Nikki Yeager

With all the facebook-quitting and new-coat-buying that's been going on in my life lately, I seem to have forgotten to blog!

I also forgot to write about Toledo, Spain. The last city I saw before getting on a plane and taking my long - and slightly horrible- flight back to NYC. 

My CS host was amazing and after showing me around the whole of Madrid, he decided to take another entire day showing me around Toledo, a former capital of the "Spanish Empire" (says Wikipedia). Just 20 minutes outside Madrid, I stepped into a Medieval town complete with strangely elaborate churches, miniature alleys and lots of swords in gift shops. 

First we had my favorite Spanish coffee outside the largest library I've ever seen in my life. And I live in NYC. I've seen some massive libraries. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed in to see the books but I spent a good 10 minutes fantasizing about it while drinking my cafe con leche. Which was probably the most amazing 10 minutes of my life. 

Much warmer and full of caffeiene, we headed back out with absolutely no itinerary and no plan. We simply took off wandering. Through alleys no wider than arms' length, and up hills that lead to parks that overlooked all of the city. Almost all of Spain (if the mountains weren't in the way). 

Around the miniature, winding, cobblestone roads were buildings that looked like they were pulled right from the set of midieval festival. But they weren't from a cardboard-and-paste set, these were the originals. And they were all around me. I could reach out and touch them, run my palms across the cold stone, take pictures of their ancient door handles. Around another corner and we happened upon an exhibit about torture through the inquisition.. and beyond! 

My sick curiosity got the best of me, and I had to see more. My host gladly obliged which makes me wonder - what does that say about us? 

Inside there were ancient torture devices, nooses, replicas, real instruments of torture from the inquisition. And people say Americans are bad. 

just kidding.

Then we wandered some more and happened to find ourselves following our whims down the side of a mountain towards a bridge that led... to no where. 

But it did lead to a beautiful view. 

And then the 20 minute, laborious hike began. All the way back up the mountain. And trust me, it was worth every single second of it.