Week 12: Madrid, Spain

Madrid. Madrid. Madrid. You sure were something else. 

On Friday, December 6, Kellie and I made our way to London to spend the night at the London Stansted Airport. Our train had one transfer and naturally, we missed it (because our first train was delayed). So, we arrived in London a little later than normal and only 10 minutes to spare before I had to hop to a zoom meeting. My meeting had to do with getting my pre-existing job at McKinney Law (as the development assistant) approved for an internship that would count as class credit. My "internship" was approved and I got to catch up with some colleagues which was nice. 

This week it really started to hit home that we come home in 2 weeks! YAY!!! Looking back at my time abroad, it seems like the days have gone by slow but the weeks and months have gone by so fast! I'm so looking forward to being home, very shortly.

PSA: Before I go into my arrival to Spain... NEVER FLY RYANAIR. Thank you for listening. More details to come later. 

Saturday morning, Kellie and I woke up bright and early to catch out 8:25 am flight to Madrid. We arrived at the airport and got through security quickly. We sat at our gate for maybe 20 minutes before we started boarding which was great. I knew this was going to be our travel day from hell when we got stopped at the check-in desk because we needed to get our VISA's checked (we don't have VISA's since we're short term visitors under 6 months). Somehow they let us on the plane and "slapped our hands" and told us next time to get them checked and that "this is very dangerous". 

Note: This was the first time something like this had ever happened to either of us.

Then, once we got on the plane. We sat and sat and sat on the tarmac (in a crowded overly hot and sweaty airplane) for an hour and a half before they told us what was going on. Apparently, France had a huge outbreaking of riots and protests and most of the country went on strike. This strike essentially shut down most if not all of France's transportation methods. Which included their air traffic control so no one was allowed to fly over France. So, our pilots were figuring out a new plan for us to avoid flying over France (hints why we waited for a total of 2 hours on the tarmac). Finally, they came over the speaker in English (previously, it was all in Spanish) and let us know that they had found an alternative route. So, our two and a half hour flight turned into a five and a half hour flight. The entire time I'm thinking great, I could almost be back to Indiana by now... 

Anyways, so once we arrived in Madrid, we didn't have a problem getting through customs (we were so relieved). We're still not sure why our ticket told us to get our VISA's checked, it was all really confusing. 

After we arrived, we got on a bus that took us to the city center for 5 euros and then walked to our Airbnb. We checked in and then headed to a sushi restaurant for a late lunch. After lunch, we walked around downtown and stumbled upon Gran Via which is like their shopping district and walked along Puerta del Sol which reminded me of a Bardstown Rd or a Mass Ave. Later that night, we ate a Five Guys... don't judge. We had a bar crawl later that night and I needed the greasy food if I was going to make it all night.

Our bar crawl was so much fun! It well exceeded our expectations. We went on TripAdvisor and purchased tickets to this lead and sanctioned bar crawl. It was a group of about 30 of us and we came from all over the place. People were from Ireland, England, The Netherlands, Denmark, Lithuania, France (I'm not sure how they got there because of the strike), and many more places! We even made friends with some people from Texas and New York. The bar crawl consisted of 4 bars and 1 club. We all got free entry and 1 free shot at each place for only 11 USD which was pretty good! We only spent an hour at each place but by the time we were done at 4:00 am, we were exhausted! If you go to Madrid all of the best bars are on Puerta del Sol and boy are they lively. Madrid sure is a party town and culture. 

On Sunday, December 8, we decided to sleep in (naturally) and then around noon, we headed to see some landmarks and tourist attractions. We saw the Museo del Prado (we didn't go in), the Royal Palace of Madrid, Plaza de Cibeles, and Retiro Park. Then, we headed to a Flamenco Show. 

Y'ALL.

I thought I had seen a Flamenco show when they came to Providence but absolutely not. I was expecting a show with a group of women and a group of men dancing to a pre-recorded music track.

BOY WAS I WRONG. 

Oh me, oh my. Wowza. First, the theatre we were in maybe could hold 30 people maximum. Secondly, there was only 10 people there. Thirdy, there was only 1 female dancer, 1 male dancer, a guitarist, and a singer. That was it. The show opened up with the guitarist and the singer coming out on stage and sitting in the corner. Then, the guitarist started playing and the soloist started stomping and clapping to the beat. Then, BOOM. He hit you with his majestic vocals. This continued for a few minutes, I mean I was entranced by the acoustics and the power behind his voice. Then, a male dancer walked out on stage and stood in the corner and started stomping the beat. Then, the female dancer came out and all eyes were on her. She started out right away with stomping her feet, twirling her skirt, and smacking her hands/body. This woman was FIERCE. She means business. I mean everything about her performance was powerful. Then, the male joined in with her and I just wow, they are so talented to be dancing that fast and that powerfully, and that in sync with each other takes some serious talent. The show continued for 45 minutes and after every dance number, I kept wanting more and more. I loved every second of the Flamenco show and if you come to Madrid, you have to go to one! 

