! We were all surprised that we got more food! Haha it was funny to see the looks on people’s faces, mine too probably. I will say though, it was probably the best chicken I have ever had in my entire life. I couldn’t make myself stop eating it, even though I was so full! To top it off, we got dessert too! It was a small fried dough thing, with a scoop of ice cream. It was a perfect end to the meal.

After that we headed to Consuegra. Here, we stopped to see the  molinos de viento (windmills) first. They were really cool, we were dropped off at the last one and walked to the castle, which was after seven windmills. We took lots of photos here too, including a group photo. Someone asked who had the best camera to take it, and Julian said mine. Sarah (another girl on the trip), said both Sara(h)'s have the Nikon D3000, but I said I had the 3100. So it is now official that I have the most advanced camera. They didn't use mine though, they used like four other digital ones, so I don't have a copy of it until someone posts it on Facebook.

We then went to see the Castillo (castle). This was really cool, because it hasn't been transformed into a museum, so it's all original. We got to explore on our own, so I really explored. I somehow got way ahead of the group, so there was no one around me. It allowed me to get some really nice photos of the rooms. This also meant I went down the tower by myself. A little scary, I'm not gonna lie, but it was totally awesome! I'm pretty sure I've been down a spiral tower before, though I'm not sure where... Anyway, this one was cool. I took photos of the rooms, taking dad's advice to lean against something, because the rooms were all really dark. Some of my photos turned out, others not. Fortunately I took so many that I had duplicates of many things. I'm so glad I went! There was then a two hour bus ride back to Madrid. Most people slept. Surprisingly, I only dozed off for about twenty minutes.

When we got back, everyone headed home. I then did some emails, uploaded my photos to Facebook, and started writing this blog! I was going to go running, but my running clothes (including my sports bra) are all in the wash, so I guess I'll take today off and go tomorrow, since I'm not planning on doing anything spectacular during the day. I don't have an apple for today anyway haha. Then I had dinner here at the apartment. I wasn't even hungry, I ate SO much at lunch! I felt bad not eating though, since Pilar had made it. So I ate it all. It was spaghetti with corkscrew noodles, and a breaded chicken breast. There was also a plate of potato chips that we shared. I only ate about four. They didn't have enough salt for me. The crunch was good with the noodles though.

Now I'm going to finish my composition four, and then shower. After that, either bed, or start to read my book for my final exam. It depends on how tired I am by then. Tomorrow I am DEFINITELY going running! I can't believe how much food I packed into my stomach today, my poor system is going to be working it's little heart out to digest all of it! So until then, adiós mi familia y amigos!