I have been a good girl. I neglected my blog. I neglected my blog for the sake of finals and good grades (notas sobresalientes if you will). Your welcome, Mom and Dad.
I may or may not have a novela final tomorrow but I already read the horrible, vulgar book TOO thoroughly, so I deserve this time to NOT pursue intellectual activities.
I recently got to enjoy many a weekend in Madrid - 3 to be exact. It went well, but it DID get ever-so-slightly boring. Sure, people say when they go abroad they regret that they did not stay in their own city more, that they hated packing and unpacking every weekend to go to the next country. These are lies. Do not believe these people; they are effing with you. Traveling and going to a different country every weekend is UNREAL and AMAZING. I digress. I actually did have a great time in Madrid.
Before the weekend, we had Tuesday off for some unknown holiday, so our program sent us to El Escorial, en San Lorenzo de El Escorial, just outside of Madrid. The Palace used to be a monastery is the pride and joy of Phillip II. Interesting things: al the books in the study were facing pages out, because Phillip believed that the books needed to breathe sufficiently. Dumb. The cornerstone of the palace was laid in 1563. There was a ridiculous amount of children´s sepulchers there.
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| El Escorial Courtyard |
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Free audioguide!
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The first weekend after Barcelona, (if you consider Thursday a weekend, which you should) I went to the United States Comisary in Madrid to apply for my Resideincy Card! After meeting some students from Suffolk (I would meet people from Boston), a girl who completely lied about being a cheerleader (she was way too lanky to have any athletic ability), and getting finger printed for the first time since Officer Bob used me as an example of a criminal in second grade, I passed! I am picking up my SPANISH RESIDENCY CARD Thursday! So legit.
The next day, Natalie, Jack and I went to el Museo de Real Academia de Bellas Artes. We were excited to go to a second-tier tourist museum, until we realized that it was second-tier quality. The only famous painting they "had" was on tour. Oh well. Going to the Renoir exhibit at el Museo del Prado, chocolate cake and café con leche made it all better.
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Real Academia de Bella Artes
That night, we went to our friend Jamie´s apartment for dinner. It was a nice change to be able to cook my own food and be in a gross student apartment. It was the typical woman-in-the-kitche-and-guys-waiting-for-the-food type situation, but Natalie and I didn´t care because we love cooking and we didn´t have to buy the food. Win-win. After that, we went to our first REAL botellón with the guys that live in Jamie´s apartment. They are from Bulgaria, Belgium, and Spain, among other countries. We met up with their friends from London and Paris too. So multicultural!  What success looks like
Natalie, Leo and I attempted to see a Spanish movie the next day and failed miserably, so we went to el Parque Retiro to walk around and hang out. We rented a row boat (they are SO cheap!) and while we were on the water we heard someone yell Natalie´s name. It was Kim´s (the girl we stayed with in Barcelona) friend, Lindsey, that we had met in Barcelona a week earlier! Craziness. We chatted for a little while then said rowed our respective routes back to the dock.      Natalie, Lindsey, and I  |
On Wendesday, Natalie and I made our first visit to Club Pachá with Leo because we heard it was free. When we went to the door, they asked what list we were on and if we were not on one, it would cost 15 euro to enter. We panicked, stared liked idiots, then retreated. About seven seconds later I saw a group approaching and asked "estáis en una lista?" and they said they were on "Javi´s list." Problem solved. I linked arms with two of the people and led my friends back to the door, where the doorman laughed at us as we walked in for free. The DJ was awesome and the club was so fun. Hilight of the night: FREE UNLIMITED POPCORN.
The next weekend it was HARRY POTTER WEEKEND. I bought tickets online before since it was the Saturday after it premiered. There was a grand total of 20 people in the theater. Spaniards just do not get excited enough about defeating the dark Lord... halfway. Anyway, long-story-short the movie was amazing and the end was UGHHHH difficult.
I went to see Temblo de Debod the next day since Natalie had never seen it and, on the way, we ran into a Mexican cultural festival, where we split a delicious and authentic taco for 2 Euro. Score. Later that night we went to our friend Jamie´s to try Telepizza (Madrid´s Dominoes). Eh. Not delicious.
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Templo de Debod by day The Christmas lights on Calle Serrano (Madrid´s 5th Avenue) |
The next night, Natalie and I, explored Cien Montaditos (100 sandwiches), a Spanish chain that has 1-2Euro sandwiches and cheap cañas de cerveza. After that we met up with our friends Matt and Dylan to go to "fill in the blank random bar name," then to a botellón, met up with some more people from our program, then to a bar called Cherokee. Cherokee had 1 euro shots. Can you say "a gift and a curse"?
On wednesday, I went to Orange Cafe with people from my program since we heard Jason Derulo was playing there. It turns out, he was just THERE, doing nothing, in the VIP section. It was quite upsetting until Natalie, Leo and I decided to go to free Wednesday Pacha to ride on the mechanical bull. I got to see all my USD housemates, Jamie and his roommates, and some more people from my program. Natalie and I rode the bull together and to say it was epic would be an understatement.
Thursday was Thanksgiving. I had class. I did not have turkey, nor stuffing, nor my grandma´s crescent rolls. It was weird.
The next day our program went to Segovia, Spain, famous for it´s ancient Roman aqueduct and for cochinillo (suckling pig). We did some touring, then went to el Restaurante Jose María for a three hour feast. We had a dish with egg and cheese, endives with blue cheese, salad, bread, and then PIG. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. We had ice cream with homemade hot fudge for dessert. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I made everyone at my table say what they were thankful for. Yes, I am THAT girl. Everyone was jealous of mine, my new niece. Boo-yah, I love winning.
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Aqueduct of Segovia Each brick was laid one by one using a system of pulleys and only the weight of the bricks keeps the structure together. Nice job, Romans! |
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Fortress of Segovia
 Everyone taking pictures/gawking at the suckling pig.  Hello, there.  So ready to eat this pig.  The chef cut the pig in half with a plate to show how tender it was, then dropped the plate on the ground to prove that it was, in fact, just a plate.  Making the hot fudge for our ice cream |
The following night, Natalie and I had a REAL thanksgiving feast. She works for a Spanish family, helping their daughter practice english and is friends with the mom, Susana. When Natalie told Susana we did not have a Thanksgiving meal, she offered up her apartment. She invited some of her friends, including Natalie´s host mom, and their kids. It was such an authentic Spanish experience... with such American food. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. I was so excited to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my best friend and a bunch of new Spaniards. We listened to some hysterical stories (at the big kid table!) and drank the most delicious gin and tonics of our lives. We stayed at Susana´s apartment for hours joking, laughing, and doing our best to understand everything the big kids were talking about. I am sure it is going to be one of those nights that I remember vividly of my time abroad.
The following Sunday, we went to the Rastro market and checked out the Christmas Market at Plaza Mayor. Neither were too exciting. Then I made my first visit to el Mercado de San Miguel, a food market next to Plaza Mayor. It is crowded and loud and crazy yet quaint, all at the same time. It is definitely a must-visit place in Madrid.
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| Sunday Christmas Market at Plaza Mayor |
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After such a long time in Madrid, I was ready to see a new city and country. Joder, I am spoiled.
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