More Espana Love From Madrid

Luckily, Madrid is wonderful because the last night in San Sebastian set the standards high! After a sleepless night and train ride back to San Sebastian, we relaxed until the night when we returned to have dinner at El fuego negro. (The place we wanted to have dinner a few nights back - with the cassette tapes- but were unable to.) And we were glad that we returned because it was one of the best meals that we have had. Before we were seated, we met some friends who took the picture left. (So you finally get to see our lovely faces.) When we sat down, the waitress grabbed the menus kindly informing us that we would not be needing them because they would be choosing our meal for us. We were then presented with a series of 8 Tapas, which were some of the most creative dishes we´ve ever tasted. Obviously we were feeling adventurous after running with the bulls. We tasted pork belly and a mixture of crab, avacado and licorice gelato to name a few. You must ask us about this meal when we return, because it would only really be worth a discription in person. Afterwards, we happened to run into some friends from Chile that we met at running with the bulls! We spent the rest of the night hanging out with them by the beach.

So, Madrid! Needless to say, we were quite worn out after all the recent adventures and the train ride south, but we have still managed to treck around the city. You would expect us to be exausted, but running with the bulls has given us a second wind and filled us with an adventurous spirit! The hostel we are in is located in the center, so we have been able to walk everywhere. The highlights have been: The Prado Museum where we saw The Garden of Earthly Delights! (So awesome in person!) The seven story discotec Kapital, where we spent last night dancing away until early morning. The Reina Sofia Museum, filled with Miro, Dali, and Picasso-especially his huge Guernica!

This afternoon after the Reina Sofia, we decided to explore the Latina district, which we had heard was the area to be in. Only to find that this was where we had been the entire 3 days. There is a wonderful market, San Miguel, where we have returned every day for Tapas and Vino. Afterwards, we stumbled upon resturaunt Botin, which was boasted by Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises as one of the best resturaunts in the world. (Can you tell we are obsessed with Hemingway yet?) We decided to eat there, and it truly was one of the best meals we have ever had in our lives. Not only were we able to soak up the auora of Hemingway, but we have now eaten at the World´s oldest resturaunt! (As stated by Guiness Book of World Records) A baby lamb and filet Botin later, we are happy and over budget!

We have had some of the greatest experiences in Spain, so we are kind of sad to leave. But who can be so sad, when tomorrow we are flying to ROME! Italy has seemed a distance dream in our minds for so long, and it is hard to believe that we will be there in about 12 hours! It will also be nice to meet up with Sabrina in Rome and Martina 3 days later in Florence! We have many more adventures to come in Italy and Greece. We are also coming to realize, they will not end in Europe. But we plan for them to continue our entire lives.

So stay tuned. Love, Hall and Liz