This Cloud's Silver Lining

Today was going smoothly until... I logged on to print my boarding passes for my flight to Berlin only to find that my flight had been cancelled due to a strike in France! My first reaction was, of course, to panic - especially upon having to communicate with the EasyJet customer service representative in Spanish and hearing that the next flight to Berlin didn't leave until Friday at noon. How could I afford to miss eight hours of my precious time in Berlin? I ended up settling for the replacement flight and making the most of my time here in Madrid. [My program director was actually somewhat happy that I was finally staying in Madrid for part of a weekend!]

Anyway, here's how it all panned out. On the way home from school, Daisey, Meredith, and I stopped for a famous chocolate Neapolitan pastry at the classic La Mallorquina pastry shop in Sol to temporarily remedy the situation. Afterwards, I headed to el Museo Nacional del Prado (free entry after 18 h.), and I got about halfway through Rick Steve's tour of the best of the best. I particularly liked returning to see Goya's The Third of May (after just having visited his tomb at La ermita de San Antonio de la Florida the other day).

With Sol as my final destination, I then navigated through some winding backroads before conveniently coming across Viva La Vida, a vegetarian/organic market/buffet. [I can't wait to go back to pick up some food for a picnic at the nearby Royal Botanical Gardens once the weather warms up!] I topped the night off with a delicious dinner with Adam at Sobrino del Botin, the world's oldest restaurant according to the Guinness Book of World Records! I had three specialty courses: the Botin salad, roasted suckling pig, and a meringue cake!

After all, I ended up having a perfect afternoon in Madrid, despite the minor traveling glitch!

Chapandaz: Champion Cave Bar

Hesitant to forgo yet another weekend of Madrid nightlife (this time to travel to Berlin), some friends and I decided to make up for lost time by heading to Chapandaz, a somewhat hidden cave bar in our neighborhood. The bar, decked out with stalagmites in the fashion of a cave, serves exclusive drinks in huge quantities -- the fishbowl size is the largest. Their famous specialty (La Leche) is poured from a giant stalagmite over the bar! As we sipped away at El Especial, both Spanish and American pop music blasted from the speakers to make for an overall fun Wednesday night!

Feministing

I'm well aware that I'm lifting this post's title directly from a more famous blog dedicated to providing an "online community for feminists and their allies," but I feel that it is ever so appropriate for my afternoon adventure!

After exploring the neighborhood of Lavapies in search of a flamenco dance studio (that I eventually found -- along with some appropriate shoes for the course), I ended up at Libreria Mujeres, a small, funky feminist bookstore tucked away on a street between Sol and the Plaza Mayor. Despite its minimal square footage, the bookstore maximized its shelf space and carried translations of all of the major American titles (Woolf's Un Cuarto Propio, Beauvoir's El Segundo Sexo, and Cixous' La risa de la Medusa) that I have analyzed over and over again in courses at school. Although the texts weren't in English, it was comforting to come across familiar works and, at the same time, exciting to see the widespread distribution of women's writing!

Take it to the Extreme

My study abroad program treated us to a three-day weekend in Extremadura, a large autonomous region in Western Spain. Although it is not an area that I would have chosen to visit on my own, I had a fun time reuniting with friends from the program who I do not see on a daily basis and exploring the ins and outs of the area. One of the most notable aspects of the trip was the abundance of storks (cigueñas) perched atop the towers and steeples of churches!

Guadalupe: We visited a large monastery and had the opportunity to see the Virgin of Guadalupe. Capturing our attention with his melody, a singing monk shared the statue’s importance.

Mérida: Arriving in the capital of Extremadura at dusk after a long bus ride, Daisey, Karla, and I spent some time exploring the city at night with a walk across the Puente Romano, the longest of all existing Roman bridges. The next day, our group walked around the ancient ruins that remain in the city. Some of my favorites were the Temple of Diana and the Roman Amphitheater. We also visited the Museum of Roman Art, home to Augustus’ head. Cool fact: Because the roman leaders changed so frequently (and statues were so expensive and time-consuming to build), the sculptors would just knock off the head of an existing sculpture and place a new one in its spot!

Caceres: After boarding the bus from Mérida and arriving in Caceres, we enjoyed a sweet treat of candied egg yolks from the Convent of San Pablo. We toured the winding stone paths of the area and dined on tapas in the Plaza Mayor!

Trujillo: We were almost washed away considering the unusual amount of rain, but we had an interesting tour of the town (home to conquistador Francisco Pizarro) that culminated with a visit to the Wine and Cheese museum (free samples)! Of course, the rain let up just as we were boarding the bus to return to Madrid.

Commuting to Getafe: A Photoessay

Believe it or not, I do actually take classes, and getting to school is somewhat of a production. La Universidad de Carlos III in Getafe is about a 50-minute commute from my house.

I first walk (about nine minutes) from my apartment to a nearby metro stop. After waiting for the Metro, which usually comes every three to five minutes, I head to Sol where I pick up the Renfe, a commuter train.

The trip on the Renfe from Sol to Las Margaritas (my university stop) usually takes about 20 minutes - on a good day. However, the line, although new, is somewhat temperamental and sometimes decides to stop randomly for extended periods of time.

Once arriving at Las Margaritas, I have a pretty visually-unappealing eight minute walk to the school campus. [There is also a bus / metro route that I can take, but I personally prefer the walk / train combo.]

The University campus has about 20 buildings, two cafeterias, multiple libraries, and several courtyards (but it pales in comparison to Vassar)!

Spain's Armada and Armoire

Today I spent time at two themed museums in Madrid: el Museo Naval (the Naval Museum) and el Museo del Traje (Museum of Clothing/Fashion).

The extensive history of Spain's Armada definitely justified the need for a large Naval Museum alongside the Prado, one of the world's most prestigious art collections. Each room of the Naval Museum, ordered chronologically, contained various models, maps, and weapons from different periods in history. Some of my favorite exhibits included a display of dozens of nautical knots, an American flag seized during war, a collection of Columbus' "treasures" that he collected from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and what is believed to be the first map of the Americas as portrayed by Spanish conquistadors.

Because the museum is run by the Spanish Navy, it had some of the strictest security that I have seen thus far, and I had to present a copy of my passport in order to enter.

After class I ventured to the Museo del Traje to put my finger on Spain's fabulous trends ranging from the Fifteenth century to the present. The museum exhibited clothes of royalty, milk maids, children's dolls, bullfighters, explorers, and more. I absorbed a ton of fun facts; for example: historically, there was no distinction between the shoes for a lady's right and left feet. Some of my favorite pieces came from more recent periods such as the Roaring Twenties.

I especially appreciated the exhibit on women's undergarments (corsets, lingerie). It's impossible to avoid the role that fashion played (and still plays) in understanding the ideal body image. The extent to which women were expected to wear dresses that extended their rear or crushed their ribs was quite repulsive, at times.

In Memoriam

On a more somber note...

Yesterday I visited the memorial monument in honor of the victims from the March 11th ETA bombings at the Atocha train station. The silent room - amidst the bustling transportation hub - was lit by a single stream of light from above. The glass tube through which the light entered was covered with spiraling messages (in multiple languages) of peace and hope.