cafe con lecho

After 12 hours of travel, we finally made it to Madrid! Running on 2 hours of sleep, Lizzie and I decided to explore the city. We happened on El Museo Prado and made the bold decision to walk amongst the 2 floors of I must say endless old art. While I make it seem like such a burden to see  Las Meninas, Adam and Eve, and The Garden of Earthly Delights, our favorite, we were walking around a museum at 4 am our time which really has never been an activity I have embarked on at that hour. In our state of delerium we decided to head back for a quick nap and shower. That afternoon we wondered over to El Parque del Buen Retiro and rowed boats in the beautiful lake, we did feel a bit like we were on a romantic date but the scenery was priceless. That evening, we hung out and mingled at the hostel. We decided to get our rest up  for our freinds and fellow crew members, Maggie and Christina, to arrive the next morning. Once we met up with Maggie and Christina, we headed to El Museo Reina Sofia where we got to see a lot of Picasso, Dali, and some others whose names I dont particularly remember. We spent awhile trying to figure out the works of Picasso, particularly Guernica. None of us really understood how the painting related to the Spanish Civil War but we did make a fun game of I Spy out of it. While I probably have not made it seem as fabulous as it was, I truly enjoyed El Museo Reina Sofia. That afternoon we went to the Cathedral across from El Palacio Real. They had really cool ceilings that were much different than the normal cathedral.We then headed back to El Parque del Buen Retiro to enjoy some wine and a nice view. We returned to our hostel to hang at the hostel bar where the crew began to introduce ourselves to Madrid. As Lizzie already mentioned in her blog, we had some cuts and bruises that night but we sure did get to know Madrid and Madrid got to know the crew. I must say we have been paying for that today but we powered through and enjoyed a leisurely lunch where we replinished our energy with El Menu del Dia (a three course meal thorughout Spain where my first course was a large pasta dish) We then went on some casual real estate shopping at El Palacio Real, the palace that heald Juan Carlos II. While we found it a bit small, I suppose it could fit the four of us all right. We went out later to hunt for the Templo de Debod which ended up being a failure and only a 4 mile hike. We went to El Mercado San Miguel for dinner and enjoyed my favorite meal I have ever had in Spain (besides when my parents came to Barca and I actually went to a decent meal for once). Tomorrow we head to Barcelona to relive our abroad days and take a trip to Costa Brava. Our experience in Madrid has been amazing. We have stayed at an amazing hostel with a lot of people and have not stopped laughing and making things interesting since we got here. Our Spanish is a little rough, Lizzie even referred to cafe con leche as cafe con lecho. Thats what minoring in Spanish and studying in a Spanish speaking country for 2 months gets you. Ciao for now my fellow Americanos. More updates to come of our crazy adventures in Europa.

Check out Christina´s Blog!

Also, pictures to come hopefully in Barcelona. There is nowhere to hook up my camera here!