visiting Casey in Madrid, Spain

 I went to visit my roommate, Casey, who is studying abroad in Madrid "to perfect her Spanish."  Casey wants to teach high-schoolers Spanish.  In Madrid she lives in a host home (pictured above) with a retired lady, Incarnation, or Chan for short.  Chan is quite the cook and has lived all over Europe.  Chan fed us and fed us and fed us.  If I studied abroad in Spain I'm convinced I would come home twice the person I am.  Chan has been hosting students for over 10 years and has some pretty funny stories as a result (such as the time a male student caught crabs and she had to translate for him at the pharmacy). 

(From left: me, Casey, Lindsey (Casey's roommate in Madrid), Chan)

Chan took us out to eat at a restaurant in El Corte Ingles (kind of like the Harrod's of London).  All of the food was good but our desert was white chocolate soup with mint chocolate chip ice cream in the center with bananas and strawberries.

El Retiro: Madrid's version of Central Park

Palacio de Cristol: Crystal Palace in El Retiro

Beautiful on the outside, the Crystal Palace currently houses an art piece made of laundry baskets. 

Guernica by Picasso

Chocolate con Churros

After a weekend of parks, Flamenco dancing, museums, and watching TV with Chan the last thing we did before I went home was eat chocolate con churros.  When we were ordering in the cafe, three young girls from New York bashfully asked us if we spoke English and then started asking us how to pick up their order but the girl that was speaking suddenly realized that they were supposed to say "hola" before they begin talking so the girl stopped mid sentence and said "o man, I forgot to say 'hola'... 'hola'" and then went back to her question.  It was really cute.  Spain is also known for its ham, which is EVERYWHERE, and is usually bought be the leg.  Bone and hoof included.  

Madrid was different from London in that its subway system was easier to use, the people dressed more casually, and the night life starts when it would be winding down in London.