I go to bed late the previous night because I am blogging about my travels and trying to catch up. I get up early because 1. I don't want to miss my bus to Madrid, and 2. because I still need to book a hostel. I finally book a room at room007 Hostel and get directions to get there.
The bus drops us off at the train station, so I wander around looking for a map and finally find one, and since they don't have any brochures for tourists I take a picture of it on my iPhone to use as a quick reference.
Take the train and get off the appropriate station and then begin the process of navigating through the streets of Madrid to my hostel room 007.
The hostel is big and spacious but not the best facilities I have stayed in but definitely good.
I talk to the receptionist, get a map, and advice on places to visit and begin walking around Madrid while making instant comparisons (both good and bad) with the feel of Barcelona.
I finally get to the Royal Palace of Madrid.
I go to the entrance
And I purchase a 10 Euro ticket to see the inside.
Yup, ticket layout and actual layout match. :-) It is the correct Palace.
The view of one end of the city from the side of the Royal Palace.
Finally inside.
And then the security guard tells me that there are no pictures allowed from this point forward. BOOO!
But every room was GORGEOUS and EXQUISITELY DETAILED! Absolutely beautiful to walk through.
Finally I post a comment on facebook saying one day I will live here.... Moments later I am told via my friend John Eller that the King of Spain abdicated his throne ... no seriously abdicated ... unfortunately, to his son.
Finally I get out and I can resume picture taking again.
I leave the Royal Palace, and no sooner do I pass the limit gates, we have a security or army patrol walking by with horses.
The views of Madrid are lovely.
I return back to the hostel and then get a recommendation to try Vermouth at a local restaurant. So I head over and order Vermouth and some Eggplant Fries.
Everything is delicious. The vermouth is wonderful and the eggplant while oily from being fried is still great!
After the snack I head back to the hostel and hang out with my floor mates in the common area. Eventually the evening kicks in and we start playing drinking games.
Which leads me to want to go out a little. I end up paying 12 Euros to go out with the hostel people to select bars and get one free shot of Tequila. It is my only and last night in Madrid so why not?
I head out with the hostel people. I meet a few people along the way, and have a very good time, and return back to the hostel at 4 AM. My body is not made for this type of endurance.
My flight is at 11 AM and I want to shower change and leave by 8 AM - which means I have to get up at 7 AM and hit the snooze button a couple of times. Nervous about getting 3 hours of sleep and waking up for the airport.
I should not have gone out, but I have no regrets about it. YOLO: You only live once!
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