26/01- Saturday
Day:
Today we woke up at a descent time, I packed and got showered and ready. We had to be at the bus at 10:30am which was not too bad at all! The bus ride took about 1.5 hours which also wasn't too bad. It was nice to just sit there and relax on the bus. I'm doing this thing right now where I'm going to listen to my entire iPod (1,716 songs) on shuffle. I don't really have a reason besides the fact that I know that I don't listen to more than half of the music on my iPod. I've already discovered some music that I forgot about that I love! It is quite fun, so that is what I did on the bus. We then got the hotel Mediodia which was in the center of one of those crazy huge traffic circles in Madrid. We picked roommates, I was in a double with Katie DSA, and then got a couple of hours of free time. Katie and I put stuff in our room, ate our lunch (puri packed me the smelliest sandwich! It was egg and smelly fish on soggy white bread. Sadly I was less than happy with it but I downed it because I was hungry!), and then we went to explore. It was beautiful out! We didn't even have to wear a coat. It was so nice :) She had seen a picture of a vertical garden on Pintrest so we went looking for it. To our surprise, we found it and it was pretty cool. It was a building which had a side that was completely lush plants and probably pretty flowers in the summer! After that we went back to the hotel to meet up with the group. As a group we walked to the Reina Sofia museum which was an all of thirty seconds away from our hotel. For our art class we had a few paintings we had to look at, but mostly we just wandered around. The Guernica, a famous painting by Picasso, was beautiful. It was huge and has so much going on! There is a picture of it in my room that I see everyday here so it was cool to see the original. There was a lot of work by Picasso there and it was pretty cool. After a few hours in the museum we all started to get pretty wiped out, there are only so many Spanish Civil War paintings you can look at. This museum was huge! So we left but I couldn't find my roommate so I had to go chill in someone else's room until she came back (luckily not that much time, whew).
Early Evening:
We sat around talking for a while and then decided to go out for tapas and drinks with Gladys! We went to a bar right by the hotel called Copas Rotas which sells glasses of Cava, Beer, Wine, or Moscato for one euro and tapas for one euro too! We got patatas bravas (potatoes with hot sauce) and patatas alioli (potatoes with garlic mayonnaise) and Gladys paid for these which was so sweet of her :) They were delicious! I got a cava which was also delicious. After that we wandered around trying to find a grocery store to buy food for dinner. Grocery stores are shockingly hard to come across! Eventually we found one and Katie and I bought bread, laughing cow cheese (translated as la vaca que rei- the cow that laughs), drinkable yogurt, and oranges. We went back and had a picnic on our beds in the hotel which was fun! A lot of people got McDonalds (gross- expensive- gross- so american- gross) and we were very happy with our dinner. Katie and I also picked up a bottle of sparkling red wine that has lemon and soda in it (very popular here, not sure what it is called) and some ice. By this time it was probably 8:00pm. There was still a lot of night ahead of us! So we again sat around talking which was really nice and then slowly we started getting dressed to go out and we started drinking a bit.
Night:
It took forever it seemed like for it to become 1:00am, we were starting to get tired but this was when we had to get prepared to leave. We met in one hotel room to meet up with three spanish guys (good friends with guys on our trip) who were going to show us the way to a club we were heading to, La Kapital. They got us a really great deal! We each paid 21 Euros to get into the club (usually 15 euros to get in) but along with getting in, we got a private balcony, something like nine bottles of hard alcohol (rum and vodka), and never ending supply of soda for mixers. The private balcony had seats and was just for us! There were only six of these in the club and we got one, so that was pretty cool. But as we were all coming together in the hotel, there were a few noise complaints (over thirty people cannot be quiet...) so the hotel manager came up to that room and said if we didn't get out in five minutes that he was going to call the police. Then he saw the spanish boys and knew they weren't a part of our group and they were escorted out. We got in a lot of trouble the next day. Apparently it is not allowed to have people up to your hotel room who aren't staying there too (who knew?). So after this ordeal we left to go to the club (approx a two min walk from our hotel- Gladys planned this, she is the best) but then we didn't have the three spanish boys with us because they had left the hotel before us! We couldn't get into the club without them so we stood outside in the cold until they showed up (thank goodness). We got inside and then were escorted to our private balcony, we felt really special! The club was SO CRAZY! There were dance floors, all kinds of floors, lots of lights, different music on different floors, fog everywhere, and there were a lot of people. Our balcony looked over the main dance floor which had two fun live DJ's and they played some fun music. Most of the music was American so that worked for us! On the main dance floor there was this machine on the ceiling that periodically shot out a huge stream of fog (I've never seen anything like it before) that was loud and terrifying! But when we were dancing it and it happened we figured out that the fog was freezing cold, it instantly cooled you off. It was the best idea ever! I think every club should get one! I danced most of the time and had a blast. Eventually a few of us left around 4:30am and got to bed by 5:15am only to have to wake up early the next day! All I can say is that it was entirely worth it.
