For my first time being in Spain, Madrid was a great city to travel to. As the capital of the country, I was given an introduction to the history and culture in a very immersive way. Jess and I spent four full days together in Madrid, including one day trip to the city of Toledo (but more on that later). We packed a lot into four days, and thoroughly enjoyed our time in Spain, even though it never went below 90 degrees Fahrenheit (I had to google how to spell Fahrenheit like who would ever know how to spell that?? but I had to include it because they use Celsius here obviously). For two Americans that took French and Latin in high school, Spain was a whole new adventure but we were excited to experience it in person. Accommodation Jess and I stayed at Living Cat’s Hostel, located right in the heart of Madrid. We had originally planned to stay at Mola Hostel, but after some good investigative work by jess we realized that Mola had no AC, and on top of that Cat’s had generally better reviews. So we switched! We had high hopes for Cat’s because of some conversations we had at Yes! Hostel Lisbon. Numerous people had mentioned staying at Cat’s and one even said it was his favorite hostel ever. Cat’s was cool, there’s no doubt about that. It is built in an old church which gives the place some serious character and charm. The bar is well decorated, the common area had some cool cushions (sick right?), and the bathrooms had many more showers than in Yes! Hostel Lisbon so that was a plus. Aside from these positives, the hostel did not wow me too much. It felt like “big business”, the people at the front counter didn’t seem to care as much, and in four days our room of eight beds saw probably 15 different girls, so we did not get invested in any of our roommates. On that note, you may notice on this post there is no “friends” category like there was in my post about Lisbon. This is because although Cat’s was a social hostel, I think we missed out a little on getting to know people. I believe this is because Yes! Lisbon Hostel made it so easy with nightly dinners and a lively common space, and while Cat’s had a bar as well and a common space, it was different. The common space at Cat’s closed down at 1am and they would kick everyone out, forcing us to retire to our rooms unless we were willing to sit in an extremely hot, crowded, and LOUD bar. Additionally, although the bar was fun (you got a free drink each day) it was constricted to one room, compared to Yes! where you could grab a drink at the bar then sit back down in the general common area. This created a separation between those drinking and those just wanting to chill for a little that evening, basically eliminating any chance of social interaction and ALSO making the drinkers drink more and the chillers mellow-chill more than either group would have originally (social psychology's group polarization). It is worth mentioning, however, that I did meet two girls from the United States. The first was in the bunk bed above Jess, and through casual conversation it came up that she went to Temple University… “Oh, I go to Penn State, cool” I shared. The second girl I met said that she went to Rutgers… After I said I went to Penn State she also said “I think we’re supposed to have beef” to which we both laughed. But seriously, what are the chances that I meet two Americans one from Temple and one from Rutgers?? Is there no safe place on this earth?? Culture and History The walking tour that Jess and I took was our key to learning about Madrid’s history. By the end of a walking tour, sure, your feet hurt, but for the information you get out of one it is well worth it. The most interesting tidbit that I learned about Madrid’s history is basically a fun fact that might help me win trivia night some day. We learned how Madrid used to be surrounded by a city wall, and outside the city lied brothels, bars, and bad behavior. At night, men from inside the city would run to the wall, climb over it, spend the night partying, then climb back before morning. The nickname given to these men, and to Madrid residents in general, is "gatos" or "cats". This also explains the name of our hostel, which I thought was just too cool! Something about Madrid that gave me culture shock was the 10pm dinner time. When I am at school, I go to bed by 9/9:30 at the latest and I’m up by 5:30, so basically being in Europe is really messing me up. Jess and I would wake up by noon each day and be in bed by 2am, so we were still getting our 8 hours of sleep, everything was just shifted. Between this Europe trip and school starting I have exactly 1 day at home, so that first week back at school is gonna send my body for a loop that's for sure! Activities
Food I would be lying if I said I loved the food here. I had a bit of a tough go with Spanish food, that’s for sure. Spanish food is just not my forte, but I'm holding out hope that at least Italy down the line on this trip will please me. Pleasing me with food is no easy task, as most who know me know how much of a picky eater I am. Basically all I ever want is mac and cheese, but when I can't get that any type of plain food will suffice. Spanish food has lots of seafood that still has a face on it (prawns haunt my dreams) and lots of vegetables. While you may have thought of me the epitome of health (lol) surprise! I don't like vegetables. One vegetable I do like however is green beans. So at dinner the first night when I saw "scrambled eggs with green beans and ham" on the menu I quickly ordered it, happy that there was at least one thing I was willing to eat. When the plate came it was a huge plate of green BEANS. BEANS that are green... UGH. I don't like beans... so 15 euros was spent on a glass of water and slice of white bread. Live and learn I guess. A positive food experience I had in Spain, however, was on our last night Jess and I got churros at the world famous Chocolateria San Gines. We split a plate of six churros and a cup of dipping chocolate... what a treat! I had actually never had churros previously, so I guess if I was going to try them anywhere it had to be the best place in the world to get them. If you go to madrid this shop is a must-try. In Conclusion
I will say, for the sake of honesty, that I did not enjoy Madrid as much as I enjoyed Lisbon. I think a lot of this had to do with my difficulties with food, but also it was as simple as the different feels of the two cities. On a scale of Bedford Massachusetts to NYC, Lisbon was like a 7 and madrid was like a 9. Being the non-city girl that I am, I definitely preferred the relaxed beachy vibes of Lisbon over the rush and heat of Madrid. That being said, Madrid was a fascinating city to visit and a true hub of some amazing culture in Europe. It has been an enjoyable four days, now... on to Paris! Comments are closed.
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