April 23, 2010

We got up around 9 today, and got ready. There was a grocery store right next store, so that was perfect! We went and bought yogurt and cereal. We had to be checked out by 11, but the lady said we could lock up our stuff there during the day. Then we went to the palace. It was 3.50 euro for students. We waited outside in line for probably 40 minutes. It was really cool! Although, for me, I like to see the stuff, but I don't really want to stand and study it forever. Neither did Jess, so we just kept moving. Then we went and got our stuff back from the hostel, and went to a grocery store to buy food for dinner to eat on the bus, and then we stopped for lunch. There was a Burger King very close. After that we took the metro over to the Prado area. The Prado is the huge art museum there, and almost everyone goes to that when they are in Madrid. The building we went to first said that it was closed, and we were so disappointed! Then we asked, and that wasn't the Prado! We finally found it, and you can check in your bags there for free. Jess and I went off seperately because we wanted to go faster. After about 1 1/2 hours Jess and I left. 1 1/2 hours is a VERY short amount of time to go through this place. You could literally spend days in there if you liked art, but we don't, so we did it quickly! Then we went to the local outdoor market and I bought some cool souvenirs for really good prices! Our bus back home was supposed to leave at 6 pm. We got off the metro towards the bus station and we could not find the station anywhere! We were already running late, so we asked where it was and then we started running for it. They normally leave right on time, and will not wait. When we got there, there were so many buses, but finally we found it, and the bus driver wasn't very happy because we were late, and he was getting ready to leave. We almost missed it! Thank goodness we got on! I had to go to the bathroom so bad though because we didn't have time to go before getting on. After about 2 hours into the trip there was an accident, and we got stuck for almost an hour! Finally we made it to the half way rest stop, and ate our dinner. We got back on the road at about 10 pm. It was so hot on the bus, and finally a lady yelled from the back to turn on the air. Anyways, we got back to our house a little after 1 a.m. Thank goodness it's Saturday tomorrow. Trips make me so tired!

April 22, 2010

I got up at 6 a.m. today, which was like death, to get ready for Madrid. We had assigned seats on the bus, and I was next to a girl from the U.S. that is doing the semester in Cordoba in Spain. She was interesting. Let's just say that we live very different lives. She was telling me all about the things that she does on the weekends, and I was glad when our conversation was over. Anyways, when we got off the bus we had to take the metro to the city near our hostal. We were very careful with our bags because we had heard that Madrid can be sketchy, and there are a lot of pick pockets. Good thing Arielle had the maps ready, and knew what metros to take. We made it there pretty easily. The hostal was very small, but we had a private room for the 4 of us girls. Right away we ate our bocadillos and then went to the grocery store to buy some snacks. Then we went walking around and stopped at some shops. We saw the Cathedral and Palace. We just spent a lot of time outside. We walked into th center and there were tons of poor people dressed in Halloween costumes...freaky! They want you to be interested in taking a picture with them, but then they want you to pay them. Jess saw one and thought he was funny, so she walked closer, and actually got a picture with him, but he was creepy, so we left right away! Then we went to the coolest McDonald's ever! They had a kiosk where you could order your food. Also, the chairs were very comfortable. There were so many totally funny things that happened in this McDonald's, and no way for me to explain them, but we had a great time! After that we walked back to our hostal, and got ready for bed, and then played some rounds of Phase 10. We played that until about 1 a.m., and then wanted to get some rest before the next morning quickly came! Our bedroom door could be locked from the outside when we left, but we couldn't lock it from the inside, and we were nervous about someone coming in while we were sleeping, so we made a barracade with our desk chairs against the door, that way we would hear if anyone tried to open the door. I soon fell asleep after that, but Jess said people were outside the window all night making a bunch of noise. The hostal was okay for one night. It was pretty cheap, so we made it work!

April 21, 2010

I slept until about 12:15 again, and got up, had a quick breakfast, went running, and got ready for lunch. we had chicken and potatoes. After that Carrie and Arielle needed to do some trip planning because they're staying longer after the semester to travel a bit more. We went to Starbucks for a few hours so that they could do that. I had a chocolate muffin, and it was so fresh and delicious! Then we walked to the bus station to switch the return date of the bus tickets we had already bought to go back and forth to Madrid to catch the plane. We decided to just go to Madrid anyways for a small trip, but we needed to change the return date to earlier. Then we went home for dinner and had pizza. My mom had written me that they picked up our new dog, Daisy! I showed pictures of her to my senora and senor. Then I skyped my mom and got to see Daisy, and she is adorable! I'm already in love with her, and I haven't even met her! I can't wait! Then I packed and got ready for bed since we leave tomorrow for Madrid at 8 a.m. Out other 2 flights for this week that we were supposed to take are still on. I was really hoping that they would get cancelled so I could get my money back, so we'll see. Time for bed!