We'll Be Back

The ice bar was SO fun though... imagine a bar inside an igloo with random ice sculptures and that is Ice Bar Madrid. So. Fun. Today we went to Segovia, not tons of sights to see, but it was nice to all be together as a group on our last day. We have been in good company. Then tonight we of course went out for our last round of churros as Valor. They will be truly, truly missed. 

So, last night at dinner we were talking about how sad it was going to be leaving Manuela, and we asked her how she did it always having so many students coming and going. She says she just never says goodbye. She's been doing this a while and has had so many students that have come back to Madrid and called her to catch up. We plan on doing that. She and Antonio have truly been the biggest blessing on this trip. They go above and beyond for us. It's encouraging look back a month and a half ago to when Fran and I got an email saying we had a change in host family; I can't help but think of how sovereign and good the Lord is for putting us with this generous and loving pair. They are unforgettable and have taught us so much. 

We've just finished packing. We are sweating- high of 97 tomorrow so you can imagine how hot it is right now in our shoebox with no AC...  We are hoping that our suitcases don't hit above 50lbs and that customs isn't tragically long and drawn out, so y'all be praying for us for easy and safe travels! Fran and I really want to thank all of you who have had us in your prayers while we have been gone. This trip has been without any hiccups and mishaps, so thank you all for your faithfulness and consideration. God is so good. 

Thank you sweet parents, who we can't wait to see, for sending us on an adventure and an experience that we have learned so much from. Y'all are incredible people, and we can't wait to see all of you so soon. 

Love,

F & C

Ice Bar 

Segovia

Segovia

Last call for churros

La familia 

One Last Hurrah

Since it's our last week in Madrid (whaaaaat) we have been checking a lot of last minute things of our list of things we have been wanting to do. On Monday night we went to Botín, which is the oldest restaurant in the world. It was Ernest Hemingway's favorite restaurant so that's pretty cool! They are known for their suckling pig, and enough people at our table ordered it so they brought out an entire pig to our table. I'm talking snout, hooves, and all! It was delicious, but Caroline and I definitely made the right decision by ordering the filet! Oh man it was good, we missed that kind of meat! Manuela only really cooks chicken, grilled turkey, or fish which we love, but a big steak was a nice change of pace. We loved everything about Botín.

Benjamin and Juan's host mother, Lupe, has been dying for Benjamin's "novia" to come over for dinner  so we went on Tuesday night! We have heard all about Lupe this trip: about her sass and her spunk, her funny stories, and her awesome cooking. She cooked paella for us, which a a typical Spanish dish with rice and seafood. It was incredible. Lupe was proud of it too because she made us take pictures of it when she brought it out. Lupe was so hospitable and talked a mile a minute. We laughed A LOT and barely ever got a word in with her. She was exactly how they had described her, we absolutely loved her! We tried to think of someone to compare her to, but she is just one of a kind.

Wednesday we finally rowed the boats in the lake at Retiro. We see people rowing every day when we walk to class and thought it would be a piece of cake. Let me tell you, it is not as easy as it looks. We were like Lucy and Ethel when we first started, but we eventually got the hang of it! Last night we finally got to see our first Madrid Sunset. We are usually eating dinner when the sun sets aka 9:30. We went to an Egyptian Temple that looks out over the whole city to watch it. It was beautiful.

Today we went to Palacio Real or the Royal  Palace. The best word to describe it is extravagant. It was unbelievable Every room was so elegant and had the most beautiful chandeliers. Caroline and I decided we want to live there. We explored this hip neighborhood later this afternoon and went to the cutest little vintage cafe called Lolina. We did a little bit of studying for our final tomorrow there. Caroline and I have been craving Mexican food (and lots of other things from America). We finally got our fix and had some guacamole and chips today, PTL!  We only have 2 more full days in Madrid then it's back to the US of A for these chicas.

See ya Sunday America!!

F & C

Botin, the earliest restaurant in the world

Las Chicas at Botin

Lupe's Paella

Lucy and Ethel row Retiro

Lolina

Beautiful Sunset

Egyptian Temple

Escargot and Eiffel

Well, Paris this weekend was perfect. Run down: great food! Escargot was actually super yummy and the famous macaroons from Laduree were a small slice of heaven. The French people were surprisingly nice and helpful to the Americans with no maps and no French speaking ability. All the sights, Eiffel, Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle, etc. were so picturesque and spectacular. The view from our hotel room of the twinkling Eiffel Tower at midnight takes the cake as our favorite view thus far. Other than flying into the world's smallest airport that was an unbeknownst one hour and fifteen minute bus ride into the city, Paris was the perfect trip.

