Hay Pavos Reales en el Campo

Okay, so we missed the biggest snowstorm of the decade. Sort of disappointing, but I'm coping with it. It's about 60 degrees here today (I think I even got a freckle or two), which is a lot more satisfying than a snow day. Take that, Milwaukee.

We don't have class on Wednesdays, so a bunch of us decided to take advantage of our free day this week. We went to El Escorial, which is a monastery in the mountains about an hour outside of Madrid. I had learned about this place in my cultures class last semester, so I was really excited to go. It totally surpassed my expectations. The whole thing was absolutely gorgeous, including the village that surrounded it. Inside was more like a museum, with original paintings, furniture, and deceased royalty throughout. Yes, dead bodies - royal dead bodies - rest inside El Escorial in the Royal Pantheon. It was creepy in a way but more interesting than anything.

What wasn't interesting were the two spiders that attacked me during our visit. I'd rather not elaborate - the memories are too painful.

The view from El Escorial was amazing. No tengo palabras para describirlo, so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

El Escorial

Inside

Village

I'm very intrigued by Madrid in general because of how well the city is integrated with green things. There are countless parks and gardens here in the city, all mixed together in a way that I never could have imagined. Éste lugar es lo más bonito del mundo.

Today on my way home from school, I finally made it into the other park by my piso (which conveniently has a name - El Campo del Moro). The fence blocked out almost all of the noise from the street, so walking through it was very serene and relaxing. Pienso que es mi nuevo lugar favorito en Madrid.

Did I mention the peacocks? No, I don't think I did. I literally stumbled across a family of peacocks while walking through el Campo. Not in a cage, not like a petting zoo. They were just walking around like they owned the place. I was totally shocked. As I stood there staring at them, I kept saying out loud to myself, "Oh my god, I can't believe this." I even got a little bit scared because the big one (I think it was a male) was quivering and fluffing its feathers. I knew this meant that he was either getting ready to mate or getting ready to attack, but I couldn't remember which. Either way, I didn't want to find out. I waited by a bush until I saw a woman and her toddler approaching the scene. I figured the peacocks were more likely to attack the kid than me, so when they passed by without a problem I continued on my way. I'm still in shock, though, that there are wild peacocks in Madrid. That is something that I was definitely not expecting.

Scary

How lucky am I? Honestly, this whole thing is like a dream. I am still adjusting to the fact that I'm going to be in Europe for the next few months, but school starting has unfortunately helped bring me back to reality. There have definitely been some good days and bad, but I am thankful for every moment that I have had here. There is some pressure to make sure that I see everything worth seeing and go everywhere worth going, but I have a sense that I can turn any experience into something worthwhile, given the right mindset.

Estoy feliz.