Plaza, Plaza, Plaza

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The night train from Paris to Madrid went better than I could have ever expected. I had one of the best nights sleep yet. It was definitely cramped quarters but I didn´t have a problem with it. I roomed (if you can call it that) in a compartment about 5 by 7 feet that had 4 seats which converted to 4 fold down beds. I ate a bit of dinner at the food car and then hit the hay and didn´t wake up until the train alarm at 8:30.

While eating dinner at the food car I made friends with two guys from California who had just graduated from college. It turned out they were in the room next to me and in the morning I bargined with they and told them that if they let me follow them to the hostel I would buy them a beer. I hadn´t made any reservations for accomodation. The reason for this was that it completely slipped my mind until I was on the train; I had been staying with friends and family the whole time thus far that I forgot this new twist in the travelling. We caught a taxi to Los Amigos Hostel in Central Madrid and we ended up with some make'shift beds because they were full (it turns out my Cali-friends reservations hadn´t actually gone through - they didn´t know that).

After showering , I remembered that I really needed to make an important phone call to my Grandpa to wish him a Happy Birthday. I went around the corner to a market and got a calling card and then made the call. He was so happy to hear my voice but I felt terrible because I had accidentally called at 1am! Oops! Oh well. It had been a crazy 13 hours on a train I guess I lost track of the time difference.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around seeing the Palice Rael, Saint Marie Cathedreal, Plaza de la Sol and Plaza de la Caello. I also stopped in on numerous shoe and clothing stores.

I went out for drink and dinner with my friends Mike and Alex. We later hit up a dancing club and stayed out to the ripe time of 4:30. This place is like Vegas... you couldn´t fall asleep at a decent hour even if you tried.

The next day I walked around exploring on my own for a good part of the late morning. I walked to see the Plaza de la Independance. And again stopped to shop on the way home and made my only purchase in Madrid, a new purse but it was 50% off.

Back at the hostel I made more friends. I was in a room with 3 guys from the UK who had just graduated from college and I met two more California guys and the 6 of us went out later that night to the famous ¨Kapital¨club. It was the largest club I have seen... 7 stories with an open air lounge on the top floor, a kareokee bar, gift shop and more. Sit down for this one... I was out until 6am. On the way home Owen (new friend) and I stopped for some food. Because the common area at the hostel was closed we ended up sitting on some stools in the bathroom eating and debating pro-choice/pro-life. Very interesting night you could say.

The next morning was a little rough. I got up at 8:00 and packed up to head to the train station. Unfortunately I hadn´t made a train reservation because I didn´t think it would be a problem until the night before someone informed me that a very special visitor was in Valencia... the city I was trying to get to. I hate it when celebrities get in the way of my travel plans. This celebrity was the POPE!

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Comments

[mum]

Where is Trish?
Hi Trish, I am home a day early from Canada as I am going to an appt with Robin tomorrow. Saw Charles, Connie and Auntie Mary while in Summerland and they enjoyed hearing of your travels. I heard through Pam and Jack that you are in Barcelona so am waiting to hear of your next adventures. Love always, Mum