WOW WOW WOW!! I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to the time I had with my mama… So much was done during her 11 days, visiting me!! To begin with, she arrived the day before I left for Toledo {so I am happy that was only a day thing}, and where she was staying was able to recommend a BUNCH of amazing food places that I definitely wouldn't have found on my own… THANK GOODNESS though cause now I have places that I can go back to, and actually enjoy, without looking at the majority of food and thinking that I am eating dog schlop {like the dog food from the movie Snow Dogs}. Because I wanted to spend time with my Kimmy, and I knew that the jet lag would eventually catch up with her, we went to get tapas {which are basically just the España term for a bunch of appetizers}, at this place that was located in an old theatre. It was such a fun atmosphere, and you can bet on it that we went back one or two more times after that.
When I went to Toledo for the day, that gave my mama time to catch up on her sleep… I don't think I got a text from her until around 4pm that day {which was pretty close to the time we were bussing home}. When we got back from our little excursion, all I wanted to do was shower and get real food, considering I had eaten who knows what in Toledo. I talked to my mama and Megan and I headed to the hotel. That night, we decided to try to get into one of the top restaurants in the Madrid area, Ten Con Ten, a place where all the famous soccer players are spotted eating {aka more high class people and not the typical din I would treat myself to on a college budget}; however, we didn't make a reservation so we were out of luck. Luckily, just one door down was an AH-MAZING Mexican food restaurant. I’m not talking about Tex-Mex, where you're given a $2 cheese and bean dip, I am talking about fresh guacamole with freshly baked corn tortilla chips, mouthwatering shredded chicken tacos with avocado and onions on top {my favorite!!}, and to top it off, THE MOST AMAZING FROZEN MANGO MARGARITAS. I think we each had three margaritas {oops… at least its not alcoholism until I graduate}, and we left stuffed and satisfied.
That night, originally, we were planning on going to Marshmallow {a HUGE DJ in the US} cause one of the promoters I knew had the ability to get us on the VIP list; however, we were out having the time of our lives, drinking quality margs, and laughing our booties off until past two in the morning, so by the time we left the restaurant, we were absolutely exhausted. My roomie came down with the stomach bug that night when we were out to din too, so on our way back to my apartment {which I know, I have yet to post pics like I promised}, we picked up the Spanish version of saltines and some ginger ale. When my mama and I FINALLY made it back to her hotel, we got into our jammies, put on face masks, and talked until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer. On Sunday morning, we went to get afternoon brunch and champagne at “Opera Sunday’s” as the Westin Palace Hotel. Granted the food wasn't anything to write home about {yet I’m blogging about it anyways}, it was fun having alone time with my mama {and later the chocolate fountain}. After we ate more than our Doder stomachs could hold, I wanted to show her Retiro. Retiro is one of the places I don't think I could EVER get bored of… and if you follow my travel insta g {@tra_vld}, or see my snapchats from it {@victoriadoder}, you would understand… It is not possible to run out of places to explore in the huge park, and it was convenient because it was RIGHT ACROSS from my mama’s hotel.
Because I have class on Monday’s not until the afternoon, I was lucky enough to get to spend one more night in the comfy king sized bed, instead of my brick feeling, single bed. Sadly I did still have homework and stuff to do, so I didn't have the chance to spend every second of every day with my mama, BUT on Wednesday we did have time to pamper ourselves one last time before we were going to leave for London on Thursday. We had an hour long, couple’s massage, at the Westin Palace, and BOY DID I NEED IT!! Although I thought it was hilarious she set up a couple’s massage, it was a fun {hint hint future bf}. Once we were done getting pampered, we rushed back to the hotel where we took showers and were able to wash all the oil off our bodies, and then Devan {who you'll probably see a bunch of pics in the near future with} came to the hotel cause we ACTUALLY got into Ten Con Ten {thanks to the concierge at the Westin}. The food was TO DIE FOR!! We started off by sharing sautéed artichoke heart on a bed of some garlic and butter mashed potatoes and topped with sautéed spinach. Without thinking how much food we were really getting ourselves into, we all ordered an avocado and orange salad, which may sound weird but I think it was the first REAL salad I have had since I have been in Madrid {and it wasn't topped with shredded tuna, which is SUPER rare in Madrid… typically they don't have it written on the menu, the salad just comes out with shredded pink tuna on top and it looks as gross as it smells}. To top off our meal, we all also got artichoke lasagna, which was also absolutely amazing!! Finally something gluten free {just not dairy free}, but it was so yummy and because I had so much food, I was able to take some home for lunch the day!! By the end of our meal, the waitress was trying to get us to order drinks or dessert, but we knew what had to be done: FROZEN MARGS NEXT DOOR!!
