Travel to Toledo

Before I came to Spain I did some research, obviously. About schools, people, food, places etc. One to-do definitely stuck: travel. Everybody on any website or forum was advising people coming to Spain to travel as much as possible. Of course, it’s not so easy. You have to know where and when to go, traveling with company is always better and also, you have to afford it. The good thing about Madrid is that it is located in the heart of Spain, so you can go anywhere. 

As I found myself with an unannounced week vacation (there are many public holidays in Spain and the days in between official free days are sometimes also free and even have a name: puente. But more on that later), I decided I should at least take a day-trip to one of the small towns near Madrid. My options were: Segovia, El Escorial and Toledo. I chose the latter because… Well, because an opportunity arose. I didn’t want to travel alone so, again, I turned my eyes towards Couchsurfing. And what do you know? Some people there also wanted to have a trip in their free day to a place nearby. By the time I contacted them, Toledo was already decided. Plus, there was a guy living in Toledo willing to meet us all and give us the city tour. What more could you want? Every travel aspect already organized, more people as company and a tour guide! I also grabbed one of my classmates and off we went to Toledo the next day. 

It was wonderful. It’s a small medieval city, it’s full of history (which I forgot) and you can see everything in a day. It was nice and sunny when we went and we walked its narrow streets the whole day, seeing the famous Cathedral, the famous Jewish Neighborhood with its synagogues and other famous things, of course. But the thing I liked most was its whole vibe – a small, very relaxed old town. On second thought, maybe the thing I liked most was the company. Neither of us had any idea what it was about, except for our guide, who was great and very patient. He walked the whole town with us, showing and sharing everything he knew. He also took us to one of the best beer places I have been in Spain, Enebro. Their tapas are to kill for! Yeah, I think the company was what I liked most. It’s always important to travel with good people.

Couchsurfing

It was a few years ago when I first met with the concept of "couchsurfing", through some friends of a friend. All I got back then was that it meant people from all around the world could 'surf' others' couches from anywhere in the world, without any kind of material obligation. "Interesting" I thought, but that was kind of it. It took me a few years to learn more about this community and to be a part of it, in the end. But once I figured out what it was about, I was hooked.

Before I came to Madrid I was desperately looking for a solution to spend my first days in this completely new city where I didn't know anybody. It seemed almost impossible to be able to find a place to stay without being here. But I found the solution with the help of Couchsurfing. This online community is organized by countries and cities and different themes. So I was lucky enough to find something in a group that was called "Madrid: Renting Rooms" (link). Not only I could secure my first week there, as a member sublet me his room while he was on vacation, but I also got to make friends with his roommate. She was the first person I met in Madrid and it was neither my choice or hers. But somehow, we instantly became friends and I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be in such good company only a week in this new city. It is always good to get to know people who already live in the city you're moving to, so they can give you all the tips and advice you need, as locals. And it's even better when these people turn out to be actual friends.

So my point is you should all check their site, it's a non-profit organization and it has been absolutely great for me. It can help you find places to live, places to go to, things to do, but most importantly, you can meet amazing people from all around the world.