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Published: March 12th 2007
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First Spanish sunrise, Madrid, Spain The flight from Cairo departed a few hours late on Friday morning, however we managed to pick up some time on the way to spain. Touched down in Barcelona, where I farewelled Jan & Doug as they disembarked to contine the remainder of their honeymoon. After collecting more passengers & refuelling, we took off Madrid bound & arrived before daylight to a mere three degrees celcius weather outside. Unexpectedly, the airport was massive, there was an underground train to ferry passengers to another terminal where the luggage carousels were. I managed to change some travellers cheques & obtain a map of the underground system before collecting my backpack. The train station was at yet another terminal, so I boarded a bus & witnessed my first sunrise in Spain en route.
Like London, Madrids underground system is fairly straightforward & easy to use. They have english speaking customer service people manning information desks to assist you, which I used to help explain the ticketing system to me. After changing trains four times & managing to go two sations too far at one point, I found myself at Santo Domingo Station, right where I needed to be. From there, the directions to
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Palacio Real, Madrid, Spain my hostel were quite straightforward as the building was only about twenty metres away from the subway entrance.
After checking in at Bulls Hostel & freshening up, I grabbed some breakfast & met a few of the hostels residents. I got chatting with Michiel from the Netherlands, who is in Madrid on vacataion for a few days. We headed out to do some sightseeing, firstly visiting the Palacio Real, which is the Kings Palace. Being shortish on time, we didn't do the tour, instead going into the Cathedral next door. Unfortunately, the main area was under renovation, but we were directed downstairs to the crypt where people are buried in the floor, just like in Westminster Abbey.
Next stop was the Plaza Mayor for a beer, which rurned into two & at five Euros each (AUS$10-), thankfully not more. Watched the world go by in the square Al Fresco style & laughed at a guy who was using a proper old style phone receiver attached to his mobile phone. I can´t begin to imagine why he would have had such a thing made, unless he´s trying to start a new trend!
Michiel left me to meet with
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Cathedral Almudena, Madrid, Spain his brother for the afternoon & I continued through Puerta del Sol, down a nearby side street & found a good old Irish pub called The Dubliner, where I had a delicious club sandwich & chips for lunch. Managed to while away a few hours in there writing journal entries before heading back to the hostel. Spent time on the internet but was so shattered from lack of sleep last night, opted for a quiet night in & was asleep before the youngies even went out - I must be getting old!
After a lengthly & deep sleep, I was up early, ready & rearing to go Saturday morning. Had breakfast & spent some time on the internet until people started surfacing, then decided to head out for some more sightseeing. Wandered back through Puerta del Sol & onto Plaza Santa Ana, where I found a cute little Tapas bar called La Moderna. Ordered Brie with Iberian black sausage & a Sangria to wash it down with & happily sat there people watching & writing for a couple of hours.
Thought a cultural experience was in order, so headed to the Centro de Arte Reina Sophia Art
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Man on handheld mobile in Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain Gallery. With free entry on Saturday afternoons, it appeared half of Madrid had the same idea as me, as the place was packed. After a couple hours of wandering around getting my art fix, I decided it was time to push off & headed to Parque del Retiro.
The park was lovely, very big & not insanely busy like the art gallery. I wandered in through the south western entrance & was surprised to see gum trees after only a few minutes in there. I went north to the main lake & wandered past a group of musicians playing African themed music to the crowd. After an hour or so of exploring, I found my way out & decided to return to the hostel.
I detoured to Plaza Espana to look for a place recommended by Lonely Planet for it's Flamenco dinner shows. I walked around the square, but unfortunately couldn't find the place & there was a huge police presence there, which unnerved me somewhat, so I walked back to Bulls.
Again, a bit more time catching up on the internet before Michiel returned & a group of us from the hostel went out for dinner.
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Bear statue in Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Spain It took a while to find a place to eat, but the choice was a good one, as the food was pleasant & the beer cold. After dinner Michiel, Rick, Elizabeth, Lee & I walked back to Puerta del Sol & found a small bar to have a few celebratory glasses of Sangria for Elizabeths birthday. We somehow ended up in some small dingy nightclub, playing random english songs & danced the night away. Not entirely sure what time I got in, but it couldn't have been much before sunrise - a good night had by all...
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