Switzerland day 2

I always seem to hear a saying that describes how two people know that they are comfortable with each other if they can spend time together without needing to speak. Laurita and I did just that the night of the 25th as we hit "zombie mode" after an entire day of exploring Ticino.

I woke up early the day of the 26th and went on a morning run. I kept spazzing out because I was afraid of getting lost.. All of the damn houses look the same!! (Except they are so pretty) I got back to the hotel/bed and breakfast that we were staying at to discover that I was locked out. Standard. I waited like bum outside of the house waiting to get inside. There are many moments where I feel like I need a sign saying "American Idiot party of one" hanging from my forehead on this trip and this was one of them.

We showered and packed while my cousins Marvin and Monica picked us up.

Side note: Marvin is one of the most clever and hysterical people I have ever met. He has a way of proving his maturity while acting like a college kid at the same time. Despite the language barrier, he has a skill for teasing and Laurita and I love it.

Side-side note: I don't know how he does it but my great-uncle Ezio is able to make Laura and I laugh without saying a single word in English. At one point during the day Laura and I were looking at a picture of Ezio and Graziella on their wedding day. Laura tells him "que bello". He snaps his head around with a crazy look in his eye as he pulls his hands out of his pockets, makes two pistols with them, pretends to shoot the air and blows them out. Rico suave!!!!! (Keep in mind that this dude is 74.) Throughout the day he tried to prove to us his magic skills. Anytime we had to use technology (the tv, elevator, crosswalk) he would hit his hand against the machine as hard as he could and it would immediately work! The irony of his perfect timing had us laughing all day. (I can imitate his confident walk and mannerisms perfectly.. It's a gift)

ANYWAYS: Monica and Marvin picked us up and took us to breakfast and Graziella and Ezios house. Graziella can't seem to sit still while we eat.. She offers us food constantly too! (I have a feeling she would offer me food while in the bathroom if she were capable!)

After breakfast we went to see the Dam of Verzasca.. It is the same dam in the opening scene of the Golden eye: James Bond movie! Marvin went to crazy lengths to take pictures of us with the view while Monica paced back and forth nervously. (Sorry Monica! Your brother is slightly crazy!) Here is the opening scene of the movie for those who don't remember it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSvuHSqqGSw

After we saw the damn, we went to the small town of Corippo. Marvin says that there are 11 people who live in the town and all of them are a part of the city counsel. We walked up a big hill to a small cluster of buildings (it's too small to even be called a village!) I turn to face the buildings and see it all: the "restaurant" to the left, the "city hall" straight ahead, and the church to the right.... And that's it!!! (I started dancing and singing to the song 'YMCA' by the Village People, but nobody understood. The repercussions of being the only American in this group are sometimes tragic) While we explored the tiny church of Corippo, we had an interesting conversation about the two extremes in life: 1 extreme is working ones entire life to live comfortably with materialistic things. The other extreme is living with only what you need and anything more is unnecessary. Both of these ways of living are good, but spent a lot of time debating and discussing the ways of living by comparing LA to this little village of Corippo.

After Corippo, we drove further north trough the Valley of Verzasca to a more "normal" sized village called Sonogorno. There was a farmers market where Laurita and I had a lot of fun exploring! However, the main purpose of our visit was to font a restaurant with a TV to watch the Formula1 race that day! (Marvin is crazy about Ferrari and Laura is crazy about a driver named Kimi.. We tease her a lot about this celebrity crush!) we found a tv with success and convinced the people to all watch the race with us. Our seat was next to a beautiful window that unveiled the snow capped Alps.. (Pictures coming once I have a laptop.. I'm writing this on my phone!) We ate and watched the race.. But there was one small problem.. FLIES!! There were flies EVERYWHERE. Marvin got so annoyed with the flies that he took a fly swatter from the manager and began swatting them at the table!!!!! Gross, but we were laughing hysterically (awesome picture to be posted ASAP!)

The race was two hours long, so I was able to take my time exploring who and what was in the restaurant.. I look up at the ceiling and see a HUGE sticky rope that was used to catch flies stretching all across the restaurant!! The worst part was that it was absolutely covered in dead flies.. Another round of belly laughs commenced as we watched each others faces turn green from nausea!

