Madrid: Guess who's back?...Back again

DAY 14 CONT. - Wednesday 30 June

Our love for Madrid was not reciprocated by the city, for when we arrived at 10pm, we were not able to take the Metro because of a strike! Instead, we had to take a taxi to our hostel, and his driving was one for the books. We stayed at Metropol again, and after checking in, decided it was time for dinner.

Bodega Melibea was stop Numero 1. Their tortilla espanola and tostada de jamon y queso with a tasty cup of draught cider welcomed us back to the wonderful food of Madrid! However, one miscalculation on the snow's part was that it was a Wednesday night which meant restaurants closed their kitchens at midnight, and by the time we were out of the bodega, it was a quarter to midnight. Our failed attempts at eating at other restaurants led us to the best 24-hour food source in Madrid: Chocolateria de San Gines :D

After a warm, fuzzy cup of cafe con leche and churros con chocolate, the snows called it a night.

DAY 15 - Thursday 1 July

Who knew that 1 July marked the beginning of summer sales in Spain? (All of Europe I guess, but not us). Our day started early (about 10:30am), for we hoped to head out to the Thyssen museum located near the Prado. The moment we turned the corner, however, we were allured into 'Bershka'-a Spanish brand clothing store-through their “up to 50% discount” signs. We eventually made it out of the store and over to 'La Catedral' for lunch. We had their 'Menu del Dia' which left our tummies full and ready for our escapade to the museum to practice our connoisseur abilities. The Thyssen is an amazing museum which, in our eyes, gives the Prado competition in size and variety of collection. At this museum, we were able to sample the collection which begins with the Early Renaissance and ends with modern art like Surrealism and Pop Art. 4 thumbs up from the snows!

We decided exercise was needed after such a big meal and wandering about the museum, so we took a detour onto Calle Atocha and walked it back up to Sol. Shopping pretty much took up the rest of our afternoon. Because of our hostel's location, we were able to frequently drop off recent purchases and take a break from the heat and people traffic surrounding us.

9pm came around, and it was time to begin our final tapas crawl in Spain – that is, until we come back!

TAPAS CRAWL #5 FINAL!

Las Bravas-Patatas bravas, croquettas de jamon y pollo, sangrias

Cervezeria 100 Montaditos-Jarras (jugs) of tinto verano, olive oil potato chips, and 2 montaditos

Lamiak-Basque cider (*it is salty and tangy, definitely different from regular cider—one snow equates it to a less sugary salty dog cocktail), and 2 tapas: brie with caramalized onion and tomato and pork tenderloin with carmelized onions

Midway through our crawl, we met an Englishman who ended up hanging out with us for the rest of the night. On our way to Lamiak, we made sure to show him Plaza Mayor and the area around La Latina. After the crawl, we took a short break and decided we wanted to end the night, and essentially our trip, at “Joy”-the 'hot' nightclub of Madrid. Honestly, it wasn't too great. It was student night, so students got in for free with discounted drinks. The floor was packed but dancing seemed to be the only thing missing from this dance club. Will we go there next time? Probs not, but it was worth a try.

About 3:45am, it was time for us to bid farewell to our favorite place in Spain [almost]...Chocolateria de San Gines, which is conveniently located right next to Joy. We had our usual, but we are unsure if our Englishman friend enjoyed the churros as much as we did [something about fried batter and fish and chips].

DAY 16 - Friday 2 July

Spain is so sad to see us go that she decided to cry and rain all morning/afternoon. We packed up our things and wondered what happened to our bathroom door during the night because when we woke up it was literally hanging by a hinge. The people at the hostel were the best by far and told us they would miss us [tear]. We headed out to lunch at a nearby Cervezeria 100 Montaditos and indulged in a cafe con leche with their 6 motadito platter and a side of papas fritas (we decided to be tubby since we knew plane food would not be substantive :D). The rest of the time before our flight, we took our final walk around Sol and searched, but did not find, a place to buy paella pans.

When heading to the airport, we did not know our travel time would equal one hour. Because of the strike, services were still scarce, and at each transit, we had to wait about 10 minutes. The airport did not prove to run any faster, but luckily, we planned with more than enough time to get to our terminal. To add to our smooth day, our flight was delayed almost an hour meaning we may miss our connection flight into Houston from Miami :( We spoke to Iberia, and if we do miss our connection, then they will pay for our accommodations in Miami. As of now, we have 2 hours until landing and need to make sure to do some really good stretching before we run through the Miami airport.