The Shower My body is cocooned and comforted by the covers of my twin bed, warm and snuggled, I lay in a dreamy state all bundled up. Only my nose is left bare to tingle from the cold air of the room. Then all of a sudden Elissa walks in, "Rachel! I flooded the whole apartment!" Upon realizing I am not dreaming and that my roommate is actually standing there in her towel in distress, I sit up in bed. "What?" "I was taking...

El Escorial Y Toledo Key: * = see accompanying picture in the Escorial Y Toledo Album Today we traveled. After a refreshing one hour bus ride, I woke up to the quiet city of El Escorial. This is still considered part of Madrid, but it is further North. El Escorial is where people go in the summer to get away from the city heat, much like the relationship between Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona. Our tour of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial...

My Spain adventure began with a delightfully delicious send off brunch with my dad and the Burnetts in DC. I flew first to Copenhagen airport, which technically flew past my destination, but was in my opinion well worth it. If you ever need to fly through Europe with a connection, go through this airport! I stepped out onto beautifully wooden parquet floors, leading to stone grey tiles. The vaulted ceilings made me feel grand as I glided through to my gate. My...