The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain!

So it was raining here yesterday, and the first thing I thought of when I woke up in the morning was this line from My Fair Lady. I was amused :)

Sunday I went to Toledo (pronounced toe-lay-dough), a nearly 2000 year old city about an hour outside of Madrid. It was AWESOME. Back in the day, Toledo was known as "the Jeruselem of the west" was it is also where the Romans built the first acueductos. Toledo is also the home to a lot of the history behind the Inquisition, where the Catholic Church of Spain basically kicked out all Jewish people from the country. We were able to see various cathedrals, synagogues, and different parts of the city. Seriously, it was an awesome day. I've included pictures so you all can see what I saw, because I can't seem to describe it.

This is an "acueducto" that the Romans built when they were first in Toledo. Its still standing from when it was originally built, meaning its over 2,000 years old. Crazy, huh?











This was the entrance to the Cathedral of Toledo, which I unfortunately couldn't take pictures of. The archdiocese of Spain live in Toledo, and the church looks quite royal.










A view of the city! Beautiful, isn't it?













This is inside one of the few Jewish synagogues left in the city. Today, there is actually a very large Catholic, Jewish and Muslim population in Toledo. The synagogue also had a museum in it, which was so interesting- it showed all different customs of Jewish life and how things have changed over the past 2000 years. One the right hand side, you can see a balcony-looking-thing. This was the women's gallery. Back then, women weren't allowed to be on the main floor of the synagogue during a service so they had to watch from above.


I put this picture up because my sister told me that I didn't take any pictures of myself. And I had to show you all that I am making friends here :) This is me with Michelle, Sarah, and Sabrina overlooking the city.









So right after the bus driver dropped us off for our tour, we proceeded to climb 6 (yes 6) escalators to get to the top of the city. Seriously...there are 6 outdoor escalators that get everyone to the main part of Toledo. The streets there are so small and narrow that most cars (let alone tour busses) can't get through them at all. The streets and city were intentionally designed this way. Back Toledo was the center of wars and battles, the streets acted as a maze for foreigners to get easily lost in. Only those who lived there could figure their way through the city. It was like a built-in defense mechanism.







Yesterday was the first day of my first full week of class, and I'm beginning to realize that my vacation is over. :( so sad. But I ended up skipping half of my dance class to come home to watch the inaguration. After everything was done, my host mom told me that she was even proud today and that she likes Obama, but is not so sure of Hilary Clinton :) We'll see how everything pans out!