Alright, a little behind so I’ll try to remember what I can, will be a little scattered.

Friday:
Angelita has a new grandson! My caracolles choreography was going well and I managed to get a nap in before jumping on the high speed train to Madrid. 2.5 hours and tada! In Madrid! I managed to recognize my 4x removed cousin Angel, that I hadn’t seen in 18 years, who had come to meet me. (we share the same great-great-great grandparent) We had some proper tapas with his mom, Nieves, and Pepe and he got me settled into his super sweet flat in Valdemoro, just outside of Madrid. It’s one of the locations I have fond memories of from my last visit, as does my mom, who had spent her summers there growing up just as I had spent mine in Sylvan Lake. We called it an early night as we were both quite tired from the week’s exertions. (he’s one of the civil engineers responsible for Spain’s wicked transportation system)

Saturday:
Woke up at a leisurely hour and popped downstairs for breakfast before jumping on the train to Madrid. We went to the center which had the crowds I was expecting in India, almost as bad as WEM on boxing day but we managed to see some of the places I don’t remember from the last time I was here. There was a feria happening so there were lots of people dressed up and at one point I heard a familiar rhythm being played on castenets and came across dancers doing the jota that I had danced when I was 8, a traditional dance from the north. We stopped at his favorite people-watching pub for a beer and later on went for lunch in one of the trendy neighbourhoods. Full of food and with no plans until later, we went back to Valdemoro for a siesta.

We woke up a touch later then expected, got dressed for a night out and went back to Madrid to eat at his friend Pepa’s. I tried not to make a pig of myself but the bread here is so good as is everything else. There is definitely some mediterranean blood in me! We watched the downtown feria craziness on the news and when we figured the chaos was winding down, Angel and I said our goodbye’s to our lovely host, Pepa, and went off on our adventure. We went to his typical evening-starting pub and started with the whisky while we people watched and waited to see who of his friends would end up joining us. Gonzalo showed up to rescue us from the people we had been talking to and were starting to get too drunk for their own good. From there we went to a place called Gris and had a few more and chatted for a good while and just when I thought the night was over (by Canadian standards) we went to Elastica which was wicked awesome and we all danced our asses off. Apparently the music usually sucks but tonight we had a special treat and we only left the dance floor to replenish our alcoholic fuel. It was a great night and it was more than pleasant to find how well Angel and I connected after so long and I don’t think I could ever let 18 years pass between us again.

Sunday:
Had another good sleep in and Angel was cursing himself a little over not following my lead on breaking up the previous evenings beverages with the occasional water but his head was fine after a beer and some tapas on his patio. We went to visit his grandma and great aunt who still live in one of the few traditional homes left in the area, just as I remember it but with less people (though it will be full of people I suspect when I go again with my mom soon) It was fantastic to see how well the ladies were doing as they’re both octogenarian’s now and still independant. We went into the city for lunch with more of his friends, I wasn’t able to say much but I’m finding I quite enjoy observing conversations to see how much I can understand. We then went for coffee and had to endure clowns honking and yelling while the entertaining discussions continued. I sadly had to go back to the train station and leave the fantastic weekend behind but made myself feel better by starting to figure out the plans for my return to India. It’ll still be monsoon so I’ll have to find a raincoat!

Monday:
Managed to survive my first dance class though tired and a little sick. Missed my second one after getting some meds and getting completely lost but decided to continue wandering and enjoy it instead of rushing to try and get unlost. Had a nap and went to my evening classes. The end.

Tuesday:
Went to classes, had a nap, went to more classes. Somehow ended up demonstrating Suryanamaskars in my last class, downward dog in flamenco shoes is a little weird. Regina from class treated me to dinner and her company after class. The end.

Wednesday:
The city was very colorful today for a feria here, the dresses being quite different and the bulls are HUGE compared to the ones I saw in India. Managed to not get run over by the caravans on my way to my first class with Mercedes Ruiz who was covering for Manuel who was on vacation. We started a new allegrias with her and she too has her own unique style that I quite like, lots of twisty knee stuff! I made my way through the caravans again to get to the Corte Ingles tech division and picked up an external drive, I decided I didn’t like the idea of trusting CD’s in my pack and risking lost mail packages so this way I can consolidate everything into one small package that I can carry on my person when I’m traveling about. Once my day of dancing was complete, I started to look ahead to the rest of my trip and started culling the items I intended to ship home. Also did a little maintenance with a sewing needle as the weight loss, though not huge, had made my bikini top a little too dangerous so I made it a little safer.

Thursday:
It’s hot now. As in 41 degrees kinda hot. And there’s no AC in the Castellar studio. I think Angelita was trying to kill us today, brutal, yet awesome. Nothing like being drenched from dancing until your body’s about ready to give out, it’s better than hot yoga! Oh, and I’m officially off the bandaids today, yay! There’s parts of my toes that no longer have sensation but there are no new wounds and my dance shoes are more comfortable than my Merrel’s now. I went and picked up a proper flamenco dress finally, it’s nice and loud and I’ll post a pic soon. I spent some time that night with the internets and started consolidating all my photos (you may or may not have seen some colorful language about it in my tweets and status) The cafe owner who is now quite used to me, treated me to some very tasty ham he was having for dinner. Meat is good, especially the kind where bacon comes from, also a sign of my western Mediterraneaness.

General updates:
Style: starting to think the clothing fashion is determined by Rajesthan, not Italy as there are droopy balloon pants everywhere I look, India, Turkey, now Spain. Some can pull it off, most cannot, especially when made with denim. Lots of hip belts, these have been around for years for us festival goers, they’re pretty mainstream here though. Style I cannot understand; dread mullets. Why? There may be a handful that look exceptionally good but the copycats look exceptionally stupid.

Books: I ran out and am REALLY glad I got the classics app for the Ipod before I left, I’ve read Alice in Wonderland, Alice through the Looking Glass, Huckleberry Finn and am now on Dracula. If my mom doesn’t bring me anything to read, I’ll be on the Iliad before I get to english land.

Personal notes: My brother is settled back in Canada after his journey and is going to school for degree number 2 in Victoria. My sister is moving to CHINA within days of my return. That’s forever away so it really sucks but it will be a great experience for all of them. (yes my favorite little people are part of this package deal :( And for not good news, a family member has been in the ICU for a couple weeks and is very ill. The only thing I can do from this far is to ask you all to consider donating blood if you are able, it comes in handy.