Douce France: No Pasa Nada

This past weekend Alex and I traveled to Madrid to visit Nicole, my roommate from AU. We quickly learned that Spanish life is very different and much more laid back. One of the first things that Nicole told us is that if we learned one thing by the time we left Spain it would be “No Pasa Nada” which pretty much translates to no worries. The Spanish use this phrase for everything. If they are late: No Pasa Nada. If someone misses class: No Pasa Nada. If they are out until 7 in the morning: No Pasa Nada. I did my best to adopt the Spanish lifestyle for the weekend.

Nicole met us by the Sol metro stop in Madrid , we dropped off our bags at our hostel, and then we began to explore the city. We walked to the Plaza Mayor and to the Palacio Real, but it was too late to go inside so we walked through the gardens next to the palace. We also passed the Temple of Debod, which is an ancient Egyptian temple that was rebuilt in Madrid. On our walk back to our hostel we stopped for tapas and sangria. We met up with many people from AU later in the evening and went to a club called Joy. The club is in an old theatre, so it was beautiful inside and the night even included a cirque du soleil/ Alice and Wonderland themed show. We finished the night with churros and chocolate in true Spanish fashion.

Plaza Mayor

Market next to the Plaza Mayor

Cathedral

Alex, Nicole, and Me in front of the Palacio Real

The Palace Gardens

The Temple of Debod

View from the Temple

Churros and Chocolate

Saturday we went back to the Palacio Real to go inside. First we went inside the Santa María la Real de La Almudena, the Catholic Cathedral in Madrid. The Cathedral was not completed until 1993, so the decoration inside is very modern. In the Palace each room was beautifully decorated with embroidered fabric or porcelain (Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside). After our visit to the Palace we had paella for lunch before walking through El Retiro (the gardens) on our way to the Reina Sofia and the Prado. The Reina Sofia is Spain’s national museum for 20^th Century Art, and the Prado is the National Museum. We did not have a chance to see very much in the Reina Sofia, but Alex and I really wanted to Picasso’s Guernica. Alex, who knows her art history, led us around the Prado. We saw the highlights of the Museum, but saw only a fraction of the artwork. Nicole’s senora invited us for dinner and we spoke a mixture of French and English with her while enjoying a homemade Spanish dish with egg, onions, potatoes and cheese. Sunday we walked through El Rastro, a large Spanish flea market in the city, and enjoyed the sunshine before returning to Paris. Nicole was a fantastic tour guide, showing us the Madrid highlights and making sure we sampled the best Spanish cuisine. No trips for a few weeks, so now to enjoy springtime in Paris!