Speaking of airports in Europe via flying Ryan Air, there are a few observations we want to share: Security done by Ryan Air professionals is about the equivalent of a 12 year old running security (except in Paris when they pat Francie down because the underwire in her bra sets off the metal detector). Another thing is that you have to pay to reserve a seat on the plane, which no one does and instead lines up at the gate an hour plus ahead of boarding time- pure chaos. Ryan Air takes full advantage of their PA system and tries to sell you perfume, lottery scratch cards and chicken fingers for 15 euros all in 4 different languages, so really silence does not exist. Ryan Air never turns off the cabin lights and won't let you pull down the blind on the window, so bright light city is aboard any Ryan Air flight. Andddd to top it all off there is a screaming- I mean screaming- horn that goes off/wakes you up at the end of every Ryan Air flight to let you know you made it on time. But, all complaints aside, Ryan Air is prompt, cheap and gets you safely from point a to point b all over Europe. Muchas gracias Ryan Air.

Tonight, a big group of us are going to eat at Casa Botin- oldest restaurant in the world and Ernest Hemingway's favorite spot to dine. They are known for their suckling pig, and if enough people at the table order it, it in fact comes out to your table as a full pig. Okay so more to come on that.

We're so sad that this is our last Monday in Madrid, but can't wait to see all of you back stateside next Sunday! Much love!

F & C

Arc de Triomphe

Escargot anyone?

The beautiful Sainte Chappelle

In good company in Paris

Eiffel by night, the very best

Top of the Eiffel, wind and all

In heaven at Laduree! 

Passport to Paris

It has been a pretty chill past two days here in Madrid! Thursday we went to class, took a longggggg (I'm talkin 3 hour) siesta to try to catch up on all the naps we had missed, and did a little bit of studying in a one of our favorite cafés. We needed a break from studying so we did a little shopping and then stopped to watch creepy men in cheetah leggings dance to Vogue by Madonna in a street show. That was weird.

Today we had a midterm for our second class, we now only have one week of classes left. Cannot believe it. After class we went to Mercado de San Miguel, our favorite, to celebrate Benjamin's birthday and eat tapas! Then Caroline and I just HAD to celebrate National Donut Day so we headed to none other than Dunkin' Donuts to get our free donut with a cup of coffee! So sad to say they didn't have blueberry coffee here, but it was SO nice to get a regular sized cup of coffee!

We had dinner at 7 tonight, which is SO early for Spain, because we are going to Paris in the morning!! Caroline and I watched Mary Kate and Ashley's Passport To Paris (no shame) and tried to learn a few French phrases (that was a disaster) while we packed! Our alarm is set for 4 am, it's still light outside, and we are about to hit the hay! We've heard that the French aren't really fond of Americans and our attempt to speak French is terrible so we will see if we can work our southern charm this weekend.

Au Revoir!

F & C

Shocking Street Performers

Still one of our very favorite places in Madrid,  Mercado de San Miguel

Happy National Donut Day!

Alarm is set for 4 am, Paris here we come!

Long time, no blog

Here's what you missed:

Bull fight: We had to go...and then we had to leave. Bull One: shocking but to be expected, Bull Two: actually got saved because it was such a fighter, Bull Three: spewed blood out of its mouth and nose, Bull Four: oh wait we didn't see that because the blood spewing Bull Three really did us in. One and done for bull fights. 

Gypsy encounter: Wednesday we thought it might be nice to lay in the grass in Retiro and study for our final on Thursday. So while Francie, Benjamin and Juan studied and I tanned, a gypsy man that resembled Gandolf but who was mute- yes MUTE- decided he would join us and attempt to impart some sort of wisdom to us via writing in our notebooks. Then things got weird after two hours of following the mute gypsy's scribbles, so we left.

Study, study, study: Okay YES we do actually do educational things here. It isn't all churros and shopping... We had a final last Thursday, but then no school on Friday so we watched the Lizzie McGuire Movie and packed for Roma. 

Party thrown by school: To top off our first two weeks of class and finals, our school threw us a free party at a discoteca...which was fun and a totally new concept. Paid for end of the year celebrations at clubs aren't exactly the norm in the US but hey we don't mind the change of pace. Asun/Ms.Frizzle, our academic director, even came to the party and showed us all a good time. 

Rome: We left for Roma Friday night at 9 and were so happy to finally get to Italy to see Winston!!! When in Rome, we saw all the sights (Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon,Wedding Cake, Roman Forum, Vatican and St. Peters), ate a lot (pizza, pasta, and getlato for days), and mingled with the other millions of people that have decided to inhabit Rome (too many). It was a perfect weekend in Rome- shout out to Winston for being the best host in the world- and we headed back to Madrid on Monday at 6pm (who needs class anyway...) and by the way, Madrid > Rome. 

