For a week in the summer holidays, I went abroad for the first time in 11 years. My Dad, his girlfriend Lira, my sister and I were off to Toledo in Spain to visit my Dad's girlfriend's family and explore the town. During our time there, I kept a daily account of what we got up to, my thoughts and general highlights. Wanting to share my experience, I thought I'd write it up on here for my own reminiscing and for others to see what Toledo has to offer!
This will pretty much be published word for word, as I write it while memories were still fresh in mind. (Apologies for the long wait with the publishing of this blog post. Various factors such as school, other work and simply not wanting to type out entries delayed the publication) So, let us begin! Spain Day 1: 18th August 2016 Up at 5am. I had gone to bed the previous night with fear and trepidation over what could occur over any part of the journey. Thankfully going to sleep at 9:30pm meant the 5am wake up wasn't too awful. As soon as my bedroom light was switched on, I knew this was time. I was as ready as you could be. Quick shower, breakfast and teeth before saying goodbye to Mum. Hard as we'll be 1,000 miles away, but we'll see her in a week. Then we were off at 5:45am. Walking down the street before dawn is so peaceful, calm, quiet and rather foggy. Getting on the train to Stansted Airport was fairly smooth, except for knowing which carriages would split. About half an hour later, we arrived at the airport where Lira nearly got trapped by train doors closing, had I not warned her. It was nice to wheel wheeled suitcases instead of lugging around hand suitcases. 2 flights of escalators and we were in Stansted! Very very busy with lots of people checking in luggage. Step one was just scanning your boarding pass - like a typical underground station. Didn't go at all smoothly for me! Blooming barcodes! After that came a huge swath of people going through security. There were very strict rules about what form liquids could be in e.g. you could have 3 small 100ml bottles but not 1 big 300ml bottle. Logic. Repeated shouting from staff meant we were filed into a very high security lane. Bags and cases had to be in separate trays and went up a conveyor belt to be checked. There was something liberating about chucking the case on and hoping for the best. Though my case (and I) got through fine, my Dad and sister's cases were held back due to some liquids. Thankfully the bags eventually got through. We got round to the branded products and shops which consisted of tonnes of perfume brands and......duty free cigarettes. Lovely. Various delays meant we were running a tad late for the boarding and had to speed run lots. Our flight was at gate 59, the furthest away from the main airport. Great, The guy checking our passports commented on how much I had grown up and, judging by my passport photo, though I would be the youngest. Thanks. Managed to take a few photos on the plane before boarding. We were on the plane, just in time. Being the, alleged, vlogging enthusiast I am, I decided to film us walking up the steps as this was a historic moment. This did not go down well with the head stewardess, immediately asking me to stop filming her, even though the camera had stopped rolling. The relationship never improved. We found our seats in row 8 while looking about the emergency pictures. The what to do in the event of an emergency' jingle played while the flight crew demonstrated. Nobody other than myself was listening and the flight crew certainly didn't look like they wanted to be there, Gradually, the plane started juddering towards the runway while I kept gulping and sucking sweets (apparently helps!). The pilot really revved the engines before taking off. Utterly crazy. The land became so tiny so quickly. I've learnt that I don't like planes tilting or flying at angles, but straight cruising is fine. For the 2 hour journey, I mainly read 'Private Eye,' napped or went to the loo. That was a whole experience in itself. The loo cabin was tiny and I immediately worried about being sucked out of the plane. Paranoia and stupidity, I know. Flushing the loo was dreadful as there was a huge noise. Other than that, the journey was fairly smooth and I was grateful to have survived. Madrid Airport interestingly lacked a huge amount of security for the capital, as anyone could have taken our luggage we needed to re-claim. To get to the bus station that would take us to Toledo, we needed to travel on the Spanish metro. That was fine, and included buskers improvising songs about people specifically nearby. I was the ''one with the converse and straw hat.'' You would never get that in England. My Metro ticket cost 5.39 Euros which is basically £5.39 since we voted to leave the EU. Good value, who knows? Eventually we arrived at the bus station which was