Madrid, Spain - Our Final Stop
Our final destination. One thing I would quickly like to mention about Spain in general, is that it may be busy, but everyone is quite relaxed. You could be in the middle of a big square with hundreds of people, yet so many are just sitting on the steps of a fountain reading or relaxing outside buildings. I love that because it made it not feel like every other busy city we have been to.
Madrid had an interesting start, before we went on our first walking tour, I twisted my arm pretty bad trying to get up on my bunk bed (that is a story for another time). Even though I couldn't move my arm, I was not about to miss out on our final destination so I went and took pictures with one arm. After the tour the usual people and I went to a cool park with stunning buildings and a few ponds. On our way back to the hostel we came across a Mariachi band, the most typical Spanish thing I was hoping I would see.
The next day started with the typical bus tour of the city which took us to see more amazing sights including the Royal Palace which has over 2,000 rooms. Obama was scheduled to come the next day, so it was interesting seeing how it was set up for his arrival, and for where he was going to be having dinner and such.
After lunch a few of us went on an excursion to Toledo, Spain. Toledo is an ancient medieval walled off city. It was so cool looking I was ecstatic about it. We got to see a sword making demonstration, then purchase some of our own. We saw more of the city, including the Jewish quarter which contained the most amazing church filled with so much gold art and pop out sculptures around the walls and ceilings. When we got back to the hostel, the usual people skipped out on a night out and chilled at the hostel's bar. We danced, we laughed, we talked, and we drank glasses and glasses of sangria and had multiple lollipop shots. It was so nice to spend time with them as this was our last night just us.
Sadly, oh so sadly, it was our final day on the trip. The guys left to go see more stadiums, so us girls spent most of the day without them. We explored and went window shopping. Tiff, Victoria and I went back to the park from the first day and sat and had some deep conversations. It was nice to relax and reminisce together. Finally, the we met back up with the guys and got ready for the farewell dinner. We walked back to the hostel, changed into comfortable clothes, and watch the last Euro Cup game on our last night in Europe. After the game, some people wanted to go to bed but I refused as I was the first to leave in the morning and was not ready to say goodbye. However, the time did come, and I will admit, I bawled like a baby. I was not ready in any way to leave Europe or my new best friends. After saying goodbye to the guys, us three went and sat on our bathroom floor and bawled together. It was glorious. We calmed down, sang some songs, danced, and packed.
Madrid had an interesting start, before we went on our first walking tour, I twisted my arm pretty bad trying to get up on my bunk bed (that is a story for another time). Even though I couldn't move my arm, I was not about to miss out on our final destination so I went and took pictures with one arm. After the tour the usual people and I went to a cool park with stunning buildings and a few ponds. On our way back to the hostel we came across a Mariachi band, the most typical Spanish thing I was hoping I would see.
The next day started with the typical bus tour of the city which took us to see more amazing sights including the Royal Palace which has over 2,000 rooms. Obama was scheduled to come the next day, so it was interesting seeing how it was set up for his arrival, and for where he was going to be having dinner and such.
After lunch a few of us went on an excursion to Toledo, Spain. Toledo is an ancient medieval walled off city. It was so cool looking I was ecstatic about it. We got to see a sword making demonstration, then purchase some of our own. We saw more of the city, including the Jewish quarter which contained the most amazing church filled with so much gold art and pop out sculptures around the walls and ceilings. When we got back to the hostel, the usual people skipped out on a night out and chilled at the hostel's bar. We danced, we laughed, we talked, and we drank glasses and glasses of sangria and had multiple lollipop shots. It was so nice to spend time with them as this was our last night just us.
Sadly, oh so sadly, it was our final day on the trip. The guys left to go see more stadiums, so us girls spent most of the day without them. We explored and went window shopping. Tiff, Victoria and I went back to the park from the first day and sat and had some deep conversations. It was nice to relax and reminisce together. Finally, the we met back up with the guys and got ready for the farewell dinner. We walked back to the hostel, changed into comfortable clothes, and watch the last Euro Cup game on our last night in Europe. After the game, some people wanted to go to bed but I refused as I was the first to leave in the morning and was not ready to say goodbye. However, the time did come, and I will admit, I bawled like a baby. I was not ready in any way to leave Europe or my new best friends. After saying goodbye to the guys, us three went and sat on our bathroom floor and bawled together. It was glorious. We calmed down, sang some songs, danced, and packed.
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| We wanted to buy these for the Guys. I still wish we did. |
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| Watching the Euro Cup together as a Family on our final night |
A letter to those I have met on this trip:
9 countries and about 300 miles walked. This month was unbelievable. The sights I saw, and the things I did I will never forget. There was not one day that I was not having the time of my life. I learned a lot, but mostly, I gained some new friends. We all somehow came together from all over the U.S. and became so close. I will always cherish our songs that we repeatedly sang, our catch phrases, that's what she saids, getting lost, the end of the line, George Washington, and the memories we created that couldn't be shared with anyone else. I am so thankful I was able to get to know each of you, and I know that you each are going to accomplish so many amazing things in your life and I cannot wait to see it! I love and appreciate you all so very much. Thank you to Adam, our tour director, you were the best director I could have ever imagined having. If I am ever in Europe when you are, I will be looking out for your colored pants that you love to wear. See you all soon.
If you would like to watch the video of the whole trip click here.
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