This weekend was spent in the beautiful city of Madrid in Spain. Forty hours of sightseeing and adventures throughout the Spanish ciudad. The weather was absolutely gorgeous- sunny and high seventies by day, cool yet not frigid at night. A nice change from the freezing rain in Amsterdam. We spent our first day (Friday) wandering through the beautiful Parque del Retiro and nibbling on bocadillos (mini sandwiches) while watching boats go by in the park. After a refreshing siesta (something I've truly missed about living in Spain), we all grabbed a late-night meal which consisted of bull tail meatballs. As strange as they sound, they weren't bad. Except when Liz bit into a piece of tail bone on her first bite. Not so appetizing. The rest of the night was at this club called Kapital, where we got to drink champagne in a VIP room because of a friend's friend's connections with club promoters. I felt so swanky and sophisticated!
Saturday was fully dedicated to exploring museums and other tourist attractions, such as the Plaza Mayor, the Palace, and the Prado and Reina Sofia art museums. I have already had the privilege of going to these magnificent locations on my GFS excursion to España with Señora Hurley. It was such a cool sense of deja vu to see it all again! The artwork at the Prado was incredible, with works by Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. The work at the Sofia Reina was also cool, full of the modern art, from the greats like Picasso and Dali to miscellaneous artists with inspiring, groovy, and sometimes just strange pieces.
On our walk after the museum tours we met a delightful older Australian couple who were trekking around Europe just for the heck of it. They told us (nonchalantly, of course) that they had their layover in Dubai. Very cool if you ask me. Just a sweet couple. It's always nice to meet new people who are just nice to talk to, even for just a few moments.
We had an early mornings on both Friday, when we left for Spain, and Sunday, when we came back to Amsterdam. However, while Friday was relaxing and fairly stress-free, our trek back to Amsterdam was quite an adventure, to say the least. We had to leave for the airport by 5:30 am, so we decided that it was the logical to stay up all night and then leave straight for the airport. It sounded like a smart idea at the time, but it was a truly regrettable decision Sunday morning. Exhausted, hungry, and reeking of the club, we trudged to the airport and had an epic 8 hour journey home. Alas, after a 20 minute taxi drive to the airport, a 1.5 hour wait for the plane (all of us taking power naps on the seats), a 3 hour plane ride, a 25 minute bus ride, and a 1.5 hour train ride (not including other waiting times), we made it home. It was a crazy forty-hour adventure in Madrid and I loved every minute of it.
Throughout the entire trip, none of us could stop comparing Madrid to Amsterdam. We also couldn't stop discussing how much we missed our city. Not to say that Madrid isn't a beautiful and fun city. I guess this weekend trip further reminded me that I made the right choice to study in Amsterdam, and not anywhere else in the world.
Rest in peace Uncle Patrick. You will be greatly missed. 9/16/10
No comments:
Post a Comment