And probably one of the best. I left Monday morning for Madrid, and arrived exactly 24 hours later. I had some awesome company on the plane, which was great because that nine hour ride from Dulles to Spain would have been brutal without it.
When we got off the plane our bodies were telling us it was almost 11 at night, but the hot Madrid sun was kindly reminding us our day was just beginning. Jet lagged and exhausted, we were running on nothing but the sheer excitement of having finally arrived in what many of us had been waiting years for. We arrived at the Chaminade, our temporary dorms, with the entire day free for whatever our corazones wanted to do. A few new friends and I walked around the area where we're living, which is surprisingly dead. It's in the area where the actual university is, and all of the students are gone until mid-September. Nevertheless, it was great to get out and explore.
After lunch (which is served at 2pm in Spain), even though we were definitely ready for bed, we decided to make the most of our first day in the city and take the Metro out to el Parque de Retiro. The Metro is a lot like BART, only cleaner, cheaper, and way more efficient. Madrid has mastered public transportation, hands down. The park is what I imagine Central Park to be like in New York. It's massive, and was full of amazing things. A glass palace, elaborate fountains, and an old marble plaza were just a few of the things. We even saw a live movie set being shot right there in the open. The best part was definitely stopping every thirty minutes to just lay in the grass and take a nap. America really needs to get on board with siestas, they are the panacea for all of life's problems.
We were back in time for dinner at 9:30, and I fell asleep in disbelief at how much had happened in what felt like one never-ending day.
After lunch (which is served at 2pm in Spain), even though we were definitely ready for bed, we decided to make the most of our first day in the city and take the Metro out to el Parque de Retiro. The Metro is a lot like BART, only cleaner, cheaper, and way more efficient. Madrid has mastered public transportation, hands down. The park is what I imagine Central Park to be like in New York. It's massive, and was full of amazing things. A glass palace, elaborate fountains, and an old marble plaza were just a few of the things. We even saw a live movie set being shot right there in the open. The best part was definitely stopping every thirty minutes to just lay in the grass and take a nap. America really needs to get on board with siestas, they are the panacea for all of life's problems.
Love reading your blog Brian! Fantastic authorship. Thanks for letting us travel with you via your reflections. So excited for you to be having this profound life experience. Viva Madrid!
ReplyDelete