Madrid + Sevilla = some serious Spanish heat!

Well, it's only been a few days since I've been back home and I'm already having severe Europe withdrawals....wahhhhh.  It's definitely bittersweet being home, a tad surreal at first to be honest.  Not sure why because I've been away for longer than this before but it was just an indescribable feeling this time.  Maybe it was because I came back to a different home. Maybe it was because I was in such a visually different place. Maybe because it was such a far cry from life back here. Who knows.
But luckily for me, I still have a few more cities to fill you in on so it's like I get to transport myself back there all over again...woohoo!

Buckle up...here we go!

So next up on my adventures was Madrid.  I didn't really have anything planned for this stop besides eat, eat and eat some more...oh, and visit Toledo.  I know...I know but it's not my fault! I mean, there are only so many museums, cathedrals and stained glass my brain can handle. I had a lot of time to fill on my own and eating is a good way to break up the day and pass some time, right?? This was a typical schedule:

wake up
get ready
coffee
walk
snack
walk
lunch
walk
snack
walk
dinner
walk
sleep

Okay, maybe I left out a final snack break but you get the idea. Seriously though, keep in mind that the days in Spain are MUCHHHHHHH longer!! Lunch is at like 2pm - 3pm (even that's considered early) and dinner isn't til at least 10pm! I NEED TO SNACK TO SURVIVE!!! What's wrong with that? Nothing. Nothing at all! YOLO. (I'm so sorry).

Madrid was a lot more metropolitan than I was expecting and had gotten used to over the past month or so.  Wide roads, lots of cars and definitely not a city that's easy to jaywalk in! Despite the hustle and bustle of the city, I found it to have the cleanest metro system.  Hey, any time you can walk onto a platform and not smell urine, it's a good day, not to mention all the trains are air conditioned...it'll dry up that 40 degree weather sweat in an instant! Hallelujah!

Tons of shopping to be done in Madrid and despite browsing many of the shops in the city centre, I still hadn't purchased ANYTHING. I know right?! Go Ekta! Actually, that would change as the days passed but I'll fill you in on that a little later. Sigh.

Anyways....

The first day was spent wandering and getting my bearings of the city.  Checked out the very busy and vibrant plaza Puerta del Sol, which also happens to be the geographical centre of Spain. Pretty cool.

That night was the Netherlands vs Argentina match so I caught it at a café around the corner from my apartment.  The TV was set up outside and by this time, the temperature had dropped and what was a 30+ degree day, quickly turned into a 15 degree + breeze night.  I clearly was not prepared for that and my waiter, bless is heart, saw I was cold and draped a sweater around my shoulders and at the end of the night, insisted I wear the sweater home and just return it in the morning. Seriously. Sweetest man ever.

I tackled some of the touristy things the next day. I visited Palacio Real, which used to house the Spanish royal family.  Very much like Versailles, minus the hoards of people, which at this point, I was glad to not have to deal with.

They don't allow photos inside but it was gorgeous...as expected! I think by now you don't need to see any more pix of palace rooms...use your imagination :)

After the palace and having a surprisingly delicious pizza lunch, I just explored the area and came across the San Miguel Market! Woop! Considering I practically LIVED at the one in Barcelona, I was so giddy with excitement.  This one was a lot smaller and modern than St. Josep but was still packed with culinary goodness.

I couldn't resist the olives. I was due for a snack anyway. Sue me.

The rest of the afternoon/early evening was spent exploring the old quarters of Madrid and I eventually found myself at Parque del Buen Retiro, a gorgeous urban oasis in the middle of the city.  There was a massive artificial lake in the middle of it complete with kayaks and love struck couples. As tempted as I was to rent a boat of my own and paddle the evening away, with the intense heat, I was afraid I'd get too tired and just get stranded in the middle of the lake.  I wasn't about to take that chance, especially when I had the option to sit on dry land with a pitcher of sangria instead...so that's what I did. For the next 2 hours. It's amazing how much time you can pass people watching.

By now it was about 9pm so I started to walk towards home.  Wasn't too bad of a walk but the food options along my route were pretty shiteous so it was an uneventful dinner experience that night. Oh well, can't win every night I suppose. Then something unexpected happened.  For the first time on this trip, I was overcome with emotions. Sadness, to be honest. I wasn't even thinking about anything in particular but before I knew it, I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't get them to stop.  Here I was, halfway across the world in such a gorgeous city crying? It made no sense.  Maybe it was loneliness.  Maybe it was being homesick.  Maybe it was because I never imagined myself to be in this particular situation at this point in life. I really have no idea but I embraced it and got it out of my system.  I honestly hadn't really taken any time to stop and get in touch with any sort of emotion, whether good or bad so I guess it was just part of the process. Anyways, I got my shit together thanks to some incredible friends who have been there for me every single day of my trip. I'm truly blessed with the most amazing friends. Really.

