What do the Palacio Real and H&M have in common?

Caitlin and Indiana (or Arizona as she is now known around the La Latina neighborhood) came yesterday and it is such an amazing treat. I woke up and went through some very stereotypical phases of human excitement. It started off with Boy on Christmas Morning, something that I am completely unaware of as a member of the Judaic tribe. But yesterday I felt it. I felt the anxiety on the safe arrival of my "presents", then the anger that the long-awaited arrival had not come sooner, then the depression on my dependency on such basic human interaction, then the sorrow at my depression, then I felt the cutting of my wrists....just kidding. But I couldn't sleep because I was rearing to go and excited to share the sites of the city with them.

Then upon hearing the melodic vibrations of Caitlins voice reverberating throughout the hallways of Hostal Luz, I began the next phase of excitement we shall name, The Puppy Whose Owner Just Came Home From Work. I ran down the hallway of wooden planks in socks, so my feet were slipping out from under me as I scampered to place myself in the most welcoming position, much as a labrador does as it struggles to get traction on hardwood floors. If I was a species that sat on all-fours, I would have, staring up wide-eyed at my new company and wagging my tail. I wonder if Caitlin looked around for a tennis ball after seeing me so that she could distract me with a quick game of "Fetch" while she handled human obligations like settling the bill. I'll have to ask her.

We waited around which what seemed like an eternity, exaggerated by my insatiable desire for Spanish cuisine in form of a Ham and Cheese sandwich. See aforementioned reference to my religion, oops, sorry G-d. Indiana (or Arizona) finally arrived and Caitlin and we embraced our third counterpart (not wheel). We had just a simple bocadillo and some drinks and then headed to Madrid's famous epicenter of cultural influence, H&M and ZARA! It was hilarious but they were coming off a long flight and we had plenty of time to drag ourselves around the city and stare at some Monet exhibit, pontificating instead about how much Sangria we were going to have later while still maintaining the face of "He Uses Such Great Lighting Techniques".

We went out later that night to La Latina with a friend of Jorge's (Caitlin's boyfriend for those not savvy of anything American University and/or recently adorned visa bearers of the US). It was a great time, we sat out on a Terraza and enjoyed the quirky, charming neighborhood. However, I regretfully ended up stealing Indiana's thunder. She engaged with this group of guys, all three of which were pining for her attention. The only one who remotely had a chance to get a rose at Indiana's Rose Ceremony later that night, considering he was the only one with a full-set of real teeth, ended up taking an ad hoc English lesson from me. The night ended a bit early (2 a.m.), but it was the second establishment from which we were asked to leave so it was not by any fault of our own.