Toward the end of the race, a customer is talking to the manager and something catches my eye.. A fly (naturally). I notice two of them on his back and then notice the worst.. About 4 more are gathered right in the middle of his butt. I am not kidding..They were located at a very inconvenient spot on his rear end. I pointed to his butt to make Marvin and Laura look.. And yet ANOTHER round of belly laughs follow! Jokes about the poor mans cleanliness continued for the rest of the time spent in the restaurant.

After this long lunch we went to our family's home in Vogorno. The home is 150 years old and made of huge bricks by hand on the side of a mountain. My Noni (grandma who now lives in the US) lived here growing up and this is where Ezio and Graziella stay when the weather is nice. The church is 30 yards away from the house and is the oldest in the Valley of Verzasca. (There are SO MANY churches, so this is very impressive!) We explored the church while Marvin explained that they hope to someday have enough money for the town to renovate the parts that at falling apart.

Then, we climbed. Monica was our trailblazer as she showed us the goats owned by their neighbors and took many pictures with us and the view. There is a river at the bottom of the valley what makes the entire area look like an exact scene from "Heidi". There is something miraculously beautiful about the simplicity of this area.

After exploring, we were finally able to rest!! Graziella cooked us traditional polenta and stew as we sat around the fire. We talked and listened to each other while Marvin translated. Graziella is so beautiful and generous.. She looks and even speaks just like my Noni.. I love being around her.

***Mom, dad, and grandma: the following paragraph contains information that you may not want to read.. This is your warning (I am writing these things down for memories sake!)****

After dinner, Marvin and I had a glass of Ticino wine. It was very good! (But I don't have much experience when it comes to wine) However, the real humor came when Ezio asked Laura and I to try 'Grappa'.. Not knowing what it was, we accepted a very very little amount just to taste. We both try it and OUR BODIES ARE BURNING! Desperately grasping for some water Laura yells "I THINK I JUST DRANK PERFUME!!".. I google translate 'Grappa' to Shnaps. (45% alcohol..holy crap!) We were breathing FIRE! Poor Laurita and I don't have much experience with alcohol so we made quite the scene while we questioned wether the grappa was burning holes in our stomachs or not. I texted this to my mom and she responds "don't drink it! You will grow hair on your chest! And puke!"... I wish I had gotten that message 5 minutes earlier!

We spent the rest of the night relaxing outside and enjoying each others company. Ezio played some Swiss music while we spoke. Suddenly, Barry mantilows song "Copa Cabana" starts playing. The hilarity of little old Ezio singing about a showgirl named Lola was too much to handle! Belly laughs immediately ensued. He decided to change things up: he pulled out a beautiful music box and started playing the slow melody... The change of pace in music was even funnier! (You guessed it, more belly laughs!! Great Ab workouts!)

We are now getting ready for bed in this old home in Vogorno. We are very sleepy but extremely happy. I am loving discovering this whole other side of my family, and love even more that my best friend is here to share the memories with me!

Love you all,
Amy

                                                  My great uncle ezio and his new favorite glasses

                                                                Bond.. James Bond!!

Marvin loved his fly swatter! 

                                                            My family by the fire in Vogorno

Grappa (aka Schnops) DON'T DO IT!

Switzerland

Hello fellows! It is finally my turn to take over this blog and give it a little bit of my magic touch. As you know, we left Spain and headed to the Southern part of Switzerland. the Spanish experience was not only an enriching experience for Amy, but I learned a very important lesson myself as well: never give a gringo pig blood (morcilla) for lunch unless you are really eager to challenge your nose with an entire variety of aromas. (De nada Spaniards, some day you will thank me for this)

Leaving Spain aside, Amy and I got started with our Swiss adventures. After a nice and much needed night of sleep, we headed to the beautiful alps with monica (Amy's second cousin) and Ezio, her 74 year old father (Amy's great uncle) who has the spirit and humor of a teenager. they both guided us through the small, but amazing little town of Bellinzona. We walked into some 800 year old castles that took our breath away. Pictures don't do them justice, but we will include pictures below once we get some normal wifi! As we kept taking pictures and looking at the landscape, Amy and I tried to practice our Italian skills... which basically means that Amy was speaking some sort of Spanish, and I was speaking Spanish and changing the end of the word to 'oche' or 'ello'. for example, veloz becomes belloche. Its quite a risky technique and certainly not scientifically proven, but it works about fifty percent of the time. I wouldn't recommend you using it, its quite a risk, but I guess its the only thing I have at this point.

