I ♥ Madrid

Oh, Madrid.

This had to be one of my favorite days of the entire month.  I have wanted to visit this particular city for years and all that anticipation culminated in a wonderfully satisfying day.

Four friends and I took an early bus together and then navigated the metro system (one of my favorite forms of travel!) to arrive at our hotel.  Only an hour later, Molly had to leave for the airport, so we were down to four people total.  Knowing we had less than 24 hours in the city, we immediately set off walking in a somewhat-arbitrary direction.

The first major landmark we hit was Parque del Retiro, which was absolutely beautiful. It was full of luscious green trees, statues, picturesque dirt walkways, a huge lake with boats, playgrounds, etc. I probably could have spent the entire day in this park alone.  I really cannot even explain how happy it made me to be in the park, and in Madrid in general.

Beautiful walkways

Some cool statue

When we were approaching the above statue, a woman holding a lot of rosemary came up and said she could predict our future. Though we declined her services, she insisted, telling us not to have fear (too late, lady), and "read" each of our hands.  After, she abruptly demanded 5 euro from each of us. Um, excuse me, I am NOT paying 5 euro for a bogus palm reading I did not request and in fact refused. I gave her 50 cents. 

After we left the park we headed for the Prado. Somehow, we hadn't acquired a map and had to just ask directions as we navigated. Luckily, Mardrileños were really nice and always pointed us in the right direction.  Once we found the Prado we were happily greeted by what Amanda and Leilani called "babies on a string." Observe: 

A bunch of babies, connected by a string. 

More babies, another string. 

The Prado is a famous and very large museum with lots of art. I'm not really an art person, though, so I'm ashamed to say that I probably did not make the most of this portion of the day. 

Famished and tired, we followed up the Prado with some tasty sandwiches but quickly moved onto another museum, Reina Sofia.  This is home to much of Picasso's work, including the Guernica.  Again, I'm not an art person, but it is cool that I can say I've seen such a brand name's stuff.  Most of the time, Amanda, Leilani, and I sat in their very beautiful courtyard while Ben was enjoying the artwork. 

A moving piece of art in the courtyard. 

Leilani and Amanda, being affectionate

Our next mission was to find the Gran Vía, since many people had told us this was a must-see in Madrid. Again with the help of the friendly locals, we found this famous street and were anything but disappointed.  The buildings were beautiful and it definitely felt like a big city.  There were tons of shops, the most ornate McDonald's I have ever seen, and lots of people.  

We were aiming for Plaza de España, which was not really what I expected. There was some event set up there that probably masked the beauty; in any case, we got frozen yogurt and then headed back to the hotel. 

On a map we eventually found, Plaza de España looked relatively close to our hotel, but in actuality the walk was almost an hour.  Our blistered feet demanded a bit of a rest before dinnertime, so we relaxed in the room for a bit before heading in search of our final meal in Spain.  Somehow, we landed on a burger place...but their were locals there, don't judge. The food was good, the company was even better, and it was the perfect end to a great day! 

If I could revisit anything I saw on this trip, it would definitely be Madrid. Only one day to explore such a large and exciting place was just not enough. I can't wait to return someday.