Best of First Term - Part 2!

With exams looming and my Dryathlon in full swing I'm guessing nights out are going to be few an far between in the coming weeks. So in some kind of twisted logic I'm going to remind myself of some of my favourite nights out from first term and cling to their memory to get me through these FIVE exams. Yes, FIVE. For a girl who has always managed to escape January exams that is a truly daunting prospect!

PALACE!

Drunkenly roaming the streets in England is one thing but in Madrid, where no one ever really gets truly sozzled you can begin to feel like you're sticking out like a sore thumb. Having failed to get into Joy because of the massive queue we, naturally, decided the only possible following option was churros and chocolate. Thriving off the dirty looks being thrown our way we gobbled up our churros - and may have proceeded to drink a bit of the chocolate, just maybe - we decided we didn't want our night to end there, so with our stomachs settled we set on a quest to find a new club. Within seconds we were pounced upon by promoters far and wide all pleading for our attention and trying to entice us in with tempting offers. In the end we went for the cheapest option with free entry and a free mojito and followed the promoter to a club called Palace. Amazed by how we managed to get such a good deal we quickly ran in before they changed their minds only to find a near empty dancefloor and a couple of old men sat around it watching everyone. Convincing ourselves it would fill up soon we rushed to the bar to claim our free drinks. Sure enough a crowd did slowly filter in and soon we were just making the most of it and created our English/French bubble on the dance fllor allowing no stranger to break our ranks. I can honestly say I have never been stared at so much in my life. I don't know if they'd never seen English people before, or maybe nobody normally dances in that club, but we literally felt like celebrity status had been shone upon us. Random people were asking for photos and it was all just very confusing. Being in such a jovial mood, I foolishly offered to buy everyone a round of shots and even more foolishly blindly refused the money people were thrusting in my face, insisting I wanted to pay...such an error! The night ended with me, Caroline and Mamta running home in the rain all squeezed under one umbrella, entertaining ourselves (well at least me and Caroline) with our best Scottish accents in honor of our honorary flatmate Mamta! Can't say I'll ever be going back to Palace but it's definitely a night I will never forget!

Donjuan x

Is anybody out there?

I'm reaching out to anybody reading this, I think the Mayans got it wrong...I think the end of the world is...TODAY. 

Solid evidence to prove this theory comes in the form of a door, in particular, the door to my flat, which has decided to jam itself shut leaving me stranded with no food or water (ok, there's water but I just wanted to emphasise the severity of the conditions).

So if anyone is reading this and wants to come and give the door a shove from the outside let me know. I've tried pulling it but now the handle is coming off and I'd prefer to lock myself in and keep the strangers out than have an open house for anyone to come and go as they wish (unless they're bringing food). 

On the plus side, this could possibly be the most effective post-Christmas diet I have ever tried....

Donjuan x

Cariño, ya estoy en casa!

Yes, I'm back! 

Yesterday was my last day in England for the holidays and I felt sooooooo sad to be leaving, the two weeks I spent at home literally flew past! Between Christmas with my family, New Years with Azzedine and trying to see as many of my friends as possible I literally had no time to even take in England in all of it's beauty! 

For everyone who kept complaining about how cold England was all winter, I can definitely confirm that Madrid is WAY colder right now! On my eerily empty flight back we descended into thick fog, I was seriously wondering how the pilot could see anything at all because all I could see out the window was grey. I'm so glad I waited until after my flight to watch the new Denzel Washington film because I can't imagine what kind of scenarios my overactive imagination would have been conjuring up otherwise! 

Christmas fun has definitely caught up with me, I was so tired I fell asleep before the plane had even taken off (cue embarassing scene of head bobbing and dribbling). As a result, I got to Barajas a bit disorientated and slightly concerned about the fact I had to follow a rarely signposted route to collect my baggage, I actually had to take a train to get there. After I found my ridiculously heavy case I had the pleasant job of dragging my 30kg of clothes and shoes on the metro. I was outraged at being unable to top up my Abono (railcard) at the airport and instead having to fork out an extra five euros to get home, sly Barajas, sly....

Feels super strange being back, it didn't really feel like I was coming home, I still feel like a visitor right now! I'm sure once I unpack it will all feel more normal. Today will be filled with a lot of cleaning, washing and food shopping, exciting, I know. I'm so looking forward to eating some nice soup I made before I left for Christmas though, don't worry, I froze it before I left! The fact that this will be the highlight of my day probably says a lot about my life right now but I promise it will be more exciting veryyyyy soon!

Keep posted for more of my Best of First Term posts!

Donjuan x

Best of first term

I can't believe first term has gone by so quickly, it seems like just yesterday I was nervously awaiting my first flight out to Spain! It's been an absolutely amazing first few months and I've met loads of lovely people so I've decided to dedicate my next few posts to my favourite moments of first term.

Vladi's Meal

I was somewhat thrown into the deep end when I first arrived in the flat as Megan, who had shown me around and was the only person I really knew, had to go back to England almost as soon as I arrived. Vladi, the guy who looks after the flats, told me he was organizing a meal for all the flatmates across the three flats he's in charge of. I was pretty nervous because I'm always a bit shy when I first meet people but I decided to go along and meet everyone. Luckily mummy Shari was there to look after me! We ended up having a lovely meal with about 20 courses plus wine and it only cost about 14€ each! It was a lovely way to get to know people and was the first time I met Loanna and Koraly! The night ended in Kapital where I managed to nearly get myself stranded as, unaware that it was within walking distance from my flat, I spent my last five euros on a bottle of water. Yes, five euros for a bottle of water. Luckily Holly came to the rescue and I was able to share a taxi back with her!

