Saturday Afternoon we arrived in Madrid! Madrid is the largest city in Spain, and we had an overwhelming amount to see in less than a day...our flight back to the US was the next morning.
If there's one thing I've learned this summer, I've learned that it's impossible to travel without obstacles. Whether the workers of the train I was hoping to take were on strike, the museum I wanted to go in was closed, the bus stopped running while I was on it, or the train I was waiting for had an electrical explosion, I've learned that things are never going to go perfectly. When my cousin's car broke down in the middle of the Spanish countryside (and we sat in a restaurant for five hours) Ty and I made the best of it and played games and I went for a nice walk.
The most important thing I've learned is that these instances balance out, and in the end they're good because they lead me to see something I wouldn't have otherwise.
Back to Spain: When we arrived at the airport, the ATM machine 'ate' Ty's debit card. On we went to the hotel and we learned that we needed to take a bus, followed by the metro, into the city center. When we finally arrived at the metro stop, we learned that a huge chunk of the only metro line in that area was shut down for construction. When did the construction start? That day, of course. After all these transportation woes, we hailed a cab and finally we were in the city center!
I missed my pets!
It seems to be that every instance of Europe "not working" was balanced by happening upon something amazing. If we hadn't arrived at the train station late because my friend overslept and the metro was shut down...and waited in line for an hour and a half, I would've bought the ticket to go to an entirely different city in France. If Leah and I hadn't misjudged the mileage to walk home in Paris (and consequently felt like we couldn't manage to take another step) we wouldn't have seen a spontaneous concert at midnight on the banks of the Seine. It's fun to remember my experiences and realize every moment was entirely determined by timing or luck.
The times when my stomach sank in fear that I was making the wrong choice; the decisions that involved the most risk and realizations of "what am I doing right now this is crazy" lead to the most incredible experiences. The moments where I took a train, during the strikes, to a city and didn't know if I'd be able to get home... Or when I took a bus to the top of a mountain with a population of zero (unless you count the cows) and hoped that it'd return to pick me up again....or when I hitchhiked between towns. These moments required me to have the mentality that I was going to have to just take things as they come and plan to adjust to the worst outcome.
Back to Spain: When we arrived at the airport, the ATM machine 'ate' Ty's debit card. On we went to the hotel and we learned that we needed to take a bus, followed by the metro, into the city center. When we finally arrived at the metro stop, we learned that a huge chunk of the only metro line in that area was shut down for construction. When did the construction start? That day, of course. After all these transportation woes, we hailed a cab and finally we were in the city center!
Despite a little bit of a rough start, and missing a ton of time touring just getting into the city, we had an amazing time and saw a substantial amount. We definitely enjoyed all of it.
Here's some photos of the architecture from the taxi car.
First, we went to the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol and the Chocolateria de San Ginés. The Chocolateria is known as a "worshipping" ground for chocolate lovers, because their specialty is a churro dipped in hot melted chocolate.
A street performer at the plaza
The interior is decorated with mirrors and green velvet seats. The walls are filled with photos of celebrities who have visited including Stevie Wonder.
We met a couple from Belarus and talked with them for awhile and then we met a guy From Lyon! I got to use my French on my last day in Spain and tell him I studied abroad in his "hometown."
We got two servings of churros con chocolate and it was too much!!
The hours of the Chocolateria de San Ginés are 9AM-7:30AM! They barely close, so the Spanish come here for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a late night snack when they've been out drinking.
Next we went to the Palacio Real, the Jardines de Cabo Naval, and the Plaza Oriente. What a beautiful palace!
The Almundena Cathedral
Jardines de Cabo Naval
The weather on Saturday was perfect. The skies were incredibly beautiful.
We saw a dog park and some pretty adorable "critters"
On we went to the Plaza de España and afterwards we walked down Gran Via.
The pedestrian traffic on Gran Via was very congested and more that I'd seen so far in Europe.
We walked to Café Commercial, one of Madrid's oldest cafés, and had several drinks and a few tapas.
We sat outside and watched people go by. Part of our view was this building.
Afterwards, we walked to just see the Museo Chicote, a bar that has invented over 100 cocktails. Celebrities such as Grace Kelly, Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, and Sophia Loren all spent time here.
The next morning it was time to catch our flight home! We had an almost 9 hour direct flight to Dulles airport. We were so excited to finally come home, and we very much missed America.
Our fist sight of America again.
And best of all, our families were waiting there for us.
I missed my pets!
This is Moose. She has a big belly. As a "present" for my return home she got into the catnip and left it all over the living room floor.... This is her dazed look afterwards.
And this is Gracie; her favorite pastimes include barking at leaves blowing across the yard and grabbing her favorite toy for photos.
Street art in Richmond, Va!
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