I'm trying to keep up with updates as I go because 1) I don't want people to think that I've died and 2) I don't want to forget ANYTHING! So last night we went to one of the bars and hung out outside while the game (Spain vs Portugal) was on because there was ZERO room inside of ANY of the bars we found! We got drinks (.5L of Sangria for 3.80 euros, not bad compared to SLO) and sat back and listened to the crazy people inside. When Spain won, everyone was screaming and yelling and stormed the streets. It. was. crazy. People were shooting off guns and jumping on each other and generally just being crazy haha it was awesome! We went home after that and I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow. So, to say the least, I've adapted to the time change quickly.
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Right now I am laying on my bed hanging out because it's "siesta" time in Madrid. All the stores close from around 3-5 (give or take an hour) and everyone goes home to relax and be with family... or in our case, sleep. I am for SURE taking a nap after this. We got up this morning to get breakfast at 8 then set off on foot for El Palacio Real de Madrid, aka the royal palace. It no longer houses the King, but that didn't stop until this generation! That was pretty cool to find out. Unfortunately no cameras were allowed in the Palace so we tried sneaking some cell phone shots, but they didn't turn out too well (I'll post them on Facebook anyways). There are over 100 rooms and I think we toured around 30 or 40 of them. Each room had a color theme ranging from royal colors of blue and white to rooms decorated in oriental themes with silk covered walls. All of the rooms had ornate furniture and each had a unique (set or individual) chandelier made either in France or Spain. They also had a strange amount of clocks. Apparently one of the princes was quite the shopper before he became king and would travel to France to shop with his fiance. Unfortunately for them, the 2 things they could shop for were furniture and clocks... lots and lots of clocks. They even had there very own personal church which we got to see as well! No longer in use, of course, but still decorated as if it were still the 18th or 19th century.
After El Palacio Real, we made our way through the city on foot to the E Prado Museo del Arte. We got to see a lot of really cool stuff but unfortunately cameras were also not allowed there. However I will tell you, there was an odd statue of a woman feeding her breast to a man, a painting of a man eating a baby (those of you that are in to Greek Mythology, that would be Zeus' father eating his offspring but it was gruesome), lots of painings of the royal family with artist self-portraits creeping in the background, and too many catholic-based paintings to describe. They were beautiful, though. I really wish I could have snuck a shot in, but I didn't want to damage them since flash photography can do that. While here, we also saw one of the paintings that I had seen in my Spanish book back at Vintage which was really cool. If anyone knows it, its a painting of the Princess at age 5 surrounded by her serving maids, a dog, and this creepy looking girl (la fea) who is actually a dwarf. Anyways, that one was there.
After this, we walked across town to El Parque del Retiro which was absolutely beautiful. Honestly, there is nothing that I have seen in America that comes even close. It makes Golden Gate Park look like a very small dump. It was not only beautifully landscaped, but was clean and had so many fountains and architectural stuff everywhere. We went rowing in the little lake then went back to the hotel. So that's where I am at now! A lot done and its only 5 in the afternoon (4 when we got back)!
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For Pictures, Check Facebook! :)
of course... i'm still the tallest.
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