Look out for more of my favourite memories of first term coming soon, there was far too many for one post! Google Chrome kindly reminded me of this when it decided to go on strike after my first few paragraphs. 

Donjuan x

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013!

I know I have been EXTREMELY quiet over the past month or two but as I mentioned before I've been a bit lost without a camera! I don't want to bore people with paragraph after paragraph (even though my paragraphs are highly entertaining and, more often than not, hilarious). However, fear not avid readers (Dad), I resolute to be more committed to my blogging cause this year. I don't quite know what I'm doing about a camera yet...but I'm sure I can figure that out along the way somehow. 

I'm also going to be using this opportunity to shamelessly promote my first charitable venture - I am becoming a DRYATHLETE! I will be avoiding the temptation of 1 euro wine and 4 euro vodka to raise money for a cause close ot everyone's heart, Cancer Research UK. Cancer affects nearly everyone in some way or another and I think it's an extremely worthwhile cause, even if my sister has deemed the dryathlon as a pathetic way to raise money - apparently it's not challenging enough, clearly she has not spent enough time in Madrid. Here is the link to my just giving page if you find it in your generous hearts to sponsor me! http://www.justgiving.com/dryathlete-amy-donegan

I will be updating you on my progress with the dryathlon...I'm sure my flatmates will be putting in their best efforts to sway me from my cause but I promise I will not be swayed! Also, I'll be on the hunt for either a new phone or camera to make my blog look pretty and interesting again and in the meantime sorry for the essays!

Lotsa looooove

Donjuan x

Special Day

ALSO, and more importantly, today is the mark of one year with my lovely boyfriend. Although he can't be here and I can't be there it's nice to know we made it this far and only 3 weeks until we can celebrate properly. Thanks for putting up with me even though I'm so far away (although maybe that's made it easier for you?!) I love you :) x

Two birds one stone

This is somewhat of a sad post as I'm feeling right now that my blog has come to a complete standstill at the moment but I feel the need to explain why. Some of you will already know this (most likely because of my attention seeking Facebook status) but I got my beautiful little iPhone NICKED during a lovely weekend with my sister, but for full dramatic effect I'm going to tell the story one more time in the hope it might also save someone else from suffering the same dreadful fate!

So there we were, sitting outside the Reina Sofia, basking in a ray of sunlight, something which has been few and far between of late, when we were approached by two hombres asking for money. This is a regular occurrence in Madrid, though is especially annoying when you're sitting in a restaurant enjoying your lunch! They did the usual trick of handing us a piece of paper with their sad story on but, knowing full well we had been targeted for our English voices and touristy feats, we firmly said no. These pesky hombres were persistent though and simply would not leave, my sister, being the braver of the two of us, employed the use of an icy glare whilst I sat trying my best to avoid eye contact. Still persistent in their quest for change one of them actually dropped the paper into our food at which point Lizzie's eyes almost popped out her head and we assumed that this was the reason he took his cue to leave.

Distressed by our experience we decided to leave the cafe and head into the museum and after waiting in line and going through security we proceeded happily into one of the exhibition rooms. With me having the most technologically advanced mobile phone of the two, Lizzie asked if I could write some artists names in my notes and send them to her later but when I went to do so my heart sank as I searched frantically for my better half to no avail. I ran back to security hoping it had got lost in the security scanner, as my bag had ddecided to do a roly poly on it's way through but I was told no and sent to Lost Property. Coming from a line of women who don't do well under pressure and who panic A LOT we ended up running in and out of the museum like headless chickens, resulting in us having to go through security no less than three times!

After it dawned on us that the last time I'd seen my phone was at the restaurant before we were approached we soon realised I'd fallen victim to the Spanish Mafia. I was a bit down but like a trooper I carried on with my day determined not to let it be spoilt by this.

The next day we went to the Police station to report the crime (so I can hopefully claim it on my insurance) which we presumed would be a long and tedious process but was actually made much more interesting by the fact Spanish police look like they've stepped out of an Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie. England definitely cannot compare. As I explained what had happened my action man began to finish my sentences for me; while I'm almost sure this must mean we're soul mates it could also have something to do with the fact that I had been conned with the oldest trick in the book. My phone had clearly been on the table with my view of it obstructed by the dirty piece of paper the thief so generously placed on our dins! There is no other possible explanation because, as I'm sure my mother will agree, my phone does NOT leave my site ever and is, in fact, most of the time glued to my hand. 

So, fellow year abroaders please watch out for this trick because I honestly had no idea until about half an hour later! Anyway, going back to the start, this is the reason my blog has been so quiet of late; my trusty iPhone was the perfect blogging companion - always with me, ready for action, perfect for taking snaps of the sights. I will attempt to find some alternative as soon as possible but if you don't hear from me for a while it's probably because I think posts without pictures and like tea without biscuits...just not right!

It's disappointing this has happened right at the peak of my blogging game as I can proudly say I've finally reached over 1000 views so thank you for everyone reading and I hope you'll patiently stick around for more!

Donjuan x