27/01-Sunday
This morning we had to wake up at 8:30 to shower and get ready for our long touring day. We got breakfast at the hotel which consisted of juice, bad coffee, and rock hard rolls with jelly. Less than satisfying! Everyone was super tired and hungover which is such a bad combination with a long touring day. But then we headed out for a long walk where we eventually ended up at the Plaza Mayor. A short walk from there later, we got to an outdoor market called the Rastro. There are lots of people who set up booths that sell anything you could ever want! It was the biggest outdoor market that I have ever seen! It was amazing. At one of the first tables I saw this necklace that I loved but I thought I would walk around first before buying anything. We got a feel for prices and things being sold before Katie and I stumbled across this booth selling beautiful scarves for two euros (to ruin the surprise, I got one for me, mom and Krisp). Then we walked for a while more and I found a pretty bracelet that is pearls with some shiny beads too, so naturally I bought it. A couple hours went by and the whole time I was still thinking about that necklace I saw at the first booth so a few minutes before we had to leave I made the people I was with come with me to go buy it. It is a brown necklace (like leathery so I'm not allergic to it!) with fold beads, shiny beads, and one big and one small gold elephant. It is SO pretty! I love it :) I got it for 8 euros (originally it was 9) and I'm so glad I went back for it. After my wonderful purchases we went back to the plaza mayor to head out. We then walked to the Mercado of San Miguel where mom and I had gone for tapas before which was nice. It was super crowded and it was a hard place to get lunch. We were all starving and this place only sells little tapas that are one billion euros each haha not to be dramatic. But I was having a food mood so I had to step away from the group and eat something because I was about to cry. I found a nice man selling tortillas on bread and I bought one and scarfed it down. It was wonderful! Then I found some people to walk around with and we got a few more things to eat (a mini pizza and then some juice of a tropical fruit I've never heard of) until we were satisfied and it was time to go. From there we walked to the Palacio Real which mom and I saw from the outside. It is a magnificent building and the inside was beautiful. Every room was so detailed! The ceilings were wonderful, chairs had fabric the same pattern as the wall paper, and everything was just grand. I loved every second of it! I think palaces are way cooler than museums. I found out that if I either become Queen of Spain or a head of state (or a wife of a head of state) that I could attend parties at this palace. This is my new life goal. After the palace we headed out to go for a pretty long walk to an outdoor park. At this point we were all exhausted and my feet hurt so badly (lesson learned- next trip bring my walking shoes not my keds). A few of us went to sit at Starbucks for our thirty minutes of free time instead of exploring the park because it was raining. At 5 o'clock we went into the Prado museum because it is free after 5. We had to wait in a few lines but then got inside. Originally we were supposed to stay until 7 o'clock but Gladys saw how tired we were so she let us leave at 6 o'clock. I was too tired to really enjoy the museum, but I don't really enjoy museums either way. The second I got inside I realized that Kristin and I had been here on our Madrid trip a few years ago so I felt less bad about leaving early. We took off and ate another picnic dinner in the hotel (same dinner) which was great. Sitting down and stuffing our faces was just what we needed! Three of us (Katie, Tara and I) then watched Pitch Perfect, which I had never seen but it was really good! Relaxing felt so good. After that it was around 10 o'clock and I wanted to go to bed but people were getting dressed to go out so I decided that I would go out for a little bit. We went back to that bar with cheap drinks where we befriended the bartender and he gave us bottles of Moscato for 6 euros. We drank a few bottles and it was really tasty and cheap! After that I had planned to go to bed but the boys in our group said that they wanted to go to another bar close to the hotel so I was like fineeee. But a 25 min walk later we were at Gran Via (a major shopping street in Madrid) where they admitted they didn't actually know of any bars but they thought there would be some here. It was so annoying! There are no bars on a shopping street! Everything was closed. So four of us ladies decided to walk back to the hotel instead of wandering around forever and getting more annoyed. We made it back to bed by 2 and I slept like a rock.
