We're already in mid-September?!?

First off, IES Abroad would like to inform you that it does not endorse the consumption of alcohol in its programs.

However, they also took us on an excursion yesterday that was essentially dedicated to wine. We had a tour of a winery in the town of Toro, which is supposed to have some of the best wine in the country. There, our group of 20-year-old students very enthusiastically learned the proper ways to taste wine. (And yes, in case you're wondering, the drinking age in Spain is 18...)

So, after a classy start to our morning, we ventured over to the town of Zamora, which isn't a particular tourist attraction, but very pretty nonetheless. Random fact: it was the first town in the world to offer Wi-fi (or as they pronounce it in Spain - Weeeeefeeee). We wandered around town, saw another castle, more Romanesque cathedrals, and skipped through some fountains.

By this point, it had been 6 hours since we last ate, so it was time to stuff ourselves. But this wasn't at any cute countryside restaurant like the one in Segovia - this time we had our comida underground! A bodega is both a wine cellar and a type of eatery unique to Spain. To get to our bodega, we walked to the outskirts of this small town, until we reached a small mound of earth with a sign on a door that said "Los yugos" (the yokes). We entered through the mysterious door, walked down some stairs, and found ourselves .... in a cave! (Granted, a well-furnished one, but still - we ate lunch in a cave!)

We spent a few hours there, eating and being entertained/slightly offended by the bodega's ... unique owner, who has probably never before heard of la correccion politica. Oh, Spaniards. My only problem with the place was the sign on the wall that said "Prohibido cantar - molesta a los otros" - no singing allowed - it bothers the others. It reminded me too much of what they always told me during class in 6th grade...

That's all for now; I'm heading out to the dorms to secretly use their laundry machines because two weeks in, I've already worn all the clothes I packed. Oh, the joys of packing lightly...