Anything but Miserables

Buenas noches!

Que extrano (how strange)- I will be on my way home a week from tomorrow! We're trying to plan out our whole week because there is SO much we still haven't done or we want to do again: a few new bars, going out dancing when the natives actually go (aka 3 or 4 am!), the other monastery, and of course Valor for chocolate y churros! Cami and I, who will be staying an extra day in Madrid next week, are looking into catching a bullfight on Sunday, too! I'll probably have to close my eyes when they kill the bull...but I'm glad I'll get a chance to go see it because it's a really big cultural experience here. Anyways on that note I should probably talk about what I actually did THIS weekend in Madrid!

The bus ride there was pretty short, and we went straight to El Museo del Prado. There are so many incredible famous paintings there- tons of stuff by El Greco, Goya, Picasso, and Velazquez. The most incredible to me was Las Meninas, by Velazquez- it is often noted as one of the best pieces of artwork ever made! Today, I got to see another- Guernica, by Picasso, at La Galeria de Arte de la Reina Sofia. Back to yesterday, though, we had some free time after the hotel so we went to get drinks at the Hard Rock, which was fun. We checked into the hotel and played some cards and ate lunch... I've gotten a few of my friends addicted to one of the Rhoads family's favorite card games, Oh Hell. Before dinner, we went to the Palacio Real, where all the Spanish kings until very recently lived, and where royal dinners, speeches, etc are still held. There were some incredible frescos on the ceilings there, and beautiful furniture and decorations, too. We went back to the hotel for dinner and then...we went to see Les Miserables!

The show was unbelievable. There is really no other word I can use here, I was in heaven! It was definitely one of my favorite things we've done this entire trip, but let's be serious, that's really no surprise, it's me we're talking about. Seeing it in Spanish didn't actually take from it at all. On the contrary, I thought it was so cool how the lyrics were able to still rhyme and still give off the same message in a different language. Of course the music was great- Fontaine (Cosette's mother) and Gavroche (the young boy who dies in the battle trying to get more ammunition) were especially well cast. Well clearly I could go on por siempre (forever) but I think you get the point- it was great! That night, a few of us hung out on the roof the hotel, it was a blast. :)

Today, we went to the Reina Sofia, like I said, and seeing Guernica and a few Dali paintings was pretty cool. Then we drove to El Escorial, a huge monastery about an hour north of Madrid dedicated to San Lorenzo (Saint Laurence). Saint Laurence was martyred on a grill, so the entire monastery complex is shaped like a grill, and the symbol kept popping up everywhere. I have to admit that I was a tiny bit bored there, but there were some cool things- tapestries, another El Greco and Velazquez painting each, a pretty chapel, and a bunch of royal tombs. We also had lunch and played more Oh Hell there...and now we're already back in Salamanca. So ends our last excursion!

Although I'm getting pretty sad about leaving...I can't wait to see you all. Right now especially I wish I could see my daddy. Happy father's day, daddy, te quiero! Actually...I don't want to write this paper right now, I think I'll go call him instead!

Besitos,
Caitrin