5 Years Ago...

...I was in Spain.


A statue in Retiro Park, the most popular park in Madrid

I had flown from Warsaw to Madrid to spend a week with some friends for Thanksgiving. My friend Sarah lived there, as well as my friend Ben, and our friend Mendy flew from Frankfurt to join us. It was a great week, as I desperately needed the break (after a year in Poland I still had few friends, and around the year-mark is generally when culture shock starts to hit the hardest). So, we spent a week bumming around Madrid.


Ben, Mendy, Sarah, and myself

One day we at at Botin's, the oldest restaurant in the world. It dates to 1725, and Ernest Hemingway was a frequent visitor.


Restaurante Botin

Another day we went to Toledo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Toledo was known for religious tolerance, and many Muslims, Jews, and Christians co-existed there peacefully (before the Muslims and Jews were expelled from Spain, that is).


The Cathedral of Toledo, seen through an alleyway.

And, in November of 2003, I made my first complete Thanksgiving dinner while out of America, and only the second Thanksgiving dinner which I prepared alone. I recall being disappointed with the results, but in retrospect, I think I did fairly well!


Clockwise from sweet potatoes: sweet potatoes, green beans, mashed potatoes, turkey breast, stuffing, sweet potato rolls, and salad.

Ahh, memories. Funny that now all four of us are married and not really in touch anymore, and yet that week I spent in Madrid will remain one of my "greatest vacation" memories, perhaps because I needed the break so badly. Maybe one day I'll make it back there again, but if not...at least I'll have fond memories of the week I spent in Spain.