Backtracking to Nov 11, I left for Madrid in the late morning and got to Morgan (my close friend from high school)'s flat around 3. She is an English tutor and some lessons that evening so I went and did some exploring myself. I went to a nearby park, walked by the palace and palace gardens, then walked along Gran Via (the main drag). I headed back to Morgan's to meet up with her to go out to dinner.
Before I talk anymore, Spainards have a completely different schedule than ours. They wake up around noon, open stores for about 2 hours then at 2 they have 'siesta' until about 5. all the resturants, cafes, and some stores shut down at this time. Then dinner is served around 10 pm. And it is normal to stay out partying until 5 or 6 in the morning. Trust me, it's a whole different lifestyle!
So morgan and i went to dinner early (around 9). We went to a local place she knows about in Puerta del Sol that served 6 euro paella! it sure was good too!! Once we got back to morgan's we shared some 50 cent wine (yes 50 cents for a liter of wine) and talked with her roommates. Morgan has a diverse set of roommates she has a guy from Estonia, a guy from Italy, a girl from Peru, and two girls from Singapore. They were all nice enough to talk english around me so I could understand what was going on.
Friday I woke up and headed to the Prado. It is a very famous art museum in Madrid that houses works of El Greco, Velazques, Goya, and Raphael. Right next to the Prado is The Retiro Park. I got to see a lot there too. They had this cute little pond with rentable row boats and a rose garden. The nicest part was that it was a beautiful day outside! I appreciated having the sun out (even if it wasn't necessarily warm).
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| Prado |
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| Retiro Park |
Friday afternoon I met up with Morgan and one of her friends Marit (from MN but goes to Marquette). We walked around Madrid some more and made homemade tapis for dinner! They were SO good and cheap ;)
Saturday night we got ready and went out to a jazz bar to meet up with some friends and have a drink. Then we went to a plaza and boutillion (sp?). It basically is like pregaming but out in public and there are like 100 other kids around you just drinking before heading out to the discotecia. Well drinking in public is technically illegal in spain too, everyone does it. Apparently, you're pretty safe if your American because the police don't want to have to go through the extra paperwork, or if that doesn't work it's pretty easy to sweet talk yourself out or even offer for them to join and you should be fine! The police did come to our boutillion but there were so many of us that we all had time to scurry away! Once we were clear of the police we walked around the nightlife area of town and stopped into some bars. Nothing too excited and were home "early" by 5!
Saturday Morgan and I went to a fashion museum on the outskirts of Madrid. It was free and showcases a lot of clothing from all different time periods. It was all "high fashion" so it was really interesting. We then went back into the city to stop a Museo de Jamon and do some shopping. That evening we went to a Flamenco dancing dinner show! it was SO fun. the dancers especially the guy were really good and the food was delicious. We actually didn't know what kind of tapas we were ordering and when Morgan looked them up when we got back it was actually baby eels and another was duck liver! haha
I also got to try some delicious Spanish sangria at dinner! it was so good!! We got back to Morgan's around 1 and her roommates were just starting to get ready to go out for the night! I had to wake up at 6 to catch my flight back so we went to bed right away.
Overall my trip to Madrid was wonderful! I LOVE the city and really wish that I could speak some sort of Spanish. I had a great time with Morgan and all of her friends. I can't wait until I can go back one day!
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