Catching up

It's been a while since my last post. It seems like every weekend could fill many pages. I'm not taking enough photographs to keep up... so it seems that I'll do what I can and fill ya'll in as I can. The beautiful blonde in my pictures is Laura, who stayed with me for a week. A true kindred spirit, Laura and I giggled our way through the Prado, muscled our way through La Noche en Blanco, and had some tasty eats. It was lovely to have someone to show around. Great Spanish practice and a great way to test my knowledge of the city.

La Noche en Blanco (White Night) is a kind of festival that happens on full moons throughout Europe. Art, music, theater, and performance overtake the city for an entire weekend. We saw some pretty unusual things, but the night itself was lame. The metro was packed to the gills and the streets were increasingly difficult to navigate as the night went on. However, the duckies in the fountains, the flamenco dancer with the appendage on his hat, and the musician playing his crazy brass violin and musical saw were very entertaining.

The planning time is now upon me in full force. It seems all anyone is talking about right now is which flights are cheapest, who is going where with whom, and which three day weekends are most convienient for getting out of Spain. As for me, I'm working on a trip to Italy over New Years, England over Thanksgiving, and possibly some trips within Spain in the meantime. Hopefully I'll be able to book some flights soon.

Last night I was able to talk to a large part of my family over Skype: Mom, Dad, Terry, Amy, Gannon, Mark, and Sarah. Oh, and Jack poked his cute head in too. It was lovely. We beamed at one another without too much to say. I babbled a bit about how different it is in Madrid and then it was over. Sometimes I remember how much I'm really missing by being here. In the scheme of things, I suppose it isn't that much. But seeing their friendly faces made me just a little bit homesick.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures. Oh, and that thing on top of the flamenco man's head is exactly what you think it might be.

Love!