Adiós Mamá

       On BB and Mom's last day we were pretty relaxed. We went back to the Orange store after a yummy breakfast and I got the most high-tech phone ever, it's WAY better than any iPhone. Kidding, this phone doesn't even have a camera. The man who sold it to me said that all of the Spaniards know that whenever they see someone with the phone I bought, they know that you're an American. The point, though, is that it will function as I need it to! After the Orange store we did a little bit of shopping and then went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases.
       After a short break we hopped on a double decker tour bus and rode around the city. We thought we had seen a lot of Madrid, but that was definitely not the case. Where our hotel is located and where my home stay is are both in the older part of the city, so it was cool to see the more modern part. We even got to drive past the Real Madrid stadium, which is absolutely gigantic. After the bus we went to a place called Casa de Lucio for lunch, and it was delicious. I think the theme of my blog has become food, but I had one of the best steak filets I have ever eaten in my entire life. It came with the middle pretty raw on the hottest plate I have ever seen. I cut the filet into strips and then proceeded to cook my meat on my plate, it was incredible! After lunch, which didn't start until about 3 and didn't finish until about 5 - a schedule I am still trying to adjust to - we walked around some more on the way back to the hotel. We got back at about ten til 6, so just in time for the huge fútbol game to start between FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. We watched the game with our cocktails and popcorn on a live stream from my computer, because for some reason our hotel didn't get the channel that the game was on.
       Atlético Madrid ended up winning, and thus the city went insane. We went downstairs to eat dinner outside in the plaza (and had a delicious apple dessert with cinnamon ice cream) and it was crazy! Drunken, singing Spaniards were everywhere as they celebrated their team's victory. Because our hotel is in such a central location, the fountain (Neptune's Fountain) where all of the cameras were is located just down the road. We can see it from the end of the plaza, and we saw people jumping in, crowds waving and screaming, and fireworks lighting up the sky as it got dark. It was a very entertaining way to spend the evening and a great sendoff for BB and my mom. Now it is morning and they have just left. My roommate Katie's flight just landed and she is taking a cab to come pick me up so that we can arrive at our home stay together. The beginning of a new adventure!

PS Rachel - I found your new office building!!