Oh madrid- what can i say, way too much tequila and sangria.....
so we got into madrid at 6.30pm and bumped into molly and rachel some cool aussies who we met a while ago on busabout. they asked us what we were doing for tea, we said wehad no plans so they took us with a few others to a place called gingers. gingers is more of a fine dining restaurant with white table cloths and napkins, but it is a training school for the chefs so all the meals are under 10 euros. we got there and it is huge but wasnt very busy, as it was a tad early for tea at 8.45 in spain. the girls said just you wait in 10mins it will be full. and sure enough by the time our food arrived the place was packed. steph and i got the lamb, and wow it was heaven!! we got two huge pieces of lamb, the size of a side plate each and it came with potato gratin and a sweet mustart sauce. now i know i mention food all the time, as mum pointed out. but as we were told on bus about you have to eat your way around europe, and that is exactly what we have been doing. after dinner we wnet back to the hostel to have an early night as we had been up til 5.30am the night before. but then the pub crawl people asked if we were going. we said we would do it the next night. and we were told that it doesnt go on the next two nights so the only night we would be in madrid for it was tonight. me and steph looked at each other, gave each other the look and decided that yes we would join the pub crawl. jess didnt want to come as she was still on her antibiotics. so we ran up to our room and quickly got changed. we were back in 15ins ready to leave for the 11.30 start. at this point we had had nothing to drink, so thought it would be a great idea to just do shots all night, as we got free ones at all the pubs. we ended up consuming 7 tequila, 1 sambucca, 2 fragelico, 3 peach schnapps and 1 vodka shot. but for some reason were still standing and felt absolutely fine- which is a huge surpise, must have been all the dancing- sweating out the alcohol lol. we got home at 5am and went to bed as we had a walking tour to do at 11am the next morning with jess and katene. i got up at 10.15am and had a shower and made it down to start the tour- i was very dedicated, before realising there is a small possibility that i may still be a little drunk- so i made an executive decision and took myself back to bed. steph and i slept until 5.30pm- opps. jess and katene really enjoyed the walking tour and went to a cool tapas bar, before joining steph and i for a seista. that evening we got burritos for dinner and walked through townto the palace. we watched the sunset over the gardens and then walked up the hill to see the eqyptian temple.unfortunately we were too early so it was too dark to see it and there was still 45 mins until the lights turned on. we waited around for the lights which went on at 9.30 pm. it looked cool all lit up. it was such a hot evening- we were still in shorts and singlets til after 11pm when we got home. after taking photos we walked back through town to find the famous-best churros place in town. churros are like long donuts minus the sugar and you get a cup of hot chocolate- which is literally melted chocolate. we shared the churros dipping them in the chocolate- it was very sickly- people in spain eat the for breakfast and on the way home from town after a night out. the next morning steph and i went on the walking tour while jess and katene went shopping. the walking tour was good. there are trees that grow around the city that have berries which naturally ferment- so of course we were taking to a bar to have a shot of the liquear that is made from the berries. it came in a waffer shot glass lined with chocolate. next we went past a monestry where the nuns have taken a vow of silence and they bake cookies. so they nominated one nun to talk to sell the cookies. you get the cookie on a turnstyle then choose the ones you want and out the money on and turn it around. we got a box of lemon cookies to share with the group. they were very tasty. after the walking tour, the same guy takes a tapas tour, so steph and i and another nz girl stayed on and did both. we managed to encourage a couple of aussies to join us on the tour. so the six of us went out or tapas which ended up being a day long drinking session. the tapas tour took us to three bars where we got a plate of nibbles and a sangria. the first place we got pieces of pork belly, the next bread with salami, the last we got a ini paella each and a piece of bread which i thought had tomato hummas but it was crab-eew!!!!!! after that we went to a proper tapas place where you buy a drink and they give you plates of food. we got given chicken nibbles, potato bravas, bread and meat, paella, cheese balls. in this and other traditional tapas places it is rude to put your serviette on the table once used so you just throw it on the floor. so liberating lol. after that we went to a bar where you get 5 beers in a bucket for 5 euros, you just have to buy a plate of food. 5 buckets later,it was decided that we should go buy sangria and tequila and go to the park where the row boats are to drink. what a day!!! i was in bed by 12 but still felt crap the next day for the bus at 8am- but not as crap as steph :) she was wondering if she could even get on the bus lol. we made it and we arenow in san sebastian. where it is raining!!
