Argumosa : 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