Madrid!! and... The End is Near.

So I just got home from my last traveling extravaganza, visiting my sister in Madrid, and it was lovely!

We did a self-led walking tour on Friday and saw the Plaza de Espana, the Temple of Debod (SOO amazing!! It's the only piece of Egyptian architecture (or one of the only ones) that can be found outside of Egypt (that wasn't stolen... *cough* Paris *cough*)), Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol (with the plaque commemorating the middle of Spain), Puerta de Alcala, Parque del Retiro, and Palacio de Cristales.

Then on Saturday we went to the Prado Museum and saw religious paintings, and portraits of royalty, and Greek/Roman mythology, and then more religious works, and more religious works, and more portraits, and MORE religious works. By the end, I was like, "dear goodness, how many pictures with the same theme can you have in ONE building??" But then we went to the Reina Sofia and that was really cool, although I liked the second floor better than the fourth floor (the permanent collection is divided up into these two floors, with art from the early 1900's to the avant-garde movement on the second floor, and then more contemporary art on the fourth floor (read: modern art)) but I REALLY liked the second floor so it made up for it. (I got to see Picasso's Guernica... :)!!!!)

On Sunday we went to the Rastro, which is basically like this giant flea market, but it was wonderful! I bought lots of presents for other people and for myself, and had a really good time with my sister. It did get SUPER busy, though, like so busy that we could barely walk down the aisles. It was kind of insane. I was sick for the duration of the trip (darn sinus infection), but it didn't hinder anything we wanted to do, which was nice.

I'm really glad I went to Madrid because I really enjoyed getting to see my sister, but Barcelona is still my favorite city in Spain that I visited (sorry other Spanish cities...)

In other news, I only have twenty days left in Spain. Holy cow. I'm going to be home and get to see all of my friends and family within the month. I'm incredibly excited, but actually kind of feeling bittersweet about the whole thing. I mean, yes, I'm SO ready to get home and have all of the comforts of home (love of family, friends, Pauly, central heating, Internet...), but it's just going to be weird to go home and not be in this place that I've finally really gotten used to. There's still a bunch of stuff that I want to do before I go, so I'm going to have to make sure I fit it all in!

In all honesty, though, if I don't burst of excitement within the next twenty days at the thought of getting to see my novio very soon, I might just burst when I do see him. So, if you see me and I'm looking a little jumbled, it's because I exploded and had to put myself back together again.
Just thought I'd warn you all.
: )