Madrid the region and Beth the reflector

Plaza Mayor in Alcalá de Henares

Most people don't know this, but Madrid is also a region. The city of Madrid is surrounded by the Community of Madrid. And I'm so lucky to be able to see a good bit of it. Toledo and Segovia are near Madrid, but actually in different regions. But El Escorial, Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares, and Manzanares el Real are all a part of the actual Madrid region.
Last weekend I visited Alcalá de Henares, the birthplace of Cervantes. There is also a university that is about 600 years old. It is a very typical, small, Spanish village, the kind you imagine being in the Spanish countryside. Adorable, old buildings, a huge main square with a cathedral and terraces to have coffee. And on top of all of the buildings, storks have huge nests that they guard and perch themselves on while looking down on the plaza. I was lucky, because there was a festival going on and a huge wedding. So, the streets around the plaza were filled with families watching the street performers, little jewelry stands, and plenty of tables outside to sip coffee and people watch.

The mountain stream in Manzanares
Yesterday, Shannon, Leo, and I went to Manzanares el Real. It's a village in the mountains with less people, but a lot more nature. The mountains surrounding the city look as if they are painted. It was impossible to take a photo that looked real. But the highlight was the creek running from the mountains down to the lake. We went wading for a bit, and then just relaxed in the shade. The water is straight from the melting snow, so it was quite cold, yet refreshing. We were mostly trying to scope out a low key campsite because it's not exactly legal to camp there. But in all fairness, the only two campsites there were either closed forever or not taking campers without RVs. What kind of camping is that?
I'm really trying to take in all I can. I can't believe I have less than a month left in Madrid. And this month, I'm going out of town a lot. Sevilla and Granada are the next few weekends, and after that, it's basically over. The last few weeks have felt a bit surreal, and I am trying to reflect and appreciate the little things about Spain. It's easy to complain about things like service in a restaurant, or extreme lack there of. But where in the States can you sit at a four-person table, order only a coffee, and not get the evil eye when you sit there for over an hour?
It's also been a time of self reflection, trying to remember who I was when I came here, and trying to figure out who I am now. A lot has changed, but I say that not really knowing exactly what has changed. I kind of have a mullet (thank you Spanish hairdresser Miguel), obviously that's a big change. But don't worry, I'd die before I'd let any of you see it. I know that my fundamental self hasn't changed, and never will. But other things I see with different eyes and at a different perspective. It's been interesting to ponder all of this. Wait till the end of June, then I'll really make you sick with all of my sappy, sentimental thoughts and proverbs according to Beth. Haha.

And another one bites the dust

Niki at Campo de las Naciones, Madrid
Niki went back to the states on Friday, for good. NYC to be exact. Queens to be more exact. If you look through the archives of my blog or Flickr page, you can see that she has been around for most of my time in Spain. Aww, the memories. The first time I met Niki, we were both in the waiting room at American Language Academy. We had both been hired there, and were waiting for Catja to do our orientation. However, I was rolling my eyes, because Niki was stuck in a conversation talking about how she went to a-hem Brooown. 'Oh no, not another one' I was thinking to myself. However, I didn't realize it at the time, but she was talking to Carlos. There's no way you can have an interesting conversation with that man. I found out Niki was cool and that I liked her sometime during our meeting. So, Niki and I became mates not too long after that.
I could write a history, no, an anthology of our experiences together, but rather, I am posting some photos showing some of our best and worst times. Hope you enjoy! Especially you Niki, love you!

Killin' some time in the ALA staff room. Some of my first memories of Niki are from this place.

Punk rock Niki on Halloween

That's right, take it like a man. That was the best mullet ever.

Niki's Friday night face

Chewing some meat snacks at the ALA staff lunch

Niki's favorite activity, botellón at Parque del Oeste

Jeff and Niki

Niki, Stephen, and I being nerds at the park

"I'm just gonna lay down for a... ZZZZZZZZZZ"

Our first trip to Valencia

Aww, we look like babies in this picture. November seems like such a long time ago.

