Feliz Año Nueve! Happy Nine Year in Madrid!

Madrid was amazing. Kristin and I arrived on Wednesday the 31st after flawless flights. In fact, the overseas flight included tvs in the back of every chair with an array of movies to choose from as well as trivia you could play against other passengers. Something to lighten up the 7 hour flight, especially when you can’t sleep. When we arrived in the airport, we weren’t sure how to go about contacting Jorge (who took care of my big suitcase while I traveled), but there was a big sign that said, SALIDA. WAY OUT. We were going to find a pay phone, but ta da. There he was. Good omen for things to come!

I guess I’ll just do highlights from Madrid in list form. The blog is already on its way to becoming a book, and nobody has the time or energy for that….

1. Midnight in La Puerta del Sol (Madrid city center) was pretty awesome. Lots of singing, lots of foreign languages, lots of foreigners, and little personal space. Kristin and I ate the 12 grapes at midnight, which is tradition here in Spain, and we watched the fireworks and were inspired to be excited by all the singing and chanting. Later, partied into the wee hours of the morning because midnight is the start of partying here and not the end. We spent lots of Thursday recovering from jet lag and new year’s! Madrid provided us lots of opportunities to party like Spaniards, which is no easy thing to do. Haven’t yet figured out when they sleep… good research project for the semester…
2. Tour of Real Madrid Stadium/ Real Madrid Game. So basically, we got to see all the trophies of the winningest (most winning?) football club in history, got to take cheesy pictures (when we couldn’t resist), got to take pictures in the press room (which I have since seen many many times on the news here in Spain), got to sit on the players’ bench where David Beckham and the like have sat (although I’m sure he didn’t do much sitting), and got to see the locker room where David Beckham and the like have gotten ready for and ‘cleaned up’ after matches!!! (the part where it was most exciting to use your imagination… okay I’ll keep this PG). Kristin and I loved the stadium tour! So much that we decided to tour it all again on the outside, which was really just us circling the stadium more than once looking for the metro station. Ha. We returned the next day to find the stadium full of 85,000 fans (who looked like they were going to a fashion show but were really going to a game- no corn heads or golden hurricane men here. Just like Sunday best clothes, and maybe a Real Madrid scarf. They were very enthusiastic nonetheless. Just classy). We managed to get seats together and Real Madrid won and it was marvelous.
3. Royal Palace. Our Rick Steve’s guided tour through the palace was fun, and it was pretty amazing to think about all the history that has taken place here. Kristin and I played 20 questions on the hour long wait to enter, took lots of pictures on the outside, and planned Kristin’s palace wedding when we finished inside. Very nice.
4. Hostels! Although more than one person may have been concerned about us sharing co-ed dorms with 6 beds, it couldn’t have worked out better. Except for some cranky Italians. We met really wonderful people from a variety of countries and took on the hostel lifestyle of lounging around using the internet on computers provided, taking advantage of the provided fridge and kitchen, and trying to be really quiet when you’re the last in bed or the first up in the morning. I’ll try to attach pictures of our hostel door in Madrid, because we are no longer staying there and so only now might my mom think it’s funny. But despite appearances, it was very nice and fun!