Madrid
We arrived in Madrid early Tuesday the 5th (7am) but couldn't get into our hostel until about 11am. Liv and I got a taxi and sat in our town square for a couple of hours to people watch. Needless to say we were the signature americans sitting en la Plaza Isabel II. Eventually we got into our hostel; it was on the 5th floor... Liv and I found the elevator... the 3' by 3' manual door close elevator! (It.was.aweessommmee!) The couple running our hostel were adorable and so incredibly hospitable. They gave us towels, maps, and a lovely room.
Tuesday we explored around our town square. We saw the Palacio Real and Catedral de Almudena. We made our way to Calle Mayor where we ate our first meal at a place Livi calls home... a Mexican restaurante que se llama "Chaparrritos". We did a lot of window shopping and walked around an indoor Mercado de San Miguel. In short, I. Love. Markets. They had everything there, including chicos guapos and ceiling misters! We were so exhausted we returned to our room at 6pm and asleep by 8. Sadly enough we were so jet lag, 3am rolled around and we found ourselves watching the Chronicles of Narnia.
Wednesday. We spent morning #2 as Americanas again... we had to get to the bank before it closed so I didn't allow either of us to shower until we came back. Man, we looked like hell. Sport shorts, workout Ts, no make-up and hair thrown up. Obviously we got looks on Grand Via... ohhh well. On the way home we stopped at a Supermercado and got milk, cereal, bananas, a jar of nutella and a loaf of bread to live on. (We saved a looot of money on food! But note: nutella is NOT a sufficient substitute for peanut butter).
We took the metro to Museo del Prado. Liv was 17 for one more day and got in free, and I bent the cashier's arm and used my american university ID (even though you had to be a student in the EU) for the discounted price of 4euro. :) El Museo had over 100 rooms of art! Afterward, we wanted to go to El Parque de Buen Retiro (it's HUUUGEE! and beautiful). We had the idea we'd get a quick sandwich and head to the park for dinner so we wove among the streets and came across a tiny café on a side street.
*****Sally Sommers (My grandmother) moment! ****
I walk into this random café and see two guys from my high school! NUTS!
We spent the afternoon with them, walked the entire park, then headed to El Tigre for tapas and beer. El Tigre was the best deal we've seen yet! Two 32oz beers and a plate of tapas for 12 euro! Believe me, that was was hoppin! We said goodnight to the boys and went back to nap.
9pm-11pm slept. 11pm I get up and start dancing, ready to go out for Livi's bday at midnight and Liv wants to go back to sleep... 5 minutes later. Livi: "Sarah, you up?" Sarah: "Yeah, I was just falling asleep." Livi:"I changed my mind. We're going out."
Puerta del Sol found us, and so did a bar crawl with 20 other people. Our night consisted of Spaniards, Belgians, Australians, Swedes, Americans... oh yeah, 2 Irish pubs, American music, lots of dancing and drinking. Shut-eye time? 7am.
Thursday, Livi's birthday. Woke up at 2pm, chilled allllll dayyyy. Met up with Emily's (my cousin) friend Hannah and the two Brookfield boys for a late dinner at 8 in Plaza Mayor. It was lovely, chatting underneath the table umbrellas that misted on us, watching the overweight spiderman guy motion for people to come take a picture with him standing next to the massive-bubble-maker-guy, gazing at the night sky while sipping on our liter of sangria.... siggghh. Pure bliss.
Midnight rolled around and Liv and I took the metro to one of the hottest clubs in Madrid. Teatro Kapital. Seven floors of bars, DJs and awesomeness! I was impressed. Very classy; nothing like that unless you go to Vegas. Liv and I wore our black dresses and had a blast! Shut-eye time? 6:45am.
Friday: we left our hostel by 11:30am and took the metro to our bus stop station. We're half awake (or half asleep... maybe more asleep) in an internet café. Bus leaves at 2pm and we'll get to Bilbao to see Leyre at about 7pm.
Will write after Bilbao/Pamplona (running of the bulls for Saturday!)
All days were in the 90s here, 0% chance of rain, I never saw a cloud.
Tuesday we explored around our town square. We saw the Palacio Real and Catedral de Almudena. We made our way to Calle Mayor where we ate our first meal at a place Livi calls home... a Mexican restaurante que se llama "Chaparrritos". We did a lot of window shopping and walked around an indoor Mercado de San Miguel. In short, I. Love. Markets. They had everything there, including chicos guapos and ceiling misters! We were so exhausted we returned to our room at 6pm and asleep by 8. Sadly enough we were so jet lag, 3am rolled around and we found ourselves watching the Chronicles of Narnia.
Wednesday. We spent morning #2 as Americanas again... we had to get to the bank before it closed so I didn't allow either of us to shower until we came back. Man, we looked like hell. Sport shorts, workout Ts, no make-up and hair thrown up. Obviously we got looks on Grand Via... ohhh well. On the way home we stopped at a Supermercado and got milk, cereal, bananas, a jar of nutella and a loaf of bread to live on. (We saved a looot of money on food! But note: nutella is NOT a sufficient substitute for peanut butter).
We took the metro to Museo del Prado. Liv was 17 for one more day and got in free, and I bent the cashier's arm and used my american university ID (even though you had to be a student in the EU) for the discounted price of 4euro. :) El Museo had over 100 rooms of art! Afterward, we wanted to go to El Parque de Buen Retiro (it's HUUUGEE! and beautiful). We had the idea we'd get a quick sandwich and head to the park for dinner so we wove among the streets and came across a tiny café on a side street.
*****Sally Sommers (My grandmother) moment! ****
I walk into this random café and see two guys from my high school! NUTS!
We spent the afternoon with them, walked the entire park, then headed to El Tigre for tapas and beer. El Tigre was the best deal we've seen yet! Two 32oz beers and a plate of tapas for 12 euro! Believe me, that was was hoppin! We said goodnight to the boys and went back to nap.
9pm-11pm slept. 11pm I get up and start dancing, ready to go out for Livi's bday at midnight and Liv wants to go back to sleep... 5 minutes later. Livi: "Sarah, you up?" Sarah: "Yeah, I was just falling asleep." Livi:"I changed my mind. We're going out."
Puerta del Sol found us, and so did a bar crawl with 20 other people. Our night consisted of Spaniards, Belgians, Australians, Swedes, Americans... oh yeah, 2 Irish pubs, American music, lots of dancing and drinking. Shut-eye time? 7am.
Thursday, Livi's birthday. Woke up at 2pm, chilled allllll dayyyy. Met up with Emily's (my cousin) friend Hannah and the two Brookfield boys for a late dinner at 8 in Plaza Mayor. It was lovely, chatting underneath the table umbrellas that misted on us, watching the overweight spiderman guy motion for people to come take a picture with him standing next to the massive-bubble-maker-guy, gazing at the night sky while sipping on our liter of sangria.... siggghh. Pure bliss.
Midnight rolled around and Liv and I took the metro to one of the hottest clubs in Madrid. Teatro Kapital. Seven floors of bars, DJs and awesomeness! I was impressed. Very classy; nothing like that unless you go to Vegas. Liv and I wore our black dresses and had a blast! Shut-eye time? 6:45am.
Friday: we left our hostel by 11:30am and took the metro to our bus stop station. We're half awake (or half asleep... maybe more asleep) in an internet café. Bus leaves at 2pm and we'll get to Bilbao to see Leyre at about 7pm.
Will write after Bilbao/Pamplona (running of the bulls for Saturday!)
All days were in the 90s here, 0% chance of rain, I never saw a cloud.
Wow Sarah, sounds wonderful. Glad things are going well. Say "Hi" to Leyre for me!
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