A Day in Madrid

Survived another day in Madrid. I had breakfast at 8am and afterwards I was ready to crash again. Slept until 11:00am. Some of you may know this but there is another route to Santiago de Compestela that starts in Madrid. I posted online in my Facebook Camiga group asking if I should get a stamp from Madrid even though I was starting in SJPDP. The answer was a resounding yes and one person even replied that they live in Madrid and looked up the hours of the church that gives the stamp and it was open from 10-1 so off I went. I got my stamp.

I will admit that going in the Santiago Church here in Madrid had an impact on me. God and I are not on good terms right now and I told him that. In spite of my feelings, when I sat in the church alone I still felt an overpowering feeling of love.

I then did a walk about. Hit all the tourist spots like Plaza Mayor, Puerta del sol (the middle of Madrid and Spain), Parque de el Retiro and Decathlon. Ok, Decathlon isn’t a tourist destination, but I was on the hunt for a few items. One was some hiking sticks. I decided at the last minute to not take my hiking poles with me as I was taking my backpack as carry on and there were mixed reviews as to whether the airport security would allow it. I didn’t want the hassle. I decided I would buy them here. I know they sell them in SJPDP, but thought I would try to get them sooner. The Decathlon store was very small and they only had a couple types and I didn’t like them.

I was also on the hunt for some socks for my sandals. GASP! I am becoming one of “those people”, socks with sandals. It is painful just typing these words. I am so dead set against this, but when you need it, fashion goes out the window. I wore my sandals out during my 4 hours of clubbing last night and then after about 5km today I could feel blisters starting to form. I tried to put bandages on the spots to prevent them but my sandals are so tight fitting that they would rip off when I put my sandal on. I then thought that perhaps if I put bandages on the spot and then put socks over them, that may help keep them in place. So I bought some short running socks that were subtle and matched my sandals. Problem solved, but I will need to try and evade the fashion police.

After the walk, I came back for another nap, then down for dinner again at the hostel. I have now had my first traditional Spanish dish, Paella so the guilt of yesterday’s McDonalds is now absolved. TTYLRead more