Just woke up from a leisurely nap in Retiro Park in MAdird. Now it`s time to be productive. As of yesterday afternoon when I finished my last exam, "productive" means reminiscing about my adventures with a pen, not studying or working on projects. Que bien, no?!
Well I didn`t waste any time in leaving town after my exams. I flew out of Valencia at 8am this morning, like I said, the day after my last exam. I should mention, though, that when I woke up yesterday morning I wasn`t even sure I was going to be able to take my economics test before leaving town. Last semester I would have worried that I would fail the class without having taken the exam. This semester I just sort of wondered. The whole story is that the professor had told us a while back that we exchange students could take the test at the beginning of June (instead of June 27th) if we were leaving Valencia before then. Naturally I went home immediately and booked a trip for the 9th. Then I couldn`t get a hold of her to find out when the early exam would be, and trust me, I tried. On my last day in Valencia (ignoring the fact that I´ll be returning for a few short days on the 18th because who wants to study while traveling), I managed to physically track her down and got her to give me the exam that day. Dominated it and Done.
So anyway...back to the good stuff. Today is again a brief stop-over in Madrid, my third. My plane arrived at 9am, I checked my backpack at the airport, headed into the center, and I will return for my 9pm flight to Porto, Portugal in a couple of hours.
My bff (best friend forever in middle school chat lingo) Amy decided to come visit and do some travelling with me in Portugal. We planned to meet in Madrid for our flight out. However, a couple of days ago, we realized we had a slight hiccup with flight connections. She would get to Madrid AFTER our flight left for Portugal. Thus my personal day exploring Madrid alone. Amy will join me in Portugal tomorrow afternoon. The truth is I have highly enjoyed my day to myself. I haven`t been alone. My camera has accompanied me every step of the way, and we have seen quite some sights together.
I arrived this morning without any sort of plan, and enterred the metro at the airport without having glanced at a map of the city. I picked for my destination a metro stop that had three lines going through it, reasoning that it therefore contained something important. When I first stepped out of the metro not knowing what I`d find I thought I had struck out, though still a nice-looking area. Luckily I stuck it out and found I had picked the stop closest to the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), arguably the most important monument in Madrid. My method had worked! I saved going into the palace for when Amy and I return after Portugal, but I did go into the cathedral next door and climb up into the dome for a spectacular view of the other monuments in the city, the surrounding mountains, and the inside courtyard of the Palacio Real.
After the cathedral I finally looked at a map and started walking toward the other side of the city center. My guidebook were postcards at street-side kiosks. I would find one I liked and ask how to get there, a very rewarding trick. It got me where I`m laying right now, on a grassy hill next to a good and fountain-filled pond, with the "Palacio de Cristal" (Glass Palace), forming the backdrop of the scene. I never would have found this interesting gem of a building inside the ENDLESS Retiro Park without the postcard search.
As always, I´ve taken a ridiculous number of pictures already (I`m worse when I don`t have someone to hurry me along). I only brought one photo memory card though for a 9 day trip (holds about 585 photos), so I`ll have to exercise some restraint (I know, sad, that 585 requires restraint). As my third "lay-over day" spent in Madrid, I am more convince than ever that it would be my #1 choice for living in Spain were I to ever return for a bit. This surprises me, but it is just so full of life. Even though it`s a bit touristy, it`s not overwhelmingly so like Barcelona. It just seems to create a cool international vibe. I could really see myself here.
I have delayed so much in writing because I wanted to write the entries in order, so once I missed one, they just piled up, but I`ve abandoned that, so from now on they`ll be out of order a bit.
My apologies for my absense! Preview of what`s to come this summer: Porto, Lisbon, Southern Portugal, Austrian Alps, Salzburg, Munich, Berlin, Krakow, Budapest, Prague, Rome. Can`t wait!!!
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