Discovering Spain, from Madrid to the South of Spain

Madrid is the city that never sleeps and even if you want to, it can be difficult, when the partying does not stop until 6-7 in the morning!!  Ryan and I landed in Madrid and it took a while for us to figure out the city.  We decided to stay at a hotel by the airport, which was the worst mistake, we had to take a 20 minute cab ride into the city and it was expensive...so my advice, stay at a hostel in Puerto Del Sol, the main city centre.  Once we moved into the city, we were able to walk everywhere and take the local underground for only 1 euro....instead of greedy taxi drivers ripping us off!!

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First stop was Plaza Mayor, it was breathtaking. Plaza Mayor is the main square in Madrid. It is

surrounded by grand old buildings, and lined with cafe's. It is a great place to dine alfresco and watch the world go by. It is definitely not the cheapest place to eat, but worth it!

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Retiro Park-This park is huge and lovely! It's got a man-made

lake in the middle from where it's possible to hire a boat and go paddling.. Or you may opt to sit under one of the many trees to take it all in and give yourself a break from city life! The park is also host to some art exhibitions and also home to the Crystal Palace which looks like a large green house.

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Madrid Cathedral is called La Almudena. It is in neo-gothic style and has a Romanesque crypt. It is close to the Royal Palace. The windows, the pictures... all deserve a visit. We entered for the first time to the crypt. Here you can find many buried tombs. some of them very recent (I wonder how much they will pay in life to be buried here?)

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Everyday consisted of walking about the city, visiting the various cafes, museums and then we decided to take a road trip!  Madrid was wonderful, but expensive and we wanted to see more of Spain, the Beaches, wine country....so we did it!

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We left on a coach bus and for 15 Euro each we arrived in Malaga, from there we took another bus to Costa Del Sol  It took 5 hours to get to the South of Spain and the bus was relatively comfy!  

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The hotel was great, right by the water and aside from all the naked woman on the beach, I managed to have great time!  Of course Ry was having an even better time!!!  The Beach was crowded but beautiful, we took a walk along and ate at several of the restaurants, trying the best seafood ever!

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Must try Sardines on the fire...they were fantastic!  Also, a Mexcican restaurant by the Marina.  My mouth is watering just thinking about all the fantastic food!

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This is definately a tourist place, with most of the people coming from the UK, it would get pretty roudy at night and I think is more of a party place.  Actually we decided to leave Costa Del Sol and travel more south by car, to a place called Chiclana Del Frontera....little did we know we were heading straight for paradise!

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Chiclana was incredible!  The beach was the biggest I have ever seen and empty...it was so secluded, so peaceful, Ry said he wanted to stay there for a month!   Our resort was great, so cheap, brand new and we couldn't have asked for more!  We had a 2 bedroom place with a kitchen and living room all for less than 40 EURO a day!  

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