Madrid - round #1
My mum & sister were up in Cam and we decided to go somewhere for the weekend if we found cheap flights. Madrid was good cos it was cheapish (flights-wise), arty (Prada gallery) + generally scenic, and also has cool nightlife - especially since i know crew there. We actually flew to Valladolid and caught the bus down (3hrs) to Madrid. Well, we JUST made the bus due to massive flight delays, but thankfully cos the airport was so small our bags came out quick so we got there in time. After the bus, we headed up to our apartments in Tribunal - which is the alternative/punk area. Great location for a family holiday, with crazy punk youth packing the streets. But our apartment was great. Spacious and it had a fridge so I could safely store the mountains of jamon I wanted to bring home! We walked around and ate some great tapas + sangria. Soooo good - English food just don't compare... Then 11pm rolled around which is time to begin thinking about going out. Antonio, a mate who was in Cam earlier in the year learning English, picked up Richelle and I and took us to a friends house. Flying around a city in a car is sweet - you can see so much. We go to his mates house which was such a random mix, one English dude (chavvy) was there with his Spanish girlfriend - they were so mismatched. But yeh, then everyone decided to play bingo. Totally random - we thought it was funny. Antonio was hating it! Bingo in Spanglish made the drinks go down that much faster. After that we headed to a mates house, Julian, who also learnt English in the UK, and downed some serious whisky with his crew. After a while we decided we should go to this club Andys. 3.30am, a reasonable time to go apparently. Head out and eventually get in for free due to connections. Was pretty fancy, and had hot hot girls. Weird mix of music, everything from spanish, to modern stuff, to Madonna. Running a muck for a coupla hours but then it was time to go because we had to wake up for sightseeing. We were told that we're leaving early by going @ 5.30am. hahah love it...
Next day, sightseeing. Weren't TOO hungover - thankfully. Just tired. Hit up the modern art museum which was cool, not just overloaded with Picasso & Dali for a change. It was good to go with Mum & Richelle who have art skills/knowledge - makes galleries better cos they can explain stuff. After we checked out Plaza Mayor, we were off to my favourite museum - Museo del Jamon for some Spanish delights. I'm totally addicted to Jamon. It's not really a museum but just a big ham shop and restaurant. After coming away with about 30EU of fine cured meats to take back to home, I napped whilst Richelle went off and hit the funky streets of Tribunal. Can't remember what Mum did. That night, we met up with Trish who was amongst the first of my friends from Cambridge - she was on exchange from Madrid. We met at the Tribunal Metro stop where hundreds of alternative-looking youth were congregated. We go to a bar directly across from where we were staying (damn our hotel location was hot) and down some Sangria with her mates before sampling some Madrid nightlife. There was this awesome cocktail place, with such a cool selection of drinks, a DJ and these nice sofas and beds to chillax on. Though they were all full and our plans to steal some comfort were soon thwarted. After downloading some flaming Absynth shots - (ouch) more of Trish's mates arrived - I knew some of them as they had visited Cambridge before, and we all got on amazingly well. Man Madrid is cool, in certain areas (tribunal/malasanha) it's just wall-to-wall of cool spots, like this awes Jazz club, right near this Australian(!) bar - Free Way (didn't check that out la proxima vez), not too far away from a famous punk club, etc. We only got a taste for the awesomeness of a place cos we were on a guestlist at this other club and needed to get there before 2am. Got there just in time, ready for an interesting mix of music, kinda 70s stuff, electroclash and techno all mixed. Jumped around like crazy for a few hours before walking home at like 5.30am. People were still paying to get in that time. Great night. There are all these (ethnic) street vendors around the streets selling 'cervecha un luero' as well as awesome jam & cheese rolls. Best 2eu ever spent.
