I've gone to and from Madrid 4 times in the two and a half months that I've been in Spain, and will go back and forth at least twice more before Christmas. Even though I've spent about as much time there as in Barcelona, I haven't spent longer than a week at a time in Madrid. True story.

Gazpacho and me, perfect together

This is me and Josh with some Gazpacho. Gazpacho was featured prominently in an episode of the Simpsons, where Lisa offers it as a vegetarian alternative to people enjoying her dad's BBQ. Barney tells her to go back to Russia. It is basically a cold tomato soup and you can buy it in cartons at the supermarket.

Josh is a very nice guy from Santa Cruz, CA who let me stay with him in Madrid for nearly a month, and for nearly no rent. Actually, that's not quite true, it was a month and a half, but 20 of those days I was in Gredos or Valdelavilla.

You can decide for yourselves whether he looks more like Sean Penn, a young Christopher Walken, or Ed Norton. I used to say Sean Penn, now I'm in the Walken camp.

Wow, it'd be neat if those were all three pieces of a large panaromic view, huh? Well...it's not. The first is the manmade pond in the middle of the Parque del Buen Retiro, which is sort of like New York's Central Park but with less crackheads. I think.

The second is the Puerta de Alcalá, and is extremely significant for reasons that I was told about 10 years ago in Spanish and that I have since forgotten. However, they love arches in Madrid. Love 'em. Maybe I'll put together a thrilling arch montage when I go back.

The third probably would be more interesting at a higher resolution: it's a picture taken at the Plaza Colón, "Colón" being how they say "Columbus" in Spanish ("Crístobal" is Christopher. No joke). The big stone thing is an abstract monument to Columbus they put up for one of the anniversaries of his getting lost on his way to Asia. The brown smudge (or the white one, I forget) against the yellow building in the background is a statue of Columbus.

Space Needle Apartment Building

These are a few sundry pics from Barcelona that didn't deserve their own page...
Barclona Museum of Modern Art A Pretty Fence

These were taken in Barcelona at the end of July, before I went off to Madrid to do the Gredos program. One is of the outside of the Barcelona Museum of Modern Art, and the other is...a fence near the Barcelona Museum of Modern Art. Yes, I was trying to be artistic.

¡Oh Dear!

I would like to respectfully dedicate this to all the British people I've met since I came to Spain. Lipton had a major advertising campaign and in July these posters were everywhere in Barcelona. The translation is more or less "This guy doesn't know what a real tea is." Notice the monocle flying from his face. I wish I could have one of these posters in my bedroom...wherever that ends up being.

Me with Two Americans! Whoo!
Finally, this pic, which dates back to July and my TESOL days. Andrew was one of my roommates for the month, an extremely well-travelled Bostonian who is finishing up this year at Millbury in Vermont. Jill, Californian attending UC Davis, and was only 18 at the time this picture was taken - she finished her first year of college and then decided to go do an intensive course for teaching English in Spain. Craziness.

(Yes, I should have worn a blue shirt so we could be more patriotic. And/or French)