April & May Pics

Last Saturday in Madrid at Parque Europa
Saturday, May 25th



Parque Europa is a collection of replicas of some of Europe's most famous monuments. 

• Me, Melanie, and Taylor imitate the statue of naked women . . . but with our clothes on. 

• Taylor decides to get herself a hot dog at Parque Europa. 

• This might turn into a hotdog eating competition . . . 

• Taylor, Melanie, and Marko pose in front of the model of a molecule. 

• We're not sure what this is a replica of, but Taylor and Melanie strike up a pose. Marko, sorry you got cut out! 

• Melanie really wanted to ride these horses, but decided not to part with the money. 

• This is a replica of Manneken Pis, a statue in Brussels that symbolizes the independent spirit of the city's people . . . according to the plaque that went along with the statue. 

• Well, this is a poor second to the Trevi Fountain, but still pretty neat to see and very hard to resist climbing--especially since this little three year old girl was up there just before I took this shot. It's hard to not do something when you see someone else getting to do it. 

• Taylor, Melanie, and Marko pose in front of the Eiffel Tower!

• Melanie, me, and Marko. 

• And finally, just me!

• It may be hard to see, but there is a bird ahead of Taylor (it looks like a little gray blob in this picture) and she wanted to catch it. Didn't work. 

• Taylor strikes a pose in the cave. 

• Nessie!

• Dog park for the "big dogs". 

• And "little dogs". 

• Melanie and I are tall enough to touch the top of the London Bridge. 

• The lovely Melanie poses by a windmill. 

• Marko admires the German gate replica. 

• Peek a boo!

• What a lovely park! :)

Bull Fight at Las Ventas 
Sunday, May 19th, 2013

• The sunny half. 

• The storm is brewing. 

• The white box to the right is for dignitaries, if any are present. 

• View from our covered section as the stands fill up. 

• The two horsemen begin the ceremony of introductions, etc. 

• Enter the fighters. 

• Notice the small section of the wall that stands out a bit? That's where the assistant fighters as I refer to them, or more correctly the Stage One fighters, pop out from, anger the bull, then hide again as he charges. 

• Cue the umbrellas. 

• The second bull begins his last round. 

Paint Party!
Friday, May 10th, 2013

• Melanie and I decided it was necessary to take a before shot. 

• After dutiful and persistent application of peer pressure, we coaxed Taylor into coming to the paint party with us and all posed for the after shot to show off the results. 

• Taylor's back, with a capital 'M' for her last name. 

• Melanie's back with a capital 'B' for her last name. 

• Me. And I think you see the pattern with the choice of letters by this point. 

• My fierce paint face. Showing off the damage done after a six hour night at Club Penelope. 

Thursday Wanderings
Thursday, May 9th, 2013

• We had no idea what was going on with the side of this building, but it sure looked cool. 

• Apparently my name is Bagel. They can never get "Megan" right here. Ahhh well. Small consolation prize, they forgot the 'e' at the end of Melanie's name. So I'm not the only one. 

• Sorry hipsters. Melanie and Taylor liked the graffiti. 

• Taylor's probably thinking, "Megan, why another picture? Geez."

• Does this remind anyone else of Avatar?

• Foster's claims to be Australia's favorite beer on this sign, but our resident Australian, Tom, said that you really can't get Foster's anywhere in Australia and that it's nothing to write home about. 

• More Avatar apartments!

• For those curious, "buho" means "owl". 

• A pod racer, me thinks. 

• The Air Force headquarters near the Moncloa metro station. 

• One of the gates to the city and an incredible vantage point out onto the horizon leading out of Madrid. 

• Top of the arch. 

• Taylor, me, and Melanie in front of the arch. 

• Taylor, Tom, and Melanie. 

• It's always inspiring to see things like this . . . a little clump of yellow flowers with the determination and bravery to grow on the roof. :)

• Parque Oeste. 

• Trying to lean with the trees. Somewhat of a fail. 

• A view from the Teleférico cable car ride. 

• Again a view from Teleférico.

• Taylor chills in the cable car. 

• Roommates! Me and Melanie pose together on the cable car. 

• And finally, Templo de Debod, the ancient Egyptian temple that was imported to Spain as a gift from the Egyptian government. 

A Walk in the Park
Saturday, May 4th, 2013

• Melanie and I witnessed an awesome rainbow after several hours of half rain/half sun. We were going to follow it to find the gold, but we had other plans for the day. Next time. 

• Gazebo at Parque Retiro. 

• Everything was in bloom!

• Melanie couldn't resist "borrowing" one of the tree blossoms. 

• Taylor with the flowers!

• And lastly me. 

• Unexplained stone archway in the park. Perhaps it led to Narnia?

• Paradise must look something like this. I'm positive. 

• Moments like this, surrounded by the sunshine and nature really reinforce my desire to go into renewable energy technology development. Let's save what we have, folks. It's lovely. 

• Taylor takes a break to read a book. 

• I just wanted to pose by it. 

• One of the many snack shops scattered throughout the park. Many serve wine. May I recommend a glass of rioja? 

• Taylor imitates the lion!

• And I imitate Taylor!

• The Crystal Palace!

• Taylor was quite obsessed with these little guys. 

• In the shadow of the wonderful palace. 

• We found out later, because Melanie grabbed a brochure at the door, that these dots were an art exhibit. So I was standing on art. I feel like that's a social taboo . . . whoops. 

• A black swan! How many have you have seen Larry David's, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"? Only you understand my enthusiasm. 

• Taylor and Melanie (respectively) enjoy the landscape. 

• A red squirrel with large ears that we decided was a fox/squirrel combo (due to the color and degree of slyness). We therefore named this new species the "squox". 

• I pose in the Botanical Gardens. 

• One of the ducklings that Melanie was obsessed with. 

• One of the side entrance gates to Retiro. 

• Now granted I don't know what this says so I hope it's not offensive, but from a purely aesthetic standpoint, I believe this is some of the prettiest graffiti I've seen in awhile. 

• All roads lead to the metro. Here's a mural at the Retiro stop. 

• Finally, we concluded the day with a Frappuccino each at--well, I reckon you can guess where. 

Weekend with the Aunts!

April 13th, 14th, and 20th

• Me and Annette at Parque de Retiro. 

• Chris takes a big ol' bite of ice cream when we stop for a break at Cafe Comercial. 

• Chris takes a dip in the Mediterranean! 

• Flowers around a fountain at Parque Retiro. 

• The Triumphal Arch outside of Parque Retiro. 

• Cue the storm! View from my dorm room. 

• Ministry of Agriculture building near the Atocha train station. 

• Protest of the PCE (Partido Comunista de España, Communist Party of Spain) held near the fountain of Cibeles on Sunday, April 14th, 2013. 

• This is the closest I'll ever get to the fountain of Cibeles! Traffic was stopped dead in its tracks due to the thousands in the street for the PCE protest so we were able to go right next to the fountain (which is in the center of a roundabout and therefore normally has to be photographed from across the street. 

• Chris and Annette by the fountain!