Parents gone again ...

This week were the last days that my parents were here, so I would enjoy those days very much!

Monday the 28th I first had classes, but afterwards I went to spend to afternoon with my parents. They visited the ‘new’ part of Madrid that morning, which is between Nuevos Ministerios and Chamartín. My father, a small football fan, of course wanted to see Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the world famous stadium of Real Madrid C.F. They had a cup of coffee in the stadium cafeteria, which has a nice view over the pitch and gave a good impression about the whole stadium.
We met at metro Nuevos Ministerios around noon, so we could see the ministries and some other beautiful buildings. Would never have come here by myself, so sometimes it is good that my parents want to see almost everything a city has to offer. We lunched on a small square which had a superb atmosphere. Besides that, the food and drinks were cheap, so we might go there at some later time.
Another interesting part of Madrid is the start of Parque Rio near Legazpi. You can visit some museums and old buildings there, but you can also walk alongside the river in the newly opened park. Lovely to do in the evening when the sun starts setting!
That night we had a small ‘goodbye’ dinner at a place called Vivares 37, a very small restaurant in the vibrant area Chueca. The place is very good value for money; a menu with wine and bread and 3 courses is only €12.90. A good way the say goodbye to my parents, luckily this was only for about a month.

My parents flew the next day around noon, but I decided not to go to the airport and say goodbye the day before. They told me that they had a great time here: Madrid is a great city for a short city trip and it was also nice to see the apartment where I live.

Wednesday was the day our landlord would come to collect the December rent. Unfortunately for her, this was not going to happen until there was a formal contract with the things we agreed upon. Finally, she agreed to the terms we wanted and now everything was settled. We only had to pay the December rent and after that everything was done. We even get some money back from her! The lesson here for us is that it is important to have a contract so that the landlord cannot change something without us knowing.

Thursday I had the last partial exam for Operations Management. As usual, this was very easy and you did not have to study much. You only had to learn some multiple choice questions by heart and remember some exercises which were almost literally asked. The shows that the level of education on Carlos III is much lower than the high standard on Tilburg University. That day I also bought some presents for the 5th of December, when we are going to celebrate Sinterklaas. That will be so awesome!

That Saturday we had a birthday party of my German girlfriend Franziska. As a tradition, we bought a bottle of Sangria. Another friend brought the game ‘Stef Stuntpiloot’ or as it is called in German ‘Looping Louie’. I you have had a few drinks, the game is getting better and better. Afterwards, we went to the Irish pub to have some more drinks.

So this was a week with a bit more partying, as a real Erasmus student should do. Next blog I will tell you about our great Sinterklaas party! Hasta luego!