Pheasantly

Once again, it's Thursday night, even though I feel like it was only two days that I was off to Kapital and stayed up all night before Valencia. I would go out tonight (people are planning to meet up at 11 to go to a bar and then to a club), but I would rather get enough sleep. For one, because I want to make sure I am absolutely 100% better from this stomach thing (although right now I feel great, but I probably would feel less fine were I to consume alcohol). And besides, tomorrow I'm going to the airport in the morning (I should be leaving here by 10 a.m., i.e. early haha) to meet up with Nik, who is coming to Europe during these last, like, 10 days that I'm here. In the afternoon, we're flying to Barcelona, so I really would rather not be exhausted tomorrow.

Today was excellent! I did some more of my go-out-and-see-what-I-want-to-see business, but Sophie joined me for part of it, which was great. After lunch, I went to the Prado (what else is new?) to see a special exhibition that just opened, called "Turner and the Masters." Even though I really am not a fan of landscape, I LOVE Turner. He is so much more than just a landscape artist. He may actually be one of my favorite artists. I bought tickets for a 4:00 access time to the exhibition, so I had a few minutes beforehand to kill when I went inside. I decided to go browse through Renaissance Italy paintings briefly, and on my way there, this random man (who turned out to be a tourism guide) stopped me and asked me if I needed any recommendations as to what to see (and told me I speak good Spanish, haha). I said I was just fine, but nevertheless, he started saying I could go upstairs and look at Velazquez, or look at nineteenth century on the other side of the building. And I said I was planning to look around in the room right next to us, to which he replied, "Oh, it's pretty boring in there, there's nothing to see. You should go see Velazquez!" So I told him that I have been going to the Prado and looking at Velazquez, irritated because he was wasting the little time I had. Finally, I had to tell him specifically that I wanted to see the Italians (since I knew they were in the room right next to us), and he said, "Oh, all right, go through here. There's some work by Rafael in this room." And there was. And I immediately thought: Excuse me. You don't say "there's nothing to see, it's boring" when there's Rafael around. I dashed away pretty quickly.Anyway. The Turner exhibition was AWESOME. Soo many beautiful Turner paintings, presented alongside works by previous painters, some of them the Old Masters (like Rembrandt, for example), whose work influenced Turner or inspired him to try painting in a particular manner. It was a pretty interesting set-up, because in every section of the exhibition, there was some comparison to an older painting. Many, many times, I preferred Turner's, because he's just so good! There is this glow about his paintings that I really love. It seems like something he derived from Rembrandt, but it works so beautifully in his landscapes. He actually uses the color orange, which I think is fantastic, because it seems to me like a color that gets overlooked, or subdued, often in painting. There were several paintings that I'd never heard of before that I absolutely loved, like the one above, which is called Caias Sands, Low Water. Gorgeous. There was also one of a snow avalanche that was AMAZING. And they had the giant Snowstorm: Hannibal Crossing the Alps. I also got to see Rembrandt's Girl at Window, which is STUNNING, once again (I saw it when the Frick had it briefly a couple of months ago). They didn't have Turner's Slave Ship, which surprised me, but I think it's probably because the MFA Boston treasures it so much (since it is arguably Turner's best painting, period), so it's likely that they don't let it travel. But at least I've seen it twice now! Anyway, I spent like an hour and 20 minutes in there looking at all the paintings, and then bought a bookmark with the Low Water image on it.

From the Prado, I went straight to the Real Jardín Botánico (the real, I mean, royal botanical garden). I was actually a tadlington disappointed with the gardens, I think because I expected a lot of flowers, and it was mostly plants and trees. There were little enclosures with some flowers, and the flowers I did go look at were indeed very pretty. But I guess I just expected to walk in there and not know which flowers to look at first, and to be overwhelmed by the smell of flowers. So it's too bad that it was mostly many, many different kinds of trees and plants, which unfortunately I don't have the knowledge about to appreciate completely. It was certainly nice in there, though, and I appreciated the moments I got to spend in the shade or sitting near a patch of flowers/plants. I basically just wandered around and lingered in places I found most appealing, like at the very back of the gardens, where there were some rocky paths around a few trees and plants. I liked the sunflowers a lot, and the lilies were beautiful. Mostly, it was just relaxing to amble around mostly aimlessly.

Then, at around 6:30, after about an hour there, I headed off to meet Sophie and go to Campo del Moro. Yes, again. Like I said, I really liked the place! When we got there, we started walking on the side opposite my starting point yesterday, so I feel like after today, I actually did get to see quite a bit of the park (even though it's so large). Sophie and I just walked around talking (catching up, since we hadn't seen each other very much since the weekend). At one point, we were walking up a long, uphill path, and scooter man came out and told us that we were in an authorized part. Even though I swear, we didn't walk past any sign that said we had to turn around. So it was funny because we--totally innocent girls that we are--inadvertently broke the rules. A point for dorks everywhere, hahaha. During our meanderings, we ran into two pheasants. Pheasants! They were just walking around, like the peacocks in the Alcázar in Sevilla. It was pretty cool. We got pretty close to the first one, too, and it didn't run away.We left the park at around 7:50, since they were closing, and headed back down to Atocha to go to the Reina Sofia during the last 45 minutes or so that they were open (it's free after like 7 p.m. every day, which is really nice). We looked at the Guernica for a while, since Sophie hadn't seen it, and since it's an unbelievable piece of art. Then we wandered around--up to the terrace for a few minutes, too. Then we had "dinner"--which may or may not have been french fries and a sundae at McDonald's. Fret not, mother, my stomach is feeling 100% fine right now. Successful recovery! I'm still going to avoid soda for a few more days, and it will probably be a few weeks before I agree to eat egg again...but such is life.

Update: it is currently raining, with thunder and lightning (and the wind is howling). So, yeah, I'm definitely glad I'm not going out. I hope it finishes up by tomorrow morning, though, I don't want Nik's flight to get delayed! We only have, like, 6 hours between his arrival and our departure for Barca!

Barcelona from tomorrow until Monday afternoon. SO EXCITED. Even though I'm still sad that I won't get to see Molly like we'd originally planned...but still, it should be a great weekend. Which reminds me! I should probably pack...!

Scooter Man and the end of the day

It has been, I am happy to say, a very good day. First off, everyone should know that the US, thanks to the beauty that is Landon Donovan, managed to win their game against Algeria this afternoon. I happened to be at the Prado during most of the game, and when we got out, with only 15 minutes of the game left, I decided to hop on a bus and head to my next destination instead of catching what I thought would be 15 more minutes of 0-0. MISTAKE. So, yes, I was on a bus when that glorious moment of victory came. I hope you all celebrated for me.

So. I have a few things to say about the past couple of days, before I get to the utter goodness of today.

