Madrid, Spain

I've been a blogging failure the past couple of weeks, sorry for going so long without an update. The past 3 weeks or so has been a blast, I'm still enjoying my internship (although there is significantly less to do since the UNHRC came to an end) and am having fun hanging out with the other interns from Ohio State and U. of Washington. We've been continually exploring Genève and all it has to offer, while continually becoming poorer and poorer - things are expensive in Switzerland.

Two weekends ago I went on my first trip out of Switzerland (besides some day trips to France) and went to Madrid, Spain to meet up with my friend Daniel from high school who is currently studying abroad in Santander, Spain. It was an AMAZING and hectic trip.

I worked a half day on Thursday and left from work with my massive backpack and headed to the Genève airport where I caught my direct flight to Madrid. Everything was going smoothly until I landed in Madrid and my phone ran out of minutes, luckily I had just talked to Daniel and we had made plans to meet right outside of customs. Once I got my things and headed out of customs Daniel was no where to be found. I spent the next hour and a half roaming the airport and cursing my phone which at this point had died and was completely useless. I finally found a pay phone and after some issues with the Spanish directions figured out how to call Daniel, five or so calls (adding up to 100 US dollars) and another hour later (2 1/2 hours in total) Daniel and I figured out that we were at different terminals. Daniel being the smart cookie that he is figured out how to get to my terminal and we were finally off to our hostel, just a little later than anticipated.

Once at our hostel (Las Musas) we checked into our room and immediately headed to the nearest Plaza for some food and much needed Sangria. After eating we ended up meeting up with our friend Tia who had just moved to Madrid for a couple of months to be an Au Pair and spent the rest of the evening catching up on things in front of the royal palace and then walking around the Plaza Mayor.

The next morning Daniel & I woke up bright and early to grab some breakfast and then head to the Reina Sofìa museum. At the museum we got to see some amazing Spanish art, including Picasso's Guernica, which brought both of us to tears. After the museum we got lunch, and in true Spanish fashion it was the biggest lunch I have ever had, and then went back to the hostel to take a siesta. --Siestas by the way are the most brilliant things ever and I'm seriously considering lobbying for them in the USA when I get back.-- After we had finished our naps we headed back out on the town to see the main cathedral and walk through the palace gardens, both of which were absolutely beautiful. And once again in true Spanish fashion at 9 pm we then met up with Tia and went out for a dinner filled with sangria and tapas. After dinner we went into another part of Madrid to watch a Flamenco dance. I had never had the chance to experience Flamenco before and was AMAZED by the dancing. There was a band of around 6 men who were singing and playing Spanish music as three women performed the most amazing, intense and passionate dances I have ever seen. Needless to say after leaving the show I was convinced that I needed to take up Flamenco lessons. Once again, staying true to Spanish form after the show we proceeded to stay out in Madrid until 5 AM roaming the streets, drinking sangria and getting a feel for Madrid.

Even after such a late night Daniel, Tia and I were troopers and woke up early the next morning to head to another museum, this time it was the Prado where we got to see some more amazing Spanish art like Goya, El Greco & Velazquez. We walked around for a couple of hours before getting lunch at a small restaurant and sampling a traditional Spanish fare of paella (a mixture of rice and seafood). After lunch Daniel and I headed to the royal palace to see a military band show that was playing for the weekend, while at first the music and bands were interesting, because of our late night the night before, Daniel and I had trouble staying awake and decided it was time for another siesta. We got up an hour later, refreshed and decided to go to our usual cafe in the nearest plaza to get some tapas and sangria. We stayed out late talking and soaking up the sights and sounds of Madrid. Early the next morning I flew out and after missing my flight and being stuck at the airport for 6 hours I was finally back in Genève (it wouldn't be traveling unless something went wrong right?).

The trip to Madrid was amazing. Thanks to Daniel I learned a ton about Spanish history and culture and was really able to appreciate my trip. It was really great to get out of Genève and experience a culture that is so polar opposite (remember the Swiss are reserved, everything closes at early and they love following rules). As strange as it seems, even though I couldn't communicate with anyone there (my spanish is no bueno if you will), I felt so connected with Madrid and the people there. It is a place so filled with life, passion, art and history and was a great thing to experience. I cannot wait to go back to Spain at the end of my trip and get to experience and learn more about Spanish culture. It was a place that I had never really had the urge to visit (not that I would have turned it down) but now that I've been I have a feeling it will always have a special place in my heart.