In honor of Hispanic Day (Día de la Hispanidad) or National Day (Fiesta Nacional de España), my school was given a long weekend with Thursday and Friday off. In Spain, they call these puentes (bridges.)  After work on Wednesday, I took a blablacar and drove the 3.5-4 hours to Madrid to see my friend Amanda. Amanda and I met in college during our study abroad program in Costa Rica. We hadn’t seen each other in almost five years, and it was great catching up as she took me all over the city.

On Thursday, we joined the Hiking Madrid group and visited Toledo, which was once home to a school for translators and boasts a history of three cultures: Islamic, Christian and Jewish. It was also home to the famous Cretan painter, El Greco, who had a home here and painted one of my favorite paintings, View of Toledo, which is on display at the MET in New York. We were able to see his paintings of the Apostles and View and Plan of Toledo in a replica of his house.

During the week, Amanda took me to famous Madrid sites like the Prado Museum, the Monument to Miguel de Cervantes, El Retiro Park and Chocolateria San Gines for churros and chocolate. I also explored the National Archaeological Museum and some of Amanda’s favorite food places and coffee shops.

I had a great weekend, saw old friends, made new ones, and have plans to return to Madrid in a few weeks to celebrate Tapapiés 2017, which is when restaurants around the city offer cheap tapas and drinks.