Meandering Through Madrid

All we can say is...

Oh my!

What a day it has been.

Madrid surpassed anything we could have imagined. Somehow it combines bustling everyday city life with the unmatched beauty of the well-maintained scenery and architecture of the past. The bridges, the buildings, the overlooks, all of it seems like it was meticulously planned to only enhance the allure of the city. My favorite parts were the parks. For those who don't know, I love any park, much like your friendly neighborhood golden retriever, but I've never seen parks like these. The trees must be hundreds of years old - their trunks would need all three of us to connect to get one full hug and rise incredibly high into the sky. Below the leaves, the curvy stone-lined paths are surrounded by ornate fountains, colorful flower gardens, and dark wood benches to hide you from the beating heat of the sun. They were practically sound-proof, too - all you could hear were the chirps of the birds above and the crunch of our steps below. As we strolled through the park, the occasional Addy stumble and following burst of laughter was the only inconsistency in the little island of bliss. We could've easily stayed there all day, but there was a city that actually had even more to offer just waiting for us.

Beautiful building near our apartment.

Just a subtle fountain in the park.

At the end of the park we stumbled upon the Royal Palace (Vic swears it was intentional, Addy and I sincerely doubt it). Between the gardens, the live accordion player serenading us with "My Heart Will Go On," and the palace itself, it was breathtaking. Just on the other side was a cathedral that was equally gorgeous. Both the palace and the cathedral were gigantic and overlooked a large area of the city below.

             

 

Feelin' like Royalty.

Just beyond the palace was a plaza full of street performers, vendors, and policemen on horseback. We knew we were reaching "tourist town" as a family on segways with matching lime green helmets cruised by us like ducks in a row. We soon reached a cluster of shops and restaurants tucked in the alleys of a few blocks of buildings. There was this huge indoor-outdoor market somewhere in the middle, with vendors of every type of food, from coffee to cheese to seafood and far beyond. As we kept moving, we came across the Museo de Jamon, or the museum of ham, which had Addy jumping up and down and me imagining the kind of joy my brother would experience if he found such a place. There we found some delicious ham sandwiches and later some very refreshing drinks. Once we reached the McDonald's, we decided to turn back and slowly make our way back to our apartment to cool off and put our feet up for a bit.

Us adoring Addy's future home in the background (the yellow one)

An alley in the plaza

The goofballs

Tonight we were able to meet with our fellow Mines student and friend, Meghan McIver, who is also in Spain this summer. She is researching some super cool materials and studying Spanish language and culture here in Madrid and seems to be loving life. She suggested several things for us to see and do (and eat :D), as any angel like her would, and now we can't wait for tomorrow!

We were in Barcelona and Madrid, two of Spain's largest cities, all in one day. That is something I never thought I'd be able to say. I feel pretty powerful. My body, however, feels differently. I'm sure you're familiar with a whoopee cushion; I think we all feel something like one of those after it's been sat on and giggled at. That's okay though, every second of being here has been incredible and we can't help but be continuously excited for the next day. Whatever it is, it will no doubt include some sort of ridiculous episode, uncontrollable laughter, unforgettable sites, and full tummies :) That was rather long-winded, I apologize, but thanks for catching up with us!

Quote of the day: "She laughs at my jokes, of course we're in love" -Addy to Lauren as they stood on a pole together. Yep.

Incident of the day: Addy tripping on air (supposedly a small rock) and sliding down a slanted dirt path due to lack of traction. She rode that non-existent wave like a boss though. 

Most delicious thing consumed today: Way too hard. Enough was consumed for a small village. We did very much enjoy our ham sandwiches as well as our tinto de veranos with Meghan this evening.

Other pictures from today:

That pole I mentioned earlier.

The most delicious ham sandwiches on the planet.

Baewatch
Vic was mad I made her look like a tourist to take this. Apparently we had been hiding it before that. Perhaps she should have told me before I decided to wear the fanny pack and tennis shoe combination.

The flowers we would give our mamas right now. Love you!