Before going on holiday I had been wondering whether to go to Barcelona or if to choose Madrid. In the end I went for the latter, which turned out to be a great choice. Well I get the point that Madrid's value is diminished by not being located by the coastline, nevertheless it's definitely a place to be.
As I have mentioned in the previous post my trip was rather a low cost adventure. Let's then calculate all of my expenses.
Destination : Spain
Duration : 4 days
Accommodation - Hostel near Plaza St Ana - 4 nights for 84 euro (single room)
Food : When it comes to breakfast I'd usually go to Lidl and grab some stuff there and sit somewhere nice in order to enjoy the view. I've heard the main meal in Spain is lunch, so I'd eat a lot. I have tried Paella , but as I had been told it wasn't authentic. To try the real Paella one must go to Valencia. I enjoyed croquetas with cheese and in particular the calamares. Tinte de verano has definitely became my favorite beverage. Oh, how I miss it here in Budapest. To sum it up I'd usually spend less than 30 euro a day.
Flight : Low cost airline - 84 euro
Train tickets to Toledo - 20 euro
Language spoken : I didn't really use English, no offence but Spanish people often don't speak good English (look beneath), thus I decided to make use of my Italian mixed with some few Spanish words I had learned before.
Madrid day first
I arrived in Madrid in the early morning. After my plane had landed I took the metro from the airport to the station dabbed Nuevos Ministeros. Just to explain you, I'm not very good with maps and I get lost very easily...Well happened also there. Didn't know how to get to my hostel, and was too shy to ask, hence spent 2 hours walking with the GPS turned on...Imagine that I got lost couple of times also being guided by GPS. It's just me, don't be bothered :) . While I was walking I think one guy yelled at me Penelope, albeit I didn't even move my eyebrow but continued walking. Spanish people are definitely less invasive and harassing than Italian. Nobody really tried to bother me or accost me without any reason. Maybe it happened only two times during my stay. On the first day I met some couch surfers that showed me around. At first we sat in some pub to watch Real Madrid vs. Juventus. Wasn't really so much fun, as talking to them was pretty impossible due to roars of the Real Madrid's fans in despair. Later on we hit the town and painted the town red. Can't associate now the name and location of the place, nevertheless I only remember the waiter going around with a tray full of drinks, and yes I could grab not only one.. So I did. Luckily one, young Spanish gentleman helped me to get to my hostel and on Saturday took my to a hidden place from which the panorama of Madrid spreads out - and without the glass barriers just for the record. If you want to get a good view over Madrid you shall go to the hotel Vincci Capitol.
Madrid day second
I woke up with a bit of hangover. Battling myself to get out of the bed as I didn't have any water. Eventually the desire had been quenched and I restarted to walk around Madrid. Later on I met up with another couch surfer, who showed me around and introduced me to the Madrid's river. Don't expect much it doesn't resemble Danube, not even in the slightest way. Once the encounter had been finished, I headed off to El Prado's museum, which was in fact an amazing experience. I liked the flowery paintings a lot, but the one that had really drawn my attention in particular was Still life with Flowers and Dog by Juan van der Hamen. Shortly after I was having another encounter with a Polish girl , who lives and works in Madrid. We dined ,eating croquetas and were sipping on tinte de verano which was followed by drinking in the pub and eating even more. What surprised me the most was a Polish guy, who looked a bit Spanish and spoke Polish with a Spanish accent. I was surprised and I didn't get right of the batt if he was either Spanish, who had learned to speak Polish or indeed a Pole who spoke Spanish.
Toledo day third
The train from Madrid luckily takes only half an hour. To get from the train station to the city center you can either take a bus or walk. I decided to walk and it took around 20 minutes. At Plaza de Zocodover I bought a pass , which allowed me to go inside many monuments and even have a guided tour. I used that option in the Cathedral, but since there were only two other persons and both Spanish, I suggested to the guide to take it in Spanish as I speak Italian.<CHALLENGE ACCEPTED> I think she didn't really believe me hence every 5 minutes I would be asked 3 times if I had understood. I'd came up with some questions once in a while, so that she could leave me in peace :). After visiting the Cathedral I sat down in one of the restaurants and grabbed some Tuna with vegetables, what happened to be a extremely delicious meal with a wonderful service I tipped in gratitude. Toledo appears to be as a small but enchanting city with Arabic and medieval influences. It was definitely a bit weird to be travelling alone, but in a result I was independent and I could see whatever I want moreover whenever I want.
Madrid day forth
During my last day I walked to the places I hadn't seen yet. When I passed the Cathedral there was certainly a musical event going on and I saw people dancing. I found that extremely cute and relaxing. And I guess it was the second time when I had been accosted by an old Spanish tourist who wanted to take a photo of me, and then suddenly started speaking that he had had a Canon camera with a Sony lens and in effect this combination hadn't been working. Well I could not care less to be honest. Afterwards I met the nice Spanish guy who showed me the view over Madrid. I was extremely tired that day after having been walking for hours, moreover I also got an annoying blister on the sole of my foot.... I was not able even to go down to eat something before my departure. Nevertheless as usual the hunger won me over and I went to Plaza St Ana to eat in a very nice restaurant Lateral. In the meantime I was trying to figure out how to get to the airport , as metro didn't work at the time. I wrote to another couchsurfer I met asking for information about the night bus, but he was so nice to offer me a ride to the airport. Gracias:) I didn't really want to leave Spain, waiting in the line for my flight I realized I understand more Spanish than Hungarian. The sad truth :(
As I have mentioned in the previous post my trip was rather a low cost adventure. Let's then calculate all of my expenses.
