We took Ryanair, an infamously cheap airline, to Madrid. Aside from slightly delayed departures, we had a good experience with the airline. Upon arrival in the airport on Thursday evening, we hopped on the Metro to our stop at Puerta del Sol. We took it easy that evening (we had done a little pregaming at the airport and were kind of tired) and chose an Irish bar called Dubliner's.
The next day was packed with things to see. We walked through the Plaza Mayor and its little shops, then over to the Palacio Real. The Palacio Real was very impressive. We did a self-guided tour using the plaques in each room and a pamphlet. Walking through once apparently wasn't good enough – the girls I was with decided they wanted to get their "money's worth" (all 5 euro) and walk through again. Fine by me.
After some lunch at a paella restaurant, we opted for a little bit of down time before making our next move. We ventured over to the Paseo del Prado and caught the last two hours of the Prado, which is free. Two hours isn't even close to enough time to be in the Prado (it's HUGE), but I got to see all the works I really cared about/learned about, like Goya's Second of May, Third of May, and Saturn Devouring his Son, Velazquez's Las Meninas, Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, and Fra Angelica's version of Annunciation.
Saturday was also jam-packed with activity. We wandered through El Parque del Retiro, which is kind of like Central Park in that it's this big, beautiful park seemingly in the center of a huge city. We checked out the vendors and had a little picnic beside the pond where they offer rowboats for rent. Then we hit up the Reina Sofia, which is famous for all its Picasso (most notably Guernica). Another impressive museum with lots to see. Saturday night we went by Kapital, Madrid's biggest nightclub with a staggering SEVEN floors. I'm pretty confident I didn't see all of them...but I'm told each floor had a different theme. Interesting.
Sunday was a day of rest. We wandered a little bit, had some food, nursed our hangovers, and took naps. I opted for the Sunday night flight back to Alicante while the other girls planned on returning the next morning.
This past weekend it was off to Barcelona! We left Alicante at around 7am on Friday morning on charter buses. Our first stop was the Codorníu vineyard and bodega. We learned about the bodega's history, how to make wine, and we took a little ride through the wine cellar. It was a beautiful place and a nice way to break up the 6(ish) hour trip to Barcelona (not to mention the free samples at the end...).
We arrived in Barcelona around 5:00. We had time to settle into our rooms at the Hotel Cristal and then the rest of the night was ours. A few of us decided to go to the Picasso Museum; literally a hole-in-the-wall museum, but very interesting. It included several of Picasso's works before his more popular cubist stuff. Then, of course, we hit the Barcelona night club scene.
Saturday started off with a short walking tour of the city. This city was transformed by Gaudí in the early 1900s and his influence is apparent. We also saw the city's Cathedral (not to be confused with Gaudí's Sagrada Familia, which we saw Sunday). After the tour, we had free time to eat – we chose a bangin' pizza place – and then it was off to Park Güell, again with the heavy Gaudí presence. We visited his former residence and got to see the site of the America's Next Top Model finale when it was filmed in Barcelona.
Sunday we visited La Sagrada Familia, which to be honest is the first non-ancient but still famous church I've encountered. Lots of the construction took place in the 1920s but the construction still continues today. They're hoping it will be finished by 2026, which is the centennial anniversary of Gaudí's death.
And then, after lunch, we were on our way home. It was a pretty long trip, but we had a stop in the middle to grab some food and let the driver rest (and don't forget the two emergency stops we had to make before and after the planned stop because of the people who have Taylor bladders). All in all, hugely successful weekends. Both cities are awesome for long weekend or week-long trips, but I can confidently say I am happy to call Alicante home.
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