The Blitz...

This last week and a half has been great, but at the same time I have 2 1/2 weeks of class left, with my finals shortly after. I have been preparing for finals and semester projects for the last few weeks, but now it´s crunch time. This last week my mom and aunt came to Madrid to see me. It was awesome having family in Madrid and going to their apartment every night to unwind, chat, and have dinner together. During their stay, we were able to see so much together- the main museums, Retiro Park, and even have dinner with my host family. Thursday morning, i went to a government building with the school to have my appointment for my residence visa. The appointment went smoothly after i had to leave to get better pictures with more white space from a booth down the street. The legal work done, I was able to go back to my mom and aunt´s apartment to spend the day with them.  Back in September, we had planned to spend a day in Segovia, but when we arrived at the train station to get our tickets, all of the trains were full until three hours later. We quickly changed our plans and hopped on a train for El Escorial, an enormous palace/monastery, about 1 1/2 hours from Madrid on the Cercanias commuter train. El Escorial was amazing, nestled in the mountains and filled with hundreds of rooms. We spent the entire afternoon there, amazed by the Basilica, royal crypt, and library, grabbed some food from a local market and hopped on the bus that drives passengers from the train station up the strenuous hill to the bus station within walking distance to El Escorial. We were planning on buying our tickets and having a late lunch on the platform while waiting for the next train, when we couldn´t understand the time tables and went to the attendant to ask for the next train to Madrid. He looks at us and taps on the glass that separates us, there was hung a paper stating that the next train to Madrid left at 5:15, we immediately looked at our watches- it was exactly 5:15. In a rush of English, Spanish, and exaggerated hand gestures, we asked if we could make the train and he immediately printed 3 tickets for us. We quickly exchanged the euros, ran through the turnstiles, up the stairs, and onto the platform where the train was blowing its warning whistle. My aunt and i were about to hop onto the train, when we turned to find that my mother was not with us. The stairs down to the station were empty, and the seconds we waited passed slowly, the whistle blew again and i quickly ran down the stairs to find that she had only just got through the turnstile, her ticket having been demagnetized. We quickly threw ourselves onto the train, just as the door closed, and the train started on the trek back to Madrid. We snacked on the train, arriving in Atocha that night. We quickly made our way to the Starbucks by the Reina Sofia, and made plans to go shopping and to see Retiro Park. The next day, i easily signed up for classes via MY SUFFOLK and spent the last day with my family shopping and chatting. The weekend was spent getting ready for final projects and finals...