Yesterday was the last day with Dad and Sue in Toledo. In the morning I stayed in because they wanted to meet up at 12:00. I had my usual breakfast in the house, and at 12:00 I was just starting to get hungry again.

12:00 is not a good time to be walking around outside in Toledo as it is normally just starting to warm up at this time, and yesterday was worse than usual because it had been cloudy over night and the city hadn't really cooled off. We decided to drive to a car park on the edge of the casco, and take the lift up so that nobody would have to walk up the hill.

When we got to the top we wandered around for a bit and then sat down outside a restaurant to get something to eat. All we had was a tostada each with tomatoes (I had jamon too), and soon afterwards Dad and Sue gave me a lift back to my house and departed. It was great to see them and I had a lot of fun, and I was sad to see them go.

When I returned to the house I watched TV for a bit and had a siesta, and when I woke up at 4:00 I was starving. Charo had agreed to give me dinner that night as I had skipped lunch the previous day, but that wouldn't be until 9:30 so I left the house again to find something to eat. I ended up sitting inside the Flor de la Esquina, and eating a few miniature sandwiches. It was quite fun sitting at the bar because a lot of big religious groups were turning up and making ridiculous drinks orders like '9 beers and 14 cokes please'. None of them seemed to speak a lot of Spanish, and at one point a group of French people asked me if I could translate for them. They asked me in English, but when I asked if they spoke English they said no, so I don't really know what they were expecting from me.

All through the afternoon I felt a bit bloated, and not hungry at all, but just before Charo called me in for dinner I got my appetite back which was just as well because dinner was huge! She gave me a plate of Caesar salad to start, followed by a rack of ribs for my main course.

After dinner I walked down to the Cathedral because there was a concert happening there. The band were playing pop/rock type music, and I think the songs had a religious theme but I couldn't really understand what they were singing. The music wasn't anything spectacular, but it was quite entertaining to stand and watch the crowd. There were lots of groups of people from different countries, and a lot of them had their country's flag which they would wave around as they danced. The group from Jamaica seemed to be especially enthusiastic! It was also interesting because there were old people, young people, people with push chairs, and at one point I even spotted a group of nuns jumping around in the crowd! I found it quite entertaining for a free event.

The band

I tried to capture some of the crowd in this photograph

Yesterday, I also asked Charo what they were going to do today, and she said that they were going to go to some kind of service in the Cathedral. I asked if I could come with them, and she said this would be fine. She seemed to think that I would be bored and wouldn't want to come because I wouldn't understand everything, but I told her that it was something new for me and I like to try new things.

This morning, Charo, Miguel, Paula and me left the house around 11:00 and headed for the Cathedral. On the way we stopped in a bar for a coffee, and I had a soft drink because my mouth was really dry. I find it very hard to be without water for any length of time here! After our drinks we walked to the cathedral, and Charo and Miguel kept stopping and talking to people that they recognised along the way. All of their friends seemed to be very interested in Paula - I think having a small child here is a great conversation starter!

Before going into the cathedral, we went to a place outside with a series of taps. People were filling up large jugs and drinking the water - Miguel told me that the tradition was to drink this special water before entering the cathedral. I didn't drink any, but Charo filled up some bottles with the stuff to take home, and when we got home Miguel put some black tape around the bottles so that they could tell which ones had the water from the church. I wonder what the shelf life is for holy water!

When we got to the cathedral there were a lot of people there, and it took a while for us to get through the crowd around the entrance. Once inside I noticed that a lot of people were taking photographs, so I took some too. Unfortunately this is worse kind of environment for my camera, because the light level is very low, and it is too big for the flash to be effective. There was also a lot of smoke in the air from the incense that they were burning.

We waited around for a while, and then a procession started around the inside of the cathedral. There were a lot of people in robes carrying golden staves with crosses on the end, and at the end a group of men were pushing around a large effigy of the Virgin Mary. The whole time there was singing and chanting and it was quite interesting to watch.

Inside the entrance to the cathedral

There were a lot of people inside - this is only a small section of the cathedral

This was the main focal point of the procession, and everyone clapped when the virgin went past

When the procession was over, I asked everyone if we could stop for a picture and they agreed. I took a picture of them, and then I asked a passer by to take a picture of us. Unfortunately the woman that the took the pictures of us all together was probably the slowest photographer in the hole world! The first picture she took was ridiculous, and the second one was only marginally better. Next time I will try and look for someone a bit younger, because 1 button seemed to be a bit too much for her to deal with!

