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!

Poquito a poco

Poquito a poco is a phrase that Manuela has taught us, and it means "little by little." Little by little we are getting settled in and accustomed to the ways of los Madrileños. We are seriously enjoying the food (Madre Manny is a fantastic cook), adjusting to the lack of personal space that one is entitled to here (almost no space at all), and slowly but surely, little by little, poquito a poco mastering the Metro (hardest part yet). This morning on our way to our first day of class, the Metro looked something like an ant hill after it has been kicked over- people everywhere. It
was unreal and a little frightening for so early in the morning.

To cure the anxiety that the Metro had caused and to get over the first day of class, we took to the streets to do one of the things Fran and I love to do: shop. All the boutiques, shops and departments stores in Madrid are not only fabulous but relatively cheap. AND no tax- yipee! Fran got a bathing suit for $20 and I got two linen tshirts for $25- que barato!

Also had to cash in a whopping $35 for a cellular device to use to call Manny, the Auburn professors and other friends on the trip. To see how far technology really has come, take a walk down memory lane and check out the picture below to see the phone...

We love updating y'all (woah, haven't said "y'all" in a while) on all the wonderful things we are experiencing here in Madrid. Much more to come!

Hasta luego,

F & C

Books and lunch packed with love by Manny for the first day of school!

Check out this baby

Shopping at our new favorite stores. 

Francie and the converters don't get along.

Life is Good in Madrid

We had an awesome first day in Madrid, and most importantly we beat jet lag! After dragging ourselves up from a little "siesta" or nap, we walked around the city and all through the big park near our house, El Retiro! I have a feeling we will spend a lot of time in the park.

We slept like babies last night. We went to our school for orientation this morning and met Asun, the academic director. She is like the spanish version of Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus, we love her!!

After that, we started walking around looking for coffee. We didn't have any coffee with our breakfast this morning, and if you know us you know that is TRAGIC. Luckily we found a cute little Café right near the school, so we were ready to roll again!

After a few short minutes of walking, we were in heaven. SHOPPING. We found stores that we recognized like H&M and stores that we immediately fell in love with like Mango and the department store, El Corte Inglés (don't worry Dad we haven't bought anything....YET).

Every single building here is absolutely beautiful. We have walked about 100 miles already. People stare at us like we have big fat targets on our heads. We are already pros at riding the metro. We saw Mickey Mouse in the park. Life is good in Madrid.

Besos,
F & C

El Corte Inglés

Estanque en El Retiro

Beautiful buildings everywhere!

We. Are. Here.

Hemos llegado amigos! So, we have arrived-- wait what? Our new parents were the cutest of the bunch, and we are so excited to get to know them. Their names are Antonio and Manuela Sanchez. In other news, it is freezing here, Francie and I can feel the grease in our hair and we already spotted a manly neighbor getting in the shower through the window...

Anywho, we are so happy to be starting on yet another journey as roomies. We ought to be pros at this thing by now- even in our two by four shoebox of a room. Delighted to be here for a month living on la calle Argumosa! 

Mucho gusto,

F & C

About to take off.

Our room for the next month.