Meriam and her mom came to visit me this weekend. It was was a very short but very fun visit!
I went to the airport at around 13h30 and apparently their flight was delayed for 30min (thank God for iPhones!). So at 14h they finally arrived and were welcomed with a big hug! We then took the metro to my apartment and dropped of their bags.
As usual, we started the Madrid tour at Sol. Since I’ve been here with the Delft-boys and my father, I know the place pretty well and am an excellent tour guide! I showed them Puerta del Sol, Opera, Palacio Royal, Jardin de Sabatini, etc. Ik kon zelfs enkele leuke annecdotes vertellen. (Why am I suddenly typing in Dutch again? Old habbits die hard I guess.) When we were heading to Plaza Mayor we walked through a few streets that were decorated (for San Isidro probably) with lots of pretty colors. Of course, we had some Ben&Jerry’s ice cream when we were there!
We then walked to Parque del Retiro and when we passed Sol we noticed that there was a big parade going on. See the video of the San Isidro parade here. Of course we also saw Banco de Espana and Puerta de Alcala. Finally, in Parque del Retiro we just rested and enjoyed the beautiful wheather. There were a few street artists, inlcuding a couple who were dancing Flamenco. Sorry, but you will have to turn your screen for this one.Then finally, I found someone who was willing to go to the Reina Sofia museum with me to see La Guernica. When we arrived at the museum, there was apparently a performance going on of a Indian dance group. An other video here. Then we went inside, found La Guernica, stared at it for a few minutes, walked around a bit and left again. My only goal was to see La Guernica!
We also visited Atocha train station which has a tropical rainforest inside, but we could only look at it and not go inside. We enjoyed a good Spanish dinner with merluza, paella, pan y agua. During the dinner, we saw that there was bullfighting on the television, so we decided to go to the Plaza de Torros where the fighting was happening, but we arrived too late. They were just loading up the horses on their trucks, of which I have an other video of course.We then walked home and had a good night’s sleep.The following morning, we woke up at 8am, everyone was suffering from not being able to sleep much, but we had to get ready for school! (more on this later). Of course, we had the traditional Churros con Chocolate at Valor for breakfast, with a bit of croissant and orange juice. Next, was a visit to El Rastro, the famous flea market in Madrid. Meriam and her mom bought a belt and I bought a scarf and a pair of earrings (of course). The market was BUSY as usual! Too many people for my taste, but I’ll have to go back to buy souvenirs ;)
After that we went to Ciudad Universitaria, indeed University City. This is where the famous Universidad Complutense de Madrid has all its faculties. I think the pictures will speak for themselves …And then it was time to go back to the airport :( We were a bit early, so we first visited the new T4 terminal and then had lunch at an airport cafe.
The farewell was again very sad, but at least I’ll be home in 5 weeks. Yes indeed, in only 5 weeks all you readers in Belgium can enjoy the wonderful company of ‘me’ again! Aren’t you all waiting for that day? (June 21, flight SN3728 that will land in Brussels Airport at 20h15 … if anyone is interested)
