First Night Out - Madrileno Style, and Evening in Madrid

The first set of pictures take place on Saturday evening, which was my initiation evening into the VERY late-night Spanish scene.
The second set of photos is a typical evening in Madrid. I took them as I was strolling last week. They were taken in the main city area of Madrid, and it actually appeared as though a major political figure was around because there were almost as many police cars and sirens as I witnessed at Barack Obama's Inauguration Day (okay not nearly as many, but the comparison is not entirely far-fetched). There is some type of major polictial building here called "Casa de America" and that is where all of the hoopla occured.


Saturday Evening

This photo is taken at a very fun bar/club called Torero. The blonde girl is named Allison. She and I fortuitously met while we were both vacationing in Paris. She is from New Orleans and is also teaching in Madrid. She has been in Madrid for six months, and she is quite the person to know because she is extremely social and knows many funny places to visit! The other two girls are friends of hers from school. They are from Bolivia, and are loads of fun.

I left Torero at 5am, which is actually quite early for Spaniards. Most leave clubs/bars at 6am, then go for breakfast, before eventually heading home around 9 or 10am. When I walked home at 5am, not an ounce of street space was empty -the evening was only at midway point for many people.

There is a Spanish word to describe the next set of pictures, which I cannot recall at this moment. It means "drinking on the street" which is quite a common Spanish weekend pastime. We bought a jug of Sangria to sip in the street prior to heading to Torero.

Of course, my weeknights are much more calm considering I need to leave for school each morning at 8am. I have a feeling though that the rest of the city is not as responsible as me because the morning metros are absolutely packed with people in professional dress who are sleeping as they are standing... then, they are clearly wiped out after their workday because in the metro stations in the afternoon, there is constantly an enormous line for the "stand still" side of the escalator while not a soul uses the stairs. (And this not due to fat-ness, just tired-ness). Last week, I beared the line to take the "stand still" side because I was so exhausted, but for the first time today, I braved the stairs and came out much sooner than all of the others!

I have also made a compromise with myself that every other weekday evening, I will go for a long run, and every other evening I will adventure out for an exploration/adventure. Tonight, I went for a run. Tomorrow, it's tapas and walking all around...... I haven't actually had very much time to do all that I would like to do because I spend so much time at school, but last week was an adjustment, and now I am going to try to figure out how to make time for everything...

Evening outside in the ALWAYS bustling city.... I will mourn the day when I must return to the U.S. where every moment is not a treat for the eyes and ears as it is here....

A random picture of one of the many outdoor-seating restaurants. Meals are time to leisure... last weekend, my roomates and I enjoyed a 2-hour lunch in the sun (Sangria included)...