On Monday, besides going to class, I spent some time in a couple of photo exhibitions (more of PhotoEspaña) with Naomi and Dashell in the afternoon, all near the Plaza de Cibeles (with the lion-chariot fountain and the Communications Palace under construction). We saw some beautiful work by Adriana Lestido--lots of series about women (your cup of tea, Ena) and an excellent series about mothers and daughters, all from about the 1980s. We also saw a group exhibition entitled "Encubrimientos" or "Concealments," which was interesting, mostly because the work varied so much from artist to artist.

From there, Naomi and I headed off to our cooking class. The class turned out to be less hands-on than I expected it to be, but that's probably better. There were about fifteen of us (all girls, hahaha) taking the class, so it would've been really difficult to have each of us try something. The teacher demonstrated how to prepare sangria (!) and the paella. She asked for two volunteers at one point, and I bravely went up. All I had to do was whisk some eggs to help prepare the dessert (a cake-y thing that was AMAZING oh lord, I'm making it as soon as I get home), but even that was a bit difficult, because honestly, my arm just got tired after a few minutes, and I think she was expecting some professional egg-whisking, from the way she blatantly judged me, haha. Anyway, the one thing that we all did do for ourselves was the Spanish tortilla (although we used sliced potatoes that the teachers had already cooked for us...so we didn't even fry the potatoes :P which is the trickiest part of the dish). It involved flipping action. Which is only ever scary in my book. But I flipped it without any insult or injury. And it was pretty tasty in the end, even though I think mine needed more potato, because it was mostly egg. I guess it's important to say at this point that earlier, when I had had two small cups of sangria, I was feeling kind of nauseous. But I felt better after having some water, so I thought nothing of it. Happily ate my tortilla and my dessert (LOVELOVE), and avoided the paella because it tasted too much like seafood (since it had prawns AND oysters AND mussels).

I left the cooking class with the whole group in a GREAT mood. The dinner had been delicious, the company was excellent...and towards the end of our class, at around 8:45, we heard cheering outside the window, so we knew Spain had scored a goal. We left the class determined to get to Bernabéu Stadium (Real Madrid's stadium!) to see the second half of the game. We got to the stadium right at the beginning of the second half, and like 5 or 10 minutes later, Villa scored a second goal for Spain, and that ginormous crowd flipped out. It was awesome. There was so much cheering and jumping and hugging and whatnot. If anyone in that crowd was feeling at all apathetic about the game, they certainly couldn't avoid getting swept up in the excitement of knowing we would actually win this game. We watched the game on the jumbotron screen set up in front of the stadium, while a camera on a crane went around filming the crowd. It was such a great atmosphere--we all groaned and gasped and cheered together, and even though Spain didn't score again, there were so many close calls that the crowd was buzzing right up through the end, when there was a big cheer of celebration for the victory. So much red and yellow. We looked like a McDonald's ad.

Unfortunately, my stomach put a big damper on all the excitement. By the time I got home, I had a stomachache all over again. Ugh. Barely slept Monday night. Felt weak and appetite-less on Tuesday (yesterday) morning. And throughout the day yesterday, I kept feeling tired and with the threat of a headache several times. I had my Lit class (....almost done) in the morning, after which I asked one of the administrators at the IES center for advice as to whether or not I should see a doctor. He said it was better if I did, so he kindly made the appointment for me, for this morning. Highly appreciated, because I didn't want to have to call myself (this is not the moment to remind me that I am twenty years old and basically an adult. It would've cost me precious minutes on that damn Spanish phone!)

I had Prado class in the afternoon, which was interesting-ish. We've started talking about Goya, so we looked at a bunch of cartoons that he made for tapestries for Spanish nobility. They were pretty cool, especially the one called The Wedding...but still, I kind of wanted to move on to other Goya paintings by the end. Today we looked at some portraits by Goya, and again, while interesting, they were not my favorite Goyas. Although there was one hand, in the portrait of a general, that was so gorgeously painted that I wanted to take that piece of the canvas home with me. Also, the paintings of the Nude Maja and Clothed Maja are beautiful, and so atrevidas, haha, I love it. However, my professor pissed me off again today, because he kept dismissing what I said, or talking over me. Blah.

After class yesterday, I went to look at a couple of photo exhibitions with Naomi again. We saw one by an artist who I'm pretty sure is Colombian, named Oscar Muñoz. His work was awesome--very simple materials, but impeccable/difficult execution, and gorgeous themes that were never too lofty or erudite. AHH, I loved it. But by the time we'd gone through the third exhibition, I was really, really tired and was starting to feel a headache coming on. I ended up having a good, relaxing night of blog updating, Gilmore Girls, a light dinner for my poor tummy, and plenty of sleep.

This morning I went to see the doctor. The student insurance we have sends us to an English-speaking clinic, so I spoke to a REALLY nice German woman who put me at ease. She said my stomach problems probably had resulted from eating bad egg products (rapelle-toi, Versailles) but that since I hadn't had a fever and was already feeling better, that the worst was probably over. So she told me what I should and shouldn't eat for the next couple of days (she told me no gassy drinks, so of course now I'm craving soda), and gave me a prescription to order on Friday if I'm still not better by then. But today I've been feeling great, so I think I'll be good to go in another day or two. The only bad part about the doctor's appointment was that I wasn't even remotely late to my stupid Lit class, even after stopping at a panadería to buy myself some hot tea (which the doctor recommended) and a croissant. But it actually wasn't so bad, because we got to see the film Un chien andalou by Buñuel and Dalí, which I'd only seen parts of (it's the famous one, with the cutting the eye and the ants coming out of the hand business), so I'm actually kind of glad I got to see it. Very strange.

After class, I attempted to go to the Palacio Real to see the supposed Changing of the Guard that happens from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, but I saw nothing. Hahaha. I think I didn't look in the right place, but whatever, I took some nice pictures at the Plaza de Oriente where the Palacio Real is located. Found out admission was free today, but only for EU citizens and Ibero-American citizens...not Americans. BOO. If I'd had a Colombian passport, I would've totally gotten in for free. But it's all good, I'm planning to go next week when Nik is here anyway, and I was already hungry for lunch (a good sing! good appetite!) so I went home. Later I had Prado class, and then I went off to explore on my own, because there were certain things (still are) that I really wanted to do, and I figured it would be easier to just do it all on my own and not wait and see if anyone was up for going with me.

It was actually a great idea, because I had SUCH a good time spending some time with me. I don't really spend that much time alone, besides my evening hours, and I'm always keeping myself busy then. This was an opportunity to walk and look and not do any busywork, but just enjoy. It was perfect. I went to San Francisco El Grande, which is a famous church here. I wanted to go inside, but it was already closed when I got there. However, I found S.F.'s garden next door, and it was awesome. Lots of different kinds of flowers, and a nice view of a part of the city. And QUIET, I was virtually alone even though the street was right beside the garden. I loved it. I spent a while in there (even though it was small), looking around and taking pictures.

