Hace frío!

(The view from El Torre del Alcázar in Segovia, Spain)

Well, it is ridiculously cold here.  I walked outside this morning and it could have been snowing.  So while I came to Spain to get away from the cold weather, it seems to have followed me. Blurgh!  

Yesterday, I tried to wear a pair of shoes that weren't my flip-flops; I deeply regretted this decision.  And because of the various battle-wounds my feet sustained after yesterday's valiant attempt, during today's freezing weather, I could only wear my flip-flops.  At least they were waterproof and resisted all the rain I walked through. . .

So for tomorrow, the plan is to find and buy shoes.  This is more difficult than you would think, as the stores in Madrid are very boutique-y and expensive and one of my fears in life is pushy sales-people, especially pushy sales-people speaking only Spanish.  But Amanda, Lizzie, and I have officially scheduled a day of shopping tomorrow at a mall near here, so hopefully somewhere in its 300 stores, I will find a decent pair of shoes.

I had a fantastic lunch today - pasta salad with shrimp, cheese, and some sort of Spanish vegetable that I have yet to identify.  My friends usually only get a ham and cheese sandwich, and my friend, Lindsay's, host-mother packs her cookies pasted together with butter.  We've been trying to figure out this strange combination, and Lindsay thinks it's part of her host-family's strategy to "fatten her up like a Christmas ham."

The door at Barclay's beat me up today.  I went to exchange some US money for euros at their branch near Julia's apartment.  I walked in, apparently after hours, and the only guy in the place told me I'd have to come back tomorrow.  I turned and was simply trying to leave with my dignity, but I managed to embarrass myself in the entry-hall between their two sets of double doors, as well.  I now know that you have to let the first door close before the second door will open, but I was unaware of this useful tidbit this afternoon, so I was pushing and pulling on the second door to no avail.  Then Mr. Come-Back-Tomorrow said to wait for the first door to close, and when it did, the second door popped open and scraped my thumb.  Then I had to walk in the cold, with beaten-up feet and an injured finger, back to Julia's.  I think I will go to a different bank tomorrow.

But on the plus side, I have already finished all my homework for the weekend and only have a few pages of an Economics article left.  In my opinion, the Carlos III idea of homework is really much better than that of BC and I hope this general mentality of not-wasting-your-free-time-with-work continues.