snow in madrid

i've found out that my beloved city of madrid was covered in snow this past friday. why is this a big deal? i guess maybe you'd have to live there to feel why this is so. it doesn't snow in madrid often. so when you find the wee little flakes falling it's a sweet surprise.

snow in madrid is sentimental for me as well. i'll tell you why. i went for a summer, my first trip to europe. i'd just quit my job in banking, somehow coming to understand that a financial career in nyc is not as glamorous as it seemed to be.

i thought i'd go to spain where i'd read that wine, good food, and friendship the spanish take serious, and i wanted to see with my own eyes. i ended up staying for 5 years. spain has the ability to steal your heart when you're not looking.

i taught english to pay for my rent and drink:) one morning well into my stint there, on my way to a 8am class i walked out of my apartment building to find that the city was being decorated in snow flakes. i thought how pretty. it had been a few years since i'd seen snow.

though i did not know how unusual a real snow fall is in madrid, there was a mix of excitement as well as panic. i arrived at my morning class to find most folks were not coming to work, as well as shops and the doings about the city would not be... well... 'doing.'

i thought for this little covering of snow, the city comes to a halt? though all my classes would be canceled that day, and i would lose a day's pay. i checked my mobile telephone and found my friends were meeting in a cafe for breakfast, and i should get there as soon as i can.

i texted back... voy ahora mismo! i'm on my way now!