Plutonium and 1.21 gigawatts. We’re going back to July 5th y’all.
*** Alright so I know it is no longer July 5th but I got swept up in all the dope things I was doing here and forgot to post so lets all jump in the DeLorean and take it back to Friday, July 5th. It’s the day after Independence Day and I am in an Argentinian hipster cafe in Madrid writing about my week. ACTION. ***
Saludos de España! It’s been a wild past few days hence the lack of blogging. Today I’m writing to you from a hipster cafe that I found in the middle of a graffiti riddled alley. Adorado Café is a ten minute walk from the Puerta Del Sol metro. This place is exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries as I was feeling a little homesick and lonely (an unfortunate, yet minor downside of solo travel). When I walked into the cafe there was a 2008 era Taylor Swift song blasting on the speakers; three flamboyant waiters at the bar were singing carpool karaoke quality covers of every song that came on. Needless to say this place was made for me. Yesterday was my first visit to Adorado. I snagged a seat by the window and placed my order. Avocado toast and and iced latte. I am nothing if not consistent. Both were amazing as was the Nutella French toast I ordered for dessert! (You best believe they are pictured below.) I’m back again today munching on yogurt parfait and throwing back some fresh squeezed O.J. and I am one happy little bug. Let’s catch up shall we?
This past week I have been experiencing the madness that is Spanish nightlife. There is some backstory that needs to be laid down before we can continue so lets dive in. In Madrid, the sun doesn’t set until about 10/10:30pm and dinner generally isn’t until 9pm. Everything here is on like a two hour delay from SoCal life. Night clubs don’t open until about 12:30am and people don’t generally leave the house before 11pm. If you know me AT ALL you know that this has been a major adjustment. The first few nights I was asleep before dinner. BUT IVE ADJUSTED. *cue applause* I’m eating late, going out, participating in this crazy social Spanish culture, AND LOVING IT.
On Friday June 28th, we met up with a friend of my cousin’s at his penthouse apartment just off the main square. Carlos has a beautiful apartment y’all. There is a stunning balcony/rooftop deck that overlooks a major street in Puerta Del Sol. The architecture of Carlos’ apartment complex and the surrounding buildings is 15/10. We sat on the patio, threw back some beers and chatted with Carlos and his friends. Then we went down stairs and wandered around the center. We ended up making our way home around 2:30am. (There is one picture of the view from Carlos’ patio below.)
The second night we went out was Saturday, June 29th. We took the Metro down to Puerta Del Sol and met up with Carlos in front of his apartment. We walked to the market up the street. The market is a three story food hall with about 30 different vendors. It gives me Anaheim Packing District vibes. I didn’t get pictures of food stalls but I did get pictures of me and my Tinto de Verano (consider me an official sponsor for this drink now). My first purchase was patatas bravas (pictured below). THEY WERE DELICIOUS. Home style potatoes blanketed in a thick/creamy curry cheese sauce?! I cant make this stuff up y’all. Anyways we were about to tear into these delicious potatoes when Carlos asked if I liked spicy food. I said that I did and he ran off. He returned with a cup of a mystery red sauce. I was immediately nervous. I love spicy food but my tolerance for spice is not high. At this point I’m a glass of Tinto de Verano in, so I say eff it and we threw the homemade hot sauce on the potatoes. GAME CHANGER. Big fan of the mysterious red hot sauce. After this Carlos went and orders tortilla española for the table. That’s kind of how tapas/ food works here. Everyone orders something and you share. This was my 4th tortilla española of the trip and my least favorite. It had a strong sausage-y taste to it? You’re probably like um Allie we dont know what that dish is... It’s basically a frittata with potatoes and ham. Depending on where you get it they may add onion ect. After we ate, we went back to Carlos’ house and shared some wine in the comfort of the A/C and talked about our three countries (my cousin is from Panama and Carlos is Spanish). We talked about politics and taxes so we were right up my alley. After some wine and political discourse, it was finally time to go out! At this point it is about 12:30 and we walked to meet up with some more friends at an Irish Pub. We sat and chatted over some beers until about 3am. Then we all said goodbye. My cousin, Guille, and I began the trek back to the Buo (the owl) which is the night/early morning bus. Did me and my cousin fall asleep on the bus and nearly miss our stop? Absolutely. I’m not much of a club girl but throwing beers back at a pub and great conversation? LOVE IT. Anyone paying attention to the alcohol count here? I don’t know how these people do it. I cant keep up.
Sunday, June 30th is my favorite story. Guille and I woke up around 1pm and made our way down to La Latina to explore the giant flee market. It was still heat waving and we only made it about two blocks before we decided to stop and get food. We got the mini sandwiches from 100 Montaditos and a tinto de verano hehe (I got pictures this time). Then we headed back for a little poolside picnic with Guille’s friends. They brought homemade tortilla española (so tasty), patatas and a whole chicken. HERE’S THE STORY YALL. So again those who know me, know I am Delta Grandma that doesn’t go out much. I told my cousin I wanted to sleep tonight.
Guille: “That’s fine. Let’s just run to the store first.”
Me: “Perfect. I need PB&J supplies! Can I go like this?”
Guille: “Yeah thats fine! I’m going to change first.”
**Just for clarity, “like this” was a wet pool T-shirt, shorts, mascara all up under my eyes from swimming with makeup on, wet hair and legs that haven’t been shaved in seven days.**
So we made our way to the store and before we get there Guille waves to some cute dude up the street. Then looks at me and says “I know you didn’t want to go out so I tricked you, we are getting drinks with David.”. DAVID IS A PARATROOPER IN THE SPANISH MILITARY AND LOOKING SHREDDED IN HIS POLO AND SLACKS. I swear I almost murdered my cousin for letting me leave the house looking like a homeless person. Anyways, moral of this story is I had a shot at a Cheetah Girls 2 Joaquin moment and my cousin let me show up looking like a hot mess polar express. SHAME *BELL* SHAME *BELL* SHAME *BELL*. (Game of Thrones reference. If you didn’t get this do yourself a favor and sign up for HBO) Guille and I definitely had words about the incident lol.
July 1st - July 4th: More going out. More tintos de veranos and tapas. Same stories with different characters. A lot of sleeping late in to the day and reading by the pool at night. AND I DISCOVERED ADORADO CAFE.
It is now July 5th and I only have five days until I leave for LA CITTA ETERNA. I’m talking about Rome people. (Lizzie McGuire reference. The first of many.) The next few days are gonna be a lot of cafe and at home days while I iron out the last few details of the upcoming month of travel. I am BEYOND excited for Italy and carbs.
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Thanks for reading! I’ll see y’all the next time I have something to share.
Hasta luego,
Alison *heart emojis*
