We arrived in Madrid at 9:30 am. Eight college kids ready to have one of the most memorable spring breaks of their lives. We checked into our hostel, and then decided to go eat. We found this little taverna on Calle Mayor. Our waitress, who was also the owner, could tell that we were tired, hungry and American. She made us all an American breakfast, which was much needed after being in Europe for three months.
After breakfast, we walked to the Egyptian temple, which is up on a hill with a large park. We walked around the park and watched the kids play and embraced the view of the city. The temple was surprisingly small, but nevertheless, amazing. There was writing in hieroglyphics on the walls, tombs and artifacts.
After walking around the tomb, we decided to go back to our hostel and take a nap. Once we woke up, we went into the city. A friend had told us about this tapas restaurant called El Tigre, so we decided to go check it out.
We walked into to a tiny restaurant with no tables. It was packed with people, leaning on bar tables, sharing plates and plates of tapas and drinking sangria. My friends and I all ordered sangria. All of the sudden, we have six plates of tapas in front of us and huge glasses of sangria. For each drink that you order, you are given a plate of tapas. Most people in El Tigre were locals, which made us feel even more welcome.
After finishing our tapas, we walked back towards our hostel, and stumbled upon an outdoor market. From first glance, it looked very similar to the market in Barcelona. However, when we walked in, it was completely different. All of the stands sold already prepared, authentic spanish food. There was a booth with a gigantic pan of paella, people frying fresh churros, and tapas stands everywhere you looked. All of my friends and I decided that we had to come back for dinner the next night.
The next morning, we woke up and decided to take the free walking tour around the city. The tour guide took us to the cathedral, explained the purpose behind most of the architecture, and showed us the restaurant where Ernest Hemingway would go when he would come to Madrid.
After the tour, my friend Katie and and I broke off from the group and decided to go shopping. I wanted to see El Corte Ingles, which is a Spain's version of a Macy's. Europe does not have big department stores, so shopping in a store with seven levels was a refreshing reminder of home.
Once we had fully experienced the shopping that Madrid had to offer, we met the boys back at our hostel and napped. Then, we all got ready and went to the market for dinner. Everyone tried something different, we all tasted each other's food, drank wine and had so many laughs.
The next morning, we decided to go to the Prado museum of art. At 5:00pm it is free entry, so in an effort to save money for more sangria (or shoes in my case), we decided to wait until 5:00 to go in. We walked around the neighborhood that the Prado is in for a while. A man on the street had a little booth set up where he was making paintings. Being curious, I walked over to check it out. He was making posters for salsa dancing and bull fighting, but he would put your name on the poster as if you were the one to be performing. Naturally, I bought a salsa dancing poster with"Nicole Angela" as the star of the show.
After walking around and visiting the spectacular Prado, we went back to the hostel. Our hostel roommate, Cynthia, was there. We started talking with her and found out that she is from Argentina. She was traveling alone throughout Europe. We invited her out for tapas with us, and then salsa dancing after. She practiced her english with us, and I tried to resurrect my spanish, speaking to her mostly in Italian. It was a night to remember.
Early in the morning, Tommy and I left for Lisbon, Portugal. We said goodbye to our friends, who were all splitting off at this point, some going to Sevilla, some going to Barcelona and some going to London. We all couldn't wait to see what the second half of spring break had in store for us.
Baci,
Nikki
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