Madrid, La Ciudad Que Nunca Duerme

Sup guys, so this is my attempt at being a blogger while I frolic around Madrid for the semester. Shout out to my girl Liz Miller who gave me the pep talk and convinced me to do a blog. Her argument: "You can't be boring, you'll be in Madrid." We shall see how this goes.

I am living in Legazpi which is a district in Madrid with my host mom Concepcion (Concha). She's an absolute sweetheart and knows the way to a girls heart, or at least mine... good food. So the first order of business once we got to Madrid was to go on a tour of Puerta del Sol. It was unfortunately raining so we had to cut it short. Sol is basically the the Times Square of Madrid. You'll even have the occasional sighting of individuals dressed as some character. Mickey and Minnie were there, but if I learned anything from Hollywood Blvd and NYC, it was to stay away from those characters. They are the definition of sketchy. So I passed on the wonderful opportunity of getting to know the Spanish Mickey and Minnie and continued with the tour.

The amount of stores found in Sol is insane. El Corte Ingles, a department store, alone has 7 floors and that is just one store in the mist of many. Did I mention everything is on sale?! Had to refrain since it was only my first day. As we continued to walk, there were also many "Bars y Cafeterias" where you can grab some food and drinks. Word on the street is that on Wednesdays and Sunday nights most places have drinks for 1 euro. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

 There was a convent that we passed by during the tour, where the nuns have vowed to never leave or see anyone but they apparently make candy to earn a living. To buy the candy, you have to knock on the door and speak through an intercom and say "Quiero dulce" ("I want candy") and then they let you in and hand you the candy on some sort of wheel... I know, I know not creepy at all right? I'm determined to try this candy one of these days though, so it should be interesting.

Once it got too cold, the RD Isabel took us to get hot chocolate, which to my surprise is not like the hot chocolate we drink in the U.S. It is basically like fondue and they dip churros in the chocolate. When they are finished with the churros they drink the remaining chocolate. This place is called San Gines Chocolateria and is very well known. The line to order was very long but also worth the wait.

That was basically my first day here in Spain. These past days have pretty much revolved around orientation of the program. I registered for classes and took a campus tour, which made me feel like a freshman again. However, I have ventured out with a couple of friends back to Sol and we managed to not get lost when using the metro system. There will be many more exciting trips to come and I will make sure to post more when I get a chance. Byeeee :)