Advertisement
Published: June 26th 2009
Edit Blog Post
DSCN5365
Reunited! Bienvendidos a MADRID!! This little weekend excursion to the capital of Spain was complete with sightseeing, my family, best friend, unbelievable food, perfect weather, and amazing experiences! Can't really ask for much more!
The weekend started on Friday morning when I arrived to the train station in Granada. Up until this weekend I had traveled in groups, however this weekend I was hitting the happy trail alone. Needless to say I was VERY nervous!
My punctuality combined with nerves got the best of me, and I was about an hour and 15 min. early for my train, not a problem to wait, on a lovely morning with the beautiful view of the Sierra Nevadas! (It just never gets old!)
The ride to Madrid was about 4 hours of smooth tracks. I was blessed to sit by a middle aged women who lived in Madrid and she calmed my nerves down a bit. We actually were getting on the same metro line and she invited me to tag along to make sure I got on the correct one. What a crazy place!!! There are about a million people and 2x as many metro lines. I repeated my stops in my head over
DSCN5367
Girls in the Plaza Mayor and over and over (so many times, they actually showed up in my dreams that night! hahaha!)
It was like Christmas Morning when I saw the hotel I was meeting Vanessa, her travel buddy Whitney, Steph, and Andy at!! We had lucked out with the location of this hotel, being SO CLOSE to the heart of the city.
Right away, Vanessa, Whitney, and I were guided downtown by the lovely Beckstrom pair. Andy pointed out some major landmarks and some places and streets where we could find dinner. The girls and I found an adorable little cafe on a little side street outside the Plaza Mayor, where we got to catch up and enjoy some classic Tortilla Espanola (my FAVORITE!!!)
That night, a recommendation from a painter in the Plaza Mayor, took us to a small little pub for a Flamenco Show. This tiny, old pub was so authentic! It had a little stage with a low ceiling, and little wooden chairs around little cocktail tables... another moment where you knew you were in Spain! This was my second Flamenco show, but I loved it just as much! It was different from the last, only having 5 dancers the entire
DSCN5370
Yeah...that is typical... show. There were actually 2 male dancers as well! The energy and emotion they put into the dances are incredible! My Italian student friends enjoyed it as well!
Saturday, the girls and I headed for the sights of the city! We got breakfast at a Cafe Y Te, which was of course bread and juice for me!
The entire day we followed a "walking tour" that my "Lets Go-Spain Travel Book" recommended us. We began at the Botanical Gardens and worked our way up through the city, seeing beautiful plazas, parks, monuments, the National Library, the Prado Museum, and the Reina Sophia. We often weaved up on side streets to explore just a little more. Later, we took the metro (which we pretty much aced after this trek!) to the northern part of the city to see the Real Madrid Soccer field. Main motive=make Odin jealous! 😊 It was so interesting to me, it is as big as a football stadium, and holds the same importance as a football stadium would in the US. Beautiful!!!
We got to meet back up with the cool chaperones that evening for some dinner in the Plaza Mayor. That place is AMAZING!!!! Full
DSCN5372
Flamenco dancers of people (sane & insane!) art, food, and energy! We were also graced with the presence of the Sparta Tour Guide, Fran. A HILARIOUS man with an attitude and a sense of humor that is sarcastic, dry, and intelligent. After dinner, he showed us where "the best churros and chocolate in the WORLD" were. Not a joke there, the doughy treat dipped in melted chocolate was a true Spanish dessert to tie the taste buds off.
Sunday came too fast for me. Steph and Andy were done with their chaperone duties and so us 5 started the day early! I had saved my extra chocolate from the night before for a healthy breakfast treat. Fruit dipped in the cold chocolate was like a replay of perfection! 😊
We hopped a metro line to the other side of town to the major park in Madrid. This HUGE park, I was told, is like the central park of Madrid. We all rented row boats and had quite the time trying to maneuver around the pond. If only every Sunday I could start my day off like that...
We all hit up the Plaza Mayor for a Paella lunch. Paella, a rice
DSCN5378
From Haugen to Madrid we go! dish mixed with veggies and seafood, is a classic Spain dish. Feasted like kings, and then had to split our separate ways. HOWEVER, not everyone split. Steph and Andy headed back to Granada with me!! Boy did that train ride go fast, being able to sit and chit chat with my SISTER while weaving through Spain. I can not get any luckier.
Besos!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.122s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0779s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
SJ
non-member comment
LOOKS FUN!
Boy it looks like you had fun... I wish I could have been there! :) How was that pig you ate anyways? Did you eat the whole thing or end up sharing it? I know you can eat....