Mother Monster Bellion.

A couple other awesome things have happened in the last month that I thought were deserving of their own post. Those awesome things were, of course, concerts.

The first one was last month - Jon Bellion at the Egyptian Room. Jenn and Kelly came to town for the event and, after an afternoon of eating and bar hopping on Mass Ave, we made our way to the Murat for the show.

I'm still not really sure how to define Jon Bellion's music. I guess I'd call it electronic hip hop, but the unique fusion of genres in his music explained the diversity of his opening acts. The show started with American Idol Season 14 runner-up Clark Beckham, who I actually got to meet a couple years ago. I'm a big fan of his voice and soulful, blues-y style, so it was the perfect way to kick off the show for me.

After Clark, two of Jon's collaborators came out to perform - Travis Mendes, a Brooklyn R&B singer, and Blaque Keyz, a rapper from Boston who gave the crowd his actual phone number if they wanted to talk to him. Whoa. The three of us had battled our way about halfway to the stage in a large standing-only room and I quickly realized I was easily one of the oldest people at the venue. Fortunately, I was able to dismiss that little detail once Jon came out and electrified the room.

My goodness. His stage presence was ridiculous - he danced like crazy, interacted with the crowd, beat-boxed, sang, and played the piano and electronic drum machine. Nearly everyone in the room sang the lyrics along with him and I truly can't remember the last time I saw a crowd that was so in tune with the artist performing. His set list consisted heavily of songs from his most recent album, The Human Condition, but he closed with an oldie that made the entire room explode.

He is the Same

Woodstock

All Time Low

Run Wild

Guillotine

80's Films

Human (with Jon's bus driver Sweet Pea on piano)

Woke the F*ck Up

Overwhelming

Maybe IDK

Luxury

iRobot

New York Soul, Pt. II

Hand of God

Jim Morrison

Last weekend, Wheat and I scratched an artist off my music bucket list when we bought tickets to see Lady Gaga at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Unfortunately, our tickets, which were in the stratosphere and rear stage seating, were pretty horrendous. From our vantage point, we couldn't see half of the stage and the sound was slightly muffled because the speakers were pointing away from us. But I have to say - despite all of that, Gaga absolutely slayed. Insert heart-eyed emoji.

You know an artist isn't messing around when they don't even bother with an opening act. Although she came onstage an hour and a half after the ticket time, she was nonstop energy from curtain up to curtain down. The show was a fast and furious two-hour blitz through her greatest hits:

Diamond Heart

A-Yo

Poker Face

Perfect Illusion

John Wayne

Scheiße

Alejandro

Just Dance

LoveGame

Telephone

Applause

Come to Mama

The Edge of Glory

Born This Way

Bloody Mary

Dancin' in Circles

Paparazzi

Angel Down

Joanne

Bad Romance

The Cure

Million Reasons

I can't even begin to guess how many costume changes there were, but every time she left the stage, I was anxious to see what she'd come out in next. As you'd expect, the show was a perfect balance of poppy dance music and heartfelt ballads that she performed on both the piano and guitar. A long bridge that descended from the ceiling connected the main stage with a circular secondary stage on the other side of the arena. She and her enthusiastic backup dancers somehow kept the entire crowd entertained.

Aside from her undeniable vocal talent (DUH!), I was really impressed by the love and appreciation she clearly has for her fans. She took time to honor a girl in the crowd who was suffering from cerebral palsy and dedicated "The Edge of Glory" to her. She also read aloud a fan letter that had been thrown onto the stage before jumping down to hug the girl who wrote it.

Though I already loved her, I came away from the concert with an even deeper appreciation for her as an artist and performer. All hail, Mother Monster.

What about you? Have you seen any good live shows lately?

The Ups(ide Down)

Oh, hello there.

Did you think I'd forgotten about my little corner of the Internet? Or that so much time had passed since our trip to Spain that I couldn't possibly remember the details? Or that I'd gotten stuck in the upside down with Eleven and the gang?

Well, the truth is somewhere in the middle - I haven't forgotten about my blog, though I have lost a lot of details about our Spanish adventure, and yeah, I can't get enough Stranger Things.

A lot has happened in the past couple months and not all of it is good. Fortunately, I have editorial control over this here blog and today, I choose to focus on the awesome things. Things like:

---Being married to Wheat for two years. Our second anniversary came and went without much fanfare, but I have to say - being married to him is the easiest thing I've ever done. You know how people always talk about how difficult it is to have a happy, healthy marriage/relationship? Not for us. Not yet, anyway. Maybe we're still in the "honeymoon phase" and maybe things will be harder once we have kids running around, but man - loving and being loved by him just comes so naturally.

