Weekend Trip to Madrid!!

While navigating around, we know that we will going the wrong way 100% of the time.

Day 1:
This weekend in Madrid started on Thursday; thus, most of us had half days at school. We had to get to Bilbao before we caught our train that was scheduled at 5pm. As we all casually walked to the bus stop to get to Bilbao, Andrea saw that our bus was leaving without us. Luckily, the bus takes a turn and stops on the other side of the street. We ran and were able to make the packed bus. Once in Bilbao, we had about two hours to spare. As we walked around, we all commented that while this town in close to Mondragon, it is very different. I suggested that we eat a great meal before our 5 hour train ride. As per usual, I wanted Italian and we found a popping place. This place had a 3 course menu for 12 euro! Even though I am picky, I decided to try some new foods, but of course, I had to take out ingredients for all courses. I tried Carbonara pasta for the first time and I fell in love. Then I had chicken with some weird cheese that I was able to remove and then I finished with some chocolate ice cream with toppings. We all were thrilled with our meals and were ready for the trip. Again, we are not very timely people when together. We ended up running to the train station where they said there was a change of plans for our train ride. The train was broken and they had planned for us to take a bus to a different train that would take us to Madrid. As we waited and waited, I began to worry that we were with the incorrect crowd going to Madrid. I asked Andrea and Camila how I ask a man in Spanish if he was going to Madrid as well; unfortunately, he denied right away and I freaked out. I apparently turned red and had a very worried look. I told Andrea he said no and they all laughed at me. We're still replaying this moment on Sunday. After waiting about 30 minutes, we followed the crowd to a train. On the train, the man stated that we as a group would make it to Madrid, but there were multiple ways to get there. We ended up taking the first train for about an hour, then took a bus for an hour, and then were on the second train for about 4 hours. I was just lucky we made it to Madrid before Midnight and we were safe. For our hostel, we stayed in a airbnb that was run by two women who were incredibly nice. Even though we were super late, they stayed to give us suggestions for the weekend and what buses to take. This apartment had two rooms and a pull out couch. While it was late, there was so much to do around the city. We all slept amazingly.

Day 2:
We woke up early and we were ready to explore. Today was supposed to be the coldest we have faced here in Spain. Once we woke up, some snow was coming down, but not sticking. We all dressed up warmly and headed out for the day. Usually, we are all always hungry so we found a place for breakfast after our bus ride to the middle of town. We all got more American size meals and I was able to get some fruit into my body. As we walked around at the beginning, we found a Real Madrid store and we all searched for gifts. We then headed to plaza mayor to start our trip for the day. This plaza was incredible and was filled with all types of people. We all were like the paparazzi and were taking hundreds of pictures. Since I am not good at History, I had no recollection of any Spanish History. I began to look around and see if there was any indicators of where or what happened here in Plaza Mayor. I was able to find a women with a yellow umbrella that said Free Tours. I walked up to her to see if she spoke English and was free. Fortunately, she was and our group was ready to learn from her.

She said that the tour would last a little over 2 hours. I was super pumped that we found someone that could give us a look into the history of Madrid and show us the major spots. She was more of an interactive tour guide; she kept asking us to educated guesses on questions she had. We spent a good amount of time in the Plaza and another couple from England that joined us. She was very educated and was in school to become a tour guide. She was from Romania and was fluent in 3 languages and could speak up to 5. She said we would make our way from the plaza to the royal mansion and end by the statue that had the crest of Madrid. As we walked, the colder it got and we would stand in one place so she could explain for more than 15 minutes at a time. She showed us where the oldest restaurants sell their food for cheaper in the market. She spoke about so many rulers and different dynasties that there is no way I could explain any of it now. But, she was incredible and we had great views of major sites. Since it was freezing, Andrea convinced her that we all should warm up and grab some coffee. While in the shop, I sat close to the woman from England and she has traveled all around the world. She mentioned that she and her boyfriend want to take a trip to Texas soon and asked where they should go. After that, she even mentioned that if we ever make our way to England, we should contact her for information and where we should go. Once my toes were warmer, we made our way down the street and we ran into the crest of the Madrid. There are stars because a ruler followed the constellations to find the city of Madrid. The bear and tree represent church and state and how they should benefit from each other. While no royal king has been crowned, the crest does have a crown to represent royalty.

We then made our way to the "everest of Madrid," which is a very small hill that has an incredible view of the royal palace and the church, Catedral de la Almudena. On this hill, she discussed the new royal family in Spain and then let us try violet candies that are specific to Madrid. We all really liked the taste of them. Even though we had to keep moving, we all wanted to get a closer look of the Palace the next day. Just like me, the tour guide walked super fast and we were always in the lead. She asked me a lot of questions about Education and why we wanted to come to Basque country. I asked her about the history and her life. She took us to many other fountains and discussed different statues around the city. At the end of the tour, she said she would lead us to a place were we all can get a free drink (includes sodas and water!) and can get warm. All of us stayed and got a few snacks. Here, I got bacon that was heated up by a blowtorch right in front of me. While it had other components, the bacon was the highlight of that meal.

Now with our stomachs happy, we headed around the town even more. We went through busy streets and saw stunning architecture. We passed a large building that had a sign that said "Refuges Welcome." We kept walking and decided to make a plan to see the large park. As we walked, we saw more amazing cites and were in owe of our experience.

