Summer in March

Madrid has been warm. And by ‘warm’ I do mean, “We hit 20° yesterday, today was 24° out and the weekend’s supposed to be sunny as all heck.” To which all my Canadian and American family and friends are going, “We still have five feet of snow,” and, “We don’t care about you and your stupid weather.” While the Madrileños have continued to sport thick winter jackets, scarves and toques, my friends and I have labelled ourselves as even more foreign with our t-shirts, sleeveless dresses and capris. (I had a small child point and giggle as I walked by today and I spent the rest of my walk wondering if  I had something on my face before I realized I was the only person not wearing pants and yup, that’d be it.) Which meant that, when I met Alex’s parents on Wednesday, we got to take advantage of the terrace on El Corte Inglés in Callao. It had been on my list of ‘places to go’ for what feels like ages, but I just never made it (which is just sad when a person considers how much time I actually spend around Callao) and I’m glad that the day I did finally get up there, it was on a brilliantly sunny day.

I need to go back for two reasons: 1.) Coffee while soaking in the sun and looking at the Madrid skyline? HECK YES. 2.) I need to take more pictures. (Alex’s mom actually took most of these because she was so enamoured with it and had forgotten her camera.) I mean, the crane on our end was kind of sort of okay really got in the way, but if you look past that (and to the ends of the terrace and inside the restaurant), the view really is something. We scoped out various spires and towers and tops of buildings, trying to guess which they were, me unsuccessfully going, “Alex, isn’t that the big flag over by that place? You know? With the mini waterfall you wouldn’t really notice unless you’re, like, looking at it?” While Alex normally understands what I’m trying to say, this time he just gave me the blankest stare ever and slowly shook his head before we returned to our seats. (After looking up on the metro map (my mind works in mysterious ways), I’ve realized the flag I was talking about is the one in Plaza Colón. So there.)

 

Things I’m Loving: (Travel & Female Power Edition)

+ Beautifully Illustrated Travel Guides – (GET ME ALL OF THEM. There are few things in life I love more than pretty guide books.)
+ Fat Girl in Thailand – (LOVED this piece.  For the brutal honesty and covering so many different points.)
+ I Hate Eating Alone – (Another honest piece and one I can sympathize with. Eating by oneself can be really difficult, more so for some people than others.)
+ Why I Prefer To Travel Alone – (I, also, love to travel by myself. Of course, I haven’t done so in awhile, but I really, really do enjoy it.)
+ The Problem with Little White Girls (& Boys) – (For anyone thinking of volunteering. READ THIS.)
+ Best Female Travel Blogs of 2014 – (I’ve been slowly (SO SLOWLY) making my way through and these are so good!)
+ Top 11 Rooftops of Madrid – (I ❤ skylines, so I’m going to be checking out Madrid’s from as many places as possible.)