Sangria & Calamares

This was my first thought when i arrived in Madrid...well besides 'why did i pack so much i can barely carry it?'. For those of you who have be comparing my adventure to Elizabeth Gilbert's 'Eat, Pray, Love' you now have more evidence that they are comparable. I was trying to upload you a photo of my first meal in Madrid but no luck- so hopefully next post! After arriving in Madrid dazed and excited from anticipation and jetlag, checking into my hostel, and situating myself in the Huertas neighborhood I went in search of food. I found a nice little restaurant playing the futbol (not football) game and ordered a scrumptious tapa of calamares with a glass of sangria. Sigh...it was a perfect start:) But let me back up a bit...

After one of the shortest international flights I've been on in a long time (thanks to TRP:) I landed in Dublin and encountered...the Euro. The euro and I got along quite well during my last jaunt in Europe exactly ten years ago. That was when the dollar was equal, if not worth more than, the euro. Thus our relationship has changed this time around after I finally conceded that yes, it had won and I would have to change my expectations of how helpful it could be to me. Thankfully, other changes I've noticed are for the better (mostly having to do with my approach and perception)! For instance, I can now really speak Spanish. Last night two people asked me if I was from Madrid...well two other foreigners...but I was flattered! (I am sure that not just my language but my awesome dancing played a part in this determination). In the wisdom that comes with ten years, I finally appreciate really good wine. This was not case back in 2001, when I didn't really drink much of anything! Lastly, I feel much more confident as a traveler navigating my way around town, using public transport, and talking to strangers. It is a bit weird to be by myself most of the time though (hence the talking to strangers part).

Fortunatley I love to talk to strangers, which I attribute to my father always talking to strangers when we were growing up. We would wait in the car after church or in Giant after a shopping trip because had was either talking to a neighbor or had made a new friend. When I was a teenager this embarrassed me for some reason but now I have come to appreciate it. Thanks Dad!

So, highlights of my first few days in Madrid:

• the Prado (Guernica, other Pablo Picasso works, Dali, Miro, etc.)
• the Reina Sofia (more classic paintings- a favorite was the 'Jardin de Delicias' by Bosco)
• aimlessly wandering through the streets of Las Huertas on Day 1, then checking out two plazas and the Puerta del Sol on my way to an international bookstore. The bookstore was a hike from where I was but I figured I needed the exercise. This turned out to be quite worth-it when I found the French-Spanish dictionary I was looking for!
• Eating a 'Menu del Dia' in the plaza near the hostel, when the sun was shining and musicians were playing, etc.
• My Brazilian speech-therapist roommate! She had never taken Spanish and I only know the word for thank you in Portuguese, however we managed to communicate just fine. Oh yes, and she is also a dancer!

Spiderman dancing with toursits in Plaza Mayor

 Neat-o building design!

Cool Painting in the Prado

Painting of Juan Gris's wife in the cubist style- wondering if she would be flattered or not?

Dance buddies! The club only played music in English...

I am now in Motril, near Granada, staying with a friend and her mother for the next two days until I head to Tangier. I will be staying in accommodations and taking French classes arranged by World Unite there. Crossing my fingers that nothing erupts in the next few days, however democracy certainly trumps french lessons...Viva Egypt!