Madrid!

Behind me is the old entrance to get into the city...many, many years ago.
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This past weekend, I went to Madrid. The city had a very different feel than Toledo, probably because of the difference in size. On day 1, we went to a museum and I saw works by Dali and Picasso. Then we ate at the “Museo de Jamon” which translates to Ham Museum. No, it was not any sort of museum; it was a restaurant. The entire group from the Fundacion did these activities together, so it was a FREE excursion.

After the Excursion point of this trip, we went to the hostel to check in. Yes, I did have my FIRST hostel experience. I never saw the film by Quentin Tarantino, so I was not nervous for this hostel experience, and it went exactly how I would’ve expected. I stayed with 5 friends in a room, and we had one other roommate on the second night. He was from Ireland, and very friendly. We slept in very uncomfortable bunks, and breakfast consisted of corn flakes and white bread, but you get what you pay for! This hostel cost 16 euro per night per person. Not half bad!

This is the Plaza Mayor in Madrid
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After checking in, we went exploring. We walked the city, took photos, ate at a chocolateria (I had my first Spanish Churros and chocolate experience), and went shopping. There are many shops on the streets of Madrid, and fortunately for us “shopping people” the rebajas are currently taking place. Basically, Spain doesn’t have sales all year long, until they are ready to carry new items. In January and February, they put all of last year’s “stuff” on sale. There are sales EVERYWHERE, and things are priced down at least 50%. This means trouble for me…I can only carry back 100 pounds on the plane when I head home, so I’ve tried to keep the purchases to a minimum. But, these rebajas are indeed, very tempting. They are in Toledo too, on all the streets.

In the Plaza del Sol
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At night in Madrid, people are everywhere. The streets are crowded with people of all ages. It is very exciting. People don’t start dining until 10 or 11 pm! We went to a large “discoteca” on Friday night. This club had 7 floors; 3 were for dancing, one was like a theatre, and Pirates of the Caribbean was playing, and others were for socializing. The top floor had a fountain! It was quite intense and unlike anything I’ve ever seen or experienced. My friends and I saw many people from the Fundacion here, actually. It was a little reunion!

The Museo del Jamon
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The next day, we explored some more, went out to eat, and went out to experience more of Spain’s night life. The next day, we took a train back to Toledo, which only took 25 minutes, and cost 6 euro! It was quite convenient.

This week has gone by pretty quick, and I’m getting prepared for tomorrow when we have our second free excursion to El Escorial. Also, on Sunday, we plan to go to a Real Madrid soccer game, which should be a lot of fun. Soccer is a VERY big thing over here across the pond! So, I’ll post again next week! Have a good one!