Math question: If my laziness continues at an increasing rate (1.2 days late/post2), and I have 26 days left in Spain, how many more posts will I actually write? Only time will tell, but this week’s lateness can be 93% attributed to my family. They left yesterday morning (I’ll take 7% responsibility for not writing yesterday) and are now back in the U. S of A. We had a very good week in España and I’d say that their 32+ hours of travel was worth it.
For them, the week started on Friday afternoon at Bradley International Airport. Mine began on Saturday with my last early morning (6:30) walk along the water to the bus stop. When all was said and done (naps started, naps terminated by stewardesses, awful airplane food consumed, books read) we managed to meet at our hotel in Madrid. Soon after, we went out on a quest for tapas and somehow ended up finding the only Belgian bar in Madrid. Classic mix-up, but regardless, the food (and beer) was very good. We then proceeded to the Mercado de San Miguel, and later had some churros con chocolate (Madrid’s claim to fame). You might also be impressed with the fact that we even made it to the Prado Museum on our first day. It was a very ambitious plan, but it worked out in our favor because it was free admission day. However, my final plan backfired when a seemingly harmless trip to El Corte Ingles (huge Spanish department store chain) ended with blades dangerously close to my scalp. Yes, that’s right, we went in to look at shoes for my sister, and I ended up leaving with shorter hair (mandated by my mother). Minus my inability to communicate the type of haircut I normally get (I can’t even explain it in English), the Spanish haircut experience was actually very nice. Once we agreed that one of the pictures on the wall of a model was close enough to what I wanted, the process commenced. Two shampoos (yes, before and after) and liberal use of scissors later, my mother was happy and I would not have to hear another comment about how awful my hair looked for the rest of the week. After all of this excitement, we found a real Spanish place for dinner, and thus ended our day.
A rainy and overcast day two didn’t stop my mother and Lauren from bringing us to the Rastro (a giant flea market held every Sunday). Scarves for €1/each proved to be Beth and Lauren’s kryptonite, and I think their final count was easily in double digits. This said, no rastro purchase compares to my €8 hat/sunglasses setup (see pics). Shortly after making this purchase, we managed to lose my mother in the crowd of shoppers for a solid 45 minutes. I really don’t understand how this happened though, because there was only one idiot in the entire market wearing a neon green and pink hat, so we weren’t that hard to find. Anyway, she did eventually spot the hat and the entire family was united once again. As the rain started, we found refuge in the best bocadillos de calamari restaurant in Madrid (self proclaimed), and then the Starbucks right next door (classic Americans). Later that night, we made our way to el Estadio de Vincente Calderón to see my first high level game (sorry, Betis), and my family’s first Spanish soccer game. The stadium was pretty full, and the hardcore fan section was crazy the entire game. Aside from the bocadillo (sandwich) break at halftime (a custom we did not know about) they didn’t sit down or stop chanting for the entire game. It wasn’t in vain though, because Atlético Madrid ended up beating Levante 3-2. Another positive from the game is that my dad expanded his knowledge of the Spanish language as the woman behind us continuously listed out just about every swear in the Spanish vernacular every time Atlético lost possession. After a short metro ride back to the hotel area, we had an 11:30 dinner (which is even late for Spaniards) and called it a night.
After two full days of Madrid, George, Beth and Lauren felt like they had seen all that the capital had to offer, so we took a day trip to Toledo. By the time we made it off of the fast train (70 km. in 30 mins) I’m pretty sure that the “Holy Toledo” joke count was north of 15. Thankfully, it eventually lost its glamour and our day was better as a result. We walked around, took some pictures, visited some cathedrals/churches and then ate lunch. Definitely a quality few hours in Toledo. Upon our return, we took a siesta, did some afternoon shopping (again motivated by Beth and Lauren), and ate a paella dinner. After convincing my dad that he didn’t actually want to go to the Kapital Club (huge Madrid nightclub) on a Monday night, he settled for some ice cream to end the evening.
