"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."

This post will offer a random mix of photos from the last few months in order to offer a short preview of the big events and every-day occurrences that have happened since my arrival in September. Then, little by little, (but not too slowly), I will ponerme al dia (catch-up) by writing blog posts and posting pictures of the events or occurrences that deserve their own blog post, rather than be mixed in with this mix of random.

How I could possibly begin with a topic other than futbol? It was a fortuitous day when I stumbled upon this wall holding my two most favorite Spanish players. On your left (my right in the photo), you see Sergio Ramos, a star on the Real Madrid team. On your right (my left in the photo), you see Fransisco Torres, who is Spanish but plays currently on England's Chelsea team. I was lucky (I can't think of a stronger word, but this deserves one) enough to be here two years ago when Spain won the World Cup. What a night! Both of these players help major roles in the championship team. During the general league of soccer, players from any country can be placed on any team around the world. For the World Cup, every player returns to play with their country. This is why Torres returned to Spain for the World Cup. Anyway, soccer games here are very exciting and are a part of the soul, the blood of the Spanish. Team loyalties are very important and the greatest rivalry is between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (who happen to be the best teams in the world right now).

 Madrid loves Christmas! The entire city was illuminated for at least two months. Once Christmas ended, I kept thinking that the lights would go away, and finally sometime around the end of January, they disappeared.

 The next three photos are taken in Madrid's Retiro park. It is a massive park filled with grass, trees, fountain, and a very small lake which you can see is popular for rowboats. Retiro is a space where people leisure in the grass, picnic, carress their lovers, run (there is a four-mile track around), or simply enjoy the almost-constant sun. Please note the incredible full moon in the third picture. Dusk in Madrid is stupendous as the sky turns a million shades of pink.

 The following two photos are in central Madrid. There is never a dull moment as the streets constantly beam with people, movement, and life. One is never far from an architectural masterpiece. Even a post office can be a sight for sore eyes.

 I have gone hiking twice in the mountains outside of Madrid. The first three photos took place in a mountain region called "Miraflores."

 The following photos were taken during a hike in a region called "La Cabrera." This means "little goat." We hiked to the very summit of the mountain where no other hikers dared to go ..... not really that dangerous, but still exciting.

Yes, it is a little strange to post photos of perfume. However, after months of eyeing it, I finally decided that I had to have it, and it is so beautiful! The bottle is a beauty, as is the box, and it even came with the adorable scarf. After Christmas, every store in Madrid carries extreme "Rebajas" (reductions) and they are still going on right now. Each week, they get progressively lower until now almost all stores are at 80 percent off, (Below this photo, you must click "read more" to finish the blog post)

This photo is my bedroom. Our apartment is big and bright, and the yellow paint is delightful and cheery. The window in my bedroom looks onto our terrace.

 My bedroom from the other side.

 This is our living room. It is a little messy at the moment, I will clean it after I finish this blog post. It is much brighter and more luminous than it appears in the photo.

 Below are the two views from our terrace, and then a photo of the terrace. We have had dinner parties outside and shall have many more once the weather is a bit warmer.

 Oops... I don't know what happened to the formatting. The following photos are from the La Cabrera Mountains.

I wasn't sure if I should attempt that move, but look in the next photo, I did it! What a rush!

Last night, I had a few American girlfriends over for a Valentine's Day dinner. I cooked everything you see! On Tuesday, I will cook another Valentine's dinner for my roomates.

I have more photos that I could post here, but I have to run because I am off to go bowling! I did not know that bowling exists in Spain, but apparently it does and I am going with some Spaniards, so it should be interesting ... hopefully I can manage at least one strike!

HASTA LUEGO