Wow, didn’t mean to fall off the face of the earth for a good two weeks there, but it was nice to take a large step back and just enjoy the time away from school and work and this blog, etc, etc, and do lots of fun things.  Luis was able to get off from work for a week and this was the first time we’ve ever had a ‘staycation’ in Madrid.  It felt like we had a LOT of free time to do fun things, but also, the time from Christmas to now flew by in a flash.  I am sad it’s over, but also ready to dive into 2019 and see what it brings.  Today is our first day back to work and school (because in Spain they celebrate 3 Kings Day, which was Sunday, so Monday was a holiday too) and I’ve: 1. slept in, 2. gone to the gym, 3. spent time in the gym sauna, 4, made and photographed new bagels, 5. worked on Vipkid, 6. written this post.  So, I guess it’s safe to say that we are just getting our toes wet here and not diving into too much too quickly 😉

Like I said, the break was a lot of fun and we filled it with lots of activities we wouldn’t normally do, as well as crossed off some nagging to-dos.

All the Dinners

We had multiple meals with Luis’ family over the break (insert sweating emoji here), so there was a LOT of food consumed.  Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day (THAT was fun after being awake until 6 in the morning!!!), 3 Kings Day lunch…. lots and lots of food, and some nice gifts too.

I made this Raw Chocolate Cake for Christmas dinner!  It was a big hit.

New Year’s Eve

On New Year’s Eve, Luis and I ran the annual San Silvestre 10 k through Madrid!!  It was SO MUCH FUN!  It starts near Bernabeu stadium, which was nice because we could stay warm until the start, and then takes you alllll the way to the south of Madrid.  It took us an hour to get home! 

After the race, we quickly showered and got ready to head to Luis’ parent’s house for dinner.  In Spain, it is customary to have a large (and long) dinner with your family on NYE, and then eat 12 grapes at midnight, give kisses, and then go out with friends (around 1 or 2 am!) (as opposed to the US, where we often say ‘see ya’ to parents and spend the evening with friends).

We had a huge dinner (similar to Christmas dinner), ate the grapes, and then met up with some of Luis’ friends for some partying.  We were out until 5.30 am!!!  And then had to be alive for another lunch the next day!  Fun times haha.

Skiing at Xanadu

A couple days after New Years, we went skiing!  But not in the mountains!  We went to Xanadu, an enormous indoor skiing center (attached to a mall) where you can take lessons, practice, and borrow all of their gear.  As inexperienced skiiers with absolutely NO skiing equipment, this was the perfect solution and a lot of fun!  Now we feel confident to go to the moutains and I am super excited, although it will be pricey!

Food, Food, Food

Let’s see, what else?  Oh right, we went out to eat a few times!  One night, after biking all over the city, Luis took me to Taberna Cachivache and it was awesome.  We snagged seats at the bar where we sipped 2 glasses of wine and then shared two plates.  One was potatoes with fried eggs, parmesan cheese and truffles (loved this), and the other was steak with cabrales cheese (super strong cheese), fried potatoes, and padron peppers.  I just loved the vibe of the place and the food… highly recommended!  

We also went out to eat with Lee one afternoon, which was fun.  We tried ‘La Fince de Susana’ after finding it online (and had great reviews), but IMO, it was nothing to write home about.

I snapped the last photo because Luis gave my brother his coat to wear because Lee thought he didn’t need one… lol…

Last, but not least, after all the eating came more eating during the 3 Kings Day lunch.  We had more of the same from Christmas and New Year’s, only this time there were some nice gifts!

And the famous ‘Roscón de Reyes’!

I’ll be back sooner rather than later with more posts (I hope!).  Have a great week!