Bridget in Spain

Okay. So it has yet again been a very long time since I've written anything here, but I do have a good excuse. I'm tired. That's it. I'm just freakin' tired. Well today I actually have free time, so I thought I'd write about my cousin Bridget's stay with me in Spain. First of all, I can't say how excited I was that Bridget came. She's absolutely my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without her! But like all good stories and adventures, this one started off on the wrong foot.

The night before Bridget arrived in Madrid, Caceres was celebrating WOMAD, the world music, art, and dance festival. I won't go too into that because that's another blog all its own, so let's just say that it was close to Carnaval in Badajoz. Well, since I had to get up extremely early in the morning to go get Bridget at the airport, I wasn't planning on sleeping. However, I had to take one of my friends home for reasons that don't need to be explained here. Since I was already leaving, I decided to go home, too and sleep a few hours. The problem though was that I was so tired that I slept through my alarm. Instead of getting up at 5 am, I got up at 7 am. My bus left at 6 am. So, near panicking, I grabbed my things, called a taxi, and hoped that there would be another bus soon. Fortunately, there was an express bus, but it cost me almost 30 euros. I have no words to explain how horrible I felt at knowing that she would have to wait longer for me. As we were approaching the outskirts of Madrid, she called me to tell me where she'd be waiting--in the food court by a big picture of a lion. I figured that'd be easy to spot, so I didn't worry. I got through the metro fine, but once I was in the airport, I couldn't find the picture of the big lion anywhere. Eventually I went to Information where they said she would be waiting downstairs. Go figure. So I went downstairs and lo and behold, there's this massive lion and my cousin waiting near it. I was so excited to see her, but I felt so bad because she was obviously exhausted. We left almost immediately to the metro and to find the hotel. Here are some things that happened next: the metro ticket machine took my money because it was credit card-only; one of the escalators stopped dead as we were riding it, forcing Bridget to carry her massive suitcase up the rest of the stairs; and having to drag that pink monster across Puerta del Sol to our hostel. Once we were there, we napped a little, waiting for Steph and her posse to come. We went out for dinner that night and then just crashed.

The next day, Bridget and I walked around beautiful Madrid. I took her to the Royal Palace, we met Don Quixote, and we sat on a bench just talking. Once we got back to Caceres, it was cold and rainy--not exactly the Spanish weather that Bridget was expecting. Also, I left my change purse in the cab with about 23 euros inside. Major bummer. I wanted so badly to take her to WOMAD, but it was absolutely pouring, so instead, she, Kerry, our friend Drew, and I ordered some pizza and played beer pong at my piso, the first time I've ever played, and I must say, I did quite well.

Over the next few days, we didn't do much of anything, but when Tuesday night came, I think Bridget was finally enjoying herself. We decided to have yet another American dinner. Kerry came over and we had a strange combination of ranch chicken, baked mac & cheese, blueberry pancakes, broccoli and cheese, and apple cobbler. I was shocked when I actually got Bridget to eat the cobbler and she liked it! I am quite proud of myself I must say. We Americans and the British had a great time. Sadly, it was Drew's last night in Caceres as he had to go back to the U.S. the next day because the basketball season was over. The first of many goodbyes.

The following Thursday, Bridget and I explored the city a little. I took her to the big Eroski (exciting I know) and then we roamed around Old Town, which I think Bridget liked. We got some fun pictures out of that. That night, we had British night at Rob's. He and Natalie made roast chicken, carrots and broccoli, some sort of heavenly potatoes, something else that I've forgotten but that I'm sure was delicious, and apple crumble. Then, we went out for a while. The next day, we headed back to Madrid. The problem this time was that we were running late. As we walked up to our bus at the station, the driver actually honked his horn at us. Then, as we were climbing into the bus, he tried to tell me that our tickets that I had printed out were for only one person. I tried to tell him over an over that it was two tickets that I printed out, but he wouldn't hear it. I decided to be a bit stronger and refuse to give up, so I said that there were two names on the ticket, so how could it be for just one person. He finally got another opinion, a man who worked there who looked them over, and he said that there were two tickets. Take that cranky bus driver!!!

It rained more, but at least we got a shuttle to the hotel and it was close to the airport. We didn't do much that night except find out how to get to downtown and get food. We ended up taking the pizza back with us to the hotel and sleeping for 12 hours straight. It was incredible. Not to mention, our shower was probably the best shower that I've ever had. The next day was beautiful. It was still a little cold, but the sun was finally out. Once we got to the center of Madrid, I took Bridget to the Paseo del Prado where we just walked around and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Madrid is absolutely gorgeous in late spring. Then, we ate at Burger King because we were trying to eat cheap. We eventually made our way over to Retiro Park, which was so incredible. We saw trees that looked more like broccoli, tried to climb up onto columns at the lake (I still have the bruise), and fell in love with the Crystal Palace. That night for dinner, we ate at a cute little Irish pub near our hotel. We had ham croquetas (minus most of the ham), chicken, cheese, and onion tostas, and a white chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce. It was soooo gooood.

I can't say how much I love my cousin. We've argued a lot, but this week we got along so well. I wish she could've stayed longer, but the next time we travel, I'll have to join her in a foreign country. She says I've changed since I've been here. She says I'm not as uptight about certain things and I laugh off the bad things a bit more. She says I've changed for the better. And I think she's right. Thanks cousin for a great adventure. I can't wait for the next.