Beautiful flamenco show in Plaza de Espana
Such passionate dancers
In front of the Prado
Retiro with Mom
Peggy and I at Parque de Retiro
Peggy and I outside of their hotel right after visiting the Prado
Right behind Plaza Mayor about to go into a great market full of fresh fruits and veggies
Casa Mingo...great chicken!
Peggy and Mom during a stop on our bus tour of old Madrid
Bus tour!
A great Indian restaurant in Lavapies
Chicago the Musical
Plaza de Espana
It has been over a week since I posted a new entry, but so much has happened it has been difficult to find free time. This past Wednesday, Monica, Erin and I saw Chicago the Musical in Spanish right on Gran Via by Plaza de Espana. It was a great performance and so fun to listen to "All That Jazz" and "Mr. Cellophane" in another language. I never really thought about the lyrics they would have to change to make the songs rhyme in Spanish like they do in English, but Erin was able to explain some of the transitions to us.
Last Thursday, my Mom and Grandmother came to Madrid. Even though the weather was rainier and colder than usual, we all had a wonderful time. We were on the go for the entire week (except for our necessary siestas of course) and accomplished a lot in just a few days.
One of my favorite things we did was a bus tour around old and new Madrid. When I would see those bright red double deckers all over the city, I would think "pshhh they are too touristy for me." But I was wrong. After you pay you can get on and off the whole day at numerous stops, get a great history lesson, and see parts of Madrid you probably wouldn't see if you were walking or taking the metro. We toughed it out through the rain and cold and sat on the open top level. I could almost touch the beautiful buildings and got a great view of Retiro, Parque de Oeste, and much more.
Another very unique part of the week was seeing a flamenco show at Las Tablas in Plaza de Espana. I had seen one in Granada during the Azahar seminar, but they were very different. The dancers of Las Tablas were trained very well and had such dramatic presence onstage. There were two guitarists, two singers, and three dancers on a simple elevated black box stage. The culmination of all three aspects set the mood for an amazing show. I wish I could go every weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to treat myself again before the semester is over.
The rest of the week consisted of great restaurants, the Prado and Thyssen museums, a cable car above the outskirts of Madrid, Sol and Plaza Mayor, uniting my family with my closest friends in Madrid, and visiting the small neighborhoods of Biblao and Malasana. Mom and Peggy fit in even more while I was in class. They were able to spend one afternoon in Toledo, my first stop in Spain when I arrived in January.
It was such a special week, it is hard to describe how great every day was. Showing Mom and Peggy what my life is like here was awesome. It's funny how independent I am here, and how I was finally able to be the tour guide. My Spanish (thankfully) got us around the city very efficiently except for a few grumpy cab drivers. The week was perfect; I only wish everyone else from my family could have come.
Friday morning Monica, Amity and I are off to Barcelona for the weekend! I'm still reading Hemmingway and loving it! We're analyzing his first forty-nine short stories right now and will have to write a paper on a popular Hemingway theme of our choice. I've never looked forward to reading and writing so much.
Ciao!
Emily
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