Madrid Madness

It’s November 1st and I’m sitting at a coffee shop having survived one of the craziest nights of my journey thus far.  I knew things were done much later in Spain than they are done in the States, but when my friend Monica asked if I wanted to join her for a night out, I had no idea just how late things really got started.  And considering I’m not exactly in my 20’s anymore, I really did not know if I could handle it.  BUT….the old Stace pulled through.  Imagine my surprise when Monica said we would meet up with her friends at midnight to hangout and have some drinks before going to the nightclub.  This led me to subtly wonder…so, WHEN exactly do we get to the nightclub if pre-party drinks don’t start until midnight?  I tried to contain my panic and go with the flow.  Ha!  I know panic sounds dramatic, but I am usually more of a morning person and get tired late at night!  And once I’m tired, I’m done.  Bye!  Hehe!  Luckily, during my time in Europe, my body has adjusted a bit and I have finally been able to sleep past 7am and most days I sleep until 10am or so.  Then again, I don’t usually go to sleep until about 2am.  Anyway, we ended up meeting up with her friends in a plaza near the nightclub.  We sat and talked, had drinks and froze our buns off as the night air became cooler and cooler.  I didn’t understand much of what was being said, but I figure each one of these opportunities is another step in training my ear to understand and decipher the extremely thick Spanish accent of the Madrillenos.  The people I was with were stylishly dressed, so sweet, and fun.  They rolled their own cigarettes, laughed and joked with each other, and kept each other warm with cuddles and hugs.  We were having such fun that I didn’t look at my phone to check the time until we started walking toward the club.  At this point it was 1:45am.  This would be the time I would typically LEAVE a bar in the states…that is, on the rare occasion that I’m out that late.  Most of my outings seem to be more of the happy hour variety.  But who cares!?! I was about to enter a Madrid nightclub and I was ready!  The line was long and I was surprised to see many people dressed in Halloween costumes!  The moment we entered the club I was transported to another world.  The lasers, the smoke, the shoulder to shoulder people, Spanish music blasting, Go Go dancers. I could feel the music pulsing through my body and I was ready to rip up that dance floor.  Unfortunately it was just a little too packed to really get my dance on, but it didn't matter.  The energy was infectious and oh my, it was wonderful!  We danced and swayed to the music, half the time being shoved by people trying to get by.  I didn’t care…I people watched and thought about how LUCKY I was to be there, to be having this experience.  While this would not be an every weekend routine for me, I loved it and had so much fun!  It made me realize you are never NEVER too old to go out and have a kick ass night.  I was so grateful and content to be able to be plunked down in the middle of the people of Madrid, riding the waves of the music with hundreds of people.  Finally, a common language. :)  I called it quits around four in the morning and hopped in a taxi to return to my flat with a huge smile on my face. Bucket List....CHECK!