Botellón at the beach, Niki's second favorite thing to do

In the metro

Nice chapeaux

The bittersweet taste of a broken Mahou on the ground but the best laugh I had all week

Oooh, burning embers

I think the situation has been sufficiently analyzed

Chilling on the beach at a chiringuito during our girls weekend in Málaga

El Escorial and the Gallinas

Manuel holding the turkey egg
Juan, my intercambio, and I went to a monastery north of Madrid on Monday. It's an impressive structure that is said to have over 3000 windows. We had a nice day of speaking Spanish and English, having coffee, and taking photos.
But the highlight of the trip was on the return. Juan's boyfriend Manuel works at a plant nursery. And at this nursery, he has over 90 chickens. Well, there is a turkey and a cute doggy thrown in the mix also. Manuel had me go get the eggs from the coop, which I got to take home later to make Spanish tortilla. But the best, Manuel grabbed some leaves and threw them into the coops for the chickens to eat. He waited a moment in one coop, for the chickens to come towards him. Before you could blink, he had grabbed one of the chickens and was holding it as all the others were squawking. Then, he took the chicken and was almost waving it in the other chickens' faces. I have a video of it, and if I figure out how to post it to the server, you can watch it for yourself.

The monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial

Me collecting eggs at the vivero

Girls Weekend

Traveling singer during a rendition of La Macarena
Niki, Shannon, and I went to Málaga for a girls only weekend. Niki and I left on Thursday night and got there super early on Friday. We were sitting in the bus station cafe, drinking coffee, and listening to an argument between the waiter and a Spanish speaking Chinese guy. The Chinese guy kept saying that he got three lemons on the slot machine, but it didn't pay out, so the waiter owed him thirty euros. But the waiter didn't want to hear that, because it wasn't his machine. It was nice to observe this and actually understand what was being said.
We felt like the walking dead, but we managed to find the beach and veg out for a couple hours while we waited to check in to our hostel.
Shannon got there that night, and it was off to dinner. Pescaitos fritos, pescaitos fritos, pescaitos fritos. Fried fish basically. I couldn't eat a lot of what was on the menu, but I did have some amazing gambas, boquerones, and adobo (shrimp, sardines, and shark). Sounds gross, but the sardines were the best thing I've eaten in a long time.
The next day was beach day. I don't actually believe that there are any amazing beaches in Spain. Ibiza or the Canaries maybe, but, it was a beach and that made it amazing. The water was quite blue, but the sand was coarse and dark. Later we had lunch on the beach, which is where we saw this guy at the top. He made my day. Picture it: full mullet singing the Macarena, sweat pouring down his face, and three guiry girls laughing their heads off. That's what the girls weekend was all about. A bit of cheese: Costa del Sol and touristy entertainment.
On Sunday Niki and Shannon went to the beach, and I took in a bit of Picasso. He was born in Málaga and there is a large museum with works donated by his daughter and grandson. This painting to the right Mujer con los Brazos Levantados was my favorite from the museum. It is difficult to see, but the paint was mixed with sand to give it an entirely different look. The paint was grainy and looked like it was almost glowing. It seemed to float above the canvas and not be attached to it. I just stood there and stared at it forever. I think that's one of my favorite things about Europe; there is never a shortage of art to enjoy. I'm always inspired to create my own art, either through painting or photography. FYI, one of my photos was used on a travel website. http://www.europe-cities.com then click the Portugal link. Those are my boats! It's minor, but quite exciting for me. National Geographic here I come ;)

"Dos de Marta"

Niki and Marta at Cafe La Fe
Marta was here for the 'puente.' May 1 was Labor Day, and May 2 is Madrileño Independence. There is a plaza called Dos de Mayo, which had a big botellón to celebrate the fighting spirit. We had a 4-day weekend, so Marta came down from Vigo to hang out with Shannon and us. We went to her place in Galicia for Christmas. It was nice, because we weren't having to do touristy things. We chilled out on terraces and ate Asian food all weekend. On Tuesday we went to a play. I was lost for a good bit of it, but it did improve my Spanish somewhat. That's something I'm trying to really work on before I come home for the summer.
Niki is going back to the states in a couple of weeks, and of course I'm sad about it. But, she's moving to NYC, so I'm not too sad. And she's totally excited, so I'm really happy for her. She wants me to come to Queens to see her. No, it's not Manhattan, but she says that it's just as good and easier to get to places in Manhattan than actually being in Manhattan. To send her off, Shannon, Niki, and I are having a girls weekend in Málaga. I know, poor us. Lying on the beach, sipping mojitos, and 'taking sun.'