Hello everyone!
Sorry it's taking me so long to blog about this trip. I've been so busy!
Now, where was I? On my third full day in Madrid, Clara and I visited the Royal Palace. It was really impressive. We didn't pay to take a look inside though, but it would have been cool. We also saw a guy dressed up as a matador. Clara took a sneaky photo so we wouldn't have to pay him haha.
We also saw the Royal Cathedral and went inside for a look. It was really grand and impressive, but also kind of creepy.
We then did a tonne of walking in the heat. I was dying. But, I did stop along the way at a shoe store and bought some pretty sandals :) We ended up back at Puerta del Sol and I got a photo in front of this famous sculpture.
We then went to Retiro, a really huge park in the city. We sat in the shade on the grass and ate our homemade jamon sandwiches. A cute Spanish squirrel came up so close to us.
We then bought some icecream and walked around some of the park before finding another spot to sit down and chillax. While we were sitting down, an African guy walked past us and said hi and Clara said hi back. He took that as an invitation to come up and talk to us. He was so creepy. I just ignored him but Clara answered all his questions. He actually told Clara that she should be his girlfriend and gave her his number! After he finally left, we walked around the park some more.
We then left the park and I got a photo in front of the Puerta de Alcala.
We then walked down a street called Gran Via and a smaller street called Fuencarral for some shopping. I bought a handbag from an awesome store that sells pretty leather handbags for cheap. Mine was only 18 euros! After our shopping we went into a bakery for some more Spanish dessert. It was like a daily ritual haha. I had a chocolate triangle pastry which was delicious :)
We caught the Metro to her friend Maria's house again so Clara could enrol in her subjects at UBC. We didn't have dinner at home till 11:30pm! We had gazpacho and croquetas while watching Grey's Anatomy in English before going to bed.
The next day we went back to the jewellery store where Clara knows the owner so I could buy some earrings that would go better with my 2nd piercings. We walked past a street named after Clara!
On our way back we stopped at a grocery store so I could buy some Spanish food to bring home like Cola Cao and Nocilla. We then caught the Metro to a theme park called Parque de Atracciones de Madrid. We went on some water rides first to cool us down and then heaps of dry rides, including some intense rollercoasters. It was a lot of fun. There were so many 13-16 year old kids there, we felt so old!!
I was so exhausted by the end of the day and my feet hurt so much. We caught the Metro home but then Clara remembered we forgot to buy eggs for dinner. The supermarket across the road was closed so we had to walk further. I felt like I was sleep walking. I have no idea how Clara had so much energy! When we got back, I did some laundry while Clara the masterchef made me tortilla con patatas (spanish omelette with potatoes) for dinner which was really yummy. For dessert we had magadelenas (baby vanilla muffins) which were soaked in apple juice, spread with strawberry jam, and covered in chocolate. It was soo good. We got a tub full of warm soapy water to soak our sore feet in while we watched Glee before going to bed.
The next day we caught a 45 min bus to Toledo, a city outside of Madrid. It was sooo hot there and there were so many hills. First we went to a photocopy place to get posters printed for Alejandro. While they were printing we went to a bar called Picasso and had some drinks and tapas. After collecting the posters we went and got a doner kebab to share for lunch. We sat in the park to eat it.
We caught escalators to the top of Toledo to see the city.
We walked down so many narrow cobblestone streets, getting so lost. It all looked so old European. I loved it. We found lots of stores selling gorgeous gold jewellery and plates as it's traditional from that area. I bought a gold pendant for Nan.
We reached a really nice lookout over water.
Clara and I then went to another lookout to oversee the city of Toledo. It was so pretty.
We caught the bus back to Madrid, and went to the Reina Sofia art museum after 7pm to get free entry! Clara isn't exactly a museum kind of person, so we only got to see one floor. I got to see lots of Picasso paintings (he's my favourite artist) including his work 'Guernica', After learning about it and writing essays on this painting in high school, it was so amazing to see it in person. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos.
After much complaining from Clara, we left and went to a small restaurant nearby that Clara had heard about from her Aunt that had awesome paella, the traditional Spanish rice dish. The lady there was so lovely. We got paella con pollo (with chicken), arroz a banda (rice with fish), bread, aioli and olive oil soaked eggplant and capsicum to go. We walked to the Retiro park and sat on the grass and ate. All of the food was amazing, and I'm so glad I got to have traditional Spanish paella! We stayed for awhile just people watching the couples and people with their dogs before seeing the Puerta de Alcala lit up at night and then heading home so Clara could help me pack.
On my last day in Madrid, Clara and I went out to have chocolate con churros for breakfast again :) We went back to the house and got all my stuff packed and ready before catching the Metro to the airport. After checking in, Clara and I said goodbye. We weren't sad because we know we'll be seeing each other again very soon.
I caught my 10hr flight to Dallas with American Airlines. Their entertainment system was so bad. The video screen was so small and the quality was really bad. I watched 'Admission', 'The Croods', and 'Toy Story 2'. After landing in Dallas, I was in line for customs for over an hour. Once I got through it was my boarding time for my flight to Vancouver so I was freaking out. I got an express connection card to help me skip the line at security, but lots of people had these cards so I still had to wait. Once I got through I saw my flight had been delayed. Such a relief!! I had some time to kill so I went to Ben & Jerry's and got a chocolate chip cookie dough shake :) I also went into the duty free store and put on some perfume, as I'm sure by then I wasn't smelling my greatest haha. I caught my flight to Vancouver which was 4hrs 30mins. When we were preparing for landing I was getting so nervous. I had a window seat so I saw UBC from the plane! After getting through customs and collecting my bags, I went to go through the exit. My heart was beating so fast and my hands were shaking. I was so nervous to be seeing Kurtis again after 7 months apart! What happened when I turned the corner? Well that part will be saved for my next blog post ;) Stay tuned!
Love,
Emily
