Flu Season: Brad and Irena Visit

^(Irena and I reunited!)

Flu season has hit hard in Spain just like in the rest of the world. Brad found that out the hard way the second time he came to visit. Two days after arriving in Spain, he came down with it. He spent pretty much the whole time in bed that week. I scrambled trying to figure out how to combat the flu without nurse/dad Wes Corey to help out -- although I did consult him on the matter plenty. Thankfully, strong flu medicine is pretty easy to come by in Spain. Just walk into the pharmacy, tell them your symptoms, and then they give you medicine for less than 15 euros! Or, ask for the specific one you need. I was easily able to get what my dad told me to find. It was kind of scary dealing with the flu -- I've never been in the position of having to care for someone with it (thanks mom and dad for taking care of me)! Thankfully, the medicine went to work and while Brad slept most of the time here and was pretty bummed about being sick, I'm glad he was here. And thankfully I got the flu shot, so all I ended up with was a sniffly nose (despite the flu vaccine not being very effective this season...I am still giving it creds). Plus, I learned some new Spanish vocabulary!

Fiebre = fever

Gripe = flu

Congestion = congestión

^(So sick and tired he fell asleep while we were waiting for the check...pobrecito, he wanted to go out so bad but really couldn't last long).

Nevertheless, Brad still got to play volleyball with me at the open gym I go to before he got sick - which was really fun! And of course, being Brad and loving food...we still got to try out a lot of yummy food this whole week. Compared to the picture above, you can see in this first picture that he was not feeling sick when he first got here:

^(At our favorite pizza place, NAP)

^(Pupusa's at Pupuseria Madrid Rio Grande Atocha. This is where he fell asleep waiting for the check)

^(Walked by KOMKI smoked BBQ on my way to class one day, and since Brad loves meat so much we had to try it)

^(Croqueta y Presumida - made right on the spot to go!)

^(The Toast Cafe -- finally found real brunch in Madrid! And it's only 5 minutes away from our place...dangerous business...and so good)

Ironically enough, as soon as Brad got home to the US and went to a doctor, they told him he was fine. Guess I'm not a bad flu-fighter after all.

The day Brad left, Irena came in! It was so nice seeing her, meeting her friends and showing her Madrid! Neither of us would have imagined meeting up in Europe, and yet, we did! I really want to visit her in the Czech Republic, but I don't think I'll be able to visit her with the time I have left...so I am so glad she came to visit. We met up multiple times before she headed out. I was also able to squeeze into their dinner reservation at Sobrino de Botín, the oldest restaurant in Madrid and the World (according to the Guinness Book of World Records). It was delicious!

To end this post, I have to give proper photo credits. The pictures I have of us I cannot take credit for -- they are hers. You can definitely tell she is in a photography program in Prague because they are so much better than the ones I take! Summerbridge love in España <3

^(Sobrino de Botín -- definitely the best sangria I've had in Spain thus far haha)