Churros con chocolate

Muchas veces durante mi viaje en España, fui a bars y clubs. Pero no bailé durante toda la noche. No me sentía bien porque porque mi enferme la semana anterior. Quise tener una buena noche. Con mis amigos fuimos a tres bars y dos discotecas. Los bars- Pi, Montana y Scruffy- fueron divertidos. Los clubs tenían muchisima gente y había mucho no aire para respirar. Espero que la próximo vez sea mejor y que me sienta mejor de salud porque las condiciones no fueron buenas. Pero, la experiencia fue muy interesante. Mucha gente estaba en las calles, los clubs, y en los chocolaterías a las seis o siete en la mañana. Fue extraño. ¡Fuimos a la chocolatería San Gines y los churros con chocolate fueron deliciosos! Comimos muchos churros. Ojalá mis noches fueran fantásticas como de esta noche, comiendo churros con chocolate y buenos amigos.

Its Feels Good to Eat

I feel tonsss better. My new meds are working away and not making things worse (unlike the others! haha) Ventured out this afternoon- with its own set of problems and comedies- but felt good to get out like a normal person. And I'm able to eat food again, always a plus! Now for all that homework....

Granada's Greatness in 10 Moments

10. Graffitti: Funny, political, meaningful... there was lots!

9. The City itself: A quick overview of the city ended with a beautiful sight. Maybe after 30 minutes of walking up hill (or stairs/ or both?) on cobblestone the rest was what overtook us all... but the amazing view cannot be denied!

8. Tea: Arabic tea is yummmmmmy!

7. Belly Dancing: Our group got a belly dancing show along with our tea. We love Carlos' (ISA) surprises for us!

6. Tombs: The church with the tombs of Isabel, Ferdinand, and Juana the Loca. Couldn't take pictures, so this one outside will suffice.. but it was really amazing to see

5. Hookah: A little flavor of the Arabic world.. interesting!

4. Shopping: Pottery, tapestries, bags, and anything you can imagine... Walking the Arabic district browsing through all the little trinkets was super guay (super cool).

3. Fair: Everyone who was in Granada was here during the evenings and early morning hours. MEGA HUGE! Also goes to prove that the strangest people congregate at fairs in every country.

2. Flamenco: Saw some pro- saw some learners.. but all around neato.

1. La Alhambra: VOTE FOR LA ALHAMBRA FOR THE NEW WONDERS OF THE WORLD!! Dreamlike gardens, gorgeous view, amazing detail... just wish I could see it at its heyday

ick

ill... will write about Granada and such whenever I recover...

but did get an in house call from a doctor- that was pretty cool

Museo de Thyssen

Los museos del arte son mis favoritos lugares durante mis viajes. En Madrid, hay muchisimo posibildades para ver arte más famoso del mundo. Un día, fui a la Thyssen-Bornemisza para tres horas en la tarde. No tuve tiempo para ver todo la arte, pero vi dos pisos del edificio. Había arte de periodos italianos, los periodos impresionistas, modernismo, y de "pop art." Fue muy interestante pero a veces fue demasiado arte de un periodo. No me gusta la arte del medio ambiente-- los árboles, los flores, los montañas, etc. La Thyssen había muchos cuartos de este estilo. Mi favorito tipo fue los retratos. Había un retrato del cocinero de George Washington. Un otro cuadra me guste en el museo fue una cuadra de Georgia O'Keefe. Fue diferente porque no fue de flores pero un ciudad. También, fue muy bonito. En general, la combinación fue buena y la colección del barron Thyssen-Bornemisza y su esposa fue muy grande. ¡Fue una experiencia fabulosa!

Its the Little Things

Its the littlest things that make every day such a delight here. Granted I got to go to the Prado yesterday-- fabulous! Walking around, learning about the paintings of Goya, Veláquez, and El Greco was dreamlike. (Hate to be such a "girl" in this moment, but... made it even better that our guide looked like Diego Luna!!!) "Saturno" was probably my favorite piece, because although it was a little morbid (Saturn eats his children), and one would think he was seriously crazy, the message he was trying to convey about the obsession with power was really interesting. But the best parts, the best parts were discovering the Treasures of Dauphin in the lower levels of the Prado with 2 friends. The best part was walking around the area, talking to street vendors.... taking the metro... not getting lost... listening to little Spanish kids blabber on. And the best part was eating at my favorite cafe talking Spanglish with our waiters about American rock music and Spanish history. They may seem petty to those who have no idea where I´m coming from, but they make every day fantastic.

An American in Paris

I ordered a taxi in Spanish- I was so excited! After a quick ride and short chat with the taxi driver, I arrived at the airport at 3:30am on Friday. As it was very quiet, I quickly checked in, went through security, and boarded with little difficulty. I even got to board first and pick my own seat (a nice little shoutout to RyanAir's policies!). Slept through the entire flight and arrived in the little airport of Beauvais. There I stuttered through ordering a bus ticket into Paris and awaited my arrival (though 2 hours later!!) Serge, my good friend from Paris, and his brother guided me through the complex metro and around the city... good to have someone who actually spoke French!

Paris was, once again, a delight to spend for a weekend. Friday it was very cold and rainy- but not so cold and rainy that I didn't go sightsee around the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, and the Champs-Élysées. So dreamlike to walk around this area!

With Serge!

At the Le Defense station in the metro!

Walking the street to the hotel. One could actually see the Eiffel Tower to the left of that steeple, but it was cloudy that day.

Looking down the Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triumph

On Saturday, we went to this HUGE market... must have been 20 x 20 blocks... selling clothes, jewelry, Parisian trinkets, bags, shoes, food, anything and everything. Was actually quite warm this day, which made riding the metro uber fun haha. Hung out with some of Serge's friends that night before leaving for the bus station at 4am. Rode the bus back to Beauvais, slept again through the entire flight, and safely got back to Madrid via metro. I had a fabulous time in Paris, but coming back to Madrid was like coming back home... So relieving. Its cleaner, the people are much friendlier, the metro isn't as confusing, and I speak the language. Lordy, made me realize how much I love Madrid! But at least I can say I spent a wonderful weekend in Paris.