Mahoudrizzz

Over the past few years, Madrid has really become a second home for me. Home is where the heart is, so they say… and in Madrid I have so many people that make me feel loved, even in some of the hardest moments.

The hardest part about being in Madrid is always having a super packed schedule. Arane and I are always out and about doing whatever fun and novel plan we can find around the city. And when we aren’t, we are sleeping, but never enough LOL. This trip, Arane bought us tickets to go and see an Aitana concert. I have been obsessed with Aitana for like 3 years now, so for me to be able to see her in concert was such an amazing experience. And it was at the Wanda Metropolitano, Atletico Madrid’s stadium. We sang and danced and cried and overall had a wonderful experience.




One of Arane and I’s favorite places in Madrid from last summer is the Patio Mahou, which is a really cool outdoor bar that often has live music or a DJ. The drinks are relatively cheap for us when we consider the amazing experience that we have there every time. This year, though, they offered us an opportunity to get a lesson on how to pour a draft beer the Mahou way. We learned all about what makes Mahou such a special beer as well as how to pour a perfect glass of beer - from the shape of the glass to the height of the “crema”. I ended up getting really into it and asked a ton of questions to the guy that was teaching. He was extremely knowledgable and knew the answer to all of them. And when it came time to actually pour the beer, I failed miserably LOL. It was a lot harder than it looked. Arane, on the other hand poured a perfect glass. I guess if the nurse thing doesn’t work out she can always be a bartender…

Lastly, I got to meet up with some people from different parts of my life. I met up with my friend Emma, who I had only met one time in person in 2017 on the beach in Santa Cruz. Over the years we kept in touch, texting every couple/few months for a little while and just keeping up. And she happened to be leaving Madrid the same day that I arrived and had some time to meet up for a coffee. I also got to see my friend Noa, who I met in Washington DC when I was working as intern there. I got to see him last year when I was in Madrid, and it was so awesome to see him and spend time with him wandering around the city. Finally, I met up with Jose Manuel and Paloma, two of my dad’s contacts in Madrid from when I was a kid. The last time I saw them I might have been 8 years old. It was really cool connecting with them and sharing a really nice lunch with them. The best part about having friends that live far away is getting to see them and have things be exactly the same as always.