Going by too quickly

I'm already having difficulty remember which day was which. The semester seems to be going by so quickly. I've planned the majority of my trips for the semester and will be going to Marseilles next weekend and to Brussels-Cologne-Amsterdam for my long weekend in October.

Yesterday, I had class until 8, returned to 'home' for a quick meal and then headed out with my friends to the Sol. There we walked around, got some ice cream, and then eventually went to the bars. We found an interesting Cuban bar with a live band and some sort of Latin dancing. Ironically, the only beer served was Carlsberg - nothing Latin, nothing Spanish.

Today, I went to El Escorial, the summer residence of the Spanish monarchy. The vast complex of buildings now houses museums, a monastery, and a private elementary school. After our tour of the building, my friends and I did an hour or so hike up Monte Abastos. Being a little lost, I had to ask 4 or 5 people where was the trailhead. There were great views of the town and we could even see Madrid in the distance.

After having returned from El Escorial, I ate a quick dinner, read some Harry Potter (en español) and headed back out. Using the metro that is literally 1 minute from my apartment, I met up with my friends grabbed a coffee. Upon leaving the coffee shop, we ran into some other students from our program. I then decided to go to with them once again to do some bar hopping.