Talavera de la Reina

After we dropped the car off in Madrid we took the bus over to Talavera de la Reina, which is where Sarah used to teach English.  It was a quick hour long bus ride, but it seemed like forever because we had just been in a car for 4 hours and and Metro for another 45 minutes.  Three modes of transportation in one day can be exhausting.

Our bus

We pulled into the bus station and my smart roommate booked us at the hotel that was connected to the station so there was very little walking required - I was so happy.  Our hotel was very modern, but in typical European fashion, had no privacy.

Damn twin beds!

You can see right through to the bedroom. 

We walked around a bit and stopped at an Italian restaurant for dinner, which was surprisingly good.  Once we were full of pasta and cream sauces, we decided to walk around the ferias (festival) so I could experience it.  There were rows of tents selling everything you could possibly want and then there were the food carts followed by the carnival rides and live music.  Everyone was trying to play their music louder than the tent next to them so it was this beautiful cacophony of bass and American pop music. 

We took these wine chupitos (shots) that came with a cookie stick in it - not my favorite, but Sarah and Jeff seemed to like them.  My favorite part was the hamster ball 'ride', which is intended for children.  Sarah somehow convinced them that we needed to try them out, so the carnie acquiesced to our request.  It was the best/worst thing I have ever done with my roommate.  It's impossible to stand in those things because they are floating on water, but we tried for 10 whole minutes to stand for longer than a second.  Finally we gave up and went back to exploring the ferias. 

Sarah's former coworker and her husband also met up with us for drinks and tapas.  They were very nice and I had a fun time listening to them all talk in Spanish.  I can understand most everything being said, but I can't speak very well in Spanish.  My three favorite phrases on the trip were "Quiero un cafe con leche" "Donde vives?" (good for conversations with cabbies) and "Ortra cerveza, por favor".  If you learn those three phrases you can get anywhere.