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We set off at about 11am and as we still can't use the toll roads we are stuck on the single lane b roads again. It’s a pain in the ass, but at least they aren't as bad as we thought they would be. Still, it takes us about 5 and a half hours to get back into Spain! But now we can get on the motorway again and hopefully make up some time. We're staying in Valdemoro tonight to see our friend Carlos who lives there. It’s just outside of Madrid and so will hopefully take us slightly less time to get to. It doesn't quite work out that way though and we don't end up getting there until about half 9 at night. We get lost trying to find our hotel but thankfully Carlos is on hand to help us and with his navigational skills, we eventually make it there. We're hungry and in need of a beer so Carlos suggests we head to a popular local tapas bar in the area. I love how it’s nearly 11pm now but the tapas bar is still absolutely jumping, and people are only just coming in for something to eat. If
that was back home, everyone would be tucked up in bed watching Britain’s Got Talent.
Carlos makes a few suggestions and asks if he can order for us. We are so hungry we could eat a scabby heeded dug at the moment, so tell him to order whatever he recommends. 3 extremely cold pints arrive soon after and they are so chilled that there is actually ice inside the beer! The tapas arrives and they are huge portions to say the least. As it turns out, we have BBQ pork kebabs which are insanely good, some patatas bravas (apparently standard popular tapas in Madrid), a chicken salad and another potato dish which has a fried egg on top and some things called gulas in it. They look like little worms and are actually baby eels! I am skeptical about this one, but after being brave enough to try it, I realise it's actually really tasty. I have to put the fact they are baby eels out of my head though and just dig in. Greg is proud of me but I still won't be making any reservations at a seafood restaurant any time soon.
It turns out it’s festival time at the moment in Madrid and there are street carnivals all over the place. As we leave the tapas bar we pass through a little plaza where a Spanish woman is belting out Tina turner 'simply the best' to a small crowd. Who would have thought in the middle of a small town in Madrid we'd here that. Carlos's brother is coming to meet us and we head to another carnival which is taking place nearby. He introduces us to a few of his other friends and it's a bit mental as they speak no English and I speak basic Spanish. Greg is on fire though and chats away to them all with ease, laughing and joking away. We go into a beer tent with a mixture of people of all ages dancing to lots of Spanish pop music which I actually really like- it reminds me of my Zumba songs and I even pull off a few of my Latino dance moves. A song comes on which must be a classic as every single person starts doing flamenco from the old to the young. I join in too and one of Carlos's friends grabs me to dance with him. I am hopeless and he tries to teach me the moves but I just wave my arms about like I'm having some kind of fit with no co-ordination at all and they all laugh - cheers guys! Still it's a cultural experience. Next we move onto a bigger disco with a main stage, but the drink here is 12 euros a beer so we decide to stop drinking. By 4am the party is just warming up but we are most definitely lagging so decide to make a move back to our hotel. There is a free bus but thankfully Carlos's brother gives a lift home instead before heading back to carry on the party!
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