La Riviera, Museo Sorolla y Flamenco

So first I have to say that I'm sorry I've been so slow posting! We're definitely still trying to get a grasp on time here, which seems to run out quicker than at home (possibly due to everything being later than we're used to!) Anyways, after a big day in Segovia, Lizzy and I decided to lay low on Friday night to prepare for our first Spanish club experience on Saturday night. After catching up on our sleep, we wandered our barrio more until it was time to get ready for a night out in Madrid. We headed to Carly and Nayha's apartment to meet up with all the girls first, and then headed to La Riviera for the night. For all of yall who have been to Club Rome, including adults because I know quite a few of yall have been, La Riveria, which is a discoteca here, is Club Rome x10000000 and more. After the bouncer lets you in, we waited in line to check our coats and then I was literally blown away by the number of people there. One thing I was surprised to discover, however, was that the were playing American music for the most part, including everything from Rhianna to Celine Dion. (It seems the Madrilenos also have a strange obsession with Phil Collins and Shania Twain which we found very interesting...) I didn't take my camera to La Riviera but here is a picture I stole from Lizzy just to give yall an idea of what it was like...

After an entertaining night, we caught a taxi and headed back to our apartment to head to bed. Although it was a highly entertaining experience, I don't think the clubs are going to be my scene. Of course I'll have to experience Kapital, the seven floor dance club that Madrid is famous for, but otherwise I think I'm going to be spending my weekends at smaller venues. On Sunday afternoon after another day of sleeping in and finally getting over jet lag, Lizzy and I met some girls in Sol to spend the afternoon wandering around and getting to know the city.

When Monday morning rolled around, we headed to school for class where we learned that on Tuesday we'd be writing a composicion and taking un examen oral on Wednesday to help determine our Spanish grammar class nivel. We were very lucky to get Jacinta for our teacher because she has been nothing but encouraging and great with our entire class. We were sad to learn she won't be a regular teacher for our classes but we couldn't have asked for a better introduction to Madrid academics. After we finished class, Lizzy and I went to Sol again to try out a lunch place called Cafe y Te. It's a chain restaurant in Spain that turned out to be pretty good! We enjoyed wandering the area, including the plaza that is full of street entertainers, and finished the afternoon off with something warm from Starbucks, where Lizzy learned that asking for sacrina, which is the spanish version of splenda, can sometimes be mistaken for saying your name is Zack.

Lizzy decided to stay and shop around a while, so I hopped on the metro and headed back to the apartment to go with Cristina to talk to her gym about joining while I'm here. I wasn't sure what to expect, considering Cristina said she only went for pilates and had no idea if there were even treadmills, but I was blown away when we got there. It is an amazing facility called Gimnasio Chamberi (http://www.gimnasiochamberi.com/)and they have every type of class to offer, including spinning, yoga and pilates, karate, and more! Later that night, Lizzy and I were very excited because it was time to book our first trip. The first weekend in Febrero, Lizzy, Laurie, and I are heading to Paris to meet up with Elizabeth, Claire, and Meredith! We couldn't be more excited and felt so accomplished having bought our tickets and booked a hostel sin problemas!

After successfully writing our composicion por clase, we decided to head to Gran Via to explore and have lunch. Madrid is HUGE but when you're in each neighborhood, it doesn't feel so overwhelmingly grande. Gran Via, on the other hand, it the Nueva York of Madrid. They have every type of store you could imagine -- Zara, Sfera, H&M, Nike, tattoo parlors, the typical I <3 Madrid gift shop, hair salons, restaurants, theaters, and more. (There is one particular hair salon that we think must be the Madrid version of Great Clips because it is on cada calle. It has bright blue lights and big tacky signs. You can't miss them.) After passing a few different cafes and restaurants, Lizzy and I decided to eat at a restaurant called Nebraska that despite the American name, had no American food whatsoever. Lizzy ended up picking a few sides to put together as a meal, while I went for the traditional croquetas. Croquetas are kind of like a cross between hush puppies and poppers, but can be filled with all sorts of things. I went for, again, the most traditional and had croquetas con jamon iberico. They were absolutely delicious but very rich, so it's hard to eat a ton of them.

Once we finished lunch, I headed to Museo Sorolla to meet Will and Thomas. Joaquin Sorolla was an incredibly gifted Spanish painter from Valencia, Spain (autonomous community on the coast of Spain) who is famous for his portraits, landscape paintings, and use of light in his works. The museum is actually Sorrolla's old house and it is right around the corner from our apartment! It was absolutely beautiful and has a nice garden area that you're allowed to study in for free. It'll be great in la primavera when it warms up, but its just too cold now. Here were some of mis cuadros favoritos:

 Entrance to Sorolla's house

Self portrait -- Autoretrato

Snapshot, Biarritz

Bride and groom from Salamanca

Siesta

As for Miercoles, it was one of my favorite days so far because not only did I discover the Spanish version of Key Lime Pie at Cafe Van Gogh with Carly, Nayha, and Pamela, I also got to see a live flamenco show at el Teatro Munoz Seca. It was absolutely incredible -- it was both men and women that performed all different types of flamenco. Flamenco originated in Andalucia and there are all different types now based on the different communidades. We weren't allowed to take pictures or anything, but here is a youtube video that will give you an idea as to what it was like, though I really can't even put it into words! There is so much tap and ballet incorporated, it was just incredible to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v7-irkk_gg&feature=related