Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias!

Although Spaniards obviously don't celebrate Thanksgiving, we were able to celebrate the holiday over here nonetheless. :)

All of my classes (all the way from my 2yr olds up through my 6th graders!) did various Thanksgiving projects. We painted turkeys, drew turkeys with our hands, created pilgrims, indians and turkeys from toilet paper rolls and construction paper, and, with the help of YouTube and Charlie Brown, I explained the story of Thanksgiving more times than I ever have before. Some students wondered if we really eat all day long, haha. I reassured them that the morning is really for prepping the food but when its time to have at it...we don't hold back! (And that's why we have Friday off to recover!)

On Thanksgiving Thursday, Matthew and I both met at home for lunch, and he surprised me with a very American (and very delicious) Domino's pizza!!! Yum Yum! We ate the whole thing in proper Thanksgiving manner.

On Saturday, we were invited to a Thanksgiving party at our friend, Honor's (there she is, with her masterpiece!), and we really had all the fixin's! Complete with a massive turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, corn, stuffing, and gravy! We even had apple and pumpkin pie! We also made a bunch of new friends, both Spanish and Venezuelan. Needless to say...even though we weren't in the states, we still had a Thanksgiving feast!

We are endlessly grateful to all our wonderfully supportive family and friends. And we are also very thankful to be making some good friends so far from home. It makes all the difference.

Toledo!

Our day trip to Toledo actually took place the same weekend we visited Segovia, but things have been too busy lately for blogging. In any case, it was quite a treat! Toledo is Matthew's favorite new city!

From the bus station, we walked to the very grand archway to enter the enclosed city center. It wasn't long before we discovered how fantastically small all the streets within were. It was a wonder to us not only how people navigate the tiny passages, but also how anyone could possibly keep a car unscathed for more than a day or two with the combination of tight turns, steep hills, numerous pedestrians and unforgiving stone walls!

Toledo is an amazing hill-crest city protected by a river that winds around 3/4 of its base. It has been held by both Islamic and Christian societies. From all entrances, it rises above you, promising adventure....But we really had no idea how fascinating it would be, given that we had no idea that the entire city is little more than a narrow-corridor, passage-twisting maze.

While walking otherwise aimlessly through the streets, we gave ourselves small goals, like finding our way to great spires in the distance. It was in this way that we came upon a many-block-spanning Cathedral, whose name, surprisingly, we never learned.

We were boggled by the vastness of the detail...

and the otherworldliness of the precision.

We couldn't pay for entrance into the main cavity of the cathedral, but we were still able to see a small wing of it, through a castle-sized side door...

We checked out a few shops...

And then kept looking around the city....

As evening fell.

Following a restaurant recommendation, we treated ourselves to a delicious and traditional Spanish lunch (an American dinner). The manager really took a shine to us and made sure everything was just right. We had the local specialty, a marsala-sauced partridge, and the traditional Spanish dish, Paella. The "menu of the day" also included cake and coffee. It was a very lucky day.

After our gluttony,

we continued our tour of this mysterious city.

What we wouldn't have given to have a better camera!

We loved Toledo.

But the last bus home was beckoning us...

So we promised each other. We'll go back.

Segovia

Segovia is known for at least four things: a historically important castle, Roman aqueducts, a spectacular cathedral, and a particular culinary specialty: cochinillo...aka., tender piglet. Although we had only heard rumors of this latter fact before arriving, we weren't in the town 10 minutes before we came upon an apparently important statue...

Turning to our right, we saw this magnificent cityscape...beckoning us to climb the ancient stairs that wound up its rocky side....

We quickly found ourselves in a rather fantastic cobbled city...

Where the city scenes recurrently stopped us in our tracks, like traveling hiccups...we were attracted to innumerable nearby surprises, but led forward by the promise of seeing great wonders in the distance...

And, under the shadow of the great cathedral, we again encountered the omnipresent cochinillo...the inescapable end of a long day's journey into Segovian night.

(Yes, they're real.)

In the Plaza Mayor, under the imposing silhouette of the great church, we ate our first classically Spanish "almuerzo": the dinner-intimidating "lunch" of Spaniards. (which we've decided is actually just a really early dinner, while the traditional "dinner" is really just a large late night snack...)

After eating, we resumed our adventure, without any idea of what we might find. Or, at least, I had no idea of what we might find. While Andrea knew that a castle lay in store, I was, expectedly, quite ignorant of the fact. It was a beautiful blessing, then, to rather randomly chance upon a real-life, well-fortified, hilltop-commanding fortress. I was dumbstruck!

Being a nerdy lover and life-long player of "Dungeons and Dragons," my impressions upon beholding this structural and historical marvel far outstripped anything I can quickly blog-up. Hence, I will remain silent. But take a good look. This is real. Kings lived here.

Of course, it seemed obligatory to me to purchase the extra "tower access" tickets. Notwithstanding my imagining variously-accoutered tower chambers, it was simply (and arduously) a rather long, very tight circular stairwell, climbing some 3 stories. It was not altogether barren of evocative views, happily...

Nevertheless, we were rewarded at its culmination with this incredible view of the city...

Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to enter the profound Cathedral, notable for its many architectural embellishments. It is undoubtedly one of the most massive and impressive buildings we've ever seen, but it was closed to visitors by the time we returned to it.

As twilight descended upon the city, still mesmerized by what we'd already seen, we found ourselves again stunned by what was a largely fortuitous discovery...the Roman Aqueducts. They towered over the city, and we found it difficult to comprehend both their construction and their full purpose. Thankfully, their splendor was free.