underground and therefore very dark. I stupidly thought it was night already, even thought it was only 2pm, and there is only 1 hour difference between the UK and Spain. The 45 minute coach journey from Madrid to Toledo was smooth. I mainly read my David Cameron book while admiring the surroundings. Very hot and barely any grass. On arrival, we met Lira's son who would drive us to where we would be staying at L's mum's flat. We also met Lira's sister, daughter and mother. They were all so friendly and welcoming. Even though we didn't fully understand one another (they all speak Spanish as a first language), that didn't stop them welcoming us. We had a potato salad for lunch before I fell asleep for 4 hours. I was very tired having started the day at 5am. In the evening we briefly visited the historic Toledo town by going up 6 long escalators. Very high up! My first day has been very warm and full of friendly people. Spain Day 2: 19th August 2016 Got up at 10am today - had Cheerios in a mug for breakfast with toast. Shower good - correct temperature and pressure. Went up escalators again and explored more of old town. Lots of narrow alleyways which cars would drive down. The collisions on walls were very clear. Quite quiet in the morning. Went to Lira's brother's flat to relax while he was at work. Very near to the cathedral, so we could take lots of photos of roofs and historic buildings. On departure, we went down a street of shops which was much busier - lots of tourists exploring. I could imagine being in my home town, looking at the shops and things being sold. In the afternoon, we went back for a relaxation before going to the very snazzy tennis club. This was founded around 40 years ago by families contributing money for various sports courts and a swimming pool. The pool was very nice - good temperature. Lira's brother was there with his wife and 3 boys. We gave them an ambulance, fire engine and police car. Later, we played Uno which was so much fun. I forgot how much I loved it. In other news I learnt Deal or No Deal has been cancelled after 11 years. A shame but I think the show had run its course. Spain Day 3: 20th August 2016 Mum's birthday! Yay! I'd messaged her at 10:55pm her time wishing her a happy birthday. Though I am not there this year, I know she will be enjoying her day. Over here, we went to a lovely park for the morning. There were lots of beautiful trees and benches to sit on. The market stall was medieval themed, hence lots of bagpipes, music. According to Dad, Lira and my sister, even the toilets were medieval themed with no seats, sinks, soap or toilet roll. Most hygienic. More Uno was played. Such an addictive game. We went to the pool again which was very similar to yesterday. I learnt that members are divided into tennis players and card players. So there can be heated tensions. Playing Uno, we weren't sure which side we fitted into. We debated what happened if your hands were kept under water for 2 days (would they crinkle away?) and what happens when you fart underwater. The most important questions. Saddened that the Olympics comes to an end tomorrow. We intend to watch the closing ceremony. I enjoy the 2 weeks of sport excitement every 4 years and have loved how well GB did in a variety of sports. As for Spain: so far, so good, so hot! Spain Day 4: 21st August 2016 Up early today at 8am to climb a rock and see wonderful views over all of Toledo. Doing it earlier in the day really helped with it being not as hot and easier to climb. We drove out of town before walking roughly half a mile (?) past lots of tourist buses. Then the ascent began! I found it easier to climb up the rock because you could lean into it. There were some railings and steps to climb up the massive rock, which helped. We all took loads of photos and I even read some 'Private Eye'. Lira's mother come with us and it was her first time climbing the rock since before getting married. A truly historic day. Going down the hill was quite hard as the ground was very crumbly and fell away easily. I'm glad I didn't see the rock before going up, as I may have been put off by its height. We visited a church that was on the edge of a cliff and were able to ring the bells. I don't think the church owner was best pleased, but hey ho! In the afternoon, we relaxed and played Uno before once again going down to the pool for the 3rd night in a row. Most jolly. I taught my sister the front crawl technique which was surprisingly easy! There were some issues trying to take a group photo in the pool whilst remaining above the water, but there we are. Dinner was as always utterly superb. I really do appreciate and like Spanish food, especially the omelettes. Spain Day 5: 22nd August 2016 Today we were off to visit Toledo library with Lira's children. Lira's mother's shop was back open after a 2 