La vida madrileña

Madrid surpassed everything I expected it to be.

I flew from Sioux Falls to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Madrid with a few hours in between each flight. While travel is draining, there were several highlights. I enjoyed the long flight across the Atlantic, watching three films and a few tv shows on my personal viewing screen. The Amsterdam airport was filled with people speaking Dutch, and I loved it so much. The flight attendents were blonde and adorable and gave us Dutch snacks in Delft print packages. Such a delight.

When I arrived in Madrid, I made my way to the baggage claim and gathered up my suitcases. After walking clear across the airport, I changed my money to euros and met up with my group. Heidi, one of our directors, quickly found me and welcome me in Spanish. I met seven of my classmates, all girls, and we waited for a bus to come and take us to the hotel.

Our hotel was named NH Nacional Hotel and was amazing. I roomed with Matteo, my future roommate in Malaga, and Felipe, a guy from Dubuque, Iowa. Two things--I am giving everyone on my study abroad nicknames and there are 5 of the 30 people doing ISA Malaga are from Iowa. Their names are actually Matt and Phil. We marveled at the gorgeous view, spacious bathroom, and curious bedet.

That night we had a driving tour of the city courtesy of our native ISA director, Rrrrraquel, but I kept falling asleep. Madrid is beautiful and fascinating--definitely a European city with an international feel. At times I felt that it was remeniscient of Manhattan--at other times it was a completely new experience. Please take a look at my photos of Madrid--it was absolutely breathtaking. We had dinner at a little cerveceria around 8:30 or so and then headed back to the hotel for the night.

I think I should clarify a few things for people unfamiliar with the Spanish schedule. Spanish people live their lives around the sun. They eat desayuno (breakfast) after the sun rises--at 9 or 10, and then eat a huge comida (lunch) around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. After comida they take a siesta. During this time, most of the stores are closed. Around 4 or 5 the stores reopen. Spanish people do not eat dinner until 9 or 10 at night. The sun does not fully set here until about 9:30-10:00 so daylight goes forever. After a few days, I am totally used to this schedule and actually prefer it.

Also, I will probably write about going to a lot of bars and cervecerias. In Spain, they really do not have places that just sell food or just sell alcohol. The Spanish bar is a place where you go to get tapas (little meals) and talk with friends. I think this clarification is important so that no one thinks I have become an alcoholic while abroad.

On Domingo we got up and had a delicious breakfast at the hotel before walking to the Museo del Prado. Tragically, we could not take pictures inside, but I go to see paintings by El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya, three famous painters of Spain. Thank you CivArts and Dr. Munson. I loved getting to see Las Meninas, Saturno, and many other famous works, as well as understanding most of what our excellent tour guide said.

After a break for lunch and having some montaditos at the cerviceria, we visited el Palacio Real, the royal palace of Spain with more than 2000 rooms. We only saw a handful of these rooms, but it was so chic. Each room had a different purpose and type of decoration. There was a throne room, a room for lunch, a room for dinner, a room for drinking, a room for drugs, etc. The palace also have 5 Stradivarius instruments. If you know what that means, you are impressed.

We had the afternoon off, so we took are time walking back from the Palacio, heading through the Plaza Mayor and the Plaza del Sol. Felipe, Rubia, Pedro, Alejandro, and I found a little back-alley cafe where we enjoyed delicious paella with gambas and conejo (shrimp and rabbit). Paella is my favorite Spanish food so far--it is basically just rice with meat on it and generally it is a dish that you share. We spent almost two hours there--Spanish meals are meant to be leisurely endeavors, and you have to be aggressive when asking for the check. The mesero (waiter) will not bring it until you get his attention and forcefully demand "la cuenta, por favor!" On a positive note, tipping is uncommon, and if you tip more than one euro per twenty euro bill, it is considered very strange.

After lunch, I went with Alejandro, Pedro, and Rubia to el Jardin Botanico. The gardens are really beautiful, and we took some fun pictures. Afterwards, everyone got dressed up, and we went back to my favorite Cerviceria 100 Mondaditos for two euro jarras of sangria. Then we found another little cafe and enjoyed each others company. I had a wonderful conversation with a girl named Helen (no nickname yet!) who encouraged me to try the "dos besos" wherever I go. "Dos besos" is the customary girl-girl and guy-girl greeting in Spain where you touch cheeks and air-kiss on each side. It is far more natural that it might seem.

I headed back to the hotel afterwards and decided to get some sleep before heading to Toledo the next day. Life is beautiful.


Click here for photos!