I have to admit that I went into this weekend adventure in Madrid convinced that I would not like the city. Spaniards (that is, Salamancans) had told me of the large, unorganized city that was not as beautiful or nice as Barcelona. Nevertheless, I must say I was pleasantly surprised. We stayed at a nice hostel near Puerta del Sol, which is considered the center of Old Madrid. There were 8 of my friends from around Spain in the room, so the smelly shoe problem was not a problem AND there were individual rooms for each shower... No mistaking this time!
The premise for this trip was "John Carroll Weekend," an alumni gathering in which alums were awarded for their achievements (which, let's be honest, obviously included large donations to the university) and several cultural and academic events took place. My friends and I had signed up to "volunteer" for the weekend. The first night was the Welcome Reception at Casino de Madrid where we were fed free food and cocktails and even saw the Prince of Spain. The next day, I was assigned to volunteer at a bus tour of Madrid and tour of Las Ventas bullring. I learned a lot about the history of the city and that afternoon, as a few friends and I toured the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) I put some of that knowledge to good use. The next day we were invited to a free Thank-You dinner for all volunteers which was again more food than I could eat and more courses than I remember and, of course, Riojo (red wine). We proceeded to the free "Chimes Night" at the Westin Palace hotel where I saw some old Georgetown friends who were members of the Chimes a capella group (an old Gtown tradition). Saturday we toured the Prado Museum and saw El Greco, Goya and Velazquez masterpieces. Then we proceeded to picnic in the city park, watch Gtown win the Big East regular season and volunteer at the Awards Banquet. The staff dinner at this banquet was extravagant and delicious once again, and it was totally worth the logistical nightmare that proceeded (i.e. seating 500 guests with a last minute seating chart).
You may have noticed that I have been saying volunteer in quotations... that is because the absurd amount of free food, tours, and a lovely left over gift bag packed with free, expensive goods makes me believe that, economically speaking, this does not constitute "volunteering". But, hey, I'll definitely take it... Even the Madrid experience is definitely worth the trip.