As we arrived in the centre of Bellinzona, we saw a Swiss- Italian version of a farmers market which contained a lot of food, mostly cheese and other products like bracelets, necklaces, earrings etc. However, what really touched us was hearing the Bellinzona philharmonica play Beatles songs in a small square. It was 'Molto Bello'!! I kind of had the temptation to take over the square and show off my amazing and well known singing abilities but I figured it was too soon to embarrass myself in front of Amy's family. We were not there just yet. 

We then went to Monica's home for lunch. We had a whole variety of cheeses, prosciutto, salami, pasta..etc. Everything was delicious. We are really trying to stay fit and not eat more than we should, but we are starting to lose hope...

After eating, we did not take a siesta. Instead, we kept on going on to our Ticino tour as we walked for a couple of hours around Locarno and Ascano. We went up a mountain to see the Madonna de Sacco church as well as the Locarno lake. We also went to Ascaco old town. (Here is where we got our hopes back for staying in shape!) all of this was very beautiful and charming, and AMi Fell in love with all of it. Amy mentioned that she would strongly consider marrying a Swiss man in order to move here... any takers??

Jokes aside, although we were tired at that point, our day was far from being over. We went back to visit another member of Amy's familyç Marvin. As we sat for dinner I could barely eat because ll I was doing was laugh. Same goes with Amy, except she blushed when she made on of her typical 'enlightening' comments. (no need to quote her, we have all heard more than one of her 'blonde statements') I guess our little rule of being as normal as possible when we first meet people had just been thrown our the window... whoops!

Just like that, 11pm hit the clock and we decided to go to bed. All I have to say is that it was an amazing day with amazing people.  Goodnight Ticino.

Laura

Castle climbing

candid shot shopping in the swiss farmers market

Travel day

The last two days of San Sebastián have been very social and very rainy!! We spent most of these days catching up with Laura's friends and hanging around the city. We have discovered my newest passion (besides bullfighting) which is darts! I could play for hours with laura and indigo, but they always make me join them in pool after about 5 rounds of darts (whoops!) We have also spent a good amount of time at a local irish pub called Molly Malone. Everyone seems to meet up there and socialize for hours! It's so much fun and very good for my Spanish! (Especially considering that a Spanish toddler could have a better conversation than me) my grandpa always says "the closest thing between two people is a smile" and his words couldn't be more true on this trip.. The language barrier is tough but a smile really goes a long ways when meeting new people. The highlight of the last few days in San Se may have been Mr. Antonanas homemade paella. It was AWESOME! Words can't describe it so I included a picture below. (There is also jamon.. With is basically really thin slices of raw pig meat. Surprisingly one of my favorite appetizers in Spain)

However, the real adventure began on midnight Friday, the 24th. We took a midnight bus (we keep singing Journeys "Don't stop believing" because of the 'midnight train' reference) for SEVEN HOURS from San Se to Barcelona. I practically overdosed on Benadryl to sleep and it took a few hours to kick in. Especially for laura. She interrupted ,m y half-sleep whispering loudly. "DUDE. THIS IS TERRIBLE!!" My lack of sleep threw me into a fit of laughter as I listened to Laurita complain about everything that was uncomfortable and annoying on the bus. I will never forget that 3 AM belly laugh. 

We finally got to the middle of Barcelona,Spain at 7:30 in the morning. We faced two big problems: we were NOWHERE near the airport and we had 8 hours until our flight to Milan. Desperate for a couch, we took subway after subway (with a 20 kilo bag on my shoulder) to go to Placa Cataluna. We grabbed breakfast and lugged around our heavy bags though the middle of the city looking for that couch we had been dreaming about for 8 hours. With grungy clothes, greasy hair, and bags over our shoulders.. We looked like 20 year old hobos. At one point I ran into a hotel offering to pay to hang out in their lobby for an hour or two!! I guess we looked worse than we thought because we were denied instantly. (Sorry dad, you raised a pathetic daughter)

We finally caved and headed to the airport via bus. From there, we waited almost 6 hours for our flight to Milan. Laurita was literally laying on the floor of the airport with hundreds of people walking by and sleeping like a baby. I stayed awake and watched everyone look strangely at this creature next to me that was sprawled out on the floor... After she woke up we finally boarded the plane and slept like babies. We landed and woke up in a fit of giggles. Everything we were saying to each other was hysterical. (I blame sleep deprivation) We decided that we should NEVER travel with our future husbands because they will divorce us immediately. 

