Reino de España, Toledo

During my Spanish expedition, I did one day trip out of Madrid to go wander around the medieval remains of Toledo. Definitely worth it; my trip was pretty aimless and I kept it low budget so I did not go inside the cathedral (for which they charge for entrance and if you want to take pictures, boo) or do any sword-purchasing, but I did walk around and look at some cool stuff, eat an awesome 4 EUR lunch, ride a bunch of escalators, and climb some towers. All in all, very worth it.

Puerta de Bisagra.

Puerta del Sol.

The idea of draping a sheet over these little alleys to provide shade is genius. It's cool-looking and makes the Toledo heat more humane.

One of the few things I did pay for, climbing the towers in the Iglesia de San Ildelfonso. I got a student price ticket by totally ethically sound means and it was really cool to get such a good view of the rest of the old city. 

Holy Opulence, Batman!

The view: 

There's a bunch of these alleyway shots in here. I really enjoyed just moseying around.

"If you drink to forget, pay before beginning"

"Wine gladdens the eye, cleans the tooth, and heals the belly"

A pen for any/every occasion: Second to left, "PERDONAME", an "I'M SORRY" pen.

Mazapan is a big deal in Toledo.

Approaching the cathedral.

  

The back entrance.

Theater.

Tile slates detailing how to make all the essentials: cheese, bread, oil, and wine. There were a few others but I figure these might be good to have on record.

SWORDS. Also big in Toledo, which bizarrely means that there are Lord of the Rings memorabilia shops all over.

 

My amazing 4€ lunch. When I first entered the shop I ordered only the sandwich (which is literally just bread and cheese but look at that thing, it's massive and it was delicious) and a soda which is cheaper, but then I figured, what the hell? Spend the extra 1€ and get yourself a little lunch buzz and dessert. So they were a little confused at first as to whether I could even have wine in a takeaway lunch, but in the end they came through and gave me the wine in what I'm pretty sure was an empty perfume bottle. It tasted good and smelled awesome. Also, mazapan. Really tasty.

Another thing Toledo is really known for: Damascening. It's really cool-looking, you can find some nice stuff for pretty cheap, and it. is. everywhere.

Madrid's manhole covers did NOT impress me (MANHOLE SNOB), but I liked these little baby pieces that were all over Toledo.

After climbing all the damn way up the damn hill to get into the goddamn old part of Toledo I discovered there are FREE OUTDOOR ESCALATORS. Okay, so it was good exercise and I feel better about myself knowing I didn't take the escalators up. But you better believe I took them down. 

Thanks for all the laughs, Toledo! (Okay not really, it's not really a funny kind of city? I just could not think of how to end this. I have done way too much blogging in the last week and my brain isn't cooperating anymore.)

Netherlands/Belgium

Another long overdue post, the photos from my visit to Holland! After playing tour guide to my parents during Christmas we both flew out of the Budapest airport on January 1st. They were heading back to New York and I was headed towards Holland! First to Eindhoven, and from there onto Rotterdam, where I was meeting up with my old friend Kathleen and her sister, Maeve, who is studying there. Time for someone else to play tour guide for me! The plane/train connection went off mostly without a hitch, after a bit of wandering around, and I met Kathleen easily at the Rotterdam central train station. As we walked along the streets back to her sister's new place (she had just moved!), I reveled in the Dutchness of the houses.

Maeve has two beautiful, luxurious, fluffy cats who are somewhat friendly to whom I am very, very allergic. This started to be a bit of a problem towards the end of the second day but still, they were so cute!

On our first full day together, we luxuriated by sleeping in and enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Then Maeve had some things to take care of and Kathleen and I headed off to Delft, onetime headquarters to the painter Vermeer.

 Your eyes are not deceiving you and I did not take the picture poorly. That tower (Oude Kerk, or Old Church) be crooked.

 A vision in pink!

 That seemed to me a funny place to put a door, but the ducks were not complaining.

The other very notable church in Delft, Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). This one is right in front of the town's market square, which was bustling with cheese and fish and fried anything/everything vendors when we arrived.

City Hall.

Cheese purchasing- a task to be considered carefully!

This little dog was hanging out under one of the stalls and with very little prompting (okay, some prompting was involved) came out to say hello and grant us the honor of ear scratches. He was so cute and had I not needed to take several trains and a plane to return to Budapest, he would probably be curled up with me as I write this.

After the hard work of wandering around slowly for an hour, we stopped for a refreshment.

 Then we went through the Vermeer Center, the house in which the artists' guild of Vermeer's time met, and visited the New Church...

...as well as the Old.

That is one seriously old fish market.

Night was beginning to fall so after meeting back up with Maeve we were put to work, accompanying her to the nearby IKEA to furnish her new digs!

 Don't mind if I do?

 The thrills of shopping.

A mural we encountered on the way back to the train station, with one of Vermeer's most famous works on it (Girl with a Pearl Earring).

The next day we got moving a lot earlier and were a bit more ambitious, as we headed out to Amsterdam.

 Unfortunately the weather was not great. We hadn't thought to purchase tickets online beforehand to the Anne Frank House (something that you can do, and I would recommend that you DO do!) so we waited about an hour and half/two hours and then we walked through. It is as sobering, interesting, and tragic as you might imagine or know it to be.

By the time we finished we need to cheer ourselves up and the weather wasn't helping, so we grabbed some food and drinks and walked around a bit more before heading back to Rotterdam.

(HOTEL TAMARA!! Reminds me of my old Georgia days...)

 Last view of Amsterdam.

This is the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, which we walked past on our way to dinner at the Hotel New York, a beautiful old place.

 The next day I said my goodbyes to Kathleen, who was flying home, and Maeve, who had work to do, and after a few hours deliberation decided to spend my last day in Gent before returning to Brussels for my flight home. Unfortunately the pair of boots that I was wearing, which I purchased in Tbilisi last fall when the pair I was wearing THEN (that a good friend had given me) died, did the same thing and died on me while we were walking around Amsterdam. The sole became unattached from the boot and there was not much hope of salvaging them as they were pretty cheaply made in the first place, so I went into the closest shoe store (that just so happened to randomly be a vegan shoe store) and bought a new pair. They were pretty expensive and additionally, although they were at first comfortable by the end of the day my feet were hurting and by the time I'd ridden the two trains to get to Gent and walked waaaaaaaay out of my way to get to my hotel, due to getting very, very lost, my feet were basically ruined. Popped blisters bleeding through the socks ruined. So although I ventured into the center of old town Gent after finding my hotel for long enough to get some food and take a look at the Christmas market, I didn't go much exploring.

My hotel was cool, though. It was the only place with an open room on such late notice in Gent. Basically it was an old church that had been converted. I was in the Sanctus Batholomens room. It was very nice, although freezing cold (initially, I figured out the heater eventually).

Walking into the town center.

 Not many open vendors at the Christmas market (this was January 3rd, after all) but enough people open that I could find scavenge some food.

The hotel courtyard, by morning. Feet still in tatters.

Walking back to the train station, to head to Brussels, because I am a stubborn idiot.

Tiny window kitteh!!

 I wish I could say that I didn't change into the slippers Kathleen had given me as a Christmas gift once I got to the airport. I wish I could say that before that I didn't duck into the public bathroom in the Brussels train station so I could cry for about 2 minutes about how badly my damn feet hurt. I cannot say those things, though, because they did happen. Not many things can really ruin a good trip for me, but feet pain is one. And weirdly enough, it seems to be the one that always gets me. I have terrible shoe luck. In any case, still a pretty good trip and a very joyful reunion with one of my favorite people.