Day 39
Disclaimer: A lot of the pictures I took are on my camera, which I can't upload until I get my computer back, so I'll have to add them later. Sorry.
Overnight, 2 out of the 6 of us left to catch a flight to Barcelona. The rest of us were feeling the pain of abused bank accounts and stayed in Madrid. Again, we slept in until we woke up without the help of alarms. Then we took our time planning out our day so we would get to the Palacio Real in time for the free admission.
We started off by going to the Dunkin which we've discovered satisfies our American cravings and for the first time in my life, I bought more than one thing! I tried the bacon egg and cheese bagel and got a caramel iced coffee and a kit kat donut. I felt so American. It was heaven. The donut was filled with some kind of special creme and... maybe Madrid isn't so bad after all... (The way to my heart is food) It was cool because the name here is Dunkin Coffee not Dunkin Donuts like in America, and so even the logo has to say "Dunkin Coffee", not "DD". I don't really get it.
When I got home and got wifi (since we don't have data or wifi when we leave the apartment and every "free wifi" sign is a lie), I saw that we'd missed all the cool stuff. In this same park, there's a really fancy gate and also the "Crystal Castle". We saw probably not even a 1/3 of the coolness. I want to be ambitious tomorrow and go see the other 2/3s... We went to Palacio Real for the 4-6pm free admission at 5:13, only to find out that the last tickets are sold an hour before closing time. So add that to the list of things to do tomorrow too. As we left, we saw a rainbow over the fountain! 
We then ran back across town in the opposite direction to get to the Templo de Debod for sunset. 
It was a nice spot not only because of the Egyptian monument but also for its view. At sunset, the sky over parts of the city was stunning. 
We could see the back of the Almudena Cathedral lit up by the last rays of sun through the clouds. (It had been raining off and on and the clouds were only getting more ominous) While we were there, a pig appeared out of nowhere and played in a mud puddle??! 
It was cute so I pet it. For the record, pigs are not very cuddly. Before it rained, we ran home.
We were still in the mood for American food and there was an American 50's diner near our apartment with really good milkshakes. I was about to get a Twix milkshake but the waiter stopped me and told me Nutella was the best- and it was! Then a struggle ensued about how to best pay the bill, since they don't split checks in Europe apparently. I think it took us longer to figure out how to pay than it took us to eat the meal. I also was the lucky winner of the change and had to figure out how to fit the leaning tower of euros into my wallet. (This wasn't even all of them)
It was weird seeing Heinz ketchup so far from home. I'm used to seeing it's familiar logo on my kitchen table or on the side of the Heinz building in Pittsburgh. But everywhere here, I keep seeing American brands. Same in Italy, I guess Europe doesn't produce its own printers (I saw an Epson printer in Dunkin), or mustard (next to the Heinz was French's mustard), and they love Coca Cola. On quite a few doors, I've seen Trip Advisor stickers and right off the main plaza here is a massive Apple Store, not to mention the Starbucks, Dunkin, and McDonald's we've been to. It's one thing to use American ketchup in America, but I'd assumed that Spain would have its own ketchup brands. They also watch a lot of American tv- they just have someone voice over the translation or put captions at the bottom. It's really interesting to see how much of an impact America has on the world.
We briefly contemplated going out but quickly realized we're broke and lazy. So instead we got pizza and went to McDonald's. I think I've eaten more American food since I've been in Spain than I've ever eaten in America.
Finally, I took the most perfect shower. Last time I showered here, the water was ice cold and there was no water pressure. But this time, it was warm and everyone else was asleep. My hair was so soft that I kept washing it because it felt like it still had conditioner in it. It hasn't been that soft and smooth since maybe elementary school when it wasn't nearly as long, and since being in Italy, it's only gotten worse. Things no one tells you: Italian water and/or climate will wreck your hair. And I mean destroy it. But apparently something about Spanish water fixed the problem because right now I can run my fingers through it without getting knots :)
Tonight is our last night here so I tried to take in the view from my bedroom before I pulled down the blinds one last time. Even with them closed, the city still sparkles through the gaps and I can make out the electric blue of a building at the other end of Gran Vía. Goodnight Madrid. 🌙
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