back to school

Today was the first day back to school after Christmas break! I felt refreshed and energized, even though most of this "break" was spent studying, it felt good to start back with two week's worth of full nights of sleep and happy memories from seeing friends in Italy and traveling this past weekend around Spain. 

This past weekend, my boyfriend and I took a road-trip to Rueda, a small town 30 minutes south-west of Valladolid, about 2 hours from Madrid. We stayed in an amazing little hotel set up by the Felix Sanz Bodega right in the middle of town. The quality of the room was great for the price, and we got to try two bottles from their bodega for free! We rewarded them by filling our suitcases with purchases the last day. We also visited a few other local bodegas. They all seemed very professional and despite the crisis, trying to expand their market share internationally. We had some interesting conversations about the growing market for wine in China. The Rueda area is known for its white wines, but we tried some great tintos (red varieties) as well. I definitely recommend this weekend trip to anyone in the Madrid area. During our stay, we were also able to visit Salamanca, Valladolid, and Tordesillas. 

Although we started at 11am today instead of at 9, since mid-December my Mondays now include a 3-hour Spanish class in the afternoon. The classes are on-campus and free, offered by IE through the International House. So it's been a long first day back and I need to get my beauty sleep so that I have the energy and mental power to stick to two of my New Years resolutions: 1. wake up and go to the gym, 2. don't forget things (especially my aluminum water bottle) in my desk!