Valladolid

Who knew that so many things could go wrong in a single day?  I should clarify:  My day trip to Valladolid was fun...it just didn't go exactly as planned.  But with every unfortunate thing that happened, there was a silver lining.  My good friend Julia got really sick this past week and as a result wasn't able to go with me on Friday.  However one of her roommates, Mary Kate, wasn't doing anything this weekend so she went with me instead.  Lucky break number one.  When we got to the train station in Salamanca, a forty minute walk from my house, I realized that I had forgotten to bring any type of documentation or identification with me.  Fortunately, I didn't need it to board the train.  Lucky break number two.  Once we were in Valladolid, everything went fine.  Mary Kate and I took our time strolling throughout the city, visiting the Museo Nacional de Escultura and the Iglesia de San Pablo.  Honestly, there wasn't very much to do in the city.  But it was nice to have a change of scenery for the day, "cambia de aires" as we say in Spanish.  The day was very relaxing and we had perfect weather during most of the day.  Around 5:30 in the afternoon things started to change.  The wind picked up, the sky grew cloudy, and we rushed to find a cafe before it started down pouring.  I should mention that it hasn't rained in Castilla y León in over a month.  So, the two of us ordered some coffee and talked until we needed to go catch our train.  It was nice getting to know Mary Kate.  I feel like it's still hard to get to know the people who are new this semester so I was grateful for having that time.  Lucky break number three.  Since the temperature had dropped so much and the weather had turned sour, we were both eager to get on our train going home.  However, this eagerness led us to board the wrong train.  Our train was scheduled to leave at 7:55 from platform 3.  We boarded the train that left at 7:50 from platform 3.  I was just sick with myself...I don't know how I made that mistake.  There were so many signs that we were on the wrong train:  Two people were sitting in our seats, a woman asked us if we were on the wrong train...goodness gracious.  But we were not the only ones.  Three other people did the exact same thing.  Lucky break number four.  So the five of us got off of the incorrect train at the next stop, Venta de Baños (which translates to "bathroom sales," another bad sign).  We boarded a train that went to Medina del Campo and from there boarded a train to Salamanca.  Almost two hours later, we were home.  Again we were fortunate because the ticket-taker in the train was very friendly and didn't charge us for another ticket.  Lucky break number five.  I honestly can't believe all of that happened within the span of one day.  As I said, Friday was the definition of a silver lining.  The woman in the tourist office in Valladolid told me that I spoke Spanish very well and had a good accent.  That was put to the test last night as we tried to navigate the rail system with three Spaniards who didn't speak a drop of English.  Live and learn, I guess.  At least I have another funny story to tell in addition to my camel catastrophe in Morocco and my boyfriend in the Czech Republic.  I hope you are all laughing or at least shaking your heads...because that's what I'm doing as I type.  I'm very happy to be back in Salamanca and not stuck in the middle of rural Spain.  I love you all and I'll be writing again soon.  Besos.

Highlight of the day:  Peacocks in the park.