Basically all I did in Madrid was eat and drink, which is apparently completely acceptable by local standards. The trek into the city was painful, as usual, with a few different train rides ending in an overnight trip from Barcelona. It never fails that the longest train ride will always be the most uncomfortable, and with the lights on all night and a lady chatting away on her phone I did not get any sleep. This was particularly unpleasant because once I got to my hostel I had about 7 hours before I could check in and get some sleep- going over 24 hours without sleep is a lot harder the older you get.
Before my mom got into the city I hung out with a few different people I met from other hostels and of course we did the important things in life- we ate an impossible amount of Spanish food and drank as much as possible. Sangria is one of the greatest things on earth, but when on a pub crawl where you pay 13 euros for unlimited sangria for an hour the way it tastes holds surprisingly little importance. The day after that was not very cute for anyone but it did make me really happy when the Macarena played in one of the clubs.
The pub crawls in any city are pretty similar, but in Madrid I did do a tapas tour with a bunch of people from different hostels and that was a new experience. I was surprised how familiar most of the food was. There were little grilled cheese sandwiches, fried cheese balls, bread with meat and cheese, and potatoes with cheese sauce. Oh, and the best chicken wings ever, but nothing too different from what I eat normally. Not that it was disappointing, just unexpected. I will never complain about cheese.
Anyways after eating and drinking my way through a few days my mom got here! Needless to say we also drank a lot of wine together, but we did some sight seeing as well. We spent the first day catching up with each other and on sleep, but after that we saw some really beautiful sights. Near the museums in Madrid there is an amazing park with the prettiest little lake and a glass atrium, and right across the street was a peaceful little botanical garden where we spent most of a day before going to the Prado and seeing some art that we weren't very impressed with. I guess I am just not that cultured. I was amused to see tulips in the botanical garden labeled "Washington" though!
We also went to the royal palace in Madrid and I have to say it was the most impressive palace I've ever seen. If you are ever in Madrid you need to see this place, there is a room where the walls and ceiling are completely covered in porcelain, and another room with embroidered walls. It's absolutely incredible.
The best part about Madrid was that we stayed in a hotel, after over a month in hostels it was a really welcome change of pace. Plus there is something about Spain that makes you feel so laid back, all you want to do is have a drink, eat, and take a nap, and it is glorious. Sitting on the street sampling wine every day is definitely something I could get used to, especially since they give you food any time you order a drink. If I ever moved here my liver would be so sad.
We did spend my birthday in Madrid, but I will get into that later.
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