Quiero Madrid.
My trip here started a little rough (no sleep because of a 3 am shuttle to catch my 6:15 am flight to Rome, then an hour layover, another two hour flight, and then over an hour of waiting at baggage claim), but, this city and I have made a complete 180. I knew three things when I arrived at the airport, one- I was staying with a Spanish speaking family my sister used to live with when she studied abroad here a few years ago, two- I was going to be meeting up with my friend Kevin who is studying abroad and staying near the university (at the Guzman stop), and three- I would have to take the metro to get to either of them. I had the addresses of both and Kevin and I agreed to email to stay in contact since neither of us have the calling features on our phones. So, I threw on my backpack and followed the signs towards the metro and got on board with my 50 pound bag on my back and my 10 pound carry-on strapped on my front (not normal on a metro).
Anyway, looked around and realized I had no idea which metro I was on and if it was the right one to take me to Kevin's stop. I asked the guy next to me, "hablas ingles?", he replied, "no" (sigh.. okay, here goes all of the Spanish I remember from when I was 15/16 and took HS classes). "Donde estas Guzman? Ese metro es correcto?" (oh man.. this trip should be interesting). Well, he obviously realized I had no idea what I was doing and pulled out a map and started talking to 3 other people on the metro, the four of them looked at all of the routes and my new friend explained it all to me.. where to go, when to switch metros, when to take a bus (because the metro is under repairs at one stop), where to walk... ALL IN SPANISH. Great. I understood a little bit.. , not enough to remember it all. I just kept saying "no comprendo". I think my new friend felt for me and he ended up giving me his metro map, switching metros with me, then taking the bus with me and explaining to the bus driver where I wanted to go (no one in Madrid speaks English apparently) and somehow my angel got me to the Guzman stop! I thanked him a million times with all of the Spanish emphasis I could put on my Muchas. He just kept smiling and saying denada.. and other things that probably meant, my pleasure, or something along those lines. I will forever be grateful!
Kev and I managed to meet up, by me giving him play-by-play emails through my phone of where I was and what I was going to be doing next. We took a taxi to his law school dorms and went out for a nice dinner. Then he went to the library to study for his finals and I went to mi nueva casa. Rosa Maria, the house keeper, is the only one staying in the house right now and she does not even speak one word of English. She doesn't even know the word yes. So, we had a fun conversation as I explained to her that I was Danielle's sister and I'll be staying in Madrid for a few days, and my friends live in the University dorms. She seemed to understand me, danielle says my words are right, but the order and conjugations are all mixed up. I'm sure I sounded something like this- Dani is my sister and I travel Madrid for 4 days and travel Spain for one month. Well, she had a smile on her face and somehow we made some small talk. We called up Danielle on the phone and I would tell her what I wanted Rosa Maria to know, and Danielle would tell her, then Rosa Maria would tell Danielle something for me, and Danielle played a great telephone. Thank you again for being the best sister in the world!
The apartment I'm staying in is GREAT! Rosa Maria is the sweetest lady in the world, she politely insists on warming up my tea, toasting my croissants, and clearing my dishes. She did my laundry for me, hung it all up to dry, and by the time I came home it was all folded and placed nicely on my bed. She is amazing and I thanked her as much as I could. I even ran over to my computer and used a English to Spanish translator to tell her how much I appreciate all she's doing for me, and how sweet and nice and caring she is. I wrote it down for her and she liked the note.
The next day I got up and took a metro to the main square, Sol. The metro system in Madrid is the best I have ever seen. The maps are easy to read and each train is a different color, and throughout the station are numerous signs to point you in the right direction. I got around no problem. I did some clothing shopping in Sol, you know.. picking up the essentials. And then had they best gilato ice cream ever! There were so many flavors to chose from, but I picked Raspberry sorbet, Green apple, and Mint chocolate chip. They were all delicious and I ate my gilato while listening to a string quartet play Mozart and Beethoven in the square.
