Weekend in Madrid (March 21-23)

Hola!

This weekend, Bridget, Alyssa and I went with CEA on a weekend trip to Madrid.  Lainie was meeting her parents in Vienna so she missed the trip (and we missed her!).  We had a great time and I was happy to see another part of Spain!

Friday:
     On Friday we had to meet the other people on our trip at the Sants Estacio train station at 8:00am! Luckily, the station was on our metro line so we didn't have to transfer which is honestly a blessing. The train didn't leave until 9:00am so we had to wait a little bit.  When we finally got on the train, it was really nice! the seats were nice and comfy and reclined.  I tried to sleep but it was hard since I couldn't get into a comfortable position.  The train made a few stops before arriving in Madrid.  It was about 2 hours and 45 minutes on the train and it wasn't too bad but I was happy to finally be off.
     We arrived in Madrid at about 11:45 and we walked to our hotel.  We were staying in Hotel Tryp which was a pretty nice hotel in one of the major areas of Madrid.  Since we were an odd number, Bridget was staying in another room but luckily Alyssa and I had a cot in our room so she stayed with us!  After taking a quick nap, we were hungry and we found  DUNKIN DONUTS!! There are some in Barcelona but I have been good and avoided it.  I couldn't take it any longer and caved so I got a latte and a donut.  It obviously wasn't as good as the ones back at home but it did hit the spot.  I was so happy.

HEAVEN

After my heavenly treat, we met up at the hotel and went on a bus and walking tour of the city.  We went past the Reina Sofia Museum, Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol.  We were shown the oldest restaurant in the world which was pretty cool.  After, we got off the bus and walked around all these places as well (more about those places later).  When the tour was over around 6 pm, we went to a tapas restaurant we had been recommended by people who had studied and been to Madrid.  The restaurant was called El Tigre.

 A monument

Cathedral

I think this is the royal palace

Some cute little plaza

Oldest Restaurant in the world

At El Tigre, you order a drink of beer or sangria for 5 euros and get a plate of food with it.  Since there were 3 of us, we got 3 plates of food.  The plates were piled so high and we had so much! We had patatas bravas, croquettes and breads with different meats.  It was so amazing! We were so full but then the owner of the restaurant brought our arroz con pollo (rice and chicken) for free! So we obviously had to eat that too.  We were so full from all the food that we walked home.  It wasn't a bad walk but we did get a little lost.

FOOD

Croquettes and patatas bravas

Bread and meat

Bread and meat

Arroz con pollo

ALL DONE

Once we were back at our hotel, we decided to go to a bar that night.  The bar was called El BarCo and it was a local bar where the Spanish people go.  We headed out around 12:00am and were surprised when we got there that it was pretty empty.  We got a drink and observed the local Madrid people dancing and having a good time - so different than all the American places we go to in Barcelona.  All the sudden around 2:30am, the entire place was crowded with people! It filled up so quickly! We learned from talking to people there that this is the place people go to after the other bars close and thats why people were coming so late.  Around 3am, we decided to head back to our hotel.

Saturday:
     Saturday morning, we woke up, had the free breakfast at the hotel and went to the park right by our hotel.  It was really big!  The first part we walked in was dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attack that took place at the main Madrid train station 10 years ago.  There were plants and flowers all dedicated to the victims with a stream running down the middle.  We kept walking and came across a fountain, a pretty look out area and then a huge pond!  We rented a row boat and went on in the pond which was in front of a huge monument with lions, horses and other creatures.  We were in the row boat for almost an hour enjoying the sun that had finally come out.  After the row boat, we walked around near the pond where people were playing music and selling little souvenirs.  There were a lot of people out and about enjoying the nice weather.

After the park, we walked to Sant Miguel Market for lunch.  It is a huge market where they sell tapas from 1-4 euros each and beer and wine.  You just go around to different stands and pick out the ones you want.  I wanted to try everything but I had to contain myself! I got two tapas of fish, one cod, one salmon, two croquettes, one hot dog wrapped in a pastry and one mozzarella cheese with spinach and other things.  It literally amazing.

Fish tapas

Croquettes and a hot dog

Where the sell wine

Olives

Cheese and bread yummyness

 After being so full from the market, we walked around Plaza Mayor which is the main area of Madrid.  It used to be where high up people would live and where they held gatherings in the center.  There were so many restaurants, people and street performers there.  You could tell it was really touristy but also a place where locals liked to hang out as well.  Plaza de Sol was also really close to there which is one of the main streets in Madrid.  We took a picture of the 0 km sign which is where all the streets in Madrid are measured from.  Again, there were tourists,  locals, street performers and hundreds of people walking around.  By this time, we were hungry and we decided to get a snack Madrid is known for: chocolate and churros.

Statue in Plaza

Plaza Mayor

We went to a restaurant literally called Chocolate and Churros.  We got a cup of hot chocolate (but it was thicker than the hot chocolate I was expecting) and churro for all of us to split.  We dipped the churro and the chocolate and mmmmm!! So good.  Now so full and tired, we went back to the hotel to shower and relax.

Later that night after wandering around looking for a place to eat, we came across another tapas restaurant called Cerverceria Alemana.  They had cheap tapas.  We ordered a salad, calamari, a Spanish omelete and mussels.  Again, so delicious.  After falling into a food coma, we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Sunday:
     We didn't have much time to explore on Sunday because we had to be back at the hotel by 2:15 to make it to our train.  Bridget, Alyssa and I walked around the flea market called El Retraso that takes place every Sunday.  It takes up at least 5 streets and there are street vendors selling everything from pajamas to bras to tapestries...everything you can think of.  I got myself a scarf!

We walked up and down there for a while until we had to go back to the hotel.  Our train was at 3:30 and once again I tried to sleep on the way back but couldn't.  We got back to our apartment around 7:00pm and were so tired!

Overall, it was a really fun weekend but I noticed a lot of differences between Madrid and Barcelona. The major one was that it really felt like Spain.  Everyone spoke Spanish not Catalan and there were Spanish flags hanging everyone.  It was also dirtier and felt older and run down.  Barcelona is pretty because its old, Madrid is ugly old.  The cabs there were all white instead of yellow and the city is not set up as a grid but in a random format.  We we would be walking down a street and then all the sudden it would change into another one! So confusing.  It also seemed a lot more financial and commercial than Barcelona, probably because it is the capital of Spain.  I know I picked the right decision to study in Barcelona!

Besos!