Arriving in Madrid - April 2014

We got off the plane after our 10 hour journey across the ocean and my very first thought was Holy Shit what have we done?  It had not been real to me until this moment.  Suddenly my life changed and I really understood what it meant to be in a country where I cannot understand anyone.  

We were spending the weekend in Madrid before catching the train to Valladolid so we had a hostel booked but of course had no idea how to get to it.  We got a taxi from the airport but he spoke no English so it was a struggle explaining to him where we needed to go.  He of course figured it out and dropped us off out front.  We tipped him almost 10 euros and he looked very surprised.  This was of course before we knew that people do not tip here.  That was something that was difficult to get used to.  I still feel guilty whenever I leave a restaurant and I have not left a tip.

So now we stood outside our hostel at 6:30 pm with all of our belongings and the doors were looked.  We panicked a little but then just rang the buzzer – nothing. We did not have a way to contact them and the buzzer was not working no matter how much we punched and yelled at it.  I could feel the tears.  I was tired and scared and how do I even explain this to someone when I do not speak the language (this will become a common theme in my life here).  We were freaking out thinking it was a scam and the place was not a real hostel.  I was having images of Eli Roth movies flashing before my eyes – this was a trick and they are going to capture us and sell us to the highest bidder for sex or sport.  As you might guess I am not one who frequents hostels.  I have only stayed in one prior to this in Vancouver after I had first hitchhiked there when I was 18 (yes mom I hitchhiked.  I’m sorry I know I lied about taking a bus. Believe me I will never hitchhike again – but that is a whole other story) Anyhow my hostel experience in Van was so horrible I had vowed to never do it again but here I was.

Luckily Ross is much more level headed then I am and he was able to calm me down (on the outside, inside I was planning my escape).  Ross banged on the door for a long time and finally a girl came out.  She was staying in the building upstairs from our hostel and she informed us that they always lock the doors after 6.  We went up a few floors to the actual hostel and had to bang on that door for a while until one of the other guests let us in.  When we finally spoke to the guy at the desk he just said ‘why didn't you ring the buzzer?’  Yeah why hadn't we thought of that?!  Gahhh frustrating but we had a place to stay so everything was OK.

We wandered the streets for a while and then were so exhausted we decided to just grab some snacks and some beers and lay in our room for a while.  So here is a fun tip!  The grocery stores here require you to weigh and tag all your fruits and vegetables.  That is a fun surprise when you get to the cashier and she is yelling something at you in a language you do not understand and you just stand there smiling like an idiot trying not to cry because you cannot understand what the problem is. Like I just want to buy these apples I don’t know why you won’t just sell me the apples.  Also she wouldn't sell us beer because it was after ten (we learned eventually).

When you are able to get beer it is only like 35 cents a can!

Needless to say our first few hours in Spain were not ideal.  However we knew (hoped) that in the morning everything would be better. 

It was.

Exploring with my handsome man 

We spent the next two days exploring Madrid and enjoying the beauty of this amazing city.  The parks were gorgeous and there were people playing eccentric wind instruments everywhere!  Accordions and flutes made the city sound just as I imagined Europe would sound.  It was romantic and I felt like I was in a dream.  The buildings were like nothing I had ever seen.  I am from Canada our buildings are less than 200 years old so I have never seen places like this, Cathedrals that I have seen in movies and statues that have existed for longer than I can fathom.  It was exactly what I had hoped for.  We drank sangria in Plaza Mayor and marveled at the goings on of the city.  We bought churros and hot chocolate and took about 1000 photos. 

Churros and hot chocolate sauce mmmm mmmm

Sangria in Plaza Mayor

We had a wonderful weekend and couldn't wait to just get to our city and see what beautiful small Spanish town we would be living in!