This past weekend was my first full weekend staying in Madrid for several weeks. And honestly? It was a breath of fresh air. Trust me, I love traveling and am so grateful for the sights I have seen so far. But it was so nice to stay home for a few days. Madrid is always full of energy, but the weekends add another dimension to the city. Full of parks and sidewalk cafes it’s the ideal city to slow down and enjoy the weather. It was sunny and in the high 60s, something I didn’t tell my friends in Boston stuck in another snowstorm!

The weekend is a great opportunity to break out of your usual weekday habits and stomping grounds. For instance on Saturday a group of friends went to the more northern Salamanca barrio to check out Madrid’s Carnival. We missed the parade unfortunately but were able to spend some time in the sun at Parque Berlín (named because of a fountain containing two pieces of the Berlin wall). I also traveled up to a friend’s neighborhood on Sunday morning to one of their local cafes. It’s interesting to see the more purely residential neighborhoods, and it offered another ‘flavour’ to the city. I also had a delicious cinnamon roll, the best way to start a Sunday morning. I ended the weekend seeing a production of Lorca’s Yerma. One of the program classes had extra tickets, and the theatre was only a five minute walk from my house. It was an amazing and intense opportunity, and not something I would have gone to on my own.

On my walk, there was an absolutely incredible amazing sunset, the perfect way to end a perfect finde.