Week 5, Check.
Another week is in the books! Monday and Tuesday I took advantage of the extra free hours (we finish class at 1pm, now instead of 3pm!) to wander the neighborhoods of Madrid and see everything I hadn't seen before. I went back to Plaza Mayor and walked for about 3-4 hours both days, just taking in all the city has to offer! I will never forget the architecture of Spain- all the wrought-iron balconies and restaurant terraces just makes for such a welcoming, historical feel.
Going back to the good ole' streets of Clifton is gonna be a little bit of a let-down, but I'm getting very excited to be back with my American food, my American friends, and my family. I'm even excited to go back to work! My flight leaves at 6am on Saturday, my third 6am weekend flight in a row, and I'll arrive in Indianapolis around 6:45pm.
On Wednesday, a couple of us went to Lago after class and paid the 3.4 euro entrance fee to the public pool! We couldn't have picked a better day to go. It was hot, there was a lot of turf for laying out on, and we all needed a chill day after so many weeks of running around. After a few hours, we grabbed some snacks and headed to Parque del Oeste for a little picnic before dinner time.
Thursday was supposed to be a scorcher, so Abby, Erica, and I decided to get our run in right after class before it got too hot. I still think we ended up going at what turned out to be the hottest part of the day, but it was nice to have some running partners for once. I've adopted the running lifestyle again since coming to Spain since I haven't had gym access, but luckily the same park also has a little area to do body weight exercises.
After we cooled off by the fountains and laid in the sun for a bit, we all met up at the rooftop bar that we had been planning to check out since day 1- Circulo de Belles Artes! We got one euro off with our student cards- score- and hopped on the elevator to what seemed like something out of a magazine. The terrace sprayed mist about every 30 seconds to keep everyone cool- and it had such a beautiful view! We splurged on some wine and enjoyed the view, thankful that we went on an overcast day so it wasn't unbearably hot.
Friday after class, Shelby and I came home to get our things together for London. Abuela fixed us lunch of a salad sandwich and a ham sandwich (this woman makes more sandwiches than anyone I've ever known. I may never eat another in my life. And I'm talking plain white bread, toasted sandwiches. She can cook some other things pretty well, but I hope to never look at another sandwich ever again.) We hopped on the Metro and right before we transferred stations, Shelby realized that she'd forgotten her passport. I waited with our bags at the station while she sprinted home and arrived 30 minutes later with it in hand, but luckily we had left early and still had plenty of time to board on time.
We got to the airport, took the 45 minute train to Liverpool Street, and searched for some food. Oddly enough, lots of restaurants of London stop serving food around 8:30-9, but we were able to swing some Fish-n-Chips at around 8:45! We then caught the Tube and one more train to Bicester Village, where my cousin Tara lives! (pronounced bis-ter, the English like to leave out multiple letters out of the pronunciation. see also: Greenwich= gren-itch.) We got in around midnight, and it was so nice to see a familiar face and have an actual house to sleep in. The next morning, we ate breakfast and I got to visit with Tara, Phil, and the twins for the first time in over a year since their moving from Ohio to Bicester!
Around 9, Tara, Shelby and I took off for downtown. It was a beautiful, sunshiny day! After some walking, we ran into a practice parade for the Queens birthday before her real birthday next week! There was more horses than I thought could fit in once city, and we followed them to the palace to watch the ceremony. Supposedly Prince William was there on a white horse, but he was pretty far away for us to tell for sure! We did see one soldier pass out from the heat. We followed the procession back to Buckingham Palace, then walked over to where Big Ben and the Eye are located.
Near the Eye, we hopped on a bus tour to get a good view of the Thames River and the surrounding areas. We were on top deck for about an hour, until we arrived in Greenwich, tired, hungry, and much more sunburnt than I had expected. We were lucky to come across a market with plenty of exotic food options to choose from, so everyone got what they wanted! We caught a ticket back to a more central area and hung out and snacked until it was time for Tara to catch her train ride home, which was at 11:15pm. Shelby and I bought train tickets for 3:05am, (I know, we're dumb), so we had over 3 hours to wander around. We decided to walk to Tower Bridge to see it lit up at night, which turned out to be 80+ minutes of walking total. With aching feet and me cursing my cheap shoes, we finally caught the bus to the airport, napped for an hour, and hopped on our flight home.
Today, Sunday, was another recover and relax day. I took a nap and wandered some more. I'm ready to see my family at the end of this week, but I don't wanna wish away a single second of this trip. The architecture, the culture, the people- I'm going to miss it all. Come Friday night, I'll be headed to the airport for my third weekend of 6am flights in a row (not advised). I'm hoping to return to some sights another time this week, try the foods I haven't gotten a chance to, but we'll see the opportunities that this week brings!