From there, I went up the street towards the Palacio Real to find the Campo del Moro, a huge garden complex that is located behind the Palacio. I kept having to ask for the entrance to the gardens, because I couldn't find it. The reason was that I was WAYYYY on the other side of the gardens. I ended up walking for like 15, maybe even 20 minutes, all the way around the ginormous block (ginormous because the gardens are so extensive), and finally found the entrance at like 7:05. The gardens close at 8, but they start ushering people out at 7:30, so I only had a little while, but it was PERFECT. There weren't nearly as many people as there always is in Retiro, so it was really quiet, and all the pathways were solitary. It was absolutely ridiculously beautiful. There were so many different kinds of trees all clustered together. And each separate pathway had a different feel to it (and I didn't even get to go through most of the gardens!) so it was just soo nice to walk slowly amidst all the trees. They were all so tall that the sun only came in through the treetops, so it was so much cooler there than it had been during my long walk, and the light was beautiful. Also, there were tons of birds scurrying around and singing and squawking and making all sort of noises, so I felt like I was out in the middle of nowhere, not surrounded by busy streets and flanked on one side by the giant Palacio Real. Ahhh, it was so great in there, I need to go back (possibly tomorrow). Pictures cannot describe the extent to which I enjoyed just being in the Campo del Moro. And I kept thinking how good it was that I was by myself, because I could just take it all in and relax and, like I said, stop whenever I wanted.

Right at 7:30, a man on a scooter came zooming down the path I was on (I was having a moment with the little pinecone I'd picked up and decided to take home) and told me they were getting ready to close. As I headed out (taking my time, of course, stopping to take pictures and look around), I kept hearing him scooting around, back and forth across all the pathways, to find everyone and usher them out. It was pretty funny, because the buzzing of his scooter just kept coming from either side of me. I ended up finally leaving like at 7:50, so I definitely milked that last walk for all it was worth.

I decided to go across the street to the Principe Pio shopping center, which has a bunch of restaurants and shops right off of the Principe Pio Metro stop (an old railway station). I ended up curiously going into a couple of stores, because it's apparently the beginning of discount season, so I was intrigued to see if I could find something really cheap to take home as my article-of-clothing-I-bought-in-Madrid. In the store called Mango, I found a cute jacket that I thought I might get, but didn't like it when I tried it on. I found two other things that I liked until I tried them on. On my way out of the store, I glanced at a shirt, looked at the price (8,95 euros) and thought, eh, might as well give it one last try. And I actually liked it! And it was reasonably priced, methinks, for being a cute top unlike things I usually find at the places where I shop. Plus, it's charcoal grey, which I really like, for some reason. Anyway, it was cute and cheap, so voila my foreign article of clothing.

Finally, to end my day, I got myself a 3 euro dinner at 100 Montaditos inside the shopping center (two little sandwiches and a hot tea) and watched like 25 minutes of the Ghana v. Germany game, and at halftime, I headed home. And I feel GREAT, because I had such a wonderful day, almost entirely on my own, and because I feel like I actually saw a lot today. The long walk I had to take to Campo del Moro ended up being good because it forced me to spend time looking around as I walked down the streets of Madrid. I desperately want to soak it all in now that there's only a week and two days left!!

O Valencia! [pt. 2 and 3]

By the hammer of Thor, it has been a strugglebus trying to keep this thing updated. Admittedly, it's been kind of a rough 24 hours. I barely slept last night (I spent the whole night in that limbo state, where you're never entirely sure as to whether or not you've actually slept) because my stomach started hurting desperately again, the way it did on Friday night in Valencia. So I spent the whole day relatively tired, and weak from having very little nourishment left in my body. I had a light lunch and a very light dinner, so currently my stomach isn't doing terribly. But I'm still going to go see the doctor tomorrow in the morning. Which may or may not make me late to my Lit class. Which would make me cry [with happiness].

So, Valencia, day 2 (Saturday):
I woke up at like 7:30 a.m. to talk to the family on Skype, since they'd just returned from Andy's graduation a few hours before. I loved getting the chance to talk to them and hear about Andy's graduation, because I was so sad that I had to miss it, and because talking to them made me feel better about my awful night spent half in the bathroom and half in bed not being able to sleep. After talking to them, I showered and went down to the hotel restaurant for a pretty small breakfast (difficult to do, because there was such a great spread of food for us, including Cocoa Krispies, which for some reason seemed really enticing). The whole group left the hotel at 10:15 to go to the "Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias," which is a building complex in Valencia consisting of five rather cool modern buildings designed by Santiago Calatrava. We visited two of them: first, the Hemisferic, which has a big dome that they use for IMAX projections and things like that. We watched a 45-minute movie about Egyptian pharaohs inside. It mostly reminded me of planetarium shows I've seen. It was interesting (and the listening devices that we had strapped to our heads were hilarious), but I was crazy sleepy, so I definitely fell asleep a couple of times throughout the movie.

I liked the second part of our visit a LOT more (as did, I think, everyone else): we visited the Oceanografic--aquarium! God, I love aquariums. I think I associate aquariums with that great field trip I took with Miss Batista's class in third grade, so going to aquariums always makes me feel like a little kid. Also, animals are just ridiculously cool. We saw penguins, dolphins, many sharks, seals (I loved them...there was one who was just hanging out with its head back, bobbing up and down in the water. Such intense relaxation, in the sun of the BEAUTIFUL day we had in Valencia on Saturday), beluga whales (<3), pelicans...and a CRAZY-looking fish called the sunfish. I'd never seen it or heard of it before, but I swear, it was one of the weirdest animals I've ever seen (almost as weird as that bird thing Jenny, Nik, Christina and I saw in the L.A. Zoo in January). Good times with the animals.

From the aquarium, we headed back in the direction of the hotel, and stopped to have a long lunch all together. They served us this delicious smoked salmon on top of perfect, very fresh lettuce, which was amazing. I also finally tried croquetas, which are cheese-filled fried whatsits with little bits of meat on the inside. Really tasty, even though they unpleasantly remind me of those mashed-up-pork things that they sell at Porto's. We also had paella, since Valencia is known for its paella. I was beyond excited to find out that we were having chicken paella, as opposed to seafood paella (apparently, in Valencia, the two are never mixed). I really don't like seafood (besides sushi, haha) so I was really grateful for the chicken paella, which was delicious, especially whenever I came across a grain of rice that was just slightly burnt, OH so good. I didn't eat that much, given that my stomach had been so sensitive the night before, but I still had enough that I was crazy full on our way back to the hotel, which was causing me to basically fall asleep standing.

I decided to take an hour-long nap before going with a small group on a guided tour of the Museo de Cerámica. I lay down, knocked out, and woke up when Nay called me to ask if I was coming after all. I felt really bad because I thought I'd kept the group waiting, but apparently I was only like 5 minutes late. And hey, at least I got to take my desperately needed nap. The Ceramic Museum is the national museum for ceramics, and it was awesome. The facade is this really beautiful alabaster, with two personifications of Valencia's rivers on either side of the door.