28/01-Monday
Today we woke up at 9:00 to get our day going, it being our last day in Madrid and all. Katie and I had planned on going and walking around with a few other girls and the guys. After we waited for an hour for them at breakfast and at least thirty minutes while they went to Starbucks (again, so american, also VERY expensive in Madrid) Katie and I left them and went off on our own. She had a map marked with all of the places she had read about and wanted to go to. We started off going to the outdoor park that was close to the Prado museum, it is a huge and beautiful park! We saw a statue of "the fallen angle" aka the devil which is the only one of its kind in Spain. Then we saw the Palacio de Cristal which is a building made out of glass. It was really pretty! It is not actually used as a Palace, it is actually a piece of art. It represents that two people can be really close but be separated (one person outside, one person inside, see each other but can't communicate). It was beautiful! Then we saw some very cool monuments and another palace that had free entrance. Katie and I went in and much to our surprise it wasn't a palace either, it was holding some really ugly post-modern art. I do not understand nor enjoy modern art. One exhibit was a room, white walls, with gray carpet. The artist called it "untitled". Ahhh, yes, art. So we left that! Then we walked up to see the huge library in Madrid, it is like four blocks all together. It's huge and cool! We continued walking and saw lots of cool things along our way. Eventually we got to Gran Via and took all of the touristy pictures that you find on post cards. We went up to the eighth floor of Corte Ingles which has a beautiful birds eye view of Gran Via. The top floor was all glass to look out and it was also a cafeteria so we decided to eat lunch there and enjoy the view! We got some delicious pizza and rested our tired feet. After snapping a few more pictures we left to keep going on our walk. We went back to see the Plaza Mayor and the San Miguel Market where we stopped to get churros and chocolate. It was the most delicious churros and chocolate I've ever had! Fresh made warm churros dipped in DARK chocolate. I was in heaven. We were starting to get tired so after eating we had to get right up and keep moving on. We were trying to find our way back to the Puerto del Sol and we got a bit confused as to where to go but then I recognized where we were! Mom and I had gotten lost on our way from the hotel to Puerto Del Sol and we had my suitcases with us, we stopped and asked for directions. I saw the place where we asked for directions and remembered what we had gotten told! What a small world. So we very easily got to Puerto Del Sol where we went to Corte Ingles so that I could exchange the hair dryer I had bought before that was broken. It was so easy, they just gave me a new one! So after that we kept walking to find another outdoor park that Katie wanted to see. We found it and it was super sketchy, full of graffiti, and you could tell drug deals went on there. But it had a beautiful view of Madrid and the mountains behind Madrid! I did not know you could see mountains from Madrid. After that we decided to walk a different way home in order to see a different side of Madrid. We came across a lot of beautiful things, Madrid has so much to see! Somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn and ended up in the south of Madrid in a place that was cut off of our map... awkward. Luckily Katie was really good with directions and she was like oh if we cut up this street we will be home. So after 25 min of walking on this street we ended up at the hotel and I was like "wait, what?" I was impressed with her. It felt good to get back because I was so tired and my feet were aching. We got to sit for a little bit before we all decided to go get one last glass of Moscato at the cheap bar, I also got some spanish tortilla for a snack because I knew dinner would be far away. After that it was time to get onto the bus. It felt so good to be on the bus. I fell right asleep and woke up when we were pulling up to the aqueduct! The rest was much needed. I got home to a big hug from Puri, she said she had missed me a lot. It was very sweet to come home to that :) She and I talked for an hour about my trip and about her weekend and then I Face-Timed with mom which was nice. After that Puri called me in for dinner. Normally dinners are smaller but she had made me a huge dinner of fish sticks, empanadas, salad, and a potato. I ate every single bite! I had no idea I was so hungry, but I was. She said she figured I would be hungry after eating bread and cheese all weekend. She was right! After dinner Puri and I watched her favorite soap opera, it takes place in her hometown. It is interesting because it ran from 10:40-11:40 without commercials. I enjoyed it though! By the end of the show I was wiped, so I crawled into bed. I'm gonna need a few days to recover from that trip! It was so much fun!
I feel as though this weekend was hard on my learning spanish. Everyone in Madrid speaks to Americans in english no matter what and our group spoke to each other in english. I have to get back into the spanish mindset!
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