It is 9:00 p.m. as I write this, and it’s 92 degrees outside. There is something seriously wrong with that statement – hence the title of this blog.
We arrived in Madrid yesterday around 7:00 p.m. after one of the most luxurious bus rides I have ever taken. Each seat was equipped with its own touch screen TV filled with movies, tv shows, games and much more. I watched Belle (great movie), Endlesslove (horrible movie), and The Maze Runner (decent movie). I would have done anything to read a book during the eight hour commute, but unfortunately I was unable to come across any before we departed Barcelona. *tears*
The second we stepped foot of the bus, I became instantly drenched in sweat. Apparently, it had reached over 100 degrees that day and was showing no signs of cooling off anytime soon. Heather and I miserably lugged our giant backpacks through two metro rides to get to our hostel called “Mad4you Hostel,” which I personally find to be quite funny.
I use the term hostel loosely here because honestly, this place is more of a hotel than hostel. There are three levels and 25 rooms total. Each room has eight beds and its own private bathroom – pretty snazzy. Once at the hostel, we rinsed off, got dressed, then set out to meet one of my friends from Madison that happen to be studying in Madrid. He showed us all around town and treated us to some potatas bravas, one of Madrid’s’ famous dishes.
The next day we rolled out of bed at 9:30 a.m. just in time to make the free breakfast that ended at 10:00 a.m. After we ate, we set off to go on a free three hour walking tour that the hostel offered. It was a really nice tour, and we got to see all the famous sites in Madrid. I just wish it could have been 10 degrees cooler.
For dinner, I made a delicious lentil, spinach and tomato stew, and now am just relaxing on my bunk bed – mostly because there is air conditioning in our rooms. Heather is packing as she leaves tomorrow unfortunately. 🙁
Despite the heat, I really did enjoy Madrid as a city. There is great shopping, tasty food and a beautiful park to relax in – what more could you ask for in a city?
Tomorrow I plan on picking up some last-minute items for Morocco and just relaxing around at the hostel for the most part. It is honestly too hot to do anything but that. The good news is there are tons of other miserably hot travelers at the hostel to keep me company. 