Madrid

I arrived in Madrid, and on my way to the hostel from the train station, I noticed that Madrid was like a collage of a number of cities I have been to. There were aspects of Dublin, Rome, and New York in the city center. Unlike the rest of Europe, the buildings seemed to be a little bit taller, which was a welcome surprise, coming from Chicago. There were also a lot of people going about their days, and a lot of wide streets with open spaces/plazas.

Upon arriving, I checked in, and went back to the train station to get my ticket to Barcelona (I would have bought it when I arrived, but the line was way too long). On the way back, I stopped at a restaurant for lunch, where I had sliced potatoes topped with two fried eggs and spinach. I then returned to the hostel to relax, watch some tv, and make dinner. That night I also met a student from Mexico who was studying in Murcia, Spain. I had some communication difficulties with him, because he only spoke Spanish. At the same time, I was excited to practice my speaking. Of course, I was still pretty bad, but he was able to understand my point.

The next day I went on a free walking tour with my new Mexican friend. They had them in English and Spanish, but there weren't enough people for the Spanish one, so my friend came with me on the English one. Every now and then, I had to explain what the guide, Sebastien, was saying. I can't say I did a very good job, but I guess it was sufficient. This tour was also surprisingly good and enjoyable. Sebastien was very interactive and knew his stuff. The main highlights seemed to be bureaucracy, inbreeding, the Moors, and religious wars/persecution.

The oldest restaurant in Europe, or the world...can't remember but still, pretty old

Catedral de la Almudena

A map showing the current city, and the old city walls

Palacio Real de Madrid

After the tour ended at Plaza Mayor, my friend and I got some tapas for lunch; I had a tortilla española (Spanish omelet) stuffed in a tomato. There was also a man and woman on a balcony singing some Christmas songs which was really nice.

We then went back to the hostel to relax for a bit. We planned to go out around the city to see the markets and lights, as it was Christmas Eve, but it started to downpour, so we decided to just go the nearby Chinese grocery to get dinner and relax at the hostel with everyone else there, watching tv and eating. That night I met an older man from Brazil who was traveling around. He was very nice to talk to, and we spent much of the evening talking about studying abroad, traveling, what the world is coming to, those damn youngsters with their facebooks and twitters, and other such things. It was actually kind of fun. There were also some other people at the hostel who I think were friends of the hostel staff. They had some kind of party at the hostel, but I didn't really feel like joining, as it seemed more private, so I just went to sleep.

On la Navidad, I slept in, then went to El Parque del Retiro to wander around. It was a very nice park, with nice trails, a lake, statues, and a really cool Palacio de Cristal.

El Palacio de Cristal

After the park, I went to Chueca, which is an area very near my hostel. There I had a slice of pizza, then came back to the hostel to relax. I couldn't really do much, as the city was dead on Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day morning/afternoon. I talked to my Brazilian friend for a bit more, then decided to walk around the city at night to see the lights and markets. It was very nice, as more people were out (mainly the younger crowd), and the lights/decorations were up. I even passed a theater where they current musical was El Rey León (The Lion King), which I thought was pretty funny. Overall, I walked to Palacio Real de Madrid, Gran Via, Plaza Mayor, Puerta de Alcalá, Plaza de Cibeles, Puerta del Sol, and Chueca.

Palacio Cibeles

 Puerta de Alcalá

Gran Via

Palacio Real de Madrid

 Plaza Mayor

Puerta del Sol

Chueca

Now, before coming back to the hostel, I stopped at a restaurant for dinner. I had a Spanish omelet in a baguette, with churros dipped in chocolate...it was...this...

Need I say anything?

After walking around, I returned to the hostel and relaxed and talked with my Brazilian friend for a while. The next day I checked out of the hostel and got on El Ave to Barcelona, during which I watched The Internship...in Spanish of course. 

Overall, Madrid was good. I was kind of bogged down by the rain, and the city was pretty silent on Christmas Eve/Day. But, I got to practice my Spanish a lot, and got to explore around Madrid.

Next up, Barcelona Part 2!