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Unfortunately we don't have more time in our cosy hotel room as its really lovely, but we're staying more central in Madrid tonight as we are going to watch the real Madrid game at the Bernabau stadium. Carlos comes along to meet us at the hotel as he knows the way to our next hotel, which is extremely helpful as Madrid is huge and I don't fancy our track record. We need to get something to eat before we set off so go to the supermarket but there isn’t any sandwiches- it’s not like tesco back home and the Spanish don’t really seem to do pre-packed sandwiches. Instead we get two huge chocolate croissants - such a healthy breakfast you'll agree but yummy. I have an orange too which at least makes it feel slightly healthier.
Carlos takes us a tour through the city centre explaining where and what everything is which is like having our own personal tour guide. He admits he should have an umbrella he can put up in the air so we tourists or 'giri's' as we're known to locals can follow him. With Carlos's help we find our hotel with absolutely no problem. It's up
a side street which at first glance looks dodgy but is actually a nice wee busy residential street. However, the first thing we see as we step out of the car is a 6 foot broad shouldered 'guy' walking his dog wearing a blonde wig and a vest top displaying an impressive pair of hooters that even I am mesmerised by. Well each to their own I guess. The hotel is another winner and our room is more like someone's spare bedroom which has been done up nicely. It's all very modern and comfortable. Apart from the first hotel in Granada, Greg admits I've done a good job picking the hotels. I hope so considering I spent about a week non-stop sourcing them all!
We dump our stuff and head out to explore the city. I fall in love straight away- the sun is shining as Carlos takes us around all the historical sights and gardens. It has such a nice buzz and feel about the place- a mixture of old and new buildings and tourists and locals all mixing together. There is loads of reasonably priced bars, restaurants and shops too. We walk around for a few hours
then pop into a place for some beer and tapas for 2 euros each before heading to the game. We say goodbye to Carlos who isn’t coming with us and make our way to the stadium.
The stadium is buzzing when we arrive. Our seats are up in the gods but we have a good view so it’s not too bad. I cannot believe we then proceed to watch 6 goals! It's a great match and I'm glad we came. We even get into the local scene by eating 'pipas' which are salted sunflower seeds. They are really addictive as you crack the shell open with your teeth, eat the pip and then spit the shell out. It sounds uncouth but everyone does it and all you can see everywhere on the ground is used nutshells. After the game we walk back towards the hotel which is only 15 mins away and stop at a little bar to have a really tasty chicken sandwich and a thing called a mancinini which is a rice ball stuffed with different fillings and then deep fried. Back at the hotel we need to book our hotel for San Sebastian tomorrow otherwise we'll be sleeping in Charlie, then we do a very Spanish thing and watch river city on the laptop lol.
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