Hacemos un Puente

Location: Madrid, Spain

Wednesday June 2, 2010

We learned in Spanish class that Spaniards use the popular phrase “hacer un puente” or “to make a bridge” for the act of taking Friday off when there’s a holiday on Thursday to make a four-day weekend. Spaniards really know how to take a break. IES kids definitely did that with our four-day weekend. Groups went to Porto, Barcelona, Paris, Toledo, and so on.

After focusing on El Greco in my Prado class, I returned to the Reina Sofia to finish up looking at the collections there. I was very angry that I paid for the audioguides again, because it turned out that the half of the collection that I looked at didn’t actually have any audio accompanying it. When I told the audio guy upon returning the headset as the museum closed, he said “¡Que lastima!” Haha. That’s the first time I heard that phrase actually used outside of Spanish exercises with my compañero during class.

I ate a calamari bocadillo from this mom-and-pop standing-room-only diner, because I was craving it the whole time I was looking at art. Then I met up with a group of people outside of the Reina Sofia to hang while they ate 1€ minibocadilos, because this bocadillo place has 1€ specials on Wednesdays. I enjoyed my first tinto de verano or tint of summer, as in the most refreshing drink you’ll ever have in the world: red wine + soda water + ice. The restaurant was packed until people were spilling out the doorway and hanging out the sidewalk. The order line wound up the staircase to the second floor. Young Spaniards do love their good deals.