Madrid

This was the last stop on our weeklong journey. I only knew Madrid from Real Madrid in FIFA, so I was clueless on what to expect. Upon arrival, I found out it was the capital of Spain (there is a fun fact of the day for you). We landed at about 10am, and I was not ready to walk the whole day. The knee was struggling. I had to man up and fight through and take on the once in a lifetime opportunities that present themselves to me this semester. I am glad I wasn’t alone, everyone was pretty wiped.

We started off by seeing a palace that looked almost like Buckingham in London. At this point, you start seeing the same things and nothing has the same effect, in particular churches. One part of Madrid I liked was the time square like area. It was the first time I saw giant billboards and screens (Europeans market much different than Americans). We had no agenda and just moved around, occasionally stopping for a seat or quick bites. There were many “plazas” in Madrid, compared to Rome with its “piazzas.”

 

We all decided that it was just best to find a relaxing activity. We headed towards the massive El Retiro Park to go paddle boating. This 45-minute venture through the pond was much needed. Honestly, the rest of the day was just us trying to catch up on sleep, and prep our bodies for another night out. At night we tried one of the best clubs in Madrid, “El Kapital.” This 7-floor madhouse had a bar on each floor as well as multiple seating areas and a huge dance floor that you could see from each bar on every floor.

The next day just became a repeat of the day before. We even had the same breakfast, some incredible eggs benedict and avocado toast, a personal favorite. I want to say the most disappointing fact about Europe is their lack of love for breakfast. By far the best meal of the day. The day consisted of shopping and eating, in particular eating the best paella that Madrid has to offer. At night I enjoyed a quality cigar with Eric, Chase, and Shane. We all wanted to talk it easy, so post smoke we went to the convenience, got two bottles of win and Ben & Jerry’s and watched “Ted.” I especially love the movie because of Seth Mcfarline who created my favorite show of all time “Family Guy.” Looking back I have consumed the most Ben & Jerry’s on this trip than I have in my whole life.

 

It was cool at the end of the week going back to Prague because to me it was now home.