Madrid: Museums, Mahou, and MTV

Hello friends!

Cayce and I arrived in Lisbon yesterday on an overnight train coming from Madrid. Our time in Madrid was great. We stayed with my friend Jimmy... he was an awesome host. Had food cooking for us when we arrived, which we couldn´t have been happier about after such a long train ride to Madrid. Upon arriving in Spain we quickly learned that not too many people speak English very well there. Although we did have our very useful phrasebook with us, it was so nice to have Jimmy as a translator. Ordering food would have been impossible without him. Madrid is a huge city with lots of people and Jimmy really made us feel more comfortable in it.

During our time in Madrid we were able to visit the more touristy spots of the city. Everywhere we wanted to go was so super easy to get to because of the Metro system they have. A bus arrives at each station every 3 minutes and we found the system to be pretty much fool-proof. We went to Puerta del Sol, the "center" of Spain. It was full of tourists, people selling purses, and impersonaters dressed as Minnie, Spider Man, and Pooh. We went to Plaza Mayor, a big square in Puerta del Sol that has a statue in the center and tons of outdoor dining. Very beautiful architecture throughout the whole city.

We were also able to visit two art museums, the Prado and Reina Sophia. The Prado features amazing European paintings and sculptures, we noticed work from as far back as 20 A.D. There were a lot of incredible paintings by Spanish artists Goya and Diego Velazquez. The Reina Sophia features more modern art and we were so excited to see the work of Picasso and Salvador Dali. Seeing Guernica by Picasso was definitely a highlight and something I will remember forever.

We also went to the Parque del Retiro. It is a huge public park in Madrid with a manmade lake and some beautiful monuments. People can take boats out on the lake or sit at one of the few cafes for lunch or drinks. It was such a pretty and relaxing place, somewhere I would go and sit everyday if I lived nearby. We had lunch there and met a lady that grew up in New York and moved to Madrid for the man she married. She was so interested to hear about our trip and gave us a few pointers. The MTV European Music Awards were also going on while we were in Madrid. They had a couple free concerts on a street right by the park, and we were able to make it to one of them. Their were tons of people there and it was unlike any show in the U.S. There were men on stilts passing out glowsticks and people drinking beer in the street.

The nightlife in Madrid is much different than anything I´ve ever experienced. The first night we were there we just went out for drinks with Jimmy. It was a very casual night and it was so nice to be able to enjoy our time and catch up with him and not have to worry about the bars closing. We ended up not leaving till after 3, in Seattle it is rare that the bars do last call any time after 1:30. Another night we went to a salsa dance club with Jimmy and his roommate who is from a town near Barcelona. Cayce and I were both pretty intimidated by the salsa dancing part of the night but realized when we got there that there isn´t much to it. We had a really fun time and did our best versions of "salsa dancing" until almost 6 in the morning. We learned that it is very normal in Madrid to stay out until that time. Some bars or breakfast places even open at 6 to catch those on their way home.

The food and flavors in Madrid were a little less than I expected. They eat tapas as their evening meal, rather than having one large meal for each person. Many of their tapas are fried and very salty. The typical menu had fried squid, fried pork legs, Spanish omelettes, empanadas, and fried sardines. I ventured out and tried a sardine, and I was very proud of Cayce for breaking her vegetarianism! They also have Mahou beer everywhere. Not too bad of a beer, pretty light and if you visit Madrid plan on drinking it.

Monday night we said goodbye to Jimmy and headed for the train. We arrived here in Lisbon yesterday morning, and I think this may be my favorite place so far. It is so beautiful here and the people are all really friendly. It is very hilly and you can see the water and beach from lots of places. Yesterday we got to know the city a little just walking around and today we are going to go to a couple sites. We are staying in a pretty nice hostel here called the Lisbon Old Town Hostel. We are planning on staying here for a while, possibly through the weekend, and then back to Spain to visit Seville, Granada, and Barcelona.

Hope all is well! Miss and love you all!
Cheers!
Nikki

Let the adventures begin!