Later Kevin, his friend Carla, Carla's sister Gabriela, and I all went to a Bull Fight. I was very excited to go to my first one and told my sister I was going. She said she never went to one when she lived here and asked if I knew what went on. "oh sure!" I said.. thinking they just play torro torro with a cape and run around the ring a few times, and that is that. Well, was I wrong! We walked in and sat in our assigned row and preceded to watch as one after one they torture and stab and kill each bull. It was absolutely horrible. The girls on either side of me were covering their eyes and the first bull was almost impossible to sit through. We tried to leave, but our timing was off and they said we would have to wait until right after they kill the next bull and drag it around the ring for all to see, (great). So, we watched the second innocent bull die and then quickly made our exit. Apparently, this is one of the championship fights and there were 6 bull fights that evening.. but we weren't going to stay for them. The second matador was much better than the first, but the highlight of the night was when the first bull charged after the matador, nailed him, and flung him up in the air. We were cheering to ourselves (yeahhh bull!!). I guess the matador made a mistake, but we all loved it! I think we're glad we got to see a bull fight for the culture aspect of Spain, but I can safely say that I will never need to go to one again. We all went out to a great Mexican dinner afterwards and made plans for Tuesday.
On Monday, Rosa Maria and I went to el súper mercado and I picked up some groceries for us. I was still pretty tired from traveling and my sis helped me decide that today would be a great pool day. I walked to a local public pool just down the street and relaxed in the sun for a while and swam a few laps. It was great. One the way home I stopped in a local bakery and picked up some treats for Rosa Maria and myself. I still have no idea what they were, but they were sweet and sticky and delicious!
The following day, Tuesday, I met up with Carla and Gabi and we took a bus tour around the city for about 30 minutes and then Carla went to study for a law exam and Gabi and I walked to a Museum, El Museo del Prado, which is one of the most well known museums in the world. It was a nice exhibit of paintings (Joaquin Sorolla was my favorite) and sculptures and my camera clicked away until towards the end I was informed by a security guard that photos are not allowed. Gabi and I had some coffee and desserts at a cafe and then took the metro to another stop where we walked to the Reina Victoria Theatre. Gabi and I get along perfectly, and turns out we're both close friends with the same girl back home, Sarah Fialkov (love you!). At the theatre we saw a ballet flamenco show, CARMEN, it was great. The show is about a Spanish whore, who flirts with all the men, the other girls get jealous and there are a lot of dance offs. :) It was a good time. We took the metro back to our separate stops and said our goodbyes, Gabi and her sister are off to Barcelona now.
Yesterday, Wednesday, I took the metro to El Paseo del Prado, the area of town where that first museum was, and went to a botanical garden. It was nice.. lots of different varieties of flowers, trees, plants, and vegetables. I took a lot of pictures for my mom, she would have loved it. On the way there I passed by a man selling Spanish flamenco fans and I picked up one with hand painted flowers on it. The fan came in handy all day as most of the garden was in direct sunlight and felt like an oven. On the way back to the metro I stopped in the park and laid on a bench to rest. It was nice to relax and listen to the water splashing in the fountain and birds chirping. 20 minutes later I was ready to go again.
Back to the metro, and three metro changes later I arrived at my stop for El Centro de Arte Reina Sophia. Known for their collections of Picasso, Miro, and 280 other artists. This museum was incredible! Five stories full of artwork and the museum itself was a piece art. The building is a square and on each floor you walk to the exhibits on the the sides and at each corner. In the center of the museum is large Spanish patio with sculptures and fountains in and around it. This museum allowed cameras and I took some great captures home with me. After walking for 6 hours straight I was exhausted and took the metro back to my apartment. Another successful day.
Today is my last full day in Madrid. I plan to make some arrangements for my next stop and figure out my train route. I will be taking the EuRail to Alicante (as of now) and am not really sure what I'll do next. Today is my day to figure it out. I also might stop is Sol again and see what I can find. My next couple weeks in Spain aren't very structured, so I'll let you know what I decide to do.
I miss my friends and family from back home!! Please let me know if you are reading this blog, there's no way for me to check and it would be nice to know who's following it. If you want to send me an email, my email address is Laurennbarnett@gmail.com.
Pictures of Madrid soon... (I usually get the pictures up a few days after the blog and paste the link under each blog).
xoxo,
Lauren
pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2852928&id=2006596&l=25ac3d12aa
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