Cold weather and lots of Fun.

It has now reached the "point of no return" as far as weather goes in Madrid. Mother Nature made up her mind finally and decided it's going to be freezing from here on out! (Well, not quite freezing...more like 40's and 50's. But it's a big deal for me!) It has been entertaining finding ways to make the most of the weather and finding different ways to wear the same few cold-weather outfits I have. I'm definitely not used to having to dress warm: in Texas, there may be a few cold days in December/January but usually I can get by because it always warms up after a few days! As the temperature has been slowly dropping, I've passed the time cuddled in my bed reading, skipping instead of walking to class (gets the blood pumping!), stopping for cafés con leche, assimilating to Madrid fashion and wearing shorts with tights (It can actually look pretty cute and it stretches my wardrobe a bit!), and attempting to run at Retiro Park (getting a minor cold as a result; oh well).

My favorite part: the leaves are changing colors!!!!! I'm so excited! Once they change a little more, I'm planning on going out and taking a million pictures. This is a big deal for me since the leaves barely turn in Texas. 

Yesterday, Erika and I went shopping and attempted to go to a library/cafe place recommended by a friend (It was closed, but I'm definitely going back this week so I'll talk about it later). We were able to do some shopping in the Gran Via/Chueca part of town where I had never been before. I didn't buy very much but it was pretty great anyway. There were literally two H&M's on the same street! We also found the fanciest McDonalds EVER. It was extremely nice on the inside and even had a "cafe" section with little cakes and macaroons. 

Another way to avoid the cold: go to a Fun. concert!!! Last Sunday night I went with a few friends to see a concert by "Fun." which, for those who don't know, is an amazing American band that plays indie/pop music. It was surprising how big their fan base is here in Madrid: the concert was sold out and there was barely any room to stand and watch. I had a blast! They actually sound better live than on a CD, which was pretty awesome to me. I tried to take some pictures but I was towards the back so they didn't come out very clear. Here they are anyway: 

Also, in case you didn't catch it, I made a big effort not to use the word "fun" to describe anything in this post! (It may or may not have involved searching synonyms for "fun" on an online thesaurus...) My friends and I realized as we were standing in line for the Fun. concert that it's actually harder to avoid that word than you would think!

One more thing: for some reason, we turned our clocks back today in Madrid (a week before everyone in the U.S. if my research is correct). I'm not sure why we are a week ahead of you guys! Anyway, for the next week it looks like I'll be only 6 hours ahead instead of 7!

Until next time! Ciao!!!