Madrid: the city that doesn't want Lisa to be comfortable

Had to wake up at 9:40 in order to pack, eat, and meet Pepe for a walking tour at 11. Oy. 4 hours of sleep are not fun. I went down for breakfast, still drunk, more than the previous morning, sobered up on some yogurt cereal, tea, fruit, and water, went to pack and wake Stacey up, put my suitcase quickly in Pepe's room to store before checkout, then was out the door for our Madrid walking tour. IT WAS SO COLD OUTSIDE. It was below zero (celcius) which is no fun for two straight hours of walking. It was colder in Madrid than it is in Chicago! That's nuts. We met up with our guide from the Prado, and we walked allll around Madrid. Madrid is actually a really great place, very much what I'd picture Europe to be like. I love all of the old, varied architecture, the abundance of stores and such to see, the choices of cultural activites and food, and the small, quaint streets. I was sad that I didn't have a camera! We saw the palace, the Plaza Mayor (which I loved! It reminded me of "Destinos"), and some awesome cathedrals. One had a really nice priest in it who, without our asking, told us about the architecture and artwork in one of them. Then we went into another cathedral which was built last century and got to see part of a service (it was Sunday, btw). The tour started to grow really long, and I was cold, exhausted, a bit hungover, and hungry. I swear, Madrid does not want me to be comfortable. Shivering, the tour finally ended. A bunch of us scoured the town for some food, it was a big group of us so it was a challenge. I just really wanted some paella. Every place we looked was either too expensive or too meagre of portions to satisfy our hunger. Finally, everyone decided on TGIFridays which I refuuuused to go to if I'm in mothafucking Spain! I wanted paella, dammit, and ain't no one was gonna stop me. So Stacey and I found a place taht specialized in paella. The inside was actually kind of fancy. It was also pretty empty since people eat lunch at 2:30, not 1pm! We ordered a paella mixta (mixed), which took forever. Blah. But it finally came, and it was AMAZING. The shellfish in it was huge, large mussels, whole shrimps, and some other crustaceon which I'm still not sure as to what it is. Let me describe this guy, it was the biggest shellfish on our dish. Now, y'all know that I can/could eat basically anything, but this I refused. I mean, it was like getting a whole boiled lobster, head and all, thrown on your plate. First of all, I didn't know how to begin to cut this thing up, and everytime that I tried I got a glimpse of it's legs, it's pinchers, it's teeth, its eyes, its brains...its everything! I can't handle that. I felt like I was back in science class dissecting an oversized insect ::shudder:: Ahhh, it was terrible. I'll eat anything, as long as I don't have to SEE it in its full form as/before I eat it. Ehhhhhhhh, still gives me the creeps. What is it with my bad food encounters in Madrid? I swear, once again, Madrid does not want me to be comfortable. However, the paella itself was so good, and I was so full afterward. At the meal we definitely stood out because we spoke English the whole time. In fact, basically my whole time in Madrid I was speaking English because it was so easy to do so there. I guess, even though Madrid is a better city in itself, I'm glad that I'm in Sevilla because it REALLY forces the Spanish out of me while Madrid really supports my bad English habits. After lunch we got a bit lost finding the hotel, but we figured it out and were back a bit before 3. We met up with the girls and decided to share some cabs to the train station. The first cab that came was snagged by Stacey, Kelly, Courtney, and Melissa while Jessica, Katie, and I awaited the next cab. None came for what seemed like forever. One came, asked where we were going, we said to the train station, and then the driver wouldn't take us! Then after a bit another came, and the same thing happened. Then no more cabs came by for awhile. Then we looked in our pockets and noticed that between the three of us we only had 7euro which probably wouldn't be enough for a cab there, especially if the driver tried to rip us off for being American (happens a lot here). So we gave up and decided to lug our huge bags up and down stairs and into the crowded Metro. It was hellish, and nervewracking since on the Metro you need to watch your bags at all time. I mean, we not only had bags, but also purses and suitcases. It was difficult to watch our stuff and lug it around comfortably. We had to take 2 Metros to the station which took about 20 min, and it was pretty rough because stairs sucked, the Metro cars themselves were stuffed, and it was unsafe. I told you, Madrid does not want me to be comfortable! Luckily, we got there with time to spare, met up with the rest of the girls who had been there for awhile. Oy vey, that's just my luck. We got on the train, which actually seemed nicer than the last one since all of us on the trip got to share one car with more room. I was so tired and ready to pass out...as was everyone. Stacey and I shared a family seating section with Pepe and Lauren which was fun, Pepe's awesome and Lauren is so energetic and fun to be around. I was ready to sleep when they started playing the movie: Pleasantville!! I was so excited since I hadn't seen that movie since it was in the theatres, probably. I got really sucked into it even though it was in Spanish. Soooo I didn't sleep. At all. Everyone else did, and by the end of the movie most people were waking up. I also got to look out the window as we rode towards Sevilla and was surprised to see how much snow there was! I later found out on the news that night that Spain had gotten more snow than it had in a long time which caused a lot of cities to basically shut down. Crazy! Once Stacey woke up we decided to check out the bar car, which actually looks like a real bar! Sure beats out Amtrak's, no doubt. It was a fun time. We finally got to Sevilla, and it was still raining. Boo. And I was so tired, but excited for Maruja food again! We got a taxi right away, which took us straight home and played really good music, niiiiiiice.
Oh man, it was so good to be back. This apartment really feels like home! It's so unbelievably comforting, and I love Maruja, and Maria, and Marta. They're starting to feel more and more like family! Stacey and I then unpacked, and I did some webshots/blog stuff (you know, the usual for the 20-something of this generation). Then it was dinner time! Yes! Ironically, dinner was a Spanish tortilla, haha! But Maruja's beat out Zahara's by a loooong shot. This was authentic with egg, caramelized onions, and potatoes. Soooo amazing, and it tasted so good to have her food in our stomachs again. We also got an amazing salad which had apples and pomegranates in it which was UNREAL! One of the best salads I've ever eaten. Note to self: put pomegranate in salads more often. For dessert, tangerines! It's great to be back home. After dinner, I took a long hot shower, which actually was pretty unsuccessful. You see, although it wasn't as cold as Madrid, it was pretty damn cold in Sevilla, especially for being indoors. No matter how hot I made the shower, my body just would not heat up. You know when that happens? I could feel my feet tingling from the burning hot water, but I couldn't feel the sensation of heat itself. That's just bad news. I ended up running low on hot water pretty quickly because I kept turning the heat way up. After getting out I pumped up the bathroom's space heater full blast which subsequently warmed me up. I bundled up in multiple layers (think 2 layers of socks, and wearing the hood of my sweatshirt tied around my head!) to bed. Our room was in the 50's that night (my clock has a thermometer) and that's just ridiculous. I went to bed around midnight exhausted from the weekend, lack of sleep, walking, and cold. My bed felt so nice. I love it here!! Mmmm Sevilla is a great home.