We spent about an hour in it, looking at all the rooms of this beautiful mansion that used to belong to some dukes. We talked about the history of ceramics in Europe and Spain more specifically. There were some gorgeous plates and stuff like that, but the best part was seeing how all the different rooms were furnished. Some of the wallpaper and elaborate furniture reminded me of Versailles. There was also one room housing a traditional 19th-century tiled kitchen, which was adorable. All the countertops are so low, because people were so much shorter. And all the tile work is great, it gives the kitchen such a pretty, delicate look. It looks like it's meant to be a toy, not a functioning kitchen...like the 19th century version of an Easy Bake oven, except more expensive.

Anyway. As soon as we got back from the museum, I got my stuff together for the beach, and then got on a bus that would take us there, with Nay, James and Dashell. When we got there, we met up with pretty much every other person in the group (they'd all opted out of the museum to go straight to the beach after lunch). They all left pretty soon after we arrived, but a group of about 10 of us stayed behind. I had an amazing time. It was, of course, the first time I'd ever seen the Mediterranean, so that in and of itself was exciting. I decided to test out the water, and it turned out not to be very cold at all, so after a few minutes of wading, I decided to get in. I was afraid that it would rain the next day and that I would miss my chance to swim in the Mediterranean. So, at 8 p.m., I went in. The sun was certainly still out, and the water was actually really, really nice (especially compared to how cold the Pacific still is, even at this time of year), so it was the perfect decision to go swimming. We spent maybe 20 or 30 minutes in the water, and when we got out, we decided to bury Alex in the sand. So Valentina, Naomi, and I spent quite a while burying him and sculpting him into a merman with a trident (Naomi did the bulk of the work, and she did a pretty amazing job, haha). We kept ourselves entertained with that and, once Alex had finally stood up, taking silly pictures out on the beach. We stayed until like 9:30, when the sun had already been setting for a little while. We would've probably stayed until later if we hadn't had to catch the bus back. It was so much fun, we were all in such good company and in great spirits.

When we got back to the area around the hotel, I bought myself the fruit smoothie I'd been desperately craving since the night before, and then took a much-needed shower (going to the beach always means shaking out sand for like a week). After our respective showers, Alex, Nay and I went down to the corner of the street which our hotel was on, where there were people from the group at a restaurant. None of us were particularly hungry, but we joined the group and ordered a pitcher of Agua de Valencia (orange juice, champagne, and some other ingredient I keep forgetting) for the three of us, and it was delicious. When we'd finished our pitcher and paid, we were going to make plans to do something for a little while longer, but by 1 a.m. I was falling over asleep, so I just decided to go to bed and get plenty of sleep to make up for my rough night on Friday.

On Sunday morning, we had some time to eat breakfast at the hotel before heading out. Since my stomach was feeling better, I was totally ready to eat what I hadn't been able to eat the day before. But, lo and behold, there was considerably less food out, maybe a 1/3 of what we'd had the day before. I kind of think that the hotel staff either ran out of food or did it on purpose, because they had complained the day before that we had lingered too long at the tables and that some people had taken food out of the dining room. So, alas, I had to settle for toast and dried apricots again.

We spent the rest of our time in Valencia at the beach. We got there close to 11 a.m. and were theoretically going to leave at 2 p.m. (and that included time for lunch). When we got there, the majority of the girls slapped on a bit of sunblock, put in their earbuds, and lounged in the sun to tan. And while I joined them for a little bit, I got really sick of it really soon, because I just don't enjoy the stereotypical girl thing of lying there burning in the sun and never actually getting in the water. After about 10 minutes, I decided to go in, and like four other girls joined me. The water was colder than the night before (!) but still LOVELY. The Mediterranean really impressed me, I had so much fun swimming in it. I got out and went back in a couple of times throughout our free time, and every time I went back in, the water was nicer. But, of course, we eventually had to pack up and go find food. Which we did, only to come back at the predetermined hour to find out that we couldn't leave. Our bus (a big charter bus) had parked in a dirt lot, and its wheels had actually sunk into the ground. So at 2 p.m. they were trying to lug it out somehow. They told us we would have to meet back at 3:30 and leave then. It's too bad, because we could've spent more than, like, 15 minutes on our lunch if we'd known that would happen. We were too hot and tired to go back to the beach, so a bunch of us actually went to the nearby Burger King, because it had bathrooms and it was air-conditioned, and also because we could get cheap ice cream. Naomi, Valentina, and I each got one of the three flavors of "Sandys" (sundaes), we looked like a top-notch Burger King ad, hahaha. So basically, we all just relaxed there until we had to head back. We walked past the bus at like 3:15 and it was still definitely in the ground, but miraculously, 15 minutes later, we were climbing on and heading home. Got back to Madrid too late for me to catch the Brazil game (after showering and eating a bit), but at least we had a great time in Valencia (despite the stomachache business...I think the Mediterranean legitimately soothed my soul and/or stomach :P)

WHEW.

All right. I am officially exhausted. Tomorrow, I will diligently write about yesterday and today, including cooking classes and watching the Spain vs. Honduras game on the jumbotron outside the Real Madrid stadium!

O Valencia! [pt. 1]

All right, I have like twenty minutes to do an update, before I head out to look at a few photo exhibitions with Nay, and then to cooking class (this is not a joke: I am learning how to cook Spanish food tonight. I promised, no innocents will be harmed) before the SPAIN VS. HONDURAS game at 8:30.

So, Valencia: the first day, Friday, we left at 7:30 a.m. and stopped at around 10:30 for a ginormous breakfast at some castle-esque hotel on the top of a mountain (funny I should say that, since the end of our breakfast conversation featured much quoting from "Anchorman"). Our breakfast included Spanish tortilla, migas (bread-crumb-and-meat combo thing, very strange but kind of tasty), longaniza (little sausages), plus the usual bread, orange juice, and coffee. TOO MUCH FOOD. I ate a lot, still exhausted from running around the night before.

From there, we drove the rest of the way to Valencia, and arrived at our [four-star!] hotel at around 2:30. We had free time until 5 p.m., when we were going to go out to look at a couple of the main monuments in the city. I, in all my fury and frustration at not being able to watch the US vs. Slovania game, was all in a huff for a while, and ended up leaving my room at around 5:15, with my stomach hurting a bit, angry about not catching the game, and kind of sad thinking about the fact that my brother was graduating from high school that day, and I wouldn't get to see him. I walked by myself towards the second spot on the tour that everyone had gone on, which was the Plaza de la Reina. As I walked, I calmed down because I got to take my time, by myself (i.e. not having to make idle conversation with anyone), and could stop to take pictures whenever I wanted. Then, of course, just our luck, it started raining, and it was like a deluge for about 10 minutes, during which time I took shelter at the door to The Body Shop near the Corte Ingles. I stopped feeling so angry when I realized that there was nothing I could do about the silly rain, and that I should enjoy my time in Valencia because we would only be there till Sunday anyway.

