First of all, I suppose I could talk about the flight, although it wasn't the most exciting thing in the world. Fairly simple, no problems. However, I have found a new favorite airline. Oh, British Airways, how I love you. Seriously folks, I had my own individual TV screen where I could choose from an entire library of movies, tv shows, and radio stations. Amazing, really. Especially compared to the nightmare that was Continental Airlines last year. But that's neither here nor there....
Anyway, got into Madrid on Tuesday afternoon and Kayla and I promptly went to lock our luggage up in the airport. Or so we thought. It actually ended up being around an hour wait to get our luggage and then another hour to get into the locker area. But despite the wait, we felt secure in knowing our belongings were in good hands. And then we proceeded to our hostel, which was also fairly simple. Although I will say that a nice, cool shower felt amazing after a day of travel and sweating with our stuff in the Madrid heat.
Thus began our search for a place to live. Of course we had been doing a bit of looking beforehand on various websites to try and get a headstart, but for anyone who has done any kind of apartment/house hunting, you'll likely agree that it's nearly impossible to do it before actually getting to the location. So once we got an internet connection, we looked for every possible appealing apartment listing. And the next day, we made a ton of phone calls to set up appointments to view the different places.
Luckily, Kayla and I didn't have to do too much searching to find our perfect place. After only viewing one other apartment (that definitely didn't strike our fancy, on any level, but most importantly factoring into our decision was the incredibly weird Canadian that lived there) we made our way to an apartment right by Gran Vía and Plaza del Sol, which, for anyone who has been to Madrid knows, is an AMAZING part of the city. It's right by absolutely everything, including all the shopping areas, the nightlife, the important sites of the city like the Royal Palace, and so much more. Basically, we never thought we would be able to find a place like this that we could afford. And then, almost magically, it appeared. Upon viewing it, Kayla and I decided right then and there that this was the place that we wanted to spend our year. And even better, after meeting a couple of our roommates, we realized even how much luckier we are.
Our apartment has 6 bedrooms, 5 of which are currently occupied. Of course Kayla and I both have one apiece. We also have a 22 year old Spanish guy named Guillermo, who seems to be really cool. He's very artsy and trendy and loves to go out. Our first night after meeting him he took us out with all of his friends and gave us our first taste of the Madrileño nightlife (including staying out until almost 7 a.m). Also there is Maite (pronounce MY-teh), a 24 year old girl who is also from Spain and who is full of information for us. While she is a bit more reserved than Guille (GEE-yay, short for Guillermo), she is still really cool and friendly. And last but not least we have Gabriel, a 17 year old guy from France. We have yet to meet him as he has been on vacation since we got here, but according to Guille and Maite, he's nice enough. And then we'll just have to wait and see who else ends up living with our little international apartment family.
Probably the only things that a person might have as a complaint for our apartment are the stairs (We live on the 5th floor with no elevator. Imagine carrying a year's worth of luggage up 5 flights of stairs. Not pretty.), the air conditioning (Or lack thereof. But really nowhere in Spain has air conditioning, so there wasn't much we could do about this one.), and the Internet situation (We don't currently have it. No skype, no facebook, no nada. However, at times we are able to steal internet from a local hotel, much like I am doing now. So it works out I guess.)
But Kayla and I both feel incredibly lucky that we found such a great apartment. Quirks and all (it's a really oooooold building) it's a great place and an even better location. I've been really blessed with both the place I'm living and the people I'm living with. I know it's going to be an absolutely amazing year.
Other than all of that, we've just been doing a lot of sightseeing. And just as I remember, everything in Madrid is photo-worthy and beautiful. This city has so many incredible things to see and I am completely and totally in love with it. I dare anyone to come to this place and not get swept away by it. And the more things we see, the more people we see hanging out, the more times I wake up to a great Madrid morning (or afternoon, in some cases), I know more and more that this is where I'm meant to be at this moment in time and that this is a defining moment of my life.
Whoa, that just got deep.
Anyway, I'll try and keep things a little more updated and hopefully get some pictures up on here soon. Although, with my stolen wifi internet, I doubt the pictures happen soon.
As for now, love you and miss you all!
Besos y abrazos muuuuuuy fuertes! (Kisses and reeeeeeeally strong hugs)
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