Mads en Madrid

It all started at 6:00am when I finished stuffing my belongings into my backpack, in my dark room, as I tried not to wake Anjali. I was out the door at 6:25 and on the metro to Pl. Catalunya. From there, I walked down to Deniz's parents hotel off of La Rambla. 6:55am. Technically, I was ten minutes late, but I ended up being just on time. The six of us: Deniz, her brother Engin, her parents, Mo, and myself piled into what Europeans consider to be a minivan. With all of us in the car with about 3 inches of moving space, off we went!

Around noon, halfway through our road trip, we stopped in a town called Zaragoza. Signs pointed us in the direction of Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Pilar. This old, baroque style church was beautiful inside and out. The tiling of the roof was magnificent and gave a lighter effect to a more serious building. After we stopped at a café for a cup o' joe (and to use the bathroom), we got back on the road.

Three more hours in the car and we arrived in Spain's capital. We dropped our belongings off at our hotel, then took the car to the rental returns at the train station. At the train station, we were welcomed by two large baby head sculptures...because that's normal. As we laughed, took a picture, and walked onwards, we  started taking note of the differences between Madrid and Barcelona. I couldn't help making a mental list of  the comparisons.
Madrid has wider streets than Barcelona.
Barcelona has more eclectic buildings.
Madrid has lots of tall, white buildings.
People in Madrid dress more American.
Barcelona has more parks than Madrid.
And on and on and on...
Finally, after looking at several menus posted in front of restaurants, we found one we all were happy with. To say we were hungry would have been an understatement. So when it came time to order, we got appetizers, salads, soups, wine, cava, and dessert. It was an indulgently delicious meal! Deniz's parents, especially her mother, added lots of entertainment at the table. We all may have had a slight buzz going. No complaints. After our 3-hour dinner (sheesh), us "kids" split from the Nurals to walk around the city a little.


Deniz, Engin, Mo, and I stumbled upon a Carnaval parade just as it was beginning. I had never seen anything like it! There was lots of dancing, outrageous costumes, fire, and lights. Masses and masses of people had gathered in the streets to watch and participate in this parade. We continued our night with a quick stop at our hotel to change, then off to experience Madrid's nightlife. The bars all looked the same as the ones we've seen here and in other parts of Europe so we bopped into one of the first few we spotted on a populated street not too far from our hotel. The next bar we went to was a little more...unusual. Our bartender was dressed as a smurf. Our drink was bigger than my head. And the crowd was a mix of people, some dressed up for Carnaval, some not. I will proudly say that I was half dressed up. Well, I was wearing a hat. Ok actually, the four of us passed around this hat to wear. The story of the hat is that at the first bar we made a bet as to who could take the hat off the wall and wear it out of the bar. I won. And I even say "gracias" while walking out. After we finished off our massive drink, we headed towards home and conveniently passed a pizza stand. How could we pass up a slice? As we walked into the Palace Hotel, up to our room, and into our king size bed, I couldn't have been happier. I could handle no hostel for the weekend.

Sunday was filled with sightseeing - El Prado, was our first stop. I had been anticipating visiting El Prado for some time now because it holds one of my favorite paintings: Las Meninas by Velazquez. We also saw Puerto del Sol, Parc de Retiro, and the city in general. Even though we had to say goodbye to Deniz's family because of their earlier flight out of Madrid, us girls continued our sightseeing. By 6:00pm we were absolutely wiped. We curled up into our bed and napped until 9:30pm where we had to flick on a light to force open our eyes. There was a moment or two of decision-making between staying in our fluffy bed or, throwing off the sheets and going out. We got out of bed and threw on different clothes and headed to the restaurant we had had our first delicious meal at, which was just two blocks away. The ambiance of this restaurant was a chic tavern, with wooden tables and flickering candles. While sipping on wine, we chatted and observed the people around us. At the table next to us seemed to be a couple on their first date. She was English and he was Spanish. Coincidentally, the girl overheard us and started asking where we were from. When Deniz told her she was from Cincinnati, the girls eyes got wide as she replied "Oh my god, me too!" Small world, right? Our night was not the most wild, but it was just what we wanted.

Puerto del Sol

Parc de Retiro

Plaza Mayor

Monday was another day spent getting to know Madrid before we took the ave train back to Barcelona. The high-speed train is a great way to travel although a little pricier. I was back at my home in Barca by 7:30pm and hungry for some of Mercedes' cooking by 9:00.