Dias 18-19

Admission tickets for El Prado and Thyssen

We decided to dedicate yesterday and today to adding some culture to our Spanish experience, and exploring some of the local museums in Madrid. Yesterday's journey was to the Thyssen Museum with our tour guide Leonor. We ended up straying from the group because after seeing the palace, our expectations were too high, and we were a bit disappointed. There were so many pieces of art (and a couple of Picasso's), that it's hard to imagine that it was all once a personal collection. Granted if I were part of the royal family I'd probably have a substantial amount of art in my house as well, but that's besides the point. 

After the museum, we had a movie and cuddle fest in Vrinda's room. At one point, 7 of us were laying in her twin size bed, I'm so surprised it didn't break. It was such a cozy and fun night.

Today's adventure finally lead us to El Prado, which was so huge. We saw a Rembrandt and a hole collection of Goya paintings. It was very impressive, I'm sure it's safe to say that we liked it better than Thyssen. Unfortunately, museums frown upon picture taking, so I have little to offer in the visual department. I guess that means anyone who's curious is just gonna have to go see it themselves (there's free student admission, so why not?).

Dia 17

The grand entrance.

After class we anticipated visiting the Prado museum, but ended up going home for lunch and taking a mini siesta (I swear, siestas are Europe's greatest gift to the people). Afterwards we trekked to El Palacio Real de Madrid. It. Was. Breath taking.

El Palacio Real de Madrid

I have to admit that after viewing the garden of the palace, I thought the palace itself would pale in comparison to La Alhambra. I couldn't have been more wrong. The interior was absolutely gorgeous, with elaborate carvings and paintings on nearly every ceiling. Not to mention the palace actually still had some of the original furniture and household objects which were so extravagant. I can't imagine a person owning all of those beautiful things for his/herself. It's almost surreal.

Dia 16

I took my first test today. I'm not exactly sure if I used the tenses the professor wanted, but at least my essay was somewhat witty (which is pretty hard considering I'm still trying to master the Spanish language). It wasn't exactly my most eventful day. I attempted to go shopping, but knowing my awful luck, I didn't find anything. Damn my height that causes me to not be able to fit in anything. I will buy at least one cute item of clothing before I leave Spain.

I intended to spend the night in, but we ended up venturing off to a new discoteca. No wonder everyone is so skinny here, all they do is dance.

Dias 13-15

This weekend was our first weekend out of Madrid. On Friday we left with the school to go to Grenada, and while we were initially underwhelmed, and exhausted from the uncomfortable 6 hour bus ride, we were soon enchanted by the city's beauty.

Our hotel was surprisingly cute with a rooftop pool and a bidet in each room. I was a little curious to try it out, but wasn't sure how awkward it might feel. The tub on the other hand was HUGE. Two people could have easily fit in there, but I never got to take advantage of it :[

Friday night we went to a gypsy Flamenco show up in the mountains. It's kind of exciting to say that my first Flamenco experience was an authentic one, in the motherland. It was a really intimate environment, and towards the end of the performance Leonor, our tour guide, surprised us and got on stage. Where did that come from?! She was so good, I'm a bit jealous. 

Saturday morning we went to al Corral del Carbon and la Capilla real. As in the other parts of Spain that we've visited, the churches and museums were beautiful. I'm proud that i finally bought some souvenirs (although I still need keychains and postcards). Later on, we visited la playa de Motril, our first Spanish beach. I think my expectations were a little too high, although the water was beautifully blue. I just didn't anticipate the high volume of rocks that were mixed with the sand or the extreme waves and rip tides. Saturday night, our last night in Grenada, we trekked back up the mountain to a discoteca that had a patio with a beautiful view of La Alhambra. Drinks were really cheap, but it had been a long day, so I had one and then called it a nap. I'm still getting over the fact that the taxi ride to the club was only 4.75 Euros, which ended up being 1 Euro per person because we split it. How was it so cheap?!

Sunday morning we headed to La Alhambra, which was magnificent. The garden was like nothing I've ever seen before. It had a beautiful view and was so well maintained and clean. Not to mention the fact that it was ginormous. We spent some time in the palace, which I don't have words to describe. Although it was amazing, I can't imagine anyone having ever lived there. All the stones and marble are gorgeous, but so cold and impersonal. 

After Alhambra we began our 6 hour journey home, only to have our bus break down and leave us stranded in the middle of a desert like area. It was an interesting experience. Then to top it off, the guy who was sitting in front of Vrenda and I was so obnoxious. First, he had his chair reclined all the way back so we had barely any space. I mean, I have short legs, but I still need some space. Then, he refused to close the curtain on the window, even though the sun was in everyone's eyes. I asked, rather politely I may add, and then an older woman asked about an hour later, and he was just really rude. We should have kicked his chair and sang obnoxiously for the rest of the ride to be irritating, but we're just good people, so we didn't.

Day 12

Today we went to Mulafest, Madrid's own urban festival, after lunch. We got there later than we anticipated, but I'm glad we were able to go before it ended. At the Mulafest there was a huge bike and car show, as well as a tattoo convention. We were all contemplating getting tattoos, but in the end were too indecisive about it (that's what happens when you have 11 girls). After we left the tattoo convention we ventured off to karaoke, which I was surprised that I did sober. As soon as we started singing, you could see the crowd slowly begin to disperse. Either they didn't like that we were singing in English (although other people were), or our voices were just too intimidating for them. Personally, I'd vote for the latter.

We also saw a mini play about Whitney Houston, and although at times we struggled to understand what was being said, and are laughs were often delayed from everyone else's, I enjoyed it. The actors emphasized their actions enough that the concept was understood, despite the anticipated language barrier. Afterwards we viewed an interpretive dance which, although was still in its early stages, was quite expressive.

There was also a BMX bike show with ramps and a bunch of people doing tricks and flips. I swear, Rez is right when he says I'm a boring mom. As I was watching, I kept having mini heart attacks after every flip, jump, and movement. There were a couple stumbles, but no serious injuries.

Throughout the festival, there was a huge appreciation for graffiti. Earlier in the day, the walls of the festival were completely white, but by the closing, they were immersed in spray paint and various sayings/art. It was quite an amazing site. Tomorrow the walls will be painted white, and the process will begin again.

Day 11

Ron Jr.

Today was trip number 2 to the pool. I hope we find a cheaper location to swim because even though I'm happy that I'm getting (slightly) tanner, I need to save my money for our weekend excursions. Not to mention the fact that alcohol becomes an added expense when you take a group of almost, but not yet 21 year old New Yorkers and place them in a European country.

When we got back to the residence we found a little lizard just chilling in the bathroom, which was very convenient because earlier that night Ron had told us that he's petrified of lizards. So we ended up trapping it in a cup (relax PETA, we set it free afterwards), and setting it on his desk so he'd find it when we walked in. His reaction was priceless, too bad we couldn't keep Ron Jr.

Day 10

Today was Pepe's last night in the residence. Apparently he goes home to a beautiful house on the coast of Northern Africa. I haven't seen pictures, but from what I've been told, it sounds beautiful. We were going to go out to the Sand Bar, but there were too many people and we didn't feel like waiting, so we decided to just buy some Sangria and head back to the house.

The house is officially going to be void of native influence, which kind of makes me sad because it was more of an experience to be in a situation that (kind of) forced us to speak Spanish. We technically spoke English most of the time, but now it's probable that we won't speak any Spanish at all.

As a tribute to my coworker who requested I bring her home Spanish men, I asked Pepe and his friend to pose for a picture in her honor. Hopefully this will suffice because I'm afraid Spanish men (or any men for that matter) are too large to fit in my suitcase.