Atleti, Atleti, Atletico Madrid!

It's just completely ridiculous how long it took us to get to a futbol match while we've been here, but my dreams finally came true a few weeks ago. La Liga, the top Spanish league, has two strong teams in Madrid - Real Madrid and the little brother Atletico de Madrid. Tickets to Real Madrid will put one back about 100 euros, so we decided to go to an Atletico match with one of our friends Chris who really loves this team. The game we saw was pretty special as Atletico was trying to clinch a spot in next year's Champions League tournament as well as play their last home game for the season. Estadio de Vincente Calderon was packed to the gill and the fans, well fanatics is more appropriate, were in full effect with jerseys and team scarfs. They sang before, during, and after the game. It was so great! Atletico ended up winning 1-0, were 4th in La Liga, and received a spot in the Champions League. The Champions League is a European tournament that sports each country's best professional teams, so its awesome Atletico will be playing next year. The atmosphere will definitely be missed. There is seriously nothing like it in the States and my camera does no justice to what we saw. A packed stadium with crazy fans chanting their teams songs for hours, an immaculate, huge field, a high quality game with international stars, and some beer is probably the most beautiful thing to these eyes next to the natural beauty of the mountains. It was so great!!

Pics here and vids below

Atleti, Atleti, Atletico Madrid! More Chants!

Galicia with Kelly Rose and Karina!

The Northwest part of Spain is much like the Northwest of the States - green and lush, cloudy skies, and fantastic seafood. Some have even compared it to Ireland with its landscape and Celtic feel (music and history). One of my dearest friends, Kelly, flew out to see us and journeyed with Karin and I up to Galicia for a girls weekend that proved for all three of us to be very refreshing time for our hearts. Timmy stayed behind with the hopes of kickin the ball around and catching up on some reading and regaining his manhood after 8 months of almost all female companions. Incredible and memorable weekend for all...

The roadtrip was beautiful. The great thing about being located in the middle of Spain is that we can get to pretty much all of the coasts within 6 hours, give or take. Our first stop landed us in Baiona, where we walked on the shores and visited the Parador there. (Paradores are historic Spanish sites like castles, monasteries, etc. that the government so wisely converted into nice hotels). We never stay at these pricey Paradores, but we always tour them because they have proven to be worth a look. We then headed to O'Grove, our home for the weekend, where we stayed right on the shore and got to see people clamming every morning! This place perfectly suited us for some heart to heart girl talks, quiet mornings reading by the ocean with cafe con leche in hand, and 1am Spanish style meals...man, what a sweet time in life! And what amazing women to travel it with.

Much of our time there was spent in the car as we buzzed around the province seeking out places that caught our attention. Such places were Pontevedra (chowin' down on delish mussels and tortilla espanola), Santiago de Compostela (famous for being "the location of the apostle James' bones" and the place where thousands pilgrimage to each year on a spiritual quest), Cabo Ortegal (a GORGEOUS lookout on the capes, waves and hills covered in yellow flowers), Ourense (home to some hot springs and dirty old men in trunks), and Canon do Sil (we had lunch on a path near a monastery turned Parador on the top of this vegetated canyon). That is it in a nutshell.

Kelly is a professional photographer, so I think her pics will do more justice to the scenery and experiences than my words. The time with these honeys was a breath of fresh air for me - as they encouraged me and loved on me - and getting to do this with breathtaking surroundings was a true gift. Thank you friends. I need you in my life!

Check out Kelly's amazing pics here (there are more pics to come. Kel took a few too many good ones; I didn't have time to filter through all it's coolness as of yet).

Amor...
Cor

Visitors and Mucha Caca!

Since writing last month, Cor and I have entered the time of visitors while here in Spain. This means two things: 1. Tons of fun and ham eating! 2. An indication that we're leaving for the States in just 5 weeks! Wow!

Two weeks ago already, my sister and her family arrived in the southern Spanish town of Cadiz, but after a lot of effort. Chris, Jen, and Cole had hoped to catch a military hop on Sunday, April 20th, but didn't actually get on a flight until Tuesday. We didn't see them until Wednesday after they drove 6 hours from Cadiz. My bro-in-law is in the Air Force. Anyways, they were troopers to say the least...flying, driving, running in/around Madrid, returning to Cadiz the following Sunday and flying back to Virginny Monday morning at like 3am. All this finishing with a sick nephew and pukey puke for 15 hours while they made the trip home.

Our 4 year old nephew, Cole, was mesmerized by the language and did his best playing with some kids as a mute, shaking his head and smiling to everything they said. He was in heaven grubbing on churros and chocolate at the famous Churreria in Madrid. He's possibly the cutest nephew in the world. No longer a baby though as he's quickly turning into a little boy. It's amazing how fast they grow up.

We visited a castle in Segovia one day and were confronted by this conspiracy of birds. It all started when checking out the surrounding views at a nice vantage point in the castle, when this giant bird dropping splattered on Cor's head and ran down her face. It had to have come from a condor or something because it was huge and disgusting. The look on her face was hysterical. A couple from Germany was cracking up with the rest of us. The conspiracy continued that afternoon while we were having lunch at a cafe in one of the many plazas. We were taking in some sun and cerveza and another dookie dropped on Jenny's hand, the same hand she was holding her fork with and eating salad. At that moment it seemed we were all hyper-aware of everything coming from the sky and it seemed like things were falling every couple of minutes. We realized eventually that the awning above us was acting as a gutter for bird nuggets, directing all the goodness right near Chris' head. It was pretty gross. Continuing with conspiracy fact #3. Cole was devouring his cup of chocolate (well we all were, but he was funny to watch) and, again, we were enjoying some sun in a secluded part of Madrid, amid the high-rising pisos and tricky streets of the area, minding our own business, and "splat", another bird bum nugget! This time on Jenny's arm...check out the pic link for proof. Unbelievable. At this point we just shook our heads in disbelief. The conspiracy has continued since the Kretsingers left...I was sitting in a park last Monday afternoon, eating my lunch in a park on the only park bench that was shaded by some trees, and burning a few minutes until my next class started at an office building nearby. I had just taken a bite of bread when more caca (Spanish for poop) found its way to the middle of my head. I sat there in disbelief, using a piece of the bread wrapper to wipe the splatter off my head.

Overall, their trip was quick but full of a lot of experiences. Chris and I loved the kebabs, we ate our share of aceitunas, had an amazing lunch in Patones de Arriba, and checked out Retiro Park on a super warm day. It has since gotten rainy and cold again! It was great to see them and we were grateful for the determination in coming out to see us. The bird conspiracy has become something to laugh about for sure. The weather has been pretty fickle in April and May, but the fam lucked out with some clear skies and warm days. We're hoping for the same when Cor's parents arrive.

A few pics here!