Spain//Part 1

I'm in Spain with my mom for the weekend and I couldn't be more excited. We left yesterday after my Italian class and got in around midnight. When we got to the hotel we were greeting with donuts and strawberries. We put on our bathrooms and decided to celebrate with a bottle of champagne. This is the one and only time I will be staying in a nice hotel while I'm in Europe, so it's such a treat. This is a luxury that at times feels too fancy for me considering I lounge around the house in leggings, I can't eat like a lady and I can't stand bedsheets tucked in. That aside, I'm so thankful for this wonderful opportunity to experience Madrid in a different way! 

We got up this morning and had buffet breakfast at the hotel. I stupidly forgot to pack my camera charger (or my phone charger, ipod charger, a brush, a razor...I told you I'm not fancy enough) so the first thing we did was to go to an electronic store in Puerta del Sol. 

Afterwards we spent a couple hours in the Prado. I couldn't believe how many works I've studied and love are there! My mother had the great idea to buy a guide book and it quickly became my bible while working through the hallways lined with El Greco, Goya, Velàzquez, Bosch, Van der Weden, Drürer, Memling, Titian, Raphael, Fra Angelico, the list goes on. I'm sure I've missed a couple, but it's hard to keep track when so many wonderful artists are housed under the same roof. My mother bought me four prints for my room: Las Meninas by Velàzquez, The Annunciation by Fra Angelico, The Garden of Earthly Delights by 

Bosch and Crossing the Styx by Patinir. The Garden of Earthly Delights is one of the most interesting paintings I've ever seen just because it's so weird. It looks like Willy Wonka and Salvador Dali got together and did acid.

After charging my phone battery and sitting for a little we went to see Plaza Mayor and get tapas. Our plan was to go to a couple tapas places, but we only got to two. The first one was called Dela Rincon Cava Meson where we got a small pitcher of sangria and calamari. The second place, Meson del Campiñón, was a place where my parents had gone when they were in Madrid about 25 years ago. My dad specifically had been really into the mushrooms, so following in their footsteps we got mushrooms and also beer and ham croquettes. It was all delicious, but a combination of the alcohol and food made us both so sleepy. Afterwards we went back to the hotel where I took a bath (a very exciting moment as it has been over a month) and relaxed. Our dinner tonight is at 11:15 PM...wish me luck.

You can take the girl out of America, but you can't take America out of the girl

Salad with shrimp, avocado, ham and tomatoes 

I'm lucky enough to be visited by my mom this week! Having people from home in my life makes all the difference. Last night I met her at her hotel and we went to dinner in Piazza della Repubblica. I had a salad and mussels and mom had a salad and pasta bolognese. The mussels I got were amazing, but so garlicky! Usually Tuscan bread is usually underwhelming, but they toasted it with olive oil and salt which was great to soak up all the sauce. We both got Nastro Azzurro beers to wash it all down with.

Today in my art class we spent the morning in San Marco, drawing along with the likes of Fra Angelico. I've learned about the Annunciation (pictured above) so many times, that I decided I HAD to draw it. Of course drawing an amazing work of art that took seven years to make in two hours is impossible, but I still enjoyed analyzing every detail! It's not easy!