Today was the most relaxing day we have had! We decided not to meet at the train station until late morning at 11:00 AM. Which was wonderful! [And disclaimer: "we" usually means me, Kara, Samantha, Kristi, and Laura]
In Madrid, we wanted to go to the famous Sunday Morning Flee Market - El Rastro. On our way to the place where some of the girls thought it would be, Samantha decided to stop in this pastry shop to grab a croissant . When the rest of us looked in the window at the beautiful pastries - cupcakes, chocolates, donuts, croissants, and more - we quickly followed her inside. This was the best croissant I have ever had! It was flaky, soft, sweet deliciousness. A perfect breakfast.
After we realized that the flee market was not in the Plaza, we asked someone to show us on the map where we could find it. After we walked in the opposite direction of the flee market for about 30 minutes, I forced them to stop while I actually looked at the map for them. So then I used my master map skills to get us directly to the flee market which was about a mile of little tents adorned with an unbelievable array of... stuff. Honestly, it was just like a Mexican flee market that we are all used to seeing in our visits to Cancun, complete with knock-off wallets and colorful plastic magnets. Only it was 20 times larger with 30 times more people. It was a sight to see!
We walked all the way down the hill and back up it without getting pick-pocketed, and we decided we would get on a "Madrid Vision" tour bus - yes, the double decker ones screaming "tourist". Kara and I were dying to go on one, and Sam came too. And it was awesome! There was sunshine, a breeze on the top of the bus, an English tour guide recording, and music from the Nutcracker! The tour took us through the Historical District and through the Modern District. Highlights were the Barrio de Salamanco (the prestigious Spanish neighborhood, apparently with the best upscale shopping), the statue to Christopher Columbus, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (where the soccer club plays and where the 2010 Finals were held just the day before. The stadium seats about 87,000 people - not too much bigger than the OU Stadium!), and of course the U.S. Embassy.
Afterwords, the three of us browsed the bookstore and were in serious need of Starbucks! Yes, they actually have a couple in Madrid. The baristas even asked for our names to write on the cups. Even though Sam, Kara, and Alissa came out as "Sem," "Clara," and "Elisa" in writing on the plastic cups, the frappacinos were as delicious as if they were from Norman! We enjoyed dinner in the Plaza Mayor, and it was the best meal we have had yet! The three of us split margareta pizzas and sangria. The food was great. The weather and people-watching were also fantastic. We arrived back at the Alcala apartment and should be rested for the start of school tomorrow!
Only one problem. Ana (our housemom) made/bought all this food for us for the weekend... and we haven't eaten any of it. eek. She comes back tomorrow afternoon, so we are either having hamburgesas for breakfast, or on the way to school tomorrow morning we are going to make some random dog really happy. I'll keep you posted.
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