Madrid, Tuesday Feb. 24th… Shrove Tuesday
We ended up with 4 girls in our dorm room that also has a private bath inside of the room. Both girls came in after us but were very quiet. We both went up and showered early and called it a night well before 9 pm.
Awoke about 8 am…we lost an hour when we came to Spain…but this is the only time change. Breakfast at the Hostel, some computer time and then out for our daily adventure with maps in hand. Our first goal was to find the bus station where we will catch our bus to Granada tomorrow.
Down into the Metro we found a very friendly guard who told us where we had to go after giving us a Metro Map. It was only one euro each way for this adventure. We had to make one transfer; if we were thinking about using this method tomorrow…not a chance. There are lots of up and down steps so we will definitely be taking a taxi.
We found the bus station, looked around and discovered that it was the one we’d arrived at early Monday morning. After much searching and asking for help we discovered the bus line we need and also where the tickets are purchased. Then back on the Metro to return to the Anton Martin Metro Station where we’d started.
From there we had an easy walk to The Prado Museum where we spent several hours finding all of the different famous painting recommended by our Rick Steves Guide Book. This was my third time there so it was fun to recognize them as we approached the different areas. It’s a very large museum with over three thousand paintings and we did miles of walking!!! The weather was very warm when we came out of the museum and it was a pleasant stroll back to the Hostel.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Up early we caught the 10:30 am bus to Granada in the south east part of Spain. It was a five and half hour drive with only one stop. We saw many olive groves, one set of “Don Quoite” windmills, many solar panel farms; rolling plains and also mountains. Actually saw snow covered mountains in one area. Many crumbling deserted haciendas and large modern towns along the highway.
Our Hostel is up a very narrow alleyway where cars cannot drive. We walked the area and feel at home already. One of our roommates is a college girl from Boston who is studying in France. This is one of the oldest cities in Spain and definitely has a Moorish flavor everywhere from the architecture to the food. They are cooking a common meal tonight, rice and vegetables in an electric wok the size of an automobile tire! We walked and found a falafel for dinner in a quaint little shop just down the alley from our Hostel.
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