Well you already know how this works every weekend…wake up really early on Thursday morning, take the train to Gatwick airport and then jump on a plane to wherever I’m going. This weekend, I went with Chelsea and Shayna to Madrid, Spain. Madrid is the largest city and the capital of Spain and it is pretty much in the middle of the country. After taking the metro to our hostel we took a quick nap since we were all pretty much dead. When we woke up we meet up with Chelsea’s friend Brianna and we walked around and grabbed a few drinks at a pub near Plaza de Sol. We headed back to the hostel relatively early so we can wake up and enjoy the city all day on Friday.
On Friday morning we went on a 3.5 hour long free walking tour of the entire city. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and extremely informal which made the tour absolutely great. We saw all of the key tourist attractions of the city and he brought us to some less well-known places that the locals hang out. We saw Plaza Mayor, Plaza de Sol, the Royal Palace and the Madrid Cathedral. Overall the tour was a great introduction to the city and was a good balance of touristy sights and local hangouts. After the tour we were starving so we went to an authentic Spanish restaurant. For only 10 Euros we received a three-course meal along with a drink! In London that would have easily cost about 20-30 pounds! As many of you know I can be a bit of a picky eater, but I ordered and ate everything in the restaurant even though I had no idea what I originally ordered (not a single waitress spoke a word of English). Yay for stepping out of my comfort zone. After lunch I spent the afternoon at the second largest art museum in the world, the Prado. A definite must see should you ever find yourself in Madrid.
After heading back to the hostel for a little while we went to meet up with Brianna and our AKPsi friends Emily and Sam who are studying in Madrid for the semester. The bar we went to “El Tigre” was one of the most crowded bars that I have ever been too, you literally couldn’t walk as everyone was there to snatch up a drink and a plate of tapas for only 3.5 Euros. After going to El Tigre we decided to live la vida loca and go on a pub-crawl. For only 12 euros we went to 5 different bars (a free drink at each place!) and to a club to end the night. To make things more interesting, the first pub had a power hour with free unlimited Sangria and beer for an hour. We ended up getting back to the hostel at about 4am and needless to say we all slept in on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon we walked around the city and stopped at an open-air street market where all the locals were out to buy cheap clothing, jewelry and shoes. All the vendors were screaming out to customers (“Zappatos tres Euros” “Camisas cinco Euros”) about their deals and prices and I thought it was a pretty interesting place. Chelsea and I walked around the city for a bit longer and headed to a famous Madrid bakery while Shayna went back to the hostel to rest. A few hours later we were back on Ryanair for our flight back to Gatwick.
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| View from our balcony. |
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| A bear eating a tree- the symbol of Madrid. |
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| Plaza del Sol. |
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| The Royal Palace |
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| Madrid Cathedral |
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| This is how all the street signs are in Madrid, pretty cool. |
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| Plaza Mayor. |
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| Grand Via. |
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| The Prado. |
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| This is a hotel, yep. |
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| AKPsi |
Overall I absolutely loved the city of Madrid. I thought that the buildings and the architecture were beautiful, the people were extremely friendly (take that France!) and I loved the culture that exists in Spain. Whenever I looked slightly lost, within seconds someone was trying to help me out with directions, even when they did not speak a word of English. Spanish people seem to love tourists and are very proud of their country and the city of Madrid. Unlike some other countries (cough France cough cough) the locals try to ensure that tourists fall in love with the city and come back soon. The Spanish culture is pretty nuts also. In Spain it is common eat dinner at about 10pm and then go out until about 5-7am. Although that is not typically my lifestyle, I do enjoy their culture, as it is way different from anything that I have experienced so far. To my surprise, basically no one except for the people who worked in the hostel spoke any English! Luckily for me I was able to actually talk to people and get my point across in most situations using the Spanish I learned in school over the years. I also loved the bright blue sky and 65 degree weather we enjoyed in Spain all weekend. The other major benefit of Madrid is that it is way cheaper than anywhere else I have been in Europe. Supermarkets sell the same things that would be selling in London for about a quarter to a half the price that it would cost in London. Bring in Madrid for the weekend makes me really want to go and see Barcelona now. Only issue with Madrid: Pickpocketers. If you go there, seriously beware.
Last night I did my laundry and accidently put my cellphone through the wash and the dryer, oops. I got a new phone for only 4 pounds this morning though, so no big deal. Anyway I have some actual work to do in London this week and I should be finding out where I will be interning very soon, I’ll keep you updated.
-Rees
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