As of tomorrow morning I will leave the first destination on my wanderlust tour: Madrid. It's been a super-awesome-totally-badass time. I've always traveled with someone else on my international trips and being able to travel alone has made me realize how much I allow myself to lean on or be influenced by the other person, for both good and bad. But on this trip- it's been up to me. Speaking the language, meeting new people, deciding what to do. And I must say: it's freaking AWESOME! My Spanish has improved 20-fold in the past 4 days. But if I wasn't here by myself being forced to use it, I'd be coasting along blah blah blah.
Also, I never thought a city could match or surpass my ability to party. Well, congratulations Madrid, you have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. People in Madrid will party you into the ground, get up, and keep on partying. I haven't been to sleep before 5am a single night here. And when I leave a club/bar at 5-6am, it's usually still filled with people. The motto is: party till you coma. Madrid, I salute you!
Now most people are very divided about Madrid vs. Barcelona. "Oh, Madrid is ok but Barcelona is way better," yatta yatta yatta. But I'm going to refrain from anything until I have visited both. But for now, te amo. My liver- no se gusta.
I got in Thursday night around 8pm and within 15 minutes of checking into Hostel One, I was already playing a drinking game with some girls from Canada, a brother and sister from Costa Rica, and a guy from London. And this has pretty much continued unabated for the past 4 days, albeit with an ever-changing cast of characters. Tonight, having beers in the hostel and getting my act together for tomorrow is the calmest most relaxing evening I've experienced.
On Friday afternoon (post all-night bar crawl) we did the free walking tour. Manu, Marissa, and Ashan from the hostel were there. Here is a picture of Manu drinking this tea-like beverage which was actually pretty good.
In the middle of the tour we had a break for churros and chocolate, which is hot chocolate but has the flavor and viscosity of molten milk chocolate. So... super rich. Drinking it is like drinking... a chocolaty clam chowder. But if you like sweets, Chocolateria San Gines is the place to go in Madrid.
At night we did a tapas tour which was not really worth the money but we did learn a considerable amount about the history of tapas. In the middle of the tour we were interrupted by the Easter procession which would move about 5-10 feet and then stop for 5-10 minutes and so on.
Friday night we went out to bars and bars and then clubs and then I ended up at this other Irish bar until 6am mixing it up with some Czech girls and Spanish and German F-18 fighter pilots who were, astonishingly, the 4th and 5th people to be convinced (upon hearing what/why I am doing here) that I am a spy. Or maybe it's just my name. Anyway, I nearly parlayed myself into a F-18 rear-seat flight, and definitely parlayed myself into the graces of the Czech Republic.
Saturday I slept in (had only slept 4 hours since Tuesday) and then walked the Parque de El Retiro, seeing some unique entertainers and soaking in the first bit of sunlight since arriving in Madrid (it hailed all day on Thursday!). Saturday night we decided to do a pub crawl with the good folks at the hostel. It was one of those 10 euro gets you 45 minutes unlimited drinks and then a free shot at each bar-type deal. At bar #2, we noticed there was a guy in a sombrero at an outdoor bar hawking tequila shots. Lock city.
Owen from the hostel and I went over and slammed a few shots of aguardiente and then began chatting with some girls from Galicia (north-western Spain). We were impressive with our complete lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, my committal to absurd phrasing such as "quierro una langosta mas rapida," and our adherence to the belief that Estrella Galicia is the best beer in Spain. As the group was leaving, our girl friends demanded some pictures with the hombre in el sombrero:
Today (Sunday) I got up after another late late night and saw El Rastro (crazy flea market), Museo de el Prado (for some Goya-inspired depression), and then back to the hotel for a siesta. At 6pm we went to Las Ventras to see the Easter bullfight.
Bullfighting in Spain is a very touchy subject. People here are very opinionated about it and most keep said opinions to themselves. As a foreigner who has now been only to one bullfight I don't feel entitled to have a real opinion. I will say, however, that it was an experience unlike any other. And I can see why people such as Hemingway could be so moved to write Death in the Afternoon extolling the virtues, and also why people could be so steadfast against it.
