nearly there

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I must apologise for how slack I've been, since returning from Spain I've been on the go but now I will complete what I had started.

Basically arrived in Madrid and trekked my way to my hostel. Still not to well I wasn't really in the mood to talk to many people and go out partying so I settled myself in and wandered around for a little while checking out the area. My hostel was located very close to the Opera house and the Palace. While sitting in the Plaza de Issabella I met a lovely girl from the USA who had been living there for the last year. She gave me a few tips of places to go including all the obvious sightseeing spots and a couple of places I wouldn't of considered going to. After that I went to Plaza de Major for dinner and checked out the shops. Back to the hostel for an early night. Gee, how boring do I sound.

Next day bright and earlyish I got up and visited the Palacio Real. It was breathtaking. It was built in the 1700's by Felipe V as the royal palace. It had some of the moste amazing rooms all with various themes and for Fern, lots of chanderlers. One of the main rooms that stuck out for me was the Chapel. It was absolutely beautiful. Outside of the Palace is Plaza de Oriente which is a lovely garden with a magnificant fountain and is also lined with many statues of past monachy and nobles.

I was only supposed to stay for 1 night but quickly changed my mind and booked an extra night. I found a cheap little restaurant for dinner and set out on my first big shopping spree. I loved the fashion in Madrid. I could of spent sooo much money but I was controlled. Unfortunately I still did buy to much and had to post it all back to London the next day which in itself was an interesting experience I think for both the teller at the post office and me. Unfortunately my Spanish is extremely minimal and she spoke no English but after half an hour we worked out how to send my package back to London. Fun, fun, fun.

Well after that ordial, actually I should say experience I headed to the Museo del Prado which is a famous Museum in Madrid and displays work from some of the great artists Spanish artists including Valazquez, Goya and El Greco and also a lot of work from the royal collection. I must say though I think my favorite picture was of the dead chicken hanging from one leg. Very moving. After the Prado I decided to follow the advice of the girl I had met the other day and visited Estadio Santiago Bernabeu which is the main football stadium in Madrid and home to Real Madrid. Beleive it or not I did a tour of a football stadium. It was interesting reading their history and checking out the trophy room but I have come to the conclusion that they are a bit into themselves. Following that I headed off to the bus station for yet another overnight journey to Barcelona.

I must say that I enjoyed this journey less than the last overnight one. I was really tired and I had a petite lady next to me who decided she need extra space and kept moving over into my seat. Also the person in front of me put their seat back which is not usually an issue for me but the person behind me who themselves had their seat back wouldn't let me put mine back so I was extremely uncomfortable. Oh well part of the experience. I got into Barcelona at 6.00am and headed straight to the hostel where they let me check in immediately. So a small sleep and I was up and raring to go.

Stay tuned for the next installment

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Photos

One for Fern
love ya babe

The Armory
One for the boys