Steve's here!

Hola amigos!

Well it’s the start of the week after a busy weekend.  On Saturday, I met Steve at the airport and we took the metro to his hotel.  It’s in an area of Madrid that I had never been to before, so it’s a great opportunity for me to explore more of this city!  The hotel also boasts an awesome rooftop terrace with amazing views of Madrid.  It was so cool to see Madrid from a new perspective.

After getting a little settled, we went to T. G. I. Fridays for dinner.  I know Steve has had normal American food forever, but I was really craving a good American meal, and the restaurant is literally two minutes from his hotel.  The menu was the same as at home, but all in Spanish!  I wanted to order almost everything because it all looked so good!  Then we went to the supermarket to get some snacks.  We ate our snacks on the terrace and enjoyed the wonderful views of city.  I left around 11 to get some sleep before our plans for a busy Sunday.

In the morning, I got up and went to the hotel to meet Steve around 10:30, and then we went to El Rastro.  Yes, I have now officially gone to the flea market that I talk about going to every weekend, but hadn’t been to yet!  It was a bit intimidating and SO CROWDED, which makes me uncomfortable, but it was still fun.  There was so much stuff there, and we wondered the whole time where all the products came from.  It was interesting, but I prefer more structured shopping in regular stores.  Even if I have to pay more, I appreciate the system of normal shopping.

After El Rastro, we walked to Plaza Mayor and got some water at an outdoor café.  Then we got lunch at a restaurant called Rodilla, in Plaza del Sol.  At 3, we went back to Plaza Mayor for the New Europe free walking tour.  It was three hours long, and super informative.  I finally learned about the city that I’ve been leaving in for two months!  It was great to get some history and learn my way around more.  Then we went to the apartment and Maria made a lovely dinner for us—puree of potatoes, carrots, and pumpkin, salad, and croquetas.  Steve also was given the last torrija, which is a delicious dessert that’s common during Holy Week.  Maria had made a batch of torrijas last week, and Steve got the last one.  I’m sure she’ll make them again since she knows I like them a lot.  :)

On Monday, Steve took the metro (by himself!) to meet me and then walk to school.  Even though it’s his spring break, he has some studying and homework to do, so I showed him the library where he can get some work done.  After class, I brought him to the student lounge where he got to meet all my friends.  We hung out, had lunch, played cards, and then I went to philosophy.  Once classes were finished, we hung out in the lounge a little longer and then, when we were kicked out at 6 PM, we walked to the apartment to wait for Victoria to finish her class.  Victoria’s friend Dan from SLU is in Madrid for the week, and they were going to have dinner with us at the American diner that I found last week.  We finally got to dinner around 8 and got some good food.  We also had great dessert (I had a brownie sundae!!).  It has been brought to my attention that I have an obsession with chocolate… I guess this wasn’t really a secret before, but people are noticing now.  I don’t care though.  I love it and I’m going to eat what I like!

The bad thing about yesterday was that it started raining several times!  The rain in Spain is really annoying and cold.  :(  Can’t wait for it to get warm again (which is probably going to happen right when Steve leaves to go home… oh well).

Today, is Steve’s 20^th birthday, and he is hanging out on campus again while I do homework and go to class.  But we’re also going to dinner at Botin, which is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest restaurant in the world.  I went there with Dad, Maggie, and Michael, and it was good, so it should be a great way to celebrate Steve’s birthday!

I’m getting a little stressed about school work right now though.  I have another philosophy midterm on Monday, an essay due in psychology next Thursday, another midterm in art history the Tuesday after, and then my presentation in art history the following Thursday.  Ahh!  I’m feeling the pressure right now, especially since there are only a few grades for the semester, and I want to do well.  Wish me luck.  :)

Hope everyone is having a good week.

Much love,

Elizabeth