ALCACHOFA

Me: "Artachofe? Acachofo? Ahh, como se pronuncia!?
Diana: "Aaallllcachooofa."
Me: "Alcachofa! Ah ok, I won't forget it now."
Diana: "And in English?"
Me: "ahr-ti-chohk"
Diana: "Alcarchof? Alcarchoke?"
Me: "No, no artichoke."
Diana: "Atrichoke! Woo, that's a hard word!"

Alcachofa is the word of the week! This was one of our daily conversations this past week, but I think I've finally got it down. I am going to quiz Diana when she gets home today. We also finished off the rest of them for dinner last night so perhaps I have heard the last of the alcachofas....

The mispronunciations, the meanings that get lost in translation and the searching for the right words all have the potential to be completely frustrate an individual. However, I think Diana, Antonio and myself have chosen to find humor in it all and can laugh (on a daily basis) over the slight misunderstandings or misinterpretations. I would not have it any other way.

This past week I chose to show myself around downtown in the heart of Madrid. This little journey started out as a self-guided tour. Diana and Antonio had shown me a couple places to go and how to get there on google maps the night before. However, I ended up starting a few hundred meeters northwest of where I was told to begin! Plaza de España is what I found...

I decided to turn and head south to see what I could see and suddenly I stopped in my tracks to behold an incredibly beautiful building of what I had no idea... Unbeknownst to me I stumbled upon Palacio Real...
I have never liked and rather feared being lost as I am sure many of you can relate. Yesterday, Antonito reminded me a lot of myself when I was a kid as he, on the verge of a major melt down asked mom and dad if we were lost. They assured him we were only taking a different route, but sure enough 1 minute later, "Are we lost???" I'm not sure what prompted me to go into a major city alone and mapless, but it was fun to discover an unknown city, go at my own pace, and take in all of the sites and sounds.
The next sound I heard was my stomach calling and then I knew this was no time for games and I bought a map in order to find Plaza Mayor! I thoroughly enjoyed the suggested item "Bocadillo de Calamares" as seen below.

I finished off the week by playing a little fútbol on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Antonio organized a match and it turned out to be a great time. He has an enormous family and out of the 16 of us playing I think at least 12 guys were either cousins, brothers or nephews. After 2 hours of playing soccer outdoors for the first time in a long time (ouch) I am going to have a relaxing Monday :) I am looking forward to the next match and what the next week will bring!

Wherever you are in the world reading this I hope you are well, enjoying every moment and living life to the full! Hugs to you all!