Madrid

Well... Madrid has been a pleasant surprise to a wonderful ending. I was told before coming to Madrid that there isn´t a whole lot to do or see. Most people really just enjoy Barcelona and Seville (which are two of the places I really wanted to go). I decided not to do much of the museum scenes, since I´m a little burned out on those. So, I´ve just been laying low and walking around the city.

First, my hostel is in a wonderful location. It´s practically in the center of the city in a cute little neighborhood. It´s one of the nicer ones I´ve been in and has pretty comfortable beds (which was NOT the case in Greece)! It is about a 5 minute walk from my favorite place in the city (at least that I´ve seen). It is this really big park. It is absolutely beautiful. It is wonderfully landscaped and extremely clean. In fact, all of Madrid that I´ve seen is very clean. It´s probably the cleanest city I´ve been in since being over here.

I had so much fun at this park yesterday. It was filled with people everywhere. Friends, families, couples, and everything in between. Many people were entertaining the crowds. There were many different dancers (I took videos of a few with my camera). There were magicians, and just all sorts of people. I loved everything about it. I think the thing I liked about it most, is that people weren´t begging for money. They were simply entertaining just because they were having fun doing it. Every single city I´ve been in, it has been overwhelming how many people come up and ask for money. Like I owe them something? Not here. The culture is so relaxed and laid back. They enjoy each other, probably better than anywhere else I´ve seen. I wish it didn´t have to end.

Today has been a lot like my day yesterday. I´ve just been walking around looking at the city and absorbing every last thing I can before leaving. I went back to the park and spent a few hours there. I thought it was going to rain today, but the weather is actually perfect. Blue skies and in the mid 90´s.

My flight leaves tomorrow around 1pm here (which is 7am in Indiana). I have a layover in Dallas, and then will get into Indianapolis around 11pm. I´m excited to see everyone (and to just have my cell phone back... oh how I´ve missed it)!!! Back to reality, right?