There was no WAY I could have studied from March 14-18...

because I was in SPAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Warning: This post is superlong. I will totally understand a tl;dr reaction, but it's mostly for my benefit anyway, and plus, there are some pretty pictures. :)

And now, a photoblog of my trip to Madrid with my delightful friend and hallmate Carla.

Friday

When we checked in at Gatwick on Friday morning, the stewardess told us to enjoy the sun in Madrid. Apparently it was 20 degrees there. 20 degrees!!!

We landed in Madrid Barajas airport around noon, where we were met by Carla's mom and brother. Thus started a long series of kissing people on the cheeks and being kissed that *still* is a little weird to my Indian sensibilities. Weird, but in a nice way.

Just outside the airport, there was this stunning sculpture.



I tried out my Spanish with Carla's mom, and informed her that 'the statue has very little breasts', which turned out to be an awesome ice-breaker.

Not that I needed any. Throughout my stay everyone was incredibly warm and nice to me, and went out of their way to make me feel comfortable, even with the language barrier.

Then we got to her family's apartment, which had a really lovely view of the Madrid skyline, with mountains at the very back.



Then we took a nap, and then went to get our hair cut, resulting in my greatest hair cut of ALL TIME, as you will see in the pictures. It's awesome. It's short in the back and long in the front, and is layered and choppy like Victoria Beckham's. And it wasn't even very expensive!

Then we got dressed up (with Carla's mom actually lending me a lovely dress of hers!) and went out to see Chueca, Madrid's gay party district, to meet Carla's friends. Carla's gay friends were hilarious and deserve a post of their own, so I won't say much about them here.

My haircut from the side. Rock!



Central Madrid is really gorgeous at night, and while driving back Carla pointed out different places she and her friends used to hang out in. This was one of the many great things about visiting Madrid with a Madrileño. She gave me constant commentary on interesting and personalised trivia about the different places we saw.

Saturday

The next day we got up bright and early at 11.30, had torrijas (which were SO DELICIOUS and I ate as many as I could while I was there), and left to see Carla's dad, who lives in central Madrid.

On the way we passed through the 'Mickey Ears'.



Carla's dad is a prolific and well-known Spanish contemporary artist, and his apartment was beautifully decorated with his artwork and sculptures. He took us out for Japanese food, and we had a lovely long lunch and a long conversation about different things. He could understand me if I spoke really slowly, and I could understand him if he spoke really slowly, so basically it was a very leisurely afternoon!

Then we went back to her dad's place, and watched Billy Elliot, and then went out shopping! I got some very cute tops, and then we went to visit Carla's grandparents for dinner. They were so kind and adorable, and her grandpa had gone out of his way to make vegetarian food for me. They commented on my Victoria Beckham haircut, and then suddenly got out Spanish tabloid maagzines about celebrity plastic surgery disasters, and they were totally amusing and cute about it.

Then we drove past the Real Madrid stadium and I took a picture from the outside.



Carla's family supports Atlético Madrid so it was a constant source of annoyance for them that the wrong stadium was near their house!

I was feeling quite tired but the day wasn't over yet. We went out to a bar where a friend of a friend worked, and had free drinks! I also realised that I could get people to laugh AND pronounce my name correctly if I introduced myself as "Madhuri... como madurita." (Madhuri, like 'madurita'. Where 'madurita' means 'sexy older lady'. Heh.)

And then we went home and crashed.

Sunday

We got up super-early, like, noon, had torrijas (YAY!), and set out for a long day of sightseeing. I wore one of my new cute tops, the sun was shining, it was a balmy 19 degrees, and it looked to be a great day.

Here's a picture of the shiny new trains for the Madrid undeground. Look at how shiny and WIDE they are!



We got to the Palacio de Real, which is situated right next to the Teatro Real, and is one of the loveliest places I have ever seen in my life. Huge walking spaces, beautiful gardens, and of course, the STUNNING palace itself.




I can't help it. I see a statue, I must imitate it.

Here's a video of a 360 degree view of the area, with Carla giving us a description of it.

The inside of the palace was breathtaking, but no cameras were allowed, so I bought postcards afterwards to remember the place. It was so opulent. Almost too opulent! All the gold trimming EVERYWHERE inside made it a little too Donald Trumpish, I must say. Still, an amazing amazing royal ex-residence.

Then we checked out the cathedral that was next to the palace, but I can't remember the name. It was very large and very beautiful inside.




Then we made our way towards this place-



to have lunch. But on our way there, I felt someone jostle my handbag. Stupidly, I didn't immediately set out after them. I stopped and looked around in my handbag, and sure enough, my wallet was missing. Carla looked around in her bag, and it wasn't with her either. She had noticed two gypsy women walking behind us, who were now nowhere to be seen.

