Surprise, I’m back in Europe! Long story short: I’m taking some time off from teaching and staying in Barcelona with Mallory and Carson for a little while. We’re all in a phase of trying to figure out what we are doing with our lives and “finding ourselves”.

I had been talking with my friend Anthony, who I met on my Balkans Contiki group trip back in August, because he was still traveling around Europe. We discovered that we were both going to be in Spain at the same time, so we made plans to meet up together in Madrid! I got to Barcelona on October 3rd, spent the day with Mal and Carson getting acclimated, and then headed off to Madrid the next morning.

Tuesday, October 4th:

I took a high-speed train to Madrid on Tuesday morning. It was only a 2.5 hour train ride, and there was a cute little dog sitting across from me the whole ride. I took an Uber and met my friend Anthony at the hostel we were both staying at.

While we did end up doing a ton of fun things together, it still felt like most of our trip was spent just walking around, eating, drinking, and talking! We found an outdoor restaurant in Plaza de Santa Ana to have a late lunch and catch up on what has been going on in our lives during the past 2 months. Anthony had been solo traveling since our Contiki ended, so his updates were far more exciting than mine.

After lunch, we walked through the Botanical Garden and then sat on a nearby bench and just hung out. We figured we should get up and seize the day, and then we found ourselves yet again sitting outside getting a drink. I got a glass of white wine and Anthony got a beer. We liked this place because they gave us free chips! We stayed and hung out here for a while until a group of literally 30 people came and sat right behind us. It got pretty loud, so we decided it was time to move on.

We had talked about going to see a flamenco show because Madrid is apparently the capital of flamenco! We had seen a show advertised (and highly recommended) online and thought about buying a ticket to a show that night, but we were nearby so we just walked to the theater and bought a ticket for the next show in 30 minutes. The ticket included a glass of sangria, so we each got a glass and had some free olives in the lobby before the show. The show itself was downstairs in “the cave” below the lobby. It was a very small and intimate stone theater. The stage was a semi-circle with only three rows of seats circling its perimeter. We sat in the second row and were maybe six feet away from the stage. It was cool being that close to the stage and seeing the performers up close. There was live music and singing to accompany the dancing. My ankles hurt just watching the flamenco dancers! It reminded me of when my ankles used to get sore from tap dancing, but I’m sure that was nothing in comparison! They were very talented.

After the show, we walked back to the hostel. There was a free dinner being served in the lobby, so we got some pasta and ate in one of the common areas. We talked with a few other travelers who were from Canada, South Africa, and Chile. It’s always so fun talking to other travelers because even though we have just met, we always have things to talk about: our plans for our current city, where we have been, where we are going next, etc.

When we finished eating dinner, we (surprise, surprise) ventured out to find somewhere to grab a drink. We headed out with no destination in mind and eventually ended up at a bar called Baton Rouge. It was a cool place! We were able to find a quiet spot where we could hang out to enjoy the bar’s free popcorn and some drinks.

Wednesday, October 5th:

We started off our day with some breakfast before our walking tour at 11:00am. Our hostel didn’t include breakfast, but I had told Anthony that I love trying acai bowls whenever I travel. We were able to find an acai bowl place right by our hostel, so we went there for breakfast. I obviously got an acai bowl, and Anthony got a yogurt bowl. I had tried to get Anthony to order his own acai bowl, but he was apprehensive (although he did try mine and liked it).

After breakfast, we walked to Plaza Mayor for the start of our walking tour. Plaza Mayor is a beautiful open square with so much history! Our tour guide was great and had so many interesting stories. For example, back in the day there used to be a problem with the plaza having a terrible stench. There is a big statue of King Philip III riding a horse in the middle of the square. The opening of the horse’s mouth used to not be sealed, so birds would fly into the statue through the horse’s narrow mouth and not be able to fly back out. They would die and rot inside the statue, hence the awful smell. Luckily, once this was discovered they were able to seal the horse’s mouth and now that is no longer an issue!

One of the other highlights of the tour for me was the monastery. We stood outside a convent as our guide told us about the lives of the nuns inside. They are not able to leave the convent, so they spend their days focusing on their religion… and baking. They then sell these cookies. There is a “secret” door where you can buy the cookies baked by the convent’s nuns. Our guide was telling us how the nuns go about running this cookie business without ever being seen. I was thinking “oh my gosh, I love this!” and Anthony later told me he was thinking, “who would ever go buy cookies from these nuns?”. Spoiler: We later would go back to buy cookies from the nuns.