With flights back to Palma (mine at 2:30, theirs at 4) on Tuesday, we only had time for a morning visit to the Royal Palace. Sadly, we were greeted with a “closed for demonstrations” sign (obviously in Spanish). However, the cathedral was open, so we hung out there for a little while. Suddenly though, we heard music and saw a giant marching band accompanied by a large group of people on horseback in the courtyard of the palace. We observed for a little while from the top of the cathedral and after seeing the snipers on the roof, we decided that it was some kind of important event. We went down to street level and after 15 minutes, we saw the King and Queen of Spain roll up in their royal horse-drawn carriage. Definitely a fair trade for not being able to see the inside of the palace. We were then forced to head back to the hotel to pack up. I left at noon to get on the metro to the airport. After landing at 3:45, I somehow managed to get to my 5:00 class 15 minutes early. I met the fam around 9:00 for dinner and after making it through the last rain storm we would see this week, we then met some of the girls in my group for bebidas (drinks) at one of our favorite bars (Antigüedades).
They were on their own on Wednesday for a good portion of the morning because I had class from 10-2. They did a lot of shopping (what else), and a small amount of sightseeing. We met for lunch at Casa Julio (my favorite local lunch locale) and then Lauren came with me to my class from 7-9. After meeting the padres (parents) back at the hotel lounge after class, Lauren went up to the room to get something. She came back a few minutes later out of breath (a combination of excitement and her being out of shape) because she had gotten an email that she was accepted to High Point. We were obviously all ecstatic for her, and we celebrated with some bebidas (shhh, don’t tell the school). Dinner was had in a very positive mood as a day that started with one highschooler and one college student, ended with two college students.
Thursday didn’t feel like Thanksgiving, but we did our best to make it as normal as possible. My dad and I started the day the way any Thanksgiving starts, with a roadrace. We met at 8:00 for the run, yelled “It’s 10 o’clock in Manchester!” imagined the sound of the start gun, and ran 5 miles along the water (with a little bit of beach on the way). Not quite the same as the Manchester Road Race experience, but it was the best we could do. We then picked up the female portion of our crew back at the hotel and rented bikes. It was a gorgeous day to ride around and we had a good few hours riding around the port area. However, I had to leave the party early and go to class (very un-Thanksgiving-like). After teaching a class of 10 year olds about Thanksgiving (Catalán class field trip), I met the group (minus two that were in Amsterdam for the weekend), our professors/directors, and my family at a place called Diner for a typical American Thanksgiving dinner. The owner of the restaurant is from Texas, and I must say, the food was very authentic. It’s a shame that we found this place so late in the game, the burgers looked awesome and they had Buffalo wings on the menu.
On Friday, we took the scenic train to Soller and enjoyed a gorgeous day there. We walked around a little bit, saw the sights and ate lunch. We took the bus back mid-afternoon then just hung out until dinnertime. At around 8:00 I brought the family over to meet Carlos and see my extremely luxurious apartment. We had some tea with Carlos, gave him some Colby gear, spoke some spanglish, then went to dinner. A nice last day to what I would say was a very active week.
As I said before, the fam left yesterday and are home now. I had a very good time with them, and I feel like the week went by very fast. Soon enough they’ll be picking me up from the airport (less than a month) and it will be Christmas, so I have to do my last minute shopping and maybe think about starting my final projects. In the meantime though, I’m about to go to my first RCD Mallorca soccer game. I’ll leave stories from the game for next post. Until next time.
Matt
Carlos's new Colby gear
Soller
Soller
Soller
Train to Soller
CIEE Thanksgiving
Palma
Celebratory Drinks
King and Queen in their Carriage
Snipers
Toledo
Talking to God
Holy Toledo
Toledo
Renfe
Atlético Fans
Great Rastro Purchases
Corte Inglés corte de pelo
My mother's worst nightmare
Churros con chocolate
Plaza Mayor
Mercado de San Miguel
