Favorites

Hola readers,

My favorite things in Madrid are : tapas, the nightlife, the Retiro Park and the Mercado de San Miguel. Oh and Sol !!!!!

I just love going for a walk to Retiro and rent a boat. Even tan by the lake when it's sunny and warm.
I like walking in Sol and on Gran Vìa. There's a beautiful rooftop on Gran Via that I go to for a drink or just to watch the sunset. It's the Circulo de Bellas Artes rooftop! The Gymage rooftop is also a nice place, very modern and stylish but the view isn't as spectacular.

The Royal Palace is magnificent and there are often parades and shows near it so go there if you have free time!!!

The Mercado de plaza de España has everything if you're looking for souvenirs or accessories.

My favorite clubs are Kapital, Joy and Gabanna. They have good student nights on wednesdays at Gabanna and thursdays are the only day where you can enter for free at kapital but only if you go before 1 am.

Food: yummmm. Go to the San Miguel market the food there is a-ma-zing( a bit expensive though). I found this asian all you can eat restaurant I don't remember the name though. It's located near the Gregorio Marañon station. We ate like crazy and the food was delicious for only 10€!!!!
100 montaditos is awesome for when you're a bit hungry and don't want to spend much.

If you want to run, everwhere is good but try the Santander park!


Hope you enjoy your trip there!

Reflections

Dear readers,

Going to another country for a long period of time is never easy. Understanding a language you learned in high school or college but spoken by native people can be difficult and frustrating. But I noticed that being in total immersion helped me a lot, espacially living with a Spanisb host mom. I improved my Spanish like never before!!

Also, it was the first time that i was truly and totally independent. At home, I live with my parents so there are certain rules to follow, I can't leave the house at 1am and come back at 7 my dad would never let me!!!! I don't have my own car so I depend on my mom a lot to go everywhere. At school, there are rules. We can't drink, have a lot of people over, and public transportation is nearly inexistent. In Madrid, I don't need to rely on anyone for transportation, there is a metro and tons of buses. Cabs aren't really expensive. I can leave my apartment and come back whatever hour suits me. I love having that freedom and independance.

Lastly, traveling around Europe showed me how beautiful our world is and it is now my goal to visit as many places as possible. 

Routines

Hello readers,

I would like to share with you some of the things I do in Madrid and my routine during the week and the week ends.

Well when I first arrived I was very excited and wanted to explore the city. So for the first three weeks, my friends and I walked around Madrid and used the metro when our destination was too far. We visited the main monuments, famous avenues and neighborhoods, tapas places and cafes. We did a lot of shopping and enjoyed the wonderful weather to go tan at the Retiro park. We also went to the school's gym at least once a week. We went out every night since bars and some clubs are open every day.I started planning some week end trips with my friends for the months to come.

After a month and a half or so, we slowed down on the going out 4 nights a week and tried to limit it to twice. We went to the museums when we had nothing to do on the week ends. I probably went to the Reina Sofia Museum at least 5 times. The Retiro park was my favorite place to go on a lazy saturday or sunday but also when I had free afternoons. I would rent a boat and row on the lake, feed the ducks and enjoy the breeze.

Also, every day my roommates and I would nap after class for at least an hour ( sometimes four!!). It's called "la siesta".

Towards the end of the semester, we got very lazy and would spend our free time in our rooms watching tv shows and videos or talking to friends and family on skype and facetime.

However, we always found time to go get a nice meal somewhere in the city, in Sol or Atocha, or our neighborhood Argüelles. I personally love frozen yogurt and "llaollao" was my new favorite place. Also, there is cafe/restaurant chain in Madrid called "100 montaditos" where all their tapas are 1 or 2€!!!! Everytime I was hungry or did not have a lot of money on me, I'd go there and have little sandwiches wich chips and a plate of fries or nachos.

Thanks for reading !