Later that night, we went to a Mexican restaurant and had some delicious food and drinks. We had sangria, margaritas, and daiquiris (and yes most in the pitcher form). Well, I guess the waiter wanted us to stay a little longer and spend more money so instead of bringing the check when we asked, he brought us free tequila shots!!! What the heck! This has never happened to me before. So, naturally, when we thanked him for the shots, he decided to show us the bottle because we raved about how good the tequila tasted and he decides to pour us another shot?!?!?! So, at the end of the night, we were all tequila'ed out and had spent way too much money at that place so we decided to head out to the bars to dance it off. We had way too much fun that night and we someone made it into three bars without paying any cover?!? Anywhoser, the moral of the story is that Madrid knows how to party and boy did they show us a good time.

On Monday, again we slept in and decided that we were going to have a proper foodie day because Madrid had some pretty amazing food! 

We first headed to a restaurant called Ojala which is not only known for their amazing food but for their unique basement. The basement floor is straight sand. It's almost like you're eating lunch on a beach! It was kind of strange having your feet in the sand while eating a nice meal but it was so worth it! We had the best mac'n'cheese and salad. 

We then stopped at the world-renowned chocolate shop, San Ginés. At San Ginés, you have to have their churros. We waited in line for 30-45 minutes to see what all the hype was about! Their churros are amazing and super-rich but they're not covered in sugar or cinniman! They're just plain dough. They're served with a coffee cup... that's right a coffee cup... filled with their famous LITERAL HOT CHOCOLATE. This cup was straight melted choclate and people would eat it, drink it, and dip their churros. Spaniards are wild. 

After San Ginés, we went shopping in Gran Via and killed some time before we had to go to our cooking class. 

Then, we arrived at our tapas cooking class at Cooking Point. Our chef was so sweet! There was a group of 7 of us and guess what... all were from the states. There was one family group of three and the other two were an aunt and niece traveling together. It was such a fun group. We made all sorts of things and drank way too much sangria! We learned how to make gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), crema catalana (similar to a creme brulee), chorizos a la sidra (chorizo in cider), tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelet), patatas bravas (potatoes with brava sauce), and pan con tomate (tomato bread, which was my favorite). Oh, my word, Kellie and I were so stuffed and we had so much fun making it!! 

Note: The chef gave us a list of her favorite restaurants in Madrid. I'll list them at the end of this blog post!

Later that night, we went into a food coma and woke up the next morning and got ready for our flight! 

Again, since we were on Ryanair we knew it wasn't going to be a great flight. Our flight was yet again delayed therefore it made us miss our train back to Derby so we had another long day of traveling. 

All in all, we went out with a bang from Spain. 

Madrid was so good to us and we had such a fun and relaxing time. Now, back to the load of homework that I still have to get done! 

Things I've Learned This Week:

1.) Spaniards like to have a good time.

2.) Don't trust anyone in Madrid and keep track of your belongings, pickpocketing is prevalent over there.

3.) If you're coming to spend you have to spend a few days in Madrid but we were running out of tourist sites to see so maybe only stay for a few days.

4.) Knowing Spanish helps... I knew none and had to rely on Kellie.

5.) Never fly on Ryanair.

6.) If you got to a place one way, don't try to switch up how you're getting back. Kellie and I took the bus from the airport to the city center for 5 euros. We were told that it's not the most effective way so, we decided to give the metro a chance because everyone raved about how quick, cheap, and easy it was. We'll we went to purchase a metro pass for the day and it said it was going to take an hour to get there and it was going to be 7.50 euros. So, Kellie and I had to run to the bus station, pull out money from an atm, and catch the right bus. It was a mess getting to the airport and I'm not sure how we did it so quickly! 

7.) The guided bar crawl was a great experience because Madrid is known for its nightlife and we wanted to be safe and test the waters out before we ventured on our own.

8.) Cooking classes are amazing. You really get a bang for your buck! I love learning new things and it's nice to have guidance because I'm a terrible cook. You also get to know the history behind each dish and why it's made which is really cool! 

Restaurant Recommendation from the Chef:

El Caldero

El Ventorrillo Murciano

Bodega de la Ardosa

Alfredo's Barbacoa

Toga

Carmencita Bar