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After my morning routine of coffee and music, I headed out for the day. I had talked to a good friend this morning who is out conquering the world. He is doing very well and we exchanged traveling stories. He was very proud of how far I've gone. Can you believe I've been gone three months? So I was feeling quite happy as I entered the sunny day outside.
I got off the Metro at a different station in an attempt to meet the hop on-hop off bus at the other line. Well it worked out in the end. But I had to wander for quite a bit before I found the bus stop. I got on the bus and began to see the other half of the city. We drove past the futbol stadium. Not going to lie, never been a big soccer fan. So I didn't stop and get off. But I can officially say I saw it. We drove through the shwanky (say that phonetically... also defined as rich) part of town. Some nice places to say the least. Again, however, didn't capture my attention enough to stop. So onward we went.
Suddenly, I realized I was back where I was yesterday. I decided to get off and actually explore this time. My first stop was Puerta de Sol, a big open square. People were everywhere. They were sitting on the edge of the fountain, walking around, sitting in chairs outside restaurants, and such. I walked around for a bit. I watched a mariachi band for a while. I watched some "statues" that were actually people. You know the kind where you walk past, they move and you jump out of your skin. Madrid goes big with these. They were all over and very well done. Some I honestly could not figure out how they were doing it. One guy was fully inverted above the ground and I could not figure out how he did it. Two other men appeared that one was holding the other up without moving. I had no idea how. It lead to quite a while of just people watching. Highly entertaining.
I continued wandering streets. Actually, this is how most my day went, to be honest. I'm not one hundred percent sure where I was at some points, but I saw some amazing things. I explored random stores, small streets, and just tried to get lost. Not all who wander are lost. But in this case, I wandered until I was lost, on purpose. I stumbled upon a cathedral. I went inside, because that's what you do when you see a cool cathedral. Inside, they were having a service in one of the side chapels. A priest sung litergical hymns as the people hummed along and prayed silently. I didn't really understand it all, but it was touching regardless. The cathedral was very dark, much like the last one actually. One statue in the side chapels really stood out to me. The woman was crying and yet very brightly adorned. I felt like it was an unusual combination. But I liked it alot.
I continued my wanderings. As I walked down the street, a protest of some sorts was going on in the streets. It had a police escort, despite being kind of small all things considering. From what I gathered based off of signs and the chants, it was public service employees protesting for benefits and more rights. Not the most impressive protest, but kind of neat considering that I just stumbled upon it. I only watched for a moment. Then, I worked my way up the street to a walkway lined with benches next to a fountain. I sat and ate my lunch, watching the numerous tourist groups walk by me.
Afterwards, I went to the now Town Hall. It is called the Cybele Palace. It is now used partially for offices for the town hall, but mainly is a site for tourists. Everything in it is free, except the restaurants and gift shops. I appreciated that fact greatly. It houses exhibitions on art that cycle through with time. It is now set up as a modern art exhibition. It was... interesting. The thing is that I am not a big art person. I try to appreciate it. And to some extent I really appreciate it because I am not capable of drawing or anything of that sort. So I understand it's very impressive due to that reasoning. However, it is just not my ideal way to spend time. Then you add in the fact that it's modern art and I seriously lose interest. I'm sorry. But I don't believe all modern art is that amazing. I got the audio guide in an attempt to appreciate it more. Essentially, they just justify the fact it's really not that amazing. "Well, the artist was attempting to make the picture of two people talking. But he didn't want to actually depict the people, fearing it would show to much of their souls. He was searching for the essence of their being. So he decided to only use two squares facing each other. And that's it. But you can clearly see what he was going for and how influential it is to modern art." What... What does that even mean? Anyway. The inside of the building was gorgeously designed and allowed me to access a high vantage point of the city. I liked both of those aspects a lot.
Once I gave up on modern art, I decided I was weary of the busy city. I know... So stereotypical of a mountain girl gone to the city. Nonetheless, I found myself in a park. Parque del Retiro to be exact. It is like the other parks I've been in on this trip in that it was busy and full of relaxing people. However, I feel like this one was much more pulled together than the other parks. The other ones were pretty and well kept. But this one... Every tree branch, every shrubbery, every corner of everything was EXACTLY where it needed to be.
I found a bench. I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this bench. I sat down and stared at a fountain in front of me. The sun was just warm enough for me to lay down in a tank top. I stared at the clouds, with my iPod playing. You guessed it. I totally passed out on my bench. But it wasn't that long of a nap in the end. It was maybe ten minutes. What ended up taking me two hours on that bench were my thoughts.
Background story. I can't put off college forever, surprisingly. In August, I actually have to rejoin the real world. Unless someone wants to sponser my blog and let me travel. Hint hint. But assuming that won't happen, I have some planning to do. I won't bore you with all the details. But I have some big decisions to make quite soon. I am pretty sure I know what I want, but some quite influential people in my life don't think I am making the right choice. Staring at the clouds, I weighed pro's and con's. I made lists. I did all that good stuff. I had finally gotten the twisted feeling out of my stomach about my future and the imposing questions; the classic "What am I going to do with life?" Suddenly, I felt every ounce of my being fear leaving my bench. I guess it wasn't really fear. It was more dread. I felt the moment I stood up, I had to accept responsiblity again. I was just in no way prepared to do that. So I sat on my bench pondering. In the end, I tried not to think about it and just stare at the clouds. Then I watched kids play in the fountain in front of me. Anything but stand up and face reality again. That's the story of how I spent two hours on a bench. Maybe it doesn't make sense to you. Maybe it does. Maybe you've had that moment of "When I move, my life begins again. So I'm staying here." Sometimes I wonder exactly how much of my life is that moment...
In case you didn't catch this part, I did get up. I'm now home. When I left the park, I just wandered again. I did my best to get lost. My whole system was walk and don't stop. If a light turned red, I'd go the other way. I just... went. And it was awesome. I found small streets lined with shops. Small plazas with people enjoying the sunny afternoon. I found all the good things you find when you get lost. I'm not kidding when I say I just went. I was still feeling dread over leaving my beloved bench. I was wishing life were like that. You just go for it and see what happens. If a light turns red, just turn the other way. No worrying about big decisions. No worrying about if this is the right life choice. You just smile and go for what's in front of you, who cares about three streets down? Maybe life is like that and I'm just the one worrying about three streets down. I don't know.
I somehow found my way back to Puerta del Sol. I honest to goodness have no idea how. But I did. I got on the Metro and headed home. When I got home, Hugo informed me Friday night was movie night. So we had pizza and watched Addam's Family. It's not quite as funny when you don't know what they're saying. But it was fun anyway. Because how can you not love the Addam's Family? I once saw a quote saying, "Who cares about Romeo and Juliet? I want a love like Gomez and Morticia." Man, isn't that the truth.
Anyways. Iciar snuggled with me as we watched the movie. Then she came and gave me a big hug and kiss before bed. Have I mentioned I love this family? What amazing people. So blessed to be here with them. I'm going to follow her example and go to bed now. And as always, tomorrow the adventure continues. Thanks for reading three months worth of
my blog! And goodnight from Iciar and me!
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