Hola, Madrid! Puedo Echar Una Siesta?

Friends, we have heard your fervent calls for an update and here it is!

We’re back, and more tired than ever. After about forty-eight hours of continuous travel (see below for proof that we’re not just hiding away in Chapel Hill), we landed in Madrid and arrived at our accommodation for the week. We had arranged to spend our first six nights with a family for whom Andrew tutored when he studied abroad, so it was the two of us, two parents, and three middle school-aged boys in a three-bedroom apartment. A rather chaotic beginning to our trip, and I can’t deny I breathed many a sigh of relief at the thought of our first night in a private hotel room. Although it goes without saying that we’re deeply grateful for their hospitality and, of course, for not having to pay for an Airbnb.

After settling in, we rubbed the sleep out of our eyes and set out for town. I don’t know about you, but my foremost motivation for traveling is pretty much always food, so I was not disappointed when we spent our first night out sampling some of the local delicacies. See below for highlights—churros (different from the Mexican kind and served with hot, liquid chocolate) and patatas bravas (fried potatoes typically served with a slightly spicy red sauce and an aioli. Also bread, although I can’t fathom why). And, as you can see, a glass of sangria. Pay close attention to the presence of bread and wine, I promise it’s coming back.

The next morning started on another strong culinary note—tortillas. No, not that kind. It’s an egg and potato (and onion, although whether to include onions in a tortilla is, apparently, a highly controversial topic), thick, pancake/omelet-like dish usually eaten with—you won’t believe it—bread. I’ve even heard rumors of the bocadillo de tortilla, or the aforementioned egg-potato food served as a sandwich. And, of course, a glass of wine. If there’s anything I’ve learned about Spain in the last week, it’s that a) everyone here loves alcohol, and b) there seems to be some sort of unspoken ban on restaurants serving anything green.

The rest of our week passed in a similar fashion and we got to explore many of the highlights of the city. On our way to the expansive Parque de El Retiro, we wandered through a famous street lined with stalls selling used books called the Cuesta de Moyano. Once in the park, we strolled through gardens, looked at an art exhibit on display in the beautiful Palacio de Cristal, and rowed a boat across El Retiro Lake during sunset.

Of course, not every day was perfect. On Thursday, it rained all day and we hardly ventured out of our bedroom except for a brief stop at a neighborhood churrería. The porras (not churros—see a few photos above for an explanation) themselves were pretty good, but the best part of our outing was getting to sit inside.

Once the skies cleared, we hit the town once again, this time in search of some nostalgia. For those not in the know, Andrew spent his senior year at UC Santa Cruz (2018-2019) studying abroad at the Universidad Complutense, so we had to make sure to visit all his old haunts. We peeked in the building where he took many of his classes, considered buying lunch at the cafeteria but quickly decided we’d both had enough of college dining hall food, and even found his old apartment!

A fun fact about Andrew’s alma mater: Complutense was founded in 1293! As such, it’s one of the oldest operating universities in the world. Clearly, it’s undergone some renovation in the last seven hundred years.

We were also lucky enough to spend a couple of evenings with two friends Andrew had from his year here. On Saturday, we visited the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum with them and were thrilled to find Andrew’s dog, Jake, immortalized in one of the paintings!

Chatting, laughing, and eating greasy stirfry noodles with Rex and Laura made me feel less like a tourist—foreign, out of my depth, and perpetually ever so slightly lost—and so much more like just a person.

While our time in Madrid was wonderful, I can’t say it was all smooth sailing. The days were extremely long (I have not adjusted to the Spanish sleep schedule and I fear I never will), I felt helpless and a bit frustrated every time I needed Andrew to translate for me, and the fact that we came back every night to a full house of near-strangers certainly took its toll. By the end of the week, I was thoroughly drained.

I’m happy to report, however, that arriving at a private hotel room in a smaller city brought all the peace and respite I dreamt it would. So stick around, because I’ve already taken a million photos in our new destination and you’ll get them all soon.

In love and adventure,

E