Our tour ended in front of the Royal Palace of Madrid. We got there as the changing of the guards was happening, so we were able to see that. The royal band was also playing so we got to hear them play the national anthem.

Our walking tour was just over 3 hours, so by the time it was over we were starving. We walked to a nearby tapas restaurant for lunch. I have a new appreciation for tapas since coming to Spain. We shared a ton of stuff: patatas bravas, olives, hummus, croquettes, cesar salad, paella. We did as the Spaniards do and had a long, leisurely lunch.

Once we had finished our lunch, we had to go run an errand. Anthony is from Australia, and Madrid was his last European stop before heading home. He was flying to Abu Dhabi on Friday as a stopover on his way back to Sydney, and he needed to get a Covid test before his flight. We planned to kill two birds with one stone and go to get him a PCR test at a clinic near El Retiro Park, which we planned to visit after his Covid test. On our way to the park, Anthony realized he didn’t have his passport or any ID with him so he likely wouldn’t be able to get his test done that day. We postponed that until the following day, and just enjoyed the park. There is a lake in the middle of the park, and we saw a lot of people on rowboats. We sat outside and soaked in the sun for a while.

We had exciting plans for the evening! During our long lunch, we had bought tickets to the Real Madrid soccer game that night! It sounded like it was going to be a good game too. We bought 2nd row resale tickets. They were definitely a bit of a splurge, but neither of us had been to a legitimate soccer game, and according to Anthony’s brother, this game was kind of a big one! We wanted to get jerseys to wear to the game, so we walked around town and found some cheap jerseys sporting the Real Madrid captain, #9 Karim Benzema.

We rested up a bit before making our way to the stadium for the game. Anthony had been looking at the tickets on his phone, and he noticed that the fine print said something about how our tickets were in a “segregated area” for fan safety. We weren’t really sure what this meant, but Anthony thought it could mean that we had bought tickets in a section designated for fans of the visiting team. This had him really worried because European soccer fans can get really into these games. He was so worried that we were going to be the only spectators supporting Real Madrid in our section. He was cracking me up because he kept saying how worried he was that if we cheered for Madrid that we were going to “get beaten up”. I wasn’t convinced that this would be an issue. Anthony had brought a jacket with him, and I had thrown my jersey over the shirt I had been wearing during the day so if need be, we could both either cover up or take off our Real Madrid jerseys. But Anthony was so insistent. It was hilarious. Even as we were walking up to gate where our section entered the stadium, he insisted that we hang outside and just watch for a minute to see if Real Madrid fans were going in the same entrance. Once we got in, he finally relaxed because literally the entire stadium was Real Madrid fans. There was nothing to worry about! Our seats were incredible! We were literally right in the center of the field just two rows back. The energy and environment of the stadium was incredible. There was a section of the stadium behind one of the goals that was like the “student section” of the game. They had brought their own flags and instruments and were chanting and jumping the entire game. Real Madrid won 2-1 against Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine). It was such a fun experience, and I’m so glad we went!

We followed the crowds out of the stadium and took the bus back to the hostel. We got a drink at the hostel bar and hung out there playing cards for a while. I had brought my favorite game, Spot It, so I taught Anthony how to play and then I won every round. 🙂

Thursday, October 6th:

We started our last day at another breakfast spot where we each got a smoothie and a breakfast sandwich. After breakfast, we walked to go get Anthony’s PCR test done.

Then, we made our way to the famous Museo del Prado, a world famous art museum. It was such a beautiful day, so we ended up sitting outside and hanging out in the sun for a while before actually managing to get ourselves to the ticket booth. Once we finally got ourselves inside, we walked around and admired the artwork. One piece of art that we looked at for quite a while was The Garden of Earthly Delights, a huge trifold painting. Carson had told me to keep an eye out for this one; it’s his favorite painting. Anthony and I stared at this one for a long time. There was so much to see at Prado, so we walked through for a couple hours.

