I got off the plane in Heathrow. We had taken off about an hour late due to ice on the wings. My layover in Heathrow was not that long. So I was quite nervous. As aforementioned, I told the flight attendant this concern. He said when you get off the plane someone will help you. Sure enough, off the ramp was a lady holding a sign saying "Madrid." I told her I was going to Madrid. She escorted me and this high school boy through the airport. I've never had to go through security again on a layover until now. Leave it to London to make it more complex.
I found out the boy was from Germany. He was doing a week exchange program in Spain. He was a funny yet quite nervous kid.
Anyway, they held the plane for us and we headed to Madrid. Upon landing, I went through customs and met up with Elisa and Arturo, my hosts while in Spain. My bag apparently did not make the quick switch in London. Elisa helped me make a claim for my bag. Two days until we would receive it in the mail. Well, that's life. Off we went towards home. Literally, it was planes, trains, and automobiles. But hours later, we were home. I settled in and got some much needed sleep.
Elisa lent me some clothes last night. So this morning I got dressed in a McCarthy Lodge shirt. I love a small world sometimes. I had a quick breakfast and some crazy strong coffee. Elisa and I were going into town today. Elisa and Arturo's house/business (They run the closest airport and flight school to Teruel.) is quite far from any other buildings- let alone any villages. A bit of a change of pace from my easy location next to Zürich. It'll be good for me to be in a slower pace, I hope.
Anyway, Elisa and I headed into Teruel. Elisa had a funeral to go to in the morning. While she and her mom went to that, I wandered around the outskirts of Teruel for a bit. It is amazing to see the differences in small towns of Switzerland and the small towns of Spain. From architecture to people, a whole new world.
After that, Elisa needed to stop by her office. She is lawyer in Teruel. A very impressive woman, no doubt. We went into her office and a surprise was waiting. My backpack had been delivered! Success!
It was about time for lunch. We went to Elisa's brother's house for lunch. The whole town shuts down from 2-4. Yeah, I thought the same thing. Surely not EVERYTHING shuts down. No. You and I were wrong. The whole town shuts down from 2-4 in the afternoon. The children leave school to go home for lunch, along with all the adults. Which means I got to meet Elisa's 10-year-old niece, Carmen, and her 3-year-old nephew, Iker. Carmen was very excited to speak English with me. And Iker... Well Iker was just excited. He came and sat on my lap pretty quickly. I tried to speak some Spanish with him, which he loved. I guess he asked his mom when I'll be spending the night. I knew I'd have to watch out for those Spanish charmers.
After lunch, Elisa had to go to work for a couple hours. I explored Tereul. I went to the Muesum of the Lovers. I'll do my best to keep this story brief, but if you ever have time, look up the full story. It's amazing.
It's the 13th century in Teruel. A girl named Isabel is the daughter of a very rich man. Diego is a poor boy. Of course, they fall in love. Diego knows he needs money to marry Isabel. He says he is going off to the war. He will be back in 5 years with enough money to marry Isabel. While he is gone, Isabel's father tells her she needs to be married. She convinces him to wait until the 5 years are up. Her father holds a contest to see who will marry her. Whatever man can build the best tower, marries Isabel. You can see the abundance of amazing towers all over Teruel still. Finally Isabel is married. But Diego comes back, as the story must go. He talks to Isabel late one night. He says, "Kiss me, because I'm dying." She says she cannot because it would dishonor her husband. So Diego has a heart attack and dies there in their house. She goes, gets her husband, and tells him the story. Her husband gets upset and says you should have done it because now everyone will think I killed him. Well, finally Diego is buried. Isabel decides to go kiss him before he is buried. She dies leaning over and kissing him. They were buried together, according to her husband's request. The bones were later dug up when they built a memorial for them. They are together and reaching for each other. But their hands do not touch as a remembrance of the distance that existed. Diego's tomb is held up by lions- a symbol of strength. And Isabel's tomb is held up by angels- a symbol of innocence.
This is the town's claim to fame and this is a crucial story in their history. Set inside an amazing cathedral, it was an amazing afternoon visit.
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