Friday February 16... I took a morning train to Madrid which took almost eight hours, because it was
a pretty slow train and I had to change somewhere between Valencia and Madrid. But I did get a chance
to see the beautiful countryside of Spain. For much of the trip, the train was on a one train lane
track, so at times the train would stop for a few minutes until a train passed by. I arrived in
Madrid at 8pm on a Friday night without a hotel reservation. I tried three hotels near the middle of
town, but they were all full. Then I saw plenty of other backpackers trying to find hotel rooms. So
I resorted to taking the first hotel room I could find, which was at a much more expensive hotel.
Important lesson learned: Do not arrive in a big city on a Friday night after 4PM without a hotel
reservation, especially with a 50 lbs backpack.
After getting settled, I walked around Madrid, from Puerta del Sol, known as the center of Madrid with the famous
bear "nuzzling a madrono" statue (a popular meeting place - see photo), to Plaza de la Independencia. Then
I resorted to KFC for dinner, because most of the restaurants were packed, and I was hesitant
to try my Spanish when it was so noisy.
|
Bear Nuzzling a Madrono
Madrid in the Evening
|
