Vacaciones de Invierno (Winter Vacation)

This weekend my friend Casey and 2 of his friends came down from Florence, Italy. Casey and I have known each other for 5 years! We met in the summer of 2006 at ESP (Engineering Summer Program) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. One of my favorite summers EVER! It's crazy how we had a reunion in the heart of Spain of all places. 

Casey and his 2 friends, Emily and Crystal, are studying abroad through UW-Madison in Florence. I met up with them at a McDonald's in the far northern part of the city. The exact opposite of where they needed to be for their hostel. A woman at the airport had given them poor directions, and their directions from their hostel website had led them astray as well. When we determined that were in relatively close proximity to their hostel we took a cab the rest of the way. After dropping their things off at the hostel, Crystal and Emily's friend, Eduardo came to meet up with us. He's from UW as well, but studying for the year at Unversidad de Complutense here in Madrid. We walked about the city for a while and then I brought them to a cafe to try some typical Spanish food while I went home for dinner and to change clothes. I brought them back to my apartment to show them my barrio, and they loved it! 

***

Showing people around the city really makes it feel like YOUR city! 

***

After that we met up again at Eduardo's place so the girls could get ready for a typical noche Madrileño. We left at around 01:00, and Emily was so worried that she was going to miss all of the fun because it was so late. I told her Madrid is the REAL city that NEVER SLEEPS, and that the night was still young. After wandering around for quite some time, we chose a discoteca called Joy. It was my very first club experience! It was fun, but I wasn't a fan of the electronic dance music. It was also very expensive to get in. However, we got our money's worth and stayed till closing at 06:00 when the Metro re-opened. We caught the Metro home, and I went to bed around 07:00 and got up at 10:00 to take the gang around the city. We went to Puerta del Sol, La Reina Sofia Museo de Arte, Atocha Train Station. The pictures below are from inside, yes INSIDE, the train station of Madrid. Lovely, isn't it?

And yes the trees are REAL

Una Laguna de Tortugas

After sight-seeing in the city, we went to a tapas restaurant called Tapas 44 for dinner. After dinner we got ready and hit up the night life again. This time for a change of pace we went to a discoteca called Orange Cafe where they are known for their Latin and Hip-Hop music. When we arrived, however there was a rock band playing. We decided to wait it out, and an hour into it the band was done, and the Latin dancing commenced. I learned a little bit of Salsa and Meringue. I realized that the majority of Spaniard don't really know how to dance to hip-hop, but they will get down to the Latin music like nobody's business!  

However, once they started to play bad, Spanish 80s music it was time to go! So at around 02:30 we left for a bar called Public House (the same place I watched the Superbowl) to watch a bit of the NBA All-Star game. The owner, a New Yorker, was kind enough to put the game on for us. We had to leave at 03:30 though. Normally I would have walked home, but a 20 minute walk in heels was not an option. We split a cab home, and I woke up at 06:00 to bring the gang to the Metro stop that would take them to airport. We said our goodbyes, and they departed just in time to make it to their gate! They cut it close! 

Hopefully we won't wait another 5 years for a reunion. It's cool that even though you may not see someone for a long time, it's so easy to pick up right where you left as if you had seen each other just they other day. 

Here's some pictures of us at Orange Cafe.

Crystal, Casey, Emily, Yo (Me)

 Casey, Yo, Eduardo

That Sunday, I slept ALL DAY! Monday I went over to my friend Klarissa's house for a traditional Italian dinner. K is part Italian, and knows how to make the AUTHENTIC stuff. She's a graduate student at SLU-Madrid, and knows how to throw down! I helped cook the Mazetti, and I learned how to make it. I can't wait to cook it for my family when I come home. 

It was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! And then dessert was to die for! Strawberry and raspberry cheesecake tarts made with FRESH strawberries and raspberries from scratch. Sorry I don't have pictures of them. I'll be honest, I was too full and ready for bed after grubbing down on the Mazetti to take pictures. On Monday, K and I went to the Madrid Zoo. It was so much fun; a bit of a hike from the Metro, but the weather was amazing. I got see my favorite animals: PANDAS and a host of other critters. 

 After fun at the zoo, I went to Aravaca for my Tuesday evening English lessons! I am going to miss those kids sooooo much. Beatriz sang me a song in English that she had learned in school. Andres thought it would be funny to mock what I was saying, so in an effort to make him sound silly I said: "I'm a girl and I LOVE the color pink." He's quite clever, and started to say it, but he caught himself. It was too funny! 

Hasta luego, 

Asha