On my first day in the city of Madrid, Clara and I had ensaimadas (pastries covered in icing sugar), bizcocho (a type of cake) and Cola Cao (Spanish Milo) for breakfast! It was delicious. We then left Clara's apartment and walked to the Metro station. We caught the Metro to Tirso de Molina and went to a market called El Rastro. It was insanely hot and packed with people. Clara had warned me about this place being a hot spot for tourists getting robbed, so we kept our money in our bras! We walked through all the market stalls and I bought a present for Emily (I haven't given it to her yet so I can't say what it is!), a colourful embroidered handbag for me, and three abanicos (the handheld fans you use to cool yourself down on a hot day!).
We caught the bus back home and had gazpacho (cold tomato soup), melon con jamon (melon with Spanish ham), and filetes de sajonia (kind of like fried thick ham) for lunch. It was so hot in the middle of the day so we decided to stay in for a little while. Clara had a siesta, while I watched the Disney Channel and the news about the running of the bulls in Pamplona on TV. Spaniards are crazy!
We then caught the bus back to the centre of Madrid. We walked around the Puerta del Sol, which is a huge plaza.
We saw Km0. This is the very centre of Spain and it's where the kilometres start counting from to measure the distance to other places in Spain.
We then walked around the area checking out some stores. I bought a pair of sandals. Madrid has so many amazing shoe stores and they are all so cheap! I could have bought so much more. I also got a tshirt for Dad, and a photo frame to put a photo of the beautiful Clara and I in :)
We then had a merienda, which is like an afternoon snack but at 6-7pm. I had a pepito de crema (bun filled with cream) and Clara had a napolitana de chocolate (chocolate croissant).
We walked around the Plaza Mayor which was really cool. It looked so European.
We then checked out Calle de Montera, a street known for its' prostitutes. Clara and I sat at a cafe and subtly watched them for awhile. People watching is so interesting! We got to see the Edificio de Correos, which is an old post office. The architecture is just amazing.
We then caught the bus back home and went to 100 Montaditos and had montaditos for dinner. They are very small baguettes with different fillings. When we got back home we looked through the day's photos while eating natillas (Spanish custard).
The next day we went to a cafe to have chocolate con churros for breakfast. They were absolutely amazing!!!
We walked to the Real Madrid footbal stadium. We didn't actually check out the stadium, but we went to their official store. I got Luke a jersey with the number 14 and the name Alonso on it. Apparently he's the best Spanish player on the Real Madrid team.
We then walked to a jewellery store where Clara knows the owners, called Atizzia. The owner didn't speak English but she was so lovely. I bought Mum a really nice silver necklace as a present from Spain and I got a discount on it too :) Back at home we had gazpacho, ensalada (salad), and cocido (soup with chickpeas) for lunch. Afterwards, we went to Clara's friend Maria's house to use her internet. I got to skype Kurtis while Clara worked out her enrolment for UBC. We then caught the Metro and went back to the Puerta del Sol. Clara and I spontaneously went into a pharmacy and got our 2nd ear piercings done so we have two in each lobe! We then went to the Museo del Jamon and got a jamon bocadillo (ham sandwich), a drink, and strawberry yoghurt takeaway for 2 euros! So cheap!! We sat in the plaza to eat and I got to see the plaza at night.
We watched some buskers in the plaza like rollerblading kids and breakdancers.We shared a waffle with chocolate sauce for dessert :) I got to see the Edificio de Correos all lit up at night and a nearby fountain which looked so pretty.
Stay tuned for my next blog post with the rest of my days spent in Madrid!
Love,
Emily
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