More on Madrid...

The next day we decided to get up early and make the most of our day in Madrid. We decided on a few places we wanted to go/see and found a good route. We started at the Royal Palace, which was beautiful and huge! It was also right next to our hotel. There was a huge line to go in, take pictures etc. but we decided we didn't want to stand on it.

After we started to make our way to Plaza Mayor. While we were walking there we heard a lot of people yelling and chanting something. It sounded fun so we followed the noises. We discovered it was a rally going on with probably 20+ police officers. We were curious so we watched from the outskirts. Since they were chanting in Spanish, I couldn't really understand what they were saying. Someone told us they were yelling about pollution? They were yelling at everyone in every direction so we decided to leave because we didn't feel like getting arrested.

Plaza Mayor was my personal favorite. It was this huge enclosed area surrounded by beautiful buildings and restaurants. There were so many weird people there. There was a Mickey Mouse dressing in red, white and blue...then there was a Minnie who had her head off...then there were a bunch of people with hats and swords? Don't ask me why. Weird people but a beautiful place:

After we headed to Puerta del Sol. I was really excited about this one because when I asked my lovely best friend Hayley (she'll love this shout out), about coming to Madrid, she said "Two words. El Sol." So when I arrived I was less than impressed. It was because there were all these protestors and rallies that set up huge ugly tents and blue tarps. They littered the place with words spray painted onto sheets. I didn't even know what they were rallying for. I don't think they even knew. We saw a bunch of different things. Political corruption. Going vegan. Voting. It seemed like everyone just decided to come together and complain about everything wrong in their lives. I was kinda annoyed because I wanted to see El Sol, not a bunch of hippies living in tents. It was dumb, but this was the best picture I could get...

Then we walked towards the Prado Museum. We had no intention to go in initially because we anticipated a long line and a boring art museum (I personally love art, but can sympathize with people who find it confusing). Anyway, when we got there we saw no line and found out that with a student ID there was a 4 euro entrance fee. So cheap! So we did it. And I LOVED it! Probably one of my favorite art museums I've ever been to. I sometimes forget how much I love art. I really have a true appreciation for it. I loved every single painting and sculpture. Some of the sculptures dated back to 200 B.C.! It's incredible to be in the presence of something that was around before Christ. Crazy! They also had these massive paintings that took up the whole room. And they were so lively. If these artists came back to life and saw the art today, they would probably faint in disgust. I'm really not a big fan of modern art. I went to the MOMA once and I'm sorry, but I do not think tying a piece of string to another piece of string and throwing paint at it is art. Call me old fashioned.

After that we went to El Parque del Retiro. LOVED it! It like central park but in SPAIN. It had a beautiful lake with dozens of row boats. It was beautiful. We got ice pops and laid in the grass under a huge tree. In that moment I was so happy with life. I was in Spain (Madrid nonetheless) in a beautiful park, enjoying a delicious lemon pop, with great friends. Nothing could have been better. Here is my favorite picture from the park:

After we decided to head back towards the Hotel. We stopped to get tickets to a flamenco show for the night, then went back to get ready. The flamenco show was amazing. I was so glad we went. It was in a theater that reminded me of broadway plays. We sat third row! I didn't really know what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. It was a bunch of dances that had a story line. The dancers were so talented. It was such a good cultural experience. I'll never forget that show. This was the only picture I got:

The curtain call...

After we were hungry so we walked around and found this nice tapas place outside. We ordered sangria and some tapas. (I love Tortilla Espanola) It's like a thick omelet with potatoes and scallions. It's just delicious. Then we got churros with chocolate. My favorite! They're like fried dough that you dip into this chocolate sauce that's thin and sweet. Ugh I wanted to drink the chocolate out of the cup.

Afterwards we walked around for a little, looking for a bar or club. To our surprise we couldn't find anything worth going to. I had known of some clubs, but they were no where near us and we didn't want to spend money on a cab or metro. So we walked around some more and eventually found a Fridays. Yes, as in TGIFridays. We were desperate for a drink and all feeling a little homesick so we went in and ordered an array of fruity drinks. After one drink we all felt tired and decided to call it a night. We got back to our hotel and opened our windows. Then we heard everyone going out for the night. Our mistake. I forgot everyone in Spain doesn't go out until 2:30 am. Oops. We were tired. I'll just go clubbing in Miami...

There's more..but I'll save it for my next post.