Winding down...
I'm so happy to be done with traveling. As much as I love seeing new places and experiencing new cultures, it gets tiring and expensive. It was nice having one last really free, low-key weekend in Madrid. Granted, I have next weekend, but I will be busy with my siblings and possibly studying for finals. (Finals, what are those?)
This past Friday I went to a concert of a group called Pauline en la Playa with Antonio. It was in a cute concert venue called Galileo Galilei, just a few blocks from my apartment. The place was great, spacious with actual seating so we could relax and still get a good view. I have come to the realization that live music is a must in my life. Yes, it can get expensive, and now that I can buy alcohol, yes, quite expensive :) But really, between the entrance fee, a t-shirt, and a drink, one can easily spend 30 to 40 euro in a night. Better not make a habit of this...but anyway the concert was awesome. The group is comprised of two sisters, one being the principle singer and rhythm guitarist and the other playing lead guitar and backup vocals. They're awesome live, just so put-together and talented. Even if you can't understand the lyrics, I recommend you give them a listen for the unique blend of jazz, folk, and rock. I can't put my finger on who they remind me of...Ani Difranco a bit, maybe the Breeders, even Semisonic a bit back in their "Feeling Strangely Fine" days.
Last night we went out to Malasaña, an area in Madrid that's a little more alternative. We went sat in the Plaza 2 de Mayo and got some drinks. I've recently gotten into claras, beer mixed with lemon. Sounds gross, but don't knock it 'til you try it! Afterwards, we were trying to find this Brazilian bar I've been dying to go to, but Evan had 3 cans of beer and a 40 and wanted to drink them in the street, which is perfectly normal for madrileños. So I said what the hell, grabbed a beer, and we proceeded to stay in the street schmoozing with random Spaniards for a good hour and a half or so. We had a lengthy discussion about ligers (they are real, I swear!) and heavy metal (Evan is quite the enthusiast). We also had random men come up to us, one headbanging with air guitar, going "BREAKING DA LAAAAAW" to Evan, and the other coming up to me with "Dame un beso, dame un beso!" Evan went into chivalrous mode in his rather inebriated state, announcing to the men that we both had boyfriends and for them to leave us alone. Good times. Afterwards we went back to our place and watched "O Brother, Where art Thou" in Spanish while chatting with Angie, our RA. She thought Evan was a random Spaniard because of his crazy hair. Evan and I stayed up til 6:30am chatting about God know what, and then we got up at 10 to go to the Rastro. We are hardcore.
The Rastro is the weekly flea market. It's huuuuge, spans I don't know how many streets, and has everything you could possibly need: clothes, jewelry, home decor, antiques, music, even animal carriers. Stuff is insanely cheap there too. Earrings for a euro! Pam and I went shopping together, and seeing as that we're sharing an apartment next semester, it would only make sense to get the all the same stuff but in different colors :) Haha, ok, not everything, but so far we've got matching tapestries from Granada and Moroccan-style ottomans. So you all owe us a visit in College Park next semester to see the fruits of our labor!
It was raining for the last few days so admittedly I was feeling a bit down and unmotivated. Thinking about finals that I haven't started studying for, and going home has been somewhat overwhelming. I'm sure I'll readjust just fine - 4 months in another country can't erase 20 years of upbringing - but I'm already starting to miss certain things without having lost them yet. Traveling outside of Madrid so much has still made me appreciate what Madrid has to offer: the big city opportunities (museums, theaters, shopping, cafe's, bars) with down-to-earth people. Of course I generalize, because I've met as many assholes in Madrid as in any other place. But let's just say I had a pretty warm welcome, and considering my circumstance, having two of my closest friends here with me to start and meeting so many other cool people here, I'm in a pretty ideal situation. One that I'll definitely suffer withdrawal from in the first months that I'm home.
Today is mother's day in Spain! To all the Spanish mothers out there, thank you for overstuffing your kids with cocido and other yummy traditional foods :)
This past Friday I went to a concert of a group called Pauline en la Playa with Antonio. It was in a cute concert venue called Galileo Galilei, just a few blocks from my apartment. The place was great, spacious with actual seating so we could relax and still get a good view. I have come to the realization that live music is a must in my life. Yes, it can get expensive, and now that I can buy alcohol, yes, quite expensive :) But really, between the entrance fee, a t-shirt, and a drink, one can easily spend 30 to 40 euro in a night. Better not make a habit of this...but anyway the concert was awesome. The group is comprised of two sisters, one being the principle singer and rhythm guitarist and the other playing lead guitar and backup vocals. They're awesome live, just so put-together and talented. Even if you can't understand the lyrics, I recommend you give them a listen for the unique blend of jazz, folk, and rock. I can't put my finger on who they remind me of...Ani Difranco a bit, maybe the Breeders, even Semisonic a bit back in their "Feeling Strangely Fine" days.
Last night we went out to Malasaña, an area in Madrid that's a little more alternative. We went sat in the Plaza 2 de Mayo and got some drinks. I've recently gotten into claras, beer mixed with lemon. Sounds gross, but don't knock it 'til you try it! Afterwards, we were trying to find this Brazilian bar I've been dying to go to, but Evan had 3 cans of beer and a 40 and wanted to drink them in the street, which is perfectly normal for madrileños. So I said what the hell, grabbed a beer, and we proceeded to stay in the street schmoozing with random Spaniards for a good hour and a half or so. We had a lengthy discussion about ligers (they are real, I swear!) and heavy metal (Evan is quite the enthusiast). We also had random men come up to us, one headbanging with air guitar, going "BREAKING DA LAAAAAW" to Evan, and the other coming up to me with "Dame un beso, dame un beso!" Evan went into chivalrous mode in his rather inebriated state, announcing to the men that we both had boyfriends and for them to leave us alone. Good times. Afterwards we went back to our place and watched "O Brother, Where art Thou" in Spanish while chatting with Angie, our RA. She thought Evan was a random Spaniard because of his crazy hair. Evan and I stayed up til 6:30am chatting about God know what, and then we got up at 10 to go to the Rastro. We are hardcore.
The Rastro is the weekly flea market. It's huuuuge, spans I don't know how many streets, and has everything you could possibly need: clothes, jewelry, home decor, antiques, music, even animal carriers. Stuff is insanely cheap there too. Earrings for a euro! Pam and I went shopping together, and seeing as that we're sharing an apartment next semester, it would only make sense to get the all the same stuff but in different colors :) Haha, ok, not everything, but so far we've got matching tapestries from Granada and Moroccan-style ottomans. So you all owe us a visit in College Park next semester to see the fruits of our labor!
It was raining for the last few days so admittedly I was feeling a bit down and unmotivated. Thinking about finals that I haven't started studying for, and going home has been somewhat overwhelming. I'm sure I'll readjust just fine - 4 months in another country can't erase 20 years of upbringing - but I'm already starting to miss certain things without having lost them yet. Traveling outside of Madrid so much has still made me appreciate what Madrid has to offer: the big city opportunities (museums, theaters, shopping, cafe's, bars) with down-to-earth people. Of course I generalize, because I've met as many assholes in Madrid as in any other place. But let's just say I had a pretty warm welcome, and considering my circumstance, having two of my closest friends here with me to start and meeting so many other cool people here, I'm in a pretty ideal situation. One that I'll definitely suffer withdrawal from in the first months that I'm home.
Today is mother's day in Spain! To all the Spanish mothers out there, thank you for overstuffing your kids with cocido and other yummy traditional foods :)
posted by J at 5:28 AM
1 Comments:
Beautiful post. Just like you. We´ll miss you when you leave this city!
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