In all, Madrid was tremendous. Tomorrow I head to Manzanares el Real to begin my hike through the Sierra de Guadarrama. Today I stopped by Museo del Jamon (museum of ham) which is basically just a really cool deli to purchase meat, cheese, and bread for the trip. So now the really crazy part of the trip begins. If I make it to Segovia, I'll post an update. If not, well, thanks for reading! :)
Also, I never thought a city could match or surpass my ability to party. Well, congratulations Madrid, you have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. People in Madrid will party you into the ground, get up, and keep on partying. I haven't been to sleep before 5am a single night here. And when I leave a club/bar at 5-6am, it's usually still filled with people. The motto is: party till you coma. Madrid, I salute you!
Now most people are very divided about Madrid vs. Barcelona. "Oh, Madrid is ok but Barcelona is way better," yatta yatta yatta. But I'm going to refrain from anything until I have visited both. But for now, te amo. My liver- no se gusta.
I got in Thursday night around 8pm and within 15 minutes of checking into Hostel One, I was already playing a drinking game with some girls from Canada, a brother and sister from Costa Rica, and a guy from London. And this has pretty much continued unabated for the past 4 days, albeit with an ever-changing cast of characters. Tonight, having beers in the hostel and getting my act together for tomorrow is the calmest most relaxing evening I've experienced.
On Friday afternoon (post all-night bar crawl) we did the free walking tour. Manu, Marissa, and Ashan from the hostel were there. Here is a picture of Manu drinking this tea-like beverage which was actually pretty good.
In the middle of the tour we had a break for churros and chocolate, which is hot chocolate but has the flavor and viscosity of molten milk chocolate. So... super rich. Drinking it is like drinking... a chocolaty clam chowder. But if you like sweets, Chocolateria San Gines is the place to go in Madrid.At night we did a tapas tour which was not really worth the money but we did learn a considerable amount about the history of tapas. In the middle of the tour we were interrupted by the Easter procession which would move about 5-10 feet and then stop for 5-10 minutes and so on.Friday night we went out to bars and bars and then clubs and then I ended up at this other Irish bar until 6am mixing it up with some Czech girls and Spanish and German F-18 fighter pilots who were, astonishingly, the 4th and 5th people to be convinced (upon hearing what/why I am doing here) that I am a spy. Or maybe it's just my name. Anyway, I nearly parlayed myself into a F-18 rear-seat flight, and definitely parlayed myself into the graces of the Czech Republic.
Saturday I slept in (had only slept 4 hours since Tuesday) and then walked the Parque de El Retiro, seeing some unique entertainers and soaking in the first bit of sunlight since arriving in Madrid (it hailed all day on Thursday!). Saturday night we decided to do a pub crawl with the good folks at the hostel. It was one of those 10 euro gets you 45 minutes unlimited drinks and then a free shot at each bar-type deal. At bar #2, we noticed there was a guy in a sombrero at an outdoor bar hawking tequila shots. Lock city.
Owen from the hostel and I went over and slammed a few shots of aguardiente and then began chatting with some girls from Galicia (north-western Spain). We were impressive with our complete lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, my committal to absurd phrasing such as "quierro una langosta mas rapida," and our adherence to the belief that Estrella Galicia is the best beer in Spain. As the group was leaving, our girl friends demanded some pictures with the hombre in el sombrero:
Today (Sunday) I got up after another late late night and saw El Rastro (crazy flea market), Museo de el Prado (for some Goya-inspired depression), and then back to the hotel for a siesta. At 6pm we went to Las Ventras to see the Easter bullfight.Bullfighting in Spain is a very touchy subject. People here are very opinionated about it and most keep said opinions to themselves. As a foreigner who has now been only to one bullfight I don't feel entitled to have a real opinion. I will say, however, that it was an experience unlike any other. And I can see why people such as Hemingway could be so moved to write Death in the Afternoon extolling the virtues, and also why people could be so steadfast against it.In all, Madrid was tremendous. Tomorrow I head to Manzanares el Real to begin my hike through the Sierra de Guadarrama. Today I stopped by Museo del Jamon (museum of ham) which is basically just a really cool deli to purchase meat, cheese, and bread for the trip. So now the really crazy part of the trip begins. If I make it to Segovia, I'll post an update. If not, well, thanks for reading! :)
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