Madrid, Spain..the city that doesn't sleep

My first impression of Madrid: huge city, lots of action, busy streets, and much more cosmopolitan than Lisbon. Madrid is known for its bustling nightlife, heavy cultural and artistic offerings, and for housing the Governemnt, Spanish parliament, and Spanish royal family. It's hard to be still in a busy city like Madrid!

And we didn't waste anytime after arriving at our hostel early evening. We walked our way over to Plaza Mayor, one of the main, large plazas in Madrid with beautiful buildings and welcoming diners and cafes.. It seems to be the center of festivities and was really crowded with people just hanging out and relaxing the following day when we visited. On our way to the plaza, we stopped to watch a Spanish band entertaining in the streets, and tossed them a few coins before heading on our way. They were pretty good! We walked around a bit more, but it was already getting late and really cold, so we grabbed some dinner and drinks from the supermarket and headed back to our hostel. I was feeling awful (I had some sort of flu/cold I couldnt seem to shake) so I opted to crawl in bed early while the rest of the gang went out for a bit. Disappointed, but I had to get better sometime!

Tuesday March 18, we woke up and headed out with our sights set on some museums. Much to our dismay, the famed Reina Sofia was closed for the day, but we stopped by the next day instead. The museum was temporarily housing Picasso's work moved from the Louvre in Paris and the exhibit was amazing! Definitely worth the visit times a million. The museum also had other really fantastic Spanish artists.

After seeing the long line forming for the Prado Museum (in part due to Reina Sofia being closed that day) we decided to take some time and wander through the Royal Botanical Gardens right next door. Beautiful landscaping, but the flowers definitely weren't close to full bloom, so they weren't too spectacular yet.

After the gardens, we strolled over to the famous Retiro Park. I cannot explain how gigantic this park is...its like a small city! We got lost wandering around and saw some amazingly gorgeous sights! Spent over an hour and a half in the park, and left only because we were starving!

Had a really traditional "menu del dia" large, late-afternoon, Spanish lunch. Bascially its a lunch of the day and you can choose a drink, starter (ours was a salad, rice dish, or cheesy vegetables dish), main course (we had fish, omelette, and some other kind of meat), and a dessert (ice cream, chocolate crepe, fruit, coffee, or cake!) The meal also comes with bread to start. It was so much food and so delicious! I see why the spanish can wait until 10 at night to eat dinner....

We stopped by a few more sights in the afternoon...saw a bizarre, yet interesting exhibit in casa de americanas (i think that was the name?), Palacio Real (Royal Palace), the beautiful Almudena cathedral next to the royal palace, and just gave ourselves a general walking tour of the city. The architecture of the city is pleasing and it was enjoyable to just walk around and take in the sights...plus it was a beautiful day :)

Tuesday night we had big plans for tapas and drinks, but they were squashed when we found out El Tigre (the recommended place) was closed. By this time it was getting late so tapas were no longer in order. I was then looking to head to Kapital, one of Madrid's most famous discotecas (night clubs), but this was closed too!! I wasn't having much luck with my plans! I guess it was a Tuesday, but Madrid is supposed to be the city that doesn't sleep. I ended up taking these roadblocksa as signs that my night was meant to end early and after hanging out at our hostel's bar for awhile I went to bed again without going out...at least I saved myself some money!

Wednesday we visited the Reina Sofia like I mentioned, grabbed some lunch, and it was time to head to the airport already! Although I think I would have enjoyed my stay more if I had a little more time and I wasn't sick the first night, I could tell the city had a lot to offer and definitely a worthwhile place to visit. I would love to come back and get a better taste of the nightlife and enjoy a few more museums, as I didn't find enough time to pack everything in. Didn't quite become home like Lisbon did, though :)

OFF TO GREECE!!!!!