Garsh, my feet are killin' me!!! I never thought I'd walk so much!
Today was a great day for a confidence/independence boost! I woke around 10:45 since last night was a late one. Got ready in a jiff, had a b-fast of toast, butter, marmalade again. Then set out to meet Mackenzie, Kyle, and Jozzy to head downtown.
We had no trouble with the trains whatsoever! Not that I'm surprised. I'm a city girl, you all know that. We took the train to Atocha and caught another to Sol again. From there, we kinda wandered. We ate a delicious lunch at a cute cafeteria in Plaza Canalejas. I had a Tortilla Francesa which is basically just bread and a fried egg omelette. I also had my first Horchata in Spain. So sweet. Patatas bravas was the dish I advised my friends to try. It was a hit, naturally.
Afterwards, we headed toward to the Prado Museum. We stumbled across some beautiful government buildings on the way. I love how every street and corner is a work of art. I also took a stumble admiring these masterpieces. See...I'm always looking up and taking pictures. So, that doesn't allow me to look where I'm walking. I almost face planted over a stone bench today! It was the same color as the sidewalk, in my defense! It was quite awful. My knees hit it and then I went down on all fours, my butt in the air. Good thing I was wearing a long skirt. I think the best part was that there were two cute old ladies almost 3 feet away at the time, just sitting there. It all happened right in front of them. They couldn't stop laughing at me or with me. I lost it. I'm a little scraped. It's what I do. Y'all know I'm not graceful in the least bit.
Unfortunately, the Prado wasn't free until 5, so we had some time to kill. The magnificent thing about this magnificent city is that everything is in walking distance. We strolled through Retiro Park nearby for the next hour. It's like the Central Park of Madrid. Dare I say it, more beautiful? We rested among the other Spaniards under the shade for a while. We're all wishing cooler weather were here.
Back at the Prado, we joined the enormously long line for free admission. It was totally worth it. I finally saw "Las Meninas" in real life!! Twas enormous and so life-like. I totally get the hype now. Velázquez was so talented. We also saw Goya's "El tres de mayo de 1808 en Madrid"! Kinda heartbreaking but so well-done. There were so many other pieces I recognized. Thank goodness for art history classes!
Sadly, the four of us were too tired to stay until close. We figured we'll return a few more times, so hakuna matata. That's not Spanish, by the way. It's Lion King speak for "no worries". I use it a lot. Thought I should notify y'all now.
Any who...we just walked back to Atocha and, once again, successfully commuted home to Alcalá H. Once there, we strolled through the Plaza Cervantes like any other Spaniard and had a tad of ice cream to top off a great day. How is it that ice cream tastes so much better on vacation?
Now I'm at home again. I'm waiting patiently for a cena (dinner) of gazpacho, and pizza or paninis.
Tomorrow, we start classes. I have a Spanish Culture and Civilization class at 12:30 until 2, siesta from 2 til 3:30, and then a Spanish Film class from 3:30 until 6:30 with most of the But group! It shall be a blast. But I'm realizing now summer is ending. Of course, it's going to feel like I'm on vacation for the next 3 months, but summer's gone, just the same. I hope classes will be a breeze. They know not to burden us with work because we need to explore and learn on our own. But I will be thankful for the routine I've been craving. And I'll also be thankful for more Spanish immersion.
Hope all of you are enjoying each post. Sorry I like to write novels. Please feel free to comment. I do read, just don't respond! Hahaha, but it's nice to know my home country cares. :) So here's a thanks to my fans: THANKS!
This is Clara, signing off. Over and out. Paz and love.
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