Pura Vida: 2012

Our second time in Madrid was a completely different experience than the one before. First off, our hostel was 10,000 times better:

This was probably the first hostel I've ever stayed in that had walking space and its own private bathroom. I was ready to sign a lease as soon as I saw the room AND the balcony where we could people watch. It was perfect and a bummer we weren't staying an entire week.

We were in a different part of town than before so we got to see a whole different side of Madrid. After Gijon, I think Madrid's my second favorite city in Spain that we visited. There's something about the atmosphere there and how easy it is to navigate. Plus there are a TON of things to do and see.

The day after we arrived was the 4th of July, we were a little bummed to miss the festivities in the US but, luckily, the Oscar Meyer Weiner company decided to throw the US a little tribute. Complete with Uncle Sam, Hot Dogs, Cowboys, Cheerleaders, Football players, and all those lovely American stereotypes:

First... we got food because we were starving. A man outside a pizza place happened to have a super cheap promotion going and we wandered in. But, SECOND, we visited the royal palace. They wouldn't let us take pictures inside but here's the outside:

The inside was amazing though. They had murals and paintings by Goya and all sorts of old furniture - including a collection of hundreds of clocks (I would go insane) in all shapes and sizes (one was actually a table, apparently this monarch had a fetish). We didn't bother with a guide and read out of Alex's travel book instead and learned a ton about the history of the Spanish monarchy.

There was also an old "pharmacy" full of old herb jars and remedies that my mom would have loved and an armory full of actual armor from waaaaay back. Some pieces had dents and bullet holes in them.

We met up with Crystal later and visited the Reina Sofia again. This time we actually knew a lot about the artwork there since we'd learned about it all in Laura's class. It definitely enhanced the experience and made us appreciate the art more. We saw Guernica again and had fun telling Jenny about all the symbols and history behind it. We visited Salvador Dali's work too and watched his video that we'd discussed in class.

Inside the glass elevator that goes down the exterior

of the Reina Sofia.

Outside the Reina Sofia. The museum used to

be an old hospital and you can tell by the setup inside.

After that, we said goodbye to Jenny and wandered around Puerta del Sol for a while. Crystal really wanted to see a discoteca since she'd never gotten a chance in Gijon so we walked around looking for one until a guy handing out flyers showed us to one.

Most discotecas don't really draw a crowd before 2 AM so this one was pretty dead. Crystal got her free cocktail and danced with a small group of kids while me and Alex played pool. We hung around for a bit and then decided to come back when it had people.

Alex opted out later though, so it was just me and Crystal. We went to a different discoteca this time and it was definitely a unique experience, not sure if I'll do it again. We did find some nice Spanish boys to dance with and had a pretty good time before we got a little nervous and decided to leave. Alex was still awake when we got home and we ended up pulling an all-nighter talking and watching TV. The next morning, Crystal and Alex both left and I spent the rest of the day alone.

I wandered around Plaza Mayor and Puerto del Sol again but spent a lot of the day in my hostel getting ready to leave.

Creepy deer/dog thing hanging out around Plaza

Mayor, waiting to scare the crap out of unsuspecting

tourists.

They'd moved me to a private room downstairs that looked like a hallway that they'd somehow shoved a bed into. I only had money left for a taxi to the airport so I had to scavenge for food and hardly ate anything. It kinda sucked being hungry and alone, I was definitely ready to go home at that point. It had been an amazing experience and I'd do it again in a heartbeat (and for even longer) but I missed familiar faces.

Now, I'm in the Dallas airport waiting for my flight that will finally take me home after a 20+ hour day of traveling. My taxi driver was really nice this morning and told me all about his trip to Florida after I told him I was an American. It was fun to have one last Spanish conversation before going back to full-English and real-life. I haven't had internet at any of the airports I've been in so these posts will have to wait til I get home. More highlights to come though once I get organized!

BARCELONA:

The plane flight to Barcelona was a lot more dramatic than I'd like. I guess my mom's told enough people that I might as well elaborate even though I hate talking about it. I'll explain why in a minute.

First off, we didn't actually have a gate:

It was just a number on the wall. Between 9 and 10. Me and Alex were fully prepared to run straight into the wall and go to Hogwarts.