Once we made it to the large park, Andrea and I talked about how it reminded us of Paris' large park by the Eiffel Tower. But the more we walked, the larger this park was. Andrea kept expressing that while the park is gorgeous now, it was even more spectacular in the summer. It felt like we walked for more than 30 minutes and we were only in the middle of the park. There were places where in the summer, it would be packed and many people would be riding boats in the body of water by the statue. While it was still cold, we were able to keep moving and having a great time.

Further down in the park, there is a glass castle. Of course, we had to go in and see the beauty. As we walked up to the castle from one side, Andrea remembered from when she was 6 the most beautiful place to take pictures. In the castle, it was surprisingly warm and we were able to sit down for a little bit. After our small break, it was clear that we had walked so much and that we should find a place to see the best view, which we heard was from the 9th story of the mall that is closer to the middle of Madrid. This meant a 20 or more minute walk. But as we started our walk, we all got hungry. Camila and Andrea knew of the best churros and chocolate place in town. As we got closer, the line to get in got longer, but we had to get in. We ordered and waited about 10 minutes before we got our table. This snack was so yummy and we all loved the chocolate.
Once again, as we sat down we realized how much movement we did for the day.  We did end up making it to the mall to see the view, but it was dark outside. All of us looked for coffee and other food in the mall. It began to rain and we were ready for a real dinner. Victor, Melissa, and I were able to go to a cute little place. We all got larger meals and I finally got to eat some chicken that I have been craving for this whole trip. We all bonded and talked about what we have enjoyed on this trip. Andrea and Camila had fancy noodles and were stuffed. Once we met up, we went back to our apartment to sleep. At the end of the day, we had all walked more than 26,000 steps!

Day 3:
We woke up and it was already pouring, which was in the forecast for the whole day. We were prepared and knew what museums we wanted to go to. Again, our main task was to first get some food. Andrea found a place, but once we arrived, it was too popular of a place and was booked for the whole morning. Now it was time for me to be the star and use my phone to find places. Victor was able to pick a place that was close by as we were walking. We loved this place and stayed for more than a hour. Andrea, as per usual, was able to find a website that gave us discounted tickets for this very popular museum. Plus this night we were going to see a flamenco show!

After breakfast, we started our walk back to the Royal Palace of Madrid to get a closer look and see the inside of the church. As we made our way there, we got to see most of the beautiful city again, but now in the rain. The outside of the palace was spectacular and huge. We stood there for more than 20 minutes just staring at it and taking pictures. As we were there, clearly finding places to be inside was our main priority in this rain. Unfortunately for me, I've been wearing a pair of ked shoes that I have walked too many miles in. I walked in those shoes through Amsterdam, Germany, Switzerland, Paris and London now through Spain. My shoes soaked from the sole up and I was starting to loose feeling in my feet. I had to speak up and state that we need to find someplace inside and possibly look for new shoes as soon as possible. The Catedral de la Almudena was next to the palace and we were able to walk inside. There was a mass happening with children singing beautifully. The inside of this church was incredible and had so many places to donate. I would have stayed longer if my feet weren't bothering me.

We made our way through the main part of town to look for shoes. Shop after shop we searched and I finally found some, but now I needed socks. While I know we all did not want to spend time shopping, my feet needed some attention. After I was happy and threw away my beloved shoes, we made our way to the market we passed by the day before. It was packed inside and we all looked for the best options. Andrea and I found the mozzarella bar and it was the most amazing piece of cheese I have ever had. The others treated themselves to some ice cream, but tiny ice creams. We continued to walk towards the line of museums. We did not get far before we found a gelato place that created flowers out of their gelato for you. Of course there is time for gelato.

Once again, we continued to the museum, but we needed a full meal. As we walked down a dead street, we found a very local place that had a good crowd inside. We all got amazing dishes and had a great meal together with laughter. As the day seemed to pass by us, we had to use our tickets for the museum. We walked up and there was a line that went on for a block, but luckily we already had our tickets and we walked inside. We all said we would meet up around 6:30pm, about 2 hours, to see if we are fully satisfied with our trip. I walked and walked and studied the art, but it was clear that my legs had had enough of walking. I kept sitting down to look at the art work and it got harder for me to start walking again. I needed some caffeine as well. We walked through probably 10 or 12 rooms full of art and we needed that break.

We sat there for over an hour and decided that it was a long day and we saw tons of pieces. We met up with Victor and started to think about dinner. Victor wanted tacos and had other plans besides the Flamenco show so he left. The rest of us made our way closer to the show. We found a little pizza place and we stuffed our faces. Finally, we made it to the show and we were sat in the second row. I was super excited and had no idea what I was going to see but the woman in a beautiful dress. The show had live singers and incredible guitar players that moved their fingers super fast. They show had a boy and girl dancer and they could move their feet super fast as well. They would stomp and snap their fingers throughout the dance. They had serious facial expressions and the songs were about displeasure with the monarchy. I had an amazing experience and highly suggest anyone to go see this type of show. After the show, it was time to get some sleep before our early train at 8am.

Day 4:
We all woke up super early and were not ready for travel. It was pouring again and we got two ubers to the train station. With plenty of time, we waited for our platform. Once we got that, 3 of us were in one car and the others in the car behind us. For most of the train ride I slept and or read my book. In the row in front of me had a cute newborn baby that was laughing with her mother. The train ride flew by and we had to take a bus from Zumarraga back to Mondragon.

This weekend was amazing and I saw so much. I am so incredibly blessed to be able to experience all of this and do it with some good friends. Cannot wait for next weekend when we travel to Barcelona!

Until next time,
Jillian