...3 hours later, we finally took off from Philadelphia. After sleeping through most of my flight, I woke up in time to see the hills and mountains of Spain. I've been here for two days and I still can't believe I'm here.
Observations of Spain thus far:
-it is extremely laid back
-aside from main highways and roads, the streets are all quite tiny (in good European fashion)
-everything here seems to be a process - there seems to be multiple steps to accomplish anything
-old world Spain is infused with modern culture, making for amazing historical buildings and an eclectic nightlife
-the architecture is just beautiful - but I'm sure this will be characteristic of every city I'm in over the next three weeks
I love being in different cultures and finding the rhythm of different cities. Madrid has the hustle and bustle of a big city with 6 million people, a busy metro, large plazas and hoards of tourists; but it feels like a small Spanish town in its narrow side streets winding through colorful old buildings, abundance of balconies, corner street musicians and hidden gem parks.
Once I finally arrived to my airBnB apartment for Thursday night (a private room and bathroom owned by a lovely woman named Eva), I met up with my friend Syd from Baylor in the city. I've found that foreign metro systems get easier and easier to navigate as you use more of them - I'm pretty sure it's just confidence, though. And i still ended up walking the wrong way before I got to the station. But I still got there, right?
I met up with Syd and she took me towards her university. Along the way, we stopped at the triumphal arch for Madrid. I think I'm going to compile my arch pictures from around the world when i get home. Ive got them from New York, London, Paris (two of them), and now Madrid! Turns out they ARE all related, confirmed by Syd.
After her meeting at school, we headed to her apartment to change and get ready for the evening. Why is this interesting? Because this is her view:
And this is her view with the sun lower in the sky:
Yeah. I know. That would be the Plaza del Toros - Madrid's main bullfighting ring! Unfortunately, they only do bullfights on Sundays, and I'm leaving Sunday morning. Boo hiss.
We took the metro to the west side of the city and started our night at Palacio Royal (the Royal Palace). And guys, this place was huge. It was very reminiscent of Buckingham Palace. Across from the palace gate was a giant church that I think "goes" with the palace. There are some things in this world that can only be described as an imposing structure that takes your breath away, and this church definitely fell under that category.
We continued on and stopped by some amazing places - Plaza Mayor & Plaza del Sol (which is somewhat similar to Piccadilly Circus and Union Square, but a little bigger). Dinner was at an awesome covered marketplace with anything from exotic fruits to alcohol to colorful and decadent desserts to obscure seafood. That's another thing about Madrid - they really love their seafood, which is interesting considering its central (i.e. far from the ocean) location in Spain. We both ended up eating paella de mariscos, which is basically rice, veggies and random shellfish. And friends, it was delicious. Here is a picture of one of the fish for sale...creepy.
We continued through Sol and hunted down a churro place. They serve them plain with a small cup of hot chocolate (as in thin melted chocolate, not the drink) for dipping. And friends, it was also delicious. We sat outside (popular in this part of the city) under a small arch over the bend in the side street. It was wonderful and I could definitely get used to it.
All in all, it was a great start to the European leg of my journey, and I can't wait to keep it going!
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