The real adventure began once we got to Milan. We needed to get to Milano Centrale train station and find our train to Bellinzona, Switzerland. In our lack of attention to detail, we didn't realize that it was an hour by bus to the train station and we had an hour and a half until our train left!! We got to the station 20 minutes early and began running like chickens with our heads cut off! Neither of us knew any Italian and we were being sent ALL OVER the train station. All we needed to do was print out our pre-purchased tickets! With 3 minutes until the train left, a man started helping laura and I with the machine to get our tickets printed. We did it successfully and he started pointing to his hand for what I assumed was money... He was homeless! I would have avoided him if I had noticed earlier, but god bless him because he saved us a lot of time! (I gave him some change.. We were so thankful!)

Our tired bodies made it to the seats of the train where I was thrown into another random fit of the giggles. Sadly, the people across from us barely spoke English so they gave us some crazy looks! We traveled through northern Italy and were thrown into Switzerland... It was unbelievably beautiful. We rode through the mountains alongside Lake Lucarno that was simply breathtaking. Houses were built along the mountains to our left, and the snow filled mountains fed into a lake that was on our right. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seem in my life.. Laura and I were speechless. 

Bellinzona was about an hour and a half north of Milan and we were greeted by my cousin Monica. (whom I had never met!) She took us to her home, fed us, introduced us to her husband and surprised us with a hotel room! Her english is slightly broken but very very good for never practicing it. We discussed our plans for the weekend, and it looks like I will be able to see several of my family members that I have yet to meet. Laura and I are simply in awe of this area and can't wait for tomorrow to come already! (We will post pictures tomorrow.. We couldn't take many from the train) 

Espana. Days 2+3

This is my formal apology to Laurita for suffering through my repercussions of pig blood. I refuse to elaborate and say no more other than I am extremely sorry.. will you still be my best friend?

On May 19th we traveled from Madrid to San Sebastian by bus. From this bus we could see all of the beautiful parts of Spain, and I refused to sleep! Basque country is so green and dramatic, that I was constantly taking pictures! However this drive was 5 hours long and we got extremely bored after hour 3, so we watched the Lion King. 

No more than 20 minutes into the movie, Laurita and I started drawing parallels between our friendship and Timon and Pumba. The real kicker was in the scene posted below. I'm pretty sure we woke up the entire bus with our laughing. (Incase it isn't obvious, I am Pumba and Laurita is annoying little Timon)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVRXtalL5MI

Anyways, we were greeted in San Se (That's the shortcut name for Laurita's city) by her parents' with big hugs and fast spanish and we drove to her home. Lauritas mom cooked some UNREAL food for lunch (which was at 4 o'clock by the way.. what?!). I am not sure if I have ever had a meal where I did not recognize a single thing on my plate, and it is a common recurrence here in Spain. Thankfully, I am loving all of it! (except pig blood) 

After lunch we went and hung out with many of Laurita's friends as they showed me around the city. San Se is so pretty! They were able to speak in english while they made fun of my little spanish...so fun! At one point we stopped and hung out at a little outdoor patio and they asked me to start imitating accents for them. (Spaniards can't speak in British accents because their Spanish accent is too thick) So, we all started joking around until one boy said "You sound like Penny from Big Bang Theory!!" For some reason I thought that it was hilarious! To people here, Penny is the closest blonde American that they can relate me to! Just for fun (and jet lag) here is my favorite Penny clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy_mIEnnlF4

We had dinner with Laurita's parents that night, which was so delicious! Laurita's mom is killing it! (sorry mum).. we then went to bed and were so excited about not having to set an alarm...

The next day, on May 20th, I woke up refreshed and happy. I looked at my phone and realized it was 3:45 IN THE AFTERNOON. yes. I slept for over 16 hours. Jet lag: 1 Amy: 0. 

Laurita took me to the Monte Igueldo at the southern part of San Se. We rode a funicular up to the top of the mountain and were able to see all of San Se! (look for pictures below) It was so pretty, but unfortunately pretty rainy:( I LOVED the funicular!) We spent what was left of the day walking around town with Inigo! He definitely thinks that I am crazy! (sorry Inigo) They taught me how to play darts and the conclusion has been mad that I am a CHAMP. (Don't fight me on this one laurita) The highlight of the day was when some tipsy South Americans came and took over our game of pool while trying to teach us how to play. The man was extremely nice, but was too tipsy to even make a shot! We couldn't stop laughing at him while his buddies made him leave us alone. We also made a quick stop at Mr. Antonana's work to say hi for a little bit... he is a busy man!!

