Trip Diary: A Lazy Day in Madrid

Today…. I didn’t do much of anything. It was my lazy day.

As I wrote in my last post, my train got in around 7am and I was beyond exhausted.  With barely opened eyes, I lugged my heavy bag across the street and checked into a hotel.  It wasn’t too expensive, about what I paid in Nice, and they let me into my room at 8am.

I basically spent the majority of the day catching up on sleep, eating some stale biscuits I had packed, watching tv shows I had downloaded and slowly planning my next 2 days in Madrid.

By 5pm I decided it was time to get out of bed.  I took a long shower and it was so nice to a) use a full-sized shower, b) have the drain not clog as soon as the shower runs causing major leakage and c) use 2 full-sized towels! My time in Europe hasn’t been rough by any standards but I was pretty excited for this shower!

By 7ish I left the hotel, very much refreshed, to go explore the area.  I walked around my neighbourhood.  There are a few shops and after a bit of a walk there’s some interesting architecture as well.  I found a little street market and then a proper supermarket a little while later.  I picked up some stuff for breakfast tomorrow.

On my way home, I stopped to grab dinner. I was pretty hungry seeing as I had only had my biscuits and leftover dried mango slices to eat in the last 24 hours.  I ended up getting asian food (my comfort food of choice) and it was over-priced, but yummier than I had anticipated! Overall, I was pretty satisfied.  And it wasn’t even that hot (granted it was close to 8pm and the sun was beginning to set).

I came back to my hotel room, ate my dinner, did some writing stuff and relaxed.  So basically, it’s been a very chill day and I haven’t done much to see Madrid.

But I think I needed a day, especially after the sleepless train ride.  I’m glad I took the day off and I’m feeling a lot better than I was yesterday.  Air conditioning, a real shower and a proper night’s day’s sleep really can do wonders for your outlook! As well as some love from home 🙂

Tomorrow I am going on a hop-on hop-off city bus tour! I didn’t think I was going to be that kind of tourist but I found a pretty good price for two days.  I want to see the sights of Madrid but I really don’t know where to begin.  I figure this is the best way and saves me having to create an itinerary.  As touristy as it will be, I’m looking forward to it.  

Forgot to do this for Nice so here is the round up for Nice & Barcelona!

Nice/Barcelona Round Up:

Best Experience: relaxing on the beach in Nice/the fresh fruit at the street market in Barcelona

Worst Experience: the horrible hostel in Nice/my metro meltdown in Barca

I wish I had known… to pack less! My bag weighs a ton! 

What I will miss most about Nice/Barcelona: the beautiful views in Nice/Monaco and the fresh fruit in Barcelona as well as the lovely hostel owner! 

Next time I visit Nice/Barcelona I want to… take a boat out in Nice or Monaco and explore more of Gaudi’s work in Barcelona, perhaps in a cooler season.