Madrid Day 8: 13th June 2010

We touched down at Madrid at about 8pm I think…the flight to Madrid from Dublin was via Iberia airlines..not too bad for a budget..just that it experienced quite a lot of turbulence during the journey. We thought we won’t be able to fly off from Dublin airport or the volcano has erupted again when we saw the skies in Dublin so dark and pouring heavily.luckily, we managed to take off..



Madrid airport was termed as the Barajas Airport. As we walked toward the baggage claim areas, there was a great commotion at the departure lounge..many pple were screaming and shouting..these pple had waited for a very long time and their plane wasn’t here yet..so I tink they jus hosted a protest right in the airport…drama..

We found our airport shuttle to our accommodation…and there..we were stuck without knowing any slight bit of Spanish. The driver made us alight at some areas near our hotel and gave us instructions in Spanish. Poor us looked lost..and luckily 2 other Spanish pple came along and explained to us in English…den we lugged the heavy backpacks, searching for the hotel..we walked up and down and cant find at all..i was supposedly to meet a guide at Madrid, from Concierge Tips(of which I highly recommend if you need any help in exploring Madrid)..but was late..den suddenly he waved to us..and Hola! There he is!.. he then helped us to find our hotel..Hotel Chic and Basics, Madrid.





The room was satisfactory I would say but I’m not so pleased with the cleanliness of the bedsheets. We put our luggage down and went walking around Plaza Mayor to check out the Chocolate San Gines, as recommended in the travel forum, for their famous churros with the hot chocolate.



Maybe is us who tend to eat things with a little spice and seasoning, the churros tasted to us a bit bland..but the hot choco was great..to satisfy our empty stomachs…pple at Choco San Gines dun speak English except for a waiter I think…we were kinda lost again…and just pointed what we want…there’s a group of American kids coming in…and they exclaimed “Is there anyone here who can speak decent English?”…well I tink they were frustrated as well haha..

We had Gelato after meal before returning back to our room for an early rest!nice ice cream!




And yes, before ending, I wanna talk about Jose, the great guy who gave us many good tips about Madrid. I chanced upon him in Tripadvisor and I went to his company’s website. It’s a bit strange as they claim to give tips to travellers to Madrid..without fixing a price for their tips..it’s up to you on how much you wanna give them…so I gave it a try…few months back..and they have helped me a fair bit in my planning in Madrid..I was surprised when I met Jose, he gave me a personalised itinerary, and a detailed map of all the locations which Ive mentioned to him before about visiting. Very thoughtful and considerate. He also pointed out nice places to dine in and market to explore..And he helped us with our tour booking to Avila and Segovia..for the following day..All thanks to him that we are able to enjoy Madrid!