Adios Madrid

Oh what a life I live! Today I had that moment. You know, the moment when you know that you are completely independent. I was leaving an AMAZING park (the leaves were changing colors, the breeze brushed my face, and each path had an unique ambiance. I was completely content), walking through the streets of Madrid at dusk, admiring the arquitecture that lines La Calle Prado (yep, THE Prado: one of the most famous art museums in the world, which I visited yesterday). During this walk I just had that feeling that I am in this surreal place. I 'm in Europe. I never thought my life would take me here, but here I am.

I just want to add a side note here. Thank you to everyone in my life who has ever influenced the person who I am today--the good and the bad, because without the bad, you don't know the how to taste the sweet. I love my life. I am grateful for all of the opportunities I have to see the world, to meet know people, and to expand my mind. I wish I could document my emotion, so that I could share these moments with everyone--they are so precious to me. I often have moments where I smile in the middle of the street because I think of a family member or a friend that I know would enjoy what just happened. So, thank you to everyone in my life that has supported and/or challenged me.

Purvi and I rocked Madrid! The first day we went out with a new Australian friend. We went to an outdoor market in a street that is known as Rastro, which translates to trail of blood: this was the street of animal slaughter in Madrid. Kind of morbid, but interesting at the same time. We went to the most beautiful park I have ever been, Parque del Retiro. It's comparable to Central Park in New York, but better. We went to the Prado. I saw Las Meninas by Velazquez and La Maja Desnuda by Goya!

Today Purvi and I started early...I'm not so sure if that was a great idea. We were tired, which led to us getting annoyed easily; nevertheless, we persevered and just enjoyed strolling. The weather is amazing. I'm getting exposure to Autumn. There was a gentle breeze, leaves falling throughout la ciudad antigua, and the sun peeking through the clouds. On our stroll we saw El Monasterio de las Descalzas (a monestary that has 33 rooms and which housed 33 nuns at a time to honor Jesus, who died at 33 years old), La Plaza de Oriente (a beautiful garden that welcomes those to the old Nacional Palace. Franco used to give speeches from the palace to a rumbling crowd that gathered in this garden), El Palacio Real (HUGE palace that has a cathedral attached to it), Catedral de la Almudena (the church attached to the palace),and The Arab Wall.

Purvi and I were extremely tired and sore. We went back to the hostel where we ate and got a lecture about Christianity (in Spanish from the cleaning lady), because Purvi is Hindu... we continually encounter extermely religious people who feel the need to talk to us about Christianity. I don't want to be disrepectful, but at the same time I would like to tell them that we've heard all of the stories before, and Purvi is NOT going to convert!

Anyways after this brief break we became very indifferent to everything in Madrid.We were letting the feeling of someone beating our legs, knees, and feet with a baseball bat get the best of us. Then something came over us. A powerful resolution to see Madrid. To not let our tiredness and indifference get the best of us! We drastically changed our attitudes and hit the streets for a second time.

With high spirits and determination to see the REAL Madrid we saw Plaza Mayor (a place of bullfighting and where they executed heretics during the Spanish Inquisition and where I bought paintings from a local artist today!), El fuente de Neptuno, a memorial to those who lost their lives on May 2, 1808 (When Napoleon invaded), Jeronimos Church (the beautiful church behind the Prado), El Banco de Espana (the Spain's national bank that has their gold reserves under the Plaza de la Cibeles, i.e. a busy cul-du-sac, and the other portion in Fort Knox), the Plaza de la Cibeles (a fountain that the Spainards risked their lives to save by gaurding with sandbags during a war), Palacio de Comunicaciones (Communication building. The mayor has his office there), and Plaza de Independencia.

We dominated Madrid and Barcelona! Rome, watch out!

Now I need to go to bed. We have to catch a shuttle tomorrow at 3 am to go to the airport. Our flight leaves at 7 am. We arrive in Rome at 9am.

I will keep you all updated.

P.S. Purvi and I have been sustaining ourselves on a jar of natural peanut butter (I think it's from Germany... It's impossible to find, but we found it in an Indian convenience story by pure luck), Nutella, bananas (we combine the three to make sandwiches), apples, pretzels, and oranges! In Rome, we will be only eating pizza, pasta, canolis, and geloto--lol, we have made this decision with our own free will :-)

Love,

Me!

P.P.S. My spelling is sometimes poor in my blogs because I don't have much time to write, it's hard to switch from Spanish to English, and there is not English spell check on the computers sometimes.