Baby it's cold outside!

This is the second time I've managed to lock myself out of the house. Unfortunately, it's much colder now and I wasn't prepared.
Me and Julia were just on the patio, cutting her hair, and this normal affair quickly turned into a fit of utter panic.
We waited for almost 45mins and when someone finally showed up, it was like seeing water after walking in the dessert for days. Eureka!!

The past week was the busiest one since I got here.
I was so happy when my brother and his girlfriend arrived. I was excited to show what Alcala had to offer and also the opportunity to finally visit Madrid's diamonds.
The first day was already colored by the massive national strike. I definitely think Madrid saw the worst of it. In Alcala we had a preview of what was yet to come.
Earlier in the morning, my class was cancelled and they had barricaded the door to the school. Thankfully, everything was still open, so we visited Alcala's cathedral, my school and the Cervantes Museum. And then the Alcala tour was pretty much over. :)


We walked to my house (due to the lack of busses), a nice place I was proud to show off.
Later, after we managed to get a bus to Madrid, we went to visit the Royal Palace of Madrid. A mini version of Versailles really, and a place I'm definitely revisiting with a guide. Who knew my visitors were more of the in-and-out kind of people :)
Madrid was a mad house, throughout the day, we saw some pretty extreme expressions of anger. Anyone or anything that didn't go on strike had to suffer. There were stickers everywhere, on all the busses, cash-machines, restaurant windows. An ugly side to the strike, which poisoned the purpose of the whole thing really. I later learned some massive fighting broke out also, not far from where we were. I could write a book about what I think about this whole strike thing...

Tourist-wise I saw a whole other side to Madrid - still in awe of all the older, left over culture, I also saw a more modern side. The restaurants and rich mansions reminded me of why I like London so much: the exclusivity of it all.
In the evening we met up with a friend of Kristiaan's. After walking all day, I wasn't really capable of doing anything else but sitting down anyway.
The next day, we continued our tour past the Banco de España, the Prado museum, through the botanical gardens (no less beautiful during autumn) all the way up to the Retiro park. Which I must say was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life.
It looked so unreal, it might as well have been photoshopped. The trees covered every color in the fall spectrum, with areas so cozy, just like the movies. I could've sat there all day.
And so many other people were enjoying the park as well, joggers, cyclists, couples walking, rowing a boat, people walking there dog. It was impossible not to feel genuinely happy in that moment.

It was also impossible not to feel genuinely happy looking through the Louboutin display, even my brother was impressed. It's sort of a cult thing for any person I guess...
I was also glad to see another neighbourhood of Madrid called Chueca. Informally the 'gay' side of town, this side was full of life, night or day, with fashion boutiques all over, second hand stores and retro bars by the dozens. For dinner we had the most delicious Mexican food in Alcala!

These two days of Madrid had already given me so much, I decided to let my brother have the other two days he had left to discover Madrid on their own.
I want to keep some secrets undiscovered until other friends visit. But it's made me all the more excited!

I don't think I've ever been this impressed by autumn. It's just warm enough here to actually enjoy this season. I feel like here in Spain, people would give anything to be outside, while in Belgium it's the other way.
I'm curious to see what winter brings...