I met up with the group at the Cathedral, and went up the [207!!] steps to the top of the bell tower, which is called the Miguelete. The plaza around the cathedral was really nice, and the view from the top of the Miguelete was awesome. It was a really beautiful day, despite the rain (the downpour was seriously the work of one lone giant grey cloud. As you can see, the rest of the sky was a perfect, almost cloudless blue, and the sun was out the whole time). When I caught up with the group at the top of the tower, I found out I actually hadn't missed anything, because they'd skipped the first building on the agenda and had just gone straight to the cathedral. I latched on to one of the groups (there were different groups, each with a tour guide) and continued on our way through the city.

From the cathedral, we went to this other building called the Lonja, which was some sort of castle kind of thing. In the main room, there were these beautiful rib vaults, and twisting spiral columns which I liked very much. Here, the tour guide told us about the Valencia crest, which we saw everywhere: it has the Valencia coat of arms, with a crown on top, and a bat on top of the crown. I forget what the bat is supposed to stand for, but oh well. It's a pretty cool crest.

Things that I do know about Valencia: it's the third biggest city in Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona, with 812,000 inhabitants. It was incredibly important back in the day because of its access to the Mediterranean, making it a key place for trade (I believe it also has two significant rivers nearby or running through it). Valencia is also known for being the place where the eleventh-century hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar ("El Cid") died in battle, defending the city during the wars against the Arabs. Finally, Valencia has its own dialect, Valenciano, which is some crazy mix of Spanish, French, and Italian. I never heard it spoken, but it was definitely heavily used in all the signs around the city. Very strange--at times it even almost looked like Latin. Apparently, it isn't widely spoken, but it's definitely prevalent in writing.

Anyway. After the Lonja, we got free time, so I wandered around the city with Sophie, Kentrel, Kevin, Dashell, and James. We didn't really have any specific place we wanted to see, so we basically turned wherever we felt like it. We actually saw a LOT of the city in the course of about an hour. I was exhausted (my feet hurt quite a bit) by the time we sat down. But it's good that we walked around, because we didn't really get to do that during the rest of the weekend, and we ran into some cool places. We saw this unbelievable tree in the Columbus plaza (seems like there's a lot of those throughout Spain), and we spent a few minutes in the Mercado Colon, which is like a big market (mostly selling breadstuffs and coffee inside), where there were some children running around. Dashell played soccer with them for a little bit.

From there, we went to find a place to sit and watch the game and have dinner. I bought myself a salad, because I was feeling kind of sick...my stomach was still hurting, and I really didn't feel like anything remotely greasy or even meaty (which is a true sign that I am unwell). We watched the soccer game between England and Algeria, and it may have been the most boring game I've ever seen. 0-0 at the end. No one did ANYTHING. I was falling asleep while watching. After the game, we walked back to the hotel (once it had stopped raining so hard), and I went to bed as soon as I wrote the previous blog entry.

Then I spent an awful night barely sleeping, because the stomachache turned into Disaster of the Century, so I spent the night partially in bed and partially in the bathroom, and 100% uncomfortable. But at least when I woke up in the morning, I felt better, and got to talk to the family on Skype after Andy's graduation. Still, my stomach continued to be grumbly throughout the early part of the day, which was unfortunate.

Okay, must run...to be continued!

Living the Madrid nightlife [on a prayer!]

I've just come back from my afternoon/evening out and about in Valencia (which has unfortunately culminated in a very boring match between England and Algeria (ending in a draw), and with an stomachache that is currently inexplicably plaguing me). I do want to talk about Valencia, but I think I might wait until Sunday night when I return to do that, so I can actually post some pictures with my entry.

Instead, I figured I'd talk a little bit about what I did yesterday in Madrid. In the afternoon, once I'd had my lunch and my daily fill of Gilmore Girls (I brought Season 3 with me, for my down time), I met up with Dashell in Plaza Colón to see at photo exhibition. Currently, there is a large-scale annual exhibition happening in Madrid called PhotoEspaña, which installs and promotes photography exhibitions by international artists in art/photo galleries all over Madrid. So basically, you can go online and look at the listings of artists, with descriptions of their work, before you select the exhibition to go to (and the website tells you the location, of course). Dashell and I saw the group exhibition entitled "Between times: Instants, intervals, durations." It was an excellent collection of work by seventeen different photographers; I liked several things a LOT. For those of you reading this who are currently in Madrid, I would highly recommend going to see it. I liked that you didn't have to go through the entire gallery looking at the work of a single artist, but instead could jump around and sample very different kinds of work, all united by this theme of stalled time or invented time or projected time, just to name a few. It was all very beautiful; techniques varied widely; and there were photographers from many parts of the world represented. There was a set of photographs by one artist representing old real estate opportunities in the Pico Rivera/Downey/Santa Monica areas of L.A. that made me very excited, just because the streets looked so familiar. Oh, I'm such an obsessive Angelino sometimes.

Anyway, there are several more exhibitions that I want to see before I leave, including another group one, so I think those will be on the list of things to do for the coming week.

Thursday night was interesting. I spent some time in the evening talking to Shira (love!) because we had much to catch each other up on, and it was a GREAT hour and a half of conversation. Then I packed up my stuff for Valencia because I knew I wouldn't have time to do it in the morning. Finally, the plan was to meet up with a big group of people and then head to Kapital, a club not too far from my apartment, which had free admission for girls that night, and which is famous for its seven floors with different themes, of sorts. I was a little late in heading out, since we had to get to Kapital before 12:30 to get in for free. I left to meet up with the group at 10:50, thinking I could get there by latest 11:30. But when I got off the Metro station that they'd suggested, I realized I really wasn't sure where I was going. I started walking and thought about asking a couple that passed by, but refrained. Then I thought better of it and asked the next couple approaching, walking in the direction from which I came. I asked them if they knew where I could find Calle Fernandez de Hoz, and the woman said, "Uyyy, mujer, estás más perdida!" and said she could help me find my way because I was quite far from where I needed to be.

When she finished saying that, I of course immediately asked if she was Colombian, because I could tell from her accent. And she was! She was from Medellín and her boyfriend from Cali (woo!). So they told me to walk with them and we all happily chatted about Colombia, about where we each live (the guy lives in Barcelona and was actually heading out to catch a cab to leave Madrid when I ran into them), about how long it had been since we'd been in Colombia, about how fun it is to visit Colombia...all sorts of things. I was happy to hear that they thought I still retain my Cali accent, despite living in the US for 14 years; it is somehow really great to hear, because it means that not only is my Spanish still good, but my Colombian roots show. Just as I could tell she was from Colombia, it would've taken no time for her to realize I am too. Anyway, they were super nice, as Colombians are wont to be :P They kept telling me, "Good thing you asked, because you were SO lost." They very kindly walked with me the whole time, though we did pause briefly for the guy to get into a cab and head to the bus station. So I stood there while they kissed goodbye, which was sweet because it wasn't even awkward, like we were all good friends. Then I kept walking with the woman, and talking about why she's living in Spain. Basically, she had come to live with her sister with her daughter, and then her sister had some issues which forced her to return to Colombia. So then this woman sent her daughter to live in Colombia as well, because she couldn't raise her alone, and now she lives in Madrid by herself, and hasn't seen her four-year-old daughter for months. And she was telling me that she's going to Medellín next Sunday to see her family but also to scope out a possible living situation there, but she says she's afraid because she's not sure things are well enough in Colombia to merit living there. At the same time, she knows she can't go on living by herself in Madrid, so far away from every single member of her immediate family, including her little girl. And while she was telling me all this, I definitely noticed that her voice was shaking and her eyes were tearing up a little bit. And I just felt so grateful, not only that she was keeping me company at 11:30 p.m. in a part of town I wasn't familiar with, on her own time, but that she was so willing to share all of that with me. So even though I got so completely lost and totally missed the pregame (when we finally got to the apartment, everyone was on their way out, so I just left with them, straight back to the Metro!), it was actually a really, really awesome way to spend half an hour. What coincidences...the world is truly too small.

