Madrid-> Barcelona

Monday, March 16th and Tuesday, March 15th 2011

On Monday we tried to see the Prado and the Thyssen but to just our luck, all the museums were closed.  We had planned to take an overnight bus to Barcelona that night but we decided we couldn’t come to Madrid and not see the Prado.  So we decided to stay one more night, see the museums in the morning and catch the bus to Barcelona around one.  I was a little disappointed with the Prado, I think mainly because I didn’t understand the culture and the history behind it.  I’ve learned European history but it mainly has been about the Renaissance and Middle Ages, etc. so I can appreciate the artwork I see in the Uffizi or Pitti Palace more so than the Prado.  The Thyssen had paintings done by Picasso and Diego Rivera, more a modern art collection but nevertheless exceptional. 

We caught an eight-hour train to Barcelona and all was going well until we got to the first rest stop.  The whole bus got off to have a snack and the bus driver said we had twenty minuets.  We went in and had some paella but before we knew it the room had cleared out and people were starting to get back on the bus.  Katie and I, not realizing this, took our sweet time, using the rest room one more time and buying snacks.  When we went outside, we couldn't recognize our bus so we started hoping on random ones and seeing if we could find our friends.  By the third bus we realized something was probably wrong, and then all the sudden we see our friend Victoria sprinting towards us yelling at us to hurry.  The bus had started to leave!  And was still leaving without any of us on it!  Victoria ran in front of it so he'd have to stop and let us on.  Luckily, we got on the bus and although it was very embarrassing walking to the way back of the bus after that fiasco, we made to Barcelona.  I found this event interesting because in America, a bus would never leave without all it's riders and we certainly would not have had to chase after it.