This past weekend, I got the opportunity to do a bit of traveling without the Fund to a place farther than Madrid. Jenny (a girl from Minnesota) and I decided earlier in the week to head to A Coruña, in the northern 'state' of Galicia (the part of Spain above Portugal). IT was amazing, but the epitome of a whirlwind tour. Due to a higher than average amount of homework that weekend, we decided to make the trip shorter. We loaded a night bus Thursday night, got in at 5:30 AM the next day, went non-stop all day, and then boarded another bus at 10:30 PM Friday night to return to Madrid Saturday morning. Although it was quick, it was amazing!
Arriving there at 5:30 am was interesting, since it was an hour before we were supposed to get there. Knowing nothing would be open, Jenny and I decided to try and find the Torre de Hercules, an ancient Roman lighthouse which is the oldest lighthouse still functioning. However, it took us a bit to walk there, since we had to cross the whole city and the signs kept pointing us in awkward and roundabout directions. That, and we think we got lost because we used the "A Coruña at Day" map instead of the "A Coruña at Night" map. :-P
We eventually made it to the tower just in time to see something completely worth the cold: a sunrise over the Galician 'fjords' and the Atlantic ocean. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen, and definitely set a good tone to the day. Then, at 9 AM the tower finally opened and we climbed to the top, which gave an amazing view of everything. From there, we checked out a sculpture garden (with Celtic menhires), and a compass rose featuring 8 Celtic based languages (In Galicia the speak both Castellano and another language called Gallego, which has a mixture of roots and sounds somewhat like Portuguese) .
After that, we went to Casa de Hombre, which is a science museum dedicated to the Human Being, and then stopped off at the beach to wade into the ocean a bit (by then the temperature had risen from 12º C to 21º C). We ate lunch at this quaint pizza place, and I ordered the Galician Special (Shrimp and Mussels!) with some white wine...it was fantastic! We then went to the Casa de las Ciencias (House of Science) which had an entire floor of Physics hands-on activities (nothing like mixing the two majors, no?) as well as a Planetario. Having had astrophysics, it was fun to watch because I got to hear the difference in pronunciations and some of the names of stellar objects. Yeah, I know, I'm a geek...
After the planetarium we had dinner at a restaurant that was in the middle of a roundabout, which was interesting get to. Because seafood is so cheap there, I had some more (a shrimp Omlete!). After that we walked around the city and spent 2 hours walking back to the bus station, but it was so well worth it! We were a bit sad returning to the train station because all the shops we closed due to it being a holiday that day, but lo and behold! In the bus station there was a newsstand (so I could buy a newspaper with articles in gallego) AND a souvenir shop. Thusly we returned to Toledo very happy! I took loads of pictures, and once I get them uploaded I will share them with vosotros!
Since then the week has been pretty ordinary (well as ordinary as a week can be in Spain). I went to the mall Monday and bought two Spanish CD's (La 5ª Estación and Carlos Baute's newest one). Other than that it's been homework because midterms are coming up. That, and I don't get a fall break...¡qué pena!
Right now I am waiting at the Fund for some random 3 o'clock meeting to start. Now, I have been trying to stay positive about fund stuff, but this is yet another time I am going to have to skip lunch (the most important meal of the day) with my family to eat the food here :-( and attend some meeting that most likely will be another waste of time. I did not elect a homestay to have to skip lunch at home and spent my entire day in the Fund...kind of irksome if you ask me...I also already know I have to skip lunch another time next week for some random meeting about my internship...grrr...
Oh well, at least I am enjoying my experience and taking everything in...mainly because I have began to find the root of what is really making me feel bad here...but that's for another day...
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