Palacio Real/La Noche en Blanco/El Rastro

Me (duh) at the Palacio Real

Me (again) at the Palacio Real

La Noche en Blanco

The Girls at La Noche en Blanco

Booth at the Rastro

Water Glass Player at the Rastro

Gas Masks at the Rastro

Booth at the Rastro

This weekend has been jam-packed. It started off on Wednesday/Thursday with crazy special deals at the clubs in Madrid, especially for students. A friend of mine has been promoting for clubs so a bunch of us have been going out to support him (and to get the VIP treatment, haha).

Saturday was a supposed school-run tour of the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) of Madrid. When we got to the computer lab (the meeting place for everyone) at 10 am we were met with an unpleasant surprise. Not only did we have to sit through an hour long lecture about the Duke of Wellington (?!?) we did NOT get to tour the Palacio Real. We stood outside of it but the tour of the Palacio was in reality a tour of random battle sites throughout Madrid. Me and my two friends were on a mission to see the Palacio and we ditched the group and went by ourselves. The palace was beautiful, and the rooms were so elaborate and ornate. Of course, we werent allowed to take pictures inside of the palace but not being able to take pictures was a blessing in disguise- normally when I'm trying to capture every moment I feel like I end up missing out on something.

After the Palacio and kebabs for lunch, we headed home for a nap before La Noche en Blanco- a city-wide festival throughout all of Madrid. The festival started at around 7pm and lasted until the wee hours of the morning and included everything from light shows and live music to magic shows. The streets were FULL of people (think Times Square on New Years Eve). We started off in Chueca (the gay district in Madrid) and wandered towards Sol to meet up with our friends. Now, I dont know WHY I havent been to Chueca yet, but 1. the people are beautiful 2. the people are SO nice and 3. they have the best ice cream I have ever seen in my life. Needless to say I will be returning. We followed a marching band through the streets of Chueca to Sol and wandered into a concert where the top 16 MC's in Madrid were battling. It was definitely an experience.

This morning, we peeled ourselves out of bed and trekked to the Rastro- the "flea market" esq mart that fills the streets of La Latina (a neighborhood in Madrid) every Sunday. We saw everything from booths with handmade jewelry to clothes, gas masks (?!?), chocolate dipped cones and a man who played the water glasses. Although I didnt buy anything, we have all decided that next weekend we will be making another appearance at el Rastro. Perfect ending to a culture filled weekend.