I spent my labor day weekend in Austin, catching up with some of my study abroad friends that I had not seen in a year. It was refreshing to see familiar faces and recount memorable stories of our summer in the Mediterranean. We spent the afternoon shopping and dining along South Congress and went out in the evenings to experience the Austin nightlife.
the weekend kicked off with a heartbreaking football game
under the friday night lights of Waco, TX.
well worth the long wait on a Saturday afternoon
this restaurant has a good Mexican breakfast menu that won't break the bank
unusual drinks: raspberry mint tea martini & avocado margarita
Ayesha, Bonnie, Me & Landry
After our mini SAS reunion, Bonnie & I headed to Lake Travis to soak up the sun with my roommate at her lake house. As we were driving toward Spicewood, I said, "I'm surprised there haven't been more wildfires out in the Hill Country like in East Texas. It's so dry here. It would be horrible on a day like this, with all the wind." It couldn't have been more than ten minutes later that we reached the top of a hill and spotted a steady chain of grey smoke building up in the cloudless blue sky.
We enjoyed a few blissful hours at the lake house, laying out in the sun by the pool. And then our weekend took an unexpected turn when the power went out and we were forced to evacuate. As we all took the long route out of town in a caravan of vehicles, we passed the wildfire which had made its way right up to the main road, only a couple of miles from the house. We ended up spending our last night in Austin and going out on Sixth Street, which is not too bad for having just fled the scene of a wildfire.
Austin skyline at night
Bonnie, Rebecca, Me, Brittany, & Lauren
our first glimpse of the wildfire as we were driving in
new water restrictions in Austin go into effect today
It's been nothing but hot & sunny since my return to TX (in Fahrenheit and Celsius)
It makes me sad to see Texas, the land that I love, burning from border to border. Driving back to Fort Worth, I noticed that the sky seemed a little less clear than normal, tainted by the smoke of thousands of acres burning--so much smoke that it is visible to the astronauts in space. Where there was once green pastures and crops is now as brown and dry as a Triscuit cracker. Lakes have been reduced to the size of rivers. Cattle have nothing to graze on. A home is being destroyed every four minutes. It seems ironic that I spent an entire three months in Germany resenting the constant rain from preventing me from enjoying a new country, and now it is the one thing that can save Texas from this natural disaster. Although the temperatures have dropped significantly, it does not look like there is precipitation in the forecast for the next week. I can only pray that God might send some of that Saarland rain down here. We certainly could use it.
I was lucky enough to visit my friends in Madrid before flying back to Houston earlier this month. Getting to the airport was an experience to say the least. With two suitcases and a carry on, I traveled from the main train station in Saarbrücken to a tiny town called Kirn. Fortunately, I met a nice German soldier there who helped me carry my bags up the stairs. After a thirty minute wait, I transferred my luggage to a bus that went directly to the Frankfurt-Hahn airport. Don't be confused by the name though; it's not actually located in Frankfurt (that would be Frankfurt International.) No. No. Frankfurt Hahn is in the middle of nowhere, Germany. But I really enjoyed my last ride through the small villages of the German countryside, even if I was sitting in the luggage area with my feet propped up on my suitcases to prevent them from rolling all over the bus.
When I finally arrived to Madrid that evening (after a ridiculous wait and having to dispose 5 kg worth of my suitcase contents to meet the strict Ryan Air regulations), Jesus and Diego were waiting for me with a sign in hand. I've always wanted someone to pick me up at the airport with a sign, so I was really excited! (I would insert a picture here of Diego, Jesus, Ludivine, and me with the aforementioned sign, except airport security made me delete it. How sad that we live in a world where taking a picture of a joyous reunion is considered a threat to security.) But words cannot describe how happy I was to see my friends again--I had missed them so much.
We all got into Diego's car and drove to a spot that had a great overlook of the city. We climbed up the hill, sat down in the grass, and watched the sun set over Madrid. It was a perfect moment. Then we went to Diego's house where I met his sweet parents and struggled to communicate with them as we snacked on olives and drank Coca Cola on their balcony. We ate bocadillos for dinner and then met up with Diego's cousin, David, at a discotheca named Penelope where we danced the night away.
The next day was spent in the mountains of Sierra de Guadarrama, just 30 miles northwest of Madrid. In the afternoon we toured El Escorial which is a huge monastery that also used to be a royal palace. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you can spend an entire day visiting the art gallery, architectural museum, gardens, and royal tombs. We admired the view of the monastery from La Silla de Felipe II and then found our own rock to climb onto and silently watch the beautiful, warm Spanish sun disappear behind the mountains.
Yes, I actually climbed that boulder in those sandals. Be impressed.
After taking a break at Diego's second home in the mountains, we got ready for another late night out. The five of us went to a street fiesta that was not too far from the monastery we had seen earlier in the day. Afterwards, we went to a house party at the home of one of Diego's friends. The home was up in the mountains, where the air was chillier and the stars looked close enough to reach up and grab. The socializing took place in the backyard where his friend has set up a makeshift bar and was playing all the latest Spanish hits. I enjoyed getting to meet new people and watch others interact in a very real environment. It was a lot of fun getting to experience a part of the culture that many visitors do not get to see.
It's a good thing we did not have a busy day planned for Sunday. We ended up sleeping in really late, since we didn't arrive to Jesus' home in Leganes until after 7:00 am from our night out in the mountains. Jesus had already planned a big meal for us, so we enjoyed the entire afternoon in the sun--eating delicious Spanish foods and swimming in the pool. It was just what the doctor ordered after weeks of rain and clouds in Germany.
Jesus' adorable dog, Sara
In the evening, we drove to the center of Madrid where we walked around and saw some of the monuments at night. We also ordered tapas in Plaza Mayor, which is where I ate dinner a year ago with my TCU friends on my one night in Madrid. It was cool to be back a year later and realize how much I have changed and experienced in just a year's time.
Monday was filled with sightseeing. We visited Palacio Real de Madrid (the largest palace in Europe) and Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena (a colorful Catholic cathedral). In the afternoon, we relaxed in Parque del Retiro and rowed around in the small boats on the pond.
an awesome indoor market-- Mercado de San Miguel
I bought a pretty hand-painted fan at this shop
That night we had a big dinner, lovingly prepared by Jesus' father. Sitting outdoors and eating with Jesus, Paloma (Jesus' sister), Ludivine, and the Diegos, I quickly realized that there was no common language between the six of us. I just sat and tried to pick out the few words I understood as the boys were speaking Spanish on one side of the table and the girls were speaking French on the other. It was at that moment that I decided to commit to learning Spanish. I've always wanted to know it, and I'm tired of being in situations where I am unable to communicate with people. I finish my German classes this semester, and I hope to start learning Spanish in the spring.
My time in Spain was short, but wonderful. I'll never forget the fun times I shared with my European friends in Madrid--eating dinner at midnight, driving around the winding mountain roads with the windows rolled down and the radio up, being welcomed with open arms by their family members, and laughing at all of our inside jokes from the summer. Saying goodbye that next morning at Barajas was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do; it's the only time I've ever cried in an airport. I don't know when I'll be able to go back to Europe, but I hope to see my friends again and one day return the warm hospitality they showed me in Madrid.
“A man does not climb a mountain without bringing some of it away with him, and leaving something of himself upon it.” –Sir Martin Conway
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