Hi! So, we are now on day 5 of this trip and it has been pretty much non stop. Let me think about what I have been up to since the last time I wrote.
We spent day 2 in Madrid. This was the day our 9 person cast arrived. They are AMAZING! We have a family of 6 who are truly straight out of central casting. They are so attractive and the kids are so fantastically sweet and humorous. And then there is a group of 3 girlfriends from Atlanta. They are so sassy, cute and fun! And get this – one of them worked at the Atlanta Olympics as well and she worked in fleet and we have a ton of friends in common! She still does some events with some of them. We are convinced that at some point we drank beers together at Atkins Park but we haven’t pinpointed it yet! It is such a small world!
We headed out to Retiro Park – the largest park in Spain. It was beautiful – a green oasis in the middle of the urban playground. They have a lake in the center with little rowboats that we took out for a scene. Somehow, even though I am the only girl on the crew, I ended up rowing the cameraman around the lake! My arms were on fire! It was about 80 degrees and blazingly sunny – simply perfect.
Then we wandered around the park, stopping for a traditional Spanish drink (non-alcoholic!) called Horchatas. The horchata is a creamy, milky-looking white drink made from nuts I believe. They taste great and refreshing at first and then have a strange, unidentifiable aftertaste. I am not sure if I would say they are enjoyable or not. But, they are different and isn’t that after all the point of traveling?
The next morning, I awoke to a rainy and chilly city. I packed up my luggage and dropped it off for delivery to Barcelona. The whole team headed out to the town of Toledo, about 1 hour southeast of Madrid. It is an ancient city with 80,000 inhabitants. It sits atop a hill surrounded by a river. We drove along very narrow and very winding roads to reach a viewpoint from which we could take in the whole city before entering it. When you see it from a distance, it is striking. Massive stone walls are everywhere and at the pinnacle of it all rises a beautiful church spire. We arrived into town and the rain was now in a full downpour. I of course, never bothered to look outside that morning when I dressed, so I packed all my rain gear and sent it off to Barcelona and was now walking around Toledo in a fleece that, once soaking wet, was heavy and unpleasant! But, nonetheless, the town was just spectacular. It was one of those places that makes you, as an American, realize just how young your country is and how lacking is true character it is.
We spent day 2 in Madrid. This was the day our 9 person cast arrived. They are AMAZING! We have a family of 6 who are truly straight out of central casting. They are so attractive and the kids are so fantastically sweet and humorous. And then there is a group of 3 girlfriends from Atlanta. They are so sassy, cute and fun! And get this – one of them worked at the Atlanta Olympics as well and she worked in fleet and we have a ton of friends in common! She still does some events with some of them. We are convinced that at some point we drank beers together at Atkins Park but we haven’t pinpointed it yet! It is such a small world!
We headed out to Retiro Park – the largest park in Spain. It was beautiful – a green oasis in the middle of the urban playground. They have a lake in the center with little rowboats that we took out for a scene. Somehow, even though I am the only girl on the crew, I ended up rowing the cameraman around the lake! My arms were on fire! It was about 80 degrees and blazingly sunny – simply perfect.
Then we wandered around the park, stopping for a traditional Spanish drink (non-alcoholic!) called Horchatas. The horchata is a creamy, milky-looking white drink made from nuts I believe. They taste great and refreshing at first and then have a strange, unidentifiable aftertaste. I am not sure if I would say they are enjoyable or not. But, they are different and isn’t that after all the point of traveling?
The next morning, I awoke to a rainy and chilly city. I packed up my luggage and dropped it off for delivery to Barcelona. The whole team headed out to the town of Toledo, about 1 hour southeast of Madrid. It is an ancient city with 80,000 inhabitants. It sits atop a hill surrounded by a river. We drove along very narrow and very winding roads to reach a viewpoint from which we could take in the whole city before entering it. When you see it from a distance, it is striking. Massive stone walls are everywhere and at the pinnacle of it all rises a beautiful church spire. We arrived into town and the rain was now in a full downpour. I of course, never bothered to look outside that morning when I dressed, so I packed all my rain gear and sent it off to Barcelona and was now walking around Toledo in a fleece that, once soaking wet, was heavy and unpleasant! But, nonetheless, the town was just spectacular. It was one of those places that makes you, as an American, realize just how young your country is and how lacking is true character it is.
Stone streets shone is the rain, ancient stone houses, all only 2 or 3 stories, stood regally along narrow sloping streets. It was a beautiful morning really. And oh yea, for those 2 days, our local tour guide smelled of scotch and had a very red face! But he gave a good tour!
Next, the train to Barcelona…..
