Madrid is beautiful at eye level. It's beautiful as bus level. But it's even more magnificent from the top of a building.
We galavanted off today to view our favorite city from atop the ayuntamiento or city hall, basically. I'm not a fan of heights. It's not that I'm afraid I'll tumble, I just get a wave of vertigo if I'm too close to the edge. I didn't let that stop me today. It was so worth it. Madrid was extra windy today atop the ayuntamiento which made for some funny hair pictures with the perfect backdrop of a beautiful city.
I'm really going to miss exploring Madrid. I went off solo today after our adventure to the top of the ayuntamiento in search of final gifts for my family and friends. I spent more time in the Plaza Mayor and had the most wonderful six minutes with an artist. His name is Daniel, and he paints flamenco dancers, bull fights, and silhouettes of Don Quijote. Perfect for tourists.
The painting I bought from him is a depiction of a torero (bullfighter) ignoring the bull. Why? I'm not sure. What's called in Spanish? I'm also not sure. I've been googling for a while and can't find anything about it. If Daniel is making it up, that just makes the experience funny. The colors are bright and the painting is wonderful. He showed me how he wraps it and rolls it in a tube to protect it while I travel. All of the paintings were 30-35€, but he said he would give me 10€ off any painting. The one I loved was 35€, and I very honestly and disappointingly told him I only had 20€. He gave it to me anyway! I haggled and didn't even mean to!
The best part? Obviously, he signed the painting when he finished it. But, before he rolled it up for me, he resigned the back, wrote today's date, Madrid, España, and Plaza Mayor. I know I'm a nerd, but I'm never going to forget that conversation. Perfect souvenir. Plus, I don't think I could handle seeing an actual bullfight, so this is as good as it gets!
Sara went salsa dancing tonight and I decided to stay in after dinner and re-coup. New blisters formed during my three hour shopping adventure today and I needed to rest. Insomnia hit me like a ton of bricks last night. It's been nice to listen to music without headphones and paint my nails without having to worry about bothering someone.
Big plans for tomorrow to start wrapping up my stay in Madrid. We're re-doing some of our favorite things (churros) and saying goodbye to some of our favorite places before hunkering down to study for a final on Friday. Sweet dreams, dear friends. Here's to hoping I actually get a chance to dream tonight!
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