week holiday. We went and had a look in the morning. The shop is quite compact - your typical local convenience store but sells everything. From eggs to papers to chocolate and tuna you could buy everything. It even had a lottery machine. In Toledo lottery machines are quite rare and you have to bid for one. They got it! Lira had purchased some lottery tickets a few months ago and we discovered one was worth 4 Euros. Awesome! After that fun, we walked into the old Toledo town. I just love the architecture, narrow streets and cars attempting to drive down them (Doesn't end well). We met L's children in a central part of Toledo, where you could imagine being in London. There was a McDonalds nearby, good grief! The Toledo library is simply massive. My Dad and sister climbed 201 stairs in total to reach the cafe at the top. From the cafe you could see all over Toledo: the hills, the rock we climbed, chapel we visited, various landmarks. It was stunning. Lira's children were practicing their English and so guided us around the library. The main room where people would come to study in utter silence was so funny, because the stairs constantly creaked. Couldn't stop laughing! There was a snazzy corridors with many tiny square windows, each with a chair and lots of paintings from many moons ago. Upon leaving, we bought we got very good quality, but expensive, ice creams. I chose cafe (meaning coffee). In the afternoon I had my 2nd siesta of the trip and woke up feeling refreshed. Instead of going to the pool, my Dad, sister and I explored the local neighborhood. I discovered a delicious looking cake shop and palm trees which were humongous. All in all, an informative day meeting people and places. Spain Day 6: 23rd August 2016 Up at 9am to visit the tennis club in the afternoon which was different to our previous times of going in the evening. We arrived at 12pm just as the pool was opening and it was so nice and quiet. We swam for 1 hour 30 minutes before playing 3 very fun rounds of Uno. More swimming occurred before going to spend the evening with L's brother. We took lots of derpy photos using a timer and tripod. Various facial themes included: serious, silly, dance and taekwondo. We then had a buffet style party with take away pizzas and Spanish omelette. In other news, 2 months since the historic Brexit vote and we are still no nearer to evoking Article 50. I doubt it will be repeatedly stalled as the electorate would get most angry. Spain Day 7: 24th August 2016 Up late today to collect some stamps for the postcards we intend to write. On our way we saw a full on road rage between a previous undented white car and a gold car. Gold car reversed into white car, leaving a little chip on the side. Most cars in Toledo have dents so the gold car wasn't that bothered and intended to drive off, so white car blocked them in. Full on rage! Getting stamps was fine, but ice cream later on were a disaster! Went to one shop which displayed them but didn't actually sell them. No wonder the shop owner looked confused. Spain Day 8: 25th August 2016 Bit nervous today - we were helping out in the shop. Sent very funny job applications with bad pictures and messages. Getting an ice cream from the same area was more successful - even the shop owner was outside the shop! We may have given 3 Euros to a complete stranger. As for working in the shop, a delivery had been sent at 8am for us to unpack and stack. Mainly tuna, washing up liquid and gherkins. My sister and I made a good team unpacking and stacking. We then went down to the backroom where Lira and the family played when they were little. Full of stuff! Due to our hard work emptying bins and sorting stuff, we received 5 Euros and sweets in reward. After that, it was time to find out my GCSE Science result. I went to my room and waited anxiously for Mum's reply. She told me I had got an A! It wAs in code by cApitAlizing All the A's in her sentences. Utterly unbelievable. I even asked her to double check she wasn't reading the wrong part. But no, an A! So so happy. :) I told everyone and they were so proud and happy. It was such a weight off my shoulders when flying back to the UK and meant less revision for Year 11. It was awesome. In the evening we went for our last swim at the Tennis club. My time in Spain has gone so quickly but I've had an utter blast. I will miss everyone so much. Sad to say goodbye to everyone, but I'm sure we will see each other in the future. The Spanish community is so friendly, and it's been an honour to visit. So there we are. The heat was more bearable than I expected, the sights even more fascinating than expected and the people were even more friendly than I expected. An experience I will never forget. A truly wonderful, memorable first trip abroad in 11 years.
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