Wheat had a game on our actual anniversary, so we went to dinner at Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse downtown, the day before. You can't go wrong with dressing up to eat unlimited meat, right?

---Winning a contest for haunted house tickets. Do317, my favorite Indianapolis event website, ran an Instagram contest asking users to write a scary story in 10 words or less. The winner of the contest won four tickets to two different haunted houses downtown - Nightmare on Edgewood and House of Trepidation. Guess who won. My story: "I woke up to someone knocking...on the closet door."

Although Wheat hates all things scary and haunted, he agreed to accompany me to the haunted trails. **see item above about how easy it is to love him** We had an absolute blast. House of Trepidation was a lot tamer than Nightmare on Edgewood (where the actors could actually touch and grab you), but we thoroughly enjoyed both. We attended Nightmare on Edgewood on "Lights Out" weekend, so we made our way through the trails with only a glow stick to light the way...and they definitely grabbed us. The highlight for me was the Midnight Double Feature section, where the props and sets were designed to look like memorable scary movie scenes and the actors were dressed as iconic villains (Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy Krueger, Jigsaw, Pennywise, the guy from Jeepers Creepers).

---All the Halloween things. Have I mentioned how much I love Halloween? Over the course of the last month, we have indulged in all things related to my favorite holiday. We picked a pumpkin and did a corn maze at Russell Farms. We sat on hay bales and listened to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Irvington (a neighborhood named after Washington Irving himself) before being visited by the Headless Horseman. We took a chilly haunted tour of downtown Indianapolis where the guide regaled us with stories of supernatural occurrences at the Soldiers and Sailors' Monument, Slippery Noodle Inn, Union Station, and more. Of course, I wouldn't let Halloween pass without making Wheat dress up in a couples costume. This year, we went with Tommy Pickles and Chuckie Finster from Rugrats.

We wore our costumes to Irvington's annual Halloween festival, which completely blew my mind with its cuteness. The main street was filled with vendors and food trucks. Every storefront had its windows painted with Halloween- and autumn-themed images. Bands played while a costume parade (that included toy soldiers, Beetlejuice, the Sanderson sisters, Hillary Clinton, and more) ambled by. For a small donation, we spun a prize wheel and walked away with an issue of The Walking Dead comic book. It was basically my very own Halloween dream world.

---A trip to Baltimore for my cousin's wedding. Over a month ago, Wheat and I traveled to Baltimore to watch my cousin Cody marry Alyssa in a gorgeous wedding at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. The views of the Inner Harbor were spectacular, little touches of Baltimore charm were everywhere (from the National Bohemian cake to the Orange Crush signature drink), and oh yeah - THE ORIOLES BIRD SHOWED UP! We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing with family and exploring Fells Point and Federal Hill. Did I mention ridiculous views?

---All the other happy odds and ends. Birthday celebrations at a cabin deep in the woods with friends, a fire pit, and lots of food. Warm chili with crackers and sour cream. Exploring new places in our city. Brilliant red, yellow, and orange leaves. A house in Greenwood that the owner decorated with mannequins and props to look like the set of The Walking Dead. Apple fritters and cinnamon cider donuts. Long-overdue lunch dates with a couple of my best friends. Oktoberfest celebrations in my Ohio hometown. Kisses and giggles from my niece. Cuddling on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket. And, of course, Stranger Things bingefests.

So yeah, it hasn't been all bad.

Rick Steves' Madrid.

Although we had been in Madrid for a couple days, jet lag and our trip to Toledo prevented us from really exploring all that the city has to offer. Aside from some brief glimpses of Madrileño nightlife, we still didn't have a feel for Spain's capital city, but that all changed on...

Day 3

Madrid, Spain

Highlights: Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Temple of Debod

After sleeping in longer than we probably should have, Wheat and I ventured back to Gran Vía to pick up our tickets for a bullfight at Las Ventas the following day. We took our time on the walk, admiring the colorful street graffiti and stopping in an official Real Madrid store along the way. Aside from enjoying the massive posters of Cristiano Ronaldo on the wall (sup, boo?), we got to see the UEFA Champions League trophy awarded to the club in June when they won their 12th title (and third in four years).

With tickets in-hand, we made our way back to the apartment to pick up my mom for a self-guided walking tour of the city. Of course, by "self-guided," I mean closely following the instructions in our trusty Rick Steves guidebook. The man is my spirit animal and his words are to be taken as gospel. He honestly provides the most insightful, yet user-friendly walking tours that I've ever encountered, ones that leave you with the perfect mix of typical tourist sites and lesser-known hidden gems.

