This past weekend, we Madridians welcomed our first round of visitors – friends dropping in from Florence for a much-needed reunion. I’ve been here for almost two whole months, the halfway point of my time abroad. While the traveling has been amazing, the food delicious and the good times plentiful, I have endured the occasional bout of homesickness (more specifically, America-sickness), so this visit could not have come at a more perfect time.
Two of my best friends, Stephanie and Katherine, arrived Friday morning after getting almost zero sleep, but they were up, well dressed and ready to roll. I couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of pride in what has now become “my city.” We decided to do a comprehensive walking tour that afternoon, starting in Sol. As we walked around the bustling plaza, we were greeted by many a street performer as Naughts and Stacks (nicknames) enjoyed the vibrancy of city life. Being the avid history buff that I am, as well as currently being enrolled in three Spanish history classes, I took great pleasure in pointing out historical buildings and symbols along the way.
From Sol we headed to the Plaza Mayor, where Steph immediately pulled out her camera and began to snap away at the colorful tiles that adorned the sides of buildings and the red brick walls that surrounded us on all sides. We walked to the Plaza de Santa Ana and had a delicious lunch that included salmon and brie tostas, yogurt with fresh fruit and my first quesadilla in Spain. The rest of the day was spent enjoying other Madridian hotspots like the Royal Palace and the Sabatini Gardens, flanked with statues of Roman emperors past. After their long morning of traveling as well as my personal sacrifice (waking up before noon to meet them at their hostel), we were all pooped, and a siesta was in order.
That night was a special treat indeed. My soulmate Dan, (who is aforementioned in my blog post about Valencia) as well as our friend Megan, another Valencian, joined the gang for a traditional Spanish dinner of tapas and wine in our plaza. After dinner, the partying commenced and a raucous night at Dubliners and Kapital ensued.
Saturday morning, my friend Taylor and I had a quiet breakfast at VIPS, a chain restaurant similar to Denny’s that I could probably write an entire blog post about, that consisted of yogurt and croissants. We met Naughty and Stacks at Starbucks in Sol and debriefed about the previous night (I had come down with a stomach bug on Thursday so I took it easy on the partying this weekend and came home early Friday night). After our caffeine fix we headed to Parque Retiro, even more beautiful in the fall (if that is possible) and strolled for several hours throughout the grounds and the rose gardens. Another friend Audrey decided that park is where she wants to be proposed to (take note, boys). The park was certainly a hit, and I reached a newfound level of appreciation for it, feeling so privileged to live in a city which such scenic and serene surroundings.
On our walk home, we were caught in the middle of “Occupy Madrid”, Spain’s protest against the economic crisis presently affecting our world. Unemployment has hit Spain especially hard, reaching nearly 20%, which is the highest of any first world nation. All of the Plaza de Ciebolles as well as along Gran Via was packed with people picketing and shouting in Spanish about economic equality and world peace. Being the liberal that I am, Stacks and Naughty should not have expected anything less than a peace march when coming to visit.
That night, we found a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Madrid’s gay district called Chueca, and it could not have been more satisfying. I noshed on a fantastic mushroom risotto, a nice changeup from the tapas life. The rest of the night was spent at El Tigre and wandering the streets of Madrid with my best friends in tow. I was told before I went abroad that there would be times of immense highs and times of deep lows. The happiness of reuniting with great friends and the delight I felt at showing them my new stomping grounds could not be matched. The good news? I get to do it all over again this weekend in Florence for Naughty’s 21st birthday. Let the games begin.