cea

Madrid.

Posted on by laynenthecity

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Jessi, Ali, and I decided last minute to change our plans and go to Madrid. We had heard some not so great things about it so we were unsure at first if we really wanted to go. The trip was free if we went with our school, so we threw in the towel and wanted to find out for ourselves.

Early Friday we dragged our tiny suitcases to the train station to meet our school tour guides. While people were grabbing food at McDonalds I had ran into my friends from class. As we were about to leave to get to the train, CEA gave us stickers for our assigned seats like we were in kindergarten. The high speed train was actually very enjoyable and I will never complain about getting a couple extra hours of sleep.

When we got off the train the 50 of us sighed and dragged our luggage when we were told we had to walk to the hotel. The 10 minute walk was made a lot more comical when we noticed a group of 10 East Coast girls grab cabs.

We started the tour at Reina Sofia, which I was excited about because Guernica and Garden of Earthly Delights are there. When we got there Ali realized that the older woman at the counter was wearing the same shirt that she was from Forever 21. She was so embarrassed that she threw on Jackie’s huge winter coat while it was about 74 degrees outside. To her it the sweat was worth it. The only time Jessi left the hotel room was once for lunch while everyone was at the museum. We weren’t quite sure why she came considering she doesn’t like going to museums and after she started dating her now boyfriend she doesn’t like to go out…

The next day I met new friends from the group and we continued our own tour on foot walking through Plaza de Oriente to the Royal Palace. My mom had told me before I had left for Madrid that the Royal Palace is a must see. I brought my GoPro with me, so naturally I had to take all the photos you’re not supposed to, and I may or may not have been yelled at a few times…

The plan for the night was Teatro Kapital the infamous Madrid club. After we were done getting ready we started to leave the hotel and it started to pour outside. When we got there we found out we had to pay to get in which we were not very happy about, but at least it also got us two drinks.

The place was massive as it should be due to its 7 stories. Jessi didn’t go out for who knows what reason, so Ali and I decided to explore each level both nights. It was amazing because each floor was something different which in turn had a different crowd on each level. Strangely enough, Ali and I loved the Spanish floor. After a couple hours of exploring we realized everyone in the group had gone home and so should we.

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The Land Above The Clouds.

Posted on by laynenthecity

IMG_4091As always, my roommates and I scrambled to pack last minute on Thursday before we left for the airport. But to be fair, we had a lot going on from the night before.

After our two and a half hour flight we headed to the busses, and realized that the group of people we were going to be with were all from CEA. The drive to Interlaken was another three hours. I decided not to sleep on the bus that way I would pass out at the hotel, which ended up being a huge mistake because it would leave me with only 4 hours of sleep. We got to Backpacker’s Villa around 3 and headed to our rooms. The set up was very interesting, because the two huge cabin bunk beds were pushed together all the way. I had no problem with this considering I was with friends, but if I was with strangers it would be somewhat uncomfortable.

I woke up at 8 AM to get all of my snowboarding gear and head to the mountain. Jackie and I were the only ones that wanted to get up their early, so we ate a quick breakfast and headed to Outdoor Interlaken to book our day. Even at 8:30 the place was packed with Americans getting fitted for skis and snowboards. After getting all of our gear we were ready, but we didn’t realize how hard it was to get to the actually slopes. From there it was another bus and connecting train ride to the top of the mountain. We had met a bus2alps guide while we were getting fitted so we had her take us all around the mountain. After not snowboarding in almost 6 years with 2 knee surgeries in-between, not going to lie the first run was a lot better than I had expected. After a couple runs we stopped half way on the mountain for lunch. We all got pasta and french fries, because it was actually the cheapest thing on the menu.

After several more times on the same run we started to get bored and sore. We ended the day on the slope we started, determined to do it faster than before. That night we decided to join the Interlaken Pub Crawl. The night ended at Balmers underground club at the hostel down the street.

Jessi’s alarm went off early the next morning so we could all head up to the mountain together. Jackie somehow didn’t realize that the alarm was on the ground and when she went to turn it off she fell off of the top bunk. After we suited up and ate breakfast, Jackie and I set out to go back to the mountain while Jessi and Ali had their skiing lessons. Jackie and I ended up taking the wrong bus and then the wrong gondola to a different mountain then yesterday, but we figured it was an adventure and we had time to get lost! When we came back, after an amazing day of snowboarding, we learned the Jessi and Ali didn’t have quite the same experience that we did. Apparently, their ski instructor wasn’t very nice and a man in their group had never seen snow before, which ended up holding up the rest of the group.

I will never forget the first time I slid off of the chair lift and saw the amazing views of the Swiss Alps above the clouds. I remember thinking to myself how strange it was that I had finally been somewhere that my parents will never go to. This trip was definitely my favorite so far and also the most expensive!!