manda in madrid: the most epic last night of anyone's study abroad ever

As Jess, Rachel, and I left 128 Fuencarral to head towards dinner we had no definite plans for what would follow. The rain was bumming us out, I was still not packed, and Jess and I were trying to resolve our very mixed emotions about leaving the next morning. Dinner at Ginger was perfect, good food and good atmosphere. Two hours and two bottles of wine later going home was simply no longer an option. Instead, I spidey-sensed us to a flamenco bar near Plaza Mayor where we obviously sat in the VIP section. We hung around for a bit, sipping on glasses of sangria and watching the male flamenco dancers love their lives, before walking through Plaza Mayor towards Sol. For some reason I decided that we needed to go to Joy so after dropping "Drika's list" and sweet talking the bouncers we were able to skip the line and go in for gratis. The three of us bee-lined straight to the not so crowded dance floor where we took over and soon attracted quite a crowd. After helping a group of guys celebrate a bachelor party we exited and headed towards Madrid's statue of the bear and the tree. With some help from strangers, we were able to get up on the statue and cuddle our osito. Within twenty seconds various groups of people stopped to snap some pictures of us and two randos got up on the statue as well. After posing for a few minutes, some policia pulled up with their sirens on prompting us to jump six feet to the ground, grab our various belongings and scream "RUN!!!!" as if what was happening were the most epic event in history. We caught a cab on Gran Via and piled into it in a fit of giggles. Content with the events of our perfectly Madrileno night, we headed home. The next morning was spent trying to shove my belongings into my suitcases while arguing with Miguel about weight limits. I ended up having to trade Maggie my medium suitcase for her extra large one so that everything could fit. After all the bags were zipped we said some teary goodbyes, Maggie and Miguel helped me into a cab, and I took in some of my last sights of Madrid on my way to the airport. Jess and I went a little crazy with the shopping, determined to spend the last of our euros (and maybe charge some things too...no biggie), and were called for boarding before we knew it. The flight was smooth, Jess ate the majority of both of our meals, while I was all about the "mas pan?" When we touched down in JFK, we did a double high five, followed by a hug, both of which drew some strange looks from our fellow passengers. After customs and baggage we walked through the doors into the arms of our fans (aka parents), parted ways, and now we're home!