This weekend my family arrived in Spain. I went to Madrid to reunite with them and to make sure they could find their way around a country where they don't know the language. They ended up having some delays, so I got to spend most of the day by myself.

Our hotel was in a very touristy spot in La Puerta del Sol. I spent the afternoon browsing book stores and people watching while drinking some tea and taking in the strong Spanish sun. The introvert in me was very happy. I don't get a lot of time to myself here and that afternoon was much needed.

When my family did arrive they were exhausted from all of the traveling. We spent the night relaxing and walking around the Plaza. There were so many tourists. It made me very happy that I chose to study in a small city.

We had the whole day Sunday to do whatever we wanted. We went to church, then my parents went off to see stuff and I went with my sister to shop. My sister and I ended up finding the Royal Palace and we toured that. The Royal Palace was breath taking (like everything we see here). There is so much detail put into everything. It's hard to describe it's so beautiful. My parents didn't go in any museums, but it sounded like they had a relaxing day. I couldn't believe all of the stores were open on a Sunday. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around that. I guess that means I am adapting to Spanish culture.

At night we got some pizza, tapas and dessert. The best part of traveling with my family is that I can actually eat real meals (as opposed to cookies and yogurt) and sleep in a hotel with my own bathroom (as opposed to a hostel).

Monday we got on our train and came to Cáceres. My host parents made a huge fancy meal that had all sorts of different types of food for my family. It was all very good. My family was a little hesitant about all of the fish, but when in Spain you just have to roll with it and not question anything.

I didn't realize how much I was missing my family. I'm very happy to see them and I am very thankful to have this whole week to spend time with them.