We started our walk in Puerta del Sol, perhaps the biggest and busiest public square in the city. We spent quite a while reading up on the history of the square from the headquarters of fascist dictator Francisco Franco to the impressive statue of King Carlos III. We watched as people dressed as characters posed for pictures with tourists (think Times Square) and took pictures of the famous statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree (El Oso y El Madroño), the symbol of Madrid for centuries.

Our walk continued a few blocks to Plaza Mayor, Madrid's other famous public square. This large open space is surrounded on all sides by grand apartment buildings that create a sense of enclosure, although you're outdoors. Plaza Mayor also has a rich history - one that includes executions during the Spanish Inquisition and even bullfights. Today, it is filled with outdoor cafes and street performers who attempt to outdo their neighbor to earn your spare change.

As we entered the square, we encountered an unmanned display of flamenco dresses and I urged my mom to pose behind one for a picture. Suddenly, a woman materialized out of nowhere demanding a euro for the picture. We didn't have a euro, so I offered her the change that Wheat had in his pocket. She kept insisting that she would only accept a euro, so I eventually gave the change back to Wheat as she proceeded to call me every Spanish curse word in the book. 

In an effort to give our feet a break and soak in the lively atmosphere, we stopped for a drink at La Torre del Oro, an infamous bullfighting bar. It was stuffed to the brim with bullfighting memorabilia, including taxidermied bull heads, and countless, often gruesome, pictures of famous matadors being gored and celebrities enjoying bullfights at Las Ventas (including Che Guevara and Robert Kennedy). You've been warned.

This guy lived, by the way.

For the next couple hours, we wandered the streets of Madrid. We passed through the Mercado de San Miguel again and marveled over the gorgeous fruit displays. We learned about the assassination attempt on Alfonso XIII and his wife, admired the impressive (and enormous!) royal palace and Almudena Cathedral, and listened to a street musician play "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" on glasses filled with water. Amazed.

As our tour came to a close, we stopped at the famous Chocolatería San Ginés for some well-deserved churros con chocolate. We all know calories don't count on vacation, right? This place was life-changing. The cafe, which is constantly full of people and boasts lines out the door, is open 24/7 and serves the most delicious churros with cups of hot chocolate for dipping. The chocolate is actually more like warm pudding because it's so thick and creamy. It was essentially the Spanish version of beignets and Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. With happy bellies, we went back to the apartment for some more gorgeous rooftop views and rest.

A couple hours later, our bellies were rumbling, so we hit the streets in search of a dinner spot. As I mentioned, our apartment was in a bustling neighborhood filled with plenty of bars and restaurants, so the hardest part was narrowing our choices down. We eventually settled on a chain restaurant called Takoaway, which was essentially Chipotle, because this girl's gotta have her Mexican food.

After dinner, Wheat and I split from my parents so we could visit el Parque del Oeste and el Templo de Debod. We'd read that the views from the park at sunset were stunning, so we rushed over to catch the last glimpses of fading daylight. The park was jam packed with people who had the same idea, but for good reason. The view of the city, the cathedral, and the royal palace in the distance were breathtaking. Once the sun was mostly down, lights illuminated the Temple of Debod, an authentic Egyptian temple that was donated to Spain in 1968 (as thanks for helping them conserve another temple). I honestly could have stood in the park and admired the temple's reflection in the pool for hours.

Eventually, Wheat pried me away from the park and we began our walk home. We stopped at Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol again to see the liveliness of the street performers at night and grabbed some crepes (for him) and gelato (for me). It was the perfect romantic end to an evening made even more romantic by a nice soak in the hot tub when we returned home.

Street performer in Plaza Mayor.

"I feel like I'm on a date on The Bachelor."

As is often the case with any trip, we felt pressed for time in Spain. Although I would have loved to travel to other parts of the country (hello, Ibiza and Mallorca!) and neighboring Portugal, we decided to really only spend time in Madrid and Barcelona, in hopes of getting a closer look at the country's two most populous cities. We did, however, make a brief exception on...

Day 2

Toledo and Madrid, Spain

Highlights: Toledo Cathedral, Las Carboneras Flamenco Show

Even though we had barely seen any of Madrid, we scheduled a day trip to Toledo (through Julia Travel) for our second day in Spain. We opted to tour the city on our own, rather than have a tour guide all day, so we could explore at our own pace and delve into what we found interesting. We met the rest of the group at the Julia Travel office, hopped on a bus, and after a 45-minute drive and a quick stop at a touristy shop, we arrived in Spain's former capital city.

