I ate pizza in Madrid and other confessions (and an update)

So I admit it. Yesterday I was starving and smelled the most delicious smell and there was the most gorgeous pizza I've seen in weeks staring back at me...€2 for a slice?! Sold! It was worth it and I'm not embarrassed.

I'm also ok with sometimes getting Starbucks in the a.m. I need a huge iced coffee at times and if I have to be a typical American to get one, well...so be it.

Also, I'm going to confess that until I get my gelato in Italy, I'm perfectly fine with my 2 trips (so far) to Ben and Jerry's.

I don't mind the "Americanization" I've found in Madrid. The New York feel, the stores blasting Biggie or Rihanna, the refreshing smell of Axe body spray (I'll take that over cigarettes any day!), and the cat calls....in the States I want to punch men BUT hearing "Calor! Calor! Oh dios mio!" And whistles as I walk by an old man or a construction worker...music to my ears.

And there's more: my feet are constantly dirty and I have some serious sandal tan lines (I'll keep a pic of my dirty feet to myself), I have not worn a "real bra" but for 2 nights of drinks, and I bought a new purse at H&M today because my pink one sometimes clashes with my outfits.

It's not like I can become a new person completely, right?

And the update...I hit another low last night. It's always about dinner and whether or not I'm "going out." Again, I was alone and bummed. I went on craigslist and miraculously found an international "get to know you" type group that was meeting at a bar last night. I went and had some great conversation with some really interesting people from all over the place.

This is how I met Yon Sanchez Paisal (aka Jon, but I prefer using all 3 names I think). Yon is from San Sebastian, Spain and he claims it's the best place in Spain (yet he lives in Madrid). Yon speaks excellent English though he never studied it and made it too easy for me to be lazy and stop speaking Spanish. He did almost convince me to scrap my time in Prague and Italy to spend an extra 2 weeks in Spain to practice speaking. I won't lie when I say I'm seriously considering it. We shall see. I'll start tonight though, when I see Yon again for dinner/drinks, and make him force me to speak Spanish!

I tend to sleep in 3 hour blocks of time here. It's very weird. 2 or 3 a.m. til 5 or 6 a.m. and then either I fall back to sleep til 9 or, if it's a travel day, sleep on the train ride. Then there is my evening siesta from about 5 til 8 p.m. This is a much much slower pace than usual for me, even when on vacation but I'm getting used to it I think.

I got up this a.m. and ran in the park that's about 1 mile away from my hostel. It was excellent. I'm going to do it again tomorrow. Then I took a long walk (suggested by Yon) and made my way to the Royal Palace. Then I felt brave and meandered to Calle de la Cava Baja which is known for tapas. Given that I am becoming known for getting lost I was nervous BUT I made it there and back!

I found an adorable little spot there for lunch and a glass of wine. I forgot to take a pic on my phone but I do have some in my camera for when I get back to the states. I heard another woman (who happened to also be eating alone) speaking in English and this is how I met Cecilia from Norway. Cecilia is traveling with her sister and invited me to join them out tonight or perhaps hit up the gay pride festivities with them tomorrow. Yay!

Speaking of gay pride festivities...it seems that every gay man in Europe is flocking to Madrid for the weekend. It's disappointing for us straight women (and Cecilia agreed) to realize that all these gorgeous men are sadly not here for us. Oh well...at least tomorrow is going to be one hell of a party.

So the big question of the day...can I manage yoga en espanol? I can barely do it in English but I'm beyond craving a good yoga class and it's not like I can't just look around and copy people, right? I'm working up the courage...