Madrid is No Toledo

Hello from Spain!  Madrid’s heat is so much better than the London cold.

I’m getting by with only a very small amount of Spanish in my vocabulary. I’ve gotten ‘no entiendo’ down pat; it means ‘I don’t understand’. I’m actually having a lot of fun just saying that phrase no matter what. The first day I arrived in Madrid, I was tired and managed to find my way, on foot, to my hotel, which, by-the-way, was right next to some of the best Madrid restaurants I’ve ever eaten at. My hotel was very interesting, it had an inner courtyard that was great for relaxing and meeting other fellow travellers. That night, I went out with some of my fellow travellers, ones I met in the courtyard, and we checked out one of the restaurants next to the hotel. We ate well and enjoyed swapping travelling horror stories.

Then, yesterday, I walked around Madrid. I noticed it has a much different feel about it compared to any English speaking cities, like Sydney. The architecture is less grand, but they are very colorful; lots of pastel, like oranges, yellows and reds, lots of reds. Central Madrid has streets that are narrow and wind up, down and around hills that are very pretty. All the plaza’s are a great way to people watch and to grab a quick bite.

I visited the Prado art gallery, which I highly recommend no matter what type of art you like. Their collection is vast and very good. I especially liked all the Raphael’s. Later, in the evening, I started it off with some drinks and a meal in my hotels courtyard. I think I ordered the Sangria. Sangria tastes like fruit juice with alcohol, but in fact, it’s a very sweet wine. Then, I headed over to the tapas bar and ran into 4 Aussies, a guy from Kentucky and a french girl. I had a great night, but the Sangria and then the beer started to take its toll on me around midnight. I had to go back to my hotel and sleep it off the best I could.

My stay was too short in Madrid, but I feel I made the most of it. I’m really a people person, even if I don’t speak the language, I always manage to have a great time. Toledo will seem so…Toledo after this, I just hope that my journey for the past month will not vanish into thin air.