On Friday morning, Anna and I met Lena at her hostel, which was conveniently located between the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, and Sol. We walked around the neighborhood, then went to SLU's campus to meet some other friends for sangria and tortilla de espanola. Then we took Lena back to our apartment and she rested up because she did not get any sleep the night before. For dinner, we enjoyed some tapas at El Tigre. I definitely will be going back there. Their tapas sizes are huge and there was a really fun, young crowd there. After some drinks and snacks, we took Lena out for a fun night in Madrid!
On Saturday, I enjoyed a really fun afternoon with the family that I have been tutoring in English. The grandparents even came over, and we all enjoyed a traditional Spanish meal. They are very wealthy and they have a nanny/cook that makes all of their meals. We had some jamon serrano, cheese, and pastries before lunch, then some salad, chicken with curry and rice, and a delicious fruit salad and fancy coffee. We had a lot of laughs and it was a great chance for me to learn about them. They are all from Cadiz, where I visited last weekend. They have a lot of questions for me about life in the United States because they will be moving there for the summer. The grandparents were very impressed with the amount of traveling that I have done since I have been in Spain. Their grandfather has never been on an airplane, so I have already seen a lot more of Europe than they have. I am so glad that I met this family! They are so welcoming to me and are very caring people. They even invited me to spend the Easter holiday with them!
After lunch with the family, I met up with Lena and Anna at the Prado and we spent about an hour and a half showing Lena some of what we have learned in Art History. Every time I visit the Prado, I see something new. I hope to visit the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen soon, too. Anna and I have been craving Mexican food basically since we've arrived in Madrid, so we took Lena to this Mexican restaurant that my parents and I found. We had mango daiquiris, nachos, quesadillas, and tacos. I will definitely go back there next time I need my Mexican food fix. Madrilenos do not understand Mexican food though! At one point during the meal, we looked at the table next to us and saw a woman using a fork and a knife to eat her nachos--c'mon people. After dinner, we wandered through Sol and saw some really entertaining street performers. We ran into a group of three guys playing American music and they were actually really good! We wound up watching them for 2 hours before it was time for bed. It was some of the best people watching.
Today, we went to Retiro park and basically shopped all day! My feet are so sore from being on them all day. Now I need to study so that I can spend tomorrow with more visitors to Madrid. Steph, one of my very best friends from high school, and Morgan, fellow Chicagoan, arrived this afternoon and I cannot way to see them tomorrow! They will be here until Thursday, when they are leaving to visit Valencia for Las Fallas so I hope I can get a lot of time in with them this week.
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