too many things i haven’t done yet, too many sunsets I haven’t seen….
Madrid this week was one of rediscovery and pure Relaxation. Believe it or not, this is a pretty accurate description of the last five days. No class on Friday and only 1 class on Thursday, the weekend starts Wednesday here, and with the 60 and sunny weather for the last week or so I’m REALLY glad that it does! This was definitely a week of getting in a routine and sort of refocusing on school for a little while—I really think the mentality about school in Spain is just so different. From teachers not coming to class at all, to continually arriving 15 minutes late, to their no homework policy, to Spanish students’ less then devoted attitude towards schooling, I really have been put in the mentality of school as an after thought. That is what I think about AFTER I spend my entire afternoon soaking up the sun on the steps of the monument in Parque del Retiro. Just a different, more cultural kind of education, no?
Find of the week: Happy Hour at TGI Fridays, thanks Polark. We took full advantage of that as you can imagine. It’s really a happy 3 hours, but happy hour just sounds better.
Relaxation
During the week, the workload actually started to thicken a bit, and by thicken I mean I had to open a book. Have to love the 3.5 days of school, 3.5 days of weekend split….. Does it get any better? After the week was over on Thursday afternoon, I went for a run in the beautiful park by me that has an open air roman style amphitheater, man made lakes with beautiful fountains in the middle, a lot of grass, and a lot of sun, but oh wait, it’s all uphill. Struggling to the top was well worth it, and you were rewarded with a beautiful view of the entire city. I feel that I’m going to be struggling up that hill a lot more often. After a quick shower and change, I headed downtown to Parque del Retiro to meet a bunch of friends, where we sat on the steps of the Colosseum-looking monument discussing how unbelievably lucky we are to have lived a day like we did on Thursday, and watch the sunset over the lake.
After a long night test run of another discoteca in Sol on Thursday, along with some churros, Meghan, Katie, Kassia and I were rewarded with a cooking lesson on Friday for lunch. We climbed out of bed and headed downtown to Barrio Goya where we were met by this wonderful mom Christina, who is one of Ana’s (my teacher and resident program director here) good friends. She showed us the in’s and out’s of cooking traditional Spanish dishes such as Tortilla Espanola, Paella and most importantly Sangria. (Ask me to make it for you when I get home, I CAN!) After her “showing us” how to cook everything we got to eat all of it, needless to say I asked her if we could do it again sometime. The food was AMAZING. When we were able to thankfully tear ourselves away from lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, trip planning, exploring the city and eventually happy hour, and a lounge bar in Chueca… where Saturday evening’s festivities will continue…
Rediscovery
I called it a relatively early night Friday as we had to meet the bus for our trip to Toledo on Saturday at 9am. GROSS. Saturday we spent the day exploring Toledo for our Spanish Culture and Civilization Class. Its monastery, church, cathedral, synagogues and monuments were all among some of the most beautiful gothic architecture & displays of the unparalleled period in time where Muslims, Catholics and Jews lived together in harmony. This trip was actually one that I have liked the least so far however, mainly because we had to focus more on writing down every word Ana said during the tours so we would be able to write our essays and unable to truly enjoy the art of Greco, the gothic architecture, and the ruins of cultures past. A beautiful city nonetheless, and I think I enjoyed our sunny lunch of cheese, bread and wine in the plaza more than anything!
When we arrived back in Madrid around 6:45 on Saturday night, roads were closed, traffic was heavy, and there were people everywhere. It’s Carnaval! The best way I can describe Carnaval, parade and all, to those who’ve never experienced it, is that it’s a mix between Mardi Gras and Halloween, with an overwhelming abundance of Transvestites. After noticing a ton of balloon and streamer decoration on Friday night, and hearing that Chueca is where the heart of Carnaval lies, we went for it Saturday. While I was walking to the metro on my way out there were Jesus and Mary, clowns, pirates, cowgirls, etc. Everyone was in costume and it made for a really fun atmosphere that night. We tried a local bar, but eventually got pulled out into the street to take pictures with the group of about 10 gron men cross dressed as various stereotypical women—cheerleaders, nurses, dancers, hookers—I have never seen so many in my life, but it was hysterical. We continued on to a lounge place called Locale that was a little bit more low-key and joined the other sans-costume Carnaval-goers. It was a nice way to end a wild night.
Sunday I slept until about 1pm before heading straight to Retiro to soak up the sun and enjoy the unbelievable weather, sights, African drum band and springing smells. Meghan, Alex, Robbie, Kassia and Jenna all met me and we eneded up getting a table by the lake and enjoying Sangria in the late afternoon as the sun set. Can someone please pinch me?
It was back to school and reality yesterday, but it’s another short week, as I head to Rome on Thursday night for a little BC reunion of sorts! My best friend Katie is in Rome, a few of our guy friends in Florence are coming over, Amy, Stacey and Ashley are flying over for BC’s spring break, and Allie and I are coming in from Spain for the weekend! It’s going to be really great to spend a weekend with familiar faces and in no better place….
As for March, I’m going to try and stick to Spain….
Mallorca, Cordoba & Granada, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland! and San Sebastian…
