Madrid Weekend

I could honestly say that I did not fall in love with Spain until this weekend when I went to Madrid. Being in a city that was far different from any other city that I have seen was quite the experience. The architecture in the country’s capital is perfectly beautiful among the scenery of the fountains and parks. Those of you who of have facebook can see the pictures from the weekend.
Although we have all heard of the terror stories of pickpockets in Madrid, very few of us have experienced it firsthand. The trip to Madrid began Friday morning. Our school, La Fundación Ortega y Gasset paid for all 120 students to go to Madrid and visit the Palacio Real (it is the old castle for the King and Queen of Spain—they no longer live in it but receive guests from other countries there). As we were waiting in line in a group of 120 obvious Americans, I noticed some interesting looking women (clearly not Americans) standing behind us pretending to take pictures with their camera phones. All of a sudden, a girl in our group taps my friend Erica on the shoulder and tells her that she should be more careful with her wallet because it was hanging out of her purse. Erica replied and said that her purse was carefully zipped and held at her hip. She quickly looked through her wallet at noticed that her 85 euro had been stolen and that the women were quickly walking away. She grabbed the two men in charge of the students at the school, José Luis and Miguel, and the three of them chased after the ladies. When Erica confronted them, they said that they had found her money lying on the floor. Erica, who is part Cuban and speaks Spanish pretty fluently, replied “Alright sure, give me back my money,” and the ladies gave it back to her. They had unzipped her purse, taken out her wallet, unzipped it, taken out her money, and put her wallet back all without any of us noticing. Atleast Erica was able to catch them and save herself 85 Euro.
After the Palacio Real, we took a guided tour of the city and ate lunch at a famous restaurant called “Museo de Jamón” (Museum of Ham). The restaurant has pig legs hanging from the ceiling. Oddly enough, our school ordered us fried chicken at the Museo de Jamón.
Then we went to our hostel (which was actually very nice) and walked around the city some more. We came home to take a nap, then went to eat bocadillos (sandwiches) at a very local place where the waiter was not too pleased to serve Americans. Then we went to this infamous 7 story club call Kapital where they play different types of music on each floor ranging from rap to techno to salsa. Also, I think because of this night I will eventually become a brunette while living in this country.
The following day, a few of us went shopping, walking through Parque Retire (which is a big park in Madrid about the size of central park) and the Prado Museum. While at the park we rented rowboats and spent some time on the small lake in the park just paddling around. Seeing the artwork of famous painters such as El Greco and Velazquez was also well worth it.
Later that night, my friend Conor got the idea to do a pub-crawl in order to see the different types of nightlife the city had to offer. We were supposed to end up at this Irish pub that promised us they would show the Notre Dame vs. UConn basketball game, and we did, but the bar (called Dubliners) had made a false promise. Apparently they do not get ESPN in Spain—so the pub crawl continued.
Sunday morning we had to check out of our hostel and then we were supposed to attend the Rastro Market (which is the biggest flea market in all of Spain) but when we stepped outside of our hostel, it was pouring rain. While some people stayed to see the Real Madrid soccer game, a few of my friends and I were exhausted from the weekend and decided to go home to Toledo. I couldn’t go to the game anyway because I have five classes on Monday and the game started at 9 p.m. Sunday night. Those that stayed were returning to Toledo Monday morning.
On another note, my internet problem is going to be fixed. I found a somewhat pricey way to always have internet through a USB modem. I am going to get this internet thing instead of the membership to the gym. Don’t worry, I will not be a gordita—I am going to start running outside frequently because the weather is already nicer. Also, my friends Katie and Flannery are running a half marathon in Prague in April. Maybe if I am disciplined enough I can attempt to run with them. Wouldn’t that be quite the achievement?

Miss you all—
--Ellyn