Day 2
The second day in Madrid I was most definitely exhausted from all the exploring and pub crawl! The plan for the day was to explore El parque de Retiro , see the palace and to eat Paella! We headed to the market where we had passed the day before. The market place was very similar to an Erie street market or west side market back home but much more modern. The market had tons of booths with desserts, fruits, wines and tapas. I headed over to get some paella con carne y chorizo which was very yummy but still has nothing on my grandmas rice! Emily made the better choice with the paella con pescado. Then I headed off to the booth with my biggest obsession .. cafe! The cafe is brewed with fresh coffee beans, steamed milk and he even had a flame to melt the flavoring.. With a little whip cream, coconut flakes and chocolate my cafe was complete. Best coffee of my life made me totally forget about my biggby obsession!
after a late lunch we were ready for some more exploring and head to el parque de Retiro. As we arrived i was in awe of the parks beauty and liveliness. It truly was a site to see. The park is full of monuments and different fountains. We spent a lot of time here at the park and took tons of pictures. The Spaniards truly appreciate the beauty of their sites and utilize them. Emily and I sat on the steps of the monuments and talked for awhile about our lives and our futures which was a great bonding experience while watching people enjoying themselves on paddle boats and relaxing. Another lesson learned in Spain is that PDA or public displays of affection are widely accepted her and romance is cherished. Couples have no problem expressing their affection for one another which is very beautiful but can be slightly awkward for the typical American. Another lesson is that Spain has great play grounds! The US should take some tips on how to make a good play ground because I had a great time!
After the park I was determined to find the palace. We headed to plaza de sol which is where the city hall is located and where the New Years 12 grapes tradition is held every year. I stopped to grab a tank top at the local store because I was dying from my 1/3 sleeve shirt. The shopping in Spain is so hard to resist because all styles are so accessible and I love the hipster look which is all over the place here. We headed to the palace which is truly breath taking ... The royal palace holds over 3,000 rooms and is not even utilized by the royal family except on occasion. Outside of the palace there are tons of tourists and I actually came across a group of elderly men who were sitting in front of the palace and I just had to take a picture! The men here are so romantic and cute! As I took the picture they invited me to sit and chat and I had a great conversation about the states, Spain and some tips on traveling. I loved meeting these men and they told me they meet there almost every day to watch the People and to chat about the old days. Emily and I came across the palace courtyard which was simply priceless. The courtyard has a great view of the palace and a great place to sit and relax. We headed back to the hostel while making a few stops and had some amazing gelato! Foreign countries have amazing food! Good thing I've been walking miles each day. We got back to the hostel and met up with our new Wisconsin roommates brittany and kayley. These girls were great and we had a lot in common with them. We hung out for awhile and then got ready for pub crawl #2. It was Thursday so the crawl was much more packed this time. This was an awesome bonding experience for everyone in the hostel we literally met people from all over the world and with a little tequila the entire group got very close and because good friends! The best nightlife experience by far was going to Club Kapital! Kapital is one of Madrid's biggest night clubs 7 floors and a roof floor where each floor has a different style of music! It was insane! Lesson: Spanish clubs sometimes have "kissing" rooms.. Do not go in there lol I spent the most time on the Spanish floor, music was great and I love that people love to dance and have a good time here! We headed back to the hostel with our new friends at 5 am and hung out in the lobby and chated! As everyone went to sleep a few of us stayed up and had great life conversations then realized that the sun had came up and breakfast was being served, it was 8 am! Omg I had been up for over 24 hours but in Madrid you do t want to miss a beat . I was exhausted had some breakfast and headed for bed.
