Twin Tias and the Rio Tinto

Oh man, life's been good lately. It's spring in the city, I've had loads of visitors, I've been to a loving wedding and I've just added about 6 new dresses to my summer wardrobe inventory. Bring on the days of drinking sangria in the sun (because, strangely enough, waiters don't actually expect you to order sangria in December).



Spring Break finally came and brought me Pam and Morgan (who had claimed it before it had even been affirmed that I won this grant!). They made it out the week before Semana Santa to check out Madrid and then stayed for the week after to do the tour grande of Spain. We spent a lot of time wandering around Madrid after I finished work each day, as I had to be sure to show them every nook, cranny and tapas bar that I know. Then we took a train to Barcelona to see all of Gaudi's masterpieces and then another train a few days later to Granada to see the Alhambra. After that we rented a car that I drove from Granada to Lisbon, stopping off in Sevilla and the beach in Faro, Portugal. It was beautiful and springy and there were wildflowers everywhere and I had wonderful company. Bliss.



Then came Kim from Mammoth and her mom Rusty, who were at her mom's high school reunion in England when the Icelandic volcano blew. They were stranded there and as their flight to Madrid was canceled, they decided to take a train from London to Paris and hop in a rental car and drive all night with strangers because it was headed to Madrid and Madrid was the only open airport. Once they got through all that mess, however, things were great. The weather was friendly and we ate lots of food, drank a little beer, saw some neat stuff (including tulips at the Botanical Garden!) and made nice day trip to Toledo. I feel like the theme for their trip was serendipity. Good things happened, but not necessarily when there was an attempt made to plan them.



Then came my friend Marshall from high school. In Madrid, my friends and I took him to a Lady Gaga tribute concert and then showed him the art of drinking in the street. We also might have gone to a museum and a historical monument or two... For the weekend we went to my favorite city in Spain, Barcelona, where I discovered a shop that gives graffiti classes to kids and sells spray paint in all the colors of the rainbow and then some. I took lots of pictures so I could show my brother who will undoubtedly be thrilled. (I also might have added a couple more dresses to my collection when I found a free second to break away and shop.)



Upcoming trips for me include a visit to Francisca, a good friend from Chile who now lives in Paris, and a visit to the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. I can't wait. I am currently forming summer plans to do some farming in Greece- expected arrival date in California: August 26, 2010.

*Also bear in mind that I'm here in Madrid until the end of June if anyone wants to plan a last minute visit! We could take a picture in front of a flower like this one: