Oxford

English Countryside - Day 2: From Stratford-upon-Avon, we headed to Oxford, where we were surrounded by people a thousand times smarter than us. We got an hour tour of the city, which is very warm - no other way to describe it - a very comforting university town. Tired of walking so much in Stratford, we took it easy in Oxford, having the most amazing cookies in a coffee shop and chatting. We went to an old church founded by Cardinal Wolsey and later King Henry VIII. It was the last day of exams for the students, who are all required to wear black and white or robes (think Harry Potter style) to take their exams, and depending on how far along they were, they also wore a certain colored carnations. We spent the day there from 11 am til 2:30. Then we were off to Bath.

English Countryside - Warwick Castle (aka Disney knock-off), S'peare's Crib

English Countryside trip - Day 1: We began the day by going to Warwick (pronounced Warrick) Castle, which was bought by Madame Toussand. Consequently, she ruined it. It was very Disney-like inside, and Fariha was compelled to continuously tap the stones to ensure they were real. We climbed 567 steps through the Ramparts, which afforded us some of the higher views of the castle but also were terribly narrow; we almost died getting to the top.

After Warrick, we went to Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of Shakespeare, where we spent the night. We visited his home, which is the house with the thatched roof, and the church where he was buried. We were excited to see our Bengali brethren at the restaurant we went to for dinner (diversity was scarce in this town). We wandered around the streets, where Fariha saw Hollish racists (aka what appeared to her to be racists from Amsterdam staring us down across the Avon). We saw the "Creaky Cauldron" -- get it, Harry Potter fans? Quiet town after 7 p.m. We found ways to amuse ourselves by taking pictures with all the statutes and in phone booths.

'ello London!

Our London voyage did not start off on the right foot. The warm cocoon of Madrid was abruptly burst upon our arrival at Customs. Let's leave it at that.

Next, before we knew it, we found ourselves in the middle of a typhoon. Open scene of us exiting the bus, and Fariha screaming, "LEAVE THE UMBRELLA! JUST RUN!" and Fasiha getting the umbrella stuck on her person and dragged sideways on the street by the rain and wind. See picture for details.

Today was a much better day. First day of classes. We are very excited about the cheap sandwiches. Took a stroll around the area. Lots of catch up sleep. That's it for now.

Adios Madrid

Our last day in Madrid was bittersweet. We didn't realize how much we were going to love Madrid, and it entirely surpassed our expectations. Here are a few things we learned:
1. Dogs are polite in Madrid. i.e. they are never on leashes and never approach strangers
2. Nobody speaks English in Madrid but are incredibly patient while you try to respond in a combination of something that sounds of Spanish and English.
3. Virginia, move over. Madrid is for lovers, not you.
4. All of China has come to Madrid (shout out to Eva, Kang, and Ling - your people are here!)
5. No one believes you when say you are from the U.S. when you are brown.
6. Carlos is a good friend and a wonderful king of Spain in his time. He was a friendly face wherever we went.
7. Prado did not live up to our expectations. And we had none.
8. Fariha loves to read maps. Fasiha loves to go by her gut.
9. A lot of the tourists that come to Madrid are "cheeny baps" aka sugar daddies. Gross.
10. Everyone in Madrid is superpolite. The only rude people are tourists from the UK and US.

Toledo - Day 3

A half hour's train ride from Madrid, Toledo is an incredibly charming, vibrant city. We're not sure if Corpus Christi just passed, but the city was decorated throughout in its honor, looking pretty medieval, with coat of arms and wreaths hanging from windows. The streets, all cobbled, are incredibly narrow, with pedestrians and cars sharing the road. It is as if time did not touch this city. LOVES it.

The day did not start out too well with Fasiha wanting to die at the train station - the heat, crowds, and lack of sleep made her want to either throw up or pass out. Fariha was fine. We did some hardcore walking in Toledo. To Alcazar, the fortress (see city view picture), which we actually passed but did not believe was it so spent an hour and half looking for it. We are not very good map readers. One highlight was the Mezquita Cristo de la Luz ("Christ of the Light Mosque"), which was built in 999 and then converted into a church (see pictures of building with arches inside and out). The Synogoga de Santa Maria la Blanca is a synogogue built by the Moors for the Jews, which was reflected in its architecture and was very beautiful. We also went to a monestary, the Monesterio de San Juan de los Reyes, which was AWESOME. If for no other reason except there was some sort of processional occuring and one of its participants, in full garb, approached us and asked if we wanted a picture with him, and before we could answer, he placed himself next to Fariha and we were obliged to take a photo with him (will post later). And by the end of the day, Fariha forgot how to read ("Paseo de San Cristobal" became "Pesos del Custodial").

Madrid - Day 2 - Palacio Real

The highlight of Friday was the Palacio Real, Spain's equivalent to the Versailles. It was ridiculously opulent, and Fariha's proletariat nature kicked into high gear throughout the tour. We were only allowed a glimpse of twenty or so rooms, each fabulously lavish and themed, we can only imagine what the rest of the palace looks like. We then went to the cathedral next door and had quiet time on the pews. We meandered around the Plaza Mayor and Fariha lost her mind when she saw a Mango store. Afterwards, we ate dinner at the park. Apparently, "jamon" means HAM, not salmon, did you know that?

Hola Madrid

Salaams from Madrid. After a three hour delay in Dulles, a missed connected flight, a delayed rescheduled flight, and a bit of airport wandering, we made it to Madrid! After settling in, we did some strolling around and did the whole touristy pictures and video route. We were pretty stumped at dinner until a fellow customer was very nice in translating the menu and ordering for us. So far, Madrid gets bonus points for having very nice shopkeepers, waiters and randoms. Euros look like Monopoly money, plus points. Expensive 24 hour internet, minus points. And we need to learn some workable Spanish phrases.