Madrid: A tales of tapas and frozen peas.
With Lindsey, once more, with feeling.

At the Theatre of (football) Dreams, in memory of Pablito, 1982

After a long night (someone kept snoring in the middle on the night and sleeping was difficult) we woke up and the Hostel gave us a great gift: we would be moved in the only 2 beds room.
Now, if you traveled enough you know that those "2 beds room" are usually always booked out, if they exist, and getting one is almost an impossible task. But hey, probably they loved the Olafmeister or Lindsey and we moved in our new room.

The first destination of our day was the Santiago Bernabeu, the stadium of Real Madrid.
Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly like that team, but the 11th of July 1982, in that same stadium, Italy won the last World Cup.
I was too young to remember, but going there seemed like a good way to remind me of the past glories.

Obviously all the past not concerning the club was left to a miserable small park with the names of the teams that took part in that cup (teams from another era: URSS, Czechoslovakia...), plus a small monument at the metro stop. It was enough for me though.

The visit at the stadium, visit that Lindsey sure enjoyed very much, was quite pleasant. For the price I was expecting some pictures, some view from the tribunes and some cheap information, but instead I was overwhelmed but the sheer amount of interesting things that you can see or do. Seeing a replica of the posh changing room, with a Jacuzzi, walking next to the pitch and sitting on the bench, seeing all the trophies (some quite ugly...) that Real Madrid have won over the years.. it was really great for the price.

Hungry and tired we went to the Retiro Park, just because it was the closest to something that I don't remember.
The Retiro Park was another great surprise: an oasis of peace, with a lake where you could rent a boat and show off your rowing skills for 4 euro / 45 minutes.
I took Lindsey on the boat and we spent our 45 minutes rowing, relaxing, and rowing. Lindsey tried to row and she was surprisingly coordinated for a girl, but hey, my rowing skills were just great.

After a quick lunch in the park with more sandwiches (or boccadillos), with jamon (ham) and little else, we walked to the Palacio de Cristal, or Crystal Palace, a structure completely empty inside, and now used only as some sort of art installation.

The floor was covered in mirrors, and the sun light inside has many different colors due to the glass covering. All you could do inside was remove your shoes, sit down somewhere and listening to the music while slowly cooking due to the hot atmosphere. Pictures weren't allowed but obviously I found a way to snap some pictures from my point of view.

We left park in the early evening, and then we spent the rest of the night eating and drinking in some other random bar of the city. They were all good, so choosing one was incredible easy ("You hungry?" "Yup" "Ok, let's go there")

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