I have FINALLY made it to Spain and am home sweet home in Madrid! The flight over was quite an experience (quite a long experience!) but nonetheless I have made it and officially have the first stamp on my passport!! Yay! Even in my first few hours, I have noticed how different things are from home. The cars are smaller, the buildings are closer together, and more people walk around the streets. Maybe its just because I’ve never lived in a city, but it all seems so new! I can’t wait to try out a little bakery that is just on the corner of my street. When I walked past it with my new house mom, the smells of fresh bread and pastries wafting out of it made me go weak in the knees.
I am a little afraid to try and navigate the metro system, since I have barely ever used public transportation in my life. But it will be a good experience and I’m sure that by the end of this journey I will be much more comfortable in settings that now seem foreign to me. My room is beautiful and the apartment where I am staying even has a pool! How neat is that?! And the largest park in Madrid is only a ten minute walk away, which is going to be extremely helpful in burning off all of that gelato!
Tomorrow we go on a tour of Madrid, and I will definitely be posting lots of pictures of that! I can’t wait to explore this new and beautiful city! Adios!
Happy traveling! 🙂
Blonde Across the Pond 
Sounds amazing! I am so thankful you made it safely! Enjoy the Journey!
Thanks Grace! Have a great semester!
Enjoy all that Madrid has to offer. Retiro is extremely beautiful, especially as the spring starts, so you are quite lucky to be nearby. Be sure to venture over to Cien Montaditos for Euro Wednesdays and see Cafe Manuela in Malasana for one of the coolest cafes in Madrid! Enjoy your experience!
Thank you so much for the suggestions! I am planning to go to Retiro very soon, as it is only a 10 minute walk from where I am staying!
Wow – jealous! Be sure to take a ride on the boats on the lake and to check out the huge glass atrium in the middle of the park. Enjoy Madrid and all it has to offer!