Paula was a bit tired by this point

Sorry about my gimpy facial expression, but I simply cannot sustain the same smile for more than 5 minutes! You should have seen her first attempt: Everyone's faces said "when is this going to end"!

On the way out of the cathedral, Charo stopped to talk to someone, and Miguel and Paula went off ahead. I tried to follow Miguel and Paula, but there were so many people squeezing out through the same doorway that I ended up getting separated. When I got outside I looked around for a while, and then waited for Charo for a while, but in the end gave up and walked home by myself. They all turned up about half an hour later and explained that they had gone round the corner in the opposite direction to me because there were less people there.

For lunch I had pisto with potatoes to start, followed by pieces of marinated pork. I also had a small portion of rice and seafood cooked in squid ink, as I hadn't tried it before. After all that I had a piece of melon, and staggered off to my room for a siesta. The air conditioning wasn't working so I took the fan up to my room, and it was hot and sticky but I had a great sleep!

Tonight I'm going to investigate the great big stage that has appeared outside the house in the main road. They have closed the road off and installed a massive sound system (which I have been able to hear all day as they've done various sound checks).

On Friday night, after the rain stopped, I met Dad and Sue at their hotel and we walked into the centre to try and find something to eat. We ended up walking quite far and having a drink on the way, and then returning to the one of the first restaurants that we saw to eat. When we stopped for a drink, somehow I managed to order a non-alcoholic beer! I don't have a clue how that happened, but it was ok because my stomach still wasn't completely settled from lunch time's drinking.

When we did stop to eat, I had Gazpacho, followed by quail and chips, and then some tiramisu for desert. I thought that wasn't bad for €10,00 but Dad and Sue seemed to think that it was expensive.

The next day we met up in the morning at 10:00, and stopped for some tostadas, before heading over to one of the many churches in Toledo. This church cost us €2,30 to enter and we could go up the bell tower for some amazing views of Toledo.

The bell tower offers one of the best views of Toledo from inside the city

This dome is on the roof of the church, and is visible from outside town too

The steps leading down inside the tower

This is the view inside the church

After looking around the town for a while, we ended up sitting outside a bar and had a few beers and some lunch. We chose a bar near the Alcazar because it had a machine underneath each parasol that would spray you with a fine mist of water which was very refreshing! After lunch I returned home and Dad and Sue went to their hotel room for a siesta.

In the afternoon we were due to meet at 7:00, and when I got to the hotel only Dad was waiting for me. We were due to to a walk outside the casco around the surrounding hills, and Sue had decided not to come. Me and dad walked all the way around the valley, and stopped at the bar half way for some beers. When we got back it was 10:00 and we met Sue in town outside a bar.

We decided to eat at a restaurant a little bit further into town, and when we looked in through the windows there were just a few little table and chairs. When we told the waiter that we wanted to eat he lead us downstairs to a massive basement section with lots of tables and chairs in it - you could probably sit about 50 people down there! It was quite a surprise because the place looked so tiny from the outside.

I had Judias Verdes (green beans) to start but they were no where near as good as Charo's! For my main I had croquettes and chips, and I had flan (which is like creme caramel) for desert. On the way home I could hear music playing in the park near my house, and even inside my room the music was quite loud. I still managed to fall asleep straight away though because I was so tired.

Today's post is going to be a little rushed because I need to leave in half an hour to meet my Dad and Sue.

I thought last night was going to be 'just another night on my own' but it turned out to be quite good. First of all I went for a walk, near the river where there is a lot of shade and vegetation. When I had finished I was very hot and thirsty and I came out near a bar that I had been to before. I went in and ordered a 'clara' (shandy) and sat at the bar inside. The bar man instantly recognised me and said "You've been in Toledo for quite some time haven't you?" (in Spanish of course). I ended up sitting at the bar and chatting to him for a long time, probably about an hour. I told him I was hungry and that I wanted a 'bocadillo' (baguette), and he asked me what I wanted. I said I wanted jamon and tomato, and he started looking through the cupboards behind the bar. The then went on to explain that he would make me a baguette but he didn't have bread (which is quite an important ingredient, no?). He picked up a piece of bread off the side and said "bueno, tengo pan pero es muy duro!" (well, I have bread but it is very tough!) and started smashing it against the bar.

After that I walked to my favourite bar in Toledo. It's a tiny place near the centre of town, but I like it because it is always full of people and I can sit at the bar and have a baguette. I ordered a baguette and afterwards a tapa with some kind of fish (very similar to pickled herring). The bar maid in this bar is Chinese, and seems to be the fastest barmaid in all of Toledo! There are normally 10 - 15 people in this bar and with only 1 barmaid, she is always very busy! After I had eaten I ordered a couple more beers, and she kept giving me free food despite my protests. First I got a small toasted sandwich with ham and egg, and afterwards a piece of cake which was delicious. I haven't really spoken to her much because she is always so busy, but every time I come in she looks very happy to see me and the free tapas get better each time!

