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Madrid.
Easter morning in Madrid was nice and relaxed for my parents and me. We got up and enjoyed breakfast at our hotel, and slowly got ready for the day ahead of us. We had met a family the night before from Chicago who also had a daughter studying in Sevilla, so we enjoyed talking to her father over breakfast. Its always fun trading travel stories and hearing about all the 'must see' places and areas to avoid. We left the hotel around 11 and meandered towards one of the morning markets they have near the plaza mayor. We decided that since Mass was going to be over crowded, and in Spanish, we would skip out on church and have my mom retell the sermon she listened to that morning on her ipod. It took us awhile to find the market, but after we did we were happy to find some cool scarves and jewelry. After the market, we continued our shopping in more of the area that I liked and afterwards went back to the hotel. Our weekend in Madrid was meant to be very relaxed and free so we could re-coop from our last week of travels, and we all took full advantage. I went back and took a nap until my mom got bored and came and woke me up. We played some phase 10, which I won (no surprise there) and then went down to the hotel to have dinner. We enjoyed a three course meal of grilled veggies, cod and dessert. It was a nice dinner and convenient for us since we were just in the hotel. After dinner we came back to the room and I started to pack for the morning and do a little homework. I wanted to get a little bit of the homework done that I had due for that coming week since I knew I would be getting into Caceres late the next day. We all relaxed that evening and went to bed at a decent hour.
Madrid. Last morning.
My last morning in Madrid was a happy-sad time for all of us. We got up and had donuts in our room that my dad had went out and bought. We slowly got all ready and I finished packing so I could check out of my room. Ginny was coming to meet me at 11 so I went to find her at the metro and then we came back to the hotel. Ginny and I, along with my parents, walked towards the plaza mayor to try and find a place to eat. It was a really nice day out so we wanted to sit in the sun. We found a nice little restaurant that had some food with ¨substance¨ and enjoyed catching up with Ginny and reminiscing on our travels.
After lunch, we strolled around some of the shops we had previously visited and then came back to the hotel. We hung out in our room until Ginny and I had to take the metro to catch our bus back home. We said our goodbyes and left to go home.
Although it was sad to say goodbye to my parents, I knew I would be home in less than 3 weeks so the goodbye was a little bitter sweet. We had enjoyed an amazing 2 weeks together full of adventures and memories that I will never forget. I am continually reminded how lucky and blessed I am to be able to do the things that I have been able to do. It's not everyday that you can study in another country, learn a new language and new culture, and even be able to share that experience with close friends and family. It was a lot of fun to show my parents around Madrid, and hear their insight and reactions to the things we saw and learned about in both Spain and Italy. It is amazing the things you can pick up on and learn about in just 2 weeks of travel. We were able to compare the differences of the places we visited with the place we call home, as well as learn things we need to change and things we want to keep the same. Traveling is all about learning and experiencing new things and we definitely accomplished all of that in our time together during semana santa. Time is flying by so quickly and whenever I write these blogs I am amazed at all the things I have done and seen. Looking forward to my last trip this weekend to Switzerland and then staying put in Caceres for our final weeks in Spain!
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