It was the first day of school…but unlike the usual first day of dread for a new year of endless assignments and nerves, it was a first day of living in Madrid. I was ecstatic. After our orientation at Saint Louis University, Madrid, one of my roommates and I tagged along in a tour of the city our school was offering. I decided to bring my big fancy Canon camera along to take pictures, knowing that I already looked like a tourist walking in a large group. I proceeded to take a million pictures, so much so that when I took my other roommates on the same route the next day, I was able to use the pictures on my camera as a map. Everywhere I walked was enchanting. And, lucky for me, it was all so close to where I lived with my host family (everything was within 10 minutes walking distance)!

On our tour, my roommate, Emily, and I discovered our most favorite place of all: El Mercado de San Miguel. The market is a large glass building close to el palacio and features all kinds of food – such as tapas, fish, sangria, wine, mouth-watering desserts and more – all of which look like they came right out Gourmet magazine. Emily and I were in complete heaven and decided to stand at one of the assorted tables in the center to enjoy our sangria and nibble on our olive, sundried tomato, and cheese kabobs. When our tour group decided to go on to the next site, we just shrugged and went back to enjoying our snack. Then we took our time and stopped at every counter, deciding what we are going to taste the next five months. We decided we would need to limit ourselves to coming to the market only once or twice a week, otherwise we would go every day.

With satisfied stomachs and with sangria buzzing in our heads, Emily and I decided to use the old method of getting lost to sightsee. We wandered through the streets, each corner showing us a new beautiful view. It took no time at all for us to spot the edge of el palacio and we excitedly walked over to see the entire building. I was on a high from all the beauty around me (okay maybe some of it was the sangria) and I couldn’t grasp that this was where I’d be living the next five months. And what baffled me was that it was only my second day here! Who knows what else I’ll discover.