The next morning we woke up early once again, had breakfast in the hostel and headed out to the Sunday flea market. Hundreds of vendors had set up their tents in the street. The first part reminded me of Bele Chere in Asheville, with tents of handmade jewelry, paintings and crafts. There were also tents of books, scarves, shoes, and farther down an entire market of clothing. It stretched on through a few different streets. As the morning wore on the market got more and more crowded.
Market!
Streets of Madrid, just outside of the Plaza Mayor
Plaza MayorNext we went for ice cream at a cafetería (recommendation of Rick Steves) where we could choose from a whole bar of toppings. I got brownie batter and strawberries, por supuesto.
yumThen we went to the arboretum, which was near the Prado Museum. It was beautiful, with rows of colored flowers and trees planted in lines. We spent some time sitting on a bench outside by the pond.
But by this time, my sickness was catching up with me-- I had tried to do so much every day, and hadn't had a lot of rest. As we sat on the bench I blew my nose in toilet paper from the hostel and tried to keep myself from nodding off in the hot sun. I felt weary and drained... and just sick all the way around. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that in a few hours I could sit on the bus and do nothing, and then when I got back to Sevilla my bed would be waiting for me...
Arboretum, the view from our bench
pretty prettyAudra called me as I sat in the arboretum and said she was heading back to the hostel, so I drowsily raced back through the city and met her there to pick up our bags. It was just the two of us because the SAS people were staying an extra hour and Carly hadn't been able to get the same bus as us. We got a good recommendation for a sandwich place around the corner, so we ordered some massive sandwiches to go for the road. Then we took the metro all the way to the bus station.
When we got there, we had a few minutes to wait until our bus pulled up, we put our bags in the bottom and loaded the bus. However, there was a man sitting in Audra's assigned seat. On closer inspection of the tickets, we saw that both of them had the same seat. The ticket lady took them from us and informed Audra and me that our tickets were not for March, but the same date in February!!
There were no seats left on the bus, so she told us to go back to the ticket booth and buy new tickets for a different bus. So we went, and tried to explain the situation. We had bought the tickets very early (Audra is always super prompt) back in February, and apparently the office in Sevilla had sold them to us for the wrong month. I even called the director of our program and tried to get her to explain it to them... but it was no good, she couldn't exchange our tickets, and we had to pay 20 euros (about $30) for a new ticket.
The catch was, the only bus that wasn't full was at 11:00 at night... 6 1/2 hours away! And this meant we wouldn't arrive in Sevilla until 5:30 in the morning....
That sent me over the edge. All day I had been feeling worse than I had the whole weekend, and the only thing holding me together was the thought of sitting on a bus and sleeping in my bed when I got home. I broke down. I felt like such an idiot, but I couldn't help it. I didn't think I could make it, feeling like that and sitting in a bus station for six hours. No one comforted me, or asked me what was wrong. I called Kevin from my expensive cell phone, then my señora from my Spanish phone to tell her I wouldn't be home for dinner.
We passed the time with four sorority girls from the SAS program who hadn't bought their tickets yet and got the last four for the 11:00 bus. They had bought tickets to the concert from Kelly too, but we hadn't seen or talked to all weekend. Even though they were from our program and from UNC, I had never met them. They spent a majority of the time talking about their crazy clubbing and parting adventures in Madrid... but I was glad to have company. We sat in the cafeteria of the station, then went to a little bar to grab some drinks and eat the sandwiches we had bought.
It was a long six hours... and the bus ride was just as long. I slept a little, but it was a very broken, uncomfortable sleep. When we finally arrived in Sevilla at 5:30 in the morning, I felt like I was in a dream. Surely this hadn't just happened. Surely I couldn't be arriving this early in the morning. Surely I didn't have class in four hours.
I had forgotten my bike pass, so Audra started to walk back home ahead of me. I called out to her as she was crossing the street and asked her if she was really about to walk 45 minutes back to her apartment at 5:30 in the morning. Was she crazy? I told her I was taking a cab.... she said she didn't want to because it was too expensive... I said I really didn't care, I was sick, I just wanted to get home. She insisted on biking. The cab ride ended up being only 3 euros, and it was worth every single penny.
When I got home I dropped down on my bed, exhausted, in need of a shower, and feeling so, so sick. I took a nighttime cold relief pill and slept until 1 p.m. Then I stayed in bed, read, and took a nap for the rest of the day.
The rest of the week I was sick too, but I took it easy. I knew I had made it a million times worse by over-exerting myself in Madrid. Now I'm feeling much better... just a little cough left.
An awful end to a wonderful weekend! Look for an entry about our hiking trip to come!
When we got there, we had a few minutes to wait until our bus pulled up, we put our bags in the bottom and loaded the bus. However, there was a man sitting in Audra's assigned seat. On closer inspection of the tickets, we saw that both of them had the same seat. The ticket lady took them from us and informed Audra and me that our tickets were not for March, but the same date in February!!
There were no seats left on the bus, so she told us to go back to the ticket booth and buy new tickets for a different bus. So we went, and tried to explain the situation. We had bought the tickets very early (Audra is always super prompt) back in February, and apparently the office in Sevilla had sold them to us for the wrong month. I even called the director of our program and tried to get her to explain it to them... but it was no good, she couldn't exchange our tickets, and we had to pay 20 euros (about $30) for a new ticket.
The catch was, the only bus that wasn't full was at 11:00 at night... 6 1/2 hours away! And this meant we wouldn't arrive in Sevilla until 5:30 in the morning....
That sent me over the edge. All day I had been feeling worse than I had the whole weekend, and the only thing holding me together was the thought of sitting on a bus and sleeping in my bed when I got home. I broke down. I felt like such an idiot, but I couldn't help it. I didn't think I could make it, feeling like that and sitting in a bus station for six hours. No one comforted me, or asked me what was wrong. I called Kevin from my expensive cell phone, then my señora from my Spanish phone to tell her I wouldn't be home for dinner.
We passed the time with four sorority girls from the SAS program who hadn't bought their tickets yet and got the last four for the 11:00 bus. They had bought tickets to the concert from Kelly too, but we hadn't seen or talked to all weekend. Even though they were from our program and from UNC, I had never met them. They spent a majority of the time talking about their crazy clubbing and parting adventures in Madrid... but I was glad to have company. We sat in the cafeteria of the station, then went to a little bar to grab some drinks and eat the sandwiches we had bought.
It was a long six hours... and the bus ride was just as long. I slept a little, but it was a very broken, uncomfortable sleep. When we finally arrived in Sevilla at 5:30 in the morning, I felt like I was in a dream. Surely this hadn't just happened. Surely I couldn't be arriving this early in the morning. Surely I didn't have class in four hours.
I had forgotten my bike pass, so Audra started to walk back home ahead of me. I called out to her as she was crossing the street and asked her if she was really about to walk 45 minutes back to her apartment at 5:30 in the morning. Was she crazy? I told her I was taking a cab.... she said she didn't want to because it was too expensive... I said I really didn't care, I was sick, I just wanted to get home. She insisted on biking. The cab ride ended up being only 3 euros, and it was worth every single penny.
When I got home I dropped down on my bed, exhausted, in need of a shower, and feeling so, so sick. I took a nighttime cold relief pill and slept until 1 p.m. Then I stayed in bed, read, and took a nap for the rest of the day.
The rest of the week I was sick too, but I took it easy. I knew I had made it a million times worse by over-exerting myself in Madrid. Now I'm feeling much better... just a little cough left.
An awful end to a wonderful weekend! Look for an entry about our hiking trip to come!
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