4 Days in Madrid: Part 4

March 13: This was our last full day in Spain and my roommates woke me. Not by talking, no, they were scarily quiet. They decided that 8am Sunday morning was an appropriate time to fumble around with plastic bags. I kinda spent an hour walking around aimlessly until my stomach decided to be hungry and went down for breakfast which was, surprise surprise, croissants and sugar glazed doughnuts. I inhaled these mini pastries until my stomach was aching and my lecturer messaged. The plan for the day seemed pretty simple and like the day before, not many people showed up but a couple more. 
As it was the last day and it was my planned day to do my souvenir shopping, I was glad when we all decided on heading to the Sunday morning market "El Rastro" which is the most popular open-air flea market in Madrid. The walk there was not as long as my lecturer made out. Being sunburned, I wasn't really feeling going stall to stall on this seemingly never-ending market. Seeing as some of the guys in the group, like myself, only wanted a few souvenirs we went to one of the less crowded souvenir stalls. I picked up a few things to keep the grandmother happy and a thing or two for my family and myself (The most important items for myself, of course). After that, a coffee break was needed. On the hour, we met back at the starting point of the market and decided that lunch was to be had, to which my lecturer had a great idea for lunch.
We strolled back towards the metro station and took it to "Atoche". We came out of the station out of breath (Those steps are chronic). The place we came to

was actually super beautiful, the Parque de Retiro to our left and Atoche Train Station in front of us, but our stomachs were too empty to take proper notice. We came to a a diner which I describe as Spanish food meets American diner. In this place, you had to shout your order at the waiter. We stood at the bar and got a snack, mine was croquetas (They're so good, let me tell you it was again, emotional). After lunch, it was a test of faith to try and cross the street to get to Atoche station. There was a lot of "Okay let's go... wait no... okay now. WAIT!" until some of us just sprinted across. The locals looked at us with that look like "Definitely Tourists. Mhmm". We decided to take a look inside Atoche Station which had been target to a bomb attack years ago and had been reconstructed. Inside was the oddest but coolest thing ever. An indoor rainforest. There were

palm trees surrounded by a lot of turtles, which I thought were fake statuettes but no there were about 100 turtles or more, just lazing about. My lecturer then telling us that she is the proud owner of 9 big tortoises back in Venezuela and her elaborate plan to smuggle them to Ireland (As you do). We exited the station, not without buying a bag of candied fruit (5 a day and all that, keep granny happy). We then tested faith again by crossing the street and came to, to me, the most famous art museum in Madrid. 
The Reina Sofia. The home of artists like Pablo Picasso (Housing his masterpiece, Guernica) and Salvador Dalí, the most famous Spanish artists of the 20th century. The art in this museum was definitely modern but impressively beautiful. Picassos work definitely unique to behold. We spent a good hour and a half in there and decided to leave. After the Art museum, the heat of the sun started to strengthen and some us felt like doing nothing but relax. We decided to head across to the Parque de Retiro (The 250+ acre park) and find a place to relax. Now when they said this place was big, I pictured a football stadium sized park. Times that by another 6 football pitches, a big pond and a lake in which you

could rent boats. We spent at least 2 hours there, just chilling out on the grass, drinking beer and taking in the sun (Some of us falling asleep, which having a sunburn, is not a good idea!). Leaving the park, the sun began to set between the trees, casting a beautiful orange glow on the whole park. The views were just something out of a movie. 
The rest of the evening consisted of beautifying ourselves for the last night in Madrid. At 9pm sharp (Punctual lecturer made sure) we all left for the same restaurant as the first night we arrived and had a different assortment of tapas. Huevos Rotos con Jamon being the key dish (Fried egg on a bed of fries and ham), chilli mushrooms, peppered rice and other various tapas. Everyone was recounting their stories of Madrid and what they enjoyed, comparing it to Ireland and if we would come back. As with the first night, a lot of wine was put in front of us, so it's safe to say not everyone was sober leaving. We left the restaurant at about 11:30pm. It was the lecturer who suggested we not let the night end now and find a bar. 
Off we went, wandering the streets of Madrid, trying to find a bar. Funnily enough, our stop was to an Irish bar with a bartender who definitely wasn't Irish. As is tradition, the first pint in an Irish pub has to be a Guinness. Three pints of Guinness, three shots of Jagermeister and three Scottish tourists in tow later, we decided to leave and find a nightclub. It took a while but eventually we came to a Salsa nightclub. The rest was pretty blurry, considering when I went in I drank 2 whiskey fishbowls and drank them myself to begin with. 2 more hours later, with sore legs and a breath tasting like vodka, it was time to leave. Stumbling home with a couple of classmates, I somehow made it to my bed!
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Stay Tuned for the last part of this Madrid Experience!