Spain - 22/10/2006. Part 1.
The details of the trip are already starting to get a little hazy. It's been over a week since I got back and almost two weeks since I was in Madrid. Here's what I remember:
We didn't have much time to recover from the "Mad-Ride" the next morning. We had to be out of our hostel by 11pm. This meant not only waking up early (or, what felt early since we didn't get back to the hostel until after 4am) but also lugging my enormous suitcase through the city again. I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but before we left I had a "brilliant" idea. Since Brittany and I were going to sticking together for the duration of the trip, and all I had for luggage were my giant suitcases, I decided that Brittany could just share one of mine, therefore we aren't dragging two suitcases, two backpacks, and other random bags around Spain. Where my plan failed was in the fact that my suitcase would be FULL with stuff, enough for two people for one hole week plus whatever we happened to purchase, and of course I would be the one carrying it the whole time.
We had a little difficulty finding the next hostel we were to be staying at. We didn't have an address, only that it was 100 meters from the metro. One of many things it didn't say was that the metro stop was in the middle of the city and there were several hostels within 100 meters. It also didn't help that it wasn't visible from the metro, as we had to walk 100 meters down the street, take a left, then walk another half block to find it. Oh, it was raining also.
Once we found our hostel, everyone decided to go out. I, however, wanted to stay in for the night and get some reading done. Much to the displeasure of everyone else, I did just that.
The next day I set out to find the ONE thing I wanted to see while in Madrid. There is a convent in the Plaza del Conde de Miranda that I had heard about. The convent (if I remember correctly it was the Convento De Monte Cristo) houses cloistered nuns who well baked goods for raise money. It is hard to find, but once you do find it It's supposed to be worth the search.
So the next morning I set out by myself with a map in hand to find the convent.
It took a while, but I finally found the right door, with a little help from a local bag-lady. Giddy with anticipation, I pushed the button to get let in...and nothing happened. The little bag-lady urged me to push it again, and I did. Again, nothing happened. Another lady who was passing by suggested that they wouldn't let me in since they were having mass. I then noticed the sign that I had previously overlooked which said that they were effectively closed between 1pm and 4pm for services. It was 1:20. So I decided this was a good time to do some more wondering.
I worked my way back to the hostel where I found Kendra. She had been out on her own as well and returned from a disappointing trip to a museum that was also closed. I told her that I had found the convent and we decided to go out together to see some more sights and eventually end up back at the convent.
We set off to the Plaza Real which is home to an emaculate cathedral and the royal palace. We first went to the cathedral and were very impressed by the lay-out and decoration. Unfortunately my camera battery decided to die, so I wasn't able to get too many pictures, but I did manage to squeeze out a few:
I always feel so bad because my words and photos can never sufficiently show how amazing these places are. They are so big, breath-taking, and awe-inspiring. But this is what I have to work with so it will have to suffice until you yourselves can come see these amazing accomplishments in architechture and history.
After we left the Plaza Real, Kendra and I set to find the nuns again, Having been there once already we were able to find it easily. This time, we got in...
...to be continued...
We didn't have much time to recover from the "Mad-Ride" the next morning. We had to be out of our hostel by 11pm. This meant not only waking up early (or, what felt early since we didn't get back to the hostel until after 4am) but also lugging my enormous suitcase through the city again. I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but before we left I had a "brilliant" idea. Since Brittany and I were going to sticking together for the duration of the trip, and all I had for luggage were my giant suitcases, I decided that Brittany could just share one of mine, therefore we aren't dragging two suitcases, two backpacks, and other random bags around Spain. Where my plan failed was in the fact that my suitcase would be FULL with stuff, enough for two people for one hole week plus whatever we happened to purchase, and of course I would be the one carrying it the whole time.
We had a little difficulty finding the next hostel we were to be staying at. We didn't have an address, only that it was 100 meters from the metro. One of many things it didn't say was that the metro stop was in the middle of the city and there were several hostels within 100 meters. It also didn't help that it wasn't visible from the metro, as we had to walk 100 meters down the street, take a left, then walk another half block to find it. Oh, it was raining also.
Once we found our hostel, everyone decided to go out. I, however, wanted to stay in for the night and get some reading done. Much to the displeasure of everyone else, I did just that.
The next day I set out to find the ONE thing I wanted to see while in Madrid. There is a convent in the Plaza del Conde de Miranda that I had heard about. The convent (if I remember correctly it was the Convento De Monte Cristo) houses cloistered nuns who well baked goods for raise money. It is hard to find, but once you do find it It's supposed to be worth the search.
So the next morning I set out by myself with a map in hand to find the convent.
It took a while, but I finally found the right door, with a little help from a local bag-lady. Giddy with anticipation, I pushed the button to get let in...and nothing happened. The little bag-lady urged me to push it again, and I did. Again, nothing happened. Another lady who was passing by suggested that they wouldn't let me in since they were having mass. I then noticed the sign that I had previously overlooked which said that they were effectively closed between 1pm and 4pm for services. It was 1:20. So I decided this was a good time to do some more wondering.
I worked my way back to the hostel where I found Kendra. She had been out on her own as well and returned from a disappointing trip to a museum that was also closed. I told her that I had found the convent and we decided to go out together to see some more sights and eventually end up back at the convent.
We set off to the Plaza Real which is home to an emaculate cathedral and the royal palace. We first went to the cathedral and were very impressed by the lay-out and decoration. Unfortunately my camera battery decided to die, so I wasn't able to get too many pictures, but I did manage to squeeze out a few:
I always feel so bad because my words and photos can never sufficiently show how amazing these places are. They are so big, breath-taking, and awe-inspiring. But this is what I have to work with so it will have to suffice until you yourselves can come see these amazing accomplishments in architechture and history.
After we left the Plaza Real, Kendra and I set to find the nuns again, Having been there once already we were able to find it easily. This time, we got in...
...to be continued...
posted by Doug at 2:40 PM
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