ahora

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espana has been treating me well.
apart from intense heat and euros that just seem to disappear into thin air, i am having a great time. apparently, i speak spanish well enough to not be laughed at.

so there are about 50 of us in the program here in madrid, and about 80% of us ventured out on a group trip the other day to the palacio real in the city. needless to say, i remembered why i like traveling alone or in smaller groups. so yesterday about 5 of us took off downtown again, walked along the labyrinthial metro system, explored el plaza de espana, ate a fantastic meal, and so on and so forth.

so down in the plaza there was a statue i guess saluting the glory and power of spain, and at the top of this stone pillar were figures of conquistadors sitting next to dirty savage natives, presumably teaching them how to read. um, it was kind of the BEST monument to imperialism i've ever seen.

in related news, i found, purchased, and ate a delightful confection called "FILIPINOS" which are these chocolate covered cookie biscuits. they´re kind of delicious.

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Photos

the whole shebang
yikes! here we all are at el palacio real.

the seat of the spanish crown
from which 300 years of colonialism in the philippines was conceived. here i've come, to the roots of my ancestry! (sort of.)

el plaza mayor
way too expensive to do anything than just look.

the first of many...
a night out in madrid, enjoying it's bountiful nightlife

plaza de espana
conquistadors in all their glory.

at the feet of don quixote
you couldn't escape him here in madrid

i wish i remembered the name of this restaurant
because it was amazing! it's right off gran via by a couple side streets and it was reccommended by lonely planet. we also got some free drinks, courtesy of our friendly waiter :)

flamenco
the place we saw the show at was called 'ole con ole'!

spanish sunrise
the view from my room. how very hemingway.