Madrid: The Capital of Spain

Hey everyone,

I last left off, I was in Barcelona, and had made it to Spain’s capital city of Madrid. I went straight to the Hostel after I got to the city and that is where I will pick up again. I hope your all enjoying the travel posts!

So after trusting my offline maps app (since then the app is buggy, but I still rate this app. Go download Ulmon’s Citymaps2go) I made it to my hostel in once piece. I stayed at the number 1 rated hostel in the city. The Hat was a top-notch hostel in compared to the other ones I have stayed at minus the Generator Paris. Check in was super easy and I got a free beer right when I checked in, so they already got off to the right start. I dropped my things let everyone know that I had made it to Madrid in one piece, then went out and wondered for a bit.

It was a beautiful city, and as I was wondering I stumbled across the Royal Palace of Madrid, that the Royals don’t actually live in anymore. Come to realize the next day my tour guide would take us there and explain about the building for what seemed like hours. However after seeing the building, I walked around and found food, then headed back to the hostel.

Shortly after I got back to the hostel I went up to the rooftop where they had a bar setup and I got my free beer. I stumbled across this travelers meeting and I got to chat with a local about what he recommended I see when I see the sights the next day. I had him give me some things to put on my map and I was set for the tour the next morning.

I woke up late for me well I have been traveling. And yes for those of you who know how I sleep it was well before 10am. But I grabbed a quick breakfast and then met our tour guide to see the city. We started our tour in Plaza Mayor then we made our way through La Latina where we saw the Oldest Restaurant in the world called Sobrino de Botin. I suggest going there if you can afford it because it really does look pricy. 102 euro for baby eels anyone? We then made our way to this “open air” market and then back to the Royal Castle. We ended our tour at Puerta del Sol, and from there I was on a mission to get to the Santiago Burnabeu the Home to Real Madrid. I walked by the Palacio de Cibeles in the process of taking the, what seemed like a two hour walk to the stadium.

 

I will say however long that walk was it was well worth it. The stadium was amazing! I saw all 11 of Real’s Champions league trophies, sat on each leave of the stadium from the nose bleeds to the VIP section to pitch side in a seat where the likes of Marcelo, Ronaldo, Bale, and Isco have sat (granted those names rarely sit the bench as it is.) Then I saw the locker room and the Press Room. I will say the experience is a must for football fans regardless of whom you support. But after a metro ride back, and a few drinks with my roommates on the roof I headed to bed to get ready for the next day.

I wanted a slower day for my last full day in the city. So after getting a good nights sleep I went out for breakfast, and I found a Dunkin’ Donuts in Madrid, and I had to have breakfast there. Wasn’t even close to any dunks back home but for what it was it was good. I then made my way over to the Templo de Debod which are these Egyptian monuments close to the royal palace, but are a bit out of the way. Then I made the walk to see the other major football club in the city Atlético Madrid. The area around the stadium was completely different from Real’s, and you can tell that Atlético is the working class club in Madrid. But those stops took up most of my day in Madrid, and after exploring La Latina again I choose to call it a night, and pack for my flight the next morning.

The next morning seemed like a blur, and after taking the metro to the airport I boarded a Ryanair flight to the city of Rome. The flight was easy, and made the start to my time in Italy better since I saw the Vatican, The Colosseum, and the whole of the city from the sky. But I will talk about the start to my Roman adventure soon, for now remember to stay safe, and have fun!

-Tucker     

Madness in Montpellier

Hey everybody,

Ok so this is going to be kinda a quick post since everything I had planned in Montpellier kinda went to hell and fast. So forgive me if this seems like a really short post, it's because my time in Montpellier though enjoyable, was a tad be worrying and did not go to plan.

So after getting on the train from Paris Gard de Lyon I was off to get to my next destination of Montpellier. The weather instantly began to become sunny and it felt like the Mediterranean which was what I was looking for. The train ride went well, and I was able to manage a conversation with this lovely couple in French with the help of my phrase book and a few words I picked up in Mr. Carrier's study hall when he was grading French work back in high school.

But after about a two and a half hour ride I finally made it to my stop. The Montpellier train station was beautiful but the second I went outside it I was hit with the Mediterranean sun and started to look at the beautiful architecture that was all around the city. It was only a short walk to my hostel, which it was nice to drop my bags. I used that day for getting some work done and getting in contact with everyone. But I knew from the second I got to the hostel I knew something was off.

Ok so there is only one hostel in Montpellier and I highly recommend you don't stay there. The place is basically falling down, the showers have pipes showing, and you genuinely don't feel safe. I didn't feel safe, so before I did anything the next day I booked a hotel about a mile away from the hostel. I think it was for the best!

After checking in to the new digs I tried to make the best of a bad situation, and I went and explored the city. I went to this beautiful part of the city and saw this area where you can see almost all of the city from. And when I was there, there was a little flee market going on. I ended up walking around the flee market until I found this food vender. I managed to get a Croce madam in France, so I think I did that right. But after walking for over 6 miles that day I went back to the hotel and when to bed early.

The next day I had something planned which was the reason that I came to Montpellier. I had a wine tour all booked, but come the day of the tour I found out it was canceled due to low booking turnout. I was a bit upset about that because I really wanted to step foot on a French winery, but I guess on this trip it wasn't met to be. So I went back into town to see some things that I might have missed. It was a beautiful day and I just walked around. The pickpockets were out in full force getting ready for Euros in a few days to take advantage of the Italian and Swiss fans that would come to watch their national team play.

But after another few miles of walking around I called it early and got a good full night's rest for the next day. Because the next day was the day I would head to the home of Messi and Company, Barcelona.

I hope you are all liking this posts. I'm doing my best to give you the best content that I can through this media. But I will have more travel posts to come! So remember to stay safe and have fun!

-Tucker