On my way back home I vividly remember feeling very happy. Walking back home in Toledo is always wonderful: At 11:00 the temperature is warm but not unbearable, and because Toledo is so high you can watch the lights of the city below. I stopped for a while to watch the cars going round the roundabout in the distance and driving out of town. I felt very content.

When I returned to the house, Elvira, Oliver and Paula had returned. We sat outside for a while and talked, and I learnt how to say that I missed someone in Spanish. It was interesting to talk to Oliver and Elvira, because Oliver is a police officer in Madrid, and we could compare the police in both countries. I told them how the police in the UK don't really have any power to do anything, and Oliver said it was the same in Madrid. This is not what I have heard before about the police in Spain, but I think it is possibly different in a big city where they are so visible.

Today in class we did the subjunctive. We skipped over a lot of material in the book because I wanted to do this topic, and it's extremely confusing!

After class I returned to the house for dinner, which consisted of tomato, egg and tuna salad, followed by roasted chicken, with natillas for desert.

Just as I finished eating my phone rang and it was Sue telling me that they had arrived. I spent the rest of the afternoon in a bar with them, and it was great to see them again. The bar was outside of the casco, and was not the kind of place that I would normally go in by myself, but it was great fun. The barman was from Ecuador (in South America) and we chatted with him a bit. He told us that he likes it here, and it is much better to work here because the economy is better, but in a few years he is going to return to Ecuador. After quite a few cañas (beers) I returned to the house for a siesta, and then quickly wrote this article, as I am due too go out again very soon!

Sorry if this has been a bit rushed, but I don't think I will get another chance to blog for a few days, and I wanted to write this down before I forget it! Now I am going to meet my Dad and Sue, but for the first time it is raining outside!

Hasta luego!

EDIT: When I wrote this it was raining. Now it is pouring, and there is thunder and lightning, and we have decided to postpone our meeting until it stops.

Before I tell you about my day today, I'm going to try and explain some of the ways that my thought processes have changed recently. The truth is that my head is a bit messed up: I no longer think in English, and I can't quite think in Spanish either, so instead I have been thinking in Spanglish!

I think at the moment I spend about half of my time thinking in each language, but it is not so simple as thinking in English for a while and then thinking in Spanish. Instead I have been mixing the two together in my head. Quite often I will start a sentence in 1 language, and then switch half way through to the other. This normally happens at points with simple words that join together two clauses in a sentence, for example 'but', 'and', 'so', 'because'. The following is an example:

"I am always hungry in the morning, pero si como demasiado por la mañana no puedo comer cuando vuelvo a la casa."

The change here happened on the Spanish word for 'but' which is 'pero'. (The Spanish bit translates to "but if I eat too much in the morning I can't eat when I return to the house".)

This in itself isn't a problem, but one of the words that often makes me switch languages is when I want to say 'actually', instead I say the Spanish word 'actualmente'. This is a problem because 'actualmente' is a false friend! It seems as though it should mean 'actually', but instead it means 'nowadays'. Because this is a word that I use so often in my head, I have learnt to use it incorrectly and it is very difficult to unlearn it (instead I should be using 'en realidad' or 'la verdad').

The other thing that I have noticed that is very strange, is that the Spanish word 'aqui' has become more natural for me than the English word 'here'. This is very strange, because when I am thinking of writing something in English I often think like this:

"I don't know anybody aqui, hmmmm what is the English word for 'aqui'? Oh yeah it's 'here'."

This also happens with the word 'Inglaterra' which has become more natural than 'England'. This is very strange, and only happens with these two words, and I have no idea why! It will be interesting to see what happens to my thought processes when I return to England.

Today class was fairly typical, but after we got back from our coffee, for some reason I had to say the Spanish word for dog (perro). I told Cristina that I was frustrated because I can't pronounce the letter 'R' in Spanish correctly, especially when there are two of them in a row. In Spanish, a single 'R' has a slightly different sound to the letter 'R' in English - it sounds kind of like a soft 'D', and the sound is made my flicking your tongue across the roof of your mouth. There is another 'R' sound in Spanish, which is pronounced whenever the letter 'R' is encountered at the beginning or end of a word, or when two of them are encountered next to each other in the middle of a word. All of the following words have this sound: 'rata', 'ser', 'perro'. This sound is called an alveolar trill, and is often known as 'rolling your Rs'.

