That's So Madrid

This weekend my amazing friend Emily visited me from Paris. It was so nice to have a familiar face here in Madrid! At one point we remembered back to sophomore year in high school and decided that hanging out on the terrace of a cafe in Europe is a lot more enjoyable than roaming around the Triplex parking lot. We had a great time catching up and  I played tour guide and took her to all the "important" sites likeee the park, nice buildings, churros, mi casa, the flea market, shopping, mexican food haha, and some bars.

We also went to the Reina Sofia, the modern art museum, which was really cool. I liked all of the Dali, Picasso, and Miro among others. Mark Rothko too ! They didn't have any Helen Frankenthaler though.. :(. Guernica was pretty impressive however. Picasso knew how to express pain.  I was surprised how much empty space there was in the work. I knew the painting was large, but seeing it in the flesh is definitely different than reproduced in a text book. 

So what do I mean by "That's so Madrid" - the title of this post?  At the Reina Sofia, Emily and I ended up talking to these two guys in the elevator. We had a brief conversation and covered the "Oh yea, I'm from Boston, where are you from? Oh New Jersey, cool, what part? And you're from Holland? Wow, nice." Then we went our separate ways and that was that. Later that same night, Emily and I had finished a great Mexican dinner (apparently they don't have mexican in France) and headed downtown for some bars. We were walking near Sol - the main night life area - and as we walked by this crowd we heard "HEY you're from the museum!?" and we ended up meeting up with the guys from the elevator. Now, what are the odds.....we'll I haven't taken stats but basically there are 3.2 million residents in Madrid (5.5 mil including suburbs)!. The four of us ended up dodging the rain by hanging out in a bar for a bit. They were very nice. Now the "That's so madrid" keeps going because I also ran into a group of Tufts kids! I ran into Lara and Tara from my freshman english seminar randomly outside in the street. Hopefully I can meet up with the Tufts chicos again. 

One more thing: I found the coolest cafe. The Cafe Comercial has been in business since 1870. The waiters still wear old-fashioned uniforms and the solid marble tables and cushy booths have probably been there for a long time. In addition to being right down the street from me, the coffee is good, they serve breakfast, and they leave you alone. I can definitely see myself sitting there reading a paper for a very long time. The service is decidedly spanish where you say what you want, you get it, and pleasantries are unnecessary. It's not a cozy cafe, it's large and airy, cafeteria-esque (but nicer). I think it's perfect for doing work during the day and then catching up with friends at night.