Laurita's parents later took us to a restaurant for Pintxos. I had never tried Pintxos before and found the whole concept so interesting! All of the food was ready at the bar, and we simply grabbed what we wanted! There weren't any waiters and they went on a type of honor system when we paid the bill.. extremely different than in America! Her parents then took us for ice cream and we walked home. Conversation with them is so funny because we want to talk to each other so badly, but their English is just as much of a struggle as my Spanish is! We somehow make it work and laugh a lot along the way! 

We ended the evening watching bullfights and baseball. Laura's parents don't understand baseball and I did my best to explain. I was doing well until a runner stole second base. The whole concept was too confusing! hah!! 

It is now 4 in the morning and neither Laurita and I can sleep. SOS!!!! This jet lag is no fun at all!!!! But if it is the worst part of the trip, then I am a happy girl. 

Besitos,

Amy (Pumba)

                                                      The view from the funicular

                         Momma and her ice cream (she isn't a fatty, the other was Mr. A's)

                                                      Timon and Pumba visit Old Town

Madrid. Day 1.

May 19th.

As many of our friends and family may know, Laura and I have been planning an epic trip to Europe since we met in the dorms our freshman year of college. I officially motivated and booked my flight two months ago, which meant that the last 8 weeks have been the SLOWEST weeks of our lives!

I left on Saturday May 18th out of San Diego en route to a quick layover in Chicago to meet Laurita and hop on our next plane to Madrid, Spain. Luckily- our intern strength coach, Adam, was on the same flight to Chicago with me so I wouldn't go stir crazy in that tiny airplane! (I have way too much energy when I travel) Once I said my goodbyes to Adam in Chicago, I raced to my connecting gate to find Laurita waiting for me looking like a wreck. In her 3 hours in the Chicago airport, she had managed to lose her passport!!! Thoughts of having to wait in the US longer to leave for Spain started flying through my head when a crew member curtly told "Airhead" Laurita that her passport was found on the floor of another gate. Crisis averted!

As many of my family members and teammates know (especially my mom), traveling with me is a treat. Public singing, dancing, and random conversations with strangers are ALWAYS on the agenda. I love traveling way too much.. one of these days I'm going to get in trouble for showing of my 'stanky leg' in the middle of an airport terminal!! On this particular trip, I was trying to save as much energy as possible for the upcoming jet lag. However, Laurita and I got the very last row of seating on the airplane which meant that we had a consistent flow of guests near us the ENTIRE flight to visit that bathroom. This meant that people would be watching me sleep with my mouth wide open the whole flight.... not happening. After trying to sleep and look like a lady for over an hour, I gave up. Laura and I decided to create our own little 'fort' with the blankets provided on the plane. We used the tray tables to hold up the blankets, but that was short-lived... Laura complained about not being able to breathe. (wimp)

With a total of 14 hours of traveling to get to Europe, I had successfully completed 4 hours of sleep. We immediately visited Lauritas good friend, Carlota, who lives with Spain and she graciously welcomed us into her home for the day and night. However, there was one small problem... it was only 8:30 in the morning! If we were to beat the jet lag, we had to stay up for at least another 14 hours.  We showered, and refused to relax as we forced ourselves to go find the nearest caffeine source ASAP with Carlota, Rocio, and Susana. Sadly, Susana was only with us for an hour or so. We ventured over to a little street side bar in downtown Madrid where Laurita indulged in coffee (correction.. it's 'espresso') and eggs while the other girls enjoyed Spanish Margaritas. We were SO hungry!!!!!!!!!!

After breakfast, we walked ALL OVER Madrid. All of the girls were extremely nice to me as they helped with my ridiculously bad Spanish. Thankfully I understand much, much, much more Spanish than I can speak.. so I could follow their conversations easily. Their English is incredible though. They understood my occasional inappropriate jokes perfectly! (sorry mom) We first went past the City Hall, then ventured all over to the Cibeles, Gran Via, Mercado de San Miguel, Palacio Real, Catedral de la Almudena, Jardines de Sabatini y Plaza Mayor.

