Hola once again!
We have officially passed the halfway point of our time in
Barcelona! We are shocked at how quickly the time has flown by, but there is
still plenty in store for the next seven weeks!
This past weekend was spent in Madrid where we got to
experience a new Spanish atmosphere. We went with our program and met at the
train station early Friday morning. We enjoyed getting to see the countryside
of Spain and spend time with our other Oklahoma friends Bailey and Katrina!
Once we arrived in Madrid, we made our way around the longest line we have every
seen in our entire lives and finally reached the hotel. We later learned that
the line was to see a saint…we never really figured out if he was alive or not.
However, the line was thousands of people long. We were pleasantly surprised by
how nice our hotel was, and our feelings were reinforced the next two mornings
at breakfast.
After getting settled in and finding a yummy outdoor café for
lunch, we joined our group for a city tour of Madrid. On this tour, we saw the
most famous bull-fighting arena in the world, the Real Madrid Stadium, the
oldest restaurant in the world, the Palace of Madrid and many more local
favorites. One of the most exciting parts of the tour was getting to go inside
a convent and buy cookies from the nuns. We rang the doorbell and made our way
through the convent to a turntable where we passed them our money and they
passed us their cookies. This is the only contact they have with the outer
world because no one is allowed to see their faces. It was a really great
experience and was definitely a group bonding moment! After the tour, we spent
the rest of our Friday wandering around Plaza Sol and the local market with
Katrina and Bailey. We found yummy food and saw many street performers dressed
up in creepy costumes. 
Saturday morning began with our most favorite breakfast yet.
The hotel had a wide variety of choices in their buffet, and it was nice to
start our day with good conversation and full stomachs before the five of us headed
out for the day. Following breakfast, we went shopping in a popular area around
our hotel. The streets were packed with people, and we found some great sales!
From there, we had the yummiest wok, which we discovered from a man handing out
samples the night before. Then, we headed to Retiro Park (their Central Park)
and thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. The weather was beautiful, and
we got to see the Crystal Palace inside the park.
We spent the afternoon
wandering down the Gran Via, which is the most famous street in Madrid. The led
us to the Egyptian Temple where we watched the sunset and had a great time
people watching. We have learned that PDA is widely accepted here and a shock
coming from our American culture. For dinner, we made the worst decision we
have made the entire semester. While it included delicious Mac and Cheese and
Nachos, we also lost Katie’s purse. That night, we chose to go to Hard Rock
Café for an American dinner, but little did we know Katie’s purse was going to
be stolen. Katie was seated next to a wall and in front of a column, so she
thought her purse would be safe hidden in the corner. However, she thought
wrong. After getting her phone out to calculate the check, she reached down for
her wallet around 45 seconds later to realize her purse was gone. After many
phone calls, prayers and searches through the restaurant, her purse was nowhere
to be found. 
Monday morning, we all woke up early and headed to the U.S.
Consulate General of Barcelona to get Katie a temporary passport. In true
American style, the consulate was surrounded by a huge wall and very intense
security. It was so nice to be on American soil, haha. The workers were so
helpful, and we quickly got all of Katie’s lack of identity issues ironed out.
Our prayers were answered, and we headed back to our apartment full of relief.
That is, until we arrived to no wi-fi. Oh well, we went to our always faithful
café, where we’re writing our blog!
Hasta luego!
Brynne, Katie and Meagan
My coworker Lynn suggested your blog to me as my boyfriend and I are headed to Europe this week and beginning in Spain. I love your blog and your adventures! :)
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