Last stop...Madrid!

We got into Madrid at 6:30 in the morning after our 7 hour overnight bus ride. We got to our hostel where we met up with Cat's friend from home, Camille, then freshened up and carried on with our day.  Our first stop was Retiro Park. We walked through it for a little bit and then took a much needed nap by the big monument in the park.  

Me in Retiro Park

The Crystal Palace.

An interesting sculpture in the Crystal Palace. Its made of  various plastic home goods like chairs, laundry baskets, trash cans etc. Not sure why it was in there, but it was kind of cool. 

Cat, Myself and Camille in front of the Crystal Palace.

Monument to King Alfonso XII

Cat and Me in Plaza Mayor

We went to a bull fight our first night. I had always heard they were pretty gory but it was a lot harder to watch than I thought it would be. Before the matador comes out they wear the bull out by running it around and sticking spears in its back. There are also horses around to provoke the bull. The bull tipped a horse ver in the first fight we saw, that was pretty sad. After the bull has gotten tired out the matador comes out and does his deal with the red cape and eventually finishes the bull with the sword.  It was really odd to see the crowd get so excited when the bull died and to hear them all cheer and sing when it was getting dragged out of the stadium.  I don't think I will ever really get it. We only stayed for two of the six bull fights they do in a night.  That was plenty for me. I'm glad we went to see it just because it seems to be such a big part of Spanish culture but it's one of those things that I'll never have to go back and see again. 

Alaina, Me, Camille and Cat at the bull fight.

After the bull fight we went out for dinner. We went to an all you can eat sushi restaurant where the sushi comes past your table on a little conveyer belt and you get to take whatever you want. It was a really fun dinner and delicious too!

The famous food market in Madrid. This one was a lot more ritzy than the one in Barcelona, more expensive too.  It was filled with fruit stands and what not but also had a bunch of little tapas restaurants and wine bars. 

One of the ham stands in the market. They love their ham in Spain. It is seriously everywhere. 

Inside the ham museum...another testament to Spain's love of ham.

The Royal Palace

This is an old Egyptian temple that was brought to Madrid and put back together piece by piece. 

I met up with Erica, Anissa and Jenny our last day in Madrid. We got to see where Erica was living. Turns out she got put up in one of the nicest parts of Madrid. And her host mom is so sweet.  After meeting Erica's host mom we went to Retiro Park and grabbed some lunch for a picnic.  I had a tortilla sandwich. Tortilla is just eggs and potatoes fried together in skillet. So simple but so delicious.  After hanging out in the park and seeing some more of the city we all went back to our places and got ready to go to dinner. Erica took us to this place she knew of for good tapas. We got croquettes, tortilla and a half of a chicken.  So good. After that we went out for the night and had a lot of fun dancing at some of the bars and clubs around Sol. It was so much fun to catch up and hang out with old friends!

I fell in love with Madrid. We got such good weather the whole time we were there and had so much fun! It was a great place to end our spring break.