On Sundays, the Rastro (literally translates to flea market) is a sea of people from all nations and backgrounds....thousands of people buying anything you could every think up. I bought an España jersey, Real Madrid scarf (the scarves of the soccer teams here are extremely popular at the games), and a Spanish flag this weekend.
Me in the Royal gardens of the Palace, they have lots of fountains, gardens, mazes, etc.
In the Casa del Campo (another huge park, way more rural, on the outside of the city).
A bad picture but this is the Plaza Mayor, alive with street performances and people all eating on the terraza...also where they used to hang people during the Inquisition? Good times...
The "Parque de Buen Retiro" where thousands of people eat icecream, play with toys, lay out, picnic, and spend time with their friends and families on Sundays.
Amanda and I in front of the Puerta (door/gate) to the city.
This has probably been the best week of my life. This weekend, one of my ADPi sorority sisters came to visit me in Madrid and I took her to see everything. I gave Amanda the grand 2 hour tour of the Prado museum and we saw all of Dalí, Picasso, and Miró at the Reina Sofia museum...we walked all over the city and Sol, Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real and the royal gardens, went into the Catedral Nacional, and ate and drank at amazing cafes. We used a gondola to travel around the coast of Madrid to the Casa del Campo (another huge park on the exterior of Madrid) with some friends of hers which was incredible and had great views of everything. Plus, I took her to the National Ballet of Spain on Saturday night where we watched an amazing 2 hour ballet. We also had an amazing time at the Kapital club where we were until 6 am and then got churros and chocolate afterwards together at one of the best Choclaterias in Madrid almost going out the other nights as well. Sunday we spent at the Rastro (the huge flea market with thousands of people) and afterwards at the Parque de Buen Retiro. She also had a lovely lunch with my señora which was so sweet to all be together.
Today, I had the pleasure of having my professor of Spanish from GW to my home. Professor Perillan is madrileña by birth and is visiting her mother here in Spain, and just happened to be here at the same time as me. It turns out her daughter in law is a professional flamenco dancer and knows MY professor of flamenco so she came to watch my flamenco performance today and also (as a random surprise) ended up dancing 4 sevillanas (the flamenco dances) with my professor. Seeing the two of them perform was seriously incredible...afterwards, we all had tapas and sangria with our professors and the other students from GW on the plaza. Señora Perillan is one of the most important influences in my life and having her into my Spanish home was such a blessing.
This Wednesday I am going to see Sara Baras perform in Carmen. Sara Baras is the best flamenco dancer probably in the world with a huge school here in Madrid, and Carmen is the her interpretacion of the opera "Carmen" into flamenco. I can't wait to see it.
Anyways- I am having the best time of my life and have never felt more myself. I can honestly say I'm getting to know myself better and that I feel more competent and ready to handle the challenges of living differently and speaking a different language. I really have never been happier.
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