After 23 days in the Middle East, heading back to Europe was bittersweet.

I saw one of the world's most impressive cities and completed a life-changing 10-day silent meditation.

I got to witness one of the 7 Wonders of the World and had my eyes opened to the brutality of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Most of all, I got to experience the beauty of the people in the Middle East.

But, Europe is great too! Daily life is far easier. The culture is more familiar.

It's travel on easy mode.

Plus, there might not have been a country I was more excited to visit in Europe than the one I was headed to: Spain.

Reuniting with the Boys

Out of all the cities that I planned to visit in Europe, I wanted to visit Madrid first. Two of my best friends from Georgia Tech-Europe, Ricardo and Jaime, were both from there and leaving for the US in just a few days.

I'm so happy I reunited with my people before they crossed the Atlantic!

My first full day in Madrid was January 6, which was the Feast of the Epiphany. While Spanish people celebrate Christmas on December 25, the Feast of the Epiphany is their day for presents and spending time with family.

I took advantage of this to explore the city and was shocked to find such a massive metropolis to be incredibly walkable.

While Madrid is sprawling, the downtown area is easy to navigate, and I was able to see most of the sites by walking through in a day.

Ricardo was kind enough to invite me to get some beers and tapas with his childhood friends that night and I had an absolute blast.

If you've ever met your college friends's high school friends, you know how funny it is for the worlds to collide.

His friends thought it was hilarious that I called him Ricardo–they all call him Modrego (his last name) or Richie.

Oops.

We had some laughs over that, how some of their lives were or weren't controlled by their girlfriends, and my favorite subject, hating on France. Apparently, it's their favorite subject too.

His friend group reminded me of my boys back home–it's just so nice to shoot the shit with people who've known you for years–and it was so kind of them to include me in the conversation, despite the language barrier.

Even when everyone else was talking in rapid-fire Spanish, one of them would be translating for me so I could feel included.

Hell yeah!

Spanish Time

The following day, I got to meet Jaime's friends in a similar setting–we all had brunch together near his university.

11:00 AM, we had decided, which was perfect for me, since I wanted to work out beforehand.

I was running a little late, so I texted Jaime that I would be there at 11:15 AM. No problem he said.

I ended up arriving at 11:45 AM, and Jaime and I were still the first ones there 😂.

Welcome to Spanish time :)

An 11:45 AM brunch is probably the most wholesome thing you can imagine a group of 5 dudes doing. I asked them if they do this often and they said it was the first time they'd ever done it 😂.

Super cute. Our brunch Polaroid pic is coming soon so stay tuned!

In all seriousness, the same friendliness that Ricardo's friend group extended to me applied to Jaime's friend group as well. Being one of the boys, even thousands of miles from my own boys, made me feel right at home in a place that was otherwise foreign.

The Food Goes Crazy...

Later that day, Ricardo (ahem, Richie), Jaime, and I took a day trip to Segovia, a medieval-feeling town an hour outside of Madrid. There, we ate some amazing Spanish cochinillo and walked around the entire city before the sunset.

Jaime and I finished the day back in the city at this local Spanish spot for beers and tapas.

At that moment, I decided that Spain had really figured out food.

As a visitor, you want to try all the local cuisine possible and Spain makes it easy.

They're known for tapas, bite-sized portions of dishes, which makes it possible to try a little bit of everything in one meal. Over the course of a couple beers with Jaime, I tried croquetas and a couple different types of Spanish tortillas.

Throughout just a few days in Madrid, I had paella (although I was warned it was better in Valencia), churros con chocolate, calamari sandwiches, and roscón de reyes.

It felt like every meal I could try a new typical Spanish dish and never run out of options. But my favorite dish of all came during my final dinner in Madrid when I tried cachopo.

It's basically this dish with cheese sandwiched between two thin veal steaks with the entire thing breaded and fried. It's massive and you're meant to order one cachopo for two people, so naturally I ordered one for just myself.

I placated the waiter by telling him I would take half of it home before going full American mode and devouring the entire thing.

What an amazing Spanish invention.

If we could replace all McDonald's restaurants with Spanish spots serving cachopo, Spanish tortillas, and tapas, the world would be a better place.

Why did the US figure out how to export our culture so well instead of Spain?

Sad.

...And The Nightlife Does Too

Another reason I was excited to visit Madrid was because of everything I heard about the nightlife.

But on Monday night, with my train leaving the city on Tuesday morning, I still hadn't really explored the party scene.

At 10:00 pm, after discovering I was the only one getting ready for bed in a 10-person dorm, I decided that I was being lame, and at least owed it to myself to hang out at the hostel bar for 30 minutes.

What's the point of travel if you won't be at least a little social?

I brought my water bottle with me because I was definitely not drinking and just wanted to make a few friends before going to sleep.

Famous last words. I met a guy from Barcelona and a girl from Australia who convinced me to join the hostel pub crawl with their good vibes and fun conversations.

Bye bye water bottle.

On that night, I unleashed 8+ months of no partying into some bars and clubs that were definitely not ready for it. Myself and my new friend Mark from Barcelona were the only ones dancing half the time, but I didn't care.

The music was good, the vibes were great, and the Monday night out turned into a rager until 5:00 am, arriving back at the hostel just in time for dinner on Spanish time :)

It was a nice reminder of what could happen when you choose not to get ready for bed at 10:00 pm, and instead be social and leave room for spontaneity.

Sure it wasn't the greatest wake-up the next day, but the night of dancing and fun was completely worth it!

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed my time in Madrid but it wasn't for the sightseeing or tourism. I actually found there to be a surprising lack of cool "sights to see" for such a big metropolitan city.

But what the city lacked in quantifiable tourist attractions, it made up for in livability and lovability.

It was clear to me that Madrid is extremely livable, with good public transport, weather, and affordability when compared to other European capitals.

Likewise, it's easy to love Madrid, with its great food options, nightlife scene, and amazing people.

So who cares if there aren't quintessential tourist traps?

Madrid has my heart in every other way.