I forgot to tell you that Sabine, Ally and Sophie had some very important questions while we were waiting in the airport. I’m going to put them out here in case anyone knows the answer, or if anyone has some time they want to kill googling things.
Question 1 : How do I get the glowstick job? ( Referring to the guys outside directing the karts of suitcases to the planes)
Question 2: How many planes are in the sky at one given time?
Question 3: How long do you work that job? ( I have no idea what this refers to but I had it written down so it must have been significant).
So it was the morning of day 2 in Madrid and we were eager and excited. We woke up at 8am ready to seize the day but we walked out into the streets of a deserted city. We quickly learned that no one in Spain, except for the garbage men and construction workers, wakes up before 10am. We walked around for a bit, found 1 fruit cart that was open and just killed the next two hours until we found a bakery that was open.
After our breakfast we met up in the hostel to participate in the free guided tour. If I can suggest anything for anybody it is to participate in the free guided tours that are offered by your hostels. They’re often more fun and exciting than any paid for tour. Anyway, a very bouncy and overly enthusiastic Mexican man named Roberto led us to the meeting spot in Puerto Del Sol. He was short and tan and was jumping over these posts on the sidewalk reminding us of a very excited puppy. He suggested to Ally that she get a tattoo of a Pizza when she visits Italy. When we got to the meeting spot we met our tour guide. She was a cute British blonde girl wearing European style flood pants that have elastics around the ankle and introduced herself as “Harriet – like the spy, or Harry – like the wizard.” So I obviously fell in immediate love with her. She led us through the city, telling us about the history of Madrid and fun facts everywhere we went. She knew her stuff. At the end of the tour she even took us to some great inexpensive restaurants. These guys work for their tip so you’re getting a real honest hardworking fantastic tour. I cannot stress enough that these are the best tours you’ll get in a city.
After lunch we took a siesta with the rest of the city and then decided we were going to find somewhere to watch the soccer game. After walking around for about an hour (with my full bladder yelling at me) we settled on a small restaurant and caught a real Spanish soccer (football) game!
Prostitute Count:
We did not see any when we first woke up, presumably because it was 8 am and they were sleeping.
On the walk home at around 1am we saw 33. Although we were not sure about 1 of them. So let’s say 32 for safety purposes.
On Day 3 we knew the drill. We woke up at 10am with the rest of the city and walked to a few main attractions we still hadn’t seen. The Temple of Debod was very cool and free to see! We had our every day siesta, went to the National Art Museum (which is free after 5pm) and then at night we decided to join the Flamenco Show organized by our hostel.
The Flamenco Show took place in a dark small bar, my favourite kind of place and included a glass of sangria. After the show the bartender announced that they would be starting karaoke and I was, of course, beyond excited. We sang a song, joined the rest of the group for a few more trendy bars playing awesome old music and then Ally and I got tacos at 3am. An overall joyous evening in Madrid. We were tuckered out and fell asleep hard.
Prostitute Count:
At 5:30 pm we counted 11 prostitutes. We have now noticed a few repeat workers. One of my favourites was a “Pretty Woman” type gal, with a black bob wig, legs for days and ripped jean skirt. She was very pretty and guarded her post like a strong lioness.
At 7:30 pm we were at 14 prostitutes.
At 3:00am it was quieter than we expected but we still counted 20.
Cheers!