Flaminko- from the heart

Spain is the epidemy of the term flaminko everything they do is from the heart. Maria and I had a hard time saying goodbye to our friends but it was also the beginning of a new journey. We arrived in Madrid around noon on the 12th an her parents were excitedly awaiting us. They drive us home to Torrelodones, a small town outside of Madrid. Maria's mom being so amazing had prepared a fantastic meal for all of us to share out on their back patio before we settled in for a nap as I have probably had max five hour sleep in the last week. What we had planned to be a short hour long nap turned into a four hour snooze. Groggy but feeling somewhat better we woke up only to meet Maria's friends for dinner at their local mall. The place r we ate at was a tapas bar and we ordered an assortment of sandwiches. More food in our bellies meant time to sleep so we called it a night. Waking up late the next morning we made a beeline for the mountains as the weather couldn't have been more gorgeous. Maria, her two dogs kian and Roland, and I went on a small hike and afterward enjoyed a lovely scenic lunch in the mountains with her parents. They ordered all traditional Spanish food for me to try and wouldn't tell me what some of it was, which was for my own good as we all know I probably wouldn't have eaten it otherwise. Our main course however was lamb and it was so delicious, best lamb I've ever had. Maria had a surprise for me in Madrid and she said we'd be out late so to pack an overnight bag. Not knowing what I was in for as Maria is always unpredictable I prepared for  the world. We bused from her town into Madrid and then took the tube to center town. We enjoyed some Spanish street music as we walked to my surprise. We arrived at ten on the dot to a little local bar and as we sat and ordered sangria I noticed the photos on the wall. I was there to watch flaminko dancing! It was so beautiful and like no other dancing i'd ever seen. The dancers just feel the music and dance through the emotions, they even cried, it was very moving. Maria taught me some things too as she danced flaminko for twelve years. It was such an amazing night and to top it all off we stayed in Madrid at her grandmas old apartment. When we got there I recognized the area right away to be the same as when I was last in Madrid couch surfing, small world. A little too much sangria the night before had us out like a light til late the next day so when we woke up we did some casual shopping and then ate Chinese and napped before heading home. I had been feeling sick with a soar throat so Maria's mom gave me a traditional Spanish remedy, a cloth dipped in special herbs and alcohol that you wrap around your throat to help you breath at night. Well I should have known this trip was going too well because what do you know I reacted to the chemicals on the cloth and ended up with a burn on my neck that looks like either a huge hickey or that someone tried strangling me, awesome. Even worse was how awful Maria's mom felt for giving it to me. Even a huge mark on my neck couldn't keep me away from a mall though so the next morning we went with some friends to a huge new mall in the next town for an all you can eat buffet and to do some shopping before lounging by the pool the rest of the day, what a hard life. And to top it off that night we had pizza, Spanish omelette and ice cream. Saturday, sadly my last day in Spain but probably my favorite because we had another amazing home cooked meal by Maria's mom out on the back patio with the family. Then while mom was in the kitchen and dad was working in the yard (would be the other way around for me back home with dad in the kitchen and mom in the garden) us kids played a couple games of wild rummey, just reminded me how much a miss being at home doing the same things with my family. Another gorgeous day couldnt be wasted so Maria took me into Madrid to rent a row boat on the lake in one of the parks. She rowed while I tanned, not that I didn't try to row it's just that we never got anywhere when I did. Afterwards we got a characturist to draw a photo of u together, something neither of us had ever done. Honestly I didn't think the day could get any better but I should never doubt that when with Maria. She took me to dinner for tapas one last time and tapas are always in need of sangria. We tipsily took the bus home and enjoyed a couple episodes of friends before drifting to sleep. Our goodbye the following day at the airport wasn't sad because we've had such a great time together on this trip and throughout the year. Not to mention I'll be seeing her soon in August when she comes to Canada and I get to show her the ropes.