Spain - Madrid

Hey all,

After so many fond memories of Barcelona, it would be a hard act to follow. But here we go, Madrid/Toledo:

Day 11 (Tuesday 8th April)

Our last day in Barca. Pamela was very naughty and stayed behind to prepare us a special breakfast. The best croissants in Catalunya, with this thick hot chocolate over the stove and some sweet bread things. So tasty! And so filling! We were charged up to face the last day. Pam was off to school while we did our final pack. Rapido, Rapido! On the bus, meet up with Pam in town, off to the main station to leave for Madrid. It was a little too quick especially goodbye :( We were greeted by a lovely station and high speed train to Madrid. So many fond memories of this lovely city especially the people! Time for the next stop Madrid!

A lovely train ride 4 hours later we were in Madrid. Along the way we had a very playful little girl in the seat in front of us who kept popping her head through between the seats and talking to us in perfect Spanish. She was so cute! It didn’t matter how many times we told her we couldn’t speak Spanish, she kept coming back! Believe or not this picture is in Madrid Atocha station. There is a massive rainforest in there with turtles and all. Fond memories... However our destination was Toledo, about 1/2 hour south of the capital. This city has a massive history (over 2000 years!) and is UNESCO world heritage listed. Apparently this used to be the former capital of Spain. We arrived to rain, and walked up to our hotel. Finally we were really backpacking! Finding our way to the hotel, we basically dropped the bags and were off in search of dinner. We were recommended a place up the road. It did look
very nice but perhaps a little extravagant?

Anyway we decided to dine, with Cam selecting the steak and Nat the lamb shank. Tasty! We met a lovely American couple travelling independently, having even travelled to Perth! And they loved it! They were on the last leg of their Spain adventure, spending over 2 weeks travelling around the country. It was a good thing that they were there as she spoke pretty good Spanish and could interpret the menu as it was all in Spanish! But we battled through and had a nice meal. Walked around the quiet town soaking up the atmosphere and off to bed.

Day 12

Walked around town and checked out the sights, although there was too many bloody students!!!! As Toledo is famous for it's steel works back to medieval times, we decided after seeing thousands of knives in store fronts that we would pick up a new small chopping knife for home. And what a selection! We even had 4 different coloured handles to choose from! For each size of knife! We ended up selecting a red knife and a wonderful pair of nail clippers, our nails have never looked so good.

Nice lunch at a small Italian restaurant and then walked around a bit more. Of home to have a kip and then watch some TV. See some aussies win a gold medal at the world short course swimming champs. Cam went out for some night pictures around town.

Day 13

Got up early to check out the town before it was overrun by students. Went to a beautiful gallery and checked out some Goya paintings and some other fella. They were really nice!

Stopped at a nice cafe for a beer and a bite to eat. A really cool place with lots of historical pictures and stuff on the walls. Got some piccies around town, before it was time to head off and back to Madrid. Made it to Madrid OK, got lost trying to find our hostel.

Eventually finding our way. The hostel is owned by the government and has no character but everything quite new and specky. Met a nice brother and sister from Napoli

staying in our room. We were invited out by the hostel staff for a Brazilian fiesta at a bar nearby in the bar/club area of town (1 of many I’m sure). First stop a nice bar up the road, sinking our share of a pot plant container of Sangria, very tasty! After a complimentary shooter each, it was time to move onto the Brazilian place. It was going off, with great music and cold beers. Some of us after a while were ready to retire, so Cam headed back about 1:45 in the morning for bed. (Whilst nat was trying to sleep in this very noisy hostel!)

Day 14

Nat and I headed into Sol, the town centre to check out the action. It was very busy with people doing there day to day thing. Some protest going on in town also. We decided to check out a couple of parks, as we had heard that they were pretty special. Going through Plaza Mayor, this was the scene of many of the major events that have happened in Madrid through the ages. Down to the Palacio Real (The Spanish palace) A very grand place with many amazing gardens around it. It was getting dark by now, so decided to head back to the hostel. We met up with our Italian friends and watched a movie in the very impressive theatre / pool room with a nice pool table, and the piste resistance – A 50” Philips plasma TV and surround sound. Awesome! Off to bed.

Day 15

Today was looking pretty grim outside, so we thought it would be a good day to check out an art gallery. Upon advice from our trusty Rough Guide, we decided to head to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. It is an amazing collection from the 12th to the 20th century privately collected then displayed for all. Within this place they also had a special collection of Modigliani’s work over his short 35 year life. A truly amazing artist. We really liked his works, with Cam paying special attention to the nude works at the end! We were all arted out after this, so we decided to head out and check out some more of town. Back to the hostel to watch another movie in the awesome movie room.

Day 16

We decided to spend a relaxing day at a park. So after collecting supplies from the market up the road, we found a park in the city. Unpacked the food and wine, and chilled out for about 4 hours! Very relaxing way to spend the afternoon, just what we needed! Went to another couple of parks for a look around and some ice cream. One last look around the city before heading heading back. Caught up with our Napolese mates again. Cam went to Burger King with Roberto, there was a crazy amount of teenagers down there! Went back to watch another movie then ushered off to bed without finishing the movie as the hostel closed the movie room at midnight, damn it!

It was an early wake up to say our goodbyes and pack our stuff for our next leg Morocco. Here is a photo of our Napolise friends Claudia and Roberto. Look out for Morocco coming soon! Cam & Nat