Europe Week 4: Barcelona & Madrid

This week was spent in Spain, visiting the major Spanish cities that I never saw while hiking the Camino de Santiago at the start of this trip. It was such a privilege to be a part of a Spanish family for a few days in Madrid, and to catch up with great friends while feeling my Spanish language skills return to me.

I am certain this will not be my last time in this beautiful country!

Wednesday, March 13

Today I set off to buy some chocolate con churros at a cafe recommended by Pere. They were delicious, but due to the Spanish tradition of siesta (midday napping) the cafe closed at 1 and I had to leave.

I picked up groceries, cooked a hostel meal, and spent the afternoon relaxing.

Thursday, March 14

After packing my bag and taking off down the block, I admitted to myself that I had no idea where I was going. Maybe towards that castle?

Wandering a city was not unusual, but I realized I was dreading this wandering. I didn’t want to do anything - I was tired.

I stopped in my tracks.

I’m a solo traveler. If I don’t want to go explore, I don’t have to go explore. Furthermore, I had been operating at top speed for three weeks, bouncing from friend to friend.

I felt the guilt lift from my shoulders, then took a sharp left to the grocery store and walked right back to my hostel.

I cooked an omelette, drank an iced coffee, and watching RuPaul’s drag race for twelve hours before going to bed early.

Friday, March 15

Pere offered to meet up in the afternoon to go hiking and see a free light show, so I continued my relaxation marathon until I met him downtown.

He took me around the streets of Barcelona and we discussed libraries, fitness, and entrepreneurship. We hiked to a viewpoint even higher than Park Guell with an even better view of the city. The area was full of locals smoking, eating, and drinking beer - this is not somewhere I would have found on my own.

We waited for sunset at a cafe, talking about our identities, friends, and goals. I would have never guess that some of my favorite conversations on this trip would be with a Catalonian that I met in Berlin. My luck on this trip seems to be non-stop!

Using a metro card a kind woman at he airport had given me for free, we cut across the city to the Fountain of Montjuïc. On the hour, colorful lights glowed through the fountain and water sprayed to the beat of the music. Pere knew where to sit to avoid the spray from the fountain!

Fun fact: these pillars represent the four stripes of the Catalan flag.

Saturday, March 16

Early in the morning, I woke up and hopped on an all-day bus to Madrid. Taking buses instead of planes are my favorite travel hack - I have much more time than money.

Cristina met me at the bus station, and I was overjoyed to see her. She and I had met in Poland while boarding the bus to see the Krakow Salt Mines. I liked her and her friend Veatriki so much that I switched from my hostel to theirs and we spent full days exploring the city of Krakow, touring Auschwitz, and meeting handsome Italian men.

The Madrid metro system was a nightmare for tourist who want to get to the suburbs of Madrid. Luckily, Cristina was able to take care of that for me in rapid Spanish and before long we were on an affordable bus to her hometown.

Cristina’s parents spoke only Spanish, but that only added to my excitement to meet them. My Spanish had faded with so few opportunities to use it, but it came back full force in communication with her lovely mother.

Even better, her brother spoke English and Spanish fluently and was highly engaged with local politics. He and I spent hours discussing how the Spanish language is evolving to accommodate individuals with diverse gender identities. Unlike English, in Spanish all objects have genders (la silla = the chair (feminine), el huevo = the egg, (masculine)). Absolutely fascinating to hear about this from the perspective of a young person and a local.

Sunday, March 17

At home we spoke only Spanish for Cristina’s mother to be a part of the conversation - I was in paradise, and vocabulary was coming back so quickly.

Cristina’s friends were leading a guided tour in downtown Madrid, and invited me to come join them. This was a perfect opportunity to meet international students and learn about downtown Madrid simultaneously. I came on the right day! (As a Bulgaria enthusiast, I got along best with the Russians.)

After the tour Cristina took me to a bakery that was absolutely packed with locals and ordered me a chocolate pastry well known in Madrid. I don’t have a clue what it was called, but I quickly understood why there were so many people throwing elbows to get it.

As the sun went down, Cristina and I bought Starbucks Frappuccinos and meandered back to the train while discussing how relocating abroad had influenced our identities and goals. Cristina is a dynamic mix of sweet and ambitious, with advanced English, a mind for travel, and a passion for children. I absolutely loved catching up with her again!

Monday, March 18

Today Cristina had university classes, so I accompanied her on the train and explored the cute university city while she was in class.

In the afternoon, we took the train back to her apartment where she took a quick siesta while I talked politics with her brother again.

While Cristina left for work, I rode with her parents to see Park Europe. This free park has miniature versions of the landmark monuments I had seen on this trip. It was so cool to see so many parts of this trip mashed into one park, to collect inspiration for more places I want to go, and to communicate all of this in Spanish with this sweet couple.

They took me to a park of flowering almond trees, the bull fighting arena, and to a bakery where we drank coffee, ate Spanish pastries, and talked about their intelligent, worldly kids that I had the pleasure to know.

Tuesday, March 19

After saying goodbye to my newly adopted Spanish family, I hopped on a train to downtown Madrid.

Raina Kadavil, a fellow Coca-Cola scholar, happened to be at a conference in downtown Madrid that day. She and I caught up over a cup of coffee, and I heard about her incredible world travels and the socially conscious tech startup where she serves as CEO. It was so inspiring to sit down with someone so ambitious and happy - she reminded me how ready I am to WORK!

After saying goodbye to Raina, I went downtown to find Colton Wickland, a great friend from UW-Madison. It was spring break back home, and refreshing to see a familiar face. We caught up over cheap tapas and a walk in the park. Colton has a way of making me feel like I already am the woman I have always wanted to be. I am lucky to have a passionate friend like him, and even luckier to have met up with him in Spain!

That evening I boarded a RyanAir flight to London (do not recommend) and arrived in England for the first time.