Afterwards, we again found ourselves sitting outside the museum enjoying the sunshine and talking. We were getting pretty hungry at this point, but we wanted something quick. One thing we have both learned about Spanish (and European, in general) culture is that meals take a lot longer. But we were both too hungry to have the patience for leisurely service. We found a restaurant similar to Chipotle and got some quick burrito bowls. What made this place better than Chipotle is that they serve margaritas! We couldn’t say no. We ate and hung out there for a couple hours while we planned the rest of our evening. We decided to book ourselves on a wine and tapas walking tour. We had a couple hours to kill before the tour started, so we went wandering again. After I had bought my magnet and we had wandered without destination for a while, I was hit with a stroke of genius. I knew what we had to do! We had to go buy cookies from the nuns!

When we got to the convent, we went up to the secret door and pressed the doorbell. There is a security camera pointing to where we were standing. Our tour guide from the day before told us that when you ring the doorbell, they look on the camera to make sure you’re an innocent sweets buyer. We then heard one of the nuns say, “entra” over the intercom and the door buzzed open. We walked through the door into the dark convent entryway, and when the door closed behind us it was eerily quiet. It was kind of spooky! We walked down a winding hallway and eventually ended up in front of a “service window” with a lazy susan in it. The lazy susan had two vertical boards in a cross-section separating it into 4 sections so we couldn’t see through the window. We walked up to the service window and heard a nun from the other side ask, “Que quieres?” (“What do you want?”). There was a menu next to the window, and we decided on lemon cookies. We placed our cash on one side of the lazy susan, and when it rotated, our money disappeared and a box of cookies came rotating around from the other side. We quickly said thank you and scrambled out of there. The silence and emptiness of the convent was a little spooky. Anthony and I both said we felt like we shouldn’t have been there. It was fun though, and I’m glad we went!

The rest of our time before the tour was spent sitting in the sun (are you noticing a common theme of us sitting in the sun??) in Plaza Mayor people watching, talking, and eating our convent cookies. The cookies themselves were very good, but there were the kind of cookies where you needed a full glass of water after each one. We each only had one and then saved the rest for later. Unfortunately, that meant we had to carry the box around with us all night. We were doing so well at keeping track of our cookies, only to leave them at the very last tapas restaurant.

We met our group for the wine and tapas tour in the same square where we had our first lunch on Tuesday. There were 10 of us in our group, along with our guide Paula. We had so much fun! Our guide Paula was amazing. She took pictures of the group at every stop and emailed them to us all afterwards with a detailed itinerary and menu from our evening. We went to four different tapas restaurants. We got to try a glass of wine (or cava – sparkling wine) at each spot, along with a ton of different tapas. Some of the tapas we tried included: toast with cheese and marmalade, toast with artichoke spread, Padron peppers, fried eggplant, Spanish omelette, croquettes, and various cheeses. Everything was delicious! It was fun to chat with all the people in our group too. The people in our group were from the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the U.K. It was nice to hear their stories and get to know them a little bit. Paula had also told us at the beginning of the tour that there would be a trivia question at the end and that the person who answered correctly would win themselves a shot at the final restaurant. On our walking tour the day before, our guide had told us a million times that Madrid became the capital city of Spain in 1561 and that he would make sure we never forgot that date. Anthony had joked that that would probably be the trivia question. Sure enough… he was right! When Paula asked the question, Anthony and I both shouted the answer so we both earned a celebratory shot!

Anthony and I were both in such high spirits after a fun evening that we decided to find one more place to sit down and have a drink just the two of us for our final night. Meanwhile, we were both figuring out our plans to get to the airport the next day. I had plans to meet up with my friends the next day in Mallorca, Spain. We had only just decided on a destination and bought tickets the day before. But throughout the day, I had been getting a bunch of texts from my friends that it was going to be storming the whole weekend so we were changing the destination. The group had settled on Nice, France. Mallory had been calling me and asking what flights were looking like from Madrid since I would be going straight from Madrid and meeting them there. Keep in mind these flights were for the next morning… like in 12 hours. Also keep in mind that I had just finished a wine tour and was fresh off of 4 glasses of wine, so I was in no position to be booking flights at the moment. Mallory saved the day and booked my flight for me.

The next morning, Anthony and I shared an Uber to the airport and said our goodbyes. I was headed to Nice, and he was headed to Abu Dhabi. It was such a fun trip to Madrid, and I’m so glad that it worked out to meet up with Anthony! After my Contiki in August, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see any of those friends again so it was nice to see him and explore a new city together. It was great to finally see Madrid and experience the Spanish capital.