When I told Cristina that I couldn't pronounce 'R' properly she told me that she couldn't help me because she is not the right kind of teacher, but somehow we ended up saying 'rata' (rat) over and over, trying to improve my pronunciation. This went on for about half an hour and was exhausting! A few times I became dizzy from trying so hard. It seems to me that you have to hold your tongue flat and wide in you mouth, with the tip of your tongue just behind your teeth. You then have to relax it a bit and make the tip vibrate. I can almost do it, but it is not quite right and Cristina says that I blow to much air out of my mouth and that sometimes I make the sound in my throat instead of on my tongue. Also, making this sound in isolation is one thing, but making it as part of a word, followed by a vowel sound is very difficult.

If you are interested in hearing what this sounds like here are some links: perro rata. On the perro example, make sure to click the button that says 'Hombre de España' as this sounds the most like what I am aiming for.

When I got in from class today I had a great starter, and a not so great main course. For my starter I had cream of vegetable soup with croutons, and for my main course I had grilled chicken breast and small pieces of battered fish with bread. I had watermelon for desert. I had to explain to Charo that I find it difficult to just eat a plate full of meat, and I actually feel quite bloated now. Also the air conditioning in the living room isn't working correctly so I am hot!

I'm a little bit annoyed right now, because I just spent 45 minutes typing out this post, but something happened and I lost the whole lot and had to start again!

Today has been a very different day for me because I had 2 hours of lessons in the afternoon in addition to the usual 4 hours in the morning. This is to make up for time that will be lost due to the bank holiday on Monday.

When I arrived in class today Cristina asked me some questions about the riots in London. I had some videos from the BBC news site that I wanted to show her, so we watched them on her laptop. One of them was an interview with a couple of girls that were involved in the riots, and it was from the Spanish version of the BBC news site (BBC Mundo) and had subtitles in Spanish. Afterwards we talked a bit about the videos, and I explained how the girls in the video were definitely chavs. I have been trying to explain what chavs are for a while and it was good to show Cristina how they think and how they try to justify their actions.

Towards the end of the lesson, we did an excercise where we had to read about a brief history of Spain, and then discussed it a bit afterwards. After that, I was supposed to talk her through a brief history of England, but I really struggled to do it. The point of the excercise was to practice speaking in the past tenses, but I simply didn't have enough information to do so. It's hard to condense the history of a country down into a few paragraphs! Cristina was clearly disappointed because she is very interested in the history and culture of England, and she kept trying to prompt me for information but I couldn't really tell her much.

After the lesson, I returned to the house and had the best lunch yet. To start I had gazpacho soup with tuna and egg which is always nice because it is very refreshing. Afterwards I had 2 small (and very nice) hamburgers, with pisto which is a dish comprising of onions, courgettes and peppers cooked in a tomato sauce. I have had this before in a restaurant, but it was quite different being home made. It wasn't as rich and was served cold and was delicious! Afterwards I had natillas.

After lunch I had 45 minutes before I had to leave for class again - not quite enough time to have a siesta (I could have squeezed it in but it would have been difficult to sleep straight away). Instead of sleeping I decided to read up on the wives of Henry VIII so that I could give a short presentation to Cristina when I returned to the class. I didn't have my notebook to take notes (I had left it in the classroom) but I managed to memorise most of the important details. I knew most of it before, but not in enough details to explain it, so this was just revision.

When I returned to class I asked Cristina if she wanted to hear a bit about 'Enrique Octavo de Inglaterra' and she said yes but only if I wanted to talk about it. I said that I wanted to and she took her notebook and sat on the other side of the desk (quite enthusiastically), and I stood in front of the whiteboard and explained the story to her. It was actually a lot of fun because Cristina was very happy to hear about it and even took notes and asked questions. It was also a great opportunity for me to practice talking in the past tenses which was the point of the original excercise.

The rest of the lesson proceeded as normal, but at a slightly slower pace because we were both quite tired (¡que sueño!). Towards the end of the lesson Cristina had prepared some things that were easier and a bit more fun than usual, as it is easier to do this type of activity at the end of such a long session. One of the great things about having Cristina as a teacher is that she is always adjusting the pace of the lesson so that I don't get bored. Sometimes she changes some of the excercises so that we can talk more and write less, and skips the stuff that I find really boring. Class is always a lot of fun and is normally the highlight of my day!

Now that I am back from class I am extremely tired, and don't really feel like doing a lot tonight. I think I have become quite dependant on my siesta!