Toledo para Corpus Cristi

Hello everyone!
Sorry for my short leave of absence...yesterday was tremendously exhausting and I ended up sleeping for 13 hours (those red eyes finally caught up with me!)

Wednesday night was the pub crawl..it was definitely an experience. I had a lot of fun getting to know some of the girls better and it's always fun to dance the night away.

On Thursday during the day I went to Toledo with a few friends I met in class. Toledo is an amazing city 30 minutes outside Madrid. It sits on top of a hill and is one of the oldest cities in Spain. We were there for the holiday Corpus Crisit so the city was packed with tourists there to see the parade and celebrate the holiday. After lunch we ventured into the Cathedral which was indescribably beautiful- no picture can do it justice. The rest of the time we just wandered in the beautiful old cobblestone streets. It reminded me alot of what I believe Italy too look like, and luckily one of my friend's who is Italian, was able to confirm my suspicions. After we got back we went back into the city center for a mojito & tapas.

Today, I made the mistake of using my new cell phone as an alarm clock and instead of getting up early to explore the city, I slept till 1 in the afternoon! However, my body needed the rest. After class I went with a few girls to have "vino de verano" (red wine & lemonade) in the parque de oriente across from Palacio Real. As for tonight, my big plans consist of catching up on some American tv on my computer. However tomorrow we are visiting Toledo- another ancient city outside of Madrid- so I will need my rest.

(Interesting fact: It was the marriage of Fernando of Segovia and Isabella of Toledo that united Spain in 1469- not only am I learning the language but the history as well, mom you should be proud!)

xoxo,

Kacy

El Palacio Royal

The more time I spend in the city, the more I fall in love with it. Today has been my best day so far. This morning I stumbled upon some amazing neighborhoods while exploring el centro. I took so many amazing photos...so sad I can not share them! After I looked around the incredible Plaza Mayor, I stopped for cafe con leche & a crossiant in the mercado san miguel- a historic market that is filled with wonderful tapas & bebidas. After looking around the palace gardens, I went on a tour of the palace with some students from school. It was incredible & elaborate to say the least. I also made some more friends (who are NOT from Cincinnati- which at this school is rare) and went with them to Parque Oeste after the tour. It has a beautiful view of the rural areas surrounding Madrid. The park also has an ancient Egyptian temple they transplanted brick by brick to Madrid. Tonight we are doing a bar crawl which everyone has been raving about since i have been here. Needless to say, I am a little afraid! Tomorrow we have the day off for Corpus Cristi and I will be visiting the nearby city of Toledo. I hate keeping these so short but it's difficult to find time even to write this!

xoxo,

Kacy

Impressionists & Vino

Today has been so lovely. I spent the morning browsing the museo thyssen-bornemisza. It had a lot of impressionist art as well as some of Picasso's earlier pieces. I wore my "Spain" pants I bought yesterday at an outdoor market (there are essentially genie pants and are INSANELY popular here) and everyone thought I was "una hispanola". After the museum, I walked around and took pictures of the amazing buildings in the Museum district. I will definitely have to go back next week to explore more! Classes were the same as usual- mundane in many ways. When I came home, I talked with my homestay mom for almost an hour about all the things I have to do while I am in Madrid. Needless to say, I am throughly excited about the day trips I have planned to Segovia, Toledo, & Sevillla. However, tonight I am headed to a bar with over 300 beers to choose from (we meant to go last night but ended up falling asleep...go figure!) Tomorrow I am planning on wandering the "centro" as well as visiting the Royal Palace.

hasta manana!

Kacy

Mi primera clase

Today was my first official day of class. While I thought I would end up with morning classes like a majority of the students, I unfortunately was stuck with classes in the afternoon. Even though at first I was disappointed, now I embracing having the mornings off to roam around the city. After our tour this morning, I made an incredibly long list of all the places I must visit while I am here. Luckily, I have mastered the metro system and also discovered that most of the museums are free at certain hours.

Seeing the Palacio Real and various "centres" surrounding downtown Madrid was indescribable. What I love most about this city (besides the people, food, & my homestay) is how every inch is dripping with history. The only thing I am truly disappointed about is that I forgot my camera cord so I will unfortunately not be able to share any photos. Tomorrow I should have more exciting things to write about, but right now, I must take my "siesta" before I head out for my first night in Madrid!

xoxo,

Kacy

Summer Bucket List

While Kacy is off exploring exotic Spain, I am spending the summer at home in northern California. Although I don't have the advantage of the unknown and the charm of Europe on my side, there is plenty to do locally, and so I have made a summer bucket list to keep track of all my little goals.

1. Organize family photos

2. Make lavender ice cream

3. Learn photoshop

4. Indoor sky diving (my mother gave me a gift certificate for this ages ago, and of course I have yet to use it)

5. Take a cooking/baking class

6. Ride bikes at the baylands and pack a picnic

7. Read 12 books (currently on number 5!)

8. Go to Edgewood Eats- a local food truck event

9. Walk my dog at least 5 times a week

10. Go on a boat ride

11. Master my makeup ritual

12. Have sparklers on 4th of July

13. Blog more (obviously!)

Even though I have been working like crazy, I am hoping to be able to find the time to accomplish everything on my list. I made a point to not include anything work or school related- just carefree, quintessential summer activities. What is on your list for the summer?

Jenna

Bienviendos a España

The past 24 hours have been a flurry of events that have left me exhausted. After a 4 hour delay on my flight to New York, I arrived with literally minutes to spare to the matinee production of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway. For all of you who have heard the hype around this show, the new revamped version was incredible. I highly recommend it to anyone. After the show we had just enough time to grab a drink at the Mariott and an all-american dinner of burgers and fries in Hell's Kitchen. After frantically running around JFK and maneuvering the maze known as the "airtrain", I finally made it to terminal 4 for my flight to Madrid. Only when I got to the gate did I realize I was one of maybe 3 passengers who were American on the fight. I was thrown into using my Spanish even before I left the states.

The journey to Madrid was incredibly smooth and painless. When I arrived at my house family's flat in downtown Madrid, I was again amazed by house blessed I have been when it comes to host families. I feel like I am staying in a 5 star resort complete with pool and laundry service! My host mother is incredibly warm and friendly and immediately made me feel at home. There are also 2 girls from Cincinnati staying in the house with me who were gracious enough to show me around town. After a little relaxing by the pool (which felt heavenly), we headed to the famous Buen Retiro Park which puts even Central Park to shame. We spent the afternoon wandering the various winding paths as well as catching up with some friends they had met earlier in the week. And, not to boast or anything, but so far I have had numerous compliments on my Spanish speaking skills (hey, I worked hard to brag about this!)

By far the greatest surprise I have received so far on my trip is the internet access in my homestay which will make staying in touch with my family (and blogging of course!) that much easier. I am so excited to see what the next month has in store for me...but right now all I can think about is sleep!
xoxo,
Kacy

Empire State

Hello friends!

For those of you who have come to expect more lifestyle & fashion related posts here on Indulgent Ambition, over the next 6 weeks I will being using the blog as a travel diary. I thought there would be no better way to share all of my experiences in Spain & France than through the wonderful blog world. However, before I get to Madrid, I will be spending a bittersweet 12 hours in my beloved New York City. While I am dreading two back to back red eyes in a row (I know...I'm crazy!), the thought of an entire day wandering the city streets instead of being cooped up in JFK left me with no other choice! I can not wait to share some pictures of the city in all it's summer glory, as well as some initial pictures of my first encounter with the lovely country known as España!

xoxo,

Kacy