La Vida Esta Hecha de Pequenos Momentos

“Life is made of little moments.”

Hace dies anos que mi tiempo viviendo y estudiando en Espana. Gracias a mi mama, tuve el privilegio para regresser al lugar que yo enamorado mucho. Madrid es la ciudad en el centro de Espana, una ciudad que es llena de historia, tradition y cultura…(pues, no puedo escribir solamente en espanol por que no es revelente por mi audiencia. vale?)

A ver…

Madrid is the capital city in the center of Spain, a city full of history, tradition and culture. Part of what I love about Madrid is how much of it appears to be a bustling and progressive city with the same sort of charm a rural town may carry.

Get lost roaming from barrio to barrio, shop at outdoor markets or popular Spanish stores, enjoy una tapa de aceitunas, una pincha de croquettas or unas raccionnes de tortilla espanola, taste un vaso de Sangria, sip cafe con leche and watch the madrillenos smile and laugh with their friends and family. Visit the Parque del Retiro, the Central Park of Madrid, and feel as if you escaped the city completely.

Obviously, it’s no secret that I’m still in love with the culture, the food and the city I once called home. Coincidentally, it’s been exactly ten years since my time living and studying in Spain. I’ve been back a few times throughout the last ten years but thanks to my generous Mama, I had the privilege of returning to the place I simply adore so much.

Naturally, I took some time on this trip for some introspection and reflection. Since the timing offered up the opportunity to experience many bits of nostalgia, I took full advantage…

I reread the journal I kept in 2005.
I listened to popular Spanish music of that time.
I visited the school where I studied, El Instituto Internacional.
I picked up my Señora at the apartment where I stayed in Prosperidad and we took her to lunch at the oldest restaurant in Madrid near Plaza Mayor.
I walked around Retiro in the rain and daydreamed of sunny Sunday afternoons with the sounds of drum circles in my ears.
We even travelled to Andalucia by train and bus, something we experienced a lot on Eurovision (a two week business seminar around Europe before we landed in Madrid)

And I have to admit that I sort of expected something significant to come to me but sadly, the significance I was hoping for never showed up. What I always thought of as the greatest love story I might ever experience only shows up in that particular way in my memory and I realized it may no longer be the reality.

Most of my journal was just the simple truth of a privileged college coed highlighting the time of her life traveling around Europe. Even though I managed to write a lot about my trips to various countries, my visits to numerous museums and monuments and my studies in school, I let my ego and wild child side fill the pages as well. Endless stories about how many times me and my “hot” friends got hooked up at bars, clubs and restaurants. Accounts of getting drunk at Casa de Cervesa and experimenting with recreational drogas. And of course, a few mentions of a notable romance I experienced but not as many as I remembered or expected to read about.

Pienso que “Lo que paso, paso.”

At one point, I thought that journal was solid gold and reading it again after all these years, shows me how young and naive I really was. How much we think we know everything at the ripe age of 20 and how confidentially, at 30, I can admit how much I still have yet to learn. Although I can acknowledge how much I have evolved and grown over the years, as much as Madrid has changed, I know change and evolution is a necessary part of this wonderful road of life.  So, as much fun as it is to remember your past and get all nostalgic, it is even more important to honor the present moment and create new memories and experiences.

My mama, Elena, our family friend, Barbara and I had such a spectacular time sight seeing, shopping and eating!  I am so grateful for this recent trip to Espana because even though I have already travelled to Madrid, Sevilla & Granada, this trip was full of new moments, new experiences and new kinds of fun. I encourage you all to take time to appreciate your past. Honor it, cherish it and appreciate the little moments but remember that the present moment will soon be a memory as your life is happening right now.

And maybe “take a Holiday in Spain…”