Happy Birthday A!

One my dearest and closest friends has just become 20 some days ago. We met on a Cross Country Championship as room-buddies and here we are :)

We celebrated her birthday at the XXL restaurant the we all love and adore. Here are some pictures of the celebration :)

Doesn't all just look yummy! :)

A little bit of love :)

There she was, struggling again. She was trying to not be late to catch the bus, but her cell phone rang. Without hesitation, she ran towards her bedroom to get dressed  and picked up with a relaxed voice.

- "Hey! It's you!" - she answered.
On the other side of the line, someone special asked her questions about her day.
- "You caught me kind of busy...right now. I need to get dressed, brush my teeth and get my bag ready for school in 5 minutes."

It seemed like they were going to hang up, but on a second thought she decided not to. Even though it would take her a little longer to do all she had to do, it was definetely worth it. Besides, ¿what was the speaker phone for?
About five minutes passed by and she was already  tying up her warm brown boots. Down the stairs and out she went, rattling about how relaxed her morning had been.

- "It sure is cold" she commented as soon as she got out of her building.

Cold breeze came from the mountain  at this time of the year and made it seemed colder than it really was. She crossed the street towards the bus stop.

-"Thanks for calling me" she finally said.

She really meant it, one could notice it, though it had taken her a little too long to say it. Multitasking stressed her out most of the time and always took her a few moments to sink in on what was really happening around her.

The bus came. Up she went describing the last book she had read that made her cry.
Suddenly, her phone made a wierd sound.

- "Hey, my battery is low. My phone may die " she explained hastily.

He also told her what their plans for the following weekend could be, hoping that she would be thrilled with his proposal.

Beep-beep-beep-beep, beep-beep-beep...

She thought her battery had died, but no... her phone was still working. Awkward.
Her hands started writing a text message..

 I don't know what happened. I thought my phone had died, but it is still breathing. LOL. Thanks for calling me, it was nice to hear your voice. I can't wait to see you. ILY.

Just as she clicked "send", an incoming text message made her cell phone vibrate.

Hey! I had no service as I drove down a tunnel. Btw, thanks for talking to me on my way home:) It is always nice to hear from you.I wish you a great class. Ti amo.

She thought it was coincidence, but as she reconsidered it, she smiled. No, she knew it was not a coincidence. They just really cared about each other.

Brussels

Parfait at Le Pain Quotidien

Finally, my exams are over until next semester. I thought it was never going to end, but it always does :) My classes start tomorrow again, they leave us no time to rest and relax. That's why a nice trip to Brussels is the best way to disconect and gain strength to start over again.

Our stay was short, but we saw the main attractions: Gran Palace, Manneken Pis, Jeaneke Piss, City Walls, Notre Dame, Belgian Waffles....

Big walks through great palaces and huge parks. Everything was very green, but it was also very cold. I had sure a lot of layers on, just like Shrek ;) We got lots of strength from a huge breakfast buffet and from the original "Le Pain Quotidient". It was founded in Brussels.

And of course, we couldn't leave science out of the trip. We visited Atomium, a gigantic iron atom situated in Laeken Park

Nearby, was also a Chinese Building and a Japanese tower.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and gained strength for the following week. I think I did, I just read from the guide book I brought with me and strolled  Rue Neuve alor que je tenais la main de J. 

A Breakfast for Kings

A nice surprised arrived at J's house this morning: a complete breakfast with fruit and sweets.

San Silvestre

One year ends, another one begins.
For athletes the last race of the year is a must.
 I decided to run the one at my hometown with J this year. My friends A and M also came.

It was a perfect day, sunny and warm. We were very very lucky. The circuit was hard: steep hills at every corner. It was basically like doing a fartlek run.My biggest congrats to S who organized the whole event (you are amazing!).

S is awesome :)

During the first 5K, the first 3 gals went together. From then on A took the lead and got herself a week to the beach to go with whoever she wants (pick me! pick me!). J and I slowed down a bit, but not so much. The last kilometer was completed in 3'24'' which made us finish in 39'44''. Oh, and M...you surprise me more each day, she is a total natural at this ;) Keep it up! :D

Here are some links to some videos of the race:

http://www.corriendovoy.com/video.php?id=494&video=34964

http://www.corriendovoy.com/video.php?id=494&video=34952

http://youtu.be/lC2sIcMscfg?t=1m35s

2 much 4 dinner

Yesteday my friends and I went out for dinner at the XXL restaurant. C, D and A ate a whole XXL hamburger by themselves... it is really crazy! And really big too! The rest of us didn't go for it... I can't eat so much at night!

And just in case there was some space in our stomach left, we headed of for some ice cream...but it was closed! So we went on a hunt for dessert :)

 It was sure fun, fun, fun! 

But I'm sure some of them (even if they don't want to confess it) were sure full, full, full!

The Secret Garden

M and I strolled around Madrid this afternoon. We took a walk around Gran Vía, Callao and Sol. The city is litted with seasonal themes and decorated with huge Chirtmas trees. One may even find a small skating rink in Callao.

We ended up in The Secret Garden. It is one my favourite cafés... I never know what to order. All the hot chocolates and desserts are so tempting. Brown sugar is always available and sweet chocolate bear shaped cookies are given with warm tea.

I always like to go here with my friends. J took me to this place 2 years ago and it is really magical, a very cute corner of Madrid indeed. Today, I treated myself to some "leche rizada" and M got some rooibos tea (isn't just the best?).