Madrid

Madrid blog

Madrid was very different from Paris and London. Kelsey and I really didn't know what to expect going into Madrid. Neither of us knew much about it, what to do there, or where to go. Once again we stuck together and pulled out another great trip. Our friend Jeff has lived there for the last six months. He was super nice and hung out with us for most of out trip. Jeff took us on a day trip,to the best/cheapest restaurants, and taught us a bit of Spanish.



Spanish phrases (please disregard my spelling, it is going off sound):
Valé=okay
Salude= bless you
Pardon= excuse me
Hola= hello
Adios= good bye
Many more phrases and terms

Trends:
Meat, meat, and more meat- ham, bacon, sausage, anything with meat
Roller blades
Small cars and motor cycles
High boots

Places We Went:
Plaza de España-- nice little plaza near our hostel
Grand Via-- where we stayed. A famous strip of Madrid
Campo del Moro-- a huge park we strolled thru one day
Cathedral de la Almudena
Palacio Real
    These rooms were exquisite. All with massive scale. The size of the rugs astonished me! They took up massive rooms of the place. Also the porcelain room was spectacular ( the whole room was made of porcelain). Each room was so different from the next

Treato Real (we found some really cheap, really good sandwiches here)
Plaza del Sol (marks kilo 0 of Spain)
Main shopping streets ( Calle de Preciado and others known for shopping) 
Plaza Mayor
Monastery de el Escorial (a day trip, about 45 mins north, in the mountains) 
El Prado Museo-- contained many masterpieces and much more
Museo Reina Sofia-- contemporary art including Picasso and many abstract pieces
Parquet del Retiro- a massive park, would be an awesome place to chill every afternoon
Chamartín
Estadio Santiago Benrnabeu (the soccer 'fùtbol' stadium of Real Madrid)
     -on our last night in Madrid it was Real Madrid's last game of the season, so we set out and bought some jerseys and went to experience a true game!  They won 8-1!
 

What we learned-
-things are always different than they appear (food, clothes sizes, etc.). All the food was much different than you would think. Even a hamburger, was not really a hamburger
- Spanish in Madrid is spoken different than what we were taught
-Spaniards will try and help you speak the language rather than go eu and speak English
-once you know how to ride underground  trains, they all run the same
- everything tastes and looks the same in every restaurant even if it is quadruple the price
- it is helpful to have someone more familiar with the area show you the way


Madrid was a city full of surprises for Kelsey and I. There are many expansive parks, shopping areas, palaces, etc. Each place was only about a 5-10 minute walk, making it seem a lot smaller than we expected. Such a fun beautiful city though.