I Tried a Fried Banana and Liked it!

Below: Tapas

Sorry it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, I blame it on midterms. They have almost passed and I am heading to Paris on Thursday!

This weekend Madrid was hit by a really bad storm. I didn’t even leave my apartment on Saturday the weather was so nasty.

Poor Alicia was sick with the flu all weekend but on Friday, fed up being in quarantine, she decided to meet with me and get some postcards at the Plaza Mayor near downtown. A street performer in the Plaza was trying to get attention and a few euros by blowing aggressively on a kazoo. Annoyed Alicia swore at him to me and a little man hanging close by heard, than approached us smiling curiously “are you girls by any chance American?” We hadn’t even made it across the square before we knew all about this dude’s love for New York and, “AAaahhhhhh CalifOOOrniiaaaaaa”. He insisted we get a drink together and I turned to The Sick One for an answer who seemed too drained to even care (normally I can count on her to deliver the ‘thanks but were not interested’ rude but effective dismissal of strangers). So we followed him to a nearby bar with outdoor seating and he ordered us a round. He sang some mariachi music for us (he belongs to a band) and told us of all the good places to go when we are “looking for a party”. Our lack of interest in him made our conversation quite boring and Alicia had to give him the second half of her beer she couldn’t stomach. After an awkward goodbye and a twice-refused phone number exchange, Alicia headed home to get back in bed and I shopped around town for a while before heading back myself.

I don’t know how possible it is to get to know a city in one day, but it is possible to get that “map in your head” feeling of one in a day. On Sunday the storm had blown over and I took a daring expedition to walk everywhere and now (finally!) my internal compass has been set back on track and I am more familiar with an above ground Madrid - considering I know it quite well under ground thanks to the metro – after my days’ excursion. Below: Plaza De España

Mid afternoon I took a rest in the Plaza de España because the sun was out and the Plaza has two really nice fountains. There were a lot of other people spending their afternoon enjoying the sun so I soaked up some vitamin D and people/fountain watched. Downtown I stopped in a Starbucks because a) I don’t like their coffee all that much BUT their service can’t be beat and b) I knew I would be able to use their bathroom without getting glares from the staff. So kill me. I went to Starbucks in Europe, a place where the coffee is almost as famous as the food. While stirring some cinnamon into my iced latte I met an older lady from Tennessee. She was so interested in what I was doing here and extremely relieved for the chance to finally bump into someone who speaks English – probably another reason why she blabbed my ear off for almost a half hour while her irritated and antsy husband hung behind. Woops.

Marta made a Cuban dish for dinner the other night, some kind of garlic rice with red sauce, a fried egg and a fried banana. It was one of the best meals I have ever had. I should try and mooch a cooking lesson off of her one of these days…

One last thing before I to go to sleep… Its official! Mom and dad have booked their tickets to Madrid in late April to visit me and do a little Euro-traveling of their own. They will be staying at a hotel up the street from my apartment and are currently getting some basic Spanish lessons from local travel guru Rick Steves in preparation. While skyping with mom the other night at around 11:30 (central European time) I told her I had to go because I had just gotten home from a movie with Hanna and still hadn’t eaten dinner. She asked me how her and dad are going to get used to the meal times here… Well mom, in Spain you don’t even think about thinking about dinner until around 10 pm. And around that time when you begin thinking about dinner, you often decide to delay it another hour or two. So tapas will quickly become your best friend.

Below: Christa Lee and Oscar

If your wondering about my movie date, Hanna and I saw “An Education” a film about a girl in London who wants to go to Oxford. I believe it is nominated for 3 Oscars and I hope it gets at least 1 because it was a fantastic film.

Other than all that I am jealous to hear that Seattle weather is nicer than Madrid’s, guess I will have to keep patiently waiting for spring to get here. Oh and I found peanut butter. GOOD peanut butter. In fact, I’m licking it off a spoon in my bed right now while I write. Don’t judge…

Buenas Noches ustedes.