La Dieta Mediterranea (The Mediterranean Diet)

If the sights and sounds of Spain can evoke a dangerous nostalgia, then the scent of cerveza and the taste of tapas are fatal. I knew I was right back at home as soon as I ate my first bite of tortilla espanola, a Spanish omelet made with cubed potatoes, complimented by a cold cana de cerveza and a handful of olives. Mornings have been spent deciding on what should compliment my cafe con leche: a tostada with olive oil and a rich tomato paste or the infallable chocolate croissant. Culinary decisions only get more difficult as the day passes and I fluctuate between a tall tinto de verano or a cold pitcher of sangria. Actual substinence comes from bocadillos or montaditos (baguettes only differentiated by size) filled with queso manchego, anchovies, or jamon serrano.

Real Madrid (Royal Madrid)

Madrid is much like I had remembered from my brief experience here some years ago: a bustling European capital that combines old world tradition and new world modernity. Minutes after arriving in Bajaras airport, I knew I was back in Spain: a fact reiterated by the Castillian Spanish that relies heavily on the ¨th¨ sound, the ubiquitous scent of smoke (despite the warning that ¨fumar puede matar¨, and the cosmopolitan ¨metros¨ (referring not only to a means of public transport but also to a mode of fashion). My first few days will be spent catching up with a friend and enjoying the missed tranquility of first world comfort. Intense itineraries of former travels will be be substituted for a passive observation of life in Madrid... at least initially.