Okay enough of the serious stuff.

Have you ever heard of the site couchsurfing.org? In a nutshell, it's a travel site for people who are either looking for a sofa to "crash" on or simply to meet locals.  I already had a place to stay in Madrid but when I was in Barca, I got on the site and browsed folks in Madrid since that was a city that I wouldn't know a soul.  I came across a guy named Vipin Patel. Yup, a Patel. We're EVERYWHERE.  He had a ridiculous amount of positive reviews from people who had both stayed or just met up with him so I figured he was legit enough and dropped him a note.  We wound up making lunch plans.  Vipin was the SHIT. We hit it off like we were long lost BFFs, despite our differing tastes in Indian vegetables.  He's a former lawyer from London now living and teaching English in Madrid. Super fun, super funny with no filter...my kinda pal! So what was supposed to be a simple lunch meet-up turned into a half day-o-fun! He took me to a pretty shitty Spanish restaurant (it's okay he knows it was shitty. Stop taking people there!) and then wandered to Plaza de España, a rose garden and then ended off with some drinks.  Just an FYI, locals don't drink sangria. No no no. They drink pretty much the exact same thing, minus the fruit. Makes no sense to me but whatever. It's called Tinto de Verano and it was actually pretty good so I won't hate on it. And NOOOO...stop it...I did not just meet my future husband!

LOL I couldn't resist

After that, I beelined it to Centro de Arte Reina Sofia where I really only wanted to see Picasso's "Guernica", which is why I went during their free admission window. Gotta save some Euros somewhere!  Couldn't take any pix inside but it's a contemporary art museum filled with tons of Picasso, Dali and Miró pieces. Luckily, I had plenty of time to visit their full  permanent collection. So that was that. Nothing crazy.

Next day was TOLEDO day! The plan was to hop on the 1:45pm train but of course, with my Eurail pass I'd have to purchase my ticket directly at the station. I got there just before 1pm and saw that although it wasn't as bad as the Barcelona situation, there were still quite a few people waiting. So I grabbed my number and a bag of candies from the store and waited.  At 1:41pm my number finally got called.  Now this is where I began to question the competence of these people.  My ticket agent kept insisting that I could still make the 1:45pm train. Seriously woman? Do you have a teleporting machine I don't know about?? UNsurprisingly, the system wouldn't let her process the ticket (she seriously tried to book me on the train) and so my only other option was the next train at 3:50pm. SUCKED. I managed to kill the time and made it to Toledo. Luckily, it's just a 30 minute train ride from Madrid.  I met a girl from South Korea, Riah, once we got off and wound up exploring the old city together.  We had the same travel style of just going with the flow with no itinerary so it worked out perfectly.

Gorgeous GORGEOUS old hilltop city with so many GORGEOUS churches, mosques and synagogues.  It was a 40 degree scorcher that day so we had to move at turtle's pace but WOW, Toledo is a must-visit if you're ever in Madrid.

The next day was my final day in Madrid and it started with hitting the huge Sunday flea market.  Riah and I met up there and managed to make a few cute purchases. Yessss, I FINALLY bought something...2 bracelets and a necklace to be exact. I was pretty pumped.  Now what happened next could be interpreted in two ways. I'll tell you what I thought in a minute.  Soooo...later in the afternoon, we came across a candy store. Of course we went in and out we went with bags of goodies. Anyone who knows me, knows candy is my WEAKNESS but to my defense, I had a few train rides ahead of me that they would have come in handy for.  Anyways, Riah and I parted ways for a bit with plans to meet up later to catch the World Cup final.  So there I am, on the metro home, enjoying some candies and I think "whoa wait...I only have one bag in my hand". Yeah, exactly.  One bag.  The candy bag.  Umm....? Shit! I must have left the jewelry in the candy store!!!! UGH! By this time, I was almost home and wasn't about to head back so I just took the loss. I just think I wasn't meant to buy anything on this trip and NOT that I need to lay off the candies as SOME had concluded.

The city was ALIVE with Argentinean fans dancing, cheering, rallying at every corner. Safe to say it was a quieeeetttttt night after the game!  Riah and I were lucky enough to find a spot at a bar after many failed attempts (apparently reservations were the way to go to get yourself a table). We got in just in time though because 10 minutes later, people were rammed all the way to the door.  At the end of the match, our bartender gave us some free beer. As much as I hate beer, I drank that shit like a champ. Ugh.  OH and I'll have you know, I also drank beer in Rome. Giovanni took Lauren and I to a beer bar (is that what it's called?) and I didn't want to be THAT girl so I drank all kinds then too! Ha....so there.  I deserve a medal. Don't ask me to do it again

ANYWAYS.... that was pretty much the jist of Madrid.  Even though it's known for it's wild nightlife, I didn't experience any of it and I'm quite okay with that! 

