Magical Madrid and Granada's Grandeur

HOLA HOLA!
The past few days of my exciting trip to Spain have been quite the whirlwind. After traveling for twenty hours straight, I finally arrived in the beautiful city of Madrid. I can honestly say that Madrid took my breath away (as cliché as that sounds). The architecture was incredible with such great detail, even apartment buildings seemed to be a throwback to the Renaissance. Despite the fact that I was utterly exhausted, Natalie inspired me to wander aimlessly around the city for hours, and I am truly grateful for that. We found ourselves walking through beautiful plazas, laughing at the bizarre street characters (including men who painted their faces like babies and hid behind a sheet that was attached to a stroller with a fake baby sitting in it-- yes, it was as bizarre as it sounds), and eating at the oh so famous Museo de Jamón (museum of ham... questionable/hilarious). We quickly realized that Spaniards are obsessed with ham and they really enjoy hanging it everywhere. We also learned that Spaniards love croissants and that the Chinese love to live in Spain-- there are Chinese restaurants everywhere!

After our first exhausting day we decided to go to bed early, which is so not Spanish. We woke up bright and early the next day to meet up with another friend, Clarissa, and headed to the Prado. Wow, all I can say is wow when it comes to the Prado. We spent a whopping four hours looking at the beautiful paintings done by some of Spain's most famous painters including Velázquez, Goya, Sorroya, El Greco, and many more, while also including beautiful works from Italian and Flemish painters. Although I loved practically all of the paintings, I became fascinated with paintings of the crucifixion-- I couldn't stop wondering how the nails didn't rip out of Jesus' hands and feet with the weight of his body (gruesome, I know). Luckily Clarissa was also fascinated by this and we talked for a long time trying to figure it out, especially because in each painting the nails were portrayed in a slightly different way (some had four nails, some had three, and some had a little foot stand that he stood on), interesting, right?

Following that, the three of us decided to undertake the wild experience of going to one of the largest clubs in the world... El Kapital! This bad boy is five stories tall and plays different music on each floor, crazy! But in Spain it is very uncool to go out before 2:00 am, and honestly, we were not on that level yet. After an hour of sitting in McDonald's (sorry) and getting hit on by 14 year old skater kids, we decided to enter the club at midnight. With this, hilarity ensued. I was proposed to quite a few times, told that I was loved, and offered a job at hollister... I guess my blonde hair really sticks out here!

The next few days included nice experiences with tapas, museums, walks, and parks. I fell in love with El Parque Buen Retiro. It was a giant park in the middle of the city full of picturesque fountains and statues. The three of us decided to rent a row boat in the little man-made lake, which was not only adorable but loads of fun! Basically, Madrid was made perfect in my eyes for that park alone. And despite a scary run in with bed bugs at a neighboring hostel, the trip was purely wonderful!

Then came the beginning of my study abroad program, and Natalie, Clarissa, and I took the high speed train to Málaga to meet up with our group. The train experience was really fun, I got to watch my favorite move, Paul, and look out the windows at rolling hills and small stone ruins-- I couldn't have been happier! Upon arriving in Málaga, I ran into one of my best friends, Riana, and began to explore this precious beach town. It was really fun to meet a bunch of new people and go out for delicious tapas.

This brings me to the present. Our group got to our final destination, Granada, and Riana and I moved in with our incredible host mama. The very second we met her we knew we were going to have the greatest time ever! Her name is Angélines and she lives alone in a beautiful apartment that has marble floors and wood everywhere. She is the mother of four and grandmother of two, and loves them more than anything. But beyond that, she is very talkative and outgoing, she managed to get us to tell her everything in a matter of minutes, and it was fantastic! She reminds me a lot of my own mama, and for that I am extremely grateful. Our first night in our homestay consisted of eating and talking-- both wonderful things. But Riana and I were pretty tired and decided to go to bed early so we would be wide awake for five hours of intensive Spanish classes. We woke up at 7:00 this morning to a wonderful breakfast of toast, tea, and fruit, and took a leisurely walk with our mama to the study abroad center.

The classes today were surprisingly really low key and I learned a ton about the Spanish culture. I really like my teacher and all of the people in my class, it's going to be a wonderful semester! I'm really excited to better my Spanish and become a Spaniard myself. I think I'm already on my way there through my coffee breaks (well, hot chocolate), long siesta, and love of walking around in the evening. It is really cool because in Spain it is not typical to spend much time in the house, instead you are expected to take long walks through the city and meet people for tapas and drinks-- it is a very romantic way of living!

But as for right now, that is all. I am extremely happy and loving everything about Spain! Hasta luego!!