Fiestas, a Market, Football, Aranjuez and Visitors

- Fiestas de San Isidro
You might remember me writing about the two holidays we had in May - one was the Day of Madrid and the second was the Fiestas de San Isidro. The second commemorates the patron saint of Madrid, San Isidro, and are the highlight of the spring. Five days in which to enjoy over 50 concerts of very different musical styles perfectly complemented by music, theatre and dancing performed in the streets, children’s activities, street processions with a band… and lots more! I went with Gwen on Sunday, 15th of May to celebrate. In addition to what's listed above, there were stands with food and souvenirs and other things to buy. We had fun walking around. Then we stopped to people watch with a few beers. We found the stage and heard some music, then got dinner. After more bands went on and one was playing bluegrass - not at all what I was expecting but I fully enjoyed it!!

The carnival section with games and rides.

Food stands

- The market at the Renfe station
The last post I wrote about visiting Toledo. We got there by train and while we were waiting for the train - we checked out the market inside the train station. It was amazing - there were so many stalls with merchants selling everything from dried fruits and nuts (which were so incredibly delicious that we bought not only one round of dried fruit but then we bought a second round of nuts) to jewelry to purses to scarves. There was also a pond with what looked like hundreds of turtles. What a great idea to put that market there.  

The market at the renfe station - stalls selling goods

Turtles

- UEFA Champions League 2016 - Real Madrid-Atlético Madrid
This past weekend was the international championship final for football (no, not American football - football 😆). And for the second time since 2012 the two Madrid teams played each other - Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid. It sure made for a fun night!! And my team - Real Madrid - won 2-0.  

GEtting ready for the big match

during the match

group shot - i'm the one in the back, half covered

- Aranjuez
On Sunday I went to Aranjuez.  What an unbelievably amazing, beautiful, tranquil place.  There are so many gardens and fountains and the palace is amazing. It's relatively new for Spanish palaces - some was built in 1750 and some in 1765. We didn't go inside but the outside is super impressive!!! It's the confluence of the Tagus and Jarama rivers (the only rivers in Madrid). I went with a guy that I met via an Intercambio. He was a great tour guide and an even better teacher. He's been teaching me a lot of new vocabulary and helps me with my pronunciation. He asked me to go back again next weekend so hopefully that'll happen. I'm really motivated and anxious to learn the Spanish!!!   

one of the rivers

the main fountain - where's the water?

that's better

Tranquilla (one of my favorite Spanish words)

another fountain

did i mention there were a lot of fountains?

flower beds leading up to a greenhouse

a waterfall - because every house/palace needs one 

a garden 

panoramic of the palace

- Lee and Rebecca in Town
So my cousin Lee and his finance are here visiting from California. I'm so glad I got a chance to hang out with them and get to know Rebecca a little more! There came here for the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. They said it was an amazing experience. They loved the people at the festival, and the experience was really great!! They also said they like Madrid better than Barcelona. I keep hearing that from people so maybe I won't consider moving there because of the heat in Madrid. Also, this is my first exposure to my old life colliding with my new life. It really just drives home how incredible it is that I live here.  

good times!

- Sarah (Vicky's friend) in Town
So Vicky's friend Sarah was in town again. We sure do know how to have good times here in Madrid. Sun, fun and booze - life sure is good!!!

Drinkies

good times!!

The one bad thing that happened was that one of our purses got stolen. It wasn't mine, thankfully, but what a drag!!! We were sitting basically in a corner so we figured we'd see if anyone came close enough. We think it was a table of three college age girls and we think there was some kind of hook involved. We think they hooked it somehow and dragged it over to them. That is the one bad thing about living here. It's also not the first first hand account that I've heard - this is actually the third story of someone I know personally who's had something stolen - one purse, one wallet and one phone. Caution to all who travel or plan to travel - watch your things closely!!!!

Feel free to ask me questions about what you're curious about! I love hearing from you!!