Oh I almost forgot. Spaniards don't mess around when it comes to Jamon...

It. Is. EVERYWHERE. 

On to Sevilla...my FINAL Spanish stop and second last of my entire trip.... :(

Sevilla was also a city I didn't have too much planned for. I knew I wanted to visit the Alcázar and catch a Flamenco show, anything else was just icing on the cake.  

I knocked off the Alcázar on my first day. I was just wandering through the city centre and noticed there were all of 5 people in line to get in. Score! Spent the next few hours getting my mind blown with the stunning architecture and Islamic details.

Audio Tour Life

The Big Guy upstairs must have been looking out for me because when I left, there were at least a few hundred people lined up to get in.  I guess I was the sucker who went in during the hottest window of the day but I survived so HA!  Did I tell you it was 40+ degrees in Sevilla? Yeah. OVEN.

I attempted (key word 'attempted') to explore more of the city but the heat proved to be too much so I went back home for a little while.  

My apartment was in a cool area that was steps away from bars and restaurants so I just stuck around that area and had a delicious meal!

Sleeping proved to be tough...no A/C....no fan. Just heat. I survived though. Victory.

The next day, I visited Plaza de España. It was STUNNING!

All I could think about was getting into that fountain though and that's exactly what I did.

I passed the next few hours at an air conditioned coffee shop and worked on my Barca blog. I had a few hours to kill before the Flamenco show and was not about to risk dying of a heat stroke by staying outside.

So, I wanted to get a real authentic Flamenco experience so my host (and my guidebook) had recommended catching a show at Museo del Baile Flamenco so that's what I did.  The show was in the atrium of the museum which was perfect because it only seats about 80 people.  2 dancers, 1 guitarist and 1 vocalist...perfection.

It was incredible.

Even though I barely spoke to Jack, the guy sitting next to me during the show, we wound up hanging out for the rest of the evening.  We were both traveling solo and hungry so it worked out perfectly.  I wanted to check out Bar Alfafa which was another recommendation from my host (and my guidebook) so we hit there for tapas.  Mind you, it's only 8:30pm so we broke Spanish protocol and had dinner while the sun was still up...such rebels.  It was a little hole in the wall place but man, their food did not disappoint!

There was this mushroom contraption that I was told about that's a great spot to catch the sunset and take in amazing views of the city.  Even though the sun was already setting, we went there and caught a little of the twilight. Okay, so it's not really a mushroom but it looked a little like one.  It was kind of weird though because Sevilla is soooo old world and then all of a sudden you have this modern looking something right in the middle of it.  You pay €3 and can go up and the ticket also gets you a mojito for €2.5. Heck yeah! I'm not one to turn down a good ol' mojito...especially one that was as strong as this one! Wooooo.

Soooooo now.....

What happened that night was MISERY.

Like I mentioned before, my room didn't have A/C or a fan. No, I wasn't staying in a dungeon. The apartment was actually quite modern but anyways....

I woke up at 3am, sweaty and with my legs on fire. I switched on the light and saw few fresh mosquito bites on my legs. EFF MY LIFE. So now I'm on a mission to find that stupid bugger and was finally able to smush it to death.  Okay, now, back into bed I went.  Not long after, I hear buzzing by my face again. NO EFFIN WAY.  Lights back on and I see more bites on me. I'm literally scouring every INCH of this room trying to find it.  Took me a while but I finally got it.  Alright, back to bed AGAIN. I swear to GOD, a few minutes later I hear buzzing AGAIN!!!!! I'm literally losing my shit at this point.  I'm allergic to mosquito bites and my reactions to them are intense (some of you will remember my legs from Cayman Islands) so of course, I did NOT want to get bit anymore.  This time though, I could NOT get the mosquito.  It was so high up on the wall that even tossing my shoe at it couldn't kill it.  I was on the verge of a breakdown and NO I'm not being overdramatic. Anyways, I finally got it but not before noticing there was ANOTHER one too. Got that guy but stayed up scanning the room over and over again for more...I was way too paranoid to go back to bed. It was now 7am and I had 8 bites all over me (all of which have now left scars).  Thankfully, that was the last of them and I managed to get a few hours of sleep but I definitely was in a very foul mood when I got up.

I packed my bags and got the heck up out of there! I had a train to catch to Madrid and then a dreaded overnight train to Lisbon, my final stop. Sad face.

Sevilla, you were beautiful but dangit, I do not want to think of you every time I look at my legs!!!!

Okay sidenote....I've now completed binge watching The Bachelorette (shut up). Who do you think she's gonna pick???? Man, I hope she ends up with Josh but if not, please send him my way.

Also, if you've read this entire post then I applaud you. It's a long one I know, so thank you mucho! *begins slow clap*