Tour of Madrid

The weather in Madrid has been absolutely spectacular, i don't even think that i have seen a single cloud for the entire time i have been here. The temperature has been sitting around about 30-32 degrees Celsius throughout most of the day and its just been wonderful. The hostel we are staying at, which has been pretty amazing, runs a free walking tour of the near-by attractions every morning, so Ole and I tagged along yesterday morning to see what it was all about. Although we'd already been wandering around and had seen most of the stuff that we were being shown, It was great to have a guide to tell us a little more about what we were looking at. We went into the Santa Maria Cathedral, which was very interesting, to my understanding, construction began in 1879 and finally completed in 1993 after work was stopped during civil wars. Because it took over 100 years to construct, the different parts of the Cathedral have been designed using different styles of architecture and design.

You will also see pictured, the Sobrino de Botín, which is the oldest restaurant in the world. its a really charming little place in a quiet side street in the middle of the city. It has been operating since 1725, it is quite famous and the meals there are around the 20-30 Euro mark, which is not nearly as expensive as i was expecting. After our tour, we returned to the hostel, and with a couple of new mates we met on tour and we went to the pub for some much needed beers. What i didn't know is that they serve tapas with every beer they sell in the bars. After ordering our beers the bar tender offered us to choose a tapas plate from the glass case behind the bar, we had all sorts of tasty food, Croquetas were really nice, if you have the chance give them a go, but generally it is salty food, often served with chorizo or bacon. If their aim is to make you want to drink more, it certainly worked. After a siesta, Ole and I met with our new friends at the hostel down the road for a few more beers, this hostel and our own run a pub crawl, which takes place every evening. We got onto some excellent drinking games, 1 litre glasses of Sangria and had a blast, after we were warmed up, we went on to a couple nearby pubs and clubs. I had a great time, It was an excellent way to socialise and meet a load of new people.