Madrid

Well one thing is for sure, Madrid is so much hotter than Barcelona. At times it seemed a bit unbearable. And for some reason we always found ourselves out and about during midday. I'm still impressed that I didn't get burned.

But starting from the beginning...

As soon as we got to Madrid we had to spend four long hours in the station waiting for our turn to buy tickets to San Sebastian and then from Pamplona back to Madrid. For some reason you cant use your Eurail pass to reserve seats online in Spain. Despite the wait we did eventually get our tickets and man was it a load off our shoulders. All of our transportation for the rest of the trip was taken care of. But we were beat when we got to our hostel. Basically all that we could manage to do was run out and grab some groceries and then eat.

The next day we headed out to explore and walked around El Sol and then to the temple. It was so hot, and since we had no plans we chilled at the park. I think we both even managed to fall asleep for at least a few minutes. For a portion of our lounging about we even got to listen to some guy play the guitar. I am pretty sure we saw some other noteworthy landmarks, but the heat completely erased all memory of them.

To see Madrid a bit more efficiently, we did another free walking tour which started at Plaza Mayor. Turns out below the plaza is where the torture chambers for the Spanish Inquisition were, but now it is just a carpark. Also Madrid had its own Robin Hood who really liked the ladies. We got to see the old city walls and the opera house and some other old stuff. Oh, another fun fact: The oldest restaurant is in Madrid. It has a Guinness World Record plaque and everything. Then we got a shot of this liquor that is only made in Madrid and it is served in a chocolate shot glass. A CHOCOLATE SHOT GLASS! In my opinion that should be the only kind of shot. The bar we went to was right off Plaza Mayor and also off the plaza is a lovely market with tons of tapas. I got this lovely squid one, but stupidly I only got one. Do not make the same mistake I did.

The next day we just rested up for Pamplona and enjoyed some churros. We were both a bit apprehensive about San Fermin so we didn't want to tire ourselves out. That night however, on our way to drop off our bags with someone Ally goes to school with, we ran into the Mrs. Pride pageant and had to weave through a mass of people enjoying the celebration. Everyone was in such a good mood and and so spirited, but the place smelled like piss.

So while Madrid does have its places to see and things to do, I personally prefer Barcelona. Then again, maybe it was just that it was way too hot.