well, I made it!

Day One: Travel.

To start things off, my flight into London arrived 45 minutes late. I pictured tea and crumpets before jet-setting to Madrid. No such luck. Upon arrival, I thought it was necessary for me to run to my gate in order to make it on time. Sprinting through the London Heathrow airport was not ideal. I showed up to my gate, panting and sweating, to a huge group of people; the flight wasn’t even boarding yet (I read my ticket wrong, thinking the boarding time was the time of departure… rookie mistake.)

Because of my brief layover, my baggage didn’t make the flight to Madrid. Let me tell you, showing up in a foreign country with no luggage causes its complications. At least another guy from my group was in the same boat. We missed the ISA bus to the hotel, so we were had to take a cab.

At that rate, I should have known we weren’t having the best of luck. We were dropped off at the wrong hotel. That was awkward. Our hotel was located within walking distance, and luckily, a few kind Madrileños helped us out. We were really put to the test. I’m going to have to get used to this whole, speaking Spanish thing.

After an orientation meeting, shower, nap, and waiting around for a few hours, it was time to go out. The norm in Spain is to start dinner at 9 o’clock, then go out afterwards until all-hours of the night. This was somewhat of a challenge for our group of jetlagged, hungry college students, but we figured we’d better get acclimated. A group of us headed out for tapas and drinks at nine, and then hopped around between bars around our hotel.

The program coordinators,warned us that Americans are sometimes known for being loud and drunk when it is unnecessary, and advised us to be aware of this.We may have contributed to that stereotype. All of us failed to realize that with the time change, we had gained a day, and it was actually Sunday. Regardless, we were determined to make the most of our night; we became fast friends and ignored the fact that few locals were roaming the streets with us.

Day 2: Tours of Madrid

Nine AM was a little difficult that morning for our walking tour of Madrid. We visited La Plaza Mayor and La Sofia Reina museum.

After the tours, a smaller group of us visited La Plaza del Sol where protesters are meeting to petition against the government. It was a little strange to show up to a protest and take pictures. No one minded us, and it was fairly calm. Most people were sitting in tents and just hanging out.

There were people everywhere and the streets were packed during the afternoon. We visited the botanical gardens across from the hotel, but really just paid for the entrance fee, and sat on a bench inside. We were exhausted from the walking, and still a bit jetlagged. Then, we ventured out to a gelato shop that we had seen earlier that day. It took us a while,but by the time we found it, we deserved it! We sat around the Plaza Mayor, and had some sangria before diving in to a Paella.

Paella (complete with.... chicken wings?), Ensalada Mixta, y Sangria

Que Delicioso!