This year Halloween fell on a Friday and my roommate Nora (the other American) was convinced from the day I moved in that we would have a party. Of course, the boys were 100% down for the fiesta even though it isn’t their “get trashed and dress slutty” holiday. Together we managed to buy tons of booze, snacks, candy, and decorations (some of which Txema’s uncles brought back for us from China). We enforced a strict dress code and invited as many people as we could think of. The result? Success!! All my roommates impressed me and dressed up, as well as got into the holiday spirit of having fun. They really know how to throw a party. Our flat was filled with about 50% Americans and 50% mixture of internationals. In true American style, most of my friends (and some of Nora’s) ended up either throwing up or getting too drunk for their own good and leaving by 3am. That left pretty much all the Europeans at our flat, ready to go to a club at 4am. Everyone seemed to have a good time and really enjoyed themselves, and I’m proud to say that my roommates and I threw a kick-ass housewarming party!!
The flatmates! Nora (magenta from Rocky Horror), Pablo (skeletal Joker), Iñigo (still not really sure, he bought that costume night-of from a drugstore), me (Gogo from Kill Bill), Txema (super-skeleton, made in China). 
The Boys, plus Iñigo's friend Fernando.
The girls, in character, even after Pablo told us to "make love to the camera".
(-1) tapa: Halloween aftermath
The next day our flat was a complete mess. The ground in every room was sticky from spilled alcohol and too many shoes. There were cigarette butts, cans, empty bottles, and trash of every kind in every nook and cranny. Someone threw-up what can only be described as digested chocolate onto my bathroom door/floor/wall. Someone, not yet sure who…, decided it would be a good idea to steal break the glass covering the fire extinguisher on the wall on our floor… and replace the device with a pumpkin. Thanks, now we have to pay to replace the extinguisher. Oh and we got in trouble with our landlord, neighbors, and building president. Luckily that can be remedied with a little bit o’ wine and some good ol’ American smiles :D
(+2) tapas: Nov 6 – 8, 2008 – Zoe comes for the weekend!
Zoe, one of my best friends from high school, is studying abroad in Paris for the semester and hopped on a plane to visit me here!!! For breakfast we attempted to make French toast caramelized in brown sugar. That turned interesting real fast, but wasn’t a complete failure. We then met up with her friend Sam, another girl studying in Madrid with Colgate’s program. We went to Sol, on a mission to show Zoe around, but ended up at a bar with Chelsea when it started to rain. Zoe got to try her first Spanish sangria and tapas while we waited the rain out for a couple hours. I then went to my friend Jami’s birthday surprise dinner at a THAI restaurant (oh thank Thai heaven for spicy, delicious food) while Z&S went elsewhere. We met up again later at my apartment and spent the night dancing away at a discoteca. The next day Zoe and I walked around old Madrid, I got to show her the Opera house, the Royal Palace, and the church next to the palace. For some odd reason there was a parade of people in some weird costume, a choir outside the church, a huge display of flowers, and the church was completely open for free visits. Naturally, Z and I took advantage of this and went inside. I still have no idea what the hubbub was about. Then we walked over through La Latina to the Plaza Mayor, where AGAIN there was a great hubbub. Still, not a clue. We had a miscommunication with Sam and she ended up going to the Prado without us because we couldn’t get a hold of her. When we finally met up, our stomachs were growling so we set out for some delicious all-you-can-eat sushi. That was the first time I’ve had sushi since august, and ohhh it felt so good. We saw “Burn After Reading” later that night and I wasn’t impressed. The next day I took Zoe to the Rastro (flea-market), but things took a turn for the worse when she discovered her camera missing :( , so we returned home and relaxed before her flight back to Paris. I was sad to see Zoe go after such a short weekend, but it was so good to see a familiar face here in Madrid. I can’t wait to see her in Paris in December!
And what’s up for this weekend? Brussels, Amsterdam, Maastricht, oh my!
