Last days in Madrid

I ended up falling in love with the city of Madrid. There were things about Spain which I didn't like as much, like unfriendly customer service, but there were so many things I loved. With the end of my time in Spain closing in, there were quite a few things I did to wrap up my time and that occurred as the days ticked down (besides just those day trips I posted about)!

~ EATING ~

I made sure to hit up the places that I LOVED before I left, and to try new places that I hadn't tried yet! As you can see from the photo above, I tried this natural popsicle place called Lolo Pops. I liked it so much that when my dad and Julie came, I dragged them there despite their protests that a "15 minute walk is SO far!!"

Madrid has so much good food -- that's accessible and affordable! I'm going to miss that so much...food in the states is so expensive...

^matcha waffle from HanSo Cafe. So yummy! Although a bit sweet for me - I wasn't able to finish it!

^Matcha and Vanilla Ice Cream from La Pecera! When I heard "fish ice cream" my initial thoughts were "EW!" Then I realized the fish part is the cone. Which isn't crunchy like a normal cone, but more like a waffle! SO GOOD!

^Finally went to La Collectiva and got a Chai there! Erin and Willa kept talking about it but I didn't make it there until the last week!

I also visited my favorite brunch place, The Toast, with Willa and our friend Jo for a final goodbye brunch.

I said goodbye to a lot of other good places...like NAP, Jleos, El Sur...oh god just thinking about it...I love good food so much.

~ WORLD CUP ~

Watching the World Cup in Spain is such a cool experience. I went to see Spain play Portugal with my friend Jo. We tried one bar, but they weren't letting anymore people in, so we went around the corner and were able to squeeze into a different bar to watch the game. We're both a bit short, but we were able to manage peaking between people. It was so fun to watch and have a drink! Ronaldo usually plays for Real Madrid, but he's from Portugal, so seeing Spanish people booing him when normally they love him was really funny. Loyalties switch so fast!

~ MUSEUMS ~

It's funny how you know you have so much time, so you keep putting off seeing and doing things because of it, and before you know it suddenly time is up! That's what happened to me with museum sight seeing! Willa and I finally went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (apparently on Mondays it's free too)! We both really enjoyed it. It's well organized, not too big so not overwhelming, and I personally loved that the walls were this salmon color rather than white. There was a mix of different art which was nice too (not just religious or nature...etc.), with some recognizable and famous artists as well (above for example, is Edgar Degas - Green Dancer, 1879).

~ VOLLEYBALL~

I had my last volleyball session in Madrid. It was a smaller group than usual, but still enough for 6v6. I was a little sad I wasn't able to say goodbye to a lot of the people I met at the beginning...as none of them were there that day! I did however, get to say thank you to one of the coaches, Alvaro. I wish I could've said goodbye to Martin as well...I had such a great time at this open gym. I got a good workout, had so much fun and met some really nice people.

~ SPANISH CLASSES ~

I also had my last Spanish classes. I wish with all my heart I had taken group classes at LAE and private conversation classes with Gabriela from the start of the year -- my Spanish would be so much better than it is now if I had. At least I know now. Hopefully I can find something in Los Angeles...and even more hopefully it's affordable...my private tutor Gabriela gave me some resources I can use which was so nice of her.

I even went to get coffee with one of my new classmates, which was really nice. I ran into another one of my new classmates on the street and had a chat with her. If only I had more time to get to know them better!

~ PRIVATE LESSONS ~

I finished up my private English tutoring lessons. With the girl and boy who reminded me of the children I used to nanny...that didn't end very well. On the last day the mom FORGOT for the THIRD TIME IN A ROW to tell me that they weren't going to be available for the lesson at 6. So I arrived at 6 and no one was home. She obviously apologized and then asked if I could wait until 7:00 to do the lesson. I figured why not, I hadn't gotten paid and I hadn't seen the kids for two weeks (who I adored). I'm glad I did because apparently that was our LAST LESSON which the father told me AFTER the lesson as he was paying me. The kids didn't know either. I had been planning for the next week to be our last class, and to do something fun with them, but nope! Also they didn't pay me extra for waiting an HOUR for them to come home. Granted, I didn't teach that hour, but THEY were LATE and FORGOT to tell ME, so even 5 euros more would have been nice. And mind you, this family has money, they live (just moved to actually) in one of the richest neighborhoods in Madrid. So even though I'm grumpy with the parents, I am happy I got to see those two kids one last time.

My other two private lessons ended much better.

I had a heads up from Monica about when our last lesson would be because she was heading to England the next week. I had suspected it would be our last because she would need to pack, and I was right. For our last class she made me begin watching "The Kissing Booth" -- a Netflix movie -- and IT WAS TORTURE. She loved the movie and made me swear to finish it...but honestly I don't think I can! It's too awkward and painful to watch. The mom also messaged me later saying thank you for the lessons and the dad came and gave me good wishes during our lesson.

My parting with Bruno was the hardest. I really became attached to him and his mom, Ana haha. It took awhile, but Bruno eventually did open up to me! He still didn't speak a lot to me, but apparently (according to his mom), he thinks I'm funny LOL. That's probably because I ask him tons of weird questions to get him to open up to me.

That whole family was so sweet and really looked after me as well. Ana's partner, Gustavo, also told me that if I had been around in August, I could've stayed in the house while they traveled. So nice! On the way to drop me off at the bus stop, Ana told me I'm welcome to come back whenever. Bruno taught me so much about the fútbol (we spent hours looking at his futbol cards), that during the World Cup, I actually was able to recognize players and their names!! I made sure to get their address so I could send them a postcard from home.

~ SAYING GOODBYE TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS ~

Going to places and visiting restaurants wasn't just about the food, but also about saying goodbye to the neighborhoods I had grown used to and attached to. Above is a picture of Malasaña, my favorite neighborhood in Madrid. It's kinda a hipster neighborhood, which is why I loved it. There are thrift shops, healthy food, creative restaurants...and random festivities like this one above! I don't think I'd like to live there because there is always so much going on so it'd be a bit crowded, which is why I liked living in our neighborhood of Chamberi, but it was always so nice and fun to visit.

I'm going to miss Madrid so much...but I am excited to see my family! Who are coming in later today!

Moving Out: