Madrid -- finally, Borat!

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We left the cafe around 7 and walked to the Los Amigos hostel where I stayed the last time I was in Madrid. As they told us they were full for the night, I began to wonder if we were ever going to find somewhere to sleep. We moved on to the other hostel listed in the guidebook and it was the same answer. So, we turned to the Hostal Orly, which I had called the night before. The previous night they told me they had space for Saturday, but that I should call back in the morning. So, I was a bit apprehensive when we walked through the door. It turns out they did have space, and the wonderful, grandmotherly woman who ran the place told us to leave our bags and come back at 11 when the room would be ready. It's amazing how far a little bit of spanish goes -- I was actually able to completely understand her and work out the price and when we needed to come back.

So, left with about 3 hours to kill, we wandered over to the palace and sat in the sun trying to warm up a bit. After a bit we went looking for some food and stumbled across a market next to Plaza Mayor where we got some bread. We took the food to the plaza and I went into the tourist office to get some maps. Afterwards we sat eating and enjoying the sunshine and watching the hordes of Spanish tourists. Around 10 we started wandering back to the hostal.

We got there and it turns out we had a huge three-bed room to ourselves for 45€ a night. After some much needed showers we both napped for a few hours. Eleanor decided to go see the Reina Sofia, which I had already seen so I just hung out and slept a bit more for the rest of the afternoon. She came back around 7 and we went looking for dinner.

We decided to try a restaurant listed in the Lonely Planet. It was just across the street and when we got there it had a line out the door. It hadn't quite opened for dinner yet, and when it finally did we were able to get a table. It was amazing how nice the restaurant was and yet the plates were only 6-10€. I got roast lamb with potatoes, and it was fantastic. I haven't eaten many sit-down meals on this trip, and every once in a while it's a nice change of pace. After dinner we went back to the hostal and crashed.

The next morning we slept in and then checked out of the hostal around 11. We grabbed our stuff and moved over to Los Amigos since they had room for that night. After checking in, we headed towards the Prado which was free for the day. Neither of us was particularly interested in the museum, but hey it was free, so why not. There were some amazing works inside, but I found the Reina Sofia to be more interesting.

It was a beautiful day -- a lot warmer than Saturday -- and so we headed to Retiro Park and spent a couple hours walking around and enjoying the sunshine. It was funny watching people rowing around on the lake. There was a fountain near where we were sitting and people would get the boats too close to it and someone invariably would get wet. Absolutely hilarious.

I wanted to pick up a reservation to go to Barcelona the next day, so we headed over to Atocha station. All of the sunday trains to Bacelona were sold out, but I figured Monday would be ok. When it was my turn, the woman behind the counter told me that everything on Monday was full as well, except for the overnight train. So, I made the (only) decision to catch the overnight and I got a sleeper berth for 17€.

After securing my train ticket, we headed to the bus station to check prices and times for Portugal. We got a bunch of info and then caught the subway to Sol and headed to the supermarket. We had pasta at the hostel and so I grabbed some red peppers and ground beef along with sauce and then we headed back. I hadn't cooked dinner in quite a while, and it was really nice to get some meat and veggies.

After dinner, we grabbed some beer with a few other Aussies and brought it back to the hostel where we proceeded to play a pretty hilarious game of King's Cup. About halfway through the game I got delegated to run and grab some more beer because we had run out. I also had the pleasure of drawing the last king, which meant that I got to drink the cup full of cheap beer and even cheaper sangria. Yum.

Around 10, the other Aussies went on a pub crawl and Eleanor and I went and used the internet for a while before heading to the room where we spent over an hour chatting with the other 3 people in the dorm. Sometimes these hostels feel like summer camp.

I got up pretty early the next morning and had some breakfast in an attempt to sort out my nasty hangover. I blame it on that cup of beer and sangria that I was subjected too. After eating I headed back to the room and found Eleanor frantically looking for her wallet.

Over the next hour or so, she tore apart the room while a couple of us looked all over the hostel for it with no success. I headed back to the convenience store to ask them if they had it, but they didn't. I felt really bad for Eleanor who spent the next few hours trying to get through to her bank to cancel the card. She's certain that she left the wallet at the computer the night before, which means someone in the hostel stole it. I hate the fact that you can't even trust other travelers sometimes. Most people are honest, but some people see an opportunity and they take it even though they must be aware of the fact they're hurting someone who is traveling just like them. It makes me sick.

After she got the business with the bank sorted out we went to the police station to make a report. There were two types of cops at the station. Helpful, friendly officers and total assholes. We met both. They have an interesting system where you use a phone to make the report (in english), which was easy enough to figure out. At the end of the call, the officer told Eleanor to take the number they gave her and pick up the report from the officers at the station. That's where things got difficult. They kept telling us to wait and someone would come to get us, and they made us take a number. However, they weren't using the numbers. An officer would come into the waiting room and ask who's next and whoever jumped up first got it. So, we grabbed an opportunity and as we walked out of the room, the guy asked if I spoke spanish. I said a little, and then he stopped and just ordered us back into the room. I asked him when someone would come help us and he just kept telling us to sit down. What an ass.

At one point I got pulled out of the room because this English couple were having trouble understanding how to make the report and the officer wanted me to translate. Yeah, that went well. My Spanish is nowhere near good enough to try something like that. I did manage to explain to them what they needed to do, though, because we had already done it. That officer did tell us that an english speaker would be there shortly. He was right, about 5 minutes later an officer came in who spoke english and we were led to another room. He was really friendly (finally) and he went through the report with Eleanor and made sure everything was correct before having her sign a couple copies. We thanked him and we headed back to the hostel.

That evening, a few of us went to see Borat. I had been waiting to see that movie for ages, and Madrid was the first place that I'd been to where I could see it in english. It totally lived up to my expectations and we all loved it. Afterwards we grabbed some pizza and took it back to the hostel. When I walked through the door, Jess and Matt (from Granada) were standing at the reception desk. It was great seeing them again, and we all had a nice little reunion. Unfortunately, I only had a little bit of time before my train was due to leave, so I had to say goodbye to everyone before hopping on the metro to Chamartin station.

I was sad to part ways with Eleanor, Matt, and Jess and I hope that someday I'll see them again (maybe in Oz). After three months of meeting people and watching them leave the next day it was nice to have a little bit of stability, even if we were homeless for a night.

Stay tuned for Barcelona.

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