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After a long flight to Spain (happily I slept most of it because of my lack of sleep the previous night!) I arrived in Madrid. I really didn't expect much from Madrid - I'm not sure why, I guess it dosnt really have the hype Barcelona has, and I was only stopping here as I couldn't get a direct flight from Bangkok. But the moment I got off the plane Madrid felt good - an odd way of putting it I know but it did! I managed to navigate the subway, (the first on in my life!) I had to change to three different lines, and with a bit of help from a random bloke I stuck up a conversation with down there, I managed it without incident! Up on the surface the hostel was a short walk away. I then checked into the dorm (another first) and then decided to go pretty much straight away on a tapas tour I saw a flyer for when I checked in. So I met with the tour guide and four others and were shown around three pubs and got a taste of some of my first tapas and sangria! Woo! They included olives (which I ate and surprisingly weren't totally disgusting!) fried bacon rind, bread, mini sausages and other tid bits which were all pretty good, as was the sangria and the drink that is similar to a shandy which I have forgotten the name of.
Following the tour the five of us went out to get a proper lunch and it consisted of more sangria and paella! Oh yeah! Both were really really goooood! We then spent the rest of the day walking around the city together. Madrid has so many plazas and alfresco dining is what they all do. The place has such a nice feel, it's so good to have so much outdoor space in the middle of the city, and the buildings are all so beautiful! The following day we met back up and went to the Prado and the Reina Sofia art galleries to get all cultured up! There were some great works of art in there, I really enjoyed the Picasso and Dali pieces - but there were seriously soo many and most were really neat (some I have to say were bollicks - you know that stuff that looks like a two year old did it but it's still considered "art"!)
After a bit of a whistle stop tour, the next day we met back up (as they were flying out at the same time on a different flight) and went back to the subway. This time it was not completely without incident. There are four terminals and three are at one stop and one at the other.We figured I was at the firs one and they were at the second so we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. However after getting a ticket to get out, I checked the boards and I was at the other stop so I had to go back down and asked a security guard to let me back down without paying as I had made a mistake which was sweet. So one stop later I did the same thing and it was still the wrong stop!! Argh, what a retard! So I had to get another security guard to do the same thing….. then finally the correct stop I had to get another security guard to let me out with my double swiped card! God I am a d*** - but I got through it and didn't have to get another ticket so yay for me! (haha, the word dumb ass springs to mind huh?) But the good news is, is that I made my flight and it was all sweet, and funnily enough at Barcelona airport when I jumped on the bus to come to town, the other boys were already there and they got off at the wrong stop too! The had to turn around and come back to Terminal one before they flew out!
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