Es una broma! (it's a joke!) Don't worry, I am not coming home with a nose piercing but my friend Sara is. And her parents still (2 weeks later) have no idea that she got it pierced. After that excitement, we went to Plaza Mayor which is a gorgeous plaza in the heart of Madrid. It was designed in 1619 by Juan Gómez de Mora and since then public ceremonies, bullfights and condemnation of heretics (Spanish Inquisition) have taken place here. We also visited the Palacio Real where the royal family used to live. The stunningly beautiful rooms required us to walk through it twice, and to get our 5 Euros worth. We then ventured back to Plaza Mayor and enjoy a lunch of paella (the traditional dish of Spain) and una copa de vino. After lunch, we just happened to stumble upon a hole-in-the-wall cupcake shop and decided to go in and buy something for desert. All of a sudden, the heavens parted and a flash of light beamed down as I saw a DR. PEPPER!!!!!!!! I wasn't even looking for one and I found it! The last one!! It has yet to be opened and is currently residing in my closest until I am brave enough to open, drink it and realize I probably won't have another until the end of June. Finally we headed to the Museo del Prado since it was free after 5 PM. Before entering, Sara and I decided to look for a café to grab some coffee. And of course, what's the first one we see? Starbucks. Hello America, thanks for taking over Madrid. I can't complain, as soon as my caramel latte hit my tongue I was in heaven. I am not a huge art fan, not that I don't like it, I just haven't taken an art history class before but I was blown away by the Prado. It's one of the world's top museums and contains Valazquez's "Las Meninas." (google it :)) We spent two hours in there and still didn't see everything! By 8 PM everyone's feet were aching so we decided to head back to the hostel, rest, eat and then what else do you do in the city that has more bars than any city in the world?? (FACT: from my lonely planet book) In fact there are 6 bars for every 100 inhabitants. Right before we ran to catch the Metro, we met Sara's friend Maria who is from Madrid and studied abroad 4 years ago at Sarah's high school as an exchange student. This girl is absolutely gorgeous! Dark skin, hair and eyes and about my height. I'll keep my description of Friday night short since Saturday deserves more attention. I went with Sara and Maria over to Maria's friend Ines's apartment to hang out and enjoy some wine. On our way over there we walked through Puerta del Sol, which is the center of Madrid and where a bunch of guys are handing out flyers to different clubs/bars. After saying "no, gracias" about 10 times this guys asked if we wanted to go to Kapital- the largest club in Madrid, 7 stories tall- I told him we were going tomorrow (Saturday) and he was like, "Okay here are some discount cards for you and your friends. Also, call me tomorrow and I will put you on the guest list." He writes his number on one of the cards, hands us about 10 of them and we say thanks and leave. He also spoke fluent English. We all kind of rolled our eyes because we didn't want to get our hopes up but decided we would call Antonio tomorrow. This will be important later. We ended up staying at Ines's until 3:30 AM just talking, laughing and drinking. When we finally ventured out, we tried to get into three different clubs and were denied into all 3 because they were too full. It was still a blast hanging out with Maria, Ines and their friends!
Saturday we went to El Buen Retiro which is a HUGE (probably 70 acre) park to have a picnic and relax. It was a beautiful day probably around 60 degrees and it was nice to just relax. Later we stopped by Reina Sofia which is another art museum that houses Picasso's 'Guernica" which is a tribute to the Spanish Civil War. After a quick nap we began to get ready for what turned out to be quite the epic night. After calling Antonio earlier that day, he said he had all of us (7 girls) on the guest list for the night and told us exactly where to go and what to say to the bouncer. I was starting to get excited because that meant we didn't have to pay 15 Euro, which is around $20 to get in. After enjoying some home-made Sangria (boxed, red wine and fanta) we headed downtown around 1 AM. According to Maria, it's normal to go to the bathroom in the street so I stood watch while her and Sara found a deserted street to empty their bladders. Arriving at the club, there was a line about 100 people long. We walked around to the other side where the bald guy with the computer was standing and Maria told him we were with Antonio. He then handed us more discount cards and told us to wait in the line. I was so confused. I thought we were on the guest list so we a) didn't have to wait in line and b) didn't have to pay. Luckily, the line moved fast and we were inside in about 10 minutes. Unfortunately we had to pay but we received two free drinks with admission. Maria wanted to show us the entire club so after walking up 7 flights of stairs and seeing everything from a separate mojito bar to a rooftop terrace, we returned to the semi-calm third floor to turn in our drink coupons. I noticed I had a few missed calls from Antonio and debated whether to call him back. Maria said no so I listened to her but then he called again! I finally answered and told him that we didn't get in for free. He said to meet him on the 7th floor and we would chat. I was a little annoyed at this point but we all went up to meet him and his friend, which proved to be worth it. He apologized but explained that a lot of times the "guest list" doesn't matter on Saturday night's because it is so packed. Then, he said, "I'll be right back." He went to talk to his manager and we got a VIP room!! it was just us five, free bottles of champagne and anything else we wanted!! And after seeing how crowded the first and second floor was I was glad we weren't smushed in the mob. The club was definitely an experience. There were male and female dancers on the stage in front and probably close to 20 DJs! Insane! Antonio and his friend, were really nice and not creepy at all. They just wanted to have a good time! So around 5:30 AM we decided to leave and just as we were walking out of the club Antonio tells me he makes the best tacos (he's from Mexico) and asks if we want "free tacos."
I now need to preface my next actions with a story from Summer 2007. This was the summer of tumbling nationals in Daytona Beach, FL and I went down with my mom, Hannah, Hunter, Annette, Keylie and Britton Gibson. One day, we went parasailing which I could write a whole other blog entry about. After returning from our epic adventure, my mom and Annette both soaking wet, our "guides" Rambo and Borat (yes, these were the names they called themselves) asked my mom and Annette out on a date!! Thinking they would be the intelligent women that they are, I had confidence they would laugh, say no thanks and walk to catch up with their children who were trying to get away from these creepers. Instead, they say YES and Annette tells them where we are staying!!! Of course I am flipping out at this point and am like, "You can not go on a date with them! They are creepy and they gave you fake names!" and Annette said, "Hil, my mom always said if you can get a free meal out out of the deal, go for it!"
SO taking this brillant advice, Sara, Maria and I jumped in a cab and headed back to Antonio's for FREE tacos. And man were they good! After chatting, eating and dancing to Shakira for probably an hour, we told the guys thanks and headed home...at 6:30 AM. When in Madrid...
Sunday was a very chill day and we had basically conquered everything we wanted to see/do on Friday and Saturday. Sara and I were chilling in the hostel, trying to decide what else we wanted to do when I had an epiphany. I wanted to go see Santiago Bernabéu where Real Madrid plays. We had bought a 10 trip mass for the Metro (subway) when we first arrived and still needed to use up some trips so we headed north for the afternoon. The stadium is huge and so cool!! I really hope Cody and I can make it to a game when he comes to visit in May. They offer tours but I think we are going to try and do that when he comes. After trying unsuccessfully, about 10 times to sneak into the stadium we finally headed back to our hostel. Our flight back to Alicante wasn't until Monday morning so packed, relaxed and went to bed earlier than we came home the previous night.
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