Vagando en Retiro

After getting home late last night I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in a little.. got up around noon. Would have slept longer but I had promised to meet with Kasia and Grzgorio to walk around and take lots of pictures before going to the park for the pic nic in Retiro and then to the Prado later to take advantage of the free museum Sundays. So I met them at the McDonald's near Atocha and we walked down Calle Valencia which is loaded with Museums and beautiful government, and banking buildings. Every once in a while I start getting used to having all these beautiful buildings around and I have to snap back to the reality of things. We walked over to the Botanical Garden near the Prado and relaxed a bit and took pictures although it wasn't all that impressive at this time of the year, but it was worth the time there. Unfortunately near the end of our time in there my camera batteries died and so I'll have to get the rest of the pictures from Kasia and Greg.
We spent the next couple hours just walking around, talking, taking pictures, and grabbing something small to eat and a round of canas.. not to be mistaken for cona or cono.. always have had trouble getting those words correct but I think I have it down now. So after taking pictures of one beautiful building after another we got to Retiro to meet for the Pic nic. The Franceses didn't come earlier because they were back at Getafe making crepes for the pic nic. This week there was plenty of food to be had and I ate so much for so long that I wasn't hungry until the following morning. But it was worth it. Haven't put on any weight here yet despite the amount I'm eating. I guess I'm just walking a lot more. Finally getting into a workout routine.. minus the running part. But I'll definitely need to start running again if I want to even pretend to keep up with Jess on her short runs when she comes to visit here.. Maybe I'll just give up hope and just relax on the grass when she runs and watch her. The latter seems like the better idea, but I'm tired now.
I love these ESN events like the pic nic because I keep getting to meet new people from all over the world and everyone seems so nice and are so open to meeting new people. One thing I've learned from them is that we pay soooo much more than they do to go to school it's unreal. The British students actually get paid to study abroad.. because they are under represented as far as numbers go. Bollocks I'd say. Las Franceses ended up arriving 4 hours late.. but they did have the crapes which were delicious although not as good as grandma's. After the pic nic we walked over to the little plaza next to the huge statue in Retiro next to the lake where there were a bunch of drummers playing and some street performers juggling things. There were a bunch of people watching and it was a good place to just relax and hang out. But Agatha (Agette) had the urge to dance and so she actually went over to the drummers and started dancing in front of everyone. It was very funny yet inspirational and made me want to join her. It wasn't as if she was totally out of place either. The atmosphere and the beat of the drums gave to it.. It reminded me vaguely of the movie with Jim Carrey which I think is called A Beautiful Mind where the main character in it starts dancing in the middle of the club and you can really see that she is at peace and in her own place as herself. It was the same feeling I got at Ryan McDaid's house party/ concert in his basement this past summer. Although it was an odd type of music I really got into it and watching Lauren dance there just as herself and not having to impress anyone in her own scene.. a scene which I did not at all expect her to be part of. It was a good sensation.
By that point it had already gotten a bit late and so we nixed the plans to go to the Prado.. I don't think the Prado or museums on Sundays is a great idea anyways because although it's free .. the lines are ungodly long. So we decided/ thought we'd go to see a movie.. So we started walking over that way.. and if I've learned anything during my time here is that big groups move slower than molasses .. especially when there are cameras / and/or girls involved and shopping areas. That's one piece of culture that is shared across all the world.. that and the idea that if one girl goes to the bathroom.. so does half of the other girls there. So we eventually made our way over towards Sol and stopped for Churros and Ice Cream. I decided on ice cream and after much thought.. we went to Hagen Daaz... it's actually a restaurant here and it is absolutely beautiful on the outside and inside.. But the best part was not the container.. but what was inside. The ice cream was the best I think I've ever had.. and the most expensive.. 4 Euros.. so maybe not the most expensive but up there. Very worth it. I never actually made it to the movie although some of the group actually did end up going, but I and some others had to head back because we had work to get done. I had to figure out my classes and get all that finalized as well as finish a bit of homework and Skype. I was already late.