Hot Diggity

Today was hot, hot, hot!!!!!...we started our morning off early again this morning to get our last taste of Madrid in before we left….we ate breakfast along with everyone as we packed our bags and shed a tear for the hotel we’ve called home for the past few days

Today, we decided to travel close to home since we had a time crunch of a few hours and luckily we did because the others couldn’t see the Prado since it was closed…we set out for the Palacio de Real…as we got closer and closer we decided that we had remembered the group saying something about going in the back…BIG MISTAKE, but a good one none the less…we walked around the palace, in the palace, and in the palace gardens….the gardens behind the palace was amazing: full of various animals and plants of different species…we saw a peacock, palm trees, regular forest trees, squirrels, and other species…after walking through the palace grounds we continued out walk around the outer palace gate to the front entrance...

We waited in line and got our tickets…from the outside it was breathtakingly gorgeous…from the inside there were no words to describe the feeling…it was ornate, gaudy, and filled with painted ceilings and gold trims…unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures and there are no words to describe the rooms themselves other than seeing them…(Ivy did sneak a few in unnoticed)…my favorite room was the Chapel.  It was ornate, detailed, and so over the top for a living quarters that it was virtually unbelievable…as soon as I turned the corner to enter the room my jaw literally dropped to the floor…rooms with crazy wallpaper, rooms for dining, rooms for dancing, and even rooms for dressing…after our room tour we got to see a quick look at the armor soldiers wore throughout various time periods…it reminded me of the time Jp and I looked at armors in France and saw a man that had been blown (literally) to pieces…the armors were in great condition which allowed you to pinpoint the bullet holes in them (poor guys)

After our tour, we sat down at the museum café to rest our feet and give ourselves a break from the sun and heat of the day…my legs had been sweating so badly that I had begun to chafe….great L…we then slowly made our way back to the hotel to enjoy some last minute air conditioning and free wifi before heading to the train station and boarding for Alicante…

When everyone was ready and suitcase in hand, we boarded a few taxis and hit the train station…now going down the different floors they have escalators that are flat versus ones that are stairs so one must brace themselves with their luggage behind them…one accident occurred with a few of the girls that took them all out I could see the other people and hear them say “Oh they’re American all right!”

We order lunch (a sandwich surprise in my case) and boarded our 4 hour train ride to Alicante…before we knew it we were at our destination, in taxis, and making our way up to the 5^th floor for our apartment (which is really the 6^th floor since they start with floor 0)…it is so quaint and European…it enters into a long hallway with the kitchen off to the right and a balcony that holds the













washer and a clothes line, from the doorway is a hallway that opens into the dining area, sitting area, and balcony with clothes lines and views of the ocean and other apartments…before the dining areas at the end of the hallway to the right is another hallway that has a bathroom and four bedrooms…my bedroom is to the left with views of the ocean in the distance…my home away from home for the next few weeks…and somehow even in the hot, leg chafing weather I feel complete here J

The final task for today was the supermarcado…its located up a hill and inside a sort of mall and is the size of walmart…I walked aimlessly up and down the isles trying to decide what to get and what I needed most…which was difficult since all the packages were in Spanish and had different words for how things were sliced…I got things to make sandwiches and a ton of fruit J…of course we were told that they make you pay for bags…so my cheep butt unloaded my little green suitcase and stuffed all my groceries into it so that I didn’t have to pay for bags….my dad would be so proud of my FREE habits J…we unloaded our groceries at home, took a quick shower, ate a few munchies for dinner, unpacked my suitcase, and put my feet up to rest…morning will be here sooner than expected

The wind seems to be blowing us out toward the sea tomorrow…lather up the sunscreen and hit the sand!!! Enjoy my last day of freedom before classes begin on Monday

P.S. now that internet is few and far between these post will be added in groups rather than daily doses…be sure to catch them all J Buenos Noches

P.S.S. photos will be posted from now on at a later time :)