Caroline losing everything: Metro pass and sleeping mask- bye bye, adios, hasta luego. If you know me, the loss of the latter is much more tragic than the former. 

Prado: Today we had yet another adventure with Ungermeyer in El Museo del Prado where we saw amazing pieces by Goya and Velazquez. Really cool stuff. 

These are the highlights of our past week in Madrid and Rome...this weekend we hit Paris and then have our last week in Madrid. It is so crazy to think about how fast this trip has flown by. Thank you Jesus for giving me Fran! I couldn't do this trip with anyone else because no one else can put up with me. Mad props, Frances. 

And sorry for the lack of blogging last week. See everyone in a week and a half. Love you all!

F & C

Bull fight!

Mute gypsy man...

Studying at our favorite cafe

Trevi Fountain

Coliseum- just for you Wayner! 

I don't care, I love it

We visited Alcalá de Henares today, which is a very small, and I mean SMALL town. It was a little bit of a let down compared to Toledo yesterday. We had no idea what we were going to do for 8 whole hours in this teeny town. But we didn't care, we LOVE everything about Spain! We sang the song that says"I don't care, I love it" by Icona Pop all during the day and on the whole bus ride back.

Of course it consisted of long talks given to us by our lovely tour guide that we always mention, a visit to all of the historical sites located in the town, but also lots of free time. It did not take long to see everything, so we got to just chill. We have been waking up at 7 every morning, so that was exactly what we needed!

The highlight of the day was when Caroline set off a little alarm in the cathedral. Thankfully nobody noticed, she didn't get kicked out, and she got to keep listening to the tour guide babble!!! There are also huge storks all around this town, and they warned us that when they go to the bathroom, it is like getting a shower. We had the best time placing bets on who was going to get a "shower" today.

On another note, we have started a list of observations. Here are a few:

• The kids here are the CUTEST, and have the most precious little voices
• If you are going to exercise: You are going to RUN (really fast),  not jog
• Also if you are going to exercise: You are wearing spandex leggings (yep, guys included), not shorts (whoops)
• You know you can cross the street when: you hear a beeping sound that is like what you would hear when you shoot at the monsters in the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney.  "pewpewpewpew"

Stay tuned for more observations!
WE LOVE Y'ALL!

F & C

Alcalá de Henares 

Miss Ungermeyer herself

Ungy was jealous of our legit tour guide 

Storks scoping out their next victim

Setting off alarms in cathedrals

Tripping, Toledo, and Tour Guides

Things Francie and I do a lot: eat, laugh, walk and trip- we trip, slip and stumble a lot. It has really almost become a competition to see who does it most in one day. I definitely won today. This morning was an early start to a normal Saturday because we were headed to Toledo! And it being earlier than normal, we needed a double dose of the usual coffee so we stopped at McDonald's. Two American girls in shorts (when it isn't considered shorts season yet) bebopping through the park at an ungodly hour for a Saturday with their American brand McDonald's coffee will get you more weird looks than you could imagine. And we get our fair share of stares on a regular basis, but let me tell you today was another story entirely. 

Anyway, we got to the meeting point to leave for Toledo and were so proud of ourselves because we were one minute early and the first ones there- except we weren't because we were just at the wrong spot. No worries, our director happened to see us and showed us where we were actually meeting for Toledo. Toledo is the trademark image of what most people picture Europe/ Spain/ Madrid looking like: cobble stones, quaint houses, terraces overflowing with flowers. It is somethin' else. 

We spend most of the day following our tour guide, who takes her job a little too seriously (same one mentioned earlier in the post about the Reina Sofia museum), around in Toledo. When we weren't with her we were eating, exploring, getting lost and tripping over cobble stones. And Toledo is a great place to do all of the above. When we were back with the guide, we had to make our own fun- which Fran and I are pretty good at (at least in our opinion). But by the end of a day of a lot of walking and tour guide blabbing, our feet were tired and we were ready to get on the bus to go home. We realized it was REALLY time to go home when Francie sat in ants not once but twice, got a big brown stain on her white shirt, and then tripped. Time to go home. 

We walked back home through Retiro, which was bustlin', got the usual amount of stares from the locals, and then got to our door where I realized I had forgotten the keys to the flat...and when we buzzed to be let in we realized no one was home. Classic move on my part. But not much later, precious Momacita Manny came home and made us dinner. Now we are about to go to sleep. And not wake up. For a long time- or at least till 7am tomorrow when we get up to venture to Alcalá de Henares. 

For those of you who might be wondering what our tour guide is like.....see for yourself. This is a very accurate account, brought to you by Disney Channel Cinema.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV_6zUMlPUM

Buenas noches!

F & C

You can take the girl out of America but you can't take the America out of the girl. We love Mickey Ds.

