After over 10 hours on Busabout and my new-found stomach bug (i think from drinking tap water everyday in Barcelona!) that caused a bit of vomit here and there…we arrived in beautiful Madrid! We didn’t have the energy to find the cheapest accommodation so stayed at the hostel Busabout drops us at…. Mad Hostel! It had a huge common room with pool and internet, although the wifi wasn’t working 
Of course the first night i wasn’t up for much, so we walked around, checked out Puerto del Sol, one of the massive plazas in Madrid and grabbed some grub for Brad, but came back early to our hostel early to watch Toy Story in our bunk!
Mad hostel!
The next day i was much better though and we went to do some sightseeing! We heard the museums were free and it has been a WHILE since we went to a museum so considered checking them out! It wasn’t until 5pm though so we went to the Palacio Real or…the Royal Palace instead! Luckily the line was short because it was really hot outside AND there was a guy playing the violin….some of his songs included “The Graduation Song” and “Ave Maria”! We tried our student id’s and they worked so it was only 4 euros yippeee!
Cartwheels!
This thing was MASSSIVE! But the King and Queen don’t even live in it anymore! It is just used for state ceremonies and stuff like that! So there are basically over 2,000 unused rooms! It WAS very fancy and fun to walk through though! We weren’t allowed to take photos and i was so dying to snap some of the throne room! But security was intense so i took a photo of the photo in the book hahah! We were only allowed to see about 12 rooms….out of 2,000+ booo!! BUT we did get to go into the armory which was really cool! I loved all the horses armor…it was so decorative!
Horse armor!
On our walk home we found some indoor markets called Mercado de San Miguel! The outer edges had legs of ham and fruit and so forth, and the middle was filled with tables where you could eat tapas and drink wine! It was pretty packed and hectic in there though…you have to be a real vulture to get a spot!
We had to partake in the famous siestas! Everyone in Madrid does seriously close up shop between 1pm-6pm or longer if they feel like it! I think its just too hot!~ But come dinner time everything is bustling again, and Brad and I found our way to the Museo de Jamon!
Slabs of ham!
We had heard about these places from our Nice CouchSurfing hosts when chatting about cheap eats in Spain. There is one every few blocks and the prices are around the same for each. You have the option to get a plain old plate of jamon, which gets more points in the taste category than presentation, OR a variety of combination meals all involving ham. Depending on when and which one you go to the scene is alive. Locals pack in and enjoy their ham and beer standing up at the bar or along the walls (you also have an option to sit down which is more expensive and not as fun). And unless you plan on just admiring the atmosphere of the place, make sure to get the attention of the hamtender, since they are usually very busy with orders. A direct translation would be: Museum of Ham, and I guess there are a few slabs of meat hanging around old enough to be in a museum, but the one that we ate tasted so good we didn’t care which decade it came from. We ordered the simple plate of jamon (1.50 euro) and one of the combo dishes (about 5 euros) good portion sizes and both delicious. Two thumbs up for the Museo de Jamon in Madrid!
yum!
We spent the rest of our night posted up in Puerta del Sol on a fountain people watching! The street performers were completely whack compared to the ones we saw in Barcelona! There was a Bart Simpson and a Donald Duck both nights we went there, but they were just awful! Then we noticed the random bear climbing up a tree statue! Well…it was random to us, BUT it’s on all the shot glasses and postcards, and tons of people were snapping pics with it! So i got a pic but still have no idea what it’s for…if you know..please comment and enlighten us! 
Broccoli trees!!
The next day we sought out El Retiro, the massive park known to the locals as the “lungs of the city.” We found these interesting trees that resembled broccoli and snapped some photos. After browsing a little longer we came to the pond where people paddle boat around on the weekends. We opted for the shady grass instead and caught up on some r&r (reading and relaxation).
We didn’t spend a whole lot of time sight seeing in Madrid, mostly due to the heat, but of the stuff we did see, we enjoyed. And although it may not be as exciting and uptempo as Barcelona (to us) it makes up for it by being a beautiful and clean city!
Pretty arches!