Ahhh Madrid...

So today I got to go to Madrid to see the city and explore a little. We took the train from Alcalá into Madrid and walked around what I felt like was the entire city! Good thing my boots are comfortable and I could walk for hours in them. Good investment. But we saw the Prado, which I will have to go in when I have more time, and a bunch of other important looking buildings. All the buildings here are so beautiful and old, and the streets are cobblestone or some other type of stone and my boots make a fun noise on them when I walk. Our directors explained what some of the buildings were, but I didn't understand much of what they said, but I was still impressed. We visited a botanical garden and I can't wait to go back in the Spring because it will be so so pretty with all the plants and flowers. After what felt like forever, we ate lunch as a group at a restaurant. This morning my host mom insisted that I bring a sandwich, but I politely declined and I know to listen to her advice from now on because I was starving during our walk around the city. It didn't help that we walked past what felt like were hundreds of bread and pastry shops!

After lunch, our directors informed us that we needed to find our own way home. Shoot. I should have known there was a trick. We had to first take the Metro (and we left three of the students behind because the train was so full and they physically couldn't fit in the door in time) to get to the train station, then walk to the bus stop, and then to our houses. Today for the first time since I've been here, I was able to open my front door without assistance. Finally.

In an hour I am going shopping with my host sister and her male friend and two girls in my program. I need some stuff for my room so I can hang up pictures and what not, and I'm excited to go out again. I think I am going to go downtown Alcalá tonight for drinks and tapas with some of the girls in the program and I'm really excited to start experiencing Spain. I've felt super lame going to bed so early and I realized I haven't been out at night once since being here! Time to see what this night life that everyone rages about is like!