A Fun-Filled Weekend

I had big plans for my final weekend in Spain. I was going to have a picnic in the park, go to the last of the Golden Triangle museums, and go to the famous flee market in Madrid. They say to expect the unexpected, and that saying certainly rang true for my weekend.

Friday morning I left with Ardena to head into Madrid to go to the Prado Museum. While we were at the train station talking, we decided we wanted to meet up and go shopping! So I instead decided I would walk around Madrid for awhile and wait for Ardena to finish class and then we could meet up. (This time I made sure my phone worked). I got into Puerto del Sol and just began exploring. I stumbled upon an open church on one of the streets and just wandered inside. I probably spent half an hour in the church just sitting and taking in all it's beauty. As far as European churches go, it wasn't glamorous or extravagant. But I was able to sit there and not have to worry about anyone else. It was an amazing church and it often makes me wonder what God thinks of these majestic churches built for Him. That's for a different blog post though!

I sat in the church until I realized a service had started and decided it was time for me to leave. I had no idea what the priest was saying anyways. After I got out of the church, I just went window shopping and I enjoyed being by myself and walking around. I felt pretty safe as well, which surprised me. Ardena called me and we met up at one of the plazas in Madrid. We had fun just walking around and looking at the shops. All morning I had kept my eye out for a great sale on some boots. I swear I looked at a dozen stores and never found boots that didn't have heels and weren't 80 Euros. I have officially given up on finding boots here in Europe.

Ardena took me to this underground Chinese restaurant. Now I was a little skeptical but after I went down it was really like a small China town in the heart of Madrid. I ordered some chicken and vegetable combo and rice. It took a really long time to get our food and when we finally did, Ardena and I decided we wanted to eat in the park area outside. We headed up there and it was a beautiful day. I started eating my chicken and just enjoying the sunshine. I looked down into my food and in the middle of the chicken/veggie soupyness...

THERE WAS A HUGE BLACK BUG!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it was so gross! And I had eaten out of it! Ardena was so mad that we packed out stuff back up and marched right back down to the restaurant. Ardena went straight to the counter and went off in Spanish and I just felt sick. I mean, how would you feel? What if I had ate the bug and not realized it?! Well I got my money back, but lost my appetite right with it.

Saturday I had plans with Katy to go to the park and have a picnic. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating so Katy and I had to cancel our plans. Not wanting a day to be lost, I put on my walking shoes and headed into Madrid anyways to go see the Prado Museum. This museum was huge! It was almost overwhelming how much there was to see. I did my best to see all the classics and saw artists like Goya, Velasquez, and El Greco, just to name a few. They are all Spanish artists and I really enjoyed looking at their art. It's a lot like looking at the history of a country through art. I had a great day and enjoyed the museum. (Again, no pictures inside the museum)

On Sunday it was Mother's Day in Spain. Ardena and I got up early to go to El Rastro, a famous flea market in Madrid that happens every Sunday. We took a bus into Madrid which took longer than expected and we both needed an ATM and coffee. After we finally got to El Rastro, we only had about 45 minutes. The place was packed! We could hardly move through the streets with how many people were there. They sold everything from underwear to batteries, clothes, belts, purses, dishes, jewelry, whatever you can think of they had! It was so fun to look at everything and I got myself some headbands. Two girls shopping can't just spend 45 minutes when there is so much to see so of course we were late getting back to Tres Cantos for lunch. However, Ardena got Paulette flowers so it made up for it.

I took Paulette and the girls out for lunch to the "best paella in town" and quite frankly it was the best thing I have tasted. I loved it! Paulette called it "Spanish comfort food". I just want it to be my comfort food all the time! I will be making it when I get home for sure.

It was a wonderful weekend. I had a blast at the Prado Museum and El Rastro plus I ate the best food in the world. If I haven't already stated, I am IN LOVE with Spanish cuisine. It is so good and has so much flavor and is so fresh. I wish I would have studied in Spain just for the food!

***Side Note***
I forgot about posting this blog so I've already written about my final days in Spain. Go read the blog before this one for my final stay in Spain called "Adiós Amigo"

Love, 
Sara