My favorite spot was by far the Catedral de la Almudena. I had never seen a Cathedral like that before. Growing up in a Catholic High School has given me a great deal of appreciation for the Catholic Church, and was simply floored by how unreal it was. Laura and I decided to explore this Cathedral for a little while the other two girls went to a restaurant nearby. As soon as we walk in, I notice a Cardinal. Not just any religious leader, but Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco-Varela. I convinced Laurita to go up and talk to him and she timidly whispers "But what do I say to a person like that?!" I pushed her toward him and whispered back "Dude. Tell him you appreciate everything he has done." Laurita did just that, and he had a very pleasant conversation with the both of us. (I mostly just stood awkwardly behind her and nodded my head. I might as well have had a sign on my forehead that said "American Idiot- Party of 1") He asked questions about our travels and lives and gave us pins. This was an extremely rare occurrence, and so cool!!!!!!!!!! God has perfect timing.

We then went to this very very very traditional Spanish Restaurant called (I forgot the weird Spanish name). Here, men were dressed in traditional Spanish Muskateers uniforms. This place was literally hundreds of years old in a basement. The ceiling was covered in ancient brick and the walls had Torrero pictures everywhere and taxidermy bull-heads! I left it up to the locals to order for me as I went to the restroom. I came back to a nice Spanish beer waiting for me at the table (sorry mom, but its legal here. tee hee!!).  30 minutes later, the most UNREAL foods appeared before me. There was patatas braves con ali-oli, croquetas caseras, morcilla y chistorra de navarra. I ate all of these things with great curiosity, and they couldn't taste better... until the morcilla y chistorra ends up on the table. I ask what these little red/black balls are, and all of the girls IMMEDIATELY tell each other to not tell me what it is. (For any future travelers, if a local refuses to tell you what you are eating.. its a really really bad sign) I take a bite of this delicious food... and Laurita blurts out "ITS FRIED PIG BLOOD AND RICE!!".....um... no. Another girl states "Us Spaniards love pig so much that we eat literally everything". I wanted to vomit, but shoved the gross thoughts aside and finished this morcila y chistorra like a CHAMP. I even had a second piece! Life is all about new experiences, right? (Except my stomach is making some crazy sounds as I am writing this. Laura can't stop laughing. I blame pig blood)

The other girls left for their siesta as Laurita and I made our way toward Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas for my first ever bullfight!!! I had been talking about this bullfight for some time, and Carlota was able to get us some really nice tickets. I walked into this huge open aired venue and started quoting Gladiator. It was epic. Laura went on to tell me all about how Bullfighting works and how we were at the "Augusta National" of bullfighting locations. If these fighters succeeded here, they were big time in the Torero world. There were 6 bulls for the day. I got chills during the opening ceremony and was entranced by the first two fights. I gained so much respect for these Matadors as they risked their lives for this focal point in Spain's culture. In the middle of the third bull, it started raining... But it didn't just rain- IT POURED. Hail was attacking us and thunder was cracking overhead making the whole experience seem like a movie. (I wanted to start shouting lines from "Gladiator", but I assumed that would be inappropriate) We left after the third bull, however, because we were wearing the wrong clothes for the crazy weather and didn't want to risk getting sick on the first day of our long trip.

Our next challenge was getting from the Las Ventas to Carlota's house were we are currently spending the night. We almost got killed trying to flag down a taxi in the pouring rain, so Laurita and I sprinted 2 blocks to find a less crowded area to hunt down a cab. (by the way, cab's are SO clean here!!! and the drivers are nice and well-spoken! this isn't the USA) Getting the cab was quite the experience. I was able to document dorky Laurita running awkwardly and the pictures are below. (sorry I'm not sorry Laura)

We got to Carlotas where her mom made me the traditional Tortilla de Patata that I LOVE. Laura has made this for me several times at SDSU, and it has become my new obsession. Dinner was fun, insightful, and the family was so generous. All of the family practiced their English with me as we discussed American vs European politics and policies. One of the more interesting conversations I have had in a long time!

Well, Laurita and I are off to bed as we have had 4 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours. Jet lag is killing us now.. we can't seem to sleep! We head north to San Sebastian tomorrow by bus at 7:45 AM.

Adios Madrid- you have captured my heart,
Amy

Before the bullfight (note- we are dry here)

                                                       la Catedral de la Almudena

                                               Caught in the rain during the bullfight

                                               Killing the bull.. the saddest part :,(

                                                            The Cathedral.. again!

                          Creeper shot of Laura's mom's secret twin. I SWEAR ITS HER!!!!

SDSU Aztec gracefully (that's a lie) running after a cab and hurdling puddles.