Hello lovely friends and family!
So I've had a little trouble finding computers and wifi to use, making blogging a little difficult. Cayce gave me the idea to type on the notepad of my iPod and email it to myself when we get an Internet connection. Long train rides or time waiting for the train is the perfect time for me to write. I may not be able to post for a few days but at least I will be able to tell you what we've been up to. 

Right now we are in Paris waiting for a train to Madrid that should be here in about 3 hours. It's 8pm right now. We left Bruges this morning at 11am, and should arrive in Madrid tomorrow at 2pm...long trip, eh?! The long train rides are a good time to rest and take everything in. 

We started off our trip in Amsterdam.The flight there was great, a lot easier than we expected aaand we were sandwiched between two cute boys on our first flight. I think it was preparation for what to expect in the upcoming months! When we got off the plane in Amsterdam the first thing we noticed was all the bikes. You would not believe the amount of bikes tied up to rails. There are by far more bikes than cars there. A lot of times you would see a couple squished on one bike with the girl sitting on the back. We even saw a lady riding with her small baby on the handle bars! Seemed a little dangerous, especially with all the other biking traffic. We stayed in a hostel in Amsterdam in a room with 6 beds. It wasn't the nicest of places but it provided what we needed... A bed, shower, and toilet. We had a couple boy roommates that didn't speak English too well, one from Brazil and one from Turkey.

Our first night there was Halloween and we went to a little bar near our hostel. Everyone working was dressed in costumes, and a Greek guy we met there told us they were dressed for a masquerade fiesta. I'm pretty sure they had no idea what they were celebrating! Later in the night they had a fog machine going and the owner would occasionally turn on an incredibly loud horn. We met a lot of people that night, some from other european countries who are now living there, as well as other US travelers.

While in Amsterdam we visited the Van Gogh museum, got a tour of the Heineken brewery, walked through the famous Red Light District, and of course visited one of the many coffee shops. The thing I liked best about Amsterdam was the lifestyle there. Everyone walks around like they aren't in any sort of rush... A lot different than the way people scurry around downtown Seattle in order to make their next meeting or get to work in time. It was also really neat to see such a well off society that isn't reliant on cars. They definitely make do using bikes and public transportation. The people were very friendly and interested to know where we were from and what our plans were. Meeting so many Europeans who were visiting or now living there shows  what an amazing city it really is. 

Our next stop was Bruges, Belgium. We successfully took our first train ride there. Bruges is a pretty small, romantic town. It is full of beautiful architecture and "romantic" scenery is everywhere. There are a lot of large buildings that Cayce and I called castles. We walked 366 stairs to the top of one of them and had an amazing view of the whole city. We also enjoyed a Belgian waffle, their famous fries, and a few of their local beers. We also stayed in a hostel in Bruges and roomed with a guy from London who was traveling by himself. We took him out with us one night and ended up at a bar that was having a techno dance party. There was a group of university students from London who were visiting for a few days. We quickly noticed that guys here are much more comfortable with dancing and getting close to each. Bruges was overall a really beautiful place. It was a bit more of a touristy place than Amsterdam but I definitely understand why people enjoy going there.

We left this morning in hopes of getting to Madrid by the weekend to be able to stay with my friend Jimmy. The train ride so far has definitely been an adventure. We had to make a few connections to get to Paris.We had to take a bus at one point and ended up in a very small French town. It was the first time so far that I've felt a little unsafe.We finally made it to Paris and you would not believe the chaos of the train station. The place is huge and there were so so many people and many were running to catch their train.We had time in Paris to sit and enjoy a sandwich and beer. We are now sitting here waiting for the train and can see security roaming around with huge guns. Not sure if it's always like this or there is an increase in security lately.

We are really looking forward to Madrid and the sunny weather. Many times already me and Cayce have said to each other how happy we are to be here. We definitely realize how lucky we are and that we really are having the time of our lives.

Love and miss you all!
Cheers!
Nikki