My wallet had been stolen by gypsies!!!

It was of course quite a huge shock for me. I've never had my wallet stolen before. But I was really lucky that Carla was there, because with her help I was able to call and cancel my credit cards, and make a report at the nearest police station.

I had to phone in my report at the station, to an operator who spoke English. He was a really charming and funny guy, and it actually made me feel better about the whole experience because we were both laughing so much during the conversation.

Him: Right, now how did you lose your wallet?
Me: It was stolen by gypsies!
Him: (laughing) All right. Um. It probably was stolen by gypsies, but why do you think so?

He also politely informed me at one point that he needed to sneeze, so he was going to turn away so he didn't do it in my ear. And then he started to laugh when he realised that I was writing down the report reference number on a tourist brochure with lipstick. (Could I be a more typical tourist? Seriously!)

The waiting room of the police station was filled with tourists like me who had their stuff stolen. Probably the only place in Madrid where I saw people speak English to each other!

Afterwards Carla took me to have the 'typical' Spanish lunch of raciónes and vermouth, which also cheered me up. :)



Luckily though, the damage was VERY minimal. I didn't have much money in my wallet, and all my cards were replaceable. I still had my passport and my phone in Carla's room, and my camera with me, which were all WAY more valuable, naturally.

We then made our way to the Museum area, to check out the Reina Sofia museum and the Prado museum. Unfortunately, the Reina Sofia was closed, and the Prado had a HUGE queue outside. So I took pictures of the outside of the Prado-




- and then we made our way to the Royal Botanical Gardens.

It was very pretty and quiet inside, but this picture here is what amused me the most.



We think the couple didn't want the bust looking at them while they were making out, so the guy threw his jacket over it. Yes, it was his jacket.

And then later, after the couple had left, some random woman comes along and sticks a bunch of flowers in the bust!



Madrileños are funny. :)

We left the botanical gardens, and decided to get a sketch done of us by a roadside caricaturist. And here is the finished product.



I love it!!

Madrid is so pretty at night!


We went home, had dinner, then went to the police station to sign my report. They kept us waiting for a while, but at least, I told Carla, I now get to say that my trip to Madrid was so wild that I wound up at a police station at midnight!

I now have a Spanish police report of my stolent wallet. It's a pretty cool souvenir, I must say. :)

After the police station, we drove to Carla's friend's place to see Beetlejuice. Unfortunately I fell asleep halfway through. It had been a really long day.

Sunday.

We got up really early, like, 11.30, and had torrijas. (WOO!) Then we went to the Reina Sofia to check out the Picasso exhibit.



Carla gave me a superfast but pretty exhaustive art history lesson as she showed me the different exhibits. We saw the famous Guernica painting by Picasso, along with many other really stunning paintings by Salvador Dali.

The Museum garden was really pretty.



When we came out I bought myself a souvenir of a beautiful old-fashioned flamenco poster, which they printed my name on, so it was like I was the star being advertised on the poster. Come and see Madhuri 'La Madurita', one night only!

Then we had another typical, typical Spanish lunch, this time featuring a big jug of Sangria!



Which made me very happy.



And also made me feel quite posh, apparently.



Then we walked to the Puerto de Alcalá, where we could see the bullet holes left in the walls from the days of the Spanish civil war.

I was still happy from the Sangria.



And then we walked to the Retiro! The Retiro is the largest park I've seen, and it's so gorgeous, even more beautiful than the parks I've seen so far in London.

It had lakes


trees


beautiful fountains


and this statue of Lucifer, which apparently is the only statue in Europe dedicated to Satan.



Then we went back home, and Carla took a nap. During which time I actually managed to communicate with her mom and step-dad on my own! My Spanish REALLY improved the four days I was there.

We were feeling super tired so we decided to stay in and watch a movie. We watched 'The Great Dictator', which I've always wanted to see, and it was just as brilliant as I thought it would be. Carla's mom also gave me a present- a bag full of make-up, really, really nice make-up. It was so overwhelming! I still can't get over how well everyone treated me in Spain, and I understand what Carla means when she says that she misses the people of Madrid. I really miss them too, and I was only there four days!

The next morning I had to say goodbye to Carla, her family, and Madrid, and take the plane back to London.

And now I'm here. I love London, and I'm happy to be back, but I'm even happier that I got to stay in Spain with one of my best friends, and have such a wonderful experience in a country that I'd never even thought of visiting before.

And now I must take Spanish lessons during the summer, because I fully intend on going back there one day.

Hasta pronto, Madrid!



[We're not Basques, Catalans, Castillians or Europeans...

We're Wankers!]