Jan 19th – Day to Go Out to the Night Scene in Madrid

When I wake up, I feel a huge craving for some gelato. I think I miss it and want it more here than at home…probably because I cannot get it here. But gelato is a good substitute. When I woke up it was almost 1pm, and here at 2pm is when siesta begins. So I had to get dressed quickly if I were gonna make it on time. Siesta in Spain is basically where all if not most of the town closes their businesses for a few hours to eat lunch (their biggest meal) and take a nap. I love naps so this will be pretty easy for me to adjust. But at times, like today, it’s hard to get used to trying to get to places either before or after siesta. Once I get dressed, I go downstairs to leave and tell Pepe that I will return in half and hour and I’ll eat then. He asks if I am sure I don’t want anything, and even though I do, I want to get some gelato before they close. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long before the bus came, and when I arrived to the plaza, I was just in time. When I walked in the gelato shop, I told the lady I wanted chocolate chip (of course I said stracciatello) and said I wanted it in a cone. I think I love her. She gave me this huge mound of ice cream….oh! It looked so awesome, I couldn’t wait to eat it and I don’t think I’ve smiled so big before! As I walked back to where I needed to catch the bus again, I ate my ice cream. Which I think I caused a commotion especially with little kids, because I heard them admiring my ice cream also. I heard several of them say ‘That’s a lot of Ice Cream Mom!’ I finished my ice cream by time I got off at my stop to walk to my host home. After eating my lunch, Pepe and Ana tell me that they are going to Madrid for the night. They wanted to make sure that if I was hungry, I could make something and showed me where everything was. Then I told them that I was going to Madrid also and I would be having dinner with friends, so it would be okay. After the babysitter picked up Adrian, they left and I took a nap. When I woke up, I got ready and met my friends at the plaza. Initially we planned to take the train, which is only 20 minutes but Dominique hear that the bus was cheaper so, we decided to try it. Once we got to Madrid we had to take the Metro to where the bars and clubs were in Spain. Trevor, Katy and Michelle ate before, so Dominique, Victoria and I had to find something quick once we got to our stop (which is called Atocha). When we got onto the Metro, we looked at the route pattern to see how many stops we had until Atocha. Unfortunately we were going in the completely opposite direction of our stop which would have only taken maybe 10 minutes. But the Metro we were on went in a circle, so we just went the long way around which took 25 minutes. By time we got to Atocha after the bus ride and the Metro, it was 11:30pm….we left Alcala at 9pm. Oh well, we were in Madrid going out on the town. Since we at a different part of Madrid, we didn’t know how to get to the part of downtown where the restaurants are that were close to the bars we wanted to go to. So we picked up some McDonalds, which normally I would totally oppose but I needed to eat and I needed to fast. I have to say it was kind of nice that McDonalds is the same as at home. After we went up the street looking for a bar to go into to have drinks and while we were looking, we ran into some Irish guys from Ireland here for the weekend. They knew not one bit of Spanish and had very thick Irish accents. This should be interesting. The first bar we went into, I don’t know the name but they serve Caiprinas! I tell the girls that they will like the drink and order it for us. The bartender even had the owner ask if that was what I really wanted since you would only ask for it if you knew what it was or had it. I assured him I knew what I was talking about and he made them. They were amazing, and just as I remembered from dad’s birthday at the Gaucho. After, we wanted to find a discothèque to go dancing. So we had a couple more drinks and we left. We went into a club where it was packed with people and they were dancing….seemed fun so we went in. After dancing for a bit Dominique, Victoria and I realized we were in the land of midgets. Literally. All the guys there were like half my size and I swear a 12 year old hit on me. Gross. So we left and went to another bar. Trevor, Katy, and Michelle wanted to go into a bar they found that was filled with natives. D, V and I had a couple of drinks but it was getting late, we were sober and we wanted to be warm and in bed. T, K and M were smashed so getting them out was difficult but when we told them it was 5am, they started leaving with us. Even though the bus and the Metro don’t re-open until 6am, we knew that by time we get all the drunkies out of the bar and down that way, it would be time. T was obnoxious, M was flirting with guys and clearly had on her beer goggles and K was repeating ‘I understand’ in Spanish and apologizing for being drunk (she later switched to telling me she loved me every 5 minutes and thanking me). Once we got to the main street, we saw bright flashes of color and smoke coming from the middle of the street and police cars. Looked like fire…wait it is fire. A car was completely engulfed in fire to where it couldn’t be recognized and was still going. I don’t think anyone was inside though. We definitely needed to get home though. By time we got to the Metro entrance there were others (obviously trying to get home after the bars also) waiting and they just opened the gate. Finally. We get to our stop and onto the Metro. We ended up seeing another group of guys from Maryland that we knew. Whew. Once we got to the stop to board the train we got off and boarded the train. Almost there, thank goodness. This night needed to end. T, K and M were still being ridiculous but were calming down and by that time we were back in Alcala. The buses weren’t out yet since it was Sunday and it’s later (I think 8am) so I took a cab with friends and went home. Feeling the greatest relief when I was in my bed I immediately fell asleep.