What's even more funny is that later, at around 3:00 in the morning, when I was buying a mojito (for 12 euros!!! But wow, it was delicious) from a bartender at Kapital, I heard her speaking to another customer while she was making my drink, and when she turned back to me, I said, "Can I ask you something? Are you from Madrid?" And she said, "No..." to which I replied, "You're Colombian." And she was also from Medellín! She said she hasn't been back for many years, and when I told her I'm going in December, she was like, "Ah, marica, que bueno!" Hahahaha. It was just a Colombian kind of night, I guess.

Kapital was really fun, not only because we got in for free AND got a drink for free (my first mojito; the one I bought was my second. SO TASTY). There was plenty to do, roaming up and down the seven floors (even though one or two were closed). Also, basically the entirety of the program, with the exception of a handful of people, went. I spent most of my time with Naomi, Lauren, and Valentina. At one point, Alex, whom I recently likened to Bacchus in Velazquez's The Drinkers, actually stole a small bottle of whiskey from the bar on the top floor (which had part of the roof missing, so we could look up and see the night sky!), so we had a bit of that as well, towards the beginning of the night. Thinking about it, that whiskey in the ice/water slush that I had left in my cup after my mojito was probably the grossest thing I've had in a while...but it didn't have any negative effects, and I was happily tipsy for the rest of the night. The best part of the night was hands-down the karaoke part. A big group of us inadvertently invaded the karaoke room, because we got super excited when we started shouting out songs we could all sing. The ones I particpated in (because they were all big group songs): Hit Me Baby One More Time (LOL), Shape of my Heart (a tribute to my best girls), American Pie (I sang along from the crowd of IES kids in front of the little stage, mostly remembering the words from the Weird Al version), and the winner, Living on a Prayer. God. We sand Living on a Prayer like our lives depended on it. We were SO into it. I think I was using up all my recent outpouring of love for Yale in the form of its Bon Jovi anthem among the student body. It's like the fight song: almost everyone knows Living on a Prayer. So I really enjoyed myself during that whole portion of the evening. It was also just a lot of fun to goof around dancing, especially to the random Spanish songs that a few Spanish people went up to sing. We were all so ridiculous and silly and full of mirth. The things music can do to people.

We left Kapital when it closed at 5:30. Because I live close by, I figured I'd hop on a bus and get home in like 5 minutes, and then go to sleep for a little while before heading out to be at the IES center at 7:15, to head out to Valencia. I saw a bus waiting near Atocha, so I asked the bus driver if he stopped at Embajadores, and when he said yes, I got on the bus. Next thing I know, he's tearing past Embajadores, and I don't have the sense to push the stop button to get off at the next possible place, because I figured, "Maybe he'll turn around..." BUT NO. Bus got on a highway, got off at some exit a few minutes later, on the very outskirts of Madrid...I basically had to ask him if he was going to go back to Embajadores, and he told me that I should've gotten off way earlier, and that he would probably be back there at around 6:10...I needed to be on my way at 6:40 at the latest, but I had all my stuff packed, so I figured I'd be okay. Except we barely STARTED turning around at 6:10, and then it turned out the bus didn't actually stop again at Embajadores, so I had to get off at this bus station and catch a different bus....SO, by the time I was running down the street to my apartment it was 6:40. I went inside, changed my shirt, grabbed all my stuff, and ran out, so that by 6:45, I was walking to the Metro. And SOMEHOW, I made it to the bus on time (of course, they never leave when they say they do...we left at 7:30). But it was RIDICULOUSLY stressful, especially because I could've walked home in like 15 minutes at the most. I never want to be in that position ever again. But I guess it makes for a ridiculous, crazy story.

An eventful night in Madrid. I never went to sleep, so I finally did it the way all the natives do it here. It's pretty insane; I don't know how they do it every weekend (Friday AND Saturday nights). I was more exhausted than I've been in a while (except maybe coming back from London, haha). When the bus got going, I knocked out, and slept during the entire bus ride...but still, I am totally pooped now. So, off to sleep, so I can wake up and chat with Andy on Skype, and then enjoy Day 2 of Valencia!

Ohhhhh, we're halfway there. It's so true right now. I'm actually halfway there (Yale-wise). EEK!

Prancing and pantaloons

I am currently in Valencia, but as I have a bit of free time (during which I can also watch the first half of the USA game this afternoon), I figured I should work on the update that I meant to write last night, when I instead dawdled and packed before going out.

Except it looks like the TV in the hotel doesn't feature a channel that is showing the game. UGH. Laker coverage, galore. But the World Cup? Il n'y a rien. I AM SO ANGRY RIGHT NOW.

Anyway.

First things first...I went to see Carmen on Wednesday with like 20 people from the program. We got seats in the fifth row for 12 euros because we got a great group discount, so we had an amazing view of the stage. The show was pretty good. The concept is to create a performance that mixes ballet (Bizet's opera, which is beautiful and makes me want to see the opera itself!) and flamenco (music played/sung by musicians on stage). Both types of dance were gorgeous in their own way. Flamenco seems to me like a kind of more dramatic, faster form of tap, because they can really create the most elaborate rhythm patterns just with their feet. There was one soloist who moved his feet incredibly fast, all while wearing very high, all too tight pants (or pantaloons, as I prefer to refer to them). Turns out he's only 22, on top of all that. How are these people so talented? The male dancers in general were uber elegant and dramatic. The women were beautiful and their costumes were as cool as could be expected. The only real complaint I found myself having as I watched the hour and a half show was that Carmen herself, though talented, was a bit overzealous in her dancing, and (this is just a personal opinion), I thought she was a little too skinny and muscular for the part. I really think flamenco lends itself very well to curvy dancers, especially because the costumes and the movement of the arms/hips are meant to accentuate a curvaceous, seductive female body. So for me, Carmen was a bit angular and her dancing, because it sometimes was kind of over the top, seemed too sharp to be seductive in the manner her character is supposed to have. Anyway, it was fun to try to understand the story, since I wasn't familiar with it at all. But, like I said, it really most made me want to watch the opera, to really get immersed in the story (and to see how much of the French sung in the opera I would actually be able to understand. I could pick out a word or two here and there, totally randomly).