Day 3
The night before I regretfully told my new Argentinian roommates to wake me up at 10 am for the free walking tour of Madrid. I was not a happy camper when I was woken up at 9 am after only 1 hour of sleep! But I was determined to learn more about Madrid. I arrived to the tour with yesterday's mascara and my NY Knicks hat half asleep! Emily decided to stay behind because she wasn't feeling well but I headed off with my new pub crawl crew and Argentinians. The tour started and come to find it it was a 3 HOUR waking tour ughhhh! I was exhausted but the tour was awesome and i got some great information and history of Madrid. It was truly a reality check to realize that you were in such a historic city that dated back hundreds of years. After the walking tour I was a zombie! But by then it was 3 pm and time for lunch and a shower... I showered then Emily and I had lunch next door at Opulpo a restaurant next to the hostel. One thing that is awesome about Spain is that the portions are great and they serve bread with everything! For 11 euros we got a 3 course meal , free tapas, bottle of wine , shots , dessert and cafe after our meals. I love that the Spanish love coffee as much as I do. The meals were great and the helado was to die for! After a late lunch we headed to Las Ventas / Plaza de Toros for a Bull fight! The fight was sold out so we bought 5 euro seats for 20 but it was worth it for the experience alone! The stadium was packed and not a seat was empty. I probably should have done my research before attending because I had no idea the bull died at the end. The tradition is truly beautiful but the first bull was hard to watch after that it became easier to deal with. Poor Emily is an animal lover and was in tears when the first bull died. The Spaniards knew at that point we were Americans. The elderly Spaniards explain the traditions to us and after realizing that this was not intended to harm the bull it was easier to deal with. I still had not slept since the previous day so it was time for me to go home and rest. As I laid in bed it was finally time for me to close my eyes and then the homesickness started to settle in. I'm not going to lie I did not expect to get homesick this early in the trip but it was unsettling to think I still had 2 more months to go without seeing my loved ones. I am having an amazing time here in Spain and am cherishing every minute but home is always in the back of my mind.
Lesson: this trip is definitely making me appreciate all I have at home, the value of the dollar and understanding other cultures and traditions.
Day 4
My exhaustion is definitely settling in and I haven't worked out in over a week! I am seriously going through withdrawals. Today is my last day in Madrid but I plan to take it easy. Went to a local shop bought a loaf of spanish bread and water because my stomach is definitely not used to all of this and another learned lesson Europe has amazing potato chips! My favorite discovery this far is sabor de Jamon chips tastes just like bacon! Emily and I headed to a pharmacy to get her some medicine because the poor girl got super sick over night! The pharmacies in Spain are very personable and are much different then back home. You walk into the pharmacy and there is just a counter then tell the pharmacist your symptoms and they grab you what you need and ring you out .. You literally do not move from there and it's so small you have no reason to. We then explored a little throughout he day and headed back to the hostel to rest. Emily passed out while I caught up on some emails and hanging out in the lobby some friends who were also exhausted from the Madrid life . I decided I needed to workout exhausted or not. I miss extreme results so much and I refuse to gain weight while in Spain! I changed and went for a run around Madrid! It was beautiful as I explored for a couple of hours with just me and my iPod! I ran all around town and ended up at the palace where a military wedding was takin place which was breathtaking and a free concert in the square.
I actually ran into some of the elderly men I had met previously and chatted up with them for a bit then headed to the courtyard. I ran for awhile then did some box jumps, sugar cookies , planks and squats in the palace courtyard. I bet no other extremers can say that! People were looking at me like I was insane but it felt so great to get a workout in. I relaxed in the courtyard for awhile then headed to the hostel to shower and re- pack for me travels to alicante the next day. Emily and I decided to get some last minute shopping and I found a great little shop and purchased my first pair of parachute pants (very popular in Spain) and a great little hippy dress for very cheap. On the way home we grabbed a bocadilla de calarmares - basically a calamari sandwich and headed home to pack. I HATE packing! As unpacked and then packed again I had a great conversation with flor and sol my new Argentinian friends who told me about the curruption and stories of their country. The girls are both newly graduates from the university and gave me so much insight on the country. And even with such crime and curruption the girls loved their country and I asked well why don't you move to another country where you can make more money and not deal with that. The girls looked at eachother and said we know there are better days for Argentina and we want to help make our country better because we love it there and the people. Their optimism was a real eye opener. How many people can truly say they are very passionate about their country. These girls were amazing. I loved talking to them about our daily lives and i cannot express enough how much I appreciate all I have at home. I introduced my new friends to my new favorite app Heads Up it was hilarious ! But it was time for bed because I had a train to catch early in the AM for Alicante! U
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