08.14.2011

August 14, 2011

Hola from Madrid! This morning we left our hotel in Barcelona on a bus at the ridiculously early time of 5 am. Leaving Jan at the airport, we flew to Madrid where we met our new guide Ismael. Once in Madrid we dropped our luggage off at the hotel and headed out for a guided bus tour slash orientation to the city. Another guide, Mauricio, gave us lots of information about buildings and different areas of the city, especially some of the historical context. The streets toward the center of the city and the old town were kind of hectic because the entire city is setting up for the arrival of the pope next week. We were able to get out at several stops for pictures including one of the palace gardens, where we were able to walk around and saw black swans. Being able to drive around the city allowed us to get oriented to Madrid, for when we walk around the city and tour different areas later in the week. 

After the bus tour, we were able to get into our rooms at the hotel. We then had free time where some took advantage of the spanish siesta after a long morning of travel in preparation for the game later that night. Other groups went and grabbed lunch and we did a little exploring of Madrid. After a little research, a helpful map from our tour guide, successfully navigating the subway, Beth Ann, Allison, Emily, and ourselves headed into sol, the city center. Full of people in all directions, the city center had so many different shops and restaurants everywhere. It was really awesome to see the blending of shopping and eating with historical buildings and statues, and to hear all different languages all around. After just walking around and enjoying the city center, we made our way to a food market, Mercado de San Miguel, which was so crowded with people and fresh food, especially lots of Spanish food. After great deliberations and multiple laps around the stalls, we each grabbed a different food, ranging from fresh fruit smoothies to kebab skewers and empinadas, and met in the middle to try as many different things as possible. We then continued our walk, making sure to stop by and get some gelato, which absolutely no day is complete with out, and made our way to Parque del Buen Ratiro. After the hubbub of sol, the park was a relaxing space filled with lots of people enjoying their Sunday afternoon. One of our favorite parts of the walk was coming across the multiple soccer fields in the park, reminding us how important soccer is to the Spanish culture. Walking through a park filled with trees and a large pond where you can rent row boats, it was hard to believe we were only ten minutes away from the center of a capital city. 

Going back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner, and being the science geeks that we are, we continued to notice how environmentally aware Spain is, not just on an individual level, but through conscious city wide efforts, like compact cars, escalators that only move when someone is on them, and lights that only turn on when some one is in the room. 

The team then met back up with Ismael for dinner, where food just kept coming out. Multiple Spanish appetizers later, we had some amazing paella, making the meal easily one of the best and most authentic Spanish meals that we've had. The super friendly staff giving mixed reviews to Betsy's real Madrid jersey, dancing with Mae, and serving family style dishes only added to the fun of the meal. It was full of laughs as Ismael tried to guess our positions, adding that normally female soccer players "are more man". 

After dinner, we took a subway to Bernabeu Stadium that was completely jam packed with supporters for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, but mostly Real. Once we got to the stadium, everyone was given their tickets and we all headed off to get into the stadium to enjoy the pre-game atmosphere. Inside the stadium, we were immediately surrounded by 80,000 flag-waving, chanting, singing fans, many carrying vuvuzelas. Walking to find our seats, we walked by an opening and couldn’t help but stop and look at the massive stadium full of insanely passionate fans. The noise level grew so loud when the players were being introduced, you couldn’t even hear the person next to you, and it stayed that loud for a majority of the game. Between the two squads, we were able to see over half of the Spanish national team starting line up, in addition to top quality players from other countries around the world, which we were reminded of with so many touches and passes that left us wondering how some were even possible. Even though it wasn’t a league game, the intense rivalry between the two clubs assured that the match would be full of excitement. Despite our lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, there were points that you couldn’t help but join in singing with the fans. With a final score of 2-2, each team having the lead at one point, the intensity stayed high the entire game. Getting to see the goals live that we would normally see on tv was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that none of us will soon forget!!

Shannon and Paula ‘13