Oh oh, I want some more... of Madrid!

This past weekend I had planned to go to Córdoba to escape the rain, until a) I found out that my class had a field trip and b) I got sick.  Not horribly sick, but an annoying cold that would not be pleasant to have on a five-hour bus ride.  Luckily it turned out to be a great weekend, despite a bit of rain.

Friday

Friday morning we had a hellish metro ride (involving closings, transfers, and general annoyance) to the Moncloa metro stop to meet the IES group to go to el Palacio del Pardo, Franco’s old residence as well as the home of Spanish royalty and their guests.  We could just TELL that the tour guide loved her job.  I believe David put it best when he said “Oh my god! She’s one of the teachers from Peanuts!”  At one point I just started saying along with her "Vamos a otra habitacion." She said it before leaving EVERY ROOM IN THE PALACE.  The place actually has a ton of history, almost as much as it does chandeliers.  Maybe it was just too early in the day for a monotone.  Afterward a few of us stopped at a nearby bar for some tapas and sangría (it's just so abundant and delicious here).

Entrance to the Palacio del Pardo. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside.

Beautiful gardens outside the palacio

We’ll not speak of Friday night here.  However, I will say that it is cheaper to be a girl in Madrid than it is to be a guy, especially before 2am. 

Saturday

This is how Saturday went down:

1.       Wake up super thirsty, wait for señora to leave kitchen, eat rest of my brie on toast and drink a juice box.

2.       Look up cheap flights on Ryanair .

3.       Eat comida without scary crazy political debate (“I had more liberties when Franco was dictator than I do now.” ß Carmen. Actual quote (translated))

4.       Attempt to nap, fail.

5.       Meet Abby, buy new jacket for €11.

6.       Metro to Sol, fail to find Joy (nightclub), Veronica finds us and leads us there.

7.       Arrive at Joy, am met with rapid Spanish, Veronica asks me “¿Quieres?” and I say “Sí” not knowing what’s going on.

8.       I find out what’s going on.

9.       We’re led into the club and down some stairs into the basement.

10.   I surprise Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees with my fluent American English and he tells me he likes my hair and asks me what I’m doing in Madrid.

11.   Band moves down the line, Tyler calls to me from other end of the room asking me what I’m studying (AKA MAKES EFFORT TO FIND OUT FACTS ABOUT ME).

12.   I tell Chris Allen of Neon Trees I like his cameo cat pin, he gives me the card of the store where he bought it (near the club).

13.   I tell Elaine Bradley of Neon Trees that I think she’s fabulous. She tells me she likes my jacket (the one I bought for €11), and that she just bought hers (super cool) at the same store as the cat pin.

14.   Get my socks rocked off by Neon Trees.  Wowza.

15.   Lose umbrella. Damn. It’s gone now. Oh well. Good thing my new coat has a hood.

16.   Eat delicious tapas with Abby, Veronica, y Jesica (is that how you spell it?), try morcilla (Spanish blood sausage) and discover it is DELICIOUS.

17.   Float home to my bed and write blog entry.

Aaaaand here are some pictures from the show:

Me backstage with Neon Trees! They were SO nice! From left: Branden Campbell (bass), Chris Allen (guitar), moi, Tyler Glenn (vocals, keyboards), Elaine Bradley (drums and awesomeness)

Me and Abby with our glowsticks

Veronica and me

I would LOVE to be a concert photog...

Bass player doubles as mic stand. Aww.

Sunday

Sunday was a mostly lazy day.  I worked on homework and Rachel, Abby, and I went to see Enredados, or Tangled, as it is known in the English-speaking world.  You know, the recent animated Disney movie about Rapunzel.  When we went up to buy our tickets the girl in the booth said “You know the whole movie is in Spanish, right?”  Yes.  Thanks for that.  I think we can handle a Disney movie in Spanish.

Actually, the movie was incredibly easy to understand, though I’m sure when I see it in English I’ll notice some jokes that went over my head.  Also, it was REALLY GOOD.  Go see it as soon as you can if you haven’t already.  I don’t think it’s in theaters anymore in the United States though.  I’m sure it’s great in English but the songs were fantastic in Spanish.  I really enjoyed it.

Spanish Lesson of the Day: "Tomar el pelo," literally translated, means "to pull someone's hair."  In English we'd say "to pull someone's leg," i.e. to fool someone. So this says "No one pulls their leg!" But it's funny because "pelo" means "hair" and it's Rapunzel.... ahaha.

Oh, and I finally remembered to take pictures of some cool graffiti near my place.  It’s everywhere here but a lot of it is actually pretty cool:

I like this guy. I pass him every day.

Nothing says love like spray paint.

I hope you liked these graffiti photos because Blogspot was being a pain about uploading them.

A lovely weekend in Madrid.  Now I just have to get through this week and get over my cold because I’m off to Barcelona this Thursday!  Gaudí had better prepare himself because I’m going to be all over him (or at least his buildings).

Hasta luego!