Despite the fact that I may have the worst Spanish accent in the world and haven’t studied the language for 7 years, a little voice in the back of kept telling me to take a trip to Spain. I’m pretty sure that this was the voice of my best friend, Meghan, who is studying in Madrid and was kind enough to let me stay with her, her senora, and her senora’s parrot “Cuco”.
Traveling to Madrid was an experience in itself... from the 7AM train out of Florence, to the bus driver who instinctively knew I was flying EasyJet (a cheap airline often used by students), to searching the inner depths of my brain to find the minimal amounts of Spanish I still know, this trip was off to an adventurous start before I even met up with my friends.
Being the proud American that I am, the first stop I made when I got to this wonderful city was... Starbucks. Although I sound like any other nineteen-year-old coffee-addicted girl, I can not tell you how happy I was to find a little taste of home in my grande Mocha. I sat in the upstairs area of the Starbucks and observed the people as they walked by, trying to absorb the culture and realize that I was in Spain! Seeing Meghan walk towards me was such an exciting moment and after hearing more about her time in Madrid, I knew I was in for an exciting few days...
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| with Meghan & Ally |
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| Churros con chocolate |
Having heard mixed reviews about Madrid, I wasn’t expecting much, but I ended up loving every experience in this vibrant and crowded city. The hustle and bustle of Madrid was a bit overwhelming, but all of that couldn't take away from the beauty and serenity of Parque Ritiro. This massive park, complete with a Crystal Palace and 20 lbs ducks, was the perfect place to spend the afternoon with my amazing Theta sisters. Over a delicious lunch of bagguettes, chex mix, and sangria, we all caught up on life and about our semesters abroad. I never thought a park could make me so happy, but something between reuniting with my wonderful friends and sharing so many laughs while testing our
paddle-boat skills, I realized that I was absolutely in love with Ritiro!
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| Theta reunion in Ritiro! |
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| These ducks really need to work out |
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| View from our paddle boat |
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| Beautiful day in Madrid! |
The next day, my highly-qualified tour guides, Meghan and Ally, took me all around the city. After nearly being run over by a police car going at 90 mph, we made our way past the Palace and Cathedral to Mercato San Miguel. Inside, we found everything from flowers to sushi to frozen yogurt to traditional Spanish tapas. Unfortunately though, we didn't get anything because we were on our way to a MEXICAN restaurant, where we found a little taste of San Diego in our chips & guacamole :)
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| The Palace |
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| EVERYONE loves Mercato San Miguel... |
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| and this is why... YUM |
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| Kodak moment before braving the Kapital kraziness |
To finish my time in Madrid on happy note, my friends decided to take me to Kapital, a 7-story club.... yes, SEVEN stories. I knew I was in for a crazy night and that my Kapital experience would be one of the most memorable parts of my fall break. After waiting in a line of about fifty people to check out coats, it was time to dance. I was given a quick tour of the entire club, but then we headed back down to first floor - the techno floor. With some of my best friends and other USD friends by my side, I quickly picked up on the Kapital energy and was ready to dance the night away... and dance the night away, we did. After numerous “ice showers” (surprise blasts of freezing cold air and fog that fill the club) and too many techno songs to count, I started to get a little tired, only to realize that it was 6:00 AM. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever do such a thing, but I was so happy to be with my friends for one last night, that I didn’t even think about the time. Before you get too worried about us leaving a club at 6:00 AM, you should know that this is the
exact time that the METRO opens up! Leaving the club at the
perfect time, we caught the first METRO back to Meghan’s
house and slept soundly until it was time to get up, head to the airport,
and fly off to BARCELONA!
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