As many of our friends and family may know, Laura and I have been planning an epic trip to Europe since we met in the dorms our freshman year of college. I officially motivated and booked my flight two months ago, which meant that the last 8 weeks have been the SLOWEST weeks of our lives!
I left on Saturday May 18th out of San Diego en route to a quick layover in Chicago to meet Laurita and hop on our next plane to Madrid, Spain. Luckily- our intern strength coach, Adam, was on the same flight to Chicago with me so I wouldn't go stir crazy in that tiny airplane! (I have way too much energy when I travel) Once I said my goodbyes to Adam in Chicago, I raced to my connecting gate to find Laurita waiting for me looking like a wreck. In her 3 hours in the Chicago airport, she had managed to lose her passport!!! Thoughts of having to wait in the US longer to leave for Spain started flying through my head when a crew member curtly told "Airhead" Laurita that her passport was found on the floor of another gate. Crisis averted!
As many of my family members and teammates know (especially my mom), traveling with me is a treat. Public singing, dancing, and random conversations with strangers are ALWAYS on the agenda. I love traveling way too much.. one of these days I'm going to get in trouble for showing of my 'stanky leg' in the middle of an airport terminal!! On this particular trip, I was trying to save as much energy as possible for the upcoming jet lag. However, Laurita and I got the very last row of seating on the airplane which meant that we had a consistent flow of guests near us the ENTIRE flight to visit that bathroom. This meant that people would be watching me sleep with my mouth wide open the whole flight.... not happening. After trying to sleep and look like a lady for over an hour, I gave up. Laura and I decided to create our own little 'fort' with the blankets provided on the plane. We used the tray tables to hold up the blankets, but that was short-lived... Laura complained about not being able to breathe. (wimp)
With a total of 14 hours of traveling to get to Europe, I had successfully completed 4 hours of sleep. We immediately visited Lauritas good friend, Carlota, who lives with Spain and she graciously welcomed us into her home for the day and night. However, there was one small problem... it was only 8:30 in the morning! If we were to beat the jet lag, we had to stay up for at least another 14 hours. We showered, and refused to relax as we forced ourselves to go find the nearest caffeine source ASAP with Carlota, Rocio, and Susana. Sadly, Susana was only with us for an hour or so. We ventured over to a little street side bar in downtown Madrid where Laurita indulged in coffee (correction.. it's 'espresso') and eggs while the other girls enjoyed Spanish Margaritas. We were SO hungry!!!!!!!!!!
After breakfast, we walked ALL OVER Madrid. All of the girls were extremely nice to me as they helped with my ridiculously bad Spanish. Thankfully I understand much, much, much more Spanish than I can speak.. so I could follow their conversations easily. Their English is incredible though. They understood my occasional inappropriate jokes perfectly! (sorry mom) We first went past the City Hall, then ventured all over to the Cibeles, Gran Via, Mercado de San Miguel, Palacio Real, Catedral de la Almudena, Jardines de Sabatini y Plaza Mayor.
My favorite spot was by far the Catedral de la Almudena. I had never seen a Cathedral like that before. Growing up in a Catholic High School has given me a great deal of appreciation for the Catholic Church, and was simply floored by how unreal it was. Laura and I decided to explore this Cathedral for a little while the other two girls went to a restaurant nearby. As soon as we walk in, I notice a Cardinal. Not just any religious leader, but Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco-Varela. I convinced Laurita to go up and talk to him and she timidly whispers "But what do I say to a person like that?!" I pushed her toward him and whispered back "Dude. Tell him you appreciate everything he has done." Laurita did just that, and he had a very pleasant conversation with the both of us. (I mostly just stood awkwardly behind her and nodded my head. I might as well have had a sign on my forehead that said "American Idiot- Party of 1") He asked questions about our travels and lives and gave us pins. This was an extremely rare occurrence, and so cool!!!!!!!!!! God has perfect timing.
We then went to this very very very traditional Spanish Restaurant called (I forgot the weird Spanish name). Here, men were dressed in traditional Spanish Muskateers uniforms. This place was literally hundreds of years old in a basement. The ceiling was covered in ancient brick and the walls had Torrero pictures everywhere and taxidermy bull-heads! I left it up to the locals to order for me as I went to the restroom. I came back to a nice Spanish beer waiting for me at the table (sorry mom, but its legal here. tee hee!!). 30 minutes later, the most UNREAL foods appeared before me. There was patatas braves con ali-oli, croquetas caseras, morcilla y chistorra de navarra. I ate all of these things with great curiosity, and they couldn't taste better... until the morcilla y chistorra ends up on the table. I ask what these little red/black balls are, and all of the girls IMMEDIATELY tell each other to not tell me what it is. (For any future travelers, if a local refuses to tell you what you are eating.. its a really really bad sign) I take a bite of this delicious food... and Laurita blurts out "ITS FRIED PIG BLOOD AND RICE!!".....um... no. Another girl states "Us Spaniards love pig so much that we eat literally everything". I wanted to vomit, but shoved the gross thoughts aside and finished this morcila y chistorra like a CHAMP. I even had a second piece! Life is all about new experiences, right? (Except my stomach is making some crazy sounds as I am writing this. Laura can't stop laughing. I blame pig blood)
The other girls left for their siesta as Laurita and I made our way toward Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas for my first ever bullfight!!! I had been talking about this bullfight for some time, and Carlota was able to get us some really nice tickets. I walked into this huge open aired venue and started quoting Gladiator. It was epic. Laura went on to tell me all about how Bullfighting works and how we were at the "Augusta National" of bullfighting locations. If these fighters succeeded here, they were big time in the Torero world. There were 6 bulls for the day. I got chills during the opening ceremony and was entranced by the first two fights. I gained so much respect for these Matadors as they risked their lives for this focal point in Spain's culture. In the middle of the third bull, it started raining... But it didn't just rain- IT POURED. Hail was attacking us and thunder was cracking overhead making the whole experience seem like a movie. (I wanted to start shouting lines from "Gladiator", but I assumed that would be inappropriate) We left after the third bull, however, because we were wearing the wrong clothes for the crazy weather and didn't want to risk getting sick on the first day of our long trip.
Our next challenge was getting from the Las Ventas to Carlota's house were we are currently spending the night. We almost got killed trying to flag down a taxi in the pouring rain, so Laurita and I sprinted 2 blocks to find a less crowded area to hunt down a cab. (by the way, cab's are SO clean here!!! and the drivers are nice and well-spoken! this isn't the USA) Getting the cab was quite the experience. I was able to document dorky Laurita running awkwardly and the pictures are below. (sorry I'm not sorry Laura)
We got to Carlotas where her mom made me the traditional Tortilla de Patata that I LOVE. Laura has made this for me several times at SDSU, and it has become my new obsession. Dinner was fun, insightful, and the family was so generous. All of the family practiced their English with me as we discussed American vs European politics and policies. One of the more interesting conversations I have had in a long time!
Well, Laurita and I are off to bed as we have had 4 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours. Jet lag is killing us now.. we can't seem to sleep! We head north to San Sebastian tomorrow by bus at 7:45 AM.
Adios Madrid- you have captured my heart,
Amy
Before the bullfight (note- we are dry here)
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