I got a head buzz at the HOOKAH BAR...

well not really. I lied, but it was so fun.

As many of you know, I flew to Madrid a few days early so that I could spend time with my friend, Constanza Babio (if that's not a Spanish name, I don't know what is...), and her family. I left Knoxville on Thursday and arrived in Madrid on Friday morning around 9:30 am. Cons and her mother were waiting for me at the international gate. This was so nice, because I did not have to putter around Madrid with my giant bags trying to find her house. We got to Cons's house and settled in a bit. Her apartment (Spaniards do not live in, as they would put it, "proper houses" they live in flats) is so nice. It is covered in art and pictures of the family. It is so cozy, and I loved being there right away. Right away we took a bus to a metro station at la Plaza de Castilla. From there, we rode into downtown Madrid. For those of you who have not spent time in Madrid, it is a FANTASTIC city full of color. You should come here if you like big cities and lots of partying. Side note: I was here last Summer when Spain won the World Cup. It was absolutely NUTZ.

Here is a pic of the Madness:

Anywhoo, Cons took me to a phone store to buy a prepaid phone. The phone I got is hilarious. I feel like  I'm in middle school again. Actually, I retract the statement, Luanne (mom), did not allow me to have a phone until I was in high school. Nevertheless, it is an old school Nokia, with no T9 word or camera. I. LOVE. IT. After the phone store we went to lunch. Cons has an uncle who owns a swanky restaurant. It was interesting food, not bad, but I probably would not choose it for myself. The best part? Her uncle, "invited" us to lunch. I was confused with Cons told me this, but what she meant to say is, "we don't have to pay, it is covered!" I was so thankful. It was very unnecessary, and so sweet. After that I hit a "wall." I could not keep my eyes open. On the way home I fell asleep on the Metro. Good thing I was not alone, I would have probably been mugged. After we got home, I went straight to be and did not wake for many hours.

The next day (Saturday) Cons and I hung around the house. Little did I know that she was making big plans for the evening. She told me to be ready around 5 pm, because she was taking me with four of her friends to a hookah bar. I had never been to one before, so I was game. Let's be real though, I can't imagine that I would have objected to smoking something while in SPAIN. Cons just recently got her driver's license so she drove me and two other friends. Then once we were downtown we met two other friends. We wandered around for a bit until we found the bar. We walked in, and it immediately looked like a place that would have been featured in Aladin. The lights were low, there were burning candles everywhere, and it smelled a bit musky like flavored tobacco (imagine that!!!). We went to the counter and negotiated with the barista. (Like that word, Kev?) We walked down the stairs into a small room, and ordered some drinks. The catch was that you had to order drinks and you got hookah for free. It was so fun to sit down on the floor with all the Spanish girls. They chattered away about boys, school, their families, and TV. Even though I did not have a clue what they were saying most of the time, it was so fun to just sit and listen. They were so sweet to me. Not to mention, they are all so BEAUTIFUL it makes me sick. Cons has the best friends.

Here are a few pics form our hookah experience.

 Cheeeeeezin'

 CHICAS HERMOSAS... why can't I be Spanish??

 El groupo.

 Hookah Man.

Cons, do I see a smoke ring? Good girl!

After the hookah bar we went back to Cons's house for copas y cena (drinks and dinner). We had tortilla (traditional spanish food, kind of like a potato bread cake- very yummy) and pizza. After dinner the girls played all their favorite songs form the clubs and danced around. I loved it, and of course snapped a quick pic.

The next day, I literally slept all day long. I was in bed until about 4 pm I believe. I cannot seem to get my sleeping schedule quite right. When I finally came out of my coma, I went into the living room to hang out with Cons and her little brother, Jaime. He had a few friends over Let me tell you, they were the funniest and cutest little boys I have ever met. They were so silly, and still had this "I'm Spanish and amazing" air about them. They used words to describe things that a 12-year-old boy in the states would never use. "Lizzy, you are so very beautiful" or "I live for one thing only... Real Madrid (very famous, very good soccer team)" were two phrases I heard a few times. Even though they were so sweet they were wild too. I heard the spat off about a million english curse words, the "F" word being the most popular. They were so great. 

Here is a picture of them:

They even used their iPhone apps to take funny pictures of me:

I need to touch on one more thing before I let you go. I do apologize for the small novel I have written this morning, but I just had so much to share...

I was supposed to meet the rest of my program at a downtown hotel in Madrid. Cons had school this morning, and her father had to work. So I was left to brave the Madrid metro all alone with all of my dreadful luggage. I am fully confident that after last summer, I could pretty much get from any point A to point B. However, I was not looking forward to lugging all my crap with me through all the entry gates, stairwells, escalators, tight hallways (during rush hour), and mobs of irritated Spaniards trying to get to work. Well, I did not have much of a choice, did I? Cons made sure I knew where I was going (i.e. which stops to change trains at) and then I was off. Everything obviously went smoothly because I am here writing this blog about it. The only troublesome spot was right towards the end when I had three (not two, not one) but three flights of stairs to climb. Mind you, my bags collectively probably weigh about 80 lbs. This task was not fun. However, a really nice Spanish man helped me all the way out of the station. He carried the biggest bag for me, and he held all of the doors open for me. When I got to the top, he then proceeded to ask if I knew where I was going. He was so sweet. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Spain? A few short minutes later I was sitting on my bed in my upscale hotel room (thanks ISA!). It is REALLY fun to act like I am rich. Life is good.

Well, so I guess my next and final topic.... is my Spanish getting any better??? I will answer humbly, NO. But I do feel like I am picking up on it much better. I am even becoming more comfortable with practicing. I hope this continues to go well.

Once again, sorry this is so long. But in all honesty you didn't have to read it. For those of you who aren't ticked about it, thanks for catching up with me. I hope you enjoyed it.