Oye! Final day, VERY tired. Went back to Plaza Mayor only to find that most museums close early (if they open at all) on Sun. Buh boh. Wanted to check out the Latin American Archeological Museum, but couldnt. Instead, we found this nice tapas place near by and drowned our sorrows before doing a bus tour of the city. The bus tour is TOTALLY worth it - you get see everything with explanations (with a little too much emphasis on building heights and dates). Madrid is really scenic - cool architecture. Mum + sis went off to the Prado where as I went to catch some Zs. I knew I'd be back so Prado was up the list for next time. Met up with Trish for a quick city-centre tour and some choc + churros (that's the famous ultra-thick chocolate with doughnut like sticks) - Spanish tradition. Apparently you do it after clubbing and the place is open 24hrs. But it was still OK even 7pm. We then all meet up and go for some tasty chow + sangria in this nice restaurant street near Sol. I ate like a pig (and obviously ate pigs), Spanish food is soooooo good. Chorizo fried in Sidra. My god.
New logo for the best museum in Madrid
Bus back to Valladolid for the flight home means that the commute back basically sucks the whole day... but it was worth it. I got another taste for Madrid and I wanted more. And I got it only a few weeks later. Pics here
 Tapas con mi madre | -709655.jpg) Richelle, Julian y Antonio |
Next day, sightseeing. Weren't TOO hungover - thankfully. Just tired. Hit up the modern art museum which was cool, not just overloaded with Picasso & Dali for a change. It was good to go with Mum & Richelle who have art skills/knowledge - makes galleries better cos they can explain stuff. After we checked out Plaza Mayor, we were off to my favourite museum - Museo del Jamon for some Spanish delights. I'm totally addicted to Jamon. It's not really a museum but just a big ham shop and restaurant. After coming away with about 30EU of fine cured meats to take back to home, I napped whilst Richelle went off and hit the funky streets of Tribunal. Can't remember what Mum did. That night, we met up with Trish who was amongst the first of my friends from Cambridge - she was on exchange from Madrid. We met at the Tribunal Metro stop where hundreds of alternative-looking youth were congregated. We go to a bar directly across from where we were staying (damn our hotel location was hot) and down some Sangria with her mates before sampling some Madrid nightlife. There was this awesome cocktail place, with such a cool selection of drinks, a DJ and these nice sofas and beds to chillax on. Though they were all full and our plans to steal some comfort were soon thwarted. After downloading some flaming Absynth shots - (ouch) more of Trish's mates arrived - I knew some of them as they had visited Cambridge before, and we all got on amazingly well. Man Madrid is cool, in certain areas (tribunal/malasanha) it's just wall-to-wall of cool spots, like this awes Jazz club, right near this Australian(!) bar - Free Way (didn't check that out la proxima vez), not too far away from a famous punk club, etc. We only got a taste for the awesomeness of a place cos we were on a guestlist at this other club and needed to get there before 2am. Got there just in time, ready for an interesting mix of music, kinda 70s stuff, electroclash and techno all mixed. Jumped around like crazy for a few hours before walking home at like 5.30am. People were still paying to get in that time. Great night. There are all these (ethnic) street vendors around the streets selling 'cervecha un luero' as well as awesome jam & cheese rolls. Best 2eu ever spent.
 Crew |  Loving the Australian Bar (not) |
Oye! Final day, VERY tired. Went back to Plaza Mayor only to find that most museums close early (if they open at all) on Sun. Buh boh. Wanted to check out the Latin American Archeological Museum, but couldnt. Instead, we found this nice tapas place near by and drowned our sorrows before doing a bus tour of the city. The bus tour is TOTALLY worth it - you get see everything with explanations (with a little too much emphasis on building heights and dates). Madrid is really scenic - cool architecture. Mum + sis went off to the Prado where as I went to catch some Zs. I knew I'd be back so Prado was up the list for next time. Met up with Trish for a quick city-centre tour and some choc + churros (that's the famous ultra-thick chocolate with doughnut like sticks) - Spanish tradition. Apparently you do it after clubbing and the place is open 24hrs. But it was still OK even 7pm. We then all meet up and go for some tasty chow + sangria in this nice restaurant street near Sol. I ate like a pig (and obviously ate pigs), Spanish food is soooooo good. Chorizo fried in Sidra. My god.
New logo for the best museum in Madrid
Bus back to Valladolid for the flight home means that the commute back basically sucks the whole day... but it was worth it. I got another taste for Madrid and I wanted more. And I got it only a few weeks later. Pics here
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