The gate turned out being down below since we had to board from the ground. So, no Hogwarts Express, sorry. We met up with the other kids from Utah going to Barcelona and all sat in a bunch on the airplane.

I'd had bronchitis for the past few days and hadn't managed to find a doctor but I'd been feeling okay aside from some coughing. Then when the plane started descending, I had a bad coughing fit. I took my inhaler to see if it would help but a few minutes later, my airways closed up. I tried my inhaler again but couldn't get enough air to inhale any of the albuterol. When the plane landed, I had a hard time getting up and walking and was still struggling for air.

A flight attendant noticed and asked if I was okay. Then a woman came up to me and asked if I had asthma and I nodded. She started speaking rapid Spanish about how I needed to sit-down and relax and breathe from my stomach so the flight attendants led me to a chair. They hooked me up to an oxygen tank and called for the medics.

It took a while but my breathing got better and I even managed to take my inhaler. We joked around with the flight attendants about how the oxygen tank was filled with good weed and got to know what countries they were all from. They were all around our age and really fun to talk to. When the medics finally arrived, they checked my vitals and decided that I was okay for now. They escorted me out of the airport just to be sure.

I was really embarrassed by the whole scene. First off, all my friends were there and second off, I've never had an asthma attack that bad, I usually just get short of breath.

The first night and day in Barcelona were kind of rough since I was still feeling a little like a ball of crap and it was an overwhelmingly huge city full of people from all over the world. I tried Paella (a traditional Spanish dish) and discovered that I do NOT like it (Sorry, Spain!) We met up with Alex's friend who's been nannying in Madrid and spent hours trying to find a doctor willing to help me. When we did, he didn't have any solutions for me aside from using my inhaler.

It got better though and by that Monday, I was almost back to normal.

SPAIN VS. ITALIA

Sunday night was the big futbol game against Italy and we watched outside a restaurant with the other kids from our group. We were probably the loudest and the waitresses painted our faces and asked to take pictures with us. When Spain won, we all got on our chairs and started chanting and everyone else joined in.

We were all wet from jumping in the fountain.

Afterwards, a party broke out in the plaza and people started jumping in the fountain. Me and some of the other kids decided to join and jumped in with them. Then some homeless guy with a wooden vase started dumping water on us. That's about when we decided to get out.

Here are some of the sites we saw that week:

Most people in Barcelona speak a dialect known as "Catalan". It's kind of a mix of French and Spanish and extremely hard to understand. While we were searching for Parc Guell, I ran into a man who wanted to know where we were heading. I had a very confusing conversation with him speaking Catalan and me speaking Castellano (Spanish). Somehow, we managed to communicate but it was really weird.

Here some pictures of Parc Guell, which was designed by Antonio Gaudi:

This tunnel was my favorite. Sooo trippy.

The trail to Parc Guell ran up a huuuuge mountain. But, luckily, Barcelonians are smart and use outdoor escalators:

Las Ramblas was probably the most prominent part near our hostel. It is a long stretch of street designated for tourists. Vendors, artists, and street performers roam the Ramblas jumping tourists right and left. There are a bunch of people that paint themselves like statues and stand completely still until someone puts money in their bucket. Alex took a picture with a lady dressed up like one of Salvador Dali's paintings:

The Dali lady.

Nearby is an amazing outdoor market where the locals can buy fresh food every day (like... still alive, fresh. The carnage was amazing). We saw a lot of interesting goods being sold and got a few ourselves along with breakfast.

Om Nom Nom. Eat it before it eats you! The crabs and

prawns in the background are still alive, PS.

You know those cautionary tales about rabbits

like Little Bunny Foo-Foo? Now I know what

happens when you bop field mice on the head, Mom....

Sheep heads and, next to them, the brains. Looks

delicious, no? I'm still not sure how you're supposed

to cook them but I'm certainly glad I'm a vegetarian.

Our last day in Barcelona, we hit the beach so we could see the Mediterranean. It was beautiful but not quite as clean and big as the one in Gijon. We still dipped our toes in though and did some sunning (though we kept getting kicked off the sun chairs when people demanded we pay).