Fin de Semana en Madrid, Espana

I would like to start by thanking God that I am alive and safe at home in London.
This was the worst and also the best travel experience I have had yet.

There are so many stories that came out of this weekend; I'll only write about the main events here.

The worst part:
Upon arriving at the airport, I took the Metro to meet my host & was pickpocketed :(
My cell phone and all my cash...all taken.

I was supposed to text my host when I arrived at El Diamante, a bar in the centre of Madrid. This is when I discovered that I no longer had my phone. I wasn't sure which option to pursue: a) run back to find the perpetrator (which wouldn't help), or b) sit down and cry. In the Metro station, I found a police officer and told him my sad story (good thing I speak a bit of Spanish...).
He answered me simply with a, "Es dificil." (essentially "tough luck") and a shrug.

I pulled myself together and asked for directions to the bar. I emerged into the cold night of Madrid and stood on the corner next to El Diamante alone with all my stuff. No way to contact my host, and hence, no place to stay. Also, no numbers to call, nor did I know a soul in the city...or the country for that matter!

I was desperate enough that I started asking random men if they were my host, and when they denied such an identity, if they knew where the nearest Internet cafe was. I finally came across two girls who were English-speakers. They felt so sorry for me that they told me that they'd try to help my situation when they finally met up with their friend.

Altruistically, they brought me to their friend, a gentleman named Miguel. They insisted that I come along with them since they were going out for Halloween night. So with my backpack and all, I tagged along to watch an amazing Flamenco show and then to a club to dance the night away to house-esque music!

At 5am, when the night ended early (in their opinion!), I arrived with Miguel back at his home. After a much needed night's rest, he was kind enough to show me around Madrid and lent me his guest bedroom for the weekend.



The best part:
Madrid was beautiful and sunny. It was in the high 60s F! What a welcome change from London : )

The loveliest part of Madrid was El Parque de Buen Retiro. Amazing acreage of grass, waterfalls, ponds, gardens, walkways, etc. People all come to rollerblade, stroll, walk their dogs, sleep, read, jog...you name it : )

Miguel thought it would be a great idea to take a rowboat out on Enstanque, the big pond. It was very charming, although rowing is a lot harder than it looks : )


And the best part is that I got to practice my Spanish. It was awesome to see that I was able to effectively communicate...although in some cases it was not to my benefit...

The lessons I learned is that: a) there are things worse than death, b) there are more devastating things to be lost than material possessions or money.

And for this I'm a thankful girl : )