All right, this post comes to an abrupt end because I am not entirely in the mood to write any more right now. I am still quite disgruntled about not being able to watch the US vs. Slovania game right now (particularly because Slovania is currently WINNING...) and I'm also having one of those I'm-tired-I'm-bored-I-want-to-hang-out-in-my-own-home kind of days. Maybe it is because today is my brother Andy's graduation and I don't get to be there, which really bothers me, and while being in Valencia is exciting because I get to see another part of Spain, I sort of wish that I were home, just today, just so I could see my brother graduate. But, alas, it didn't work out. I'm going to call him tomorrow in the morning (it'll be like 10:30 p.m. Friday night for him) and see how it all went. It's the least I can do, of course.

Oh noes!

Spain has lost their first game of the World Cup. Spain. The Spain that I am currently living in. 0-1 to Switzerland. Despair set in a little bit, and I was definitely beside myself (for someone who doesn't follow soccer at all...I am quite invested in the World Cup. Not literally, of course, HA). Totally unexpected. Lots of sad faces in that restaurant, and a waiter that kept throwing his arms up and muttering under his breath.

On the bright side...Brazil did well (ish) yesterday, won 2-1 against North Korea. I got to be reunited with my one and only true love, Kaka (number 10). It was a fun game to watch, a bunch of the students from the Universidad Complutense were there with us, so the atmosphere was great.

Now I'm off to see the Carmen flamenco show, after a brief tapas dinner with the group. This will be of consolation after the TRAGEDY of this afternoon's game. Music soothes the savage beasts.

Fever

It looks ominously dark out right now, and I'm really hoping that it doesn't rain. My plans for the rest of the day don't involve much outdoor time, but still. I'm sick of the rain in Spain that falls mainly in the plains (i.e. right here). This afternoon I'm heading off to another installment of my Prado class (more Velazquez -- yay! Normal professor is back -- sadness). Then I'm going to the Contemporary Art museum with Nay and possibly Sophie. And then at around 8:30 p.m. I'm meeting up with Sophie at the IES center, where there is a TV and a small restaurant, so we can eat dinner and watch Brazil's first world cup game. So excited! World cup fever has certainly hit (because Spaniards are ultra obsessed with soccer, and because Spain is expected potentially to win the World Cup). And I have become infected. I got a kick out of seeing the soccer uniform line-up in El Corte Ingles (the giant mall...there are several of its kind throughout Madrid).

Yesterday was an interesting day. I went to bed on Sunday night, still incredibly tired from my London trip, at around 12:30 a.m. My plan was to wake up at 9:30, print out the picture I was supposed to bring in as a self-portrait for my Prado class (this was a project instead of an exam for the midterm evaluation--un auto-retrato), and then head off to class, which starts at 11:10. Instead, I woke up at 10:54 a.m. FAIL. And also, WOMP. My commute to school takes about 35 minutes, too, so there was absolutely no way that I would get there in time. I managed to get out of the house within 10 minutes, run off to print my picture next door, and then get to class as fast as the Metro would allow me. I got there nearly at noon. I'd emailed the women in charge of all the academic business before I left, so they could let my professor know I'd be late. So when I walked in at noon, he didn't seem phased, just asked me to go down and make photocopies of my picture so that everyone would have one. Then I joined the rest of the group in discussing each person's photograph. We each had to say what we thought the self-portrait meant, or intended to say about the person in question. Then that person would give us an explanation as to how they went about photographing themselves. It was actually pretty cool--I feel like I got to know people surprisingly well in the course of that hour (I only missed 3 out of 5 photograph discussions, by the way, so I wasn't even THAT heinously late. Sort of). I really like the photograph I took of myself, although I wish I hadn't cut off the top of my head, but it was tricky to set up the timer and get in the shot within 10 seconds. I decided to show myself with my journal (duh), my book (Lolita...it's one of the most amazing books I've ever read. 120 pages left), my music, and an earring, since I think about what earrings to wear on a daily basis, even though I don't care at all about fashion or what's in style or whatever. Something about earrings just gets me; I think they can be quite beautiful, and I like to wear a different pair every day. I also thought it would be a beautiful yet subtle way to make a reference to Vermeer and the fact that I more generally study history of art. Anyway, I thought it was a cool project, and I'm glad I didn't miss the whole class. But wow. On the way to class, I just kept thinking (in the words of Natalie), "GARGOMEL. WHY do I have to show up to class right now?! I should be able to sleep like a bear until whenever and then hang out in Madrid until whenever." I got over it, though.

I spent all afternoon posting pictures on Facebook (London) and writing my blog entry, and catching up a bit with Ari over gchat, which was really fun. Then in the early evening, I went off to Puerta del Sol on my own to do a bit of souvenir shopping and to generally wander around. It was actually really fun; I stopped to take pictures whenever I wanted, and I found some excellent souvenirs at good prices. (Leave me your mailing address in a comment if you want a postcard!) I also just liked people-watching. You find the most interesting and amusing things all over the place in Sol...
From there, I went to IES to watch the Italy vs. Paraguay game with Sophie. We mostly talked and ate, once in a while glancing at the game, because we had to give each other the update on our weekends. Also, the food is really cheap at the center, so we both got big meals and ice cream for 5 euros. It's nice not to have to spend tons of money on dinners during the week, because inevitably, the weekends always end up being more expensive.

Today, I've been to my Lit class this morning, to take our midterm (dullest midterm ever. Three essay questions whose answers were basically slight variations on one another. Most boring hour and a half I've spent in a while). After that, since we got out earlier than usual, I decided I would actually go to the gym. I did a 30-minute run, which felt great (although it was difficult) and some sit-ups and became acquainted with the leg press (sweet baby Jesus, I think I'm going to use it daily). And when I left after working out, I was in such a great mood, listening to Jack Johnson on my way to the Metro and just looking around and enjoying the scenery (which included an adorable little dog gnawing away at a stick). I guess it's true that exercise makes you happy, sometimes. I still feel great, and I'm glad I actually worked out for once.

Now I'm off to the Prado for more Velazquez action...but a propos of that, I'll leave you all with a bit of creative, Las Meninas-inspired advertising that I saw in El Corte Ingles:

The Queen's birthday and her subjects' birthday suits

I am safely and soundly back in Madrid, and have returned to...rain. It is currently raining again. It was perfectly lovely and great when I went to class earlier today. Now, when I actually had plans to go out in about half an hour, and stay out for a while, it has started raining a LOT, with thunder and lightning again. What is this?? I only have so many days left in Madrid. Also, I somehow broke my umbrella (my cute little frog umbrella! Must get a Peabody replacement stat!) on my way to London. I can' t tell yet whether it's beyond repair or not, but it might be. Which means I am exposed to the elements in Madrid. Which means that there better not be any more elements (of the rainy variety, at least) from now until I leave.

