When in Madrid.

When in Rome is how it’s supposed to go but WHEN IN MADRID works just as well. What a day it has been, oh my gahd. UNQUESTIONABLY slept in this morning. Set the alarm for 10, slept til 12. Skipped breakfast and went out the door on a European blow dryer/ straightener mission- accomplished that after about 3 floors of searching in the El Corte Ingles. Found the local doctors office after talking to a pharmacy lady on what I needed to do in order to get some freaking antibiotics, thank God she spoke enough English to help me. Set up an appointment for 19:15-tiempo de Madrid- or 7:15 pm in the US. Being that it was only 1pm, Candra and I took ourselves back to the hostel to test out our handy dandy European blow dryer along with a nice refreshing shower. SO GLAD I WALKED OUT ONLY IN A TOWEL TO MEET OUR NEW HOSTEL NEIGHBORS… NOT. Had a conversation with “Que” or so that’s what he told Candra his name was. Pretty nice fellow- I’d say about 60ish or so- from New York just chillen on vacation in Madrid. Shoot I hope I have that kind of money to just chill in Madrid when I want for vacation because I can.

The blow dryer ended up doing wonders, no straightening the hair needed- my hair is going to be SO incredibly healthy by the end of summer that’s for sure. Got actually somewhat presentable even with a slight makeup addition to the face for the day instead of staying sick nasty- just glad I’m finally feeling better today. I never want to repeat the beginning of this week ever ESPECIALLY on my birthday again because that was seriously MISERBALE.  Walked over 20 miles today no joke. On a side note- people in Spain really are obsessed with blonde hair- I swear Candra gets so much attention everyday and then there's me- just passing through haha. Found this BEAUTIFUL park with all sorts of fountains and statues and flowers, oh man it’s incredible. Spain is seriously so beautiful it’s unreal. Went on another mission for hair spray, lotion, and razors within el Corte Ingles once again. Candra ended up getting so excited over the existence of hairspray that she bought a can of redkin costing about 30 american dollars… YES 30 AMERICAN DOLLARS… only to find out that just a few floors down they had hairspray for just 4,50 euros haha. Returning that bad boy was not the most fun- they weren’t very happy. Found the razors and lotion along with a cutesy hat that Candra bought for the beach. Mission accomplished again.

Stopped into H&M and had a little fun- being that it was 4 stories and all- and splurged a little on European pants. They’re SO cool, I can’t wait to rock them EVERYDAY in America! Came up with a brilliant idea that buying a HUGE jug of water and Gatorade would be less expensive than continuously buying water bottles everywhere we went so we stopped at the convenient store just down the street from “home”. That was of course after the LOVELY doctors visit costing me about 90 American Dollars because I didn’t have stupid insurance. And you know how much my actual prescription cost? 6,20 freaking euros! That’s it. What a rip, seriously. But better safe than sorry- I needed to get better so I guess 90 American dollars is worth it. Took a quick breather to skype check in with our parents and headed back out for dinner. It was good, I liked it, Candra on the other hand was disgusted by her plate, so I traded her mine knowing she’d eat it.

Talked to some Spaniards for a good 45 min about everything which was kind of cool because they knowing just enough English and us knowing a good amount of Spanish could communicate but really had to use what we’ve learned because it wasn’t enough to make it easy. Now currently I am lying in bed just about ready to pass out from all of the exploring from the day but hey what would life be without exploring? It’s been a marvelous- as they say in Spain- adventure thus far and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings. Even said chao in Spanish today with the customs and all- I think I could get used to this. As for everyone else, I challenge you to do something adventurous in your life, no matter what it is, so that one day you can say hey, I stepped out of my comfort zone and it was incredible. I’m learning so much already, it’s beyond belief.

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.
- Raymond Lindquist