Toledo is a beautiful, medieval city (and UNESCO World Heritage site) perched on top of a large hill that overlooks the Río Tajo (River Tagus). It is also a city with a complex and interesting past, as it has been inhabited and heavily influenced by Christians, Jews, and Muslims that at times coexisted within the city walls. As you get lost wandering through the maze of cobblestone streets, you can spot evidence of this influence in churches and architecture, food and design. Vestiges of Roman aqueducts blend with Moorish arches while views of the countryside beyond conjure images of Don Quixote, leaving you with a rich understanding of this centuries-old city.

In order to get a quick overview, the first thing we did upon arrival was take a lap on the double-decker city tour bus. This tour, which was included in our day trip to the city and had English explanations of what we were seeing, was an excellent start to the day. We learned about the New Bisagra Gate (Puerta de Bisagra Nueva), the original gate to the city that features the city's coat of arms - a double-headed eagle.

Puerta de Bisagra Nueva

We decided to hop off the bus at the Plaza de Zocodover, the city's main square, and explore the winding, narrow streets that surround it. These streets were lined with countless restaurants and shops that sell swords, marzipan candies, and damascene ware, steel that is meticulously decorated with threads of woven gold and silver. Our first stop was perhaps the best one of the day - the enormous, breathtaking Toledo Cathedral. Wheat and I paid to go inside and it was truly worth every cent. Aside from impressive Gothic architecture, the cathedral boasts ornate gold ornamentation, countless sculptures, stained glass windows, and even its own art gallery.

Massive gold monstrance encrusted with rubies and emeralds.

Once we'd had our fill of the Cathedral, we met my parents for lunch at a nice place with a fixed-price menu. The guys had their first paella of the trip, but my personal highlight was the ice cream cone for dessert. After lunch, we decided to split up again and Wheat and I spent the next couple hours roaming the streets on what felt like a super romantic date (hence Wheat's quote that serves as the fitting title for this post). We stopped by the Church of Santo Tomé to see El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz, the most famous painting by El Greco (who spent much of his life in Toledo), and checked out a swordmaker's shop. We saw nuns making marzipan and listened to live music on the street. Most importantly, we got lost, hand-in-hand, and enjoyed our gorgeous surroundings. Bliss.

Cute recreation of nuns making marzipan.

Statue of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote

Eventually, we met my parents again at the main square and began our slow descent to the bottom of the hill. We had some time to kill before the bus picked us up, so we explored a nearby park and got a closer look at the city's famous gate. 

Once the bus arrived, it immediately took us to another touristy shop because they want ALL THE MONEY. It ended up being a pretty cool stop because Wheat got to hold a massive sword, we saw a damascene worker in action, and we finally tried a bit of the city's famous marzipan (mazapán).

When we finally arrived in Madrid, we made a quick pit stop at the adorable popsicle shop (Lolo Polos) next to our apartment and freshened up while enjoying the sunset from our rooftop. Although we were pretty tired after our full day in Toledo, we had scheduled a flamenco show that night through Julia Travel. So, we rested up, hopped in a taxi, and after a lot of frantic searching, finally found Las Carboneras, a little restaurant/theater that hosts nightly flamenco shows.

I know it sounds crazy, but this flamenco show (which included a drink) was honestly the highlight of Madrid for all four of us. Videos and pictures don't do it justice, but the energy and intensity of the dancers was absolutely incredible. Flamenco is a traditional, folkloric style of dance popularized in southern Spain. It is typically associated with gypsies and it has a haunting, but sexy appeal. The ridiculously talented guitarist and singers were complemented by the impassioned stomping of the four dancers that entranced us over the course of the hour-long show. The venue was small and intimate, which was perfect because we could clearly see the emotion in their faces and the beads of sweat fly off as they twirled. Guys, I can't explain it. You just have to see it. I think all four of us legitimately fell in love with a dancer by the end of the show.

With stomachs growling and stars in our eyes, we left Las Carboneras and made our way to the Mercado de San Miguel, an upscale, covered market nearby. Although it was midnight, the market was still bustling with young adults sipping sangria and indulging in local treats. My parents ordered some fancy olives and sea urchin while Wheat and I opted for our first Spanish churros and chocolate. Much more to come on that later...

Are you dying to go to Spain yet? Because I'm already dying to go back...