It's November 6th. Esther tells me she has some "secrety news" for me. She tells
me in confidence that Mish's parents are coming down to Málaga on the 14th of November to surprise her and that they're going to take the three of
us on a trip to the north of Spain on the AVE train. Wow! The plan is that we'll somehow get Mish to the
train station on Thursday night where her parents will sneak up on her, she'll freak out, and then we’ll
all board the train to La Rioja. The 14th rolls around, and the train-station surprise goes
off without a hitch. The surprise, however, turns out to be for
me!
We were sitting outside Taco Bell, supposedly waiting for the big moment when Mish's parents walked up the stairs, when Esther and Mish broke their silence. They both looked at me, smirked, and said that Mish’s parents weren’t coming at
all. "We're going away to Madrid for your birthday!" they told me. I was in total disbelief. "I don't get it!" I kept saying. These guys had planned a whole weekend in Madrid to celebrate my 23rd birthday with me! Before I could even process what had happened, we were off to the capital!
Here's Mish, Me, and Esther pulling into Madrid. I'm excited and still in disbelief! What would have been a six hour bus ride took less than three hours on the AVE. (ave=bird; AVE = Alta Velodicad Española/High-Speed Spanish train)
Here are Esther and Mish emerging from the metro at the Puerta del Sol, where they rented us an awesome apartment for the long weekend!
There was trash all over the streets of Madrid due to a sanitation workers' strike. This was quite a sobering, impactful manifestation of the economic crisis.
Here are Mish and me at a cool little café en la Chueca, a hipster/gay neighborhood in Madrid.
We got much more than we bargained for when we wandered into a bar that bore my initials, LL, adorned with the flag of my people and an excess of Christmas decorations. What’s the worst that could’ve happened? This guy. “That is VILE!” Esther repeatedly commented as he took off all of his clothes. Mish and I concluded that we wouldn’t have chosen the events that preceded this photo, but also that we couldn’t pry our eyes away.
La felcidad es contagiosa :-) sí, lo es.
Lookin good, Spidey.
El Mercado San Miguel, an awesome indoor market near Plaza Mayor. It was filled with special
artisan pastries, wine, sandwiches--anything you would've
wanted to find at a place like this! Wandering around and sharing snacks
was so much fun that we went back for a second visit.
Jamón serrano in the Mercado San Miguel. My mouth waters as I type this. I love cured ham!
Here’s Esther and me in Starbucks! Cold weather, Christmas music,a big
mug of americano, and suddenly it’s winter! Málaga’s only Starbucks is
in the airport, and I believe the only other Spanish Starbucks are in
Sevilla, Madrid, and Barcelona.
Autumnal beauty on the way to the Prado museum
Here we are at the Prado art museum, a good, free afternoon for anyone with a student I.D. The different works blend together for me after an hour or two, but it's impressive and you can't miss it if you have the time to see it while you're in Madrid.
One of the world’s most famous paintings: Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas. How lucky was I to snap this bad boy? HashtagLasMeninas
Vivian initially said that she'd be in Barcelona for the weekend, and was bummed that she couldn't go on Mish's surprise trip. She most certainly was not in Barcelona, and she made the long journey up to Madrid as a surprise so we could all be together!
Spain, init?
On the night of my birthday, we went and danced in a music video bar. Some favorites came on! It was so much fun!
Gran Vía: a busy main street I once walked down with my parents and Joey!
I still don’t get this video but I have come to find the quotes funny. Old Greg has a small place in my heart because he reminds me of my old roommate, Lauren, who used to talk about him in her sleep and got his look down to a tee for Halloween last year. The entire sentence before this one is true.
Elevator selves-ie!
Birthday wishes from my friends online made me so happy. Sara sent me this picture of some of our memories together. I especially love the one in the middle, which I hadn’t seen! Those are a bunch of friends from the Granada program that came to my house in Santa Barbara on my birthday last year. What a nice memory!
As soon as my birthday surprise was no longer a secret, I became privy to Mish’s pre-surprise plans and journal entries. About me, she writes “He, being the tight-fisted yank that he is, didn’t buy it, having decided to sleep on it. What evs. Bought it today.” I guess I’m a tight-fisted YANK for not buying some clothes I tried on when we went shopping! Haha! That being the case, my sweet friends got me a vest and shirt they knew I loved on top of the overwhelmingly great birthday surprise.
The AVE, that high-speed train I mentioned, carves through Spain at almost 300 km/h. We were back in Málaga in a snap, but not before they served us wine, a cocktail, a snack, and coffee! I've never been treated so well in transit!
Mom and Dad sent me a care package full of treats from home and an iHome. It might might not have seemed like a big deal to them, but I feel considerably more at home now that I can listen to music and sing along in my room. This little thing kicks ass! My roommates have welcomed the sounds of Bebe and Beyoncé coming from my room when I’ve turned this thing up.
What an absolute treat this weekend was, thanks to Vivian, Esther, Mish, and everyone far away who made me feel special for having been born 23 years ago. It's silly to think now, but when I came here I didn't expect to have many friends by the time my birthday came around and NEVER could've expected a weekend like this. Thank you friends, family, Spain, universe for a beautiful 23rd!
