¡Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año!

"All I want for Christmas is a blog update!" After a few messages along these lines, I decided I couldn't disappoint my audience (a.k.a. my peers who spend way too much time in front of their computers at their respective places of work).

The past month has been a whirlwind (as is everything these days) and I have been traipsing around Spain and Portugal, picking up much anticipated visitors along the way. In the week or two following Thanksgiving, I spent time with my Fulbrighters, most notably going to see a play (Fedra) that my co-worker was in and meeting the cast afterwards. The following weekend I jetted off via train to Salamanca, a university town just north of Madrid with my roommate Teresa to go to the presentation of my friend Pablo's new book: "Las cuatro llaves: Marketing y el cambio social" (The Four Keys: Marketing and Social Change -- see a link to his blog on the side if you want more information). The trip was a great success, so much so that instead of coming back the following day I stayed until Sunday. We battled the melancholy weather armed with jazz and long walks around the city, good conversations and lots of food and drink. In the end, one of the most random and memorable weekends I have had in a long time, not to mention the fact that I am so proud of Pablo and his accomplishment.

The following weekend was a puente, or a long weekend, because December 6 was Constitution Day in Spain. In celebration of the constitution (and more time off from school!) I went with Alex, Jen, Morgan, Emily and our two British compatriots, Helen and Jane, to Sevilla in the south of Spain. I had been there before, but it was still nice to revisit the city, the gigantic cathedral, the river, and the WARM WEATHER. The orange trees were also a nice romantic touch in theory, but having had our first meal under a line of them (and having suffered the consequences of our feathered friends' waste landing in our food) we decided to admire them from afar and never eat under them again! The last night we were there we made reservations at an Italian restaurant and had a raucous girls night out. I hate to admit it, but I had actually missed singing "Shot Through the Heart" at the top of my lungs, frat-style.

We got back late Sunday night and after a harried day of work on Monday, I skipped on Tuesday to go pick up my sister, who has been here for the past three weeks "doing a rotation." After a few hospital visits, lots of shopping, and one fantastic Birthday celebration, we welcomed TJ to the mix, visiting the Prado and the Reina Sofia yet again and having some fantastic meals post-work Mon-Wed. Wednesday afternoon brought my brother Shivan, who we whisked away to Toledo the following day. Friday morning we all sprinted to the airport to make our flight to.....Lisbon! We spent two glorious nights in Lisbon, eating some amazing meals and taking in some breathtaking sights. My favorite, though, was Oporto on Sunday. We only were able to spend one night there, but the city was absolutely beautiful and port-tasting was a fun experience. It was also nice, albeit strange, to watch the locals doing their last minutes shopping, coming to the main square outside of our hotel to see the giant Christmas tree, be tourists themselves for the sakes of their out-of-town family members....

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (Nochebuena y el Dia de Navidad) at home in Madrid, cooking Italian and Indian food, watching cheesy American movies, and playing scrabble and other nerdy word games online. Unfortunately, TJ had to leave on Christmas Day to go back to the States, but we were glad he was at least able to come for the week he was here!

To numb the loss of one of our fellow travelers, my sister, brother, and I headed to Barcelona Wednesday-Friday. I had been there a couple of times before, but it was great to see the sights again with the family and show off my limited knowledge of the place. Madrid will always feel more like home, but I must say, I fell in love with Barcelona all over again. I didn't realize how much I was craving its cosmopolitan, diverse feel, its eclectic cuisine, and its beautiful architecture and city art. Maybe I'll take up Catalan next and head out there to live.....

We took a flight back late Friday night so that we could be back in Madrid in time to pick up Visitor #4, my cousin Mehul! He got in yesterday afternoon and we walked around again, seeing the madness of Sol with its thousands of people, moving on to the quieter vistas of the Palace lit up at night, and onto Cava Baja, where we took in some tapas and (of course) vino. We ended the night early, due to Mehul's jet-laggedness and sickness (he's just recovering from the flu). Plus, we wanted to save our energy for this evening, which is when his girlfriend Kitty comes in (Visitor #5). They're all only staying for a few days, but I can't wait to hang out and spend New Year's Eve together. I feel so lucky to have all these visitors all at once! It really made the holidays special to have so much family here to come visit me, particularly since they have all come armed with edible goodies like brownie mix and chocolate chip cookies. The most recent shipment, brought by my dear cousin Mehul, even includes frozen veggie burgers and dumplings! It's almost too good to be true ;) They all head out on the 2, 3, and 4 of this week, so I'm sure it will be a little lonely afterwards. Thankfully, Shivan is staying until the 11th to keep me company!

So it seems like the house is starting to stir finally, giving me my cue to resume my hostessing duties (a.k.a. making bagels - YES, BAGELS! that my brother brought me - for the crew). Hopefully there won't be as much lag time between this and the next post, but I can't promise anything!

And to all of you who are far away, I hope you have had a happy holiday and I wish you a very, very Happy New Year!