Madrid!

I finally made it to Madrid! Again, it was one of those places that that I really wanted to visit when I came to Prague, but I figured it would be too far away to actually happen. But then, I found out that I have three friends here, one of whom is letting me crash at his apartment, and found a well-timed, direct flight to Madrid for under $200. It was perfect! I tossed some Czech spa wafers in my bag, bought some Becherovka (Czech liquor, tastes like Christmas) at the airport, and brought some of the Czech Republic to my Madrid friends.

So, I'm staying with my friend Zach for the next few days. He's in class until later this afternoon, so I ventured out to wander down Calle Princessa on my own this morning. It's funny because I feel so much less confident in my Spanish than I do with Czech, even though I know Spanish much better. I can't tell you what a surprise it is to be able to walk around and be able to read so many signs! However, I feel like I'm more comfortable with Czech because I know enough to get around (ie. how to order food, greet someone, etc.), whereas I'm a little out of practice with Spanish and I've never used it in a practical setting before. I realized this especially this morning when I asked Zach if I'm supposed to address people in the formal or informal tense!

Anyway, Madrid seems a lot different. Although, I probably feel that way because while walking around, I was subconciously comparing everything I saw to Prague. Right off the bat, Madrid is much larger and much more Western. In fact, walking around this morning, even only for a few hours, I realized how Eastern Europe-like Prague really is. I never really had anything to compare it to before (besides US cities). While Prague feels a lot different to me, walking around here reminds me a lot of NYC, both comforting and disappointing. People are dressed nicely, probably not too different from Boston, but a bit surprising to notice after being in Prague/Krakow/etc. They sell Ben and Jerry's and Oreos here too, which my flatmates have moaned about missing in Prague. I even saw a woman carrying a J Crew bag!

Calle Princessa is kind of a bigger shopping area, which Prague also doesn't have. Besides some of the malls, there aren't any real (read: non-souvenir) shopping areas. I think I've realized why Prague isn't exactly a fashion capital: there are few places to shop, and clothes are so expensive! I've spent a good many hours looking for black boots in Prague only to find a few nice ones that were way over my budget. Despite the Euro here, I've found a whole bunch or reasonable ones in the span of an hour or two of wandering!

While it's a little chilly here (mid 50s), the weather is gorgeous. Bright and sunny (although the high rises block a lot of light) and it seriously feels like the end of summer. There are semi-tropical trees all over the place, and even the temperate-looking ones (although, I'm no tree expert) still have all of there leafs.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a good weekend. Sleeping on a hard wood floor for a few nights isn't the best, but the double espressos are pretty cheap here, so I think I can manage.