But let us not speak of that. Instead...London!

From the moment when I met up with Ana (at about 1:30 a.m. after my plane landed in Luton airport on Friday at 11:30 p.m.) to the moment when I left her apartment, about 24 hours went by. During the course of those 24 hours, I slept for five, and the rest of the time, Ana and I were out and about doing something or other. It was the absolute perfect day in London. I could not have asked for a better day to be there, so considering that it was actually the only day I had available to go, things worked out really, really well.

So, first off, the greatest part of going to London was getting to hang out with Ana. She is one of the coolest people I know, super down to earth and so much fun to be around. I don't get to see her nearly enough at school (especially at the end of this semester, we were totally playing cat and mouse). So I was really excited to spend the whole day with her. We decided to be very good and get up early, so we could go see the Trooping of the Colours, which is this whole big parade/procession thing that they do for the Queen's birthday. I'm not entirely sure if it was her actual birthday, or just the official monarchy birthday, but either way, the ceremony was really cool! We stood on one side of this big street that leads to Buckingham Palace and watched many groups of red-suited, furry-hatted guards (aka soldaditos de ploma) strut down the street, coming from Buckingham Palace towards us. There were groups of guards playing instruments followed by groups holding knifey weapons. After watching them set up along the side of street, stomping and shifting their knifey weapons around, we watched more guards, in suits and on horses, walk by, followed by musician guards, ALSO on horses. The guys with the big drums hanging from either side of the horse were my favorites.

After some more guards on horses came by, we saw Prince William in his carriage, shortly followed by the Queen herself, in her own carriage, wearing a little hat and looking exactly the way I always picture the Queen to look. Everyone was super excited, cheering and clapping and waving to her; she's basically everyone's sweet little grandmother. But also, you know...Queen. (Though J.K. Rowling does technically have more money...)

We went off to grab some coffee (for warmth...it was nice out when the sun wasn't being blocked by the clouds, but otherwise, it was surprisingly cold! I was happy to have my North Face jacket with me) and food for our picnic in front of Buckingham. We stopped by this crazy gourmet food store, which was basically like a luxurious department store, but for food. It was ridiculously expensive, of course, but it was so much fun to wander around looking at the decor and all the cool displays. They had very small candy jars that cost 6 pounds. I was like, do they refill themselves automatically or what? 6 pounds is like 10 bucks! Anyway, it was fun. Especially the signs that said "Fishmonger" and "Cheesemonger." I also got a kick of asking for the "toilets" rather than restrooms.

When we went back to Buckingham, we sat in front of the palace on the grassy lawn thing and had our picnic while watching the royal family on the balcony. A little while later, about 10 or so groups of planes, of 2 to 3 planes each, flew overhead in quick succession, ending with a line of 9 planes leaving trails of blue, white, and red smoke behind. It was pretty cool. The sun had come out at this point, too, so it was a lovely day, and everyone was in a really good mood, cheering and whatnot.

After Buckingham, Ana and I left the group to go to the National Gallery, because I desperately wanted to see some paintings in there. Ana made for great company, since she was really enthusiastic about looking at the art with me. She didn't mind spending an hour and a half there with me, which I greatly appreciated. We saw a lot of really amazing things, among them: Holbein's Three Ambassadors (so we got to move around to try to see the anamorphic skull as a 3D object, at the right angle), Velazquez's Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, and van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait (which is one of the most important paintings EVER, and I've seen it SO many times in books and online, so seeing it in person was a really, really big deal). It was an awesome visit to the museum, I feel like we saw a lot of excellent artwork in the course of an hour and a half.

From there, we took a stroll around London, going over to a bridge over the Thames to see Big Ben and the Eye. Like I said, it was actually a really pretty day (by London standards, it was gorgeous), so being on the bridge overlooking the river was lovely. I remember so much about London so well, since I was there 10 days when we visited, so it was great to have these places that still seem so vivid so close again. It made me miss the Karbelnigs and Natalie especially, so much! We had such a great time 4 1/2 years ago when I went with them, my mom, and Andy. That's probably why I remember it all so well. Maybe something similar will happen when I go to Paris again! Anyway. On our way to Big Ben, we ran into the crowd of people on bikes, most of them totally naked, that traditionally parade around London on the same day as the Trooping of the Colours. There were SO many naked people, mostly naked men (I swear, men are secretly exhibitionists). It was a RIOT; there was music, some people were dancing, one guy (who was thankfully wearing little shorts) came over and asked Ana if she wanted to get on his bike. It was pretty hilarious. There was a group of girls scouts on our corner who were shielding their eyes while their chaperones just looked uncomfortable. Like I said, the perfect day to be in London.

Ana and I went into Westminster Abbey for a little while, though we couldn't go very far inside unless we stayed for mass (we didn't). Then we went back to her apartment and had a good time cooking dinner (spaghetti and meatballs) before heading out to the pub down the street to watch the England vs. USA game. We had a really good time, with a big group of Yalies all interning in various parts of London. I thought I'd be rooting for England, since I was in London and all, but I very quickly decided I was for the US, probably because I just assumed that England would win, so I thought it might be nice to root for our teem instead. It was a GREAT game, so much fun to watch. There weren't that many rowdy British people around us, except for a couple of guys who got steadily more drunk, and kept shouting, "Come on, England!" and, more simply, "ENG-LAAAAND!" Hilarity.

After the game, we basically hung out in Ana's apartment and went out briefly on a walk to the canal nearby at around 11 p.m., theoretically in search of a pub before deciding we wanted to just hang out back at home (I was with Ana and three of her friends, again all Yalies). It was cool, I met lots of new Yalies that maybe I'll actually run into or spend some time with back at school, because they were all really nice and easy to talk to. And I'm sure Ana will get to know them well, since they'll be spending the next 2 and a half months together in London. Anyway, my bus taking me back to the airport left at 2 a.m., so at around 1:45 I said my goodbyes and walked over to the bus stop. On the way, I realized how quickly I've gotten used to Madrileños being out and about until the wee hours of the night/morning--I found it strange to see restaurants and pubs closing at midnight, or already long closed by the time I walked past them at 2 a.m. In Madrid, people are just starting their nights at that point!

My trip home was not quite as awesome as the rest of the trip, since I got to the airport at 3 a.m. for a 7:30 flight that actually got delayed, so I ended up not leaving until 9 a.m. I kept looking at the screen hoping that I was misreading "Estimated at 9:00" somehow, but I wasn't, so I just had to wait, and knocked out on the plane ride. And even after getting back to Madrid, I ran back to the apartment and then ran off to El Rastro, the flea market, because it was my last chance to go (my last Sunday in Madrid, because the next 3 weekends, I'll be traveling) and shop a bit, so off I went for the last like 45 minutes of the flea market. And only after I got back from that did I fall over and sleep for four hours like I'd taken elephant tranquillizers.

Less than three weeks until the end of my trip...can't believe it!