Although I got back to my apartment later than midnight, and I had class starting at nine, meaning I had to be at the metro stop at eight for my forty minute commute, the food made it well worth it… I packed as quickly as I could because I was scheduled to leave for the airport to head to London after my second class. It was the FIRST trip of my study abroad experience that I could actually pack a big suitcase and not worry about stuffing or sitting on my little suitcase or school backpack with a weekend’s worth of clothing.
Class could not go by fast enough. By the time I was done with class, I was practically sprinting to the metro station to get on ASAP and get home to grab my luggage and head out; BUT, not everything goes as planned… Get ready to read about an absolute disaster… Is the suspense killing you yet?!?…
First of all, we got a tad bit of late start. By finishing class at 12:15 in the afternoon, I was guaranteed to be back at my apartment no later than 1:30, so I told my mama to come then in order to drop off two {of the three} suitcases she brought for 11 days, but she also had to get money. She went to about two or three banks to attempt a currency exchange and that was an absolute cluster. That being said, she came back pound-less. She walked back to her hotel empty handed, called an Über which just so happened to take ten minutes to arrive and then break down upon arrival, then was going to take a taxi but the Über driver did NOT want her to do that, so she waited about fifteen minutes until she gave up and decided to go with the taxi. She finally made it to my apartment around 2:30, in which case, I ran down to grab her bags to take upstairs and then proceeded to run back down and load into the taxi. We got to the airport about an hour and a half {give or take a few} prior to our flight’s departure. KEEP IN MIND WE WERE SCHEDULED ON IBERIA {for the good your own future endeavors}. We were transferred to about four different lines: the first one where we were first told to go to upon arrival at the airport, the second all the way on the other side of the airport with a super long line, the third we were transferred to in hopes of “speeding up” the line process where were were ultimately told they were closing the gate in two minutes so our luggage was not going to make it on our flight, and then a fourth line where we were told we were not going to get on the flight at all {for a couple of days} because they overbooked all the flights to London. It was an ABSOLUTE mess, to say the very least, and we were both PISSED, considering we spent bank in order to fly out that Thursday and make it to our tea on Friday. At the fourth line {luckily my mama is a BOSS} cause she talked the lady into giving us tickets for a flight Friday morning at six; however, we were required to pay extra which was ridiculous. In order to prepare and make one thing easier on us, Iberia offered to check our bags then and there for the flight the next day, which was kinda risky, but hey they did make it to LONDON {even though they were one of the last bags out and had my mama kinda stressing}. After a bajillion of calls later to the stupid airline, we were taxiing back to my apartment because I proceeded to go to my night class {only in hopes of bringing up my spirits by seeing two cute boys in my class… they weren't there}. When I finished class, I went immediately to my mama’s hotel, where she had to extend her stay, and I fell asleep instantly.
We left bright and early for round two at the airport. Security was a breeze, and we were finally on our way to the U.K. Upon arrival, we ventured through the massive airport, proceeded to stand in a customs line for about two hours, and then met with our personal driver that took us to the Grosvenor House. Although we missed the tea that we had planned for that day, when we arrived, we went straight to the member’s lounge, grabbed food to take up to the room, and then went to get ready for the day. Of course, being located in a major shopping city, we managed to do some major damage on the first day {sorry daddy!!}, and then that night we went to see Aladdin at the theatre. The performance was AMAZING!! The vibrant costumes, eccentric staging and props, and the entertaining cast. To get to din after the show, we had our own personal bike rider driver which was absolutely hilarious. Dodging the bustling city streets and cars made us appreciate our din more cause we actually made it one piece, not to mention the server gave us the best table in the restaurant to people watch.