Destination : Spain
Duration : 4 days
Accommodation - Hostel near Plaza St Ana - 4 nights for 84 euro (single room)
Food : When it comes to breakfast I'd usually go to Lidl and grab some stuff there and sit somewhere nice in order to enjoy the view. I've heard the main meal in Spain is lunch, so I'd eat a lot. I have tried Paella , but as I had been told it wasn't authentic. To try the real Paella one must go to Valencia. I enjoyed croquetas with cheese and in particular the calamares. Tinte de verano has definitely became my favorite beverage. Oh, how I miss it here in Budapest. To sum it up I'd usually spend less than 30 euro a day.
Flight : Low cost airline - 84 euro
Train tickets to Toledo - 20 euro
Language spoken : I didn't really use English, no offence but Spanish people often don't speak good English (look beneath), thus I decided to make use of my Italian mixed with some few Spanish words I had learned before.
 |
| Let me translate this phrase from Spanglish to English - Please do not use paper to dry your hands in order to avoid germs :) |
I arrived in Madrid in the early morning. After my plane had landed I took the metro from the airport to the station dabbed Nuevos Ministeros. Just to explain you, I'm not very good with maps and I get lost very easily...Well happened also there. Didn't know how to get to my hostel, and was too shy to ask, hence spent 2 hours walking with the GPS turned on...Imagine that I got lost couple of times also being guided by GPS. It's just me, don't be bothered :) . While I was walking I think one guy yelled at me Penelope, albeit I didn't even move my eyebrow but continued walking. Spanish people are definitely less invasive and harassing than Italian. Nobody really tried to bother me or accost me without any reason. Maybe it happened only two times during my stay. On the first day I met some couch surfers that showed me around. At first we sat in some pub to watch Real Madrid vs. Juventus. Wasn't really so much fun, as talking to them was pretty impossible due to roars of the Real Madrid's fans in despair. Later on we hit the town and painted the town red. Can't associate now the name and location of the place, nevertheless I only remember the waiter going around with a tray full of drinks, and yes I could grab not only one.. So I did. Luckily one, young Spanish gentleman helped me to get to my hostel and on Saturday took my to a hidden place from which the panorama of Madrid spreads out - and without the glass barriers just for the record. If you want to get a good view over Madrid you shall go to the hotel Vincci Capitol.
Madrid day second
I woke up with a bit of hangover. Battling myself to get out of the bed as I didn't have any water. Eventually the desire had been quenched and I restarted to walk around Madrid. Later on I met up with another couch surfer, who showed me around and introduced me to the Madrid's river. Don't expect much it doesn't resemble Danube, not even in the slightest way. Once the encounter had been finished, I headed off to El Prado's museum, which was in fact an amazing experience. I liked the flowery paintings a lot, but the one that had really drawn my attention in particular was Still life with Flowers and Dog by Juan van der Hamen. Shortly after I was having another encounter with a Polish girl , who lives and works in Madrid. We dined ,eating croquetas and were sipping on tinte de verano which was followed by drinking in the pub and eating even more. What surprised me the most was a Polish guy, who looked a bit Spanish and spoke Polish with a Spanish accent. I was surprised and I didn't get right of the batt if he was either Spanish, who had learned to speak Polish or indeed a Pole who spoke Spanish.
Toledo day third
The train from Madrid luckily takes only half an hour. To get from the train station to the city center you can either take a bus or walk. I decided to walk and it took around 20 minutes. At Plaza de Zocodover I bought a pass , which allowed me to go inside many monuments and even have a guided tour. I used that option in the Cathedral, but since there were only two other persons and both Spanish, I suggested to the guide to take it in Spanish as I speak Italian.<CHALLENGE ACCEPTED> I think she didn't really believe me hence every 5 minutes I would be asked 3 times if I had understood. I'd came up with some questions once in a while, so that she could leave me in peace :). After visiting the Cathedral I sat down in one of the restaurants and grabbed some Tuna with vegetables, what happened to be a extremely delicious meal with a wonderful service I tipped in gratitude. Toledo appears to be as a small but enchanting city with Arabic and medieval influences. It was definitely a bit weird to be travelling alone, but in a result I was independent and I could see whatever I want moreover whenever I want.
Madrid day forth
During my last day I walked to the places I hadn't seen yet. When I passed the Cathedral there was certainly a musical event going on and I saw people dancing. I found that extremely cute and relaxing. And I guess it was the second time when I had been accosted by an old Spanish tourist who wanted to take a photo of me, and then suddenly started speaking that he had had a Canon camera with a Sony lens and in effect this combination hadn't been working. Well I could not care less to be honest. Afterwards I met the nice Spanish guy who showed me the view over Madrid. I was extremely tired that day after having been walking for hours, moreover I also got an annoying blister on the sole of my foot.... I was not able even to go down to eat something before my departure. Nevertheless as usual the hunger won me over and I went to Plaza St Ana to eat in a very nice restaurant Lateral. In the meantime I was trying to figure out how to get to the airport , as metro didn't work at the time. I wrote to another couchsurfer I met asking for information about the night bus, but he was so nice to offer me a ride to the airport. Gracias:) I didn't really want to leave Spain, waiting in the line for my flight I realized I understand more Spanish than Hungarian. The sad truth :(