We blend in with the locals, right? 

Toledo!

Making our own fun. Always. 

Picture perfect streets. 

That view...

Churros y Chocolate

So I didn't get a chance to post yesterday because I had to study for a midterm (yup, it's not all play, we have to study a little too)! It's crazy to think that we are already halfway finished with our first class here in Spain!

Yesterday we had a field trip right after school to the Museo Reina Sofia . It's a modern art museum right by where we live! We were a little disappointed in our visit there because our tour guide talked to us about one painting in only 5 of the rooms and then peaced out, soooo we didn't really get to see everything but it was still very cool! On another note, Caroline and I went to the bathroom in the museum and had to stand in line with women AND men for the multi-stall unisex bathroom. Again, NOTHING surprises us anymore.

Yesterday afternoon we "Ran the Retiro" with some of the other Auburn Students and one of the Auburn professors that is leading our program! It was a BEAUTIFUL run around the perimeter of the park. We will probably be doing that run again very soon!

After school today, we finally got to try the dessert that everyone raves about here in Spain, Churros y Chocolate. They were delicious! Don't be fooled by the cinnamon sugar on the churros in America, that is not a thing here. We kinda wish it was, but the chocolate makes it 100 times better! It is like hot chocolate, but a little bit thicker! Churros y Chocolate did not disappoint!

Tomorrow we are going on an excursion to Toledo and on Sunday to Alcalá de Henares, so we are very excited for the weekend!

iTenga un buen fin de semana!

F & C

Caroline in line for the unisex bathroom..like whaaatt

After Running the Retiro!

Churros y Chocolate

It is finally hot outside!!

Las Aventuras

Feels like every day in this city is an adventure. Who knew that knowing nothing about a city could be the best thing ever...until today our days have been nothing but wandering around almost aimlessly and stumbling upon cool things. The buildings, the people and the weather of Madrid is captivating and leads us up and down las calles (the streets).

Today the wandering was postponed though until after a lot of us went to tour the el Estadio Santiago Bernabéu where Real Madrid plays futból. One of the most fascinating and awesome things that we have seen yet. The stadium is massive and the seats are probably have the size of the seats in Jordan- Hare so that all the fans can be there. We toured the entire thing- top to bottom- from the nosebleeds to the locker rooms where some of the hottest men in the world shower, so that was kind of fun. 

After the stadium tour, we went for tapas en la calle Gran Via which is bumpin'. It's compared to Broadway in New York, but we personally like Gran Via better if that gives you any idea how perfect it really is here. Tapas are small portions of Spanish food- Benjamin and I ordered tapas for two where you spilt four different selections of tapas, but there is a catch because you don't actually get to choose the tapas that they bring you. Thus, ten minutes later when la comida was brought out and there was something that looked like a liver and tasted like a dog biscuit according to Benjamin and Taylor, we were a little concerned. Turns out...it was 'foie' which is indeed the liver of an animal or bird. Needless to say, nothing surprises us anymore... 

Overall, Francie and I are cared for incredibly well and with so much love by Manny. She is a doll but Lord have mercy she will talk your ear off at a pace of about 1,000,000 words per minute. You go Manny. Oh! And it is finally warm enough to put away the jeans and pull out the shorts and skirts. We walked to school this morning through the park in the newly warm weather and it was so wonderful. But...tomorrow we are doing "Run the Retiro" at 5pm (time of day when it is hottest here), so we shall keep you posted on that if we finish it without passing out. Desearnos suerte (wish us luck)! 

We love and miss all of you!

F & C

On the bench in the stadium... Audi seats. Must be nice. 

Siempre Real...Always Real.

El Estadio Santiago Bernabéu where Real Madrid plays. 

Tapas de huevos y foie. Quail egg and liver...

Today was a much better day in terms of using the metro, we are finally starting to get the hang of it! We had a great second day of school and headed to the park to eat lunch after. Caroline and I have no problem taking a siesta in the afternoon after school, it's one of our favorite things about this culture.

We went to Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor today, two very well-known places in Madrid. Our favorite part was El Mercado de San Miguel! It is an indoor market filled with everything from fresh fruit, to seafood, to sweets. We loved looking around, and even tried Octopus (not sure I will ever try it again).

We absolutely love our host family! Manuela is so cute and funny and can talk for HOURS! She has been so good to us and we love hearing her stories. Our favorite is when she gets tickled at her own stories.

It is FINALLY starting to get warmer. We are hoping that starting tomorrow will be the weather that we packed for! We are having a blast and learning a lot!

Xoxo,
F & C

Plaza Mayor

El Mercado de San Miguel

Papaya Juice in the market!

Puerta del Sol

Caroline loving her macaroon in the park!