Adventures while abroad!: MADRID

Because I haven't posted in a few weeks, and because mom asked for it, I am going to throw a few posts on here about what I've been up to lately...or not so lately as the Madrid trip was a few weeks ago. Alas, I have been 'up to me ears' in work the past couple weeks, trying to get some sort of projects together as the end is so near and while I have a lot still to do, I figured I'd take a break from assembling books, pdfs, posters, and drawing to let everyone hear about and see some pictures from Spain!

So the last post left us on our way out of Heidlberg. We hopped an ICE train, aka super fast German train, to the Frankfurt airport where we jetted off to Madrid. We stayed at a very nice apartment, though it was a heck of a cab ride from the airport...50 euro or something crazy to get there! We wisened up on the way home and took the metro...2 euro. So our apartment was really nice and Spain is quite the accessible city by foot. We head out the first night in search of some groceries, with the grand idea we should welcome David, Jeff's friend who would be staying with us the following day, with some breakfast. Alas, the only place we could find open was a supermarket where there was not so much breakfast food to be had. We did however stack up on some essentials (bananas, coke zero, and chips?) before heading back to our apartment. In the coming days we learn that we just happened to walk the wrong direction to find food, as nearly everything in Madrid is open until the wee hours of the morning except the establishments we tried to go to (aka the place with a big sign that said "QUESADILLAS!")

Jeff and I awake to panic the next morning as we have not heard from David at all and Jeff has neglected to check his email/facebook in which David has sent many requests for directions to our place. We attempt to call David, but obviously his American cell is not functioning abroad. Out of stress, Jeff manages to finish any breakfast food we did have for David (bread and nutella from Germany) and we take turns showering/getting ready while the other mans my cell phone and the computer for any word from David. But alas, after seeking the aid of an internet cafe, David finds us and we are off on some adventures in Spain!

SIDENOTE: David speaks fluent Spanish, which in retrospect makes it much less frightening that he was unable to find us for a bit. He also has friends in Madrid, but has no way of contacting them, like us, but still, we probably got more panicked than necessary.

So it's Thanksgiving day and we are in Madrid! We have dinner reservations at a place recommended by David's friend, but as everything happens very late in the evening in the Spanish culture, we have a whole day ahead of us before dinner. So we go to grab some lunch, and end up eating glorified cheese, crackers, and beefstick. It was actually a cheese plate, assorted breads, pate, and some sort of beef that David ordered, accompanied by a couple of glasses of wine. After lunch, we stop at a few markets to buy groceries for our apartment (more soda, fruit, and some cheese, beef, and bread) before heading out to walk around the city. We spend the better part of the afternoon walking around Madrid and going into various shops looking for a scarf for Jeffrey. After a few hours of shopping and wandering, we decide to go to the first of the three big art museums in Madrid. The museum is called T

e Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and is the smallest of the three we visited. It had a very nice and logical layout and was about the perfect amount of art to see in one afternoon. We then head home to clean up for our fancy Thanksgiving dinner!

The restaurant we have dinner in is about the swankiest place around! And we each order the chef's special which is 6 courses, of which we know nothing about until they are presented to us. Let the eating begin! The first course is an assortment of breads served with some green olive pesto, pate, and foi gras (which until this dinner I thought was only something served on Top Chef). Next came the asian inspired sushi course, which was super yummy. Next we had a salad with whole squids on top and squid ink used as the dressing! Then came a fish course followed by a quite peculiar course that was an egg on top of some cream and you stirred it together into a egg pudding/soup? It tasted good but was a bit scary...Then we had a lovely course of steak and peaches followed by the first dessert course, which was the best of the night. Fresh cream with strawberries in a sweet strawberry sauce and this crystalized sugar piece and an edible flower! YUM! Then came a chocolate dessert course followed by churros with hot dipping chocolate. After consuming all of this, and having a few drinks we were all outrageously full and sleepy. It took us about 3 hours at the restaurant for our dining experience, and we went home and headed to bed.

The next day we spend shopping and then at the Prado, which is basically the Louvre of Spain. If you have ever studied Spanish art, this is the place to go as the walls were decked with El Greco, Goya, and Velazquez. (The Picasso and Dali would be later found at the modern art museum) I think we saw every monumentally famous piece of Spanish art, as the Prado holds Las Meninas, The 3rd of May, and the pair of The Nude Maja and The Clothed Maja (super famous Goya stuff). The Prado also had a ton of art not hailing from Spain, our favorites were the Bosch paintings. David has a super fun museum habit: he listens to his iPod and dances around through the rooms! :) After the Prado, we head back home. David goes to meet his friend for dinner, and Jeff and I set out to find a Spanish feast, I want paella and Jeff wants the spanish tortilla which is a potato and egg omelet. We find a nice place near our apartment and have about the nicest waitress in the world. She even only charges us for 2 coke lights, when we drank I think 5. We order the tourist special menu which comes with these little fried puffs filled with ham, cheese, and potato, a big old pot of paella, and sangria. We also order the spanish tortilla which is quite delicious. We have tons of food left and she even brings us a to go box. We really liked her and I think we were quite amusing for her as well.

After dinner (it is 130 am at this point) we head home but think it would be nice to find some coke light first to drink in the morning. (Jeff is more addicted to diet soda than I am! And David enjoys his diet Coke as well) We get a bit lost and end up at a really neat little market place that is hopping at 2 am. We are incredibly full but spot these very tiny ice cream cones, which we have to get based on the novelty of the cone being so small. So we buy the ice cream, get the soda, and find our way back home.

The next morning, I wake up feeling quite ill and spend most of the day expelling everything that is in my body via any means necessary. Jeff kindly goes to the pharmacy and explains in motions that I am vomiting and have diarrhea, which was quite funny when he reenacted it. Jeff and David go to the Palace Royal during the day while I am sick and at around 6 pm, I head out with them to see the last of the 3 big museums, the C

entro de Arte Reina Sofia which houses the modern art. We got to see Picasso Guernica which David and I explain to Jeff is THE Picasso. There is a lot of Dali and Picasso work as well as tons of films, installations, and other modern pieces.

I stayed home the rest of the night while Jeff and David went out to dinner and a club. The next morning it is already time to leave Madrid! Jeff and I walk around the city a little bit to pick up some souvenirs, and he shows me the palace that he and David had visited the day before. We head back to the airport and fly back to Frankfurt where we meet Jenae and Jackie at the Christmas market. Jeff needed one last fix of gingerbread, bratwurst, pretzels, and yummy Christmas cookies before heading back to New York the next day.