The next morning we were planning on heading to the London Eye, where my mama had bought tickets for the champagne experience; little did we know, we had to book an exact time and couldn't show up at any given time. So that thirty minute drive was kind of pointless, except for the views of the Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, etc… We went to get tea at an all organic place, which SUCKED {aka: if you go to London and want to have tea, do not book it at LA Suite West}. The service was not good, the sandwiches were terrible {granted I have never been a sandwich kinda gal}, and the scones were rock hard to the point where we were able to hit them on the table and nothing happened to them. Once we were finally out of our terrible first tea experience, we called an Über and were on our way to Notting Hill where we took a few basic photos with the colorful houses and then walked around the few shops that were open.
On Sunday, we wanted to start out pretty early, considering it was our last full day and we were having a BLAST thus far. We got dressed and ready for a changing of the guards tour which took us to a multitude of palaces located within London and then ended at the Royal Palace where the changing of the guards happens {and honestly its super overrated cause you cant see anything}, and then my mama and I dispersed from the group in order to make it to our tour of Diana’s Crown Jewels. The tour was pretty quick but interesting, having the chance to read about her past, read about her family, see a few sketches of her fashion taste, and see some of her dresses and jewelry. The place was packed because the tour was only a special exhibition and was only going to be offered for a few weeks, but we didn't get to stay TOO long cause we had to make it to our tea and champagne reservations at Sketch. Thank goodness for those reservations though, cause the place was POPPIN, and it put our tea experience, the day before, to shame. We were first poured a glass of champagne, followed by a platter of little indulgences, and yummy tea of course. The walls had the STRANGEST artwork on them and the infamous bathroom was exactly how I pictured it {and how I had seen on insta g and Pinterest}. Following our teatime, we rushed back to the London Eye to make it to our champagne experience which took us on a thirty minute rotation, giving us the opportunity to have a view of practically the entire city, while sipping on a glass of champagne {ps: altitude DOES make a difference when drinking… cause I felt it after a couple of sips}. Following that experience, we treated ourselves to a dinner on the go from Harrods {the infamous multileveled department store}, and then rushed home to get ready for another night at the theatre. We saw Michael Jackson’s Thriller Live, and although it wasn’t as good as Aladdin, the dancing was pretty fun to watch. Once the show was out it was almost eleven at night and we had a flight home at seven in the morning in order to get me back to Madrid on time for school… or so we thought…
We got back to the Grosvenor, where we began packing up all of our British goodies and memories, and went to check into our flight {because on Iberia you can only checkin within twenty-four hours of your flight}. When we logged onto the Iberian Express website, they ONCE AGAIN messed EVERYTHING up and did not have our reservation!! As my mama probably spent hundreds of phone calls between Iberian Express and Iberia for three hours, we didn't actually get to get into bed until two in the morning; although, sleep was pointless considering we were leaving for the airport around three in order to check in our bags, take care of tax refunds from our damage we made, get through security, and make it to our gate. We got our booties moving around 2:40 in the morning, and finally made it out of the hotel around 3:20 in the morning. Thank goodness we got going that early though because we were sitting in COMPLETE standstill traffic for about an hour, due to a MAJOR car accident. Not one lane was open, drivers were getting out of their cars to try to figure out what was going on, and our taxi’s meter was going up at a rapid speed.
We FINALLY made it to the airport with LESS THAN AN HOUR to spare!! When we went to check our bags in, it was a s**t show once again… They told us they STILL did not have our reservation and we were transferred to another desk. Thank goodness the girl at the desk was on top of it cause she found our reservation, we were able to sprint to the tax refund counter, and then sprint across another airport {once again} to get through security… I swear it will become a thing for me to run across as many airports as possible in Europe, so I’ll keep y'all updated and be sure to take videos for proof. We made it to our gate within minutes of them boarding and we were both so exhausted, we both passed out before the plane even took off. I don't think I have ever been able to sleep that well before {except for the time I had taken two sleeping pills for the bus ride from Seville to Madrid}.
In case y'all were wondering, I did surprisingly make it to my Monday class running on no sleep, then went to get one last dinner with my mama before we had to say our sweet goodbyes {at least until May}. The goodbyes we hard, and I easily could've cried but I think I was just too pooped and my eyes were so dry from being deprived from sleep. I’d have to say, up to date, my time with my mama was probably the best time I have had since I have been abroad for almost two months. I could EASILY say that I want to move to London {at least for one or two years} and I can't wait for some more fun adventures which are yet to come but are already planned.
Up next: Paris, France!! Stay tuned everybody!!
xoxo v
