Lovin' Madrid, between travels

So this week was shorter class wise for me (classes only Wednesday and Thursday), but I had to pop on and tell you about a few things before my plane leaves for Lisbon this afternoon ...

Tuesday, Elena and I went over to her brother's house for dinner - which was great! Her brother seems like a really good guy (he's her closest sibling). I'd only met him briefly before so it was fun to spend more time with him. He and his wife also have an American student staying with them. Paul is 23 and from Chicago ... and he said his biggest struggle with Spanish is that the Japanese he learned is getting in the way. I was impressed. We had pizza for dinner (BBQ and white pizza) and Elena brought microwavable chocolate claiente for dessert. Yum! It was neat to meet more of her family. He sister-in-law is chatty and loves House and True Blood which was funny. He brother was a perfect gentleman and I can see why he and Elena get along so well. Also, during dinner they Elena and her sister-in-law kept having the "my American kid is better than your American kid" joke argument ... which was cute (Paul and I decided to declare it a draw). It was a really fun dinner.

Thursday, I had 2 neat arts experiences. In the afternoon with my art class I went to the Sorollo museum. Sorollo was a Spanish painter who was influenced by Impressionism and actually developed his own sort of style: Illuminism. His paintings were awesome to see in real life because the brushwork is so neat. Also, the museum is actually located in the rooms of his old house. It's neat to see the paintings displayed and then see the studio from whence they came. I've decided I really like his style. I was a little surprised not to have heard of him before but now that I have I'll be sure to look for his works when I visit museums. I always like impressionist-like painters. There's something about the construction of a image out of solid (un-smoothed) brushtrokes of color that intrigues me. I'm a new fan of Sorollo's work - playful yet elegant.

Then Thursday night I went to see El alcalde de Zalamea (The Mayor of Zalamea) with John for my Golden Age Lit class. It was a bit of a language challenge (as it was written in verse) but I read the summary before and after so I think I've got it now. The performance was excellent. It was at a theatre here in Madrid that only puts up classical works (similar in many ways to a Shakespeare theatre back home). The Golden Age was a shining era for Spanish theatre - playwrights with the likes of Calderon de la Barca and Lope de Vega. I was excited enough to be studying this (because I love to study theatre) but seeing a staged show was wonderful. It's been a while since I've seen a play and I miss it. So glad I could go!

Madrid is a wonderful city to come back to. I always feel a little sense of "being home" when I return after traveling. I'm going to miss it when I leave in December. Sidenote: 4 weeks 2 days left in Europe. The time is truly racing!