El Escorial and Toledo

My friends,

I'll go ahead and start this off with a tangent - what's with all of this SOPA stuff I keep reading about on the twittersphere? Anyone care to fill me in?

Today's been a lot of fun. We left the great city of Madrid and headed out to the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, where we visited El Escorial, home of some of the former kings of Spain as well as a current monastery and school. The town itself was about 30 minutes outside of Madrid, and it was a beautiful place - kind of the stereotypical image you would probably get when you think about a smaller town in the Spanish foothills.

We got to take a tour of El Escorial, and it was very different than the Royal Palace we saw yesterday. The elegance and intricacy of each room was much less impressive, which apparently was the point of King Phillip, who wanted to live a simple life like the monks did at that time. (sidenote: the whole tour was in Spanish, so if these facts aren't completely accurate, I apologize). We saw rooms ranging from the library and "exercise room", to the bedroom and even the room containing all the tombs of past kings and queens of Spain. The whole complex was very impressive, but the cathedral was what really stood out to me. While everything else in the palace lacked fanciness and flare, the cathedral was amazingly detailed and gorgeous. It was by far the most beautiful center of worship that I had ever been in, with its amazing height, gorgeous statues, and 4 gigantic organs that could all be played simultaneously (that probably got me more psyched than anything).

After visiting El Escorial, we drove a few hours to the city of Toledo. It was a very refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of Madrid. Toledo's history is very rich (so rich that I would butcher it if I even tried to explain it all), and it was amazing getting to imagine the history that passed through the city. We took a walking tour around the city and saw a few different cathedrals. Our tour guide showed us original works of art from Goya. Art always amazes me whenever people actually give me the background of it. We also saw a Jewish synagogue that was made in the twelfth century. Crazy to think about...

After thinking that I had seen the greatest cathedral ever at El Escorial, I was quickly mistaken after seeing Toledo's famous cathedral, Catedral de Toledo. Luckily, I did get to take some pictures in this place, although I don't think that the pictures can do the cathedral justice.

I tried to upload more of them just now, but the internet is going a little slow so I guess they'll have to wait until the Facebook album..

Unlike Madrid, which is more or less a grid-like layout, Toledo has streets going every which-way and it was fun to get lost and explore the city a little bit tonight. I went with a few friends and explored a few tapas bars (be careful how you say that or else Americans might think you're a perv), and then found a fun bar to go watch the much anticipated soccer game between Real Madrid and UC Barcelona. Although I don't like soccer very much, watching the game in Spain was so much fun! Everyone is so passionate about the sport and their team - I just made sure I remained neutral the whole time..

I ended the night having the pleasure to talk to two of my favorite people - my girlfriend and my dad. From talking all about Spain and life in Waco with Kathryn to talking about Spain and KU basketball with my dad, I loved every minute of my conversation and definitely consider myself blessed to be able to utilize technology these days.

Tomorrow I'll take the bus with my group to Sevilla and get to meet our host families! I'm so excited to get to officially meet my host mother and get settled in and unpacked. It's been a blast of a trip so far, but I'm ready to be in a place that I can call my home for a few months and not just live out of a suitcase.

Alright, that's all I want to say.

Ay dee ose.

Brad.

P.S. Mom - I love you :)