Little taste of Mexico

Last Thursday Justin, Erin and I found ourselves listening to some more live music. This time it hit a little bit closer to home (more so for Erin :P). We went to see a Mexican singer, Julieta Venegas. The concert was at a local discoteca here in Madrid which was a really cool venue. We had a great time and enjoyed listening to a different Spanish accent, although I must say that this accent is becoming more difficult for me to understand. I hope you all enjoy her music as much as I do! :)

Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! I hope that everyone was able to celebrate with their loved ones! I was fortunate to be surrounded by lots of love throughout the day, despite being single :)
Valentine's Day isn't celebrated as big here as it is in America, so some of my classes didn't even acknowledge the day. But without fail, when I walked into my favorite first grade class the kids began screaming that Eduardo and Javier had made their Valentine's cards for me. These two little boys believe that I am there girlfriend, one of which burst into tears when I found out haha. They were both so proud to come and read me their cards and kept asking if I like them. Here's one:


Later that night, Justin, Erin and I went to a concert to see a small Spanish band that we like, Efecto Pasillo. The venue was really small and intimate, but they were great performers and entertainers so it was even better that we were able to be up close! Then, after the show we even got to meet the band! Below I have a picture of us with the lead singer.


And here is one of their most popular songs.


I had a wonderful day, probably one of my best Valentine's! :)

ZAMORA

This past weekend I went to Zamora, along with 10 of my good friends here in Madrid. My friend, Alba, is from Zamora and invited us all to stay in her family's second house. Her house is located in a little rural pueblo, called Corrales de Vino. It only has a population of 1,000 people!! We had a great time hanging out and BBQing at her house and also visiting Zamora, which was only 10 minutes away by car. Zamora is Northwest of Madrid, close to the tip of Portugal. Alba's friends were also nice to spend time with all of us and show us around. While in Zamora we visited the city's castle! :) It was a wonderful weekend and I look forward to going back!!

Home Sweet Home

Over the holidays I was so lucky to be able to go home for the first time in almost a year and a half! My dad and brother have visited me in Spain but I had gone way too long without seeing my mom. So, needless to say, this trip was much needed!!! While home I was also able to see many friends and family which made me so happy!!

Christmas Eve and Christmas were very relaxed with family and neighbors. It was great being able to catch up with everyone.

After Christmas one of my best friends and college roommate, Kayla, came up from San Diego to visit! We kept busy with day trips to San Francisco to see another friend and we spent New Years Eve in Sacramento. It was so great to spend time together after so long!!!

I am now back in Madrid which makes me happy. But I just wish that I could bring my loved ones here... then it would be perfect. :)

Italia!

Last weekend was a long weekend here in Spain, so Erin and I set off to Italy to indulge in this wonderful culture full of delicious food, breathtaking landscapes and a beautiful language. We enjoyed it all, especially in the food!

We started off our trip in Pisa, where we saw the famous Leaning Tower. I was really quite surprised by how small the tower is but the plaza was quite beautiful!

Erin being the tower

Erin felt bad that this little guy never gets any attention haha

When then continued on to Florence for 3 nights. We were lucky to stay in a small hostel where the people were so nice and made sure we had a fabulous time in Florence!

There we explored the city, ate lots of amazing food, went to the Christmas market and ofcourse, got some history in at the Gucci museum! :)

After a great long weekend in Italy, I now have only a week until I am home for Christmas!!! :)

Oporto, PORTUGAL

This past weekend was a "puente", or long weekend so it was the perfect opportunity to do some travelling! Susete, Erin, Maria and I all made our ways west for the break and headed to Oporto, Portugal. I have always wanted to go to Portugal and I had heard that Oporto is a beautiful city on the water so I was very excited to go! I was definitely not disappointed! The city was BEAUTIFUL... it has a very old world feel to it which was very cool. The people were so nice- within only minutes of being off the metro and looking confused, someone had rushed over to us to help us find our way. Not only are they friendly but they are also very accommodating. Being that we were a mix of English/American/Spanish girls, we would often bounce back and forth between languages so usually waiters or people around us wouldn't know which language to speak to us. Then, to really thrown them off, Susete speaks Portugese. So often times, they would just ask what language we preferred because most people could speak all. Very cool!

While we were there we toured the city, went on a river tour and went on a wine tour, since this is where Port wine comes from. Ofcourse the weekend was filled with lots of laughters and new memories! I had a wonderful time and look forward to the next time that I am in Portugal (and travelling with these fun women!!)