In keeping with my despedida (goodbye) denial, here are some pretty pictures of Madrid decked out for Christmas. In the US you would say "decked out for the holidays," but the truth is that they ONLY have Christmas so Feliz Navidad works for everything. Much easier, right? In general, Christmas is more religious here (dur). There's a lot less Santa and way more nativity scenes, which are called 'belenes.' Last weekend my friends and I went to a party at our friend Luis' house and his mother had set up a HUGE belen that took up literally a quarter of their huge living room. It had running water, lights, many different levels, sand, trees, etc.
Plaza del Callao. This was literally such a zoo that I was worried that my internal organs would be crushed by a crowd of overzealous abuelas.
My apartment building. During the day there's a lighted-up Christmas tree in the bottom left corner, but the portero (caretaker?) of the building puts it away so no one steals it. Cortes explained that Spanish people are sometimes xenophobic (which OF COURSE I didn't know!) and the portero hid it so no one stole it. Which makes no sense because the outer door is locked at night. Qué español.
Another street near Callao. Each street/neighborhood has its own light designs.
I liked these ones a lot especially.
I got kind of sentimental in Puerta del Sol last weekend, so I took some pikchures:
Madrid's "osito" or "little bear" statue. This one of Madrid's most famous statues. It's located in the Puerta del Sol. The bear comes from Madrid's coat of arms: a bear on its hind legs leaning against a strawberry tree surrounded by five stars and topped by a crown. If my vague description doesn't do it for you, here's a photo of the whole shebang itself.
Puerta del Sol Christmas tree (lights only), the horse statue (monument to King Charles III), and the bell tower from the House of the Post Office. The weird modern thing is the entrance to the metro.
The Tío Pepe sign, a Madrid landmark. Tío Pepe is a brand of jerez (sherry) that is actually awful. Mom, Dad and I tried it when they visited and I was not a fan.
Julia and I working in Café Azul, our favorite restaurant/library/hangout spot. I went there three times in the last week to eat yummy vegetarian food, work on my final papers, and just chat with my friends.
Carmen and I had a lunch date at Café Azul on Tuesday. I don't know why I look so happy here because I'm leaving probably for the last time :(
With my namesake, nbd.
I've been pretty bummed about leaving all week, especially because my "work" has been tapering off and I've had more time than ever to enjoy the city. Luckily, I may have had the Best Week Ever and did a lot of my favorite things.
Tuesday: I had my only actual exam in the morning. After that, I went on a lunch date with Carmen at Cafe Azul, our favorite non-Spanish cafe in the wooooorld. We finally ordered the menu del día, which was definitely a good call! I had hummus, a goat cheese and baby greens sandwich and chocolate cake. Yum! Then we went souvenir/present shopping in Sol until we were more than ready for a siesta. That night I met my friends Emma, Melissa and Julia at a Basque sidreria near my house and we drank some sidra (dur) and had yummy pinchos.
Wednesday: Woke up late, finished my 10-page paper about technological advances in the spanish education system (which is fascinating! seriously, ask me about it), ate lunch and met some friends at the Reina Sofia modern art museum. See foto above. I finally went up on the fourth floor to the temporary exhibitions, which was well worth the schlep because it was this really cool photography/collage exhibit by Hans-Peter Feldmann. I also went up on the observation platforms on the third floor, which was really cool because a lot of the building is made of glass and there were some great views of the city. I was a wee bit nervous because there was really not very much glass between you and a many-meter fall onto calle Atocha. After this, we checked out the museum's awesome bookstore and bought some intellectual presents for friends and family. THEN, we met up with Emma at this cute place in Tribunal called Lolina Vintage Cafe and had delicious cafes con leche. I was pretty wiped after such a busy day, so I went home to rest/eat dinner. I met up with the gang later that night for our last "montaditos miercoles" at Cerveceria Cien Monteditos. Later that night we met up with some more friends and went bar-hopping until we ended up dancing at Star Studio, a discobar that has the best music in the entire world.
Thursdsay: I had to go to the Center one more time to turn in my aforementioned education-themed paper. I was really tired after my class ended at 12 - not surprising given my day wednesday - so I went home and took a "very long spanish siesta" in the words of Cortes. I woke up just in time to get ready for our program's cena de despedida. We went to a very swank restaurant near the Real Madrid stadium called Rubaiyat. If you're ever in Madrid, I highly recommend it. Everything was absolutely delicious, especially the steak because I hadn't eaten a real hunk o meat in a long time! It was really nice to see all the students, professors, and directors together and say goodbye to everyone. After the dinner, a large percentage of the group went out the Palacio, one of our favorite discotecas. Our spanish friends met us there and we stayed there dancing until it closed at 6am. Fun fact: Palacio's "hint hint get out of here" last song is "Final Countdown." Hahahaha! By that point it was just Carmen, Charlie, Stephanie, Ellie and I plus the spanish students, so we kind of wandered around Sol and I took the metro home at 7:30.
I don't really know why I'm awake right now, given the previous night's adventures.
Today/Friday: Maria is going to teach Stephanie and I how to make some of our favorite dishes: tortilla española, chickpeas with spinach and onions, paella, and her yummy roasted chicken. Can't wait! Then later tonight a whole slew of us are meeting at Casa Mingo. I went there when my parents visited, and it's pretty much the best place ever because 1) it's cheap 2) they have probably the best roasted chicken I've ever eaten in my life (no offense, Nana) and 3) they're also a sidreria and you can order bottles of their own sidra that is delicious. Should be fun!
Sometime in between those activities I also need to pack...grrr. I'm not excited about doing that because it's going to be a really big pain in the neck and it also means that I actually DO have to leave. I have had such an amazing time here and learned so much, not just about speaking spanish but also about adapting to a different culture, being independent, and being more patient and flexible in general. I